text:
Ecuador’s indigenous Amazonian peoples launch online COVID-19 tracker · Global Voices
Carlos E. Flores

Waorani Baihuari Community. Photo by the National Assembly of Ecuador/Flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0 license. Modified by Global Voices.
Indigenous Amazonian populations in Ecuador can now see how COVID-19 is affecting their communities through a platform designed and updated by the nonprofit Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Confeniae).
Before the launch of this platform in July 2020, there was no official information that was publicly available about COVID-19's spread among Ecuador's 11 Amazonian peoples. These communities are particularly vulnerable to the virus because of limited access to public services and basic necessities, including healthcare and potable water.
According to Andrés Tapia, Confeniae's communications director, there were repeated calls for disaggregated data to be made available during press briefings and speeches from government leaders in order to understand the impact of the virus on indigenous Amazonian populations. However, when faced with what they felt was an ineffective government response to those demands, Confeniae created its own COVID-19 tracker. The nonprofit helps facilitate testing with the help of universities, and receives case numbers from different sources such as indigenous communities and government institutions.
The aim of Confeniae's project is to allocate services and deliver aid to communities most affected by the virus. According to Confeniae, there are now almost 2,000 cases, with the highest case concentration among the Kiwchua, Shuar and Waorani communities.
Global Voices author Carlos Flores spoke with Tapia through Zoom about the hard work that goes into data collection for the COVID-19 dashboard.
Carlos Flores (CF): Tell us about this COVID-19 tracking initiative in Ecuador's Amazonian communities.
Andrés Tapia: Esta herramienta la hemos diseñado viendo la deficiencia para proporcionar información oficial por parte del Estado. Durante varios meses de iniciada la pandemia, prácticamente, no existió una notificación oficial del impacto que puede tener el COVID-19 en los territorios indígenas. Entonces, viendo esta falencia nosotros mismos emprendimos la tarea de poder sistematizar en una base de datos todos los registros de COVID-19. Primero, [los datos] iban surgiendo desde alertas en cada uno de los territorios, luego se iban confirmando con la realización de pruebas rápidas y, posteriormente, ya en su gran mayoría con pruebas PCR que hemos hecho con varias universidades. Luego de tener este registro lo hemos ido publicando a través de una infografía, dos veces por semana. [Entonces], veíamos que se necesita también brindar una información desagregada por territorio y por nacionalidad. Ahí surgió la idea de generar esta plataforma.
Andrés Tapia (AT): We designed this tool after seeing that the government failed to provide official information. For the first few months of the pandemic, there was practically no formal information about the impact that COVID-19 could have in indigenous areas. Seeing this gap, we began the task of organizing all the COVID-19 records into a database. At first, the [data] emerged from alerts in each territory, afterwards it was confirmed by implementing rapid tests, and later on, a majority confirmed through PCR tests which we did with several universities. We began publishing this data twice a week as an infographic. [Then] we saw that disaggregated data was required for each territory and nationality. This is where the idea of creating this dashboard came from.
CF: Is there still a lack of disaggregated data on COVID-19 and Amazonian communities that the government should be providing?
AT: Hay una información de carácter más interno que nos comparte el Ministerio de Salud Pública donde sí está desagregado, pero todavía ellos no lo presentan como una información oficial pública. Entonces, oficialmente, todavía no hay una visibilización de los datos del ministerio. La única que realmente está viendo [el tema de los datos] es la que estamos proporcionando [nosotros]. Eso sí, también recibimos información desde territorio de varios distritos de salud [del ministerio] que también forman parte de nuestro registro.
AT: The Ministry of Public Health shares disaggregated data with us that is of a more internal nature, but they are still not presenting it as official public information. The ministry's data is therefore still not being broadcast officially. The only thing that is really being seen [with respect to data] is what we are providing. However, we are also receiving information from inside several of the [ministry's] health districts. This is also part of the dashboard.
CF: What will people find when they go onto the website you've created?
AT: Esta plataforma la hemos construido junto a Amazon Watch, Fundación ALDEA, y el Instituto de Geografía de la Universidad de San Francisco. Pero vale la pena recordar que los datos provienen de pruebas que hemos realizado con la Universidad de las Américas, la Universidad de San Francisco y también con los distritos de salud, en coordinación. La herramienta está en español y en inglés y también tiene una versión para celulares, una aplicación. Los datos están desagregados por territorio, es decir, por provincia [amazónica] y por cada una de las nacionalidades. Tú puedes mirar cuántos casos positivos hay, cuántos sospechosos, cuántos casos son negativos, cuántos recuperados, cuántos fallecidos por Covid confirmado y cuántos presentaron sintomatología, cuántas pruebas se han realizado y la fecha de actualización. También hay un mapa que nos muestra el número de casos por territorio [de las seis provincias amazónicas] y por nacionalidad.
AT: We created this platform along with Amazon Watch, the ALDEA Foundation and the Institute of Geography at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. But it's worth mentioning that this data comes from the tests we carried out in collaboration with the Universidad de las Américas, the Universidad de San Francisco as well as various health districts. This tool is available in both Spanish and English and also has an application version for cell phones. The data is disaggregated for each area, in other words, for each [Amazonian] province and each nationality. You can see how many positive, suspected, and negative cases there are, how many people have recovered and how many people have died from COVID-19, how many have symptoms, how many tests have been carried out and the date on which they were completed. There is also a map showing the number of cases for each area [of the six Amazonian provinces] and for each nationality.
CF: Could you give us some technical details about the platform and how you make the data feed?
AT: Bueno, está basada en ArcGIS, una plataforma geográfica, georreferenciada. La parte técnica la pueden explicar los colegas que son geógrafos, yo tengo una profesión de biólogo y he sido el que ha estado sistematizando los datos, quizás es la parte más difícil […] Nosotros recibimos los resultados de las universidades con las cuales trabajamos. Eso lo alimentamos en la base de datos que es Excel, de nuestra base de datos como Confeniae. Esa información es subida en la herramienta de la plataforma de ArcGIS y automáticamente se actualizan en nuestra página web, en la que tenemos una pestaña que se llama “Monitoreo Covid”. Eso lo hacemos público de dos a tres veces por semana, en Facebook, Twitter, en todas nuestras plataformas que disponemos […] Entonces, ahí vamos viendo el número de reportes. Además, te da un porcentaje de cuánto por ciento de casos se ha elevado entre esos dos o tres días que transcurren entre un reporte y otro. Hemos visto un comportamiento de un crecimiento de 5% a 7% diario. Pero, por ejemplo, [también] hemos visto que en el mes de julio se incrementó en el 50% los casos. Empezamos con 1200 casos y ya estamos cerca de los 2000, empezando el mes de agosto.
AT: Well, it is built on ArcGIS, a geospatial and geo-referenced platform. My colleagues, who are geographers, could explain the technical part to you. I work as a biologist and have been the one organizing the data, this is perhaps the most difficult part […] We receive the results from the universities we work with and this is what we feed into the Excel database, from our database as Confeniae. This information is uploaded onto the ArcGIS platform tool and our webpage is automatically updated to the “Monitoreo Covid” (Covid Tracking) tab. This is what we publish two or three times a week on Facebook, Twitter and all other platforms that we have […] We then see the number of reports there. It also shows you the percentage increase in cases during the two or three days between reports. We have seen a daily growth of between percent and 7 percent. However, we have [also] seen, for example, that the number of cases increased by 50 percent during July. We started with 1200 cases and we are now almost at 2000 at the beginning of August.
CF: What do you intend to do with the collected data?
AT: Lo que tratamos es que, primero, los datos nos permitan tomar decisiones acertadas de asistencia social a las familias afectadas. Es decir, con los datos positivos podemos decir que a estas familias hay que apoyarle con raciones alimenticias, entre otros, pero por otro lado, mostrarle al Estado que este debe ser el tipo de ayuda. Es decir, hay un territorio con un 80% de contagios entonces necesita una atención prioritaria. Siempre los datos nos van a dar ese argumento, ese sustento técnico para respaldar las acciones de salud pública.
AT: First, the idea is that the data enables us to make the right decisions about the social welfare of affected families. In other words, with positive data we can say that it is necessary to help these families with food rations, among other things. But it also shows the government that this should be the type of aid, in other words, there is an area with an 80 percent infection rate and therefore it needs immediate attention. Data will always give us an argument, a technical basis to support public health actions.
CF: So, some decisions have now been made on this matter, not by the government but as a community. You have started taking action with this data.
AT: Así es. Nosotros hemos actuado permanentemente, brindando ayuda social y humanitaria a nuestras comunidades en función obviamente de los resultados también. Ya de parte del Estado realmente ha habido una respuesta muy pobre. Si bien hemos podido coordinar la toma de pruebas con los doctores en los distritos de salud [del Ministerio de Salud], ya en la parte de políticas públicas como tal, en la asistencia humanitaria, realmente ha sido bastante deficiente.
AT: That's right. We have been working continuously to provide social and humanitarian aid for our communities according to the results, of course. There has actually been a very poor response on the part of the government. While we have been able to coordinate with doctors from the Ministry of Health in health districts to take tests, in terms of government policies like this, in humanitarian aid, it has been really quite poor.

author: Carlos E. Flores


text:
For LGBTQ+ people in Mongolia, stigma is a fact of life · Global Voices
Amedeo Bastiano

A rainbow flag outside the Great Khural, Mongolia's parliament building, Ulaanbaatar, March 2019. Photo (c): The LGBT Centre Mongolia. Used with permission.
During the summer of 2017, I spent some months in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city. There, I met a young woman in her second year of university, who told me about the difficulties of being an LGBTQ+ person in the country. I was immediately struck by the gravity of some of the situations she portrayed. Although she was only 19 years old, she had already faced such discrimination herself. I knew that she would have valuable insight into what younger members of the country's LGBTQ+ community were going through.
Mongolia is a country with a history of discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. Even though laws exist to protect them, it is not uncommon to read reports of bisexual and homosexual people who have been beaten, raped, or even kidnapped by hate groups. There are some cautious signs of change. At the end of last year, police brought charges against a far-right group after an attack on a transgender sex worker, in a rare case of the authorities investigating an anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime.
So when I suggested that I interview her, she responded that she had to think about it. She was scared that having her name out could put her and her relatives in danger, she said. Eventually, she accepted: the silence had to be broken. She just had two requests: that I would conceal her real identity, and that I would let some time pass before publishing her words.
In 2020, we decided that three years were a period long enough. And to honour her request regarding her identity, I decided to give her the pseudonym of Erdene, which means “jewel” in Mongolian. The interview has been edited for brevity and style.
“I had many problems related to my sexual orientation”, Erdene began.
In Mongolia, she continued, sexual discrimination doesn’t always hit you directly. “People don’t really understand when you speak about ‘sexual orientation’. If I had to tell the average Mongolian that I’m bisexual, they would be like: ‘Oh… Ok’. They wouldn’t react either positively or negatively. Because they wouldn’t understand. But if I showed it with my actions – that would make them surprised”, she continued.
Amedeo Bastiano: How would they react?
Erdene: If you are a girl and you walk hand in hand with another girl, people will just think that you two are friends. No one would suspect you’re a couple. But you would never kiss another girl in public. If you did, people might insult you and yell at you. Especially the elderly and the conservative. Most likely, somebody would approach you and make you stop.
It happened to a friend of mine. She and another girl were dating; once, they went to a park and started kissing. Two guys approached them, saying: ‘Hey, what are you doing?! You both should be kissing guys. Why are you kissing each other?’ Then they forced my friend and the other girl to stop.
People react more strongly to males. If two guys hold each other’s hands, other people would beat them up. That's not uncommon.
AB: Is there any community which provides support to LGBTQ+ people in Mongolia?
E: Yes, there is a small community, a small LGBT centre, and it’s trying to get its voice heard. I joined it. We have a pride march, a pride week and so on… But only a few people participate. Last time [in 2017], at the pride walk, there were fewer than 50 of us. There is no media coverage; almost nobody knows that such events take place. And when people don’t speak about our activities, the impact of what we do fades away quickly. Many don’t even know that an actual LGBTQ+ centre exists. The people who ‘work’ there are all volunteers. They get a very small fraction of tax money, because they are registered as a non-profit organisation.
AB: So, its volunteers are not paid by the government – or not directly. How is the LGBT centre seen by state institutions?
E: Not positively. Mongolia is officially a democracy, and as a democracy it is obliged to defend people’s rights – LGBTQ+ ones included. Our ability to have a community, to be heard, and so on. But in reality, politicians don’t like us. Regardless of their party. They don’t have any interest in protecting us. So they keep silent and hinder any possible change. The centre had to fight really hard to get the small governmental help it now receives. And that took about five years.
Sexual discrimination is a crime under Mongolian law. Harming people because of their sexual orientation or sexual identity [should] involve severe punishments. But this remains a dead letter: everyone ignores the law. If you call the police saying that you’ve been discriminated against, no one will come. And many people – many cops as well as many LGBTQ+ people – don’t even know that such a law exists.
AB: Why are people so uninformed?
E: There are many reasons. The first is the obstructionism of politics; right after come money and fear.
Lately, there have been many new young people visiting the centre. They were 16 to 18 years of age. And they all lamented that they couldn’t retrieve details about the centre anywhere.
Let’s imagine that someone gets harassed or discriminated against. That person won’t know where to turn to. It’s just impossible to find something saying: ‘If you are in a difficult situation, call this number, or go to this place’. There's not even a panel, nor a flyer. When people get harassed, they will most likely be alone, feel alone, and will have to bear their suffering in silence, without the possibility to find comfort and help. They'll probably continue to face discrimination for a long time without seeing any possibility to improve their condition.
This is because those who run the centre don’t do enough advertising. It's not their fault, though. They don’t have enough money to print things out. And on the internet, despite them having a Facebook page and all that, people are afraid of having their name associated with the centre. Members of the community don’t want to share links, send e-mails, or invite their friends to events. Because they don’t want to be discriminated against. Or discriminated against even more. Those who run the centre do what they can. They work really hard. But after all, there's only four of them. You cannot ask too much of four people who work as volunteers. The possibilities are limited.
AB: How big is the LGBT community in Mongolia?
E: Officially the community has between 300 and 500 members. But there are way more LGBTQ+ people in Mongolia. Way more. There has been a survey, and it showed around 30,000 people across the country. But even those who organised that survey know that the real number is much higher. People just don’t talk. Of all the Mongolians I directly or indirectly know, I can recall less than 10 people who fully came out, including public figures. And now that I think about it, they are all women. Not a single man admitted to be gay.
AB: Given how difficult the situation in Mongolia is for LGBTQ+ people, why did you decide to come out?
E: I made this choice because of a friend. In the past, she had a girlfriend with a masculine appearance: she looked like a guy. A gay guy, maybe. She was beaten up twice just because of how she looked.
One time was on the streets at night. The other time was at an LGBTQ+ party. Sometimes we organise parties in the city. They are private events: we prepare a list, and only members of our community who register in advance are admitted. When this girl was beaten, there were three people waiting for us outside the place where we held the party. They tried to get inside the venue, but when they approached the entrance, the bouncer told them: ‘You cannot enter. There’s an LGBT party going on’. So they decided to wait for somebody to exit. He should have said: ‘Sorry, this is a private event’, and nothing else. But he decided to be specific.
He did it on purpose. By telling those three what was going on inside the place, he facilitated the situation. If you work in security, you should be able to tell at first sight when a group of jerks wants to get into a fight, right? You don’t give them a reason. Plus, when the three guys started hitting the girl – who was a customer of the venue he was working at – he didn’t lift a finger. He wanted her to be beaten.
Those three knew she was a girl. When they started, my friend told them. They could understand that from her voice. But they didn’t care. They just wanted to beat her. They felt justified by the fact she looked like a male, so they could get violent. That made me understand what discrimination can lead to. And that awareness is why I’m open about my orientation. I am open, because nobody [else] is. Because if nobody speaks out about the situation, nobody will know. And I want people to know. I want people in this society, especially people my age, to know and to start accepting those who are different.
AB: How did the people close to you react when you opened up about your orientation?
E: I lost a few friends after saying that I am bisexual. Both male and female friends. But I’m actually happier. It’s better to have friends who accept you for what you are, than fake friends who will always be ready to turn their backs on you. My mother knows; my father doesn’t. But here in Mongolia, almost nobody tells their parents. LGBTQ+ people never speak – not even with close friends. They open up only with other members of the community.
When your parents discover your orientation, you almost always have a hard time. I have a direct example of this. I know another girl. Her parents knew she was engaged to someone of the same sex… But not because she told them. They got some clues, read a few messages… When they realised, they cut her internet connection, took her phone and her notebook, and forced her to stay home for two weeks. Then, they made her break up with her girlfriend. This is the typical situation young LGBTQ+ people go through in Mongolia.
For me, it was different. My mother studied abroad, and is a very informed, open-minded person. One time, she asked me if I was happy with the person I was dating. She probably suspected that I was seeing a girl. I said that yes, I was. The only thing she answered me was: ‘If you’re happy, do anything you want. I accept you, I love you, and will accept and love you no matter what. If you’re happy, I’m happy too’. That's extremely rare here.
My mother made me understand how big the impact of your parents can be. How important it is to have their love, how much they can influence your happiness. If it wasn’t for her, I would have felt much more alone and isolated.
AB: Do you think there’s any chance for the situation to improve, in the future?
E: In Mongolia, plenty of people still think that homosexuality is a mental illness. When they find out that someone is gay or lesbian, they are disgusted, and will look for a way to cure the person.
Sometimes, Western people see being bisexual as better than being being lesbian, because you still ‘like the opposite sex’. But here, it’s more the fact that you’re attracted by the same one. People think that if you’re not 100 percent straight, you’re not able to feel love like ‘normal people’. They don’t believe you are able to have regular emotions, control over your sexuality, or a normal relationship. They think you cannot by any means be faithful.
The situation is getting better. The number of subscriptions to the LGBTQ+ centre is rising, especially among young people. We’re getting more visibility, and some foreign [LGBTQ+] centres are promoting our image abroad. Moreover, many Mongolians are now moving to other countries to study or work, and there, they can embrace a more tolerant point of view, like my mother.
But changes need time. That's why I want to leave: I’m proud of being Mongolian, but I cannot constantly be crushed by the hatred of my society.
Editor's note: The LGBT Centre Mongolia was not involved in the production of this article

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Amedeo Bastiano


text:
Netflix to show first Angolan feature film · Global Voices
Dércio Tsandzana

Netflix advertisement for the movie Santana, to be premiered on 28 August. Screengrab. Image text: “I want Dias Santana and his brother dead”
From August 28, an Angolan production will appear for the first time in Netflix's catalogue. It is the feature film “Dias Santana”, made jointly with South Africa.
O filme ‘Santana’, uma co-produção entre Angola e a África do Sul, de Maradona Dias dos Santos e Chris Roland, que se estreou nos cinemas em 2015 com o título ‘Dias Santana’, vai estar disponível no Netflix no dia 28 de Agosto.#NovoJornal #Angolahttps://t.co/gVhp4JFHWA
— Novo Jornal (@novojornalAO) August 17, 2020
The film “Santana”, a co-production between Angola and South Africa, by Maradona Dias dos Santos and Chris Roland, which premiered in cinemas in 2015 with the title “Dias Santana”, will be available on Netflix on 28 August
The film, which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, tells the story of two brothers, a general and a police officer, who discover the identity of their parents’ killer from decades before.
According to the outlet Observador, the film was produced by Giant Sables Media of Angola and Zen HQ Films of South Africa.
The Angolan producer of the film, Jeremias Didalewa, posted a thankful message on his Instagram profile for having managed to close the deal with the platform:
Malta, amigos e compatriotas. Conseguimos fechar o deal com a Netflix. Teremos o filme “DIAS SANTANA” primeiro filme Angolano na Netflix.
Um filme, com uma produção Angolana 80%/Sul Africana 20%. História de uma família Angolana, que começa em Angola e termina na África do Sul. Com vários actores nacionais e internacionais.
Guys, friends and compatriots. We managed to close the deal with Netflix. We will have the film “DIAS SANTANA” the first Angolan film on Netflix.
A film, with a production 80 percent Angolan and 20 percent South African. The story of an Angolan family, which begins in Angola and ends in South Africa. With several national and international actors.
The premiere of the Angolan film comes one month after the first Mozambique film also appeared in the Netflix catalogue.

author: Dércio Tsandzana


text:
From horticulture to Harry Potter cosplay, Thai students find creative ways to protest against repression · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Students raising 3 fingers with their arms tied with white ribbons. Photo and caption by Prachatai English, a content partner of Global Voices. Used with permission.
Students across Thailand have been organizing massive protests demanding “an end to the authorities’ harassment of citizens, the drafting of a new constitution, and the dissolution of parliament.”
The biggest rally to date took place on August 16, when more than 20,000 people assembled at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, in defiance of government restrictions.
Protests are taking place while the country is under a state of emergency. The government has banned mass gatherings, allegedly to contain the spread of COVID-19. Authorities have threatened to arrest participants and charge them with undermining public health, safety, and security.
In response, students have come up with creative means of circumventing the restrictive rules, turning activities such as garden walks, washing the dishes, dressing up as Harry Potter characters, and using the three-finger Hunger Games salute into protest actions. These events have attracted the participation of many young protesters, in addition to grabbing national media attention.
During a student-led rally at Bangkok's Democracy Monument on July 18, government personnel placed potted plants and flowers in the area, more than likely to prevent people from gathering around the historical symbol. Despite this barrier, the protest was successfully held and attracted the participation of around 2,000 people.
Organizers of the protest returned to the monument on July 21 and invited the public to gather and walk around and appreciate the plants. Group leader Siriphob Poomphungphut told Khaosod English:
This garden is (a) waste of taxpayer money. I can’t see the beauty out of it because it obstructed those who were calling for democracy.
Police officers face off with a group of anti-government activists at Democracy Monument, where the campaigners insist they were there not to protest, but to visit the garden planted around the monument. #Thailand #KE #เยาวชนปลดแอก pic.twitter.com/aTo6qohaKa
— Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) July 21, 2020
The assertion made by a ruling party legislator on social media that “everyone wants to help the country, but no one wants to help mom wash dishes” inspired some protesters to gather in front of Government House on July 30, where they symbolically washed several “dirty dishes” such as the defence budget and the lack of funding support for people and new graduates gravely affected by the pandemic.
The last dish washed bore the image of Prime Minister Prayut Chano-cha, the army general who led the coup in 2014. One of the protesters said during the rally:
Every problem originates from Gen Prayut himself. If this dish cannot be washed, let’s break it.
Student activists wash dishes bearing images of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha in front of Government House today in a jab to a pro-government politician who advised the protesters to “help their mom wash dishes” instead. #Thailand #KE #เยาวชนปลดเเอก pic.twitter.com/wekt6xalp0
— Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) July 30, 2020
Around 100 students gathered in front of the Democracy Monument on August 4 dressed in various Harry Potter-inspired costumes. Participants used characters from the popular series of novels to denounce the lack of democracy under the military-backed government, as well as the need to reform laws relating to the monarchy.
One of the participants addressed the lèse-majesté (anti-Royal Insult) law, which has been used to detain critics of the royal family.
We are sick of this. This has been going on for generations. Why can’t I talk about something in my own country? About something that’s so prevalent for every Thai around here?
#saveไมค์ #saveArnon @prachatai_en @PravitR @suthichai @suranand @Atomicalandy @AbbottKingsley @NuttaaBow @RangsimanRome @Piyabutr_FWP @FCCThai pic.twitter.com/qKPnLi1cV0
— stephff cartoonist (@stephffart) August 8, 2020
In the tweet above, the activist dressed like Harry Potter is Anon Nampa, who was arrested by the police for his role in the protest movement. The pilot of the fighter jet represents the prime minister.
Since 2014, Thai protesters have adopted the three-finger salute from the Hunger Games films as a symbol of defiance against the junta.
Students continued to use the sign this year as they press for democratic reforms.
Many have been flashing the sign while the national anthem is being played in their schools. They are also wearing a white ribbon on their arms to protest the forced disappearance of some activists.
On August 20, around 500 students trooped to the Ministry of Education to protest the prohibition of political expression in some schools, in particular, the use of the three-finger salute in campus activities. Students defended their right to air their views about what’s happening in the country.
Several protest leaders were arrested a day after the massive August 16 rally in Bangkok, and charged with sedition, illegal assembly, and breach of the emergency decree in relation to their participation in the rallies held last month.
Bangkok Post published an editorial condemning the arrest:
By all means, the July 18 rally was a peaceful demonstration. Arresting these people for their pro-democracy activities raises the question of whether the crackdown was against the principles of free speech endorsed by the kingdom's constitution.
More importantly, police who are handling their cases must tread carefully. Since it's apparent those arrested have no intention of escaping the law, any harsh action will cause unnecessary anguish.
Another editorial Bangkok Post urged tolerance for student activism:
The youth-led anti-government rallies are certainly testing the limits of society on many levels. Coupled with the Covid-19 crisis and economic challenges, the situation calls for inclusiveness and tolerance as we learn how to move forward together despite differing views.
Students expressing their political standpoint in schools may be an unprecedented phenomenon, but it's nothing to be feared.

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers split over Beijing-imposed mandate extension · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Pro-democracy lawmakers demonstrate inside the LegCo chamber. Photo from inmediahk (CC: AT-NC)
Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam has ignited a firestorm on August 21 after invoking emergency powers to postpone the Legislative Council (LegCo) elections to September 2021, citing COVID-19 concerns.
Hong Kong was scheduled to elect a new LegCo on September 5. Lam's decision comes in the wake of the controversial disqualification, in July, of 12 pro-democracy candidates from running, and Beijing's growing encroachment on the city's governance.
A controversial aspect of the postponement is the resulting year-long gap between the end of the current LegCo mandate and the election next year will be filled. To solve this, the Chief Executive has requested that Beijing's National People Congress (NPC) to make a determination, the latter decided to reappoint all sitting legislators for “at least one more year”.
The intervention by the NPC, even if theoretically a formality, has pro-democracy legislators facing a double-edged sword.
Accepting an extension granted by Beijing's NPC could be seen as a surrender to the mainland. On the other hand, rejection will mean, in practice, a boycott of the LegCo — thus giving pro-Beijing lawmakers free rein to pass any laws.
The quandary has thrown the pro-democracy camp into fierce disagreement; a split now seems inevitable.
The localist parties, a more radical subset of the pro-democracy group, are leaning towards a boycott. Lawmaker Ray Chan explained on a tweeter thread why he is against the NPC appointment:
I refuse the National People's Congress’ appointment to serve for another year. I did not resign from #LegCo. I boycott the term extension. The reasons behind my decision are simple. First, our mandate ends in 2020. Without a new mandate, serving beyond our term is illegal & illegitimate. […] Second, accepting the appointments means accepting the authority of the failure aka Carrie Lam Government & the Leviathan aka National People Congress to arbitrarily change the term of LegCo members. It'll open the floodgate for all kinds of meddling for years to come.
Later, Chan backtracked on his stand and said that he will make a definite decision once he hears from the public.
On the other hand, the Democratic Party and the Civic Party, a more conventional pro-democracy subset with majority of their members coming from professional groups, are inclined to stay in the LegCo. The former chair of the Democratic Party, Albert Ho explained his stance on an interview with a local online news outlet:
我們是不是要放棄反對的機會？如果有一些非常不合理的法案通過，很多不應該花的錢亂花，起碼要有人要在立法會提出最強烈的反對。
We should, by all means necessary, protect the rights of citizens, safeguard our values, and reasonably oppose changes… Are we to give up our chance to raise oppositional voices? If they want to pass unreasonable law or to waste taxpayers’ money, someone has to condemn the decision in the LegCo.
The pro-establishment and pro-Beijing camps have been advocating for a number of contentious issues in the past few months. They include radical changes on the function of the district councils, allowing Hongkongers based on mainland China to vote, implementation of the color-coded health system in the city, and a constitutional reform that would change the rules of the election of the Chief Executive starting in 2022.
If the pro-democracy camp is absent from the LegCo, those bills, which democracy advocates consider draconian, are very likely to pass.
While political scientists argue that a boycott of the LegCo will lead to the marginalization of the opposition and the consolidation of authoritarian power, localists defend it on moral grounds — they insist that lawmakers should not join the LegCo without a people's mandate.
Some localists have added that with the massive disqualification of pro-democracy hopefuls during the nomination period the opposition should give up institutional politics altogether.
Naturally, the debate spilled over to social media, with exchanges occasionally turning bitter as some users labeled pro-democracy lawmakers in favor of NPC’s appointment as “immoral traitors.”
It is against that backdrop that localist lawmaker Chu Hoidick called for an opinion poll or a public referendum on the matter.
While the Democratic Party has listened to those demands, it insists on a more deliberative and scientific approach:
On whether current legislators should stay or boycott the legislature coming year, the Democratic Party will base our decision on a scientific poll. We hope there will be at least one debate between 2 sides to allow HK people a well-informed choice before the poll is conducted. pic.twitter.com/ZBXc2QPRRq
— Democratic Party 民主黨 (@HKDemocrats) August 20, 2020
Meanwhile, many fear that a split between localists and democrats, in the context of diminishing freedom of dissent in Hong Kong, will be very damaging to the city's opposition forces — regardless of the politicians’ ultimate decision on whether to stay or boycott the extended LegCo.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Report roundly criticizes ‘whitewashed’ face of Australian TV news and current affairs · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Seven Sunrise Breakfast show promotion 2016. Video screenshot from YouTube.
A new report by Media Diversity Australia highlights the dominance of presenters, commentators and reporters of Anglo-Celtic background in national television news and current affairs. Anglo-Celtic people are those of British and Irish descent.
Their research looked at 81 news and current affairs programs broadcast across free-to-air television over a two week period in June 2019, involving 270 presenters, commentators and reporters.
About 75 percent of presenters, commentators and reporters have an Anglo-Celtic background compared with 58 percent of all Australians. 6 percent of presenters, commentators and reporters have either an Indigenous or non-European background compared with 24 percent in the general population.
Breakfast television shows had very few people of non-European or indigenous background. One of the most prominent presenters, Nine Network’s Today Show host Karl Stefanovic, clearly felt misrepresented, tweeting:
Im not sure how diverse you need to be to qualify for diverse but I’m of Yugoslav German and British heritage with a surname Stefanovic. I used to be called a wog at school. I’m proud of my heritage. Im pretty sure it’s diverse and nine have always supported that.
— Karl Stefanovic (@karlstefanovic) August 16, 2020
The Twitter storm that followed Karl’s tweet was covered in detail by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), which is government-owned and has an obligation to provide multi-lingual and multi-cultural media services. SBS World News was part of the survey but not their National Indigenous Television (NITV) programs.
This was one of the milder responses to Stefanovic on Twitter:
I'm of Serbian background (both parents are Serbian), and am proud of my heritage. But we are white. No one can look at us and tell we're “ethnic”, and we haven't faced the challenges of being judged based on our skin tone. That's what the study is alluding to. It isn't about us
— Dany Savovic (@d818581dany) August 17, 2020
The Seven Network Sunrise breakfast program, a rival of the Today Show, also copped criticism on social media after the news.com.au article that Karl had responded to.
Academic Susan Carland seemed to enjoy posting this image from the story:
This caption pic.twitter.com/WLmVmdmdFh
— Susan Carland (@SusanCarland) August 17, 2020
As part of the research, more than 300 television journalists completed a survey in June 2020 examining their perception of cultural diversity. More than 70 percent of participants rated the representation of culturally diverse men and women in the media industry either poorly or very poorly. In addition, 77 percent of respondents with diverse backgrounds believed having a diverse cultural background was a barrier to career progression. “Cultural diversity was understood as based on a person’s ethnicity and ancestral background.”
Moreover, the report claims that in July 2020, “100 percent of free-to-air television national news directors in Australia have an Anglo-Celtic background (and they are also all male).” A 2018 report made similar findings about a predominance of Anglo-Celtic company directors in Australian boardrooms calling the situation, “Male, pale, and stale.”
Two of the news organisations, namely the Seven and Nine TV networks, have been criticized for their responses to the report. Seven sees it as a “work in progress,” while Nine's Darren Wick responded:
However, I don’t think simply counting surnames on TV is an effective way of addressing the issue or helps in finding practical solutions to these challenges.
According to Junkee:
Clearly it’s change that’s sorely needed — but instead of committing to help improve things, they’ve both gone on the defence. They’re now being slammed for their victim-blamey response to the findings.
This comment was typical of the criticism:
This is so disingenuous. I’m Lebanese Australian. I’ve applied for a few jobs at 7 and 9 and haven’t even made it to interview stage. I have a masters degree in journalism and have completed a few unpaid internships in newsrooms. https://t.co/r4enzbAM23
— Shane Bazzi (@shanebazzi) August 17, 2020
STEM journalist Rae Johnston is an indigenous woman:
I used to produce and host tech segments on mainstream morning television. When they realised I was Aboriginal, they asked me to speak on Indigenous affairs issues. Not long after I refused, I was told they could no longer pay my $250 segment fee. A white man replaced me. https://t.co/DawdPYL6i5
— Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) August 17, 2020
The report has five recommendations to improve the situation: Make the case for diversity; Collect data on cultural diversity; Establish targets to increase cultural diversity; Recognise the economic benefits of a more culturally diverse workforce; and Prioritise diversity in the organization’s approach to recruitment and promotion.
SBS and the other national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), are required to measure and report cultural diversity but commercial networks are not.
CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) journalist, Andrea Ho, was a member of the ABC’s diversity and inclusion committee when she was recently made redundant. She sent a warning to old media about the urgent need for change:
Important research from @MediaDiverseAU today. But don’t act surprised, we CALD journos told our employers for years. And slogged to change the status quo. CALD audiences have great choices now, so here’s your leaver for change – or it’ll be a death knell #diversityinmedia https://t.co/O7ASR48vOx
— Andrea Ho (@Andrea_K_Ho) August 17, 2020
One of the report's authors, Usha M. Rodrigues, explored the findings on The Conversation with “Whitewash on the box: How a lack of diversity on Australian television damages us all”:
The study also examined more than 19,000 news and current affairs items from Australian free-to-air metropolitan and regional networks, broadcast over two weeks in June 2019. It found the lack of diversity is also reflected in the stories programs make, the issues they examine and the way they examine them.
You can download the full report here.

author: Kevin Rennie


text:
Jamaicans at home and abroad express shock at ‘outrageous and offensive’ BBC comedy sketch · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

Screenshot of a scene from an episode of BBC3's “Famalam” series, titled “Jamaican Countdown”, taken from BBC3's YouTube channel promoting the show.
A skit on BBC3’s Famalam series, which describes itself as a “super sharp sketch show starring black British talent”, has sparked widespread criticism from Jamaicans in the diaspora and at home — including expressions of disgust from Jamaican government ministers.
The sketch, headlined “Jamaican Countdown”, calls itself “a Caribbean take on the classic gameshow about spelling”. Three characters, two men (one a ganja-smoking Rastafarian) and a woman, are trying to guess a word as another woman places vowels and consonants on the board. An over-sized clock on the wall depicts the shadow of a man standing with legs apart; early in the sketch he assumes a stance reminiscent of Usain Bolt's famous lightning bolt pose:
A Barbados-based Twitter user posted the reaction from Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamina Johnson Smith:
JUST IN – Jamaican Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith calls controversial BBC 3 comedic sketch “outrageous & offensive” & will write formal complaint; “Jamaican Countdown” critics felt it provided negative portrayal of Jamaicans through usage of stereotypes pic.twitter.com/FLY269Kiye
— Kevz Politics (@KevzPolitics) August 22, 2020
Health and Wellness Minister Christopher Tufton echoed his colleague’s thoughts:
Agree. Who decided this was funny? Absolute disrespect and disgrace https://t.co/tSWymY0apx
— Dr. Chris Tufton (@christufton) August 22, 2020
Several commentators complained that the sketch depicts Jamaicans as sex-obsessed, semi-literate drug abusers, tapping into several outdated stereotypes. On Tumblr, one diaspora member wrote:
This short clip is full of negative, harmful, and oppressive stereotypes and tropes regarding black men, and specifically, those of Jamaican heritage. It depicts clear race-based sexual stereotyping with its depiction of a black man’s oversized genitalia. One of the show’s actors, Tom Moutchi, has claimed it is ‘banter’, and has not as of yet offered an apology – he claims that he and his friends joke about this stuff all the time.
The thing is, though – this is not a trope that has originated within the black community. This trope stems from the hypersexualisation and fetishization of black men, a concept which can be seen in existence just after the abolition of slavery, in which black men were perceived by white society to be hypersexual, lusting after white women, deeply promiscuous with no self-control. The fact that this programme was co-written by white men may offer even more reason as to why this is damaging and not ‘comedy’ […]
This is actually a very harmful piece of work, and its release seems to have completely ignored the current state of the world in which people are tirelessly campaigning for racial equality. Read the room, BBC.
YouTube viewers had mixed reactions. One observed:
As a Jamaican this is very offensive, […] belittling and seeks to mimic something that's not reflective of my country [….] I am in total agreement with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to bring an injunction on [the] BBC to desist from further airing this asinine show. Its full time people stop thrusting their disgusting vulgarity on Jamaica. Jamaica is a brand and this does not reflect my country's culture.
Others disagreed, claiming it was just a joke. One viewer commented:
So far the overly sensitive people looking to be offended at anything crowd are just edging out those who appreciated it for what it is.
Tom Moutchi, an actor on the show, defended the skit on Twitter:
It’s only funny when it’s not you that’s the butt of the Joke. The cast consist of Africans and Caribbean’s. We’re not trying to single out or outrage anyone – we are just poking fun on our truths and stereotypes.
— Tom Moutchi (@TomMoutchi) August 22, 2020
One critic responded:
This looks like a 70s comedy sketch , which at the time was regarded as acceptable and now racist. Here we are in 2020, because it’s black actors it is ‘banter’. That’s the same defence, used against BAME people everyday. Ditch these outdated tropes and let’s have ‘new comedy’.
— David Lee (@DavidLee668) August 22, 2020
“BAME” is an abbreviation for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic, used in the United Kingdom to refer to people who are not white.
The show’s producer, Akemnji Ndifornyen, described an earlier black British comedy as “part of his DNA” growing up in the UK, which inspired him to produce “Famalam”. The term is British slang for family and close friends.
The heated discussion over this sketch shines a spotlight on the complexities of racial identity, cultural awareness and the wider black diaspora. It also raises the question of what black comedy should look like in 2020 and beyond, after Black Lives Matter has shown how such harmful stereotypes and microaggressions contribute to misinformation and systemic racism.
The episode is scheduled to be broadcast on the evening of August 23 in the UK.

author: Emma Lewis


text:
Here’s why this feminist philosopher has high hopes for Belarus’ protests · Global Voices
Maxim Edwards

“Our president is Tsikhanouskaya”, reads this banner held by Olga Shparaga at a demonstration outside the Government House in Minsk, Belarus, August 16. Photo (c): Olga Shparaga, used with permission.
Despite the government's hopes, protesters in Belarus aren't losing hope. When longtime President Alyaksandr Lukashenka attempted to secure a sixth consecutive term during elections on August 9, many citizens were enraged by plausible accusations of electoral fraud. Hundreds of thousands have taken to the country's streets and squares in its largest demonstrations since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. They demand nothing less than the resignation of Lukashenka, who has denounced the protest movement with increasingly belligerent language. The police have responded to them with rubber bullets and mass arrests.
Women have stood at the forefront of these protests, and international media from The Washington Post to The Guardian have taken notice. The “women in white” stand off against riot police, brandishing bouquets of flowers, as they demand Lukashenka's resignation. These optics are doubtlessly linked to the role of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Lukashenka's main challenger who officially received ten percent of the vote compared to Lukashenka's 90 percent. Tsikhanouskaya, who is married to a popular blogger whose own presidential bid was annulled, has since fled to neighbouring Lithuania, where she has established a coordination council for the Belarusian opposition and urges the world not to recognise the legitimacy of Lukashenka's rule.
This coordination council includes several public figures from Belarusian public life, many of whom still remain in Belarus and take part in the protests. One of them is the feminist and political philosopher Olga Shparaga, a professor at the European College of Liberal Arts in Belarus. I spoke to her about the role women are playing in Belarus’ crucial political moment, as well as her hopes for the future. The interview has been edited for style and brevity.
ME: What motivated you to get involved in this protest movement, and could you explain your role in the newly formed Coordinating Council of the Opposition?
О.Ш.: Первая встреча Координационного совета прошла 19 августа, на ней был избран президиум и определены важнейшие направления работы Совета. Однако 20 августа из Генпрокуратуры Беларуси сообщили, что в связи с созданием Координационного совета возбуждено уголовное дело по статье 361 Уголовного кодекса Беларуси. Непонятно, что это значит для Совета и его участниц и участников, но и по этой причине, и по причине ограниченного времени, Совет только возник, – пока мне сложно говорить о своей роли, или о том, чем я буду заниматься в нем. Очень надеюсь, что Совет продолжит свою работу, и я в нее включусь.
Что меня мотивировало участвовать в этих протестах? Кроме острого недовольства авторитарным режимом, разделяемого с другими беларусками и беларусами, для меня очень важен главный посыл этой предвыборной кампании, выборов и протестов – только вместе мы можем изменить ситуацию в нашей стране. Эту позицию отстаивал штаб одного из кандидатов Виктора Бабарико (который с 18 июня находится в тюрьме), а затем объединенный штаб Светланы Тихановской, Марии Колесниковой и Вероники Цепкало. И ее постоянно озвучивает Мария Колесникова.
Мое понимание действенной, а не номинальной демократии связано с широким политическим участием, с децентрализацией, самоуправлением на всех уровнях и пониманием политиков и лидерок_в как «одних из нас», а общества – как сетей горизонтального сотрудничества. То, как работала команда объединенного штаба, например, через сообщество «Честные люди» (https://honest-people.by), стало подтверждением, что «мы вместе» существует не только на словах.
Но это сообщество только один пример. Такие сообщества теперь повсюду – в кафе «Зерно» в соседнем доме сейчас проходит выставка о росте коллективного самосознания; мои друзья в Бресте работают со множеством других людей над созданием Брестского общественного совета; волонтерки_ы сидят на телефонах психологической помощи пострадавшим от насилия и пыток, и так далее и тому подобное. Это бесконечный список, в котором – миллионы людей, и всем им не нужны лидерки_ы и политики, потому что они сами – ответственные и связанные сетями солидарности акторы.
OS: The first meeting of the Coordination Council was held on August 19, during which members of the presidium were elected and the trajectories of its work decided upon. However on August 20, the Belarusian General Prosecutor's Office announced that a criminal case had been opened in connection with the Coordination Council under Article 361 of the criminal code. It is not yet clear what exactly this means for the council, its members and participants. But alongside the fact that the council has only existed for a short period of time, this case is one reason why it is difficult for me to talk about my role or what exactly it will entail. I really hope that the council will continue its work, and that I will be involved in it.
What motivated me? I share with other Belarusians a deep dissatisfaction with the authoritarian regime. And the main message of this election campaign and these protests is very important to me: we can only change our country's situation together. This position was supported by the campaign headquarters of Viktor Babaryka (who has been in prison since June 18), then by the joint campaign headquarters of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Maria Kalesnikova, and Veronika Tsepkalo. Today it is constantly stressed by Maria Kalesnikova [the only one of the latter three politicians still in Belarus – ed.]
In my understanding, actual rather than nominal democracy is associated with broad political participation, decentralisation, self-government at all levels, a conception of politicians and political leaders as “one of us”, and society as a network of horizontal cooperation. The way that the joint headquarters’ team managed to work together, for example through the Honest People community, confirms that “we are together” is not merely a slogan.
But this community is just one example. Such initiatives can now be found everywhere: an exhibition about this growth in collective self-awareness is currently being held next door to the Zerno cafe; my friends in Brest are working to create the Brest Public Council. Volunteers man the phones to provide psychological assistance to victims of violence and torture. This is an endless list of millions of people, they don't only need leaders and politicians, because they are themselves responsible actors, connected by networks of solidarity.
ME: Much has been said about how Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has been covered in the international press. Several publications have introduced her as a “housewife” (itself misleading since she is also a trained English teacher) but she is probably more prominent than her husband, the blogger Syarhei Tsikhanouski. What are your thoughts on the issue?
О.Ш.: Светлана Тихановская сыграла и продолжает играть очень важную роль как одна из видных акторок протестов и перемен. На наших глазах она стала политиком, т.е. той, кто готова брать ответственность за большое сообщество – всю страну. Поскольку Сергей Тихановский был задержан еще 29 мая, мне сложно судить о нем как о политике, у него не хватило времени показать себя в этом качестве.
С одной стороны, Светлана Тихановская стала символом того, что политиком может стать практически каждый человек. С другой стороны, все же это образованная и очень открытая и искренняя женщина, а это значит, речь об определенном типе политика. Эти ее качества – открытость, искренность и готовность к самопожертвованию, – думаю, сыграли существенную роль для признания ее обществом. Она говорила с обществом на одном языке – сопереживания и со-участия. Я очень рада, что наше общество откликнулось именно на этот язык/дискурс.
OS: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has played and continues to play a very important role as one of the most prominent actors in the protests and the movement for change. She has become a politician before our very eyes, by which I mean she is somebody who is ready to take responsibility for a large community – the entire country. Given that [her husband] Syarhei Tsikhanousky was detained on May 29, it is hard for me to judge his merits as a politician. He simply did not have enough time to prove himself in that capacity.
On one hand, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has come to symbolise the fact that almost any person can become a politician. On the other hand, she is a well-educated, sincere, and very open woman, which means that she is a distinct kind of politician. These qualities: openness, sincerity, and readiness for sacrifice, played an important role in the recognition Belarusian society has shown towards her. She has demonstrated those very traits in how she engaged with the people: empathy and participation. I am very glad that our society responded so well to that discourse.
ME: Nevertheless, despite the sexism shown against her by Lukashenka personally, there is the fact that she has also used some “gender essentialist” tropes in her own campaign. She has played the mother who wants to be left alone to care for her family but has been thrust into the spotlight by need and circumstance. To what extent is this framing feminist or not?
О.Ш.: О феминистском измерении фигуры Светланы Тихановской я бы говорила в смысле impowerment(а) женщин. В беларусском обществе много женщин активисток, женщин в общественных организациях, в сфере независимой культуры. Но они часто не видны, поскольку мужчины остаются на руководящих позициях и поддерживают друг друга, в том числе в СМИ, значительно больше, чем женщин или женщины друг друга. Светлана Тихановская как символ выхода в сферу публичности служит мощным мотиватором для роста решительности других женщин. И я очень надеюсь, что мужчины это также понимают, уважают и принимают во внимание.
Однако я не считаю верным и правильным рассматривать Светлану Тихановскую только как единичную фигуру. Для усиления ее позиция огромную, если не решающую роль сыграло возникновения 16 июля объединенного штаба: три женщины, – кроме Светланы, еще Мария Колесникова, глава штаба Виктора Бабарико, и Вероника Цепкало, представляющая своего мужа, также участвовавшего в предвыборной компании и вынужденного из-за преследований уехать из страны, – сделали то, что не удавалось оппозиционным политикам в Беларуси на протяжении 26 лет, создав объединенный штаб с поддержкой в виде всего общества! Это придало сил и энергии Светлане Тихановской, и в этом смысле я также говорила бы о ней как о коллективном субъекте, своего рода ассамблеи (assembly) в духе Джудит Батлер. И вот внутри этого коллективного субъекта мы видим более четкую феминистскую позицию – Марии Колесниковой сказала о том, что она феминистка в одном из интервью.
Понятно, что это не тот феминизм, о котором размышляет сегодня Нэнси Фрезер, или та же Батлер – где речь идет о полноценном, всестороннем и реальном равенстве женщин (я писала про эту повестку тут например). Речь, скорее, о формировании нового коллективного женского субъекта в Беларуси, который является образцом для солидаризации, ненасильственного сопротивления и горизонтального сотрудничества всего общества.
OS: When it comes to understanding Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's role in a feminist sense, I would rather speak of women's empowerment. There are many female activists in Belarusian society, women in public organisations or in independent culture. But they are seldom visible, as men remain in leadership positions and support each other, including in the media, much more than women do for each other. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is therefore a powerful motivator for other women, helping them become more determined. And I really hope that men can understand and respect this.
However, I don't think it's quite correct to see Tsikhanouskaya as a single figure. The joint headquarters created on July 16 played a huge if not decisive role in strengthening her position. This is led by two other women alongside Sviatlana: Maria Kalesnikova, who led the campaign headquarters for [opposition candidate] Viktor Babaryka and Veronika Tsepkala who represents her husband, who also ran in the election campaign and was forced to leave the country due to persecution. They have achieved what Belarus’ opposition politicians were unable to manage for 26 years: they created a united headquarters with support from across society! This gave strength and a boost to Tsikhanouskaya; in this sense I would speak of her as a collective subject, an assembly in the spirit of [the philosopher] Judith Butler. The feminist position can be more clearly seen in this collective subject. After all, Maria Kalesnikova has referred to herself in an interview as a feminist.
It's clear that is is not the kind of feminism which Nancy Fraser talks about today, or even the feminism of Butler. These both concern the complete, comprehensive, and real equality of women in all spheres (I have written about this agenda here, for example). It is rather about the formation of a new collective female subject in Belarus, as a model for solidarity, nonviolent resistance, and horizontal cooperation across society.
ME: There is a strong juxtaposition between the image of the patriarchal president Lukashenka and the women in white. What are your thoughts on the effectiveness of this form of “gendered protest” in the context of patriarchal social norms?
О.Ш.: Я не скажу, что беларусское общество такое уж консервативное. Так, исследование ценностей нашего общества 2019 года, проведенное Research Center IPM, показало, что 90% граждан осуждают насилие в семье. Однако если мы обратимся к общественным организациям, то увидим типичный для значительного числа современных, поляризованных обществ раскол между (правыми) консерваторами и приверженцами эмансипации. А большинство партий, которые были основаны еще в 1990е, позиционируют сегодня себя как право-центристы. Однако у них очень небольшая поддержка в обществе! А вот Светлану Тихановскую и объединенный штаб поддержало чуть ли не все общество.
OS: I wouldn't say that Belarusian society is really so conservative. For example, a survey of social values conducted by the IPM Research Centre in 2019 showed that 90 percent of citizens condemn domestic violence. However, if we turn to social organisations then we see a split between (right-wing) conservatives on the one hand and those who stand for full emancipation on the other. Such a split is typical for many modern, polarised societies. Most of the political parties founded back in the 1990s position themselves today as right-centrists. However, they have very scant support in society today! In contrast, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the joint headquarters are supported by almost the whole society.
ME: It seems to me that there has been some evolution of female roles in the protest. Women are no longer seen as passive supporters of their husbands or sons, whose role it is to sew flags or to visit them in prison. Just as Tsikhanouskaya is no longer “the blogger’s wife,” but a political actor in her own right. Are we seeing the emergence of women as citizens, rather than women as the wives of politically engaged citizens, in popular discourse in Belarus? Could this female empowerment be the basis for a new feminist awareness in Belarusian public life?
О.Ш.: Отсюда я делаю вывод, что в нашем обществе есть предпосылки для поддержки широкого феминистского движения и феминисткой повестки. Это не значит, что их представительницам_ям не придется бороться за свои ценности и их воплощение в моральных и правовых нормах (например, в Законе о противодействии насилию в семье, за который в Беларуси борется в первую очередь такая кампания, как «Маршируй, детка!»). Однако мне очень хочется надеяться, что после беларусской революции с женским лицом и обществу, и участницам феминистского движения и повестки это будет делать легче.
OS: That leads me to conclude that there are the prerequisites for Belarusian society to support a broad feminist movement and a feminist agenda. This does not mean that representatives of such movements will not have to fight for their values and embedding those values in moral and legal norms (for example, the need for a law against domestic violence, for which activists launched the ‘March, baby!’ campaign.) However, I really want to hope that after this Belarusian revolution with a female face, things will become easier for members of the feminist movement and for society at large.
ME: What is the significance of Chaim Sutin's painting “Eva” to the protests?
Chaim Sutin's 1928 painting “Eva” on a Belarusian stamp from 2015. Image: Public domain from Wikimedia Commons.
О.Ш.: Для меня «Ева» была важна по нескольким причинам. Во-первых, это работа из коллекции «Парижской школы», которая сформировалась в Париже выехавшими в начале 20-го века с территории Беларуси еврейскими художниками. Самый известный ее представитель – Марк Шагал. Для меня это символ пост-национальной, многокультурной Беларуси.
Во-вторых, конечно же, с первой минуты «Ева» стала для меня символом, лицом политически и социально активных женщин в Беларуси. В этой коллекции много работ, но именно Ева – не та, на которую смотрят, а та, которая смотрит сама; сложившая руки так, словно требует отчета о своей деятельности других; строгая и серьезная, – стала символом всей, арестованной 14 июня арт-коллекции Белгазпромбанка.
И этот облик Евы – субъекта взгляда и оценки – опять же поддержали не только беларусские женщины, связанные с искусством, но и мужчины, – например, Николай Халезин из беларусского «Свободного театра» в Лондоне или Никита Монич, написавший о Еве стихотворение, за которое он лишился работы экскурсовода в Беларусском Национальном художественном музее в Минске. Значит, «Ева» ответила на запросы людей, связанных с культурой, а затем и более широкого круга людей, что, на мой взгляд, сыграло свою роль и для формирования объединенного штаба – солидаризация вокруг Евы показала потенциал женского политического участия для солидаризации и протестов в Беларуси.
OS: For me, Eva is important for several reasons. Firstly, it is a painting from the Paris School, which was formed at the start of the 20th century by Jewish emigres from the territory of modern Belarus. It is most famously represented by Marc Chagall. For me, this is a symbol of a post-national and multicultural Belarus.
Secondly, of course, from quite early on Eva became a powerful symbol for me; the face of the politically and socially active women of Belarus. There are many works in this collection, but Eva is not one which is looked at – she is one who looks herself. She is strict and serious, she folds her arms, as though she demands us to account for our own actions. Eva became the symbol of the art collection of Belgazprombank, whose top management was arrested on June 14 [this arrest was widely considered politically motivated, as the long-time CEO of the bank was the opposition candidate Viktar Babaryka – ed.]
This perception of Eva – the subject of much scrutiny and consideration – was supported not only by Belarusian women in the world of art, but also by men such as Nikolai Khalezin from the Belarusian Free Theatre in London or Nikita Monich, who lost his job as a tour guide at the Belarusian National Art Gallery in Minsk after he wrote a poem dedicated to Eva. Thus “Eva” first appealed to people in the cultural world, and then to a much wider circle which, in my opinion, played a role in the formation of a united opposition headquarters. This solidarity around Eva demonstrated the potential for women's political participation, for solidarity, and for the potential of the protests in Belarus as a whole.
ME: What are your hopes and predictions for the future? Can there be any hope of de-escalation?
О.Ш.: Когда мне удается дистанцироваться от происходящего, я вижу, какую огромную работу проделало наше общество: совсем недавно мы сомневались, выйдет ли 100 тыс на улицы Минска – вышло больше; потом волновались, будут ли забастовки на гос предприятиях – они начались и продолжаются; нас поразили регионы, и так далее и тому подобное. Поэтому мы верим в победу, однако остаемся и реалистами – думаем про то, что революция может затянуться, и нам предстоит работа. Однако, я очень надеюсь, и вижу признаки этого, что общество готово и к ней – как большая децентрализованная горизонтальная сеть солидарности и взаимопомощи.
OS: When I manage to take a step back from everything which is happening, I can really see what a tremendous amount of work our society has done. Until recently, we doubted whether 100,000 people would take to the streets of Minsk. But even more people turned out. Then we worried about whether there really would be strikes at state-owned enterprises. But they started, and they continue today. We were equally surprised by the response in the regions. The list goes on. That's why we believe in victory, but we remain realists. We believe that the revolution may drag on for some time, and that we have a lot of work ahead of us. However, I really hope that society is ready for that – as a large, decentralised, horizontal network of solidarity and mutual assistance. I see signs that it is ready.

author: Maxim Edwards


text:
Collusion accusations grow between Haitian government and organised crime groups · Global Voices
Jeanne-Elsa Chéry

Screen capture from a video of an interview with Jovenel Moïse on the EFE news agency’s Youtube channel, dated December 7,  2019.
In Port-au-Prince, Haiti, murder rates continue to rise as armed gangs battle for power with the Haitian government.
In the first quarter of 2020, in the metropolitan area alone, approximately  243 people were murdered. During the anti-government demonstrations in September 2019, the United Nations recorded at least 42 dead and 86 wounded. This followed the massacre of November 2018, when 50 people in the impoverished La Saline district lost their lives at the hands of armed gangs.
This year, allegations of collusion between political parties and gangs struggling for political power have reached a fevered pitch.
According to the latest report from Fondasyon Je Klere (FJKL), a human rights group, the La Saline massacre was caused by gang warfare among politically affiliated armed groups fighting over control of the revenue from Croix-des-Bossales, Port-au-Prince’s main market.
The document tells of an armed conflict between the Nèg Chabon gang, said to be close to the Tèt Kale (PHTK) ruling party, and the Bout Janjan gang, which has aligned itself with Roger Milien, a former opposition parliamentarian who claims to have been aware of the planning of the La Saline massacre.
In June 2019, the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti and the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights shared a report alleging that State Representative Richard Duplan, and three police officers, were complicit in the La Saline carnage.
And soon after the massacre took place, the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights released a report that concluded that the political, judicial and police authorities were hushing up the La Saline massacre.
President Moïse has declined on multiple occasions to respond directly to accusations of collusion between his administration and armed gangs.
The report explains:
La réalité des quartiers contrôlés par les gangs est, depuis quelque temps, marquée par une polarisation constante: gangs pro-gouvernementaux ou pro-opposition/anti-Jovenel.
The reality of gang-controlled areas has, for some time now, been characterised by an ongoing polarisation: pro-government gangs; and pro-opposition, or anti-Jovenel, gangs.
According to the National Human Rights Defence Network, other massacres similar to the one at La Saline have been carried out in the districts of Bel-Air, Cité-Soleil, Chancerelles, Tokyo, Fort Dimanche and Pont-Rouge.
Located in metropolitan Port-au-Prince, these are working-class neighbourhoods where the police barely have control and insecurity reigns. In November 2019, the RNDDH noted:
Selon les premières informations recueillies […], ces attaques, perpétrées par les gangs armés dirigés respectivement par Jimmy Chérizier alias Barbecue et Ti Sonson connu encore sous le nom de Ti Chèf, de la Base Krache Dife, sont orchestrées par les autorités exécutives.
According to information received, […] these attacks, carried out by the armed gangs led respectively by Jimmy Chérizier, alias Barbecue, and Ti Sonson, also known as Ti Chèf, of the Base Krache Dife gang, are orchestrated by the executive authorities.
Chérizier, a former police officer, is now the leader of one of the criminal gangs of the G9 Gang Federation, a group that RNDDH identified in its latest report, published June 23, 2020. The document states that equipment from the Haitian National Police was used to carry out these atrocities, and the report names several police officers allegedly in cahoots with the G9.
Although the Minister of Justice has issued an arrest warrant against Chérizier for his involvement in the La Saline massacre, “Barbecue,” as he is widely known, is still free.
In June 2020, he was pegged as the architect of an alliance between the G9 and other gangs. The following month, the G9 blocked roads and thoroughfares in several districts around Port-au-Prince in an effort to pressure the government to grant them legal recognition.
As far as the Fondasyon Je Klere is concerned, the gangs of the G9 are “accredited representatives” of the government:
Haïti – Gangstérisation : Le G9 est l’œuvre du pouvoir pour contrôler les prochaines élections selon un rapport de la FJKLhttps://t.co/4Tziiyk1a9
— Gazette Haiti (@GazetteHaiti) June 24, 2020
Haiti – Gangsterisation: The G9 is the creature of our rulers so they can control the next election, according to a report of the FJKL.
— Gazette Haiti (@GazetteHaiti)
June 24, 2020
Nearly two years after La Saline massacre, tribunal reports still seem bogged down. Local organisations, embassies and members of the diplomatic community are sounding the alarm so victims’ families can get justice. Thus far, survivors have decried a lack of leadership on the part of the government.
Confidence in President Moïse’s government has crumbled with the build-up of the anti-government protest movements in 2019. With increased corruption, authoritarianism and police violence against protesters, conditions in the capital continue to worsen.
Demands for the resignation of the Moïse government have swept the country since February 2019. Critics have denounced the president for failing to keep his promises while others have focused on corruption allegations that hang over his head.
Journalist Parker James Asmann, in an article for  Insight Crime, summed up the situation:
The G9 alliance has reportedly benefited from strong ties to the government of President Jovenel Moïse. The gang leaders are seemingly free from persecution so long as they help keep the peace in the neighborhoods they control. In exchange, Moïse’s government has found in them loyal foot soldiers quelling insecurity, stamping out opposition voices and shoring up political support across the capital.
Since human rights defenders have accused the government of using gang bosses to intimidate their political opponents, it appears that the cartel looks toward both economic and electoral gains.
Meanwhile, Haiti's legislative elections, which were constitutionally due in November 2019, have yet to be organised despite international pressure. In the interim, these armed groups are in a bid to gain leverage over the elections by creating a climate of fear aimed at deterring voters.

author: Jeanne-Elsa Chéry


text:
Hiroshima Timeline project under fire for racism, fabricated history · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

“Those damn Koreans (朝鮮人の奴ら) are openly taunting us, saying “The war's going to be over soon” and “Japan's going to lose, you know.” Excerpt from Hiroshima Timeline tweet on June 16, 2020. Screenshot of Tweet has been cropped, with full tweet embedded below. Image widely shared on social media.
An innovative NHK project about the August 6, 1945 bombing of Hiroshima has come under scrutiny for using racist epithets to describe Koreans, political interference, and for potentially fabricating historical source material.
NHK's Hiroshima Timeline project, dubbed, “What If They Had Social Media In 1945” (もし、75年前にSNSがあったら) features tweets based on the diary entries of three people who lived through the bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945. Regular people in Hiroshima, including high school students, have helped write the daily tweets and hundreds of thousands of people have followed along and engaged with the project on Twitter. Daily tweets about life in Hiroshima in 1945 are planned until the end of 2020.
In August, however, observers in Japan and around the world noticed the NHK-sponsored project was using a racial slur to describe ethnic Koreans who would have lived in Hiroshima in 1945.
So the NHK, Japan's largest TV station, set up an official account commemorating the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing, and their idea of commemoration is using a racial slur against Koreans who are supposedly terrible people for rooting for Imperial Japan to lose WWII.
— T.K. of AAK! (@AskAKorean) August 21, 2020
The slur, chosenjin (朝鮮人), is used by the persona of Shun (hereafter referred to as @nhk_1945shun), a 12-year-old boy and one of three characters whose diary entries are shared in NHK's Hiroshima Timeline project.
【1945年6月16日】
朝鮮人の奴らは「この戦争はすぐに終わるヨ」「日本は負けるヨ」と平気で言い放つ。
思わずかっとなり、怒りに任せて言い返そうとしたが、多勢に無勢。
しかも相手が朝鮮人では返す言葉が見つからない。奥歯を噛みしめた。#ひろしまタイムライン#もし75年前にSNSがあったら
— シュン@ひろしまタイムライン (@nhk_1945shun) June 16, 2020
June 16, 1945
Those damn Koreans (朝鮮人の奴ら) are openly taunting us, saying “The war's going to be over soon” and “Japan's going to lose, you know.” Although I felt myself giving in to my anger and was going to taunt them back, I finally just felt overwhelmed. Anyway, I couldn't even find a suitable retort for the Koreans, so I just bit my tongue.
About 2 million Koreans resided in Japan in 1945. Some had settled in or had been brought to the country after Japan colonized Korea in 1910, while between 1939 and 1945 up to 800,000 Koreans were conscripted during the war to work in Japan's wartime industries. In 1945, an estimated 80,000 ethnic Koreans lived in Hiroshima, at least 30,000 of whom would die immediately in the atomic attack.
About one million ethnic Koreans still reside in Japan, and still experience discrimination.
According to Twitter user “Tomoka Phenomenon” (ともかﾌｪﾉﾒﾉﾝ, referred to hereafter as Tomoka) NHK's Hiroshima Timeline project appears to have published at least four different tweets that included the term chosenjin (朝鮮人), including the following:
【1945年8月20日】
朝鮮人だ！！
大阪駅で戦勝国となった朝鮮人の群衆が、列車に乗り込んでくる！#ひろしまタイムライン#もし75年前にSNSがあったら
— シュン@ひろしまタイムライン (@nhk_1945shun) August 19, 2020
August 20, 1945
The Koreans are coming!
A horde of Koreans, acting as if they have just won the war, are on their way (to Hiroshima) by train from Osaka!
Since the tweets sent by the three Hiroshima Timeline Twitter accounts are supposed to be based on actual diary entries by three real people in Hiroshima in 1945, Tomoka searched through Shun's original diaries to find some context for the tweets about Koreans.
#ひろしまタイムライン のシュンが「朝鮮人」という語句をどれだけ使っているのかと思って検索すると6月16日に「朝鮮人」を含むツイートが3件見つかった。
この日何があったんだろう？と日記の原文を辿ると、そこには「朝鮮人」なる語句も、蛇を食べたという話も、まったく書かれていなかった。 pic.twitter.com/5ujEhUUx47
— ともかﾌｪﾉﾒﾉﾝ (@tomoka_hidden) August 20, 2020
I started to wonder just how much Shun from #Hiroshima Timeline had actually used chosenjin in his diary. First, I searched the @nhk_1945 on June 16 (1945) for tweets that included chosenjin. I found three. Following up, I took a look at that day in 1945 to find out what happened Shun (to make him disparage Koreans). However, there was no mention of Koreans in his diary […]
The Mainichi Shimbun also reported that Shunichiro Arai, the real person upon whom the @nhk_1945shun's tweets are based, never made disparaging or racist remarks about Koreans in his diaries:
Diary entries by Shunichiro Arai, whose writing forms the basis for Shun's tweets, are being published on the Hiroshima Timeline official website, but there is no mention of “Korean people” in the original text. As a result, one user has commented on Twitter, “I'm not sure to what point this is historical fact, or to what point it is imagined; there also aren't explanatory notes.”
Besides the dubious decision to use the epithet chosenjin in the Hiroshima Timeline project, Twitter user @wayto1945, who publishes a blog that takes a comprehensive look at Japan's colonization of the Korean peninsula, said that the Hiroshima Timeline tweets about supposed ethnic Korean impunity in the dying days of the war are historically incorrect.
Instead, even following the end of the war, ethnic Koreans in Hiroshima still regularly experienced violence. A tweet published on August 21, 2020 by the @nhk_1945shun account includes potentially fabricated content that misrepresents the dangers ethnic Koreans in postwar Japan actually faced:
誰も抵抗できないどころか、1946年8月までの１年間で37件の朝鮮人虐殺、警察扇動による暴力団との衝突、炭鉱争議への警察介入等があったし、敗戦直後は関東大震災時の朝鮮人虐殺が再発する事への恐怖心があったと朝連（当時の在日朝鮮人団体）によって記録されている。https://t.co/JAZBW632Q4
— 1945年への道 (@wayto1945) August 22, 2020
Quoted tweet by @nhk_1945shun:
[August 20, 1945]
I did not have the will to stop crying. At one moment, our own defeated veterans push their fellow Japanese civilian countrymen off the train (to make room). In the next moment, the Korean “victors” pull Japanese passengers off the train with impunity, and no one can resist. How wretched.
@wayto1945's response:
Far from there being no resistance, there were 37 incidents of Korean massacres over the course of the year following the end of the war until August 1946, as police clashed with organized gangs and intervened in coal mine disputes, etc.
According to the records of the Choren (one of the main ethnic Korean associations in Japan at that time), it was feared that, following the defeat, Japan would see another massacre of Koreans like what happened after the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake (when at least 6,000 ethnic Koreans were killed in mob violence).
In response to growing online criticisms, the official NHK blog for Hiroshima Timeline explained that the tweets made by the three Twitter accounts are actually composites, and were based on interviews and diary entries made by multiple people who experienced the end of the war, a fact not originally made clear on the Hiroshima Timeline website.
NHK explained that @nhk_1945shun's tweets, while not always based on diary entries made by the real Shun, who did exist in 1945, are instead intended to represent how many boys his age must have felt at the end of the war, to answer the question, ‘What kind of things might this person have posted on social media?’
当時中学１年生だった男性にとって、道中の壮絶な経験が敗戦を実感する大きな契機になったことに加えて、若い世代の方々にも当時の混乱した状況を実感をもって受け止めてもらいたいと、手記とご本人がインタビューで使用していた実際の表現にならって掲載しました。
In order to illustrate the saga of a junior high school experiencing the defeat in war, and to help younger generations understand the confusion of that time, (the Hiroshima Timeline creators) included actual expressions used by people we interviewed for the project.
The answer, NHK seems to indicate, is that people would have posted hateful comments about Koreans if social media had existed in 1945.
Back on Twitter, Tomoko also questioned how much oversight there was over Hiroshima community participants who crafted some of the tweets, none of whom are trained historians, all collaborated to create @nhk_1945shun's tweets. If the diaries didn't include any mention of Koreans, who directed the team to include the racist term?
Using screenshots, Tomoka also notes that “Yamaneko”, a pseudonym of one of the Hiroshima citizens who helped craft Shun's tweets, says they “received advice from” a public servant (公務員) identified as Ito Naoto, an employee of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI). Ito, in turn, on a social media post screenshotted by Tomoka, states he received “valuable advice” (貴重なご意見) from a Hiroshima municipal assembly member Toyoshima Ganpaku.
Tomoka asks:
公共放送の番組に関わる人に、地元政治家はどのような意見を述べたのだろうか？
What sort of opinions did a local politician give to people connected to a public broadcaster?
Toyoshima Ganpaku made the national news earlier in July for receiving cash payments from disgraced former Japanese Justice Minister Kawai Katsuyaki, who was arrested after a vote-buying scandal in Hiroshima prefecture.
Twitter user Tomoka, who spent considerable effort unraveling who might be responsible for the racist content, also notes that, according to the Hiroshima Timeline project page, the primary technical experts guiding the creation of the tweets were two playwrights, rather than historians, and their primary motivation may have been to create drama, rather than historical accuracy.
サポートや監修の方々がすべて悪いと言いたいわけではない。
彼らは「演劇」という、彼らの職能に求められた仕事をしたわけだから。演出家や役者の方に史学者の能力を求めるなんて、八百屋に行って魚を探すようなものだ。
問題があるのは、八百屋に魚のさばき方講座を求める @nhk_hiroshima だ。
— ともかﾌｪﾉﾒﾉﾝ (@tomoka_hidden) August 20, 2020
I'm not trying to say the project supervisor and the other people who worked to make it are bad. There job was to create a “narrative”, which is what they're paid to do. However, asking a director or an actor to play the role of an actual historian is like going to a greengrocer to buy a fish.
The real problem is @nhk_hiroshima (which was involved in commissioning and managing the project) asked a greengrocer to lecture us on “what makes a good fish” in the first place.

author: Nevin Thompson