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Saudi Arabia – Where You’re Shot and Sentenced for it · Global Voices
Guest Contributor

The Saudi Criminal Court issued its sentences against four Qatifi young men with sentences ranging from 16 months to four years. One man, Jalal Al-Qattan, who was shot in the stomach by security forces during a protest, and was on the run to avoid arrest, was sentenced to three years. The trial, on Tuesday (September 17), was the fourth and last session in a saga, that stretches back to a protest which happened on the evening of July 8, 2012.
The four Qatif young men. Al-Qattan is top right.
On that night, Al-Qattan was among many youth who participated in a protest against the arrest of Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimer Al-Nimer. Two people were martyred that night (Sayyed Akbar Al-Shakhouri and Sayyed Mohammed Al-Felfel), and Jalal Al-Qattan was shot in the stomach. He was taken to a house in Awwamiya, where some tried to stop the bleeding. Someone called Jalal's brother, Ali, who came and took Jalal to their house. Jalal's family tried to persuade him to take him to a hospital, but he refused fearing arrest. Two activists of the 23 “wanted persons” – one is Morsi Al-Rebh who was shot and killed in Awwamiya last June- were following Jalal's situation and tried to get him medical help. They got a nurse, but she told them his condition was critical and he needed surgery. One of the activists offered to find a surgeon, but he did not find any so they brought another nurse who repeated the same advice. The family, again, tried to convince Jalal to get treatment in a hospital, but he refused. So his uncle suggested they take him out of the country. The next day, Jalal Al-Qattan, his brother Ali, his uncle Mohammed Al-Mislab and his brother-in-law Hussain Al-Areef were arrested at the Khafji port on their way to Kuwait.
Some of the charges against them were: breaking allegiance to the ruler, not reporting other protestors, not reporting the two wanted persons who took Jalal to a safe house for medical assistance, not reporting nurses who tried to aid Jalal outside the assigned place for medical treatment, Jalal was also charged with impiety to his parents because the defendant put himself in danger by refusing to go to a hospital. Jalal and his uncle were convicted of all of the charges made against them and Jalal was sentenced to three years in prison and a three-year travel ban afterwards, while his uncle was sentenced to four years and a four-year travel ban. Jalal's brother, Ali, was sentenced to two years in prison and a two-year travel ban. Al-Areef was only convicted of trying to “smuggle” his brother-in-law out of the country instead of reporting him to authorities. He was sentenced to 16 months in jail and a 16-month travel ban.
Twitter users commented on the verdicts:
العشرات لدينا بالقطيف من #جلال_القطان لم يذهبوا للمستشفيات خوف من الاعتقال او يكون مصير حكمهم كجلال ،بعضهم فروا من الاعتقال ليصابوا بالاعاقة
— قطيف علي (@QatifAli1) September 18, 2013
In Qatif, we have many Jalal Al-Qattans who didn't go to hospitals fearing arrest and Jalal's fate. Some avoided prison only to become disabled.
اليوم كانت محاكمة المصاب #جلال_القطان الذي أصيب برصاص الأمن عجباً.. يطلقون النار عليه فيكون مصيره السجن ٣سنوات pic.twitter.com/vnd7fvRGxI
— مهدي الزاهر (@alzahir_ma) September 17, 2013
Today was the trial of Jalal Al-Qattan who was shot by security forces.
Strange! They shoot him, then sentence him to three years.
في مملكة الإنسانية: علاج المصابين جريمة يُعاقب عليها القانون،حتى ولو كان المصاب أقرب الناس لك!! #جلال_القطان #العوامية #القطيف
— مهدي الزاهر (@alzahir_ma) September 17, 2013
In the kingdom of humanity, treating the injured is a crime punished by law even if the injured was a close relative.

author: Guest Contributor


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Should Thailand Abolish the Mandatory School Uniform Policy? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A sophomore student at Thammasat University in Thailand has sparked a debate about the country’s mandatory uniform policy for university students when she distributed campaign posters showing students in sexual poses. Thailand is reportedly one of the three remaining countries in the world which continues to require student uniforms in college.
The controversial poster questioning Thailand's mandatory uniform policy.
The controversial poster contains these messages (translation by Kaewmala): “At the last midterm did you still have to wear your student uniform?”, “When student uniforms are being challenged”, “Don’t student uniforms make having sex more fun?”, “Free your humanity from the shackles”. The posters have been removed from the campus already but they have been uploaded online and instantly went viral.
The campaign is led by a student nicknamed Aum Neko (translation: transgender) who is also the female student in the poster. Interviewed by Prachatai, Aum explained her reason for launching the campaign:
I want to post a question to the Thammasat community and also communities outside: why does a university that prides itself on freedom force students to wear uniforms in many classes in many faculties, especially those in the science field?
Mr. Somkit Lertpaithoon, the University Rector, clarified that the school only ‘encourages’ students to wear uniform:
I can confirm that we do not rule students to wear uniform to class, but we ‘encourage’ them to, particularly during exam season, in order to teach them about the virtues of disciplines.
The issue has generated mixed reactions. Chayapol Panhakarn is supportive of the uniform policy:
I am proud to be wearing Thammasat uniform on stage. Thanks to TU Band for giving me an opportunity to do creative activities like singing with them. You should respect the uniform, symbols, and identity of Thammasat. If you can’t do it and just have to go out there to claim your freedom then study somewhere else. Don’t apply to Thammasat in the first place and make rooms for other people who really want it.
Dusita Siriwan, an Economics student at Chulalongkorn University, finds the rule to be reasonable:
I guess we all complain about it [the uniform] but it's something you eventually get used to wearing. I feel that the requirement of having to wear the uniform during exams is not unreasonable and it's a good rule to enforce to make sure it's truly a student from there and not a random, fake person that is taking the test instead.
Some campaigners also asked teachers to wear uniforms:
New policy: wear bureaucratic uniform every day for the better education of Thailand! No uniform, no teaching, no salary.
Image from Facebook page of New Culture
For Pavin Chachavalpongpun, the issue has exposed the weakness of Thai education:
The point here is not so much about the abolition of a forced uniform, but to open the door for all students to choose if they wish to wear university uniform. In other words, those who are keen to wear it, please do so. For those who are not, they are free to wear anything as long as it is decent.
The debate within Thammasat University on student uniform, on the one hand, reminds many of why the Thai education has gone wrong and why it is necessary for the traditionalists to protect their space in this fast changing society. On the other hand, it also reaffirms the fact that, perhaps, all debates, like this one, can further promote democratisation.
Saksith Saiyasombut pointed out that the uniform policy is one aspect of Thailand’s ‘militaristic’ education:
While on the surface the debate over student uniforms may appear to be just a superficial issue, it is one of many aspects in Thailand’s militaristic education system that reinforces uniformity and obedience, since for Thai conservatives these are still the most important characteristics of our education – while Thailand’s society has changed and is more than ready to move on.
Thailand’s leading newspaper, The Nation, has recently published an editorial defending the uniform policy:
There is nothing wrong with the students expressing their opinion, but perhaps the effort and energy spent on this advocacy could be better spent on other causes that could benefit society as a whole. Being forced to wear a uniform in a class might be restricting, but it also denotes a sense of identity and equality.
Meanwhile, the student who wanted to reform the policy has been slapped with a Lese Majeste (anti-royal insult law) case.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Brazilian Police: Censors and Censored · Global Voices
Danillo Ferreira

In the protests on Independence Day in Brasilia, a Reuters photojournalist states he has been attacked by a police dog. Photo by Osvaldo Ribeiro Filho. Copyright Demotix (07/09/2013)
[All links lead to Portuguese-language pages unless otherwise noted.]
The atmosphere of protests that has flooded Brazil since June has exposed cases in which protesters and journalists acting peacefully have ended up being the target of disproportionate police action.
In the protests that happened on Independence Day, 7 September 2013, 18 cases of aggression [en] by security agents against members of the media were registered, as reported by the blog Journalism in the Americas of the Knight Center of the University of Texas – 85 percent of a total of 21 attacks against these professionals registered that day.
Brasilia, the federal capital of Brazil, was the city with the most interventions against members of the press, 12 in total, including reporters from Correio Braziliense (Brazilian Mail) that photographed targets to disproportionate police action and were photographed becoming the targets themselves.
The most media-centered case dealing with attacks against the press was the complaint of a Reuters reporter, Ueslei Marcelino, injured during the coverage of police action near the National Stadium of Brasilia. The profile @roteirodecinema published on Twitter:
Fotógrafo da Reuters confirma no Instagram que PM do DF usou cães pra atacar a imprensa no protesto ontem pic.twitter.com/wyEMiGdmb2 via @KetyDC
— Roteiro de Cinema (@roteirodecinema) September 8, 2013
Reuters photographer confirmed on Instagram that the capital's military police used dogs to attack the press in yesterday's protest.
These aggressive actions have become a restriction against the right to protest or an attack on the right to free press, two concepts that are highly valued in every democracy.
According to a survey by the Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo (Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism), or Abraji, in the month of June when the biggest protests emerged, at least 52 journalists were victims of aggression in the country during the coverage of the demonstrations. A complete spreadsheet (.xlsx) from Abraji reports all the members of the press attacked by security agents and protestors in June 2013.
The first famous case of a journalist victim of disproportionate police action was that of Folha de São Paulo reporter Giuliana Vellone, shot in the eye by a rubber bullet during the Sao Paulo protest on June 13 (reported on by Global Voices). The Facebook post in which she explains what happened has been shared almost 12,000 times. Stories of cases where members of the press – agents or not of traditional media vehicles- were victims of police aggression in São Paulo, Rio, Brasilia, and in other cities show, according to the blog [en] Journalism in the Americas, “a recurrence of security forces as authors of violence against journalists.”
A photojournalist was arrested for being suspected of throwing a beer can at a police car during the Independence Day celebrations on Avenida Presidente Vargas in Rio de Janeiro. Photo by Marcio Isensee e Sá. Copyright Demotix (07/09/2013)
Police –  perpetrators and victims?
Its complexity is evident when observed in the professional context to which Brazilian police officers are subject. On the one hand, the actions of the police and their relationship with citizens and the press itself, permit the identification of non-democratic actions. On the other hand, it is not possible to say that there is an atmosphere of democratic safety for these men and women working in the streets, when relating to those that carry signs demanding the improvement of that same democracy.
As Global Voices reported [en] in July, the recent protests, apart from revealing excessive practices performed by the police, also showed that inside the organization there are some officers questioning the current format of their institutions.
In August, a lieutenant of the Rio Grande do Norte Military Police (PMRN), after defending the demilitarization of the Brazilian police on Facebook, ended up suffering administrative action by a colonel that asked the chief of police to take appropriate measures against the lieutenant that, for him,
não conseguiu assimilar e aprender a real e verdadeira razão de ser policial militar e da importância transcendental e imensurável da Polícia Militar do Rio Grande do Norte.
did not manage to assimilate and learn the real and true reason to be a military policeman and of the transcendental and immeasurable importance of the Rio Grande do Norte Military Police.
Attitudes of this kind are legally justified by norms such as the Brazilian Military Penal Code, a 1969 law that establishes, for example:
Art. 166. Publicar o militar ou assemelhado, sem licença, ato ou documento oficial, ou criticar públicamente ato de seu superior ou assunto atinente à disciplina militar, ou a qualquer resolução do Govêrno:
Pena – detenção, de dois meses a um ano, se o fato não constitui crime mais grave.
Art. 166. To publish about the military or the like, without permission, in an act or official document, or to criticize publicly an act of one's superior or a subject relevant to military discipline, or any resolution of the government:
Penalty: detention, from two months to a year, if the offense does not constitute a more serious crime.
In 2008, research by UNESCO coordinated by Silvoa Ramos and Anabela Paiva titled Do Tiro ao Twitter (From Gunshot to Twitter) (.pdf) pointed out that police officers themselves used social media to “cheat” the wall of oppression, and as such amplify “the voice of those who cannot speak” – “a form of exposing the reality of the barracks.”
For expressing opinions on the Internet, even senior officials suffer retaliation, as shown by the comment of Major Alexandre of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police on Twitter [private tweets quoted with permission]:
Sofri diversas punições por expressar minha liberdade de expressão – que deveria ser um direito constitucional – por aqui.
I have suffered various punishments for exercising my freedom of expression – that should be a constitutional right – on here.
O Ten Cel @Wanderby, ícone de honestidade da PMERJ, ficou meses alocado em lugares de 3º ou 4º nível. Eu fui movimentado 10 vezes em 1 ano.
O Ten Cel @Wanderby, icon of honesty of the PMERJ, remained for months in places of 3rd or 4th rank. I was moved 10 times in 1 year.
There is no lack of criticism of the organizational context of the police by its very own police officers on social media.
For some, these characteristics are directly linked to the nature of the military company, as military policeman Ronaldo Vasconcelos Monteiro commented on Facebook:
A militarização só interessa aos oficias e aos governantes pois só assim conseguem se perpetuar no poder como Deuses praticamente tendo os praças amordaçados de mãos atadas o tempo todo. Resquício de ditadura militar mesmo. Não passa de uma instituição arcaica e sucateada que já deveria ter sido extinta a muito tempo. Prova disso é a PF [Polícia Federal] e PRF [Polícia Rodoviária Federal] que não são militarizada e funcionam tão bem quanto, senão melhor do que essa corporação militar da idade do bronze.
Militarization interests the officials and the governments as the only way they can manage to perpetuate their power as gods, keeping the public spaces muzzled and hands tied practically the whole time. A remainder of the military dictatorship, an archaic institution that already should have been extinct a long time ago. Proof of this is the PF [Federal Police] and PRF [Federal Highway Police] that aren't militarized and work just as well, or better than the military company of the Bronze Age.
A relevant investigation would be to relate these two contexts: one in which the police flagrantly commit authoritarianism and impede the right to free protest of people in the streets, and the other in which the police themselves are victims of the oppression on the part of their legally established institution.

author: Danillo Ferreira


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Chinese Teenager Accused of Spreading Rumors Online Arrested  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A 16-year-old boy was taken away by Gansu police in China over comments the student made online questioning the official explanation of the recent death of a local worker.
Yang Hui, pseudonym used in major social media platforms, was detained on September 17, 2013, taken into custody while he was studying in a classroom at his junior high school. Police accused the boy of spreading rumors and thus provoking public disorder on several Chinese social media platforms, including Sina Weibo and QQ Space, with his comments. Under new rules in China, Internet users who share false information that is defamatory or harms the national interest face up to three years in prison if their posts are viewed 5,000 times or forwarded 500 times.
The Gansu police claimed that Yang's comments, which were shared more than 500 times, have incited people to demonstration. Image from Sina Weibo.
The posts that caused Yang trouble were comments about the unnatural death of a worker in Jewel Time International Karaoke TV (KTV) in Zhang Jiachuan. The man, whose surname was Gao, was found dead in the KTV on September 12. The police claimed that Gao committed suicide, but his family and friends questioned the police's investigation.
Below are the back up [jpg, zh] of Yang's posts on Sina Weibo. On September 14 at 19:19, after he witnessed a confrontation between police and Gao's family outside the KTV:
看來必須得游行了！中國的警察怎麼成這樣了？社會怎麼了？警察一個個拿著盾，棍子，這是要幹什麼？死者家屬已經被警察強行拘留！幾個拍照的人也被強行拘留，草泥馬了，不想讓世界知道真相？你們在怕什麼？老子就不怕你們，老子就敢拍，你媽的你來抓我啊！逝者安息。
It seems it is necessary to protest. What happened to Chinese police? What happened to the society? The police were holding shields and rods. What were they doing? Family members of the victim were detained and those who took photos were also detained. WTF. You don't want the world to know what had happened? What are you afraid of? I am not afraid of you. I took pictures, arrest me, I dare you. May the dead rest in peace.
On September 15 at 21:40, Yang wrote:
鉆石國際KTV（案發地）的法定代表人是張家川縣人民法院的副院長蘇建，試問一個小縣城的法院副院長的工資如何代能投資起一個幾百萬的KTV？這裡面又有什麼不可告人的秘密？而且到現在為何鉆石國際的法代蘇建不肯出面？等著真相公之於世吧！縣委、市委不能相信，還有省委和中央呢。。。
The legal representative of Jewel Time International KTV (the crime scene) is Su Jian, the deputy head of Zhang Jiachuan people's court. With so little salary, how can the deputy head of a tiny county afford to invest in KTV, a company that is worth a few million yuan? Is there a secret? How come legal representative Su Jian has not come out to explain the incident? Let's wait for the truth to be revealed. We can't trust the county and city Party committee, but we still have the provincial and central Party committee…
On September 20, the public security bureau of Zhang Jiachuan published an official statement [zh] via Weibo saying that Yang's posts have led to speculation, protest and public disorder.
However, many netizens have questioned the police's action. Zhou Nan (@周难的微博) raised [zh] the question:
甘肃警方有什么证据证明数百人聚集与初中生的质疑帖子有关？
What evidence did the Gansu police use to prove that the mass incident [on September 14] was related to the junior high school student's posts?
Jiujiu Yide (@久久一得) was [zh] very angry:
一初中生能煽动大众？甘肃警方脑残了吧！赶紧放人，否则引众怒，就不是现在这回事了！补上道歉、补上精神损失费。
A junior high school kid can incite the public? The Gansu police are brain-damaged! Release the kid or the public will be outraged. The police should apologize and give compensation.
Lawyer Duo Muqing stressed [zh] that the boy had done nothing wrong:
发现有些法律人在甘肃初中生因发帖被刑拘的问题上表态很模糊。有人说什么孩子有错也不应当滥施刑罚、应当教育引导之类云云。这样的话完全混淆视听，不应从法律人口中说出。申明一下，这个孩子没任何过错，也无需教育引导，他应当得到褒奖，那些抓他的匪警应受教育并接受法律严惩！
Some legal experts are ambivalent about the arrest of a junior high school kid in Gansu. Some say even if the kid is wrong, the police should not exercise their power to criminalize him. Instead, this is the arena of education. Such comments have created a lot of confusion and should not come from people with legal background. I want to stress that the boy has done nothing wrong and should not be educated. He should be praised and the police should be educated and punished.
Many laughed at the over-reaction of the police. “Cicada sings all night” (@一夜蝉鸣V) quoted an online comment:
关于甘肃某县初中生杨某散布谣言被刑拘一事，网友评论： 一个孩子的一句话就能颠覆你们，你们的政权是纸糊的还是沙堆的？ 你们捉的是谣还是妖？ 也有网友认为这是个利好的消息：现在它们连初中生都怕了，证明日子快了
Concerning the arrest of the junior high school student by the Gansu police, netizen comment: Some words from a kid can subvert you? Is state power made of paper or sand? Are you catching rumors or ghosts? Another netizen comment: This is a good news: Now that they are afraid of junior high school kids, the day is near.
“Brother Star PK dogs” (@大话星哥pk一群狗) echoed:
坏消息：他们连初中生都抓； 好消息：他们连初中生都怕。
Bad news: They arrested a junior high school kid; Good news: They are afraid of junior high school kids.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Global Voices Author Remembers Friends Slain in Nairobi Mall Attack · Global Voices
Omar Mohammed

Shurufu is a Tanzanian journalist based in Dar es Salaam. He tweets at @shurufu. Also read his post How the Nairobi Mall Attack Unfolded on Social Media.
At the time of writing, the number of people killed in the brutal attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi stood at 69, with more than 200 injured. Armed militants burst into the mall, one of the city's most popular locations for foreigners and middle-class Kenyans, and carried out the deadliest attack the country has seen since the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy.
Among the dead include renowned Ghanaian poet Kofi Awoonor. Also killed was a well-known broadcaster, Ruhila Adatia. She was reportedly pregnant.
I, too, lost friends in the Westgate attack: Ross Langdon and Elif Yavuz, a couple who were expecting their first child. They lived in Dar es Salaam but were in Nairobi to have their baby there because they preferred the city's medical care. Elif had completed her PhD at the Harvard University's School of Public Health. She moved to Dar es Salaam to work for the Clinton Foundation. Here she is, meeting with President Bill Clinton during his visit to Tanzania in August:
Elif Yavuz meeting with former US President Bill Clinton during his visit to Tanzania in August 2013. Photo via Ms. Yavuz's Facebook page.
Elif was smart, witty, disarmingly charming and a joy to be around. She would have made a terrific mother. Her boyfriend Ross had the easy going Aussie humor and zest for life typical of folks from ‘down under.’ He was also an incredibly talented architect. He co-founded a successful inter-continental design studio, Regional Associates. Here he is talking about what he called Chameleon architecture at last year's TEDxKraków:
He was looking forward to becoming a Dad.
But Ross and Elif are now gone. It is difficult to explain why these two wonderful human beings and Professor Awoonor and Ms. Adatia, and Mbugua and Wahito and all the other innocent souls who perished at Westgate Mall had to die.
In the words of the writer Teju Cole (@tejucole), may their gentle souls be ferried in peace to the new world.
Also read: How the Nairobi Mall Attack Unfolded on Social Media.

author: Omar Mohammed


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Anti-fascist Musician Stabbed to Death by Neo-nazi in Greece · Global Voices
Maria Sidiropoulou

Greek Rapper Pavlos Fyssas, also known as Killah P. Photo via Greek Wikipedia
Greek anti-fascist hip hop musician Pavlos Fyssas, also known as Killah P., was stabbed to death on Wednesday, 18 September 2013, by a neonazi and Golden Dawn party supporter who confessed his crime after being arrested on the same day.
According to eyewitnesses, a few hours after midnight on the 18th, a group of 30 men wearing black T-shirts and military boots, attacked 34-year-old Fyssas and 7 of his friends near a coffee shop at Amfiali, Keratsini, a district of Athens, where he was watching a football match with his girlfriend.
A man, said to have driven to the scene after answering a phone call by members of the mob, stabbed Fyssas twice, aiming for his heart. He was later recognized by witnesses as one of Piraeus’ most notorious neonazis. Fyssas pointed at his murderer [el], and possibly identified him, before expiring in hospital, several hours later. According to the victim's father, doctors opined (video, el) that the stabbing was professionally executed. It is believed that the attack was a pre-arranged ambush, given the musician's stated opposition to the Golden Dawn party. Golden Dawn itself denied any connection to the perpetrator or the murder, despite evidence and testimonies pointing to the contrary.
Journalist Leonidas Saklabanis tweeted an eyewitness testimony:
@LSaklabanis: Αυτόπτης μάρτυρας(φίλος του Φύσσα): Τον μαχαίρωσαν 2 φορές γιατί δεν μπορούσαν να τον βάλουν κάτω. Φορούσαν μαύρες μπλούζες.
Eyewitness (Fyssas’ friend): They stabbed him twice because they couldn't take him down. They wore black T-shirts.
Blogger and twitter user Monahus pointed out:
@monahus: Σύμφωνα με τον πατέρα του Π.Φύσσα κάποιοι τους άκουσαν να μιλάνε για Χρυσαυγίτες και ειδοποιήσαν τηλεφωνικά όσους του εστησαν ενέδρα
According to Fyssas’ father, some people heard them talking about Golden Dawnists and called the others that ambushed him afterwards.
Eyewitnesses also claimed that they pleaded with police officers present to interfere, but they declined because the attackers were “too many”. London-based Greek journalist Yannis Baboulias added:
@YannisBab: Worth mentioning that the killer was in the end arrested by a female officer, while her collegues stood there and did nothing. #Greece
Deputy editor of Greece's daily English language newspaper, Kathimerini English Edition (@ekathimerini) Nick Malkoutzis commented:
@NickMalkoutzis: On murder of antifascist Pavlos Fyssas, gov't also has Qs to answer regarding apparent inaction of police who witnessed stabbing #Greece
Initially, mainstream media latched on to the football quarrel-rhetoric, making the murder seem not premeditated and with no political motives:
@YannisBab: Unbelievable that TV station SKAI runs story of murdered antifascist under the title “He killed him over football”. Absolute disgrace.
The 45-year old self-confessed murderer initially told the police that he was already at the coffee shop where the victim was sitting with his friends, that they attacked him as he was heading back to his car, and that he was forced to stab the victim in self-defense. He also denied being a member of Golden Dawn, claiming a “loose” association with the neo-nazi party.
However, his allegations were incoherent and contradicted the statement that his wife gave to the police. She stated that during the football match, her husband was at home when he received a phone call by a stranger and rushed out, and later admitted being told to dispose of “political literature” and assorted incriminating evidence in a followup phone call:
@NickMalkoutzis: Police sources tell @jeansouliotis that Golden Dawn member who stabbed antifascist Pavlos Fyssas told wife to throw away his party card
@inflammatory_: Taser+batons found at the flat of Fyssas’ murder who asked his wife to remove any material in connection w Golden Dawn #rbnews @Polyfimos
According to a friend of the perpetrator [el], he was not only a Golden Dawn supporter, but he and members of his family also worked at the party's offices. The perpetrator is being investigated by the police for performing violent acts on the party's behalf, such as beating up immigrants around Piraeus. His wife and a friend of his, also working for Golden Dawn, were both arrested for providing false testimonies and attempting to eliminate evidence from the perpetrator's apartment.
Apostolis Kaparoudakis, co-founder of the independent web radio radiobubble, quoted a news article:
@O_Kanalarhis: TVXS: “O δολοφόνος πληρωνόταν από το ταμείο της Χρυσής Αυγής για ξυλοδαρμούς μεταναστών” http://bit.ly/18y8zm1 #rbnews #massmedia #KillahP
TVXS: “The killer was being paid by Golden Dawn to beat up immigrants” http://bit.ly/18y8zm1 #rbnews #massmedia #KillahP
and blogger alepouda added:
@alepouda: Σύμφωνα με την δήλωση του εκπροσώπου της ΕΛ.ΑΣ. ο δράστης επισκεπτόταν τα τοπικά γραφεία της Χ.Α. πέντε με έξι φορές την εβδομάδα.#KillahP
According to the police spokesperson, the perpetrator was visiting G.D's local offices 5 to 6 times a week. #KillahP
Besides the testimonies, there are several Golden Dawn photos and videos on YouTube, where the perpetrator can be spotted participating in the party's events or outings, such as the infamous only-for-Greeks food and clothes hand-outs.
Pavlos Fyssas, the victim, was a well-known and loved underground hip hop artist, his songs and actions reflecting of his independent anti-fascist and anti-racist spirit:
@LSaklabanis: Αυτόπτης μάρτυρας: “Ούτε εγώ ούτε ο Παύλος ανήκουμε σε κάποια πολιτική παράταξη. Ψάχνουν να βρουν θύματα”.
Eyewitness: “Neither I, nor Pavlos belong to any political party. They are looking for victims”.
The Editors’ Newspaper [el] attested:
Killah P, [meant] “Killer of the Past”. [..] [Pavlos] hailed from a working family, was an avowed anti-fascist, beloved in his neighborhood and known to the Greek hip hop scene. [..] “Of course he was an active anti-fascist. Just listen to his lyrics,” explained a neighbor. The mother of a good friend of his confirmed that “he wasn't a member of any party, but he was politically active in his own way. Do not doubt for one second: It was a politically motivated murder.” “He always fought for his beliefs,” said a shop owner, near the scene of his murder.
The news spread like wildfire on Twitter, as incensed netizens started tweeting and posting about the murder, pointing to Golden Dawn for moral responsibility:
@amarylll: Ο Κασιδιάρης γιατί εχει πάρει σβάρνα τα κανάλια ως σχολιαστής και δεν έχει συλληφθεί ως ηθικός αυτουργός; #zwa
How come [Golden Dawn press officer] Kasidiaris is on every TV channel commenting and hasn't been arrested yet for abetting? #animals
Many Twitter users kept reminding others that immigrants were Golden Dawn's first victims. Vasilis Papageorgiou wrote:
@vaspap7:Δεν ήταν ο πρώτος νεκρός. Εκτός αν θεωρούμε ότι οι μετανάστες που δολοφονήθηκαν απο Χρυσαυγίτες δεν ήταν άνθρωποι
He wasn't the first one killed. Not unless we consider the immigrants murdered by Golden Dawn as non-humans.
Accordingly, blogger Anthony Verias pointed to a map of racist attacks in Greece:
@VeriasA: Map with racist attacks which have taken place in #Greece via @MindThe_Gab #rbnews #KillahP http://map.crisis-scape.net/
Thessaloniki-based alternative news site Alterthess reminded of doctors’ unheeded warnings about assaults against immigrants:
@alterthess: Νευροχειρούργος από Κρατικό Νίκαιας: Εδώ και 3 χρόνια φωνάζουμε για δεκάδες ρατσιστικές επιθέσεις http://dlvr.it/3zxDsF
Nikaia hospital neurosurgeon: 3 years now we are yelling about dozens of racist attacks http://dlvr.it/3zxDsF [el]
Amnesty International condemned the murder of the anti-fascist activist, and exhorted the Greek government to prevent further politically motivated extremist violence:
This surge in xenophobia, intolerance and politically motivated attacks in Greece is truly chilling – the authorities must act now to prevent such violence from spreading before it gets out of hand
Global Voices editor and author Asteris Masouras created a storify on this subject, and contributed to this report.
The following is one of Killah P's songs with subtitles in English, a hip hop remix of a well known song by Greek rock band Trypes which became an anti-fascist anthem against fear, eerily apposite to his fight and final fate.

author: Maria Sidiropoulou


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GV Face: Worldwide Media Coverage of Syria · Global Voices
Sahar Habib Ghazi

How different is reporting on the Syrian crisis depending on where you are? And what does that mean for Syrians?
We discussed this and more in a Google Hangout on Monday, Sep 23, 2013, at 11am EST/3pm UTC in our second edition of GV Face.
Reports in the US or UK suggest that chemical weapons were used by President Assad's regime to kill more than a thousand people in Syria last month. Meanwhile, Russian reporters say “all is well” in Damascus. And Iranian media reports the chemical attack was by “rebels” trying to raise the pressure for an international intervention.
As the US government weighs military action in Syria, Russia's President Putin appealed to the American people in the New York Times to keep their weapons out of the war-torn country. Videos suggesting Iranian military activity on the ground in Syria have gone viral on social media.
Our Hangout participants included GV Syria author, Leila Nachawati, Founder of Syria Untold, an online storytelling project dedicated to the non-violent Syrian uprising; our RuNet Echo editor Kevin Rothrock who spoke about the Putin and Mc Cain OpEds and how they were perceived by the Russian Internet; Amira Al Hussaini, our MENA Editor, touched on citizen media and mainstream media coverage of Syria within the Middle East and North Africa; Solana Larsen, our Managing Editor spoke about the role of citizen media in mainstream portrayal of Syria, Ellery Biddle our Advocacy Editor spoke about how the calls for US intervention are being interpreted by US netizens, and Ivan Sigal our Executive Director gave his opinion on why Syrian coverage is being shaped the way it is around the world.
For some background about international coverage of the Syrian Crisis, check out our Special Coverage page.

author: Sahar Habib Ghazi


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Hong Kong: Typhoon Usagi Passed Nearby · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The ‘storm of the century’, Typhoon Usagi, passed through southern China last night had only costed some inconvenience in Hong Kong, such as disrupted transportation service and panic buying in supermarket. Tom Grundy from Hong Wrong has a nice collection of photos and videos on the slightly disturbed city life.


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How the Nairobi Mall Attack Unfolded on Social Media · Global Voices
Omar Mohammed

Omar Mohammed is a Tanzanian journalist based in Dar es Salaam. He tweets at @shurufu. Also read his post Global Voices Author Remembers Friends Slain in Nairobi Mall Attack.
In a moment, everything changed. On 21 September, 2013, a group of armed militants stormed an upscale mall in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, and opened fire, killing by the latest count 69 people and injuring hundreds more.
Twitter captured the confusion of the attack in real-time as users first reported what they thought was an explosion. Shortly after noon, news started trickling through the social network that something had gone horribly wrong at Westgate Mall, one of Nairobi's most popular locations for foreigners and middle-class Kenyans.
Ma Bradley (@NyamburaMumbi) tweeted:
explosion at westgate…. how bad is it?
— Ma Bradley (@NyamburaMumbi) September 21, 2013
In the immediate few minutes after after the news broke, however, it was still unclear what, exactly, was going on. Naporneon Pornaparte (@aCreole) reflected this uncertainty in his tweet:
Explosion or gunfire? “@NyamburaMumbi: explosion at westgate…. how bad is it?”
— Naporneon Pornaparte (@aCreole) September 21, 2013
For some, the location of the reported incident itself was under dispute. Ramsy Ama Ramah (@ramjanja) suggested that initial reports claiming that an explosion had taken place at Westgate were mistaken:
yoh explosion ni mathare sio westgate RT @NyamburaMumbi: explosion at westgate…. how bad is it?
— RAMSY AMA RAMAH (@ramjanja) September 21, 2013
yoh the explosion is in Mathare not Westgate
Soon enough, however, it became clear that something ominous was taking place at the mall. Confirmation of this came after the Ministry of Interior tweeted this update:
We urge Kenyans to keep away from Westgate mall in westlands until further notice cc @policeke @IGkimaiyo
— InteriorCNG Ministry (@InteriorKE) September 21, 2013
What was emerging on the Twittersphere was that armed individuals had gone inside Westgate, journalistSmriti Vidyarthi (@SmritiVidyarthi) informed her Twitter followers:
STAY AWAY from Westgate Mall – heavily armed individuals shooting in the mall. Inform family and friends to avoid the area.
— Smriti Vidyarthi (@SmritiVidyarthi) September 21, 2013
Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo via his twitter account (@IGkimaiyo) confirmed that a police operation was underway:
Kindly keep off from Westgate Mall, Westland. Police has surrounded the area.
— David Kimaiyo (@IGkimaiyo) September 21, 2013
Despite this update from the authorities, the nature of what they were responding to remained a mystery, even to them, at least based on what they were saying publicly, as revealed by Internal Security Ministry Permanent Secretary Mutea Iringo's comments to reporters:
PS #Mutea:We have sent air surveillance.We confirm there are armed criminals but haven't established who they're,let @PoliceKE do their job
— InteriorCNG Ministry (@InteriorKE) September 21, 2013
But other sources within the Kenyan police started to realize that what they were confronting was more than an armed robbery. Here is Robert Alai (@RobertAlai), one of the first to report that something more sinister was underway:
Many foreigners and locals shot in the #WestgateAttack. This is not a robbery – Police Source.
— Robert A. (@RobertAlai) September 21, 2013
After images like these began to circulate, it was becoming clear that an act of terror had been perpetrated in Westgate:
Don't look if you don't want to #westgate pic.twitter.com/fnXZOwGdPa
— Alan Boswell (@alanboswell) September 21, 2013
Who is behind the Westgate attack?
At about 11 p.m. in the evening, President Uhuru Kenyatta addressed the nation and confirmed that what was happening in Westgate was, indeed, a terror attack. Via KTN:
Mr. Kenyatta was sombre and informed his people the enormity of what Kenya was experiencing:
This morning, a group of armed terrorists forcefully entered the Westgate Mall in Nairobi’s Parklands area and unleashed senseless violence upon customers and workers. They have killed at least 39 innocent people and injured more than 150 others. With the entire nation, I stand with the families of those who have lost their lives and extend every Kenyan’s deepest condolences.
Later, it would be reported that he too had lost loved ones:
According to reports, the president’s nephew, Mbugua and his fiancée Wahito, were shot dead during the attack and from a witness account, Mbugua had made it safely out of the building when he realised that his fiancee was still stuck in the building. He rushed back to get her only to be shot dead together with his fiancee.
Despite the confirmation that the Westgate attack was an act of terrorism, it was still unclear who had perpetrated it.
In his statement to the nation, President Kenyatta did not name assign responsibility to any specific group. But soon, a Twitter handle believed to be controlled by Al-Shabaab, a Somali Islamist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The account has since been suspended, but their claim of responsibility is captured in this Storify piece by Canoe News. Robert Alai was also able to capture an image of the Al-Shabaab alleged Twitter page before it was taken down:
And #AlShabaab now say that they will soon post the video of #WestgateAttack pic.twitter.com/Q2sRBBkSF4
— Robert A. (@RobertAlai) September 21, 2013
Indeed, hours later, a YouTube clip purporting to be by Al-Shabaab was posted online. In grandiose and religious tones, the message was chilling:
Soon after, a group of Muslim Scholars reacted angrily to the claims by supposed members of Al-Shabab that their actions were committed in the name of Islam. The Nigerian popular online platform, Nairaland, quoted a Sheikh Abu Eesa Niamatullah, denouncing what he called their turning of blood of civilians into cheap commodity. He went on to say,
You never touched anything except that you destroyed it, you never entered a legitimate cause except that you corrupted it, you never came across the sanctity of human life except that you violated it, and you never tried to act in the name of Islam except that you polluted it.
So why now, Al-Shabaab?
The audacity of this attack has left some to suggest it may portend a new phase for the Somali Islamists.
In August of this year, analyst Abdihakim Ainte (@Abdikhakim) writing on the website Al-Monitor suggested that the defeats experienced by the group in Somalia at the hands of Ugandan and Kenyan troops has forced it to adopt a more guerrilla and assymetrical type of warfare. To wit:
In a recent audio message, Ahmed Godane, al-Shabab’s operational brain, made it clear that he is determined to reverse the organization’s plummeting operations. That includes, as he put it, plans to install a whole new generation who can interact with fast-moving jihadist warfare. Unlike al-Shabab 1.0, the upgraded al-Shabab is likely to have new recruiters — mostly youths, under 30, who have exposure to the West and are fluent in foreign languages, to appeal to coming generations. This seems evident in new footage released by al-Shabab featuring three young Somali-Americans who died while waging war. The video “The Path to Paradise: From the Twin Cities to the Land of Migration” is part of al-Qaeda-approved propaganda messages to appeal to the next generation.
Meanwhile, Ken Menkhaus over at Think Progress concured that Al-Shabab is indeed weakened. Menkhaus went on to argue that this latest gamble by the group was an attempt to reframe the terms of the conflict in Somalia:
The Westgate attack is the latest sign of the group’s weakness. It was a desperate, high-risk gamble by Shabaab to reverse its prospects. If the deadly attack succeeds in prompting vigilante violence by Kenyan citizens or heavy-handed government reactions against Somali residents, Shabaab stands a chance of recasting itself as the vanguard militia protecting Somalis against external enemies. It desperately needs to reframe the conflict in Somalia as Somalis versus the foreigners, not as Somalis who seek peace and a return to normalcy versus a toxic jihadi movement.
On Twitter, Charles Onyango Obbo (@coboo3) disagreed, saying that the attack shows the metastasizing of Al-Shabaab:
@mmnjug @QulshTM Interesting, though my analysis is that Al-Shabaab is metamorphosing into a regional terror group, not declining.
— Charles Onyango-Obbo (@cobbo3) September 22, 2013
A version of this perspective was echoed in the analysis from the website Somalia Newsroom, which argued that the Westgate attack was inevitable blowback from Kenya's continued operations in Somalia. Additionally, they pointed out, a lack of a long-term strategic plan on how to combat terrorism by Kenya may explain Al-Shabaab's continued potency:
The Kenyan government may find more progress in combatting the influence of al-Shabaab and its sympathizers by building bridges between communities rather than scapegoating, offering under-served communities more resources to serve youth and families, and undertaking serious reform and accountability for security forces’ actions on civilians.
While Kenya’s current approach to al-Shabaab has garnered some successes, it has created tension in Somalia and left unaddressed shortcomings at home. Rather than respond in blind rage to the Westgate attack, Kenya should meditate and answer soberly to the real questions that it is confronting in trying to increase stability at home and abroad.
There is no doubt that, as time goes by, more pondering and analysis will follow to reflect on the horrific events of 21 September.
Also read: Global Voices Author Remembers Friends Slain in Nairobi Mall Attack.


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In The Central African Republic, “We Still Hope to Live Together In Peace”   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Rebels in the Central African Republic. CC License-BY-2.0
As the conflict between the rebels of Sékéla and the national army of the Central african Republic rages on, tension mounts in the city of Bossangoa. Locals fear that the conflict may not spill into open fighting between the christian and muslim communities. Some still hold hope for appeasement though, like the Iman of the downtown mosque [fr]:
C’est notre pays, nous sommes aussi natifs. Mais nos frères chrétiens nous prennent toujours pour des étrangers. Ils nous assimilent à leur malheur et nous ne comprenons pas. Nous demandons aussi la paix..
This is also our country, we were born here. But out christian brethren still see us as strangers.They think we are the cause of their sorrow and we do not know why. We too still hope for peace..
The humanitarian crisis in the country is getting worse by the day. Hippolyte Donossio reports that 150 people were killed and thousands of homes were burnt by the rebels during the week-end.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Latin America Remembers the Disappeared  · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Demonstration organized by the Association of Relatives of Detenidos-Desaparecidos (Disappeared Detainees). 2009, Santiago, Chile. Photo courtesy of antitezo on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
This is the first part of a two-part article.
The Latin American Federation of Associations for Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared and the Organization for the United Nations declared August 30 as an international day of remembrance to commemorate the victims of forced disappearances and remind governments worldwide that the loved ones of those who have disappeared have not forgotten them.
During this time, many movements and organizations have utilized the Internet as a space to tell their stories and to reflect together about the state's use of terrorism that is common in times of dictatorships.
In accordance with a Wikipedia article:
El crimen de desaparición forzada, definido en textos internacionales y la legislación penal de varios países, está caracterizado por la privación de la libertad de una persona por parte de agentes del Estado o grupos o individuos que actúan con su apoyo, seguida de la negativa a reconocer dicha privación o su suerte, con el fin de sustraerla de la protección de la ley. El asesinato de la persona víctima de desaparición forzada, frecuentemente tras un cautiverio con torturas en un paradero oculto, pretende favorecer deliberadamente la impunidad de los responsables, que actúan con el fin de intimidar o aterrorizar a la comunidad o colectivo social al que pertenece la persona.
Forced disappearance as a crime, defined by international texts and penal legislation in various countries, is characterized by the imprisonment of people by agents of the state or groups or individuals acting with their support, following a refusal to recognize said imprisonment or their fate with the goal of removing any protection by the law. The murder of a victim of forced disappearance, frequently through captivity and torture in a hidden location, deliberately favors the impunity of those responsible, who operate with an objective to intimidate or terrorize the victim's community or society.
These disappearances have left a profound footprint on Latin American cities and towns, places where similar cases exist today. Collecting a representative number of demonstrations and activities that can be found on the Internet would be impossible in just one post. Furthermore, it is important to point out that cases of disappearances differ from country to country and region to region in accordance with the nature of their particular conflicts.
Hoping to bring ourselves closer to the various movements seen on the web and to understand what could be behind these crimes, we will share here what can only be a small sampling of the stories told online and the organizations that connect those who remember the disappeared through the Internet; and that seek to, at the same time, see that justice is done and keep memories alive.
The Villa Grimaldi Park and Museum [es] in Chile offers activities and provides an oral archive of stories from some of the relatives of victims of forced disappearances that took place during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. In the following video, some participants explain the importance of recollecting memories and testimonies:
In The Clinic, Héctor Salazar reflects [es] upon the importance of a continuous dialogue about the facts surrounding the disappearances and abrupt power shifts in the face of the anniversary of the coup d'état against Salvador Allende. For Salazar, certain elements should be highlighted:
Muchos se preguntan el por qué vamos recurrentemente a nuestro pasado reciente […] pareciera que existe en nosotros una tendencia inevitable por seguir escarbando en ese pasado como si en ello se nos fuera la vida. […] Las causas del golpe militar son materia de debate y nos cuesta mucho concordar los múltiples factores que incidieron en dicho desenlace en razón de que el camino recorrido para ir aceptando las responsabilidades propias ha sido escatimado buscando cargar las tintas en el adversario… [Así] la mentira se instaló oficialmente ese mismo once de septiembre en el país y los que la instalaron fueron las propias fuerzas armadas.
Todo ello corrompió el alma nacional hasta tal punto que hoy la incredulidad es el estado natural de nuestra sociedad.
Many ask themselves the reason why we keep looking back to our recent past […] it would seem that we have an inevitable tendency to continue digging up that past as if it were life to us. […] The causes of the military coup are material for debate and it is very trying for us to agree on the multiple factors that played a part in said outcome because the path taken to accepting responsibilities has been spared in exchange for piling the blame on the enemy… That's how the lie was officially installed that same September 11 and those that put it there were armed forces of that country.
All of that corrupted the national spirit to such a point that today incredulity is a natural state of our society.
On El Quinto Poder [es] during Mother's Day celebrations, Felipe Henríquez wrote about an approach to understanding the pain of the mothers of the disappeared and dedicated his words “to those mothers of this Chile without sons and daughters that are not celebrated today but rather commemorated.”:
A esas madres que se ven a sí mismas frente al espejo, sesenta años después de haberlos parido, pariéndolos una y otra vez todas las mañanas. Treinta y ocho años sin sus hij@s, en una vida eterna.
To those mothers that see themselves in the mirror, sixty years after giving birth to them, giving birth to them again and again every morning. Thirty-eight years without their sons and daughters, an eternal life.
In Colombia, the Medellín Municipal Counsel [es] publishes information concerning forced disappearances in Antioquia, which according to the blog is the Colombian department with the highest rate of forced disappearances:
Medellín presenta este año dos mil desaparecidos, de los cuales 199 casos son por desaparición forzada.
This year Medellín has reported two thousand disappeared persons, 199 of which are cases of forced disappearance.
Also in Colombia, where forced disappearances are tied to paramilitary groups, Pablo Romero collects one of the numerous testimonies that mothers of the disappeared may give:
From Argentina, Rubén Reveco [es] explains some of the characteristics of forced disappearances.
La desaparición forzada se ha usado a menudo como estrategia para infundir el terror en los ciudadanos. La sensación de inseguridad que esa práctica genera no se limita a los parientes próximos del desaparecido, sino que afecta a su comunidad y al conjunto de la sociedad.
Forced disappearance is often used as a strategy to inspire terror amongst citizens. The feeling of insecurity that this action generates is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared. Rather, it affects the community and the society as a whole.
In the same way, Reveco notes the presence of these crimes on an international level and emphasizes that many victims may come from human rights defense groups and that they may also suffer from significant physical limitations that make the situation much more awful.
Las desapariciones forzadas, que en su día fueron principalmente el producto de las dictaduras militares, pueden perpetrarse hoy día en situaciones complejas de conflicto interno, especialmente como método de represión política de los oponentes.
Es motivo de especial preocupación:
-el acoso de los defensores de los derechos humanos, los parientes de las víctimas, los testigos y los abogados que se ocupan de los casos de desaparición forzada;
-el uso por los Estados de la lucha contra el terrorismo como excusa para el incumplimiento de sus obligaciones; y la todavía generalizada impunidad por la práctica de la desaparición forzada.
Debe prestarse también especial atención a los grupos de personas especialmente vulnerables, como los niños y las personas con discapacidad.
Forced disappearances, which in their day were primarily the product of military dictatorships, can be perpetrated today in complex situations during internal conflict, especially as a method of political repression of opponents.
Issues of special concern are:
-the abuse of human rights supporters, relatives of the victims, witnesses and lawyers that take on forced disappearance cases;
-the state's use of a battle against terrorism as an excuse to not fulfill their obligations; and the still generalized impunity for the practice of forced disappearance.
Special attention should also be paid to particularly vulnerable groups of people, such as children and people with disabilities.
On Tumblr, under the tag #detenidos-desaparecidos [es] (disappeared detainees), many tributes, photographs and notes are continuously posted. In particular, the page publishes quotes, photographs and slogans that aim to contribute to the fight to keep memory alive through this social medium.
Another demonstration of the fight to keep memory alive and a way to help us understand the sorrow of the loved ones of someone who has disappeared can be seen in the blog titled Daniel Acosta [es]. This blog serves as a space for Daniel Acosta's family members to post photographs, connect with institutions and write on key anniversaries in an attempt to stop time in the moment that Daniel was forced to disappear, September 14, 1979. The blog's introduction reads:
Pese a los años que han pasado de tu desaparición, tu ausencia se siente como si fuera ayer. Esos ojos azules como el cielo que aun vemos, ese corazón noble y luchador con que te recuerdan. No nos devolverán tu hermosa mirada, es cierto,ni ese gran corazón, pero tu lucha no fue en vano Dani…
Despite the years that have passed since your disappearance, your absence is felt as if it were yesterday. Those sky blue eyes that we still see, that noble, tenacious heart with which you are remembered. Your beautiful gaze will not be returned to us, that is certain, and neither will that heart, but your fight was not in vain Dani…
Various artists have also united in the recovery of memory. Among them, Rubén Blades wrote a song called “Desapariciones”, which was written and recorded in honor of victims of forced disappearances. Youtube user “daspork” shares a video of a musician performing the song on the metro.
Marcelo Bulgarelli used Maná's version of the song to create a video that combines images, video and bitter testimonies of some of the mothers of the disappeared.
Gathering these experiences is not only a difficult job but also a limited one. Virtual networks in the region overflow with photographs, songs, tributes, blogs and debates. In an effort to collect a bit more of what can be found on the internet concerning this subject, there will be a second part to this article in hopes of including more stories from other countries in the region.

author: Laura Vidal


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Peruvian Physician Among Victims of Attack in Nairobi · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Peruvian news agency Andina informed [es] on Saturday, September 21, 2013, that Peruvian physician Juan Jesús Ortiz is one of the fatalities from the attack in Kenya's capital city, Nairobi, which has left a death toll of 59 individuals and over 175 injured.
This is how Periodismo en Línea tweeted the news:
Médico peruano entre los fallecidos por atentado terrorista en Kenia: Cancillería confirma que Juan Jesús Ortiz… http://t.co/qdqi6Vqbke
— Periodismo en Línea (@periodismoperu) September 22, 2013
Peruvian physician among the mortal victims of terrorist attack in Kenya: Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Juan Jesús Ortiz…

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Potraits in Black: Africans in Italy · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Portraits in Black is a work of three photographers – Marco Ambrosi, Matteo Danesin and Aldo Sodoma – the Centre for Immigration Studies in Verona, the Cities of Verona and Padua, the Padua University Sociology Department showing Africans in Italy.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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@ReporteYa: Citizen Journalism from #Venezuela · Global Voices
Periodismo Ciudadano

[All links lead to Spanish-language sites.]
“Reporte Ya” (“Report Now”) is the name of one of Venezuela's most popular citizen journalism networks. With almost 65,000 followers on Twitter, @ReporteYa is closely linked to a traditional newspaper like El Nacional, giving us an example of a collaboration between professional and citizen journalism, which once again highlights the need for a cooperation of this informative phenomenon.
This week they speak to us about how the growing use of mobile technology has permitted the expansion of this phenomenon known as “Citizen Journalism”:
El fácil acceso a las redes a través de los teléfonos inteligentes ha permitido que todos podamos ser portadores de noticias, sin la necesidad de ser licenciados en comunicación.
Easy access to networks through smartphones has allowed all of us to be carriers of news without the need to have gone to University to study Communications.
“Welcome to Reporte Ya, your Citizen Journalism network.”
Last year they showed us how this network of reporters can be of great use during specific events such as elections. To offer informative coverage alternative to the traditional, they launched a collection of practical tips on Twitter on how to use Twitter to provide election information.
Besides collaborating to cover major scheduled events like elections, citizen collaboration is fundamental to having these correspondents report on what is happening on the streets in real time.
Muchas organizaciones aliadas nos envían informaciones de interés general pero son los ciudadanos comunes los que se convierten en reporteros estrellas al enviarnos la información al momento de producirse.
Many partner organizations send us information of general interest, but it is the ordinary citizens who become star reporters when sending us the information at the moment it occurs.
This project started in October 2010 in collaboration with the Miguel Otero Silva Cultural Foundation, as highlighted in Reportero24, “to include communities in the process of searching for and spreading information.”
In 2011, Patricia Rodríguez, coordinator for the foundation and @ReporteYa, pointed out citizen education as an objective of her start up:
“Parte de nuestra mirada estratégica incluye capacitar a todas las personas en el uso de las redes sociales, sin importar su edad, posición política o profesión. En muchos casos eso incluye acercarlos a un mundo muy técnico o lejano, pero que indiscutiblemente esta hecho para nosotros”.
“Part of our strategic outlook includes enabling all people in the use of social networks, regardless of age, political position, or profession. In many cases this includes bringing them closer to a very technical or far-off world, but one that is unquestionably made for us”.
In May 2011, they started this platform's blog through a project entitled “Social Networks Online”, with the goal of using Twitter as an exceptional communication channel because of its immediacy in providing a wider audience with messages from civil associations, non-governmental organizations, neighborhood leaders, and communities in general:
Nos hemos trazado la misión de formar a los nuevos Periodistas Ciudadanos a través de talleres de capacitación en los que explicamos los distintos elementos para el manejo del twitter, y presentamos cómo las noticias que se producen viajan a una velocidad indescriptible, dando origen una nueva narrativa comunicacional construida sobre los cimientos de sus tweets, mensajes directos, fotos y videos que se alzan en la red y que se multiplican y persisten gracias a nuestra plataforma @REPORTEYA y nuestro aliado El Nacional Web.
We have set the task of training new Citizen Journalists through training workshops in which we explain the different elements of managing Twitter, and we present how news that is produced travels at an indescribably speed, giving rise to a new communication narrative built on the foundation of their tweets, direct messages, photos, and videos that pop up online and multiply and persist thanks to our platform @REPORTEYA and our partner El Nacional Web.
According to data collected from Twtrland, a free tool that allows people to analyze Twitter user profiles, extracting statistical data, 65% of the first users of this citizen journalism network are women. 83% of users come from Venezuela since, basically, they report on local and hyperlocal news tweeting an average of 13 times a day. Although in reality its blog has not been updated since August, its Twitter followers do not cease to increase.

author: Periodismo Ciudadano


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Social Media Week Discusses Principles for a Collaborative World · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Follow @socialmediaweek on Twitter or the hashtags for the event: #SMW13 (general), #SMWBerlin, #SMWBog (Bogota), #SMWChicago, #SMWLDN (London), #SMWLA (Los Angeles), #SMWMumbai, #SMWSP (São Paulo), #SMWTo (Toronto).
Social Media Week, a worldwide event which “brings people, brands and organizations together to explore how we connect and communicate as a society”, starts today, September 23, 2013.
In the second edition of this year's global conference, with the cities of Berlin, Bogotá, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, São Paulo and Toronto as hosts, more than 1,000 events are expected to take place “exploring the social, cultural and economic impact of social media”.
The global theme that marks the fifth year of Social Media Week is “Open & Connected: Principles for a collaborative world”.

author: Sara Moreira


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The Disneyfication of Ellen Sirleaf Johnson · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Aaron Leaf discusses how the Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is often presented by western media as an avatar of all things good. He says that this was the narrative that made her an icon of international development and women’s empowerment.


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Tracking Kenyan Social Media During Westgate Mall Attack · Global Voices
Ivan Sigal

Anahi Ayala Iacucci is maintaining a list of prominent social media sources and verified information about the terror attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall on her blog, Diary of a Crisis Mapper. She is also maintaining an open Google Doc for updates and additions. Anahi works at the intersection of media, crisis, and technology.

author: Ivan Sigal


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Blogger Claims Russian Foreign Minister to be Sacked · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Footage of Syrian government forces firing on rebels from ANNA-News, a news agency associated with el-murid. YouTube screenshot.
As Russia and the United States are trying to work out a tenuous agreement on the matter of foreign intervention in the Syrian conflict, the slim hope that the United States will refrain from military strikes is in danger, reports el-murid [ru], a Russian blogger who writes extensively on the Arab world and conflict in the Middle East.
On September 18 el-murid reported [ru] that he had inside information about a coming reshuffling of the Kremlin power structure:
Хочу сказать сразу – информация, которую мне сейчас передали, непроверяема. Однако она тревожна настолько, что умалчивать ее попросту нельзя. На столе у Путина лежит указ о снятии с должности министра иностранных дел Лаврова. Его должен сменить нынешний замминистра Рябков. Атака на Лаврова идет с подачи аппарата правительства, вменяется в вину ему излишне жесткая позиция во время сирийского кризиса и осложнение отношений с Соединенными Штатами.
I want to start by saying that the information I just received is unverifiable. But it's so worrying that I cannot keep it quiet. Putin's desk has an executive order laying on top of it, dismissing Lavrov as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He will be replaced by the current vice-minister Ryabkov. The attack on Lavrov comes from the ministerial apparatus, who blame him for his hard-line position on the Syrian crisis, as well as a deterioration of relations with the United States.
Lavrov has been vocally opposed to US military intervention in the conflict. He has also been instrumental in creating the recent plan for Syria to turn its chemical arsenal over to international authorities. If he does indeed get sacked, this would definitely mean change in Russian foreign policy. El-murid claims that this change would be in the direction of accommodating the US in passing a UN resolution authorizing military action in Syria, and could be a catalyst for reneging on agreements with Sec. of State Kerry.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Wikimedia Commons, CC 3.0.
All of this must be taken with a large grain of salt, as el-murid's trustworthiness as a source is unclear at best. Deanonimized [ru] as Analtoly Nesmiyan, he is a self-proclaimed military expert with ties to the intelligence community who has apparently never served in the military. He is associated with ANNA-News [ru], a one-man news agency founded in 2011. For the past year the agency, run by one Marat Musin, has reported from Syria via YouTube videos. It has been alleged that it has ties to the group Friends of Syria, and is perhaps funded by the Syrian government. In 2012 Nesmiyan came under attack from the political analyst Lev Vershinin [ru], who blogs under putnik1. Vershinin accused [ru] Nesmiyan of supporting the Syrian opposition, being involved in the kidnapping of the journalist Anhar Kochneva [Global Voices report], and being a small-time crook in the 1990s.
Soon after he published his scoop on Lavrov, Nesmiyan posted an update, reiterating that he can't verify the information, but defending its dissemination:
Тем не менее, если в этой информации есть хотя бы грамм правды, то считаю, что сделал все правильно. Сам факт того, что подобные вещи делаются втайне, говорит о том, что огласка этим людям очень не по нутру. Поэтому и нужно делать то, что противоречит их интересам и планам. Если Лаврова снимут – даже с повышением – я опубликую те имена, которые стоят за таким решением. Они мне известны.
Nevertheless, if this information contains even a gram of truth I think I was in the right. Just the fact that such things are done in secret says that these people don't want publicity. That's why one should take actions that oppose their interests and plans. If Lavrov gets the sack – even if he gets promoted – I will publicize the names of the people behind the decision. They are known to me.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Chile’s Student Uprising: ‘There’s a Story to Be Told’ · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Chilean students protesting, 2011. Photo by Francisco Osorio on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
British-Chilean documentary filmmaker Pablo Navarrete is working alongside his father, Roberto Navarrete, on an independent documentary about the Chilean student movement.
They recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, where they share the following summary about their upcoming film:
Chile’s Student Uprising’ tells the story of the student protests taking place in Chile today demanding a free and state-funded education system and radical change in society. The film puts the protests in their historical context of widespread dissatisfaction with the economic model put in place under the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990), but that still remains largely in place.
The film’s director Roberto Navarrete travelled to Chile in 2011 and 2012 to speak to student leaders such as Camila Vallejo and Giorgio Jackson, but also to ordinary students, and to understand why their protests are causing such effect in Chile and inspiring others in Chile and beyond.
Roberto Navarrete is no stranger to student activism; he was a politically active university student in Chile in 1973, when Salvador Allende was overthrown in a coup which marked the beginning of Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship.
A recent article by Christine Seifert and Amaranta Wright in Latino Life recounts Roberto's story:
“In response to the coup my medical faculty student union began organising groups of volunteers to go to poor shantytowns that were likely to suffer most in the event of a civil war. I volunteered and it was there that I was arrested. They entered the house where we were in the middle of the night and ordered all the students to lie on the floor. They started shooting even though we were completely unarmed. They could have just detained us. But they shot me because they could.
“They took me to the national football stadium, which had been transformed into a mass detention centre immediately after the coup. About 20,000 people went through the stadium, mostly people who sympathised with Allende, but also others with no political connections. We were thrown into the players’ locker rooms. It was very crammed and then in turn we would be taken off for interrogation. I think I got off relatively lightly. I was badly beaten up, but they didn’t use electricity on me as they did on others.
A month later Roberto was taken to a prison. He was released in 1974 and his parents pleaded with him to leave the country, but Roberto wanted to stay and fight. In December 1974, Roberto's wife disappeared and he was forced to go into hiding in the Venezuelan embassy. He was later granted asylum in the UK, but his wife was still detained. Roberto campaigned for her release in the UK, and six months later they were reunited.
“After dedicating most of my life in England to an academic career as a neuroscientist, I have returned to activism together with my children. With my son Pablo we founded Alborada Films, an independent production company focusing on documentaries on Latin America and we are about to release a film about the student movement in Chile today.”
Roberto's son Pablo, born and raised in the UK, has worked on several documentaries on Latin America. He produced the documentary ‘Inside the Revolution: A Journey Into the Heart of Venezuela’, released in August 2009 by Alborada Films, and ‘The Colombia Connection’, released in November 2012. He has covered Latin America for various media outlets, including Al Jazeera English, the Guardian and the BBC.
I spoke to Pablo about their forthcoming documentary on Chile's student movement and their crowdfunding campaign.
Chilean students protesting, 2011. Photo by Francisco Osorio on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Global Voices (GV): How did you become interested in the student movement in Chile?
Pablo Navarrete (PN): My father accompanied me on the Venezuela trip and the Colombia trip and he had an idea. He used to be a scientist, a neuroscientist, but he retired and he wanted to do something about the transition in Chile. He had been there filming various years and done a lot of interviews, but it was just a very big project and I could see that the student movement was a very interesting topic and it was making the news in Britain and elsewhere, and I felt there was a significant questioning of the neoliberal model in Chile that was permeating significant levels of society.
So I suggested that instead of making this big, dense documentary he just try to make something smaller, and just concentrate on this story and perhaps put it into historical context and try to offer information about what exactly the models are and how there are more than strictly demands around education, but much more profound critiques of Chilean society and the vestiges of the dictatorship.
I’m a firm believer that the content is key, although style is very important; ultimately if you have to choose, it’s content, and there’s content in this film –there’s a story to be told.
GV: A lot of documentaries on the Chilean student movement have been released. What makes yours different?
PN: I think there are a lot of good ones, actually. Hopefully what will make this different is that it emphasizes more the history, the roots, the context of the uprising, the protests and the critique. People talk about the movement but there are lots of different tendencies and debates, even now with regards to supporting [presidential candidate and former president Michelle] Bachelet. So in a way we are trying to show that it’s a movement that is vibrant, but in debate with themselves over different approaches to politics, so it’s not just one movement.
That and also the fact that we emphasize the history and the backdrop and where it comes from.
GV: Tell us more about the crowdfunding campaign.
PN: It has been filmed, it will come out, so we are not saying “donate, and if we can’t get enough we won’t make it”. We are determined to make this film, and the decision was made to make this film. In documentaries sometimes you don’t make it to make money. But the crowdfunding serves two purposes: obviously it allows you to recoup some of the costs of filming and the editing; and two, this conversation arguably wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t launched the campaign, so you find that part of building a network that allows you to do things independently is finding out who is interested in a topic. Obviously it’s great to do stuff that’s commissioned for TV, but ultimately I’m not prepared to compromise certain things that I want to make. So I think it’s important to have a plan B, and the crowdfunding helps to bring out an audience, or to build an audience.
Pablo, Roberto and their small team plan to have the film ready for November 2013, just in time for Chile's presidential elections, which, as Pablo points out, could create a new dynamic in the movement as students continue pushing for an overhaul in the country's education system under a new government.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Disagreements over 2010 Ethnic Violence still Troubling Kyrgyzstan · Global Voices
Aiganysh Ibraimova

Most Kyrgyz protests feature an ОБОН or two. (Photo courtesy of Kloop.kg)
Last week several groups of Kyrgyz protesters attacked organizers of an international film festival featuring a documentary about a famous ethnic Uzbek human rights advocate who was convicted of murder during the country's ethnic violence in June 2010. The attacks highlight the continuing struggle over the narrative of a conflict which killed hundreds and which over three years on is full of unresolved issues.
The annual “Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan” (One World – Kyrgyzstan) international human rights film festival is well-known for its brave documentaries and bold initiatives to unite people and foster tolerance and pluralism in Kyrgyz society. The festival's principal organizer, Tolekan Ismailova of the NGO Citizens Against Corruption, has persistently lobbied for the release of Azimzhan Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek artist and campaigner against torture and police corruption, who was accused [ru] of murdering  Myktybek Sulaimanov, a Kyrgyz police officer, during fighting in his home town of Bazar-Korgon, Jalalabad province.
The attacks appear to have been pre-meditated. On September 19 a loudspeaker-wielding woman and her comrades-in-arms caused a ruckus [ru] near the Manas cinema where the festival was due to be held from September 19-23. The women began to break into the hall, demanding that the film about Azimzhan Askarov be removed from the festival program and insisting on talking to the festival's director. Two days later, on September 21 when the documentary about Askarov was scheduled to screen, another group of people pelted eggs against the cinema facade. While the film was showing another ten men issued aggressive demands to turn it off. With the help of the police the protestors were evicted from the cinema. Askarov, sentenced to life imprisonment by the Kyrgyz supreme court following appeals at district and city level, flatly denies involvement in the murder and attributes his conviction to his prior investigations into police brutality police in his home region. Bazar-Korgon has a mixed Kyrgyz and Uzbek population and now hosts [ru] a bust of Sulaimanov, the policeman Askarov was accused of murdering.
Writing in an online discussion of the first attack that took place before the film festival began, Kloop.kg news editor Eldiyar Arkybaev echoed [ru] suspicions that nationalist political elements may have been behind the female protesters:
И кто стоит за этим ОБОН?
And who is behind this OBON [attack]?
OBON play as special role in Kyrgyz politics. The acronym stands for “Отряд баб особого назначения” – “Special-Assignment-Female-Units” – coined by way of a humorous analogy with Russia's infamous OMON riot police. These loud, provocative women began to appear in the build up to Kyrgyzstan's first revolution in 2005, and are often paid as frontline protesters capable of creating a scene and flustering police. In a press conference on September 23, Ismailova, organizer of Bir-Duino-Kyrgyzstan, accused [ru] police of fearing and even colluding with the female attack units.
In a Kloop news blog discussion of the September 19 attack, Nurlan Azimbaev also criticized [ru] the police's failure to deal with the original protesters:
милиция в качестве наблюдателей? или у этих женщин какой то особый статус неприкосновенности?
Were policemen acting as observers? Or do these women have some kind of special immunity status?
But Nuriet Mamasaliyev, who claims to have been in the south at the time of the ethnic violence between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, disliked [ru] Arkybayev's characterization of the protesters and blamed prominent Uzbeks such as Askarov and another Uzbek human rights activist, Ravshan Gapirov, for the ethnic conflict:
Эти ОБОНовки как выражаетесь,потеряли своих сыновей.которые умерли за единство нашей страны во время июньских событий. Вам легко их обзывать с стучать по клавам,а у меня перед глазами стоят силуэты погибающих во время этих событий.Виной этих событий были такие подлые собаки,как Аскаров,Гапиров и подобные “писцы” хреновы.Извините,но у меня сердце разрывается когда мутил выставляют как Робин Гудов.А почему не снимают фильм как живется вдове и сиротам Сулайманова???А почему не снимают про тысячи наших парней,которые гниют на нарах????Двойной стандарт Запада,навязанный нашим “умникам” доведет до катастрофы и возобновлению новых стычек между этносами. Одумайтесь,организаторы,пока не поздно!!!
These OBON women, as you call them, lost their sons, who died for the unity of our country during the June events. It is easy for you to curse at them using your keyboards but the silhouettes of dying people during these events appear in front of my eyes. Vile dogs such as Askarov and Gapirov as well as idiot “reporters” bear the guilt of these events. Sorry, but my heart breaks when the culprits are portrayed as Robin Hoods. And why doesn't anybody film a documentary about the wife and children of Sulaimanov?? And why doesn't anybody film anything about the thousands of our guys who are rotting in jail?? The double standards of the West imposed by our own “wise ones” will result in disaster and further clashes between ethnicities. Come to your mind, organizers [of Bir-Duino film festival] before it's too late!
Below is footage of the chaos in the cinema during the screening of the Askarov film, captured [ru] by Kloop.kg correspondents:
When interviewed [ru] by a Kloop.kg journalist, the protesters admitted that they had not watched the documentary they were protesting against.
Akhmatbek Zhumabayev, another Kloop reader, offered up a pernicious conspiracy theory [ru]:
Время маргиналов,думаю что МВД само организатор этого кипиша.Где СНБ почему не выяснят кто организатор всего этого.Не хочу оправдывать Аскарова, но такой имидж нашей стране не нужен.
The era of animals. I think that the Ministry of Internal Affairs itself is the organizer of this unrest. Where is the National Security Service and why don't they find the organizers of all this? I do not want to defend Askarov, but our country does not need this kind of image.
Kyrgyzstan's June 2010 ethnic violence remains highly contested. No single interpretation of the events has won popular support in the multi-ethnic country. The author of the most significant international report on the tragedy was declared persona non grata in Kyrgyzstan by the parliament in May 2011 and was threatened with libel by senior politicians the report accused of negligence during the crisis. Many Kyrgyz viewed the report as relying too much on the first hand testimonies of Uzbeks, who most people agree suffered disproportionately during the conflict. In the months following the events, ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek notables released pop songs and poems [GV] offering provocative interpretations of ethnic relations in the republic. Last summer residents of the conflict's epicentre, the southern city of Osh, were fearful that a rap released by an Uzbek MC could reignite hostility [GV].
In the meantime, any objective discussion of the causes and chronology of the events is circumvented for fear of destabilizing the situation in the region again. That rule is especially applicable to the high profile case of the Uzbek human rights activist Azimzhan Askarov.
A Eurasianet interview with Askarov can be found here.

author: Aiganysh Ibraimova


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Esther Vargas Helps Journalists Stay Relevant  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

In the blog News Entrepreneurs, James Breiner highlights the work of Peruvian journalist Esther Vargas and her website Clases de Periodismo [es] (Journalism Classes):
She and her team of four dedicated collaborators compile the latest news and courses of interest to journalists and share it all through social networks such as Facebook  (54,000 “likes”) and Twitter (@cdperiodismo 109,000 followers).
[…]
For Vargas, the goal of the site is to help journalists improve, teach themselves and achieve independence.
“Journalists have the responsibility to change and learn and evolve. It's your responsibility to not stand still, to not get behind so that you won't be replaced by an intern or recent graduate. And you have to learn from young people because they help you understand the new stuff.”


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Humanity Defeated Again in Pakistan, Over 80 Christians Killed · Global Voices
Arslan

Christian community protest in Hyderabad following a bomb blast in Peshawar. Image by Rajput Yasir. Copyright Demotix (22/9/2013)
A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up inside a 130-year-old church in Peshawar after a Sunday Mass. The Daily Dawn reported that over 80 people were killed in the horrendous attack.
The Minorities in Pakistan are in danger for many years. The Jundullah wing of Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the Sunday's attack and a spokesman said:
They (Christians) are the enemies of Islam, therefore we target them. We will continue our attacks on non-Muslims on Pakistani land.
In the town of Gojra in Punjab province in 2009, Islamists burned 77 houses and killed eight Christians after rumors that a copy of the Islamic holy book the Qur’an had been desecrated (see GV article). In another case Christian’s girl Rimsha Masih was arrested by Pakistani police in August 2012 (GV report) who potentially faced the death penalty for blasphemy under Pakistan's blasphemy law for allegedly desecrating pages of the Qur’an.
According to a 2011 report of US Commission on International Religious Freedom, minorities of Pakistan are in the line of fire. USCIRF also published timeline of attacks on Christians in the country during the past decade.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is functioning in Peshawar (KPK province). PTI chief Imran khan supports negotiations with Taliban, but after attack in this PTI vote bank province, peace process may be haulted.
Businesses close in anger after Church blasts in Peshawar. Image by Rajput Yasir. Copyright Demotix (23/9/2013)
Reactions on social media to the attack on church was loud.
Kristina Yn wrote in Let Us Build Pakistan (LubPak) Blog, in a post titled: Peshawar Church Bombing Culprits: Taliban or Us?
Whenever I have condemned such atrocities on the social media the strongest response I have received is that I am trying to defame Pakistan. That I am anti Pakistani. And the biggest of all is that I am anti Islam. I was shocked to see my very own friends who have known me for half their lives say this to me just because I stood up for justice and equality for a human being that too my own country fellow.
Rick Moran wrote at American Thinker’s blog:
Could the Pakistani government do more to protect Chirstians, Shias, and other religious minorities? Of course they can. They are great at giving lip service to ecumenism, but when it comes time to demonstrate their commitment to religious freedom, they drop the ball. Like Egypt under the Muslim Brotherhood, pretty words about protecting Christians were made hollow by radical preachers stirring up the population against the Copts.
Famous Pakistani journalist Dr Shahid Masood (@Shahidmasooddr) wrote in a tweet:
We must strike terrorists with Iron Fists BUT Dialogue Process Should be Continued with those who want Peace! #PeshawarChurchBlast
— Dr Shahid Masood (@Shahidmasooddr) September 22, 2013
Sadanand Dhume (@dhume), columnist of WSJ cracked a joke on father of the nation Jinnah’s ideology. Anti-Taliban and secular activist Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) replied to him criticizing Jinnah’s ideology:
Jinnah was lying and he knew he was lying @dhume. He is primarily responsible for the rise of Islamist nationalism sweeping the world today
— Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) September 22, 2013
A Baloch patriotic and Daily Times columnist Mir Muhammad Ali Talpur (@mmatalpur) tweeted:
#PeshawarChurchBlast proves that in this #GarrisonState #Humanity stands #Defeated. The perpetrators & their apologists R equally #Guilty.
— Mohammad Ali Talpur (@mmatalpur) September 22, 2013
Members of a Christian Community stage a protest against twin blasts at a Church in Provincial Capital Peshawar. Image by Sultan Dogar. Copyright Demotix (23/9/2013)
Journalist of Express News Pakistan, Buhran Chaudhry (@burhan_fawad) commented:
If Christions are killed 4 being non muslim then, Muslims should be killed 4 being non Christions – Justice 4 all #PeshawarChurchBlast
— Burhan Chaudhry (@burhan_fawad) September 23, 2013
Fatima Aziz (@Fatie) wrote in twitter that:
Pakistani Christians treated as unwanted, unloved tenants in their own country http://t.co/DhQ8dl67FN #PeshawarChurchBlast
— Fatima Aziz (@Fatie) September 23, 2013
Pakistan Muslim League (N) activist Arbaaz butt (@ItsBazi) wrote that he doesn’t think that Taliban attacked in the church:
I dont think so k yh Taliban ny kya ha agencies ho sakti han taky muzakrat na hn #PeshawarChurchBlast
— Arbaaz Butt (@ItsBazi) September 23, 2013
I don’t think that Taliban attacked in church, maybe agencies of Pakistan done this as they don’t like negotiations. #PeshawarChurchBlast”
Anon Pak (@Anonpak) wrote that:
It's funny how Islamists can kill their own countrymen and call it a retaliation against drone strikes. #PeshawarChurchBlast
— Anon Pak (@Anonpak) September 23, 2013
Moin Warraich (@moinwarraich) wrote on Xia’s timeline that the Pakistan army is unable to fight against the Taliban:
@Mavric_xia Pak army can't fight with Blocuch nationalists how they fights against islamist. So if u win u clear the mindset. @H_Balouch
— Moin Warraich (@moinwarraich) September 23, 2013
Student of Iqra University, Fahad Khan (@MrFahadKhan) demanded protection of Christians in many cities of Punjab province of Pakistan.
The Christian community also protested in Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Sahiwal, Mandi Bahuddin and Hafizabad. #PeshawarChurchBlast
— Fahad Khan (@MrFahadKhan) September 23, 2013
Zarmina (@ZarminaF) commented:
The white on the Pakistan flag getting redder by the day. So disturbed by #PeshawarChurchBlast, what kind of animals do we breed?
— Zarmina (@ZarminaF) September 23, 2013
Peshawar’s Aves (@ZamanKheil) wrote that:
I strongly condemn the shameful act committed yesterday by terrorists in #PeshawarChurchBlast Pakistanis died and we should mourn the lost!!
— Aves (@ZamanKheil) September 23, 2013
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Afghan president Hamid Karzai and The US Commission on International Religious Freedom condemned this attack.

author: Arslan


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Indonesia’s Forestry Minister Upset Over Harrison Ford Interview · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Harrison Ford of ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Star Wars’ fame stirred controversy in Indonesia when Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan accused the actor of behaving badly during an interview about the country’s  deforestation problem. Ford visited Indonesia to make a documentary film on climate change. Zulkifli complained that Ford didn’t give him enough time to answer some questions during the interview:
Harrison Ford meets Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Photo from website of Indonesian government
The interview time was very limited. I was given a chance to make only one or two comments.
I understand the American man just came here to see Tesso Nilo [a national park on Sumatra island] and wanted violators to be caught the same day.
Zulkifli’s complaint was echoed by a presidential special staffer on social affairs and disaster relief who described Ford’s behavior as “harassment against a state institution”.
But the incident also sparked discussion about the effectiveness of the government’s environment policies especially its failure to prosecute individuals and companies involved in forest fires that caused a deadly haze in the region a few months ago.
Comments left by readers of Jakarta Post reflected the frustration of many Indonesians about the country’s worsening environment woes. Abdul Malik thinks Ford is correct:
Ford is correct. Why is nobody in jail and all their assets taken? Is the minister looking for sympathy?
Sput Jam asks about the slow progress in resolving the issue of forest fires:
How many plantation and land owners have been charged in court for burning to clear their land in Riau?
Next year, it will be the same again. The only difference is the wind direction.
According to Refly Turbo, the interview turned out well because it forced the minister to account for his responsibility in overseeing the protection of the country’s forests:
That was probably the first time in his life that the forestry minister was held accountable. Good work, Mr. Ford.
Ford’s visit to a national park in Indonesia was documented on video.
Here are some reactions on Twitter:
Harrison Ford : Environmental Hypocrite.
— Wulan K. Wardhani (@csi_wulan) September 19, 2013
Even so called National Park are becoming 'public park' for palm oil & illegal logging, no wonder Mr Indiana Jones was disturbed #rainforest
— Rubi Hidayat (@rubi_ruebz) September 16, 2013
Commenting on the complaint of the minister, jacen believes the state of Indonesia’s forests is more shocking than Ford’s behavior:
What is sad is that the Forestry Minister isn't harassed every day of his life about Indonesia's environmental record. I can understand that they were shocked by the documentary's tone, but what Indonesia is doing to its forests is far more shocking. I find these government ministers so incredible that they cannot take any criticism whatsoever because they are surrounded by their cronies, and believe retaining the status quo is acceptable.
Regardless of whether global warming is a reality, Indonesia is cutting down its rain forests at a disgraceful rate.
Unspun reminded the minister to be more prepared during interviews:
…a minister who should have been prepped on what to say and how to answer the tough questions in the first place; a Minister who, if he was honest with himself, would know that Indonesia’s record on  climate change ain’t, excuse the pun, that hot.
So we have this minister being shocked and taking umbrage that someone dared ask him tough questions in a tough manner. What did he expect? A supporting role as Indiana Jones’s sidekick? Chewbaca articulating questions that no one understands except Han Solo?
Phelim Kine urged the government to review the country’s forest laws:
Although the government touts its forestry practices as a model of sustainable “green growth,” much of Indonesia’s logging remains off the books and its revenues never reach government coffers. That reflects a failure to enforce existing laws and regulations which in turn, spawn widespread land conflicts that often turn violent. These problems of a corrupt, opaque forestry sector pose a far greater threat to Indonesia than any aging Indiana Jones.
Meanwhile, a lawmaker supported the minister and demanded the expulsion of World Wide Fund for Nature in the project to preserve a local national park.
Ford also met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and they discussed the various efforts and programs to preserve the country’s forests.

author: Mong Palatino