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Zambia: Judge Suspensions Unfold into Embarrassing Drama · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

The suspension of one Supreme Court Judge and two high court judges and setting up of a tribunal to investigate their conduct by President Michael Sata is slowly but surely turning into an embarrassing drama.
A day after President Sata swore in the tribunal headed by Malawi high court judge Lovemore Chikopa, Zambian high court judge, Flugence Chisanga, ruled against it in an injunction in a move that inevitably pitted the judiciary against the executive.
President Sata swears in Malawian Judge Lovemore Chikopa to head the tribunal probing three Zambian judges. Picture courtesy of State House via Zambian Watchdog
Ms Justice Chisanga said:
Upon hearing counsel for the applicants and reading the affidavits of Judges Mutuna and Kajimanga respectively, it is hereby ordered that the applicants be and are hereby granted leave to apply for judicial review.
And it is further ordered that the leave so granted shall operate as a stay of the decisions of his Excellency the President to appoint a tribunal, to suspend the applicants and any adverse measures against the applicants in relation to the performance of their Constitutional duties as duly appointed Puisne Judges pending determination of this matter or further direction by this court.
Justice Minister, Sebastian Zulu, quickly issued a statement that was placed on the state house website saying the judiciary was panicking, ordering the Solicitor-General to overturn the ruling:
I have ordered the solicitor General to immediately have that stay revoked on the ground that under section 16 of the state proceedings Act. An Injunction may not be granted against the state.”
“An Order of stay is in fact a mandatory injunction which is ordering that the  tribunal should not take off, That is what the law does not allow. It (law) doesn't allow such an order as far as I a[m] concerned.
Zulu also told a press briefing that the court’s decision was illegal and amounted to a direct attack on the president’s decision.
One of the three suspended judges, High Court Judge Philip Musonda. Photo courtesy of statehouse.gov.zm.
Ruling in the matter after the application by the State to have the injunction against the tribunal dismissed was set for hearing on May 24.
The matter also engulfed the Chief Justice whom the University of Zambia Students Union called upon to step down.
Netizens have followed this matter keenly on social media forums.
Ms Justice Chisanga won kudos for her courage. Commenting on a related post on Zambian Watchdog, Solicitor wrote:
What a galant lady this Chisanga is she. Fearless and sticks to then law without looking at who is involved. this how judiciary should be. The weak judges must learn from this judge who can’t succumb to executive presure. I hope she will be the next chief justice after [Enerst Sakala] as she will uphold the rule of law. Pf cadres on blogging should stop trivializing such bluntant abuse of eecutive powers by its president and some of those in his party. Zambia doesn’t belong to MCS nor to his party and the likes of membe and Nchitos but to all of us.We need a relaible judicial system which will defend the rights of fair justice for every one without looking at the faces of those involved and this is what lady Chisanga has just demonstrated…
MUKUKA MBULU – AYANGA NA MAKA on the development under the same story wrote, wrote:
The measure of any Judiciary is whether it can stand the pressure from the Executive and in this case Judge Chisanga has more than redeemed the Juciary. The measure of any corruption fight is whether you can confront and arrest not just your enemies but also your friends and in this case Mr. Sata has failed completely by refusing to confront his friends to compel them to pay back the K14bn owed to DBZ or even to talk about it. Contrast this to what the President would have said and done if the K14bn was owed by Henry Banda. The Corruption fight is DEAD because it is targeted only at enemies and this case proves it. Thank you Judge Chisanga. The coutry owes you the same way it owes Christon Tembo who gave up the Vice Presidency of Zambia to fight the Chiluba Third term bid while the same Mr. Sata was supporting Chiluba.
In one exchange between two tweeps, the following was gleaned:
@munshyamunshya: My advice to Zulu & Co. don't pick a fight with the entire judiciary.
@imatambo: @munshyamunshya: are the supreme court judges above the law? In the interest of separation of powers they should be checked by the executive
@munshyamunshya: @imatambo No, judges aren't above law. And so when they are corrupt you report them to ACC and Judicial Complaints commission!
One sceptic tweep doubted the authenticiy of the judicial review:
@sandaykc: @Zambia_Reports @missbwalya @gndhlovu @the_josephk @VOAAfrica Good attempt for judicial review but we all know by now this is all academic.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Zambia: Tensions Continue Over Severe Fuel Shortages · Global Voices
Isabella Mukanda-Shamambo

Zambians are bemoaning looming fuel shortages in the country where Kabwe, a town that links the city of Lusaka and the Copperbelt province is already facing severe shortages with motorists queuing for hours to buy the commodity. Fuel shortages in Zambia are not a new phenomenon whenever the Indeni plant shuts down, sometimes for maintenance.
The Indeni plant is where imported crude delivered via the Tazama pipeline is processed into finished products; diesel, petrol and kerosene. Zambian citizens are incensed by the fact that President Michael Sata’s PF government donated five million liters of fuel to Malawi barely a month ago. This seems to evoke feelings of bitterness especially in those who did not vote for the president during the previous elections.
Fuel cans. Image by Stanley Kubrock from eufrika.org (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).
The Zambian Watchdog reports:
The crude oil importation deals entered by the PF government are finally being felt in various parts of the country through fuel shortages.
In Kabwe, motorists have been queueing for Petrol and Diesel for four days now whilst brothers and sisters in Malawian are enjoying the abundant fuel ‘donated’ by the generous neighbouring PF government in Zambia.
The story continues:
Sources in the Ministry of Energy have told the Watchdog that the situation is likely to worsen as the ship carrying crude oil imported by the PF government suppliers has not docked in Tanzanian port of Dar-es-Salaam forcing the Indeni plant to shut down the refinery on Monday.
The PF [ruling Patriotic Front] government is giving a few litres of fuel to selected oil marketing companies for the Zambia consumers and industries as they also have to fulfil the fuel promise to Malawi ‘within 90 days’.
Supporters in a truck celebrate the victory of opposition leader Michael Sata as he was sworn in as the fifth Zambian president. Image by Owen Miyanza, copyright Demotix (23/12/2011).
Rio, Zambian Watchdog reader, responds:
It is not only Kabwe; some filling stations in Ndola have either no diesel or Petrol: I filled up my fuel tanks for the cars to be safe!
Another reader, Kapyololo, thinks that fuel shortages is a sign of poor governance:
Now fate is catching up with these PF goats. they thought things will be well with them when they secretly donate five million liters of fuel to Malawi. we call this carelessness. Jesus in the bible was very clear when he said do not give food meant for children to dogs otherwise your children will die of hunger. what now, fuel shortage is looming in the country. will Malawi give us our fuel? even the alleged cheap fuel which this kabimba with his mathani crookman are planning to bring in the country is not enough. come on people, lets not experiment with governance.it is costly.
don’t say kapyololo did not warn. we saw this comig
Czar has a logical explanation:
PF’s lies are what got them into government. Those of you who believed their lies and voted en mass for them should swallow your pride and admit you got it wrong. Mismanagement is the order of the day. Politics done to appease kaponyas (hustlers) will not develop this country.
Royd Moonga shares his displeasure on Zambian People’s Pact Facebook group:
WHAT A PRESIDENT :Shamelesly Kabwe hit wth FUEL SHORTAGES barely a month with PRESIDENT Sata shocking 5m litres of Fuel donation to Malawi!
Royd's sentiment is echoed by a few others such as Timothy Tslubaby Chimpangu:
it was sad,i was in kabwe that day,it was hell,we were buying fuel from the changanyas.shame on this man with his decisions.
Archritius Mwanakayaya says:
the man is shameless,the economy is hanging due 2 lack of direction by this govt
Mubiana Sitwala disagrees:
Before you call anyone shameless, identify, understand and analyse. If the issue is country wide your concern can be genuine, but this is an issolated case of Kabwe. Find out if the shortage is caused by the donation of fuel to Malawi. May i beg you to be rational in your attacks on the president.
Kanyanja writes on his Facebook wall:
The crude oil importation deals entered by the PF government are finally being felt in various parts of the country through fuel shortages.
In Kabwe, motorists have been queueing for Petrol and Diesel for four days now whilst brothers and sisters in Malawian are enjoying the abundant fuel ‘donated’ by the generous neighbouring PF government in Zambia.
Gift Mbewe reminds Zambians that this is not the first time Zambia experiences fuel shortages:
Its not the first time this is happening. It used to happen even in MMD. But the point to note is that so far no change, still the MMD mentality.
The 5 million litres of fuel were donated by Zambian government following the death of Malawi's president Bingu wa Mutharika.

source: news-globalvoices

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Isabella Mukanda-Shamambo


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Zambia: President Sues Citizens and Media for Alleged Defamation · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

Zambian President Michael Sata is suing an opposition leader, a newspaper, a radio station and an academic for alleged defamation.
President Sata recently sued United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema, the Daily Nation newspaper, radio station Hot FM and University of Zambia lecturer Cholwe Beyani for defamation of character and demanded to be paid K1.2 billion or US$ 266,667 in damages.
Artistic depiction of Michael Sata as Zambia's Black Moses. Image source: 90 Days Countdown Facebok group.
President Sata also indicated that he wanted Hichilema to retract the defamatory story published in The Daily Nation newspaper edition of May 16, 2012, in which the paper quoted the opposition leader as saying Sata awarded a K600 million contract to his friend to renovate State House.
The Lusaka Times story quotes the letter to the Daily Nation as saying:
We have been retained by Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata, the current president of Zambia and of the Patriotic Front political party, to act for him in a matter concerning your defamation of him in the article in the Nation Newspaper edition published on 8th of May, 2012 (Vol. 2, Issue 175) entitled ‘Sata Shielding Crooks.’
President Sata also demanded a retraction, an apology and K500 million from a University of Zambia (Unza) lecturer Cholwe Beyani for defamation who for saying the removal of lawyer Vincent Malambo from representing the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) was an attempt by the head of state to shield his friends from prosecution.
Sata also filed a defamation suit against Hichilema over alleged defamatory remarks the UPND leader made when he featured on Hot FM’s Hot seat live programme on April 26. President Sata is demanding K500 million as compensation.
Sata in his suit also also demanded another K500 million from Hot FM Radio as the publisher of the alleged defamatory remarks and for the radio station to retract the defamatory remarks made by Hichilema.
According to instructions sent to his lawyers Ituna Partners, Hichilema has been given 7 days to apologize and retract the statements he made.
On May 11, the offices of international lawyer Robert Amsterdam, representing former President Rupiah Banda’s son, Henry, wanted in Zambia for questioning on allegations of various crimes that may have been committed during his father’s reign, received correspondence from President Sata’s legal representatives threatening litigation and demanding compensation in response to public statements made by Mr Amsterdam on the PF’s government’s pursuit of political opponents.
Said the sharp-tongued Amsterdam (this author has interviewed him before):
President Sata’s crude efforts to silence and bully opponents with threats and intimidation will not work, and we would in fact welcome the opportunity to lead a serious public debate on the unlawful conduct of this administration… As a public figure, I had no idea that President Sata was so sensitive to criticism, but given this government’s stance toward freedom of the press, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
While President Sata is suing citizens, he himself is constitutionally immune from civil and criminal prosecution as head of state. Netizens have added their voice to the President suing his critics.
Commenting on the Zambian Watchdog, Mambwe wrote:
Close friends of Sata (Guy Scott, GBM, Kambwili) should pluck up some courage to advise their President that his Republican status does not allow him to behave like an ordinary man in the streets of Lusaka, Kitwe of Ndola where he can exercise the luxury of making money by sueing percieved enemies to courts. A President must learn to absorb cruel and well-meaning criticism from the public. The Speakers Corner in London’s Hyde Park have preserved such a facility where the Queen can be criticised severely. If Sata is sensitive to honest criticism, then he must resign, declare to forego his presidential immunity and face his colleagues on a level playing ground. His lawyers will have to fight it out with other sharp-shooting talented legal minds.
Advocate wrote:
If the nation had to sue for the unfulfilled promises within 90 days,how many cases could there be.I thought a President should have thick skin to critism and other comments.There should be a well designed system to rebut various accusations inorder to inform the public about the truth.That is what leadearship is all about.Are people expected or forced to be quite even if they suspect something has gone wrong within the Executive.Dictatorships start this way.


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Africa: Regimes Under Attack From Satire and Cartoons · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

[All links lead to sites in French unless otherwise stated.]
The use of satirical language and cartoons in the media is relatively new in most African countries, and began with the print publication of small cartoon strips featuring caricatures depicting a particular part of the population for comic effect. Often, satirical newspapers are a reflection of the state of political affairs in their countries, where politicians never seem to shy away from shameless actions and where dishonesty is the rule rather than the exception.
Satirical language
In an analysis for the site cairn.info, Yacouba Konaté describes the mixture of Molière's French with the local dialects in Côte d’Ivoire where the direct translation from one to the other gives expressions and phrases that are incomprehensible outside their geographical context:
Le français populaire ivoirien dit « français de Moussa », « de Dago » ou « de Zézé » (héros de bandes dessinées dans l’hebdomadaire Ivoire Dimanche), accélère son déploiement durant les années 1970, celles de la croissance ivoirienne qui supporta l’appellation merveilleuse de « miracle ivoirien ». Sa promotion bénéficia de l’appui de la télévision où, pendant des années, le dimanche ouvrit de larges plages horaires à Toto et Dago.
In Gabon, a similar method of speech has gained acclaim by becoming a way of exposing corruption and social criticism. A selection of words taken from Raponda-Walker's book on the language is presented by Falila Gbadamassi on the website afrik.com:
Le “bongo CFA”, désigne la monnaie gabonaise qui était autrefois à l’effigie du défunt président Omar Bongo. Le terme se rapporte aussi à l’argent distribué pendant les déplacements du Président ou les campagnes électorales. …. [“mange-mille”] est un « jeu de mots construit sur mange-mil (nom d’oiseau) et désignant le policier ou le gendarme en raison des billets de 1000 francs (FCA, ndlr) qu’ils réclament souvent aux usagers de la route. Et des “Chine en deuil” ? Ce sont des « chaussures noires en tissu souple de fabrication chinoise ou asiatique introduites au Gabon après la mort de Mao Ze Dong », …. Un “dos-mouillé”, lui, est un immigré clandestin originaire d’Afrique de l’Ouest qui arrive au Gabon par la mer.
Election results confirmed by Ali Bongo: a TOTAL victory! I would like to thank my sponsor… A caricature of Bongo by Hub via Agora Vox, used with permission
In both Gabon and Côte d’Ivoire this type of French is used in everyday life in the same way as all other languages, without any derogatory meaning or humourous intent, but when it appears in publications or on TV it serves for social and political critique, with the singular ability to make an otherwise unfunny drawing make people laugh. The textual content is paramount.
Cartoon emergence
Cartoon drawings, or comics, were developed later only, as and when authoritarian regimes relaxed their grip on freedom of expression. In an article published on waccglobal.org, Gado wrote a retrospective history of cartoons [en] in African countries:
With the introduction of multi-party politics in most African countries during the 1990s, cartooning emerged as a growing profession. This does not mean that it was not around before then. In the 1960s there were pioneers like Gregory (Tanzania) with his popular Chakibanga cartoon and the Juha Kalulu strip by Edward Gitau, the oldest living cartoonist in East and Central Africa.
Political changes brought greater freedom of expression as well as of the press. This has injected new life into newspapers, magazines and the publishing industry generally.
Arrest warrant for Omar El-Bechir. Disquiet among African heads of state. We are victims of crimes against immunity! A caricature of the African heads of state by Dilem via Zoom Algérie (used with permission)
To mark the 2011 International Festival of Cartoons and Illustration, which took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Damien Glez's article published on africandiplomacy.com entitled “Newspaper Cartoonist: a Profession under Pressure(s)” discusses the risks and difficulties involved in being a satirical cartoonist:
Moins assassinés, les dessinateurs ne sont pas totalement immunisés. Au Cameroun, le caricaturiste-vedette Nyemb Popoli a eu maintes fois maille à partir avec le régime de Paul Biya. A la fin des années 80, dans le Bénin du «marxisme-béninisme», le dessinateur Hector Sonon voyait ses dessins systématiquement passés à la moulinette du comité de censure du ministère de l'Intérieur. Le Sud-Africain Jonathan Shapiro, alias Zapiro, fut détenu par les autorités en 1988. Non loin, au Zimbabwe, le dessinateur Tony Namate joue au chat et à la souris avec les autorités. Au Nigeria, autre pays anglophone, les caricaturistes – en premier lieu le pionnier Akinola Lasekan – ont souffert longtemps des dictatures militaires…
Participants in the festival, organised by Cartooning for Peace / Dessins pour la paix, included Karlos from the Ivory Coast, and Timpous, Gringo, Joël Salo and Kab's from Burkina Faso.
In South Africa, Shapiro, of the apartheid era, was sent to prison for angering racist authorities with his critiques, and now his stands against the African National Congress's grip on the politics of his country are costing him dearly. Melanie Peters describes a critical cartoon [en] on iol.co.za condemning President Zuma's bill from last year, and reports on feedback from netizens:
While the cartoon depicts a man titled “Govt” with his trousers unzipped facing a screaming woman being held down by a man labelled “ANC”, the first is clearly Zuma, complete with showerhead, and the second Gwede Mantashe, the ANC’s secretary-general. Next to them on the floor, her dress torn and a discarded pair of scales beside her, is an apparent rape victim, shouting “Fight, sister, fight!”
Some comments posted on the site contain personal and racist abuse, but support can also be found. Siobhan wrote [en]:
Go, Zap! Exactly depicts what is happening with the ‘secrecy’ bill! It's being done to the Constitution, to Democracy and to each South African- most of whom are so used to being screwed by the ANC they don't even know it's happened…
New talent
Until recently, the cartoonists had no training. But changes are being made. According to Alimou Sow, Oscar, the creator of Le Lynx, has trained a number of junior colleagues in Guinea. However, it is probably in Madagascar that the first generation cartoonists have best prepared their successors, with production diverse and thriving equally in both national languages and French. According to the provisional list proposed by wikipedia.org, the number of Malagasy artists is several times higher than that of all the other African countries combined.
The publication of satirical newspapers in several countries has allowed satire to exist and thrive amid a great number of difficulties: in Senegal, Le Cafard libéré; in Burkina Faso, the Journal du Jeudi and the latest l'Etaloon; in Benin, the Canard du Golfe; in Guinea, Le Lynx; in Mali, Le Canard déchaîné; in Madagascar, the Ngah; etc.
Christophe Cassiau-Haurie tells us in an article on africultures.com entitled “La caricature à Maurice, 170 ans d'histoire” (Cartoons in Mauritius: 170 years of history) that:
La toute première caricature référencée remonte à l'année 1841, dans le journal Le bengali.
Festivals and other events are also on the increase both regionally and throughout Africa. The article already cited by Damien Glez lists these:
«BD'Farafina» à Bamako, «Cocobulles» à Grand Bassam, «Fescary» à Yaoundé ou «Karika'Fête» à Kinshasa.
Information and communications technology is another tool that is beginning to take its place among the means of expression for African comedians: zapiro.com, bing.com, africartoons.com, 2424actu.info and gbich.com, for example.
On an international level, Africans are increasingly present. For example, they participate in the Cartooning for Peace / Dessins pour la paix‘s activities, started in 2006 by the French cartoonist Plantu together with Kofi Annan, then the Secretary-General of the UN, with a two-day conference uniting the 12 most famous illustrators in the world to develop ways to “unlearn intolerance”.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Armenia: Nationalists Disrupt Cultural Diversity March · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

As was the case in 2009 during a rally to mark International Women's Day, nationalists in Armenia infiltrated and disrupted a march in Yerevan on 21 May to commemorate World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.
The counter-action was also followed by reports of new attacks on D.I.Y., a gay friendly bar in Armenia's capital that was firebombed on 8 May. With some officials and politicians justifying the attack, liberal bloggers are concerned.
Unzipped: Gay Armenia likens the 21 May disruption to fascism.
To mark United Nation's World Day of Cultural Diversity, PINK Armenia and Women's Resource Centre announced a variety of events as part of the Diversity Week. The week should have kicked off with the Diversity march on 21 May to call for respect of… yes, diversity in Armenia.
But the notion of diversity was once again attacked in Armenia in an organised provocation by neo-nazi elements and their supporters. To gain a wider support among masses, they dubbed Diversity march a “gay pride” and fuelled aggression towards marchers by intentionally spreading misleading information.
[…]
Neo-nazi elements  attacked marchers encouraged by endorsement of homophobic hysteria and anti-gay violence on a very high state level that followed firebombing of DIY bar.  […]
Watch these reports. Look at these pictures. Faces of fascism in Armenia.
Diversity march in Yerevan © PanARMENIAN Photo /  Tigran Mehrabyan
Global Chaos also posts an extensive account, drawing a comparison with recent clashes in neighboring Georgia. While also stressing the Yerevan march was not a gay parade, the blog notes the presence of Armenian priests.
[…] due to PINK Armenia's previous campaigns against homophobia, somehow the Diversity March was distorted in the public mind and presented as a “gay parade” by certain ultranationalist (for the sake of avoiding the “neo-Nazi” term) elements and groupings, who showed up to the event. Their numbers far exceeded those of the actual Diversity marchers and with their aggression and noise they did manage to hijack and distort not only the objective, but also the intended meaning of the event.
[…]
This event, along with all that's been going on with D.I.Y. is becoming a growing trend in Armenia. The blind worship of Garegin Nzhdeh (who, despite his patriotic work, was, let's not forget, a Nazi-cooperator and a supporter of “Aryanism”, having successfully established with Berlin that the Armenians were an “Aryan race”, too) and the increasing influence of the Armenian Apostolic [Echmiadzin] Church encouraged by Armenia's ruling Republican Party is not only worrisome but dangerous. Their ideology, as well as the activities undertaken by its various bodies and supporters, are too similar of Nazism; while their talk about the protection of Armenia's “genetic pool” is dangerously reminiscent of eugenics.
[…]
The fact that aggression against minorities, especially sexual minorities, is encouraged by a range of political forces within the country (including those that are in the supposed opposition), makes this state-supported neo-Nazism. Given Armenia's membership in the UN and the Council of Europe – and therefore, its commitment to such documents as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and especially, the PACE's Resolution 1728 (on “Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity”) – the Armenian political leadership should be held accountable not only for allowing such developments in the country, but, especially, for actively supporting them.
One priest in particular made a point of referring to Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as praising the “patriotic youth” who had gathered there to demonstrate their devotion to God and their nation […].
Another Armenian blog, Le Retour in 3 Parts, comments on the policing of the event.
[…] we were no longer in control. Because from this point on it was the cops telling us how to move, where to go, where to stand. We were being controlled by the state apparatus. I don’t believe for a minute that the police actually cared about our safety (in fact, a couple of marchers and supporters told me afterwards the remarks they heard by police officers — remarks that sanctioned the hate rhetoric chanted by protestors). Police follow orders from above — not from activists (and least of all not by activists they perceive as gay or gay allies).
[…]
[…] And yet I felt more like an animal lured into its cage. Because now we were barricaded in, while counter-demonstrators were outside, continuing to chant, sing and proclaim themselves as defenders of the nation and “national values”.
As has been customary for similar actions in Armenia, liberal values were condemned by the nationalists who infiltrated the march with chants such as “Gays go to Baku [Azerbaijan]” and “No to Perversion” reported.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Is Eurovision A Rare Opportunity For Change? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

With increased media attention on the country during this week's Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan, former prisoner of conscience Emin Milli argues that the international music competition offers a rare opportunity to raise concerns with human rights abuses and the lack of democratic freedoms in the oil-rich former Soviet republic on the world stage.


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“The Most Misterious of Brazilian Writers” Receives Camões Award · Global Voices
Luis Henrique

Blog Semióticas [pt] celebrates this year's Camões Award – “the highest honor” for a Portuguese language writer – given to Dalton Trevisan from Curitiba, Brazil, for his “extraordinary contribute in the art of short stories”. Trevisan, “the most misterious of Brazilian writers”, is well known for his mystical reclusiveness, and refuses being photographed, interviewed and participating in ceremonies.

author: Luis Henrique


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Brazil: “The Dilemma of the Brazilian Revolutionaries” · Global Voices
Rami Alhames

The author of Lost Sambista Blog shares a photo of Che Guevara being awarded the Gra-cruz of honor by Janio Quadros, the Brazilian President for only seven months in 1961, and writes about foreign affairs and revolutionary political figures from the 1960's in Brazil, who are nowadays still present in mainstream politics.

author: Rami Alhames


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Bulgaria: The Strongest Earthquake Since 1917 · Global Voices
Rayna St.

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake, the strongest since 1917, shook Bulgaria's capital Sofia and the perimeter zone of around 100 km last night, followed by a number of strong aftershocks. No victims have been reported so far. The website Earthquake Reports has published live updates and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook were the first ones to spread the news. The hashtag #земетресение (“earthquake”) is used to communicate on the event through Twitter.

author: Rayna St.


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China: Chinese Man Murdered by Government-employed Demolition Team · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Again, a Chinese man was brutally killed on May 15 by dipper when he tried to stop his home from being razed by the government-employed demolition team in Heilongjiang province. (Ministry of Tofu has translated the news.)

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Workers’ Culture on Weibo · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jennifer Cheung from China Labour Bulletin introduces how workers in China make use of micro-blog to tell their stories in different artistic forms.


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Cuba: Diaspora Bloggers Blame “Aggressive Acts” in Grandmother’s Death  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Two Cuban diaspora blogs are talking about the death of a senior citizen that took place in the region of Santa Clara this past weekend.  Despite the fact that the woman was in her nineties, bloggers are speculating that the elderly woman's fatal stroke may have been brought on by “violent acts of repudiation”.  Pedazos de la Isla reported that:
Antonia Rodriguez, the grandmother of activist Idania Yanez Contreras died after suffering a stroke following a drastic rise in her blood pressure. According to several sources in the internal Resistance, her blood pressure spiked after several aggressive acts of repudiation occurred over a period of two days.
The post went on to give some background about the situation:
The violence erupted on Wednesday, May 16th, when about 30 human rights activists managed to reach Idania Yanez Contreras’s home in Santa Clara for a meeting about their opposition activities. Among those present was the opposition leader Jorge Luis Garcia Perez “Antunez,” who had to circumvent many police cordons to reach the house from the city of Placetas.
During the act of repudiation, the mob began shouting insults at the dissidents present, as well as making obscene gestures…Antunez published photos of these actions through Twitter.  One of the most violent moments in the repudiation was when the mob started throwing stones at the house of Yanez Contreras. One of these stones penetrated the house and hit Aramilda Contreras, Yanez Contreras’s mother.
The “second day of repudiation” allegedly went like this:
The police beat several activists including Rolando Ferrer Espinosa, Maria Martinez and Barbara Portieles in the house of Damaris Moya Portieles, which is located directly across from the house of Yanez Contreras.
Yanez explains that her family actually made a decision to sneak her grandmother out and into the home of another relative who lives just a few houses down the block while the act of repudiation had still not escalated into such a violent event.  On the 18th, when Antonia Rodriguez came back to the house, there were still mobs screaming obscenities at her family.  Meanwhile, she had witnessed all of the other violence from the relative’s house she was staying in.  Nervous for her loved ones, her blood pressure spiked. A few moments later, Antunez reported that she suffered a stroke and during the afternoon of Saturday May 19, activists reported that she had died (Twitter: @ alambradas, @ LibradoLinares, @ maritovoz).
Pedazos de la Isla also noted that:
Antunez, who been able to return to his home in Placetas, was being prevented from leaving to show support for the family of Yanez Contreras and to attend the funeral of her grandmother.
Capitol Hill Cubans placed the blame for the death of the 94-year old grandmother, squarely at the feet of the Cuban government, even posting a photograph as evidence of the “mob” presence outside the elderly woman's home:
Last week, the Castro regime ordered a two-day siege of the family home of Cuban pro-democracy leader Idania Yánez Contreras, head of the Rosa Parks Civil Rights Movement.
For 48 hours, regime-organized mobs yelled insults and hurled rocks at the home. The family was not even permitted to go purchase food.
As a result, Idania's 94-year old grandmother, Antonia Rodríguez Mirabal, suffered a stroke and died.
The Castros must feel real proud of themselves.
Pedazos de la Isla shared this sentiment, saying:
This has been another death in which the guilt lies with the Cuban dictatorship, which sends mobs to repudiate and beat the elderly, children and any Cuban who dares to think differently and in favor of freedom.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Mali: Protests Call for National Unity in Gao and Timbuktu · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Following protests against al Qaeda in Timbuktu in April 2012, citizens of the city of Gao have taken to the streets to protest about demands and orders imposed by the groups currently occupying northern Mali. The following video shows the impact of Sharia law on Timbuktu [fr]:
Oumar Diakité described [fr] his impression of events, after having spoken with a Gao correspondent on Mali news website abamako.com:
Les rues sont occupées par la jeunesse de Gao avec en main des drapeaux maliens…Les uns sont sur des motos et brandissent le drapeau du Mali…D’autres sont habillés aux couleurs du drapeau malien… », a rapporté notre source hier vers 12 h avant d’ajouter : « On n’entend que l’hymne national du Mali et des slogans comme « Le Mali est un et indivisible ! », « A bas l’Azawad ! A bas le MNLA ! Vive le Mal »…»
The Tuareg Survival blog, temoust.org, offers a  different account [fr] of events:
Les manifestants, parmi lesquels des jeunes, ont brûlé des pneus dans les rues, voulant ainsi exprimer leur exaspération contre la mainmise de ces groupes sur la ville, notamment l’interdiction qui leur est faite par les islamistes de jouer au football ou de regarder la télévision. Des hommes armés ont riposté, tirant par moments à balles réelles contre les manifestants.
Malians have made emotional comments on these events in several media outlets and in the blogosphere. Wangou left the following comment after an article [fr] in the weekly Jeune Afrique:
La majorité des populations du Nord Mali est Songhay, une race guerrière qui a construit le plus grand des empires ouest africains. Il ne faut pas les provoquer. ils n'adhéreront jamais à la cause des mouvements armés. Ce qui rend impossible toute indépendance ou toute partition de cette partie au profit des touaregs…
Cheikh also commented [fr] on this article:
De grâce vous les autorités maliennes faites quelque chose. Cette situation est insupportable. Capitaine Sanogo prends de la hauteur la question à traiter est au nord, ces jeunes ont besoin de leur armée. Frères touaregs du MNLA, faites votre bilan. Est ce que réellement vous avez libérer les peuples du Gao, de Kidal de Tombouctou?.
The following video shows the impact of Sharia law on Northern Mali [fr]:
An article on Maliweb.net also elicited [fr] many comments, including those of Yamoussa, who wrote [fr]:
Quelle honte !quelle honte !!mais quelle honte!!
Qu’attendent les maliens qui étaient sortis nombreux pour débarquer le G.M.T [le Général Moussa Traoré] en 1991 sortir et marcher sur Kati et empecher les militaires de
 monopoliser la Télé malienne.
La premiere des choses importantes pour un miltaire c’est la sauvegarde de l’intégrité territoriale de son pays ensuite le protection des personnes et leurs biens ! Mais où sont nos militaires dans le Nord ?
Mais où sont-ils ? Ces braves soldats à Bamako à la recherche du pouvoir! ! Vous faites honte aux Maliens !
Hogon Malien wrote angrily [fr]:
De toutes les façons, on se rends compte que Bamako s’en fout du Nord. Nous prendrons notre destin en main. C’est la triste réalité. J’ai l’impression que nous ne connaissons plus notre priorité. Les populations de la région de Mopti vont se joindre au Nord pour lutter contre le MNLA, et les terroristes, et ensuite on prendra notre indépendance vis à vis de Bamako.Trop c’est trop.Tenez bon, la libération en proche. A bon entendeur
Another article, by Adam Thiam of www.malijet.com, prompted several readers to express their feelings [fr] on the situation in Mali, including Oumou Dilli, who commented [fr]:
Merci les enfants pour le drapeau VERT JAUNE ROUGE, merci pour ces cris de Vive le Mali!
Vous obtiendrez votre liberté par vous-même car le pire ennemi du Mali fait diversion a Bamako, bloque l'entrée DES troupes de l'union, arrête les citoyen, empoisonne ORTM et radios libres! … SANOGO, il est plus toxique que MNLA et Aqmi …
Meanwhile, an Azawadian reader did not conceal his feelings in favor of independence [fr] for northern Mali:
Mr Thiam, ne nous parlez pas de la nation malienne qui n'a jamais existé. Pour que l'Etat existe il faut un minimum qui est la volonté de vivre ensemble. Avant l'indépendance formelle du Mali les autochtones de l'Azawad ont demandé à la France de ne pas les inclure dans le Soudan français. Depuis 1963 à nos jours des soulevements ont vu le jour dans le nord pour s'insurger contre le pouvoir incapable de Bamako.
Vous parlez des jeunes de Gao et de leur révolte, ils sont insignifiants, leurs ainés les gandakoy et les ganda iso ont été laminés en une journée par un groupe armé venu d'un seul campement Daoussahak , dans les environs d'Ansongo. Personne au Nord ne voulait plus du désordre de l'Etat voyou du Mali.
The site bamanet.net published a statement [fr] by the Collectif des Ressortissants du Nord, COREN, expressing their concern about the deteriorating economic, social, and security situation in the Northern region.
In an interview [fr] published on the site malijet.com, Moctar Mariko, president of the Malian Association of Human Rights, expressed his concern about ongoing political instability:
La classe politique doit oublier les postes juteux et faire face au problème du Nord. Qu’est-ce qui empêche les rebelles de venir aujourd’hui à Bamako? Je pense qu’on doit avoir le même objectif. Je suis un peu désolé parce que je ne pensais pas que le Mali pouvait atteindre cette phase dans la crise. Au début, je pensais que ça allait être passager, mais ce que je constate ne me donne pas beaucoup de confiance.
Indeed, considering the confusion that reigns in the Malian army, one wonders how it could resist, if the Islamists decided to conquer the whole country.
This post was sub-edited by Jane Ellis.


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Mauritania: Al Qaeda Execution Stirs Debate · Global Voices
أحمد جدو

A YouTube video posted [ar] on the Mauritanian Al Akhbar website on May 12 has angered Mauritanians. The video shows a 40-year-old Mauritanian man being interrogated by members of Al Qaeda, who accuse him of espionage. He was later executed [not shown on the video] after confessing to working with Mauritanian intelligence.
The man names several leaders in the military and intelligence whom he dealt with, and claims that they were supervising his work. He also mentions that General Mohammed Ould Makt, director of the research and documentation section (foreign investigation), was the officer who recruited him.
Alegcom blog published a detailed report about the execution of the Mauritanian man by Al Qaeda, and the history of his work with Mauritanian intelligence and Al Qaeda. In addition, it demanded [ar] an investigation be opened into the case:
Al Kaashif blog wrote [ar] about the case:
Activist Mohamed Abdo commented:
He added:
@medabdou قادة الإستخبارات هم من ضمن ألئك الجنرالات أصحاب الكروش الذين لا يفيدون إلا ف “تزواز اللقمة” قوم يحكمون بفكر حجري وعقلية متسلطة ونفسية مريضة
Activist Mohamed Ould Jedou wrote:
@mohdjedou يدعوهم القائد المصاب بالتخمه وهم ينثنون على انفسهم من الجوع ويقول لهم الوطن بحاجتكم يموتون لتكون جماجمهم نياشين تزين صدره. اي ظلم هذا
In his turn activist Ahmed Ould Abdallah tweeted a great deal about this case, and wrote:
He added:
Ahmed Ould Abdallah also criticized Mauritania entering this war for the benefit of former French president Sarkozy:

author: أحمد جدو


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Myanmar: Protest Against Power Shortage · Global Voices
Chan Myae Khine

CJMyanmar uploaded photos of the protest against the electricity shortage in Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar. Hundreds who joined the activity lighted candles and peacefully protested in front of the government office of Electricity Supply and Chinese Embassy.

author: Chan Myae Khine


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Peru: How the Achuar People are Saving their Territory from Oil Companies · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The movie Chumpi & The Waterfall follows the life of young Chumpi and his community, the Achuar people who live in the Amazon Rainforest in the border between Peru and Ecuador. In the movie, subtitled in English, the Achuar show the richness of their daily life and also the steps they are taking to protect their ancestral lands from Oil Companies.
On the website The Achuar Movie by Amazon Watch, there is a wealth of information on the Achuar and other indigenous communities that share the region and share the same concerns of how governments give permissions to Oil companies to exploit the land, considering them without owners and undeveloped. Using GPS systems and traveling through their lands, the Achuar are mapping their territory and their resources, in the hope that their claim to the land and its resources will be respected.
From the site:
Chumpi and the Waterfall (TeleAndes) was filmed in the Achuar community of Chicherta in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, the last community on the Huasaga River before the border with Ecuador. This is a headwater area, where the forest is full of animals and the rivers teem with fish. Daily life is usually peaceful and calm.
Chumpi, with his father Secha and his grandfather Irar, make a trip to a sacred waterfall where both adults had received a vision as young men. Achuar lands, including this waterfall, are under threat from oil drilling. The Achuar believe oil drilling would contaminate its pure waters and the Arutam spirits which inhabit it would leave, and future generations would lose the power of their visions forever.
The daily life of the Achuar is documented on the site through a series of photographs, and along with an explanation of the importance of the territory for the Achuar is an image of the map they've been making:
GPS points help map out the Achuar territory
You can get involved with helping the Achuar defend their territory by sharing the video through social networks to raise awareness about the Achuar, by signing a Global Petition, signing up to receive updates from Amazon Watch or donating money for the Achuar.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Philippines, China: Scarborough Shoal Dispute Goes Online · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Scarborough Shoal located in the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea is being claimed by three countries: China, Philippines, and Taiwan. Tension rose in the past month between the Philippines and China when the governments of the two nations accused each other of illegally occupying the territorial waters near the shoal. It sparked nationalist sentiments in both countries and the ‘word war’ has gone online.
Filipino netizens shared this Google Map of Scarborough Shoal to highlight its proximity to the Philippines
Below are some social media reactions from the Philippines:
@redsohigh: In terms of bullying and intimidation. Wala tayong laban sa China in terms of owning Panatag Shoal. Susme. Isang nuclear lang tayo.
@SoWhatsNews: China has caught all the fish in Panatag Shoal hence the stoppage and the fishing ban. Sweet n Sour Fish Fillet mabenta ngayon sa China.
Perhaps to ease tension, both the Philippines and China have imposed a fishing ban in the contested area.
@roilogolez: It is unpatriotic for a Filipino to publicly express an opinion on the Panatag Shoal stand-off contrary to the government position.
@crystalbrosas: Scarborough Shoal and Spratlys Islands are for the Philippines. MAAWA NAMAN KAYO SA BANSA NAMIN, Kahit may lahi akong Chinese. -_-
Bigger than Scarborough, the Spratly issue is more controversial and potentially more dangerous since 6 countries in the Asia-Pacific are claiming the resource-rich islands.
Miko Lucena: Call it desperate to regain economic strength. With the cost of labor rising they need another source of income, preferably what the world needs, oil.
Roselyne Bairan Cua: Ang laki laki ng china,pinagkaka interesan ang atin maliliit na isla. They should just stay away from our islands and focus on their own problem. Palibasa alam nila wala tayong military warfare. Dinaadaan tayo sa sindak. Takot naman sila sa FB.
Ed Dalisay: China has a bigger problem at home. Their economy is falling and it is not that rosy as it seems to be. Leaders will always find distraction so that the people will rally behind them. One way is to wedge war against a small nation that they can easily bully. History is littered with this familiar story. This is what Bush did when he declared war against Iraq because he is becoming unpopular at home.
Joseph Corpuz: We may not be strong as China in terms of military but we can be strong economically if only we get our act together, if they don't want our exports then let's look to other countries and we must be self-reliant we can do this.
Scarborough is rich with marine resources. Photo of giant clams confiscated from fishermen in the area. Photo by @karadavid
Rieya Piscano comments on the ongoing ‘cyberwar’ between nationalist netizens of the two countries:
Clearly, the internet has leveled the playing field even in political conflicts like the Scarborough Standoff. It has made both parties bolder in expressing their opinions toward the matter. Some, all in 140 characters. Hacking has also become a showcase of nationalism and political posts of young bloggers underline the new heights reached by cyberactivism. Crazy as it sounds, people would go out of their way to plot maps and photoshop pictures just to prove their point. It is not just a word war. It is a “meme” war and we are all “liking” it.
Hackers who attacked the website of a Philippine university left this message: "We come from China. Huangyan Island is ours"
The president of the University of the Philippines issued this statement after hackers defaced the university website:
Hacking selected websites at the suspected country of the hacker or hackers does not objectively articulate any political issue and only subjectively fulfills a personal desire to “get even”
…we also call on the concerned technology-savvy Filipinos to stop hacking other websites, particularly those from China. Filipinos are more sensible than this, and our expertise is better used in productive endeavors.
Carol P. Araullo advises the Aquino government to resolve the issue without inviting US military intervention:
…would it not be the better part of political wisdom, more so statesmanship, for the Aquino administration to seriously study and issue a rational and sober reply to the points raised by China rather than brandish the Philippines military alliance with the US to act as a counterfoil to China’s military strength and to make up for the Philippines’ military inferiority?
It also serves no purpose to keep whipping up pseudo-patriotic and ultra-nationalist sentiments against China and things Chinese.

author: Mong Palatino


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Puerto Rico: 80 Grados Launches Campaign · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The digital magazine 80 Grados -an important space for in-depth and alternative journalism and scholarly essays- has launched a funding campaign [es] to support its continued commitment and sustain its publication.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Puerto Rico: Dancing Images · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Photojournalist Heriberto Castro maintains a beautiful blog dedicated to one of his passions: dance. The blog En la Punta del Pie [es] includes his stunning images and information on dance events.


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Russia: The RuNet’s Top 10 Political Slang Words · Global Voices
Augis Barkov

Understanding political discussions in the Russian blogosphere requires a certain fluency in RuNet slang. For anyone interested in grasping the nuances of online satire and blogger arguments (or for those who seek to “troll” their own virtual opponents), the following list of ten popular slang terms should be particularly useful:
1. Зомбоящик (zombobox) characterizes television as an evil device that turns its users into zombies. In RuNet discourse, the TV industry is assumed to be a tool of the authorities, the main purpose of which is to stultify the brains of viewers and distract them from political struggle. This effect is supposedly achieved by systematically feeding TV addicts a barrage of propaganda, as well as unintelligent programming and mind-numbing commercials.
Here is one example of zombobox humor: an English-subtitled parody of the Russian daily news (disclaimer: profane language):
2. Ботокс (botox) is one of Putin’s nicknames, earned because of rumors that he has received several botox injections in recent years, presumably to preserve a more youthful appearance. After a televised interview in 2011, the unusual smoothness of Putin's face led “#ботокс” to become one of the most popular hashtags on Russian Twitter.
“Sex is good, Botox (Putin's nickname) is bad” is written on the paper, 24 Dec 2011, photo by Dmitry Nikolaev, copyright © Demotix.
Garry Kasparov, leader of the oppositionist movement “The United Civil Front,” prominently utilized the botox meme to mock Putin's tears [en], shed after his most recent presidential victory.
Вчера, я думаю, это была не слеза, это вытекал ботокс. Он чувствовал свой конец. И в наших силах приблизить его. Мы будем праздновать освобождение страны от оккупантов. Перед тем, как построить свободную страну, надо прибраться – надо смыть эту лужу ботокса с карты России. За Россию без Путина!
3. Айфончик  (iPhonchik) is a popular nickname for former President (and now Prime Minister) Dmitri Medvedev. In 2010, Medvedev became the first Russian citizen to own an iPhone 4, which he received as a personal gift from Steve Jobs (see video below). Medvedev's well publicized enthusiasm for the device, as well as his attachment to his iPad, has led observers to compare him to a child giddy about a new toy. As a result, the nickname iPhonchik (a diminutive for “iPhone”) has stuck.
4. Хомячки (hamsters) is an insult typically directed at Russian oppositionist bloggers. The term originally competed for popularity with the word “lemmings,” which ultimately fell out of vogue. “Hamsters” is meant to imply that bloggers who claim to have independent points of view (a common self-defense in online debates) are in fact quite susceptible to manipulation and groupthink. Hamsters’ comments on blog posts are often derided for being formulaic and unpatriotic. During an unsanctioned rally immediately after the December 2011 parliamentary elections, Aleksei Navalny said:
Они могут смеяться в своём зомбоящике. Они могут называть нас микроблоггерами или сетевыми хомячками. Я – сетевой хомячок! И я перегрызу глотку этим скотам. Мы все вместе это сделаем.
5. Кремлядь (kremliad) is a combination of two words, Кремль (Kremlin) and блядь (bliad) — an obscenity with almost universal application, but here translates to something like “whore.” Kremliad is the collective name for people who make their living by serving the interests of Putin and his entourage: the directors of the zombobox, the corrupt journalists, the ideologists of United Russia and Nashi, various pro-Putin celebrities, and — to some extent — even the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Two years ago, Boris Nemtsov, a well-known and outspoken critic of the Kremlin, used this word in the title of a blog post [ru]: “Кремлядь — позор нашей страны” (Kremliad — The Disgrace of Our Country).
6. Либераст (liberast) is a slur that applies to people with liberal, pro-Western political views. According to this stereotype, “liberasts” promote Western concepts about universal values and human rights ‘at the expense’ of Russian national interests.
The term is a mix of two words: либерал (liberal) and педераст (pederast, a common homophobic insult in Russia), dovetailing with the country's widespread homophobia [en]. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, for instance, recently argued that Russia's Christian Orthodox heritage ruled out the possibility of ever accepting homosexuality as Western Civilization has in recent decades.
7. Поцреот (potsreot) is a deviation of the word “patriot,” with the first syllable changed to “pots” (which means “dick” in Yiddish).
Potsreots are so named for their ostentatious public displays of love for Russia and the state authorities. Their archetypal enemies are Americans and Jews. Potsreots are commonly ridiculed for paradoxically endorsing contradictory arguments simultaneously. For example, some will deny the Holocaust, but at the same time say that “Hitler was right in exterminating Jews.”
Ironically, many ardent potsreots prefer to live abroad, loving their Motherland from a safe distance.
8. Рашка (Rashka) is a derogatory name that some Russians use to identify their own country. The word is a combination of a backwards Russification of the English word “Russia” (distinct from the Russian name, “Rossiia”) and the “ka” Russian diminutive. The term is often employed by expat bloggers in the context of Russia's political and social dysfunctionality.
“Rashka lives according to its own laws.” An anonymous image widely circulated online. 22 May 2012.
9. Совок (sovok) is a person who maintains a Soviet mindset, Soviet ideology, and Soviet habits. Sovoks are stereotypically slavish, socially-dependent, anti-democratic, intolerant of others’ opinions, and — in general — stupid, evil, and jealous people.
10. Пиндос (pindos) is an anti-American slur. In the Soviet period, “pindos” was common in military and criminal circles as a general-use obscenity due to its phonetic proximity to other Russian profanities. After the war in Yugoslavia, Russian troops operating in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Kosovo started using “pindos” as a nickname for American soldiers. Now, on the RuNet, the term has come to describe Americans in general.

author: Augis Barkov


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South Africa: The Spear, Freedom of Speech and Morality · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A painting by South African artist Brett Murray depicting South African president's genitals has ignited debate about morality and freedom of speech in the country. The painting tilted “The Spear” is part of Hail to the Thief II exhibition currently being shown at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg.
The South African African National Congress (ANC) wants the High Court to stop the gallery and the artist from displaying the painting on any online or offline platform.
Discussing the painting in light of the 10 principles of free speech, Evidence and Reason says:
Zuma is challenging the limits of free expression on the grounds of morality. I don’t think he has the stronger position, because I think the picture was a political observation rather than an attack on his person.
Offending someone is not a crime, says Simon Gerber:
Offending someone is not a crime, rather it is a valuable tool to kickstart discussion. It should be embraced, especially in a transitional democracy such as ours.
A visitor to the Goodman Gallery posing in front of The Spear. Photo source: kickmugabeout.blogspot.com.
He has one simple advice to the ANC:
ANC, we’ve said it before, and we’re saying it again. Drop this. You’re making yourselves look foolish. You’ve taken a story that would have died in a 24 hour news cycle and made it into something that is dragging on much longer than it needs to. It is not racist. It is not a direct attack on the president, it is commentary on the state of the country.
South African consitutional law expert Pierre De Vos explains why the ANC might lose their case:
The ANC may not be aware of the fact that section 16(1)(c) of the Constitution states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes ”freedom of artistic creativity”.  It is true that no right is unlimited but even where the right to free expression is limited an exception is usually made for artistic expression. Our law often distinguishes between real depictions of individuals and art works and hardly ever allows for the censoring of the latter. For example, section 12 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (which prohibits hate speech) explicity makes an exception for a “bona fide engagement in artistic creativity”. Section 3 of the Film and Publications Act contains a similar exception.
The fact that the ANC seems incapable of distinguishing between a work of art and real life will probably ruin their legal case they are planning to launch.
The following discussion ensued on Pierre's blog around issues of decency, respect for elders and African culture:
Ma-K does not find the painting funny:
I must say, I’m truly appalled by how you all seem to find this funny. Would you hold the same sentiments if this was a painting of Nelson Mandela? I might not be one of J Z’s biggest fans, but I was taught to respect my elders…This is a depiction of someone’s father, grandfather, uncle,for God’s Sake! Have you no shame? Would you still laugh it off and call it art if this was a portrait of you or someone close to you? I would also be offended and angered by this so called art work if it portrayed my father or even myself. So, I ask you again, would you feel the same way you do now, would you write what you wrote if this was a painting of Nelson Mandela?
nkhosi believes that there is something wrong with “a young white male depicting an elderly African leader in a very comprised posture”:
Smart artist understand the context of their work and they treat context very carefully. They then present that context in a manner that does not seek ridicule. Take Goya’s “El tres de mayo de 1808 en Madrid” for instance. No one can doubt the potency of the message in that painting. BUT there is no vulgar or brutality involved.
Stupid, narrow-minded artist on the other hand, irresponsibly, stoke fires in a society that is already bedeviled by mistrust. The fact is that we have a so-called artist who is a young white male depicting an elderly African leader in a very comprised posture. It is clear that some among us, will never stop looking at older black males as merely garden boys who exist for their pleasure. I think Athol Fugard addressed this in “Master Harold…and the Boys”.
This so-called artist and many contributors here is failing to rid himself of this indoctrinated racism. That is why they can’t see the callousness of this so-called ‘work of art’.
Ricky responds to Ma-K's argument saying that there is nothing pornographic about the painting:
Ma-K, if you look at some of the most famous works of art from the Greek sculptures a few thousand years ago through the renaissance (agreed from Western culture, I am not very familiar with art from other parts of the world), they show naked persons, even great heros like Hercules. So I do not think there is anything disgraceful about that (of course, a pornographic picture featuring the President might be viewed differently – but the picture in question is not, in my view, pornographic).
Ma-K disagrees with Ricky's observations:
We are not Greek or in anyway European, we don’t appreciate the same kind of art. As Africans, such Art is disrespectful to us. So a white man’s (not being racist,Greeks are white) art is a black man’s(Zuma is black) insult.
However, Ricky considers fear of the naked body to be un-African:
Ma-K, I find this fear of the naked body somewhat strange. At the traditional dances for the Swazi king, the women are hardly dressed, the bushman / San people wear only a little loin cloth, in many African cultures it is common to make statues of wood depicting naked men, even showing the private parts. So, it is not a uniquely European thing.
“But certainly the image was not intended as an artistic celebration of the naked human body,” writes ozoneblue:
But certainly the image was not intended as an artistic celebration of the naked human body. It was designed to denigrate the person of Jacob Zuma against the back ground of his sexuality and adherence to traditional Zulu value system as seen through the lens of Eurocentric cultural chauvinism. Then there is also the association of the image with socialism that carries a strong political message. The combination of the two themes i.e. African cultural backwardness and the populist tendency towards socialist rhetoric in Africa is not much different to the attitude of the Apartheid regime towards Africans.
Opinions about the moral, legal and cultural dimensions of the painting are deeply divided on Twitter:
@ShellsPemBroke: Why is everyone freaking out about the Zuma painting so much? I think the artist was more than generous with size.
@steve_hofmeyr: Zuma can kill the Spear-debate by simply purchasing the painting.
@KevinMcCallum: The Zuma painting saga has shown up the belief politicians “deserve” respect. Zuma works for me, not me for him. He's an elected official.
@lwangamwilu: @Bradleychingobe as somebody already argued, Zuma has done more harm to his own image than any painting ever can.
@Vhadiks: Lol..I wonder RT @MashuduBusta: So ANC says Zuma painting is racist, what if it was painted by a black man? would it still be racist?
@MoffatMok: There's art and there's down right cruelty….how is showing Mr Jacob Zuma's jewels in a painting a form of art…paint ur own father rather
@GiftSabby: After Seeing Brett Murruy Painting Of Zuma, I Think People Should See Zuma As A Human Being, A Father And A Person Who Also Get Hurts..
The ANC's legal challenge to have the painting removed from the gallery will be broadcast live when the High Court in Johannesburg hears the case on Thursday.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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South Korea: Movie Review on the President’s Barber  · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Storify user @Jaemin posted a review on the President's Barber, a movie which well depicted how ordinary people's lives suffered under a dictatorial military regime back in the 1970s and 80s in South Korea.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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South Korea: Taking Evolution out of Textbooks  · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

An atheist blogger who works as an English teacher in South Korea, Chris Hallquist wrote about some efforts made to strip evolution out of science textbooks. Based on his experience in South Korea which he defines as ‘a pretty secular country’, the blogger commented on the Christian organizations’ influence on publishers.


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South Sudan: South Sudan Theatre Company Online · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

South Sudan Theatre Company online: “Advised and led by three of South Sudan’s most respected cultural leaders, a group of artists and dramatists have come together to form the South Sudan Theatre Company. Under the shadow of war, southern Sudanese artists experimented with theatrical form and created performances in streets, camps for displaced people, towns and the countryside.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Film Strategy · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Mark Lyndersay blogs about some of the issues facing the local film industry, here.


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Yemen: Suicide Blast on Eve of Unification Anniversary · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

Nearly 100 people were killed and at least 200 injured when a suicide blast targeted a military parade rehearsal in Yemen's capital Sana'a on May 21.
The bomber, dressed in military uniform, detonated his explosives in the middle of soldiers rehearsing for a parade to mark the 22nd anniversary of the unification of North and South Yemen.
Al Qaeda (AQAP) have apparently claimed responsibility for the attack, in revenge for what it described as the US war against it in southern Yemen. However, many Yemenis have expressed their doubts.
The following video [ar] shows the immediate aftermath of the explosion on Sabaeen Street in Sana'a [WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGES].
Journalist Tom Finn was at the scene:
@tomfinn2: In Sabaeen. Police everywhere, pieces of flesh scattered over the tarmac. Injured all in hospital. #yemen
@tomfinn2: Ambulances still racing around Sana'a. Doctors say hospitals are overwhelmed. #Yemen
Yemen Updates tweeted a very graphic photo of some of the soldiers killed in the suicide bombing, and Ibrahim Mothana tweeted a link to a graphic video.
Farea Al Muslimi, a student activist based in Beirut, commented:
@almuslimi: This is a terrifying day in #Yemen and at the same time golden chance for [President Abdou Rabbo Mansour] #Hadi to take urgent strong measures in restructuring the army.
President Hadi indeed issued a decree [ar] after the attack replacing top security officials, including a nephew of former president Ali Adullah Saleh.
Mai Saleh tweeted:
@A4Mai: Fadhel AlQawsi is appointed as the new commander of the Central Security forces by decree of President #Hadi #Yemen
She added:
@A4Mai: So Ammar [Saleh's nephew] is out? Did we have to witness a disaster for these decrees to come? #Yemen
The site of the suicide bomb attack in Sana'a, Yemen that claimed the lives of at least 96 soldiers. Photo by Luke Somers, copyright © Demotix (21/5/2012).
Although some news sources have stated that Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attack, many are waiting to learn more.
Yemen scholar Gregory D. Johnsen commented:
@gregorydjohnsen: Less rumor mongering please about today's attack in #Yemen. I promise it is ok to say: “I don't know”
And demanding more evidence, Mai Saleh tweeted:
@A4Mai: Would love to see that #AQAP statement in which it claimed responsibility for the attack #Yemen
News of Yemen Revolution Facebook page posted that 12 hours prior to the explosion, a pro-Saleh page on FB predicted the explosion and provided a link, which was subsequently removed.
Mohammed wondered how the suicide bomber went unnoticed:
@Yemen4Change: #Yemen | the word is: the suicide bomber was wearing military clothes & a belt packed with explosives, NO ONE NOTICED? #Sanaa
While Farea Al Muslimi asked:
@almuslimi: Why didn't #Saudi help by intelligence info about #AQAP as it did regarding the bombs being sent to #US? #Justwondering #YEMEN
Amid the many speculations and question marks, Yemen's Human Rights Minister Hooria Mashhour tweeted:
@Hooria_Mashhour: Transparent investigation should be done for all these mass crimes against humanity #yemen
Ataf Alwazir, a prominent Yemeni activist and blogger, encouraged people to look deeper than the repetitive news circulating:
@WomanfromYemen: always keep an open mind & dont take everything as it is. Dont be a copy paste person. Question & analyze. Thats why we have a mind.
The day of the blast was certainly one of the saddest days Sana'a and Yemen have ever seen. The attack raises questions regarding the efficacy of the joint US-Yemeni counterterrorism strategy, and give credence to the argument that US drone strikes are counterproductive and simply fuel extremism.

author: Noon Arabia


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Barbados: The Jaws of Justice  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Bajans deserve the truth, all the truth and nothing but the truth. It is not enough for the Court of Appeal or the news media to gloss over this story”: Barbados Free Press is curious about a case in which a man who bit a police officer apparently got off scot-free.


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China: Campaign to Clean ‘Foreign Trash’ Out of Beijing · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

According to Beijing police, there are currently about 200,000 foreign residents in Beijing. Since May 15, 2012, the Chinese government has started ‘cleaning out’ illegal foreign residents. Local newspapers claim that this campaign is in reaction to a sexual assault committed by a British citizen on May 8, 2012 in Beijing.
Echoing the official campaign, Yang Rui, television anchor of state-controlled China Central Television English Channel (CCTV 9), suggested in Chinese micro-blogging site Sina Weibo that foreigners are ‘spies’, ‘trash’ and ‘thugs’. He also called Melissa Chan, Al Jazeera's Beijing correspondent, who was expelled by the Chinese government in early May 2012, a ‘bitch’ and furthermore, suggested that more representatives of foreign media should be kicked out of China. The inclusion of the expelled AJ reporter in the list of ‘foreign trash’ somehow confirmed speculations [zh] that the campaign to remove illegal foreigners has hidden political motivations, in particular as seen against the background of the escape of blind dissident Chen Guangcheng to the U.S.
Josh Chin from China Real Time Report, the Chinese branch of the Wall Street Journal, wrote an article about this issue which included the following translation of comments made by Yang Rui:
The Public Security Bureau wants to clean out the foreign trash: To arrest foreign thugs and protect innocent girls, they need to concentrate on the disaster zones in [student district] Wudaokou and [drinking district] Sanlitun. Cut off the foreign snake heads. People who can’t find jobs in the U.S. and Europe come to China to grab our money, engage in human trafficking and spread deceitful lies to encourage emigration. Foreign spies seek out Chinese girls to mask their espionage and pretend to be tourists while compiling maps and GPS data for Japan, Korea and the West. We kicked out that foreign bitch and closed Al-Jazeera’s Beijing bureau. We should shut up those who demonize China and send them packing.
This report caught Yang Rui's attention and he responded [zh] in Sina Weibo as follows:
清扫洋垃圾，华尔街日报这么在意？暗示我排外，扯吧！在华的外国人渣不少，优秀的友好的和尊守中国法律的外国人也很多。甄别一下，打扫卫生，理性相处，中国人是非常好客的，有些好客得有些媚外，丧失了人格和国格。周末愉快，buddies, have fun on weekend
Chinese resident, blogger and film maker Charlie Custer found such remarks outrageous and pointed out in his blog that:
It’s interesting that this outburst came from Yang Rui, who is in some ways one of the faces of China’s soft power push. Dialogue is an English-language program, which means it is targeted at foreigners in China and abroad by default. The fact that its host (one of them, anyway) is apparently a racist xenophobe is probably indicative of how successful China’s soft power push is likely to be.
But beyond that, it is rather incredible that someone who has been talking to foreigners for years — indeed, someone who is supposed to be one of China’s representatives to foreigners — apparently knows so little about us that he actually believes crazy shit like this…
Mr Custer also demanded that CCTV fire the xenophobic host. On the right hand side is his online pamphlet, which has been circulated widely on Sina Weibo.
In response to this action, Yang invited the police [zh] to check on the blogger's background:
你那么激动，不自信，看来真的行为不端，有劣行，是该当垃圾被清扫出去，建议公安部门查一下他的背景。劝你冷静一下，看看博主另一篇围脖，我反对排外，特指那些少数洋流氓，洋垃圾，在自己国内找不到工作，来中国胡来的素质很差的外国人需要被驱逐出境。你对号入座，我的任务完成了。
Quite a number of Chinese netizens are conscious of Yang's position in the propaganda machine and have challenged his idiocy. However, many netizens are in support of the government policy of cleaning out foreigners in Weibo, with feelings inflamed by extensive reports in local media on criminal activities by foreign individuals and abusive behavior, such as this shameful incident on a passenger train. Below are some typical comments under the Sina Weibo's popular tag: #Beijing clean out illegal foreign residents# (#北京清理非法居留外国人#):
@网游快报：#北京清理非法居留外国人#在清理 “三非”老外的同时，也要严加管教，那些合法的外国人，让他们知道 来了中国就要给我老实本分的 遵守中国法律 ！
@随他去_盛儿： #北京清理非法居留外国人#早就应该这样。不止北京。其他地方也应该这样！中国平时对他们太好了！我们对他们友善。他对我们友善么！都敢在中国的土地欺负中国人了！！可悲中国人却不敢帮中国人！！
@复活的恺撒：#北京清理非法居留外国人#希望来中国骗姑娘、骗钱、骗声望的外国渣滓全部被朝鲜捉去做苦力。
This post was sub-edited by Jane Ellis.


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Cuba: “Mob” Attack Linked to Heart Attack?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Further to this, babalu reports that another elderly lady “suffered a fatal heart attack after her home was violently attacked by a paramilitary mob.”


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Ecuador: ‘Conectándonos’ Event Kicks Off May 24 · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The event ‘Conectándonos’ Ecuador (“Getting connected Ecuador”), co-organized by Rising Voices and the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja [es] (UTPL for its initials in Spanish) will kick off tomorrow, May 24. You can follow the event on Twitter through the hashtag #ConECU. Furthermore, a roundtable [es] will be live-streamed tomorrow.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Egypt: First Free Presidential Election Underway · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Elections 2011/2012.
Egyptians are voting in the country's first free presidential election. The voting will take place on May 23 and 24, with a runoff on June 16 and 17 if necessary.
Fifty million people are eligible to vote. While large queues have formed at some polling stations, the turnout seems to be lower than for the parliamentary elections in November 2011. This may reflect a disillusionment with the candidates felt by many.
Tarek Shalaby commented on the low turnout:
@tarekshalaby: On March 19th [the constitutional referendum], I was in the queue wrapping around this school. Right now it's deserted. Maybe later…
No queue. Image posted by @tarekshalaby
Journalist Erin Cunningham commented on the turnout in Ismailia in north-east Egypt:
@erinmcunningham: Bakery in Ismailia central has longer, more enthusiastic line than polling stations I saw. #Egyelex #breadpolitics
Nadine Sabry gave one explanation as to why turnout was low:
@nsabry: major differentiating factor is the weather. I went around 2 pm last time but wont go today til 6:30-7 when it is emptier & cooler
Emirati Sultan Al Qassemi is visiting Cairo, and took this picture:
Long queue for all-male voting station at Orman school in Dokki. Image posted by @SultanAlQassemi.
Kareem Hosem in Cairo commented:
@akaHoezy: I dream of a day when men & women can stand in one line to vote without trouble. Gender segregation should be a thing of the past. #EgyElex
Journalist Adam Makary in Suez took us through the voting process:
@adamakary: First, you show your national ID card to match your number with those registered to vote. Then, you sign #Suez #EgyElex
Image posted by @adamakary.
@adamakary: Second step, pick up your voting card. #Suez #EgyElex
Image posted by @adamakary.
@adamakary: And you wait… with ballot and pen in hand. #Suez #EgyElex
Image posted by @adamakary.
@adamakary: After you tick off the box selecting your preferred candidate, you drop your ballot into a sealed box. #Suez #EgyElex
Image posted by @adamakary.
@adamakary: Finally, you collect your ID card, dip your finger in purple, permanent ink and off you go. #Suez #EgyElex
Image posted by @adamakary.
Lilz voted, and commented:
@Booky_Lillz: Is anyone else's skin reacting to the dye? I think Im getting hives! #EgyElex #EgyPresElection
Nadeen Hafez in Cairo voted with pride:
@NadeenHafez: Took me 3 hours and a half to vote. Totally worth it. All for you, Egypt! #EgyElex #PresidentialElections
Omar Elimam could not believe the change in Egypt:
@elimam_o: Simply put, I still cannot comprehend that I'm going to vote for #Egypt's president. #egyelex
BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen spoke to a voter:
@jfjbowen: I asked one woman in the queue to vote how long she'd been waiting. 30 years she said with a big laugh #EgyPresElection
For more on the presidential elections see this Storify by Asteris Masouras.
This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Elections 2011/2012.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Iran: Cyber Hezbollah Meeting · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Farsnews reported “Cyber Hezbollah’ will hold its eighth meeting in Tehran on Wendesday.One of main points of discussion is Shahin Najafi‘s “insults regarding one Shi'ite Saint.”

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Hadi Net,a new religious Social Networking  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Islamic Republic has launched a new social networking called “Hadi Net“. Iranian media reported[fa] this social networking is an answer to Shahin Najafi‘s “insults regarding one Shi'ite Imam.”


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Iran: “Let’s Save Lake Urmia With Our Tears” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Protesters fighting to save Lake Urmia in Iran from permanent environmental damage have not given up. On May 21, 2012, once again people in Urmia and several other cities in the Azerbaijan region of Iran have called on the government to save the dying Lake Urmia, one of the world's largest salt water lakes. In Khoy (photo above) protesters  hung a banner on a bridge saying “the death of Lake Urmia is the death of Azerbaijan.” One blogger published a cartoon saying “Let's save Lake Urmia with our tears.”
Here are a couple of videos shared by Iranian citizens of demonstrations in Urmia.
Heavy security presence
Police strike back


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Italy: Army Evicts Art Workers from Occupied Building · Global Voices
Ylenia Gostoli

In the early hours of the morning on May 22, 2012 police and army entered Palazzo Citterio in Milan, Italy ending for the second time an occupation by about 60 artists and precarious workers gathered under a collective known as “Macao”.
[All links point to Italian sources except where otherwise stated].
The group of architects, visual artists, students, communication and education workers had occupied the 16th century building  on May 19, after their eviction from the Galfa Tower, where they had stayed for ten days [en]. The eviction order for Palazzo Citterio, however, was issued immediately. The eviction was non-violent and found no resistance on the part of the occupiers.
On May 5, the collective began occupying the Galfa Tower, a 33-floor skyscraper in the heart of Milan. Owned by the financial services company Fondiaria SAI, the tower has been empty for the past 15 years. The collective re-named it Macao, an acronym whose meaning, they say, is open to interpretation, reflecting the openness of the project itself.
On the first day of occupation, a banner was unfolded from one of the top floors that read: “We could even imagine to fly.” The tower was cleared by police on May 15 and ten of the participants were arrested. The collective then camped out in front of the building for four days, until they decided to proceed with the occupation of Palazzo Citterio.
Public assembly in front of the occupied Galfa Tower. Image from Macao
Macao's aim is to ‘liberate’ space for the arts in a city where spaces for the young and for creativity are scarce. During the ten days of occupation, some of the skyscrapers’ floors were cleaned up and made accessible for meetings, assemblies, workshops and seminars. As summed up by one of their tweets:
@MacaoTwit: #MACAO non intende essere un altro centro per le arti, ma un nuovo centro per le arti : #tuttiSUmacao
The Milan occupation is only the latest in a series that blossomed throughout Italy over the past year, including at the Coppola Theatre in Catania, the Garibaldi Theatre in Palermo (both in Sicily), the Knowledge and Creativity Nursery in Naples, the Sale Docks in Venice, the Valle Theatre and Cinema Palazzo in Rome. Together, these form part of the network Lavoratori dell’Arte (Art Workers).
There are two main reasons behind the occupations. On the one hand, the shutdown of public bodies such as the ETI (Italian Theatre Association) and cultural spaces, which followed the cuts to public sector funding for the cultural industries implemented by the Berlusconi government since 2010. On the other hand, the job insecurity blighting the culture and communications sector, whose workers (most of whom are freelancers or employed on short-term contracts) tend to lack traditional trade union representation and access to welfare.
It is in this context that the movement of the Art Workers is born. As they explain on their website [en]:
Art Workers assert that Art and Culture should obtain the status of common good. The common good is not an abstract concept but a new living form of democracy that aims to overcome the dichotomy between public and private sectors.
For this reason, we, as Art Workers, must explain the precarious conditions in which we operate with clarity. It is very important to recognize the dynamics, the ambivalence, the extent of precariousness, especially where the term seems to be devalued. Moreover, we can only field effective countermeasures by starting from a lucid diagnosis, especially when the economic crisis has implemented the severity of our condition.
Let’s say that artistic languages are a political fact and that insecurity obstructs experimentation, ambition, intelligence, radicalism and art’s global reach.
Macao's press release [en] similarly states:
We are the multitude of workers of the creative industries that too often has to submit to humiliating conditions to access income, with no protection and no coverage in terms of welfare and not even being considered as proper interlocutors for the current labor reform, all focused on the instrumental debate over the article 18. We were born precarious, we are the pulse of the future economy, and we will not continue to accommodate exploitation mechanisms and loss redistribution.
Occupiers set up camp by the unused empty tower after eviction. Photo from Macao
The Art Workers define themselves as brains in struggle, not in drain [en]. Similar experiments took place in Portugal, where a self-managed community Es.col.a was evicted in April [en]; in Spain with Hotel Madrid [es]; and in the United Kingdom with the occupation by the activists of Occupy London of an empty building in the City of London, owned by investment bank UBS and renamed Bank of Ideas [en].
Despite the evictions, the projects have tended to gather a degree of public support, which was formerly unthinkable seeing as occupying public or private buildings remains illegal. In Italy, a tradition of occupying social centres [en] dates back to the struggles of the 1970s, but these occupations have reached record levels of support, including from high-profile figures like Nobel-prize winning satirist Dario Fo [en], and even some local authority officials.
Furthermore, Macao's Facebook page has already garnered over 30,000 ‘likes’, whilst the hashtags #macao and #iostoconmacao were trending on Italian Twitter on the day of their eviction from the Tower – with about 300 people peacefully confronting police officers. Well-known journalist Luca de Biase opined on his blog:
Lo sgombero del Macao avviene in una città che non ha protetto lo spazio pubblico – fisico e culturale – dall’invasione delle recinzioni e delle privatizzazioni – fisiche e culturali. E che quindi oggi si interroga su uno spazio privato che alcuni interpreti dell’apertura pubblica volevano riconquistare.
On the other hand, there are those who criticise the project for its frivolity at a time of crisis, like the authors of the blog Frankestanislao:
Certo i fighetti radical chic che indossano l’abito da indignati della domenica mi fanno ridere, ci sono altre priorità per cui scaldarsi!..
For others, such as for some of those who have left Italy searching for better opportunities, Macao becomes the symbol of hopeful change; as Francesco Cingolani, one of the many young professionals who joined Italy's “brain drain”, writes on his blog Immaginoteca:
Tutto questo mi fa venire voglia di tornarmene in Italia per fare una fuga di cervelli al contrario.
The local council administration has offered an alternative space to be used as an art centre open to all, but Macao has refused the offer. The debate is still open, and at the time of writing the collective continued to hold public assemblies. To sign a petition to save Macao, send an e-mail ‘proteggiamomacao [at] gmail [dot] com’.

author: Ylenia Gostoli


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Mali: Coup Leader Sanogo To be Sworn in as New Interim President    · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Various online reports  state [fr] that coup leader Captain Sanogo will be sworn in as new interim president after former interim president D. Traoré got injured following protests earlier in the week.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Peru: Iquitos Faces Aftermath of Record Floods · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

The recent floods that ravaged the Amazon regions of Peru as well as the city of  Iquitos, and reached and surpassed the highest point [es] recorded in history since 1986 (see illustrative photos of the reported floods taken by a member of the Red Cross), began to subside at the end of April [es] and started visibly draining away in the first days of May.
Rodrigo Rodrich, correspondent residing in Iquitos commented [es] in the middle of this month:
Al día de hoy los ríos llevan un par de semanas en descenso sostenido, pero aun por encima de sus límites de desborde. Son síntomas de esperanza. Sin embargo, hay poblaciones que fueron inundadas durante tres meses y se dice que lo peor es lo que ahora viene, cuando el agua se retire y deje evidente el desastre.
Flooded zone in Belén, Iquitos. As the floods rose, the villagers built paths with wood boards to move around. Photo by Juan Arellano.
The consequences left by this natural phenomenon, beyond the number of the victims, which is estimated to be about 200,000 people [es], should raise concern due to the lack of foresight [es] and disaster management plans [es] on part of the authorities of the regions. Once the waters began to recede, the victims returned to their homes in the flooded zones and the scenery is prime for the next possible flood.
One of the more controversial measures taken to quell the disaster was the suspension of classes for various primary schools in the city of Iquitos to serve as temporary shelters [es] for the victims. This, plus the classes suspended in schools affected by floods, affected the school year, and although classes have resumed [es] progressively in schools, it has been said that there will be no vacation time in the month of July and that classes would be extended until December 28.
Classroom converted into a temporary shelter for victims. Photo by Juan Arellano
Among the things most feared during the period of flooding, and even now, was the quick spread of diseases, starting with dengue fever, for which fumigation has been [es] and is still being done [es]. Later, there was an outbreak of leptospirosis [es], a disease mainly spread through the urine of rodents. Recently, the Contamana zone has various reported cases [es] of pertussis or the whooping cough. As a supporting measure, the central government has transferred funds [es] to the regional government for measures to be taken against dengue, yellow fever, hepatitis and malaria.
Support initiatives for the victims are not lacking either. Some from the private sector, such as from PetroPerú [es], others form the educational sector, like the drive [es] by the teachers and students of the National University of the Peruvian Amazon or UNAP (Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana), whose Flickr account comments [es]:
El jueves y viernes los alumnos, docentes y trabajadores administrativos de la UNAP tuvieron largas faenas de trabajo. El jueves recorrieron calles y avenidas tocando puertas para solicitar alimentos, ropa y medicinas, con gran acogida. El viernes el trabajo tuvo lugar en la plaza Serafín Filomeno y allí se recibieron los donativos, mientras los estudiantes demostraron su talento artístico.
Shelter for victims at the Parque Zonal, Iquitos. Photo by Juan Arellano
But the people from UNAP did not only ask for donations, (watch the video displaying the activities here) they also carried out service projects, seminars on prevention and orientation, and organised brigades [es] for the collection of debris:
Desde tempranas horas, los estudiantes levantaron carpas y se instalaron por grupos para dar atenciones a los damnificados. Las Facultades vinculadas a las ciencias de la salud dieron tratamiento a los dientes, desparasitaron, sensibilizaron, fluorizaron y atendieron en medicina general; también realizaron triaje […] lo que permitió detectar a varios niños con serios problemas de salud que fueron llevados con prontitud a un hospital por los males que presentaban.
Flooded houses in the south zone of the Boulevard de Iquitos. Hauma, an aquatic plant,  can be seen growing on the water. Photo by Juan Arellano
In Lima, Unicef Perú [es] has organised a charity drive and in this manner aids and contributes to alleviating the needs of the victims, above all the children, by distributing basic hygiene kits, supplements and school supplies. They have until now produced two videos, one [es] with actress Monica Sanchez, and the other [es] with popular singer Gianmarco.
To get a better idea of the level of damage these floods have done, here are some videos filmed at the ending of April, when the water had begun to subside. This is in the market zone entering Plazuela de Belén.
You can see a continuation of this video here. The following video is of a boat ride from Plazuela de Belén to the river Itaya. Normally only the final stretch of the river, already reaching the river, is flooded.
This next video, filmed at the beginning of this month, is in the Nanay zone, to the outskirts of Iquitos. The zone is normally a road with transit of buses and other types of transportation.
With the end of the recession of these waters comes the beginning of a possible drought [es] in the Amazon region. What once again may severely affect not only Iquitos but the entire eco-system. While the flood, as well as causing death in land species, leaves the soil rich in sediment coming from the Andes, the drought brings death and desolation to plant and animal life as well as aquatic creatures.
However in this recent flood, not everything was negative, as biologist José Álvarez narrates [es] in his experience in a community on the river bank of the Napo:
La gente de Yarina Isla nos recibió cálidamente, y en los días que estuvimos ahí no escuchamos ni una queja, ni un reclamo, ni un pedido de ayuda más allá de apoyarlos con sus proyectos educativos y de ecoturismo. […] Pregunté si no faltaba comida. Me dijeron que no: “Hay pescado, y todavía tenemos algo de plátano, algunos se han salvado. Además, todas las familias han guardado masa de yuca, algunos en panero, otros la han enterrado. Así dura varios meses, hasta que salga la yuca nueva”. […] Me sorprendió escuchar que por acuerdo de asamblea se había respetado a los animales refugiados en las restingas [*] de la comunidad. “Nuestros niños, hasta los más pequeñitos, conocen a los animales y los respetan, nosotros queremos que también nuestros nietos los conozcan. Anda vete a ver a otras comunidades, todititos los han terminado en las restingas, luego no van a tener animales ni para que conozcan.”
Before elaborating development and disaster preparedness plans that are completely out of touch with reality, there is a need to appeal to the local people's ancient and traditional knowledge of their environment.

author: Juan Arellano


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Qatar: Shopping and Phones Permitted! · Global Voices
Miran Hosny

Netizens in Qatar have responded indignantly to an article published on the Sydney Morning Herald website, which claimed that Qatari women were not allowed to go shopping, and did not have easy access to technology.
The article, published on May 23 and called “Tech tea parties help women stay in touch with the world”, addressed the difficulties women in certain countries face in accessing technology.
Qatar was the first country to be mentioned; journalist Matthew Hall wrote:
The seemingly simple act of buying a phone can come with stigma in some countries if you're a woman. In Qatar, women can usually communicate only with men who are family members. Going to a shop is mostly off limits. This has prevented women from joining the technology revolution their counterparts enjoy so freely in other places. The solution? Tech Tupperware-type parties, in one case by Vodafone, hosted by female sales agents in women's homes across Qatar's capital Doha.
“Cultural issues come to play in a number of ways,” said Ann Mei Chang, a senior adviser for women and technology at the US State Department, and an advocate for women's right to benefit from technology. “Husbands or brothers or fathers are concerned that if the women and girls in their lives have access to mobile phones or the internet they will become promiscuous. So they don't want them to have access, even though there are a lot of benefits.”
Villaggio Mall, Doha, Qatar. Image by Flickr user Frédéric Gloor (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
At the Doha News blog, Shabina Khatri responded to the Sydney Morning Herald article. She said:
In the latest example of how journalists egregiously, woefully, incorrectly report on Qatar, Hall includes the country as an example of places where women miss out on technological developments because men hold them back. Qatar is mentioned only in the first few paragraphs of the article, mostly because female sales agents working for Vodafone do house calls here. But the assumption behind why these agents hold tech tea parties in Qatar is just plain wrong. […] More than likely, Vodafone visits Qatari women’s homes because it’s well worth their while, not because these women can’t go out and buy themselves a nice phone (or two, or three). The rest of the article goes on to state very real examples of countries in which women are being left behind in terms of their access to technology, a legitimate problem. But as anyone who has spent even five minutes in a mall here can attest, Qatar – which recently launched a national women’s basketball league – is not one of those places.
Reactions on Twitter varied from disbelieving and sarcastic to offended.
Jennan asked:
@Dalla3ah: What era do they think we're living in?!!!
VelvetinQatar tweeted:
@VelvetinQatar: Seriously? I read it and was like “Qatar Qatar? As in, the Qatar where I live? I must be missing something!”
Sybil Knox said:
@SybnDoha: Poor poor Qatari women…are those just TOY Blackberries they hold to their ears?! I'm so confused.
She added:
@SybnDoha: They [the Sydney Morning Herald] are in need of some serious “calling out”. #ignorance
Sarah commented:
@quizzy_mj: Ridiculous. They should know every single Qatari owns at least one Blackberry or iPhone and goes shopping pretty often.
Meanwhile, Vallath imagined the subject of the next article about Qatar's women:
@Vallath: At least they're getting creative. Next up: Women-only internet to be launched in Qatar.

author: Miran Hosny


text:
Tajikistan: Did Drug Money Finance Cell Phone Company? · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Diplomatic cables made available by WikiLeaks reveal interesting details about who stood behind the creation of Tajikistan's major companies. In his blog, journalist Zafar Abdullayev analyzes [ru] documents that suggest the formation of one of Tajikistan's largest cell phone operators was financed by drug money. Another major cell phone company was funded by a current minister of agriculture.

author: Alexander Sodiqov