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How resisting the security law clampdown brought out Hongkongers’ creativity · Global Voices
Hong Kong Free Press

A socially distanced protest outside the RTHK broadcasting house. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. Use with permission.
The following post was published by Hong Kong Free Press on April 15, 2021. A lightly edited version is published on Global Voices via a content partnership agreement.
On April 15, Hong Kong marks its first National Security Education Day since Beijing imposed the controversial new law last June. Despite growing restrictions on political activity and freedom of expression, city residents have continued to carry out acts of resistance. HKFP takes a look at how Hongkongers are continuing to make their voices heard.
Last month, hundreds of people queued outside the West Kowloon Law Courts building to support 47 democrats charged under the national security law over their participation in primary elections for the since-postponed Legislative Council election.
Despite having little or no chance of getting into the court, large numbers – many dressed in black to show solidarity – stayed in the orderly queue for hours to make their point.
Despite a heavy security presence and a police warning, people chanted protest slogans such as “five demands, not one less,” and “liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” which may be in violation of the national security law.
Apart from lining up to attend court hearings, Hongkongers have also resorted to an activity for which they are renowned – queueing up to shop. Most notably, they got in line to support AbouThai, a retail chain that was raided by Hong Kong Customs over missing safety warnings on some of its products.
According to the Security Bureau, 10,242 people have been arrested over the anti-extradition bill protests, and 2,521 people have either completed or are involved in ongoing legal proceedings.
As the number of court hearings piled up, a new group of people began to attend to show solidarity and lend support not just to well-known activists, but also others who were prosecuted during the anti-extradition bill protests.
When prison vans leave court buildings, it is not uncommon to see people chasing after them shouting goodbyes and support. Others have become “court watchers,” regularly turning up to the public gallery to witness trials.
With limited access to news and information behind bars, associates of remanded or jailed politicians have also provided addresses for the public to send letters to them.
Prisoners’ rights groups such as Wall-fare and Swallow Life are also pairing up jailed protesters with members of the public as pen pals to keep inmates in touch with the outside world.
Wall-fare has also gathered items such as snacks and cleaning supplies approved by the Correctional Services Department for activists in custody or in jail.
Shopping at AbouThai is not an isolated trend. In fact, many Hongkongers have made an effort to support pro-democracy shops and restaurants in their day-to-day life.
These shops are often referred to as “Yellow shops,” and netizens have come up with lists of venues that fit the criteria – from cinemas to grocery stores – as an attempt to build a “yellow economy” and to sustain the pro-democracy movement.
Many also boycott “blue stores,” which are affiliated with the establishment, China, or the pro-Beijing camp.
Protests, rallies, and street booths have adapted to the anti-pandemic regulations introduced in March 2020 by meeting in smaller groups. In cases where the number of participants exceeds the stipulated limitations (currently a maximum of four people), participants made sure to keep socially distant by standing at least 1.5 metres apart.
However, eight members from the League of Social Democrats and the Labour Party were jailed for 14-days and handed an 18-month suspended sentence over a socially distanced protest on Labour Day last year.
Meanwhile, many have continued to lay floral tributes, pineapple buns, and souvenirs at 2019 protest hotspots and sites where demonstrators lost their lives.
All pro-democracy lawmakers quit the Legislative Council in November 2020 after the government disqualified four of their colleagues: Kwok Ka-ki, Alvin Yeung, Kenneth Leung, and Dennis Kwok.
The move came after the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) passed a resolution allowing the government to oust lawmakers that were deemed to be endangering national security.
After the implementation of the national security law, “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times,” a slogan popular during the anti-extradition bill protests, was deemed illegal by the government.
In response, the public held “blank placard” protests in shopping malls across the city in July last year.
Post-it notes normally filled with protest slogans and messages of support were left blank on Lennon walls across the city.
Buying and reading the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily has become an act of resistance in itself as its founder Jimmy Lai was arrested and charged under the national security law.
The media tycoon was accused of committing fraud by violating land-lease terms, as well as using Twitter and his newspaper to “request” foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and mainland Chinese officials.
With many pro-democracy activists and politicians facing lawsuits and huge legal fees, some started up Patreon pages that allow supporters to subscribe and provide monthly financial support to cover legal fees and living costs.
Despite police crackdown on crowdfunding, the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which was set up in June 2019 to support legal and other urgent expenses of protesters, raised more than HK$11.5 million (around 1,4 million US dollars) in six days in January following an appeal to the public for funds.
Hong Kong people have also taken their political activism into the game world. A group of activists have developed the game “Liberate Hong Kong,” which recreates the experience of participating in an anti-extradition bill protest.
The popular Nintendo game Animal Crossing was also used to express political dissent by Hongkongers, as they have created pro-democracy and anti-government messages within the digital world, including flags containing protest slogans.
Associated with the color representing the pro-democracy camp during the protests, wearing yellow face masks became a symbol of dissent especially after a judge requested people in court to change their facemasks as one “should not express their personal opinion in court.”
However, Hong Kong face mask manufacturer Yellowfactory suspended its business operations after pro-Beijing lawmakers and newspapers said one of their designs violated the national security law.
One of the manufacturer’s most popular design was printed with “F.D.N.O.L.” – an abbreviation of the protest slogan “Five Demands, Not One Less”
Hongkongers who moved overseas have also continued their expression of dissent even after they have left the city.
Eight Hong Kong pro-democracy activists in self-imposed exile overseas have launched a charter calling for democracy and autonomy in the city, as well as solidarity among Hongkongers overseas.
Apart from coordinated efforts by more well-known figures, Hongkongers have also organised rallies to support other groups. For example, hundreds of Hongkongers appeared in the solidarity rally in Manchester in support of pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar on April 11.

author: Hong Kong Free Press


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LIVE on April 22—Myanmar: Coup & civil disobedience · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Graphic of soldiers and civilians by Badiucao. Used with permission.
The Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, staged a coup on February 1. Two-plus months later, hundreds have been killed by the junta, thousands detained, and many more facing arrest warrants. What the military didn’t anticipate, however, was the resistance and defiance of Myanmar's citizens, who continue to challenge the coup and the armed forces’ terror tactics.
Myanmar's pro-democracy movement has devised creative and daring ways to express dissent, in spite of internet disruptions, harassment and attacks on journalists, and the forced closure of several news outlets.
As events continue to unfold, and as part of our ongoing coverage of the situation, Global Voices will host a webinar on April 22 at 1pm GMT (click on this link to calculate the equivalent time in your time zone) to explore what's happening in Myanmar.
In conversation with our invited guests and through testimonials from people inside Myanmar, we'll explore what it's like to live under siege by the military—and to resist those forces, especially during a pandemic. We'll learn more about the civil disobedience movement and how it became a potent weapon against the junta. And finally, we'll seek to inspire solidarity and offer concrete ways for our readers and the global community to support Myanmar’s democracy movement.
The session is free of charge and open to the public and will be live-streamed on Facebook Live, YouTube and Twitch.
Mong Palatino Global Voices’ Southeast Asia editor, Mong has spearheaded our coverage of the events in Myanmar. In addition to hosting the session, he will provide an overview of the country’s transition to democracy over the past decade and of what has transpired since the military takeover.
Ben Crox a Hong Kong-based BarCamp curator and a trainer on new media communication technology and skills, Ben has experience doing business in Myanmar and will discuss how people there are dealing with the military crackdown, and how people from the outside can help.
Hsa Moo a member of the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN), Hsa will discuss the situation in Karen state and other parts of Myanmar.
We look forward to having you join us on April 22 at 1pm GMT (click this link to convert to your local time zone)!

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Samoa’s surprise election stand-off, and the politician who will be a king – or queen – maker · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Counting of votes in Samoa. Photo from the Facebook page of the Office of the Electoral Commission – Samoa
Despite confident predictions from Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi that his Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) would take at least 42 seats in the 51-member parliament, the April 9 election produced an unexpected result. HRPP got just 25 seats – the same number as the opposition Fa’atuatua I le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party. This tie has resulted in the extraordinary situation that the vote of one independent MP – Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio, from Gagaemauga No. 1 district – is likely to decide who will form Samoa’s next government.
The April 9 election was Samoa’s seventh since universal suffrage was granted in 1991. Voting was compulsory for the 128,000 eligible voters of the Pacific Island state, in which 192 candidates competed for the 51 seats for a five-year term in the legislative assembly. The United Nations in Samoa team highlighted the peaceful nature of the election process:
Voting in #Samoa continues in an orderly, quiet fashion. Remarkable preparations, great example of a solid democratic process leading up to the formation of the new Parliament. Learn from #Samoa what free and fair elections look like. We @un_samoa stand with you and your choices. pic.twitter.com/esngcs8cUH
— Simona Marinescu (@SMarinescu_UN) April 9, 2021
HRPP has dominated the parliament over the last 39 years, with Tuilaepa in power since 1999, and this most recent election marks the first time an opposition party has won a significant number of seats. This is seen by some observers as an indication of a loss of public support for the prime minister and HRPP.
Samoa's general election ends in hung assembly, 25 to 25. Final results two weeks away, intensive negotiations follow. Result, either way, a devastating defeat for ruling HRPP & 22 year veteran PM Tuilaepa. His party is finished, just a question of how long it will last now pic.twitter.com/XgJSm4MAGh
— Michael Field (@MichaelFieldNZ) April 9, 2021
Samoa Observer, the country's largest newspaper group, interviewed young voters including Mulimai Laalai, who spoke about the significance of the election:
Ever since the HRPP came in power I've never seen any party come close to challenging them. But the 2021 General Election is different from previous elections as we now have two parties who are tied and this is a new development. I find it interesting and have the right to vote for whichever candidate, for change and improvement of our country.
Writing for the Devpolicy blog, Mata’afa Keni Lesa argued why the results should be interpreted as a loss for the HRPP:
We live in a country where many generations have known no other government other than the HRPP. The last change of government was nearly 40 years to this day.
The election results have already guaranteed a robust opposition party, an essential element of democracy that has been missing for a decade. It has been ten long years since Samoa has had an official opposition party recognised in parliament.
The tied election result is already a bitter defeat for Prime Minister Tuilaepa and his party who had arrogantly predicted that they would return to power with no less than 42 seats.
The MP who will choose between the HRPP and FAST said he will consult his constituents and wait for the final results before making a decision. He could be either a kingmaker or queenmaker – FAST's leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa would be Samoa’s first female prime minister if elected.
Fiame acknowledged FAST’s team effort for its election performance, while admitting she herself was surprised by the results. She told Radio New Zealand:
I think what we have been able to achieve is quite phenomenal. And I must credit the team and the immense support, not only locally but the Samoan diaspora. You know it is quite a phenomena. I would like to have a bit of time to see how that happened and why it was happening.
She also told tvnz that, regardless of the final outcome, she believes it is important to support women in politics:
I've been a very strong advocate of women's participation in politics. I don't think it's just being Prime Minister – I think [it's] in any field where women have trailblazed – so I think I've always been conscious… about being a role model.
Meanwhile, Samoan Observer published an editorial on how the deciding vote should be made by Tuala in consultation with his constituency:
This election may have given it unusual significance and power. But the seat is bound tightly to the country's 50 other constituents by a much deeper concept: Samoan nationhood. That puts the significance of a five-year parliamentary term in its proper perspective.
The district must make their decision about which party they believe can govern Samoa best. That is a judgement that must only be decided upon by a process of deliberation within the villages that make up the district – not outside it.
On April 14, Samoa’s election body announced that it had found double entries in the voting ballots, but the overall results have remained the same. At the time of writing, there has been no announcement of the final results of the elections, but it is expected that the new parliament will be convened before the end of the month.


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The legacy of Bolivia’s El Mallku: ‘Self-governance is fundamental’ for indigenous peoples · Global Voices
Ruben Hilari

A screenshot of the video tribute to Felipe Quispe from the ‘Videos Bolivia‘ on YouTube, remixed by Global Voices. The original photographer is unknown.
In Bolivia, the slogan “Jiwaspachaw apnaqasjañasa” (“Self-governance is fundamental”) can often be heard in indigenous Aymara communities—in meetings, assemblies, city neighborhoods, conferences, in the media, and in conversations with the local people, especially young people.
The saying was popularized by the late historian, politician and peasant leader, Felipe Quispe Huanca and it has become an important rallying call for Aymara communities and other indigenous peoples of the region. All his life, the Aymara leader known as “El Mallku” (Aymara for “The Condor”) fought against the colonial and neoliberal state, until his death on January 19, 2021. Quispe's revolutionary ideology spread to the farthest corners of his homeland and internationally, and it has had a long-lasting impact. In fact, he foretold that after his death, his ideology would survive and thousands of “Mallkunaka” (“leaders” or “presidents” in the Aymara language) will emerge.
The current vice president of Bolivia, David Choquehuanca Céspedes, also of Aymara descent, believes this to be true: “Our brother Mallku does not die, he transcends beyond his death, he becomes eternal, he returns to our Pachamama [Mother Earth] to be a seed, to enlighten and lead the struggle of our peoples.”
In Bolivia, approximately 62.2 per cent of the population identify as indigenous. The Aymara nation accounts for about three million people in the Andean nations of Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina who speak the Qullan Jaqi Aru language (nowadays known as Aymara).
Even during his last days, at the age of 78, El Mallku talked about “Jiwaspachaw apnaqasjañasa,” as in this last interview in Aymara that he gave to me and Victoria Tinta for the SeoTV channel on January 7, 2021:
In this interview, El Mallku pointed out that the native peoples have had achievements during the 2000s, but that Evo Morales hindered their full self-determination. He also said that a politician must also be a philosopher and that every politician must teach and instruct the people instead of driving them like cattle, criticizing Evo Morales’ party, the Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement for Socialism).
The phrases used by El Mallku are Aymara words: “jiwaspacha,” which means “ourselves,” and “apnaqasxañasa,” which means “self-governance.” A cultural characteristic of the Aymara people is that they always emphasize the inclusive first-person plural in most conversations. Many Aymara would also say “phuqhat tunu saphi amuyunakas luratanakas markaspachpankaskiwa,” which means “our structure, our fundamental ideological base, is in our people.”
But “jiwaspachaw apnaqasjañasa” was not El Mallku's only famous phrase. He was also known for his strong assertions against the political structure of “Bolivianity,” and in favour of his indigenous heritage. One example was during a television debate in August 2020 when he stated:
No soy boliviano… soy del Qullasuyu, de la nación aymara…tengo idioma, religión, territorio, filosofía.
I am not Bolivian … I am Qullasuyu, from the Aymara nation … I have my own language, religion, territory, philosophy.
This phrase inspired many Aymara in Bolivia to not commemorate the country's independence, which is celebrated on August 6 each year.
He also said:
Soy originario como la vicuña o el cóndor.
I am native like the vicuña or the condor.
No me gusta vivir bajo la manga del opresor.
I don't like living under the hand of the oppressor.
In reference to the interim government (2019-2020) of Jeanine Áñez, he said:
No puedo hermanarme con mi verdugo.
I can't fraternize with my executioner.
The need for the idea expressed in the phrase “Jiwaspach apnaqasiña” was made even more evident by the attitudes of the interim government of Jeanine Áñez. When Bolivians voted massively in favor of Luis Arce in October 2020 and ended the transitional government led by Áñez, her right-hand man, Arturo Murillo, and the former Defense Minister Fernando Lopez, immediately fled the country. Then, Áñez was arrested on March 13, charged with sedition, terrorism, and conspiracy, along with other former members of her cabinet, in relation to the ouster of former president Evo Morales.
For the Aymara, the government of Áñez was “a government of foreigners,” referring to Bolivian-Croatian Branko Jovičević who served as the Minister of Development Planning, and as Minister of Economy and Public Finance during the presidency of Áñez. Not only do the Aymara distrust politicians of foreign descent like Jovičević, but also the Bolivian political class in general. These events have allowed the majority of the indigenous population to reflect on self-governance, as articulated by El Mallku.
In addition, El Mallku asserted on many occasions that colonizers like Cristobal Colón, Francisco Pizarro, all the way to Evo Morales’ circles or those who raided the state coffers during the transitory government of Áñez, would always be the destroyers of the country.
Such governments exploited and wiped out natural resources only for the benefit of some family clans. To El Mallku, Evo Morales was only like a shining ornament as he did not rule based on his own ideology or thought.
Interviewed for an article in La Razón newspaper, Aymara researcher Carlos Macusaya said El Mallku's relevance may well compare to that of two indigenous heroes in history, Tupac Katari and Pablo Zárate Willca. The sociologist Pablo Mamani explained in the same article that, “The young people present today [at El Mallku's wake] literally swore to continue in the spirit of Felipe Quispe in order to achieve full freedom for their people. When I say this, I am referring not only to the Aymara people, but also to the Quechua and Guaraní peoples.”
Most of the indigenous population believe that “El Mallku” Quispe Huanca gave his life to fight for his village, his language, and his people. This is why the ideology of this indigenous peasant leader has been the subject of constant discussion since his death. In many writings and comments on social networks, users mention that his ideology has to be disseminated, discussed, analyzed so that indigenous people can truly achieve self-governance.
The following video, for instance, shows El Mallku speaking in Spanish of the new generations of native peoples who are scholars, thinkers, and writers, the corruption of the political class tainted by colonialism and fascism, and the necessity for the indigenous people to create our own government.
EL MALLKU LIVES
HIS LEGACY CONTINUES

author: Ruben Hilari


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Inspiring new generations of Balinese language speakers through superheroes and wikis · Global Voices
Rising Voices

Screenshot from the Transformasi Luh Ayu Manik Mas Trailer.
Editor's note: From April 21-27, 2021, Ni Nyoman Clara Listya Dewi will be hosting the @AsiaLangsOnline rotating Twitter account, which explores how technology can be used to revitalize Asian languages. Read more about the campaign here.
The BASABali organization has been playing a positive role in Bali, Indonesia, by taking a diversified approach to promote Balinese culture and language online.  In addition to a language learning platform, there is an online wiki-format dictionary that users can contribute to or they can access language-related resources in their virtual library.
In a country of rich linguistic diversity with a population of more than 270 million and over 707 languages, Balinese is spoken by approximately 3.3 million people. The language is most commonly found on the island of Bali, best known as an attractive tourist destination with a rich cultural heritage. However, the language is at a disadvantage because much of the schooling and media is primarily available in the country's official language, Indonesian. In efforts to meet the touristic needs, more emphasis is often placed on learning English or other international languages. However, thanks to the BASABali project, the language is increasingly being shared on social media and finding new spaces through audiovisual materials.
One of its flagship projects has been the development of a digital superhero named Luh Ayu Manik Mas. The character is “a courageous, agile, fast and strong Indonesian superhero who uses her powers to help sustain the natural and cultural environment of Indonesia.” Her illustrated stories are available in Balinese, Indonesian, and English as a way to reach more people beyond Bali.
A post shared by Luh Ayu Manik Mas| Putri Bali (@luhayumanikmas)
Through email, the organization's Communications Director, Ni Nyoman Clara Listya Dewi, was interviewed by Rising Voices and she provided some additional information about her role in BASABali and why it's important to engage the local language community through these digital platforms.
Photo provided by Ni Nyoman Clara Listya Dewi, used with permission.
Rising Voices (RV): What is the current status of your language offline, as well as online?
Ni Nyoman Clara Listya Dewi (NNCLD): Balinese, my native language, is currently strong but like any local language in the modern digital world, it is at risk; young people today are mostly using Indonesian and English, especially in online conversations such as social media. Balinese is still the language used by many adults in family and social settings. It is important for me and other young people in Bali to start thinking about ways that can be done to preserve the Balinese language both offline and online.
RV: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing your language community when it comes to digital communications or creating digital content in their mother language?
(NNCLD): Unequal access to digitalization is our biggest problem. Internet users continue to grow, but in reality not all areas in Bali have adequate internet access. This is [caused] by several problems such as unequal resources, low levels of education and social classes.
RV: In your opinion, what are some of the steps that could be taken to encourage increased use of the language on the internet?
(NNCLD): BASAbali Wiki is able to encourage increased use of Balinese on the internet by engaging people to participate in the development of an online cultural wiki.
RV: What is your primary motivation for working to see your language and culture available on the internet?
(NNCLD): My primary motivation is to preserve Balinese language and culture in the future. I want to see that in the next 20-50 years, the next generation will still know their origins, their culture and [that] the language [is] spoken and has taken root in Balinese life.

author: Rising Voices


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Japan announces timeline to dilute, dump radioactive water from Fukushima plant · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Japanese sandfish (Arctoscopus japonicus, known as hatahata in Japanese), a staple fish caught in the seas off of Miyagi Prefecture, about 100 km north of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility. Photo by Nevin Thompson.
On April 13, the Japanese government announced that contaminated wastewater accumulating at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power installation will be discharged into the Pacific Ocean in two years’ time. So far, the plan has generated a cute mascot, condemnation and fears for the future of local communities.
The catastrophic nuclear accident in March 2011 resulted in the meltdown of three nuclear reactors operated TEPCO, a power utility. Groundwater flowing through TEPCO's Fukushima nuclear facility, along with deliberately injected cooling water, comes into constant contact with the highly radioactive fuel of the three reactors.
As the water comes into contact with the exposed cores it becomes contaminated with radioactive isotopes, including cesium, cobalt, carbon-14 and tritium. Because these contaminants are difficult to remove from the water, the steadily accumulating effluent is collected and stored in dozens of storage tanks in order to prevent ocean contamination.
More than 1.25 million tonnes of contaminated water is currently stored at the facility, and the volume increases by about 170 tons a day.
Water tanks holding contaminated water in front of the reactor buildings at Fukushima Daiichi. Photo Credit: Susanna Loof/IAEA.
While the Japanese government had already stated its plans to dispose of the wastewater in the Pacific Ocean in October, 2020, the new announcement on April 13 instead gave a timeline for the disposal.
The decision ends years of debate over how to dispose of the water that’s enough to fill more than 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, which has been leaking into the power stations that suffered core meltdowns after an earthquake and tsunami in 2011
— Stephen Stapczynski (@SStapczynski) April 13, 2021
By coincidence, the amount of contaminated water is enough to fill the Tokyo Dome, a standard unit of measurement used by the media in eastern Japan.
However, at a press conference on April 13, the Japanese government provided few details about how the water would be discharged into the ocean, such as by marine outfall off the coast from TEPCO's Daiichi reactor facility, or by tanker.
Instead, the Japanese government explained that the contaminated water in the tanks would be diluted so much that it would not present a risk to the environment or human health.
The government also explained that the main contaminant, tritium, a radioactive isotope, poses little to no risk to human health, and is routinely discharged by nuclear power facilities all over the world.
According to a Nikkei Asia news story:
When TEPCO releases treated water, it is diluted more than 100-fold using seawater, ensuring contains fewer than 1,500 becquerels of tritium. That is one-fortieth of the national standard. […]
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 860 trillion becquerels of tritium are stored in the tanks at the Fukushima plant—equivalent to the amount of tritium released by South Korea's Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant over six to seven years. A reprocessing plant in France would release that amount in less than a year.
While ocean chemistry experts say that more information is needed to assess the risk of ocean disposal, the Japanese government asserts that other, more dangerous isotopes contaminating the wastewater will be removed. Using the Advanced Liquid Process Sytem (ALPS) multi-nuclide removal system, “most nuclides are removed from contaminated water” except for tritium.
In order to win over the public, the Japanese government contracted controversial advertising giant Dentsu to come up with a promotional campaign for the ocean dumping plan:
How does the Japanese government try to justify the dumping of radioactive waste water into the Pacific? By inventing a cute character, of course.
Meet Tritium, the cartoon radioactive particle.https://t.co/wS4rvWpuxG
— Martin Fackler (@martfack) April 13, 2021
However, Dentsu's campaign backfired spectacularly, and the mascot was scrubbed from the Internet after just two days.
The decision to release the wastewater poses serious implications for communities along the Fukushima coastline, which have struggled for more than a decade to recover from the destruction caused by massive earthquake and tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011, and then the disruption and stigma caused by the subsequent nuclear disaster.
The co-author of a recent study that investigated resilience and revitalization of coastal communities in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture following the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, Leslie Mabon, a senior lecturer at the Scottish Association for Marine Sciences (SAMS) notes on Twitter:
Fukushima fisheries have come a long way since 2011. As such, anything – like releases of treated water – which are viewed as setting back this recovery are likely to be met with concern, not just about economics but about how this might impact on livelihoods. (6) pic.twitter.com/320B1ppnqO
— Leslie Mabon (@ljmabon) April 13, 2021
Mabon also notes:
There has […] been huge effort from the fisheries co-ops and local/regional govt to build confidence and pride in Fukushima fish […] Respondents told us how great it was to go out and see local fish on the menu again, and how this symbolises recovery more widely. So there is real pride in local seafood which is seen as delicious and coming from an environment that is again clean and natural […]
Mabon says there are fears the plans to release wastewater from the Fukushima reactor facility will taint perceptions of Fukushima fish, resulting in lower demand and lower prices.
However, Mabon says that it's not just an economic issue that can be resolved with compensation. The decline of fisheries in Fukushima also means a loss of cultural heritage and the destruction of social relations and irreplaceable local culture.
In short: you can give someone compensation, but you can't always give someone their livelihood back. This is why it is very important we take seriously – and give respect to – the concerns of fishers in the decision-making process around treated water at #Fukushima. (8) pic.twitter.com/naI8V3kipK
— Leslie Mabon (@ljmabon) April 13, 2021

author: Nevin Thompson


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Russian authorities crack down on student journalism outlet over protest explainer video · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

On April 14, Russian law enforcement officers searched the Moscow office of independent student journal DOXA. According to the outlet, four of its editors also had their apartments searched and were later charged with inciting minors to participate in illegal protest rallies.
DOXA journal editors [from left]: Armen Aramyan, Alla Gutnikova, Vladimir Metelkin, and Natasha Tyshkevich. Screenshot from DOXA video.
During the January 23 protest in Moscow in support of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, DOXA published a video explaining to students they shouldn't be afraid to voice their opinions at the protest rallies and that universities had no legal basis to expel students who attend. Russian internet censor Roskomnadzor demanded the video be taken down, and DOXA complied with the request, though disputed the video violated the law.
“Today at 6 a.m. [law enforcement officers] carried out searches at the DOXA office and the homes of editors Armen Aramyan, Vladimir Metelkin, Alla Gutnikova and Natasha Tyshkevich,” the outlet said on its website on April 14.
The four editors, all students or alumni of the Higher School of Economics, were then taken in for questioning by the Russian Investigative Committee, and charged with inciting minors to ‘illegal activities’ under Article 151.2 part 2 of the Criminal Code. The charges could see the young journalists face up to three years in prison. For the next two months, a district court in Moscow has barred them from phone and internet access and from leaving their homes, essentially placing them under house arrest. All four were also fitted with electronic GPS ankle trackers.
A post shared by Evgeny Feldman (@evgenyfeldman)
Alla Gutnikova, an editor with student outlet DOXA, in court. Russia continues to arrest journalists. (Photo by Evgeny Feldman for Meduza.)
During this year's protests across Russia, DOXA has chronicled state pressure on student participants and provided advice on students’ civil rights when facing pressure from their universities and colleges.
During the afternoon court hearing on Wednesday, April 14, dozens of fellow students and supporters gathered near the Basmanny court in Moscow in a show of solidarity with the four journalists.
Over 1,600 Russian students, researchers, and HSE alumni have addressed the university's leadership in an open letter expressing solidarity and calling on them to publicly support their students:
Полицейское давление, оказываемое на образовательные учреждения и студенческое сообщество, становится регулярным, что не может не беспокоить. Университет, как пространство мысли и критического мышления, не может стоять в стороне, пока его студентов и выпускников преследуют по откровенно сфабрикованному делу с целью запугивания, внушения страха и разрушения студенческой солидарности.
The police pressure directed at educational institutions and the student community is becoming a regular occurrence – and a cause for concern. The university, as a space for critical thinking, cannot stand aside while its students and alumni are being persecuted under explicitly fabricated charges aimed at intimidating, instilling fear, and destroying student solidarity.
Over 900 academics from around the world, including high-profile scholars such as Judith Butler, Jodi Dean, and Slavoj Žižek, have signed a statement of solidarity with the DOXA editors calling the charges against them “preposterous” and demanding “all charges to be dropped” and that “all harassment of students immediately cease.”
International rights groups PEN America, Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders have also called for the student journalists’ release.
#Russian authorities should immediately drop all the charges against the DOXA editors, return their equipment, and let them do their jobs covering important political events in the country without fear. @doxa_journal @aramyannn https://t.co/TeaHuFu950
— Dr. Gulnoza Said (@gulnozas) April 16, 2021
Despite the pending charges for its editors, DOXA said in a statement on its website that it will “continue to cover things that are important for young people” and “to stand up for their rights.” In a summary post on their Telegram channel, DOXA also quoted the words of one of the editors, Alla Gutnikova, from the very video the outlet was asked to take down earlier this year:
На протяжении истории молодые люди и студенты всегда отстаивали права и свободы. Так было 50 лет назад и так было 100 лет назад. Власть объявила войну молодости, но молодость — это мы, и мы обязательно победим.
Throughout history, young people and students have always stood up for their rights and freedoms. This was true 50 years ago, and 100 years ago. The authorities have declared a war on youth, but we are the youth, and we will surely win.

author: Tanya Lokot


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Feminist activist in Russia faces prison term for ‘body-positive’ drawings · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

“My body is not pornography!” reads the protester's placard. “Is this an Article 242?” wonders the policeman. Article 242 of Russia's Criminal Code criminalizes the creation and exchange of pornographic materials. Image (c): Yulia Tsvetkova. Used with permission.
Yulia Tsvetkova, a feminist artist, theatre director, and LGBT activist, is facing six years in prison on charges of distributing pornographic images for sharing her drawings on social media that supporters have called “body-positive.”
On April 12,  a court in Kosmomolsk-on-Amur, in Russia's Far East Khabarovsk region, began the latest trial in Tsvetkova's case. The trial is taking place behind closed doors, allegedly because pornographic imagery is being displayed.
Tsvetkova, a 27-year-old artist and theatre director, is accused of “creating and distributing pornographic materials” (Article 242 (3b) of Russia's Criminal Code) for posting several drawings of naked women and vaginas on her VKontakte page. The drawings are part of her body-positive art project, “A woman is not a doll.” The charges under Article 242 could result in a prison sentence of up to six years.
Tsvetkova's mother, Anna Khodyreva, told AFP that she was not allowed to attend the closed hearing and called the case “absurd.” She said that everything was “being done to ensure that we have as little information as possible.”
Natalia Zvyagina, Russia director for Amnesty International, criticized the decision to have a closed hearing and said Russian authorities should “guarantee a public hearing” in Tsvetkova's case. Along with Memorial human rights center, Amnesty has labeled Tsvetkova a prisoner of conscience and has called on Russia to remove all charges and to “stop targeting feminist, LGBTI and other activists”.
Yulia Tsvetkova has previously run several educational projects in Khabarovsk, as well as a youth theatre, online groups on feminism and sex education for young people, and a Vagina Monologues group which celebrated the power and uniqueness of the female body.
Yulia Tsvetkova outside a courthouse. Photo (c): Yulia Tsvetkova.
She was initially detained in November 2019, and placed under house arrest until March 16, 2020. In December 2019, she was found guilty of violating the Russian law banning “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors.” She was fined 50,000 rubles (USD780), and in July 2020 was saddled with another fine of 75,000 rubles (USD1,050) for posting a drawing featuring same-sex couples with children with the caption “Family is where love is. Support LGBT+ families.”
She told AFP last year she believes the authorities were using the pornography charge as a opportunity to crack down on her LGBT activism, because it is easy to pin on citizens and carries a long sentence.
In a 2020 interview to oDR, openDemocracy‘s section on Russia and the post-Soviet space, Tsvetkova spoke about the impact of her house arrest and discussed threats she has faced from anti-LGBT activists. The current criminal case against her was launched after a complaint lodged by Timur Bulatov, a well-known anti-LGBT activist. She also reflected on her status as a political prisoner:
Мне кажется, что у нас в стране сейчас очень много невидимых женщин-политзаключенных: это матери, жены, те женщины, которые из-за политических процессов несут на себе дичайшую нагрузку. Про них особо не говорят и не пишут, а если и пишут, то как про “чьих-то мам”, “чьих-то жен”. Политзеки — это герои, а это так, невидимый обслуживающий персонал.
I feel that today there are so many invisible female political prisoners: mothers, wives – women who bear an incredible burden as a result of political legal processes. People don’t talk or write about them, or if they do, it’s in terms of “somebodies’ mums, somebodies’ wives”. Political prisoners are heroes, but women are the invisible service staff.
The next hearing in Yulia Tsvetkova's case will be held on May 6.


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A Namibian couple’s battle to bring home twin daughters born via surrogacy · Global Voices
Lisa Plank

A photo of Phillip Lühl (right) and his husband Guillermo Delgado with their family. Photo sourced from their petition page with permission.
A Namibian high court denied, on April 19, travel documents to the infant twin daughters of a same-sex couple who were born in South Africa via surrogacy in March, in the latest development of a case that has caused a nationwide debate on LGBTQ+ rights in Namibia.
Phillip Lühl, a Namibian citizen, has been in Durban, South Africa, since the birth of his and his Mexican-born husband Guillermo Delgado's legal daughters Paula and Maya, but has been unable to bring the babies home to Windhoek where the couple lives.
The Namibian Ministry of Home Affairs has so far denied the newborn twins the documents necessary for them to travel to Namibia, demanding Lühl undergo a DNA test in order to determine parentage.
Lühl then took the Ministry to court, arguing that its request for a DNA test contravenes both Nambinian and international law, but had his petition denied. As the newspaper The Namibian reported on April 19, judge Thomas Masuku ruled that it would be “judicial overreach” to obligate the authorities to issue the travel documents to the two girls.
The twins’ South African birth certificates state both Lühl and Delgado as their parents, but neither of the men has South African citizenship. The two girls “have been rendered de-facto stateless,” as Lühl says on a public document he drafted with the main details of the case.
The couple has another son who was born in South Africa via surrogacy in 2019. While they were able to bring the child to Namibia, his application for citizenship by descent has been pending for the past two years.
Lühl and Delgado's case has been widely debated on social media and, for many Namibians, it is a symbol of the country's LGBTQ+ community's struggle for equal rights.
The couple's quest to reunite their family unfolded as Namibia prepared to celebrate its independence's 31st anniversary on March 21, which led many to regard the protection of sexual minorities as one of the failures of the country's institutions.
I was born in exile & have many friends who had children abroad. None of us were subjected to DNA testing to prove that one of our parents is Namibian when we applied for citizenship. Are we making the rules as we go along? https://t.co/94rlXHDb1c
— Shut It All Down (@ShadowsOfWolf_) March 23, 2021
Had these babies been born by a heterosexual couple, would Kapofi still ask for DNA? He needs to stop running that Ministry like its his house.
— Fua Fua Ndilula (@MwahafarN) March 25, 2021
When children of the liberation struggle returned home in 1990, no one asked for Paternity test because that would be a violation of their dignity.
— Lt Kadhila Amoomo (@Dilukeni) March 25, 2021
An online petition started by Lühl and Delgado demanding the authorities allow them to reunite their family has gathered over 4,800 signatures so far.
On March 25, when Lühl's application stood the first court hearing in Windhoek, around 100 people staged a solidarity rally.
Several rights groups have come out in support of the couple, including Sister Namibia, who over the course of several days published on its Facebook page stories of other same-sex couples who've had similar experiences with the Namibian authorities.
Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe, advocacy and communications officer at Out-Right Namibia, a non-profit that advocates for the rights of sexual and gender minorities, told Global Voices in an email:
As an organization, [the protest] is something that's been long overdue, as we advocate not only for the right to have a family, but for marriage equality that is inclusive of LGBTQIA+ families.
She added that the case has broader implications for Namibia:
LGTBQIA+ families who are socio-economically vulnerable often do not have adequate resources to challenge the state and its oppressive and discriminatory systems, but socially, families continue to live amongst the broader Namibian population.
Not all voices on social media showed solidarity to Lühl and Delgado. Some pointed to the Namibian law and the fact that neither surrogacy nor same-sex marriage is allowed in the country.
Just because it's legal in SA does not make it right here.. Aiye mkwetu
— Fishman Official ?? (@FishmanUulenga) March 21, 2021
Some voices condemn homosexuality in and of itself, regarding it as a “Western phenomenon,” to be rejected. Others point to religious values.
This is good. This is Afrika not Europe we font accept all nonsense here
— Dr.Azania?? (@dr_azania) March 22, 2021
White culture to European countries/continent but not here. White people must respect African culture like black African do to European countries.. We can't accept white culture to mix or replace our culture., but we will accept white people to be our fellow only..
What a hell?
— Ester Shihepo (@ester_shihepo) March 28, 2021
God did not create Adam and Steve, he created Adam and Eve no confusion here. That’s shows you that men you wre not created with a womb that’s why they went in agreement with someone. The law of God remain and he said you disobey the is a curse that come upon you and ur children
— vilho ntjamba (@vilhontjamba) March 24, 2021
At this point, the contradiction of the argument becomes apparent. On the one hand, they see homosexuality as an outgrowth of Western influence in Africa while justifying discrimination with reference to Christian values — which were imposed by European colonialists.
Nthengwe comments on this entanglement of the decolonial struggle and homophobic statements:
The fight for liberation has always been highjacked by cisgender heterosexual (black) men, and this fundamentally erased the efforts and advocacy of women and consequentially, that of the LGBTQIA+ contributions (intentionally and unabashedly). This is the colonial legacy and hang-up nobody boldly intends to address fully and honestly”, writes Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe.
It remains to be seen whether the authorities will fulfill the rights of Lühls and his family. In the meantime, the displays of solidarity by Namibians, both on social media and at the protest in Windhoek, are a testament to the aspirations of some parts of the country's society, whose aspirations might no longer be reflected on its laws.

author: Lisa Plank


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An activist’s effort to put his native language Dagbani on the digital map · Global Voices
Adéṣínà Ọmọ Yoòbá

““Independence Arch – Accra, Ghana” by George Appiah is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Editor's note: From April 27-May 3 2021, Mohammed Sadat Abdulai will be hosting the @DigiAfricanLang rotating Twitter account, which explores how technology can be used to revitalize African languages. Read more about the campaign here.
The Gold Coast, now called Ghana, is home to a distinct set of languages — over 46, to be precise. Dagbani, otherwise called Dagbanli, is among them, as one of the Gur languages spoken in some part of West Africa. The Gur languages fall under the Niger-Congo category of languages of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mohammed Salat Abdulai is a Ghanian of Dagbonba descent who resides in Germany. He is passionate about the visibility of his native language Dagbani on the internet.
Global Voices’ Yorùbá Lingua Manager, Adéṣinà Ọmọ Yoòbá, interviewed Mohammed to find out about his efforts to put his native language on the digital map.
Adéṣinà Ọmọ Yoòbá (AOY): Could you please tell us about yourself?
Dagbani language enthusiast Mohammed Salat Abdulai. Picture used with permission.
Mohammed Salat Abdulai (MSA): I was born in Tamale, Ghana, but currently live in Berlin, Germany. I’m passionate about the value and potential of open knowledge to change the world. At the heart of that dream, I think that a good representation of languages, mostly those that are currently underrepresented in digital spaces, is needed to actualize that potential.
AOY: What is the current status of your language offline, as well as online?

author: Adéṣínà Ọmọ Yoòbá


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Czech-Russian relations hit new low after Prague accuses Moscow of ‘state-sponsored terrorism’ · Global Voices
Filip Noubel

Embassy of the Russian Federation in Prague, Czech Republic. Photo by Wikipedia user I, Krokodyl/Hynek Moravec,  used under CC BY-SA 3.0. licence.
On April 17, the Czech government announced in an impromptu press conference that it would expel 18 Russian diplomats posted in Prague, following revelations by the Czech intelligence agency (BIS in Czech) that Russian agents had played a role in the 2014 explosions at an arms depot that killed two Czech citizens.
Czech social media lit up in the wake of the announcement by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (who had appeared at the press conference with Interior Minister and interim Foreign Minister Jan Hamáček), as the country and its political scene reacted to what are grave allegations, given the significance of Czech-Russian relations. Moscow also reacted promptly, denying the accusation and calling for retaliatory measures.
The Vrbětice explosions, as they are referred to in the Czech Republic, are named for the hamlet near a collection of warehouses containing ammunition, located in the east of the country on the border with Slovakia, and rented by a Czech company, the Imex Group, from state company the Military Technical Institute.
The first explosion took place on October 16, 2014, killing two men who worked at the site, the bodies of whom were not recovered until a month later. The second occurred on December 3 the same year. The damage caused incurred estimated costs of more than USD 40 million and required the local population to be evacuated. An investigation following the incidents concluded the explosion was due to a security hazard.
Seven years later, the Czech intelligence agency now claims it has credible evidence that the explosion was in fact caused by the actions of Russian agents. Czech police have issued a warrant for two Russian citizens present near Vrbětice at the time of the explosions, known under their assumed names as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.
The pair have also been named by UK police in connection with the poisoning of Sergey Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in 2018, using what are believed to be their real names – Alexander Mishkin and Anatoly Chepiga.
For the Czech government, this revelation justifies the decision to expel 18 Russian diplomats, believed to conduct or co-ordinate intelligence operations in the Czech Republic, giving them 48 hours to leave the country. More than 140 diplomats work at the Russian Embassy in Prague, an unusually high number of foreign representatives for a country with a population of 10 million. For comparison, the US maintains 70 diplomats in Prague, while China has 22.
In one of the strongest reactions to the revelations, the head of the Czech senate, Miloš Vystrčil, called them proof of “state terrorism”. Moscow reacted equally firmly, and rapidly, to the accusations, as reported by RIA Novosti, with a statement from spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying:
Праге хорошо известны последствия “подобных фокусов”.
Prague is fully aware of the consequences of “such tricks”.
Ivana Milenkovičová, a Czech reporter based in Moscow, posted on her Twitter account on 17 April that some voices at the Russian Foreign Ministry had implied that the Czech Republic knew their decision to expel Russian diplomats would eventually lead to the closure of their own embassy in Moscow:
Interfax s odkazem na zdroj v ruských diplomatických službách k vyhoštění 18 pracovníků ruské ambasády kvůli výbuchu ve Vrběticích: Česko se zjevně rozhodlo zavřít svoje velvyslanectví v Moskvě. pic.twitter.com/0wY79C7oji
— Ivana Milenkovičová (@IMilenkovicova) April 17, 2021
The news agency Interfax quotes Russian diplomatic sources saying that in the context of the expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats and the explosion in Vrbětice: The Czech Republic has evidently decided to close down its embassy in Moscow.
And indeed on April 18, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it would expel 20 Czech diplomats, including the deputy ambassador, and gave them 24 hours to leave Russia – an action that will leave just five Czech diplomats in Moscow. Czech politicians have been calling for a reciprocal measure of keeping only five Russian diplomats in Prague as the next step.
This announcement comes at a delicate moment in Czech-Russian relations, which have been shaken by a series of scandals over the last five years – most recently revolving around Russia's possible participation in a tender to build a nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic.
The country’s sole existing nuclear plant, located in the village of Dukovany, and built in 1970 in co-operation with the Soviet Union, has launched an international tender for the construction of a new unit, as its older units will have to be shut down after 2035. The Russian state-owned agency Rosatom is among contenders, but the Czech intelligence agency has recommended Russia is excluded from the bid for alleged security reasons.
While the Czech Republic joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, thus distancing itself from Moscow, Russia continues to play an important role in the country. This influence is not so much economic, as Russia represents only 2 percent of the Czech Republic’s overall trade, as political. The Soviet Union invaded then-Czechoslovakia in 1968 and only removed its military presence in 1991, events that still divide Czech society.
Over the past three years, a number of diplomatic scandals have arisen from perceptions of this past, and Russia’s political ambitions in the Czech Republic. In March 2018, Prague extradited a Russian hacker, Yevgeny Nikulin, to the US on charges of hacking US technology firms and compromising personal information of US citizens.
Then in August 2019 a Russian diplomat, Alexander Tyerentyev, had to leave the Czech Republic after it was revealed that he was renting out apartments belonging to the Czech Republic, but given as a rent-free residence to Russian diplomats, on a commercial basis.
In May last year, Prague authorities decided to remove the statue of a Soviet Marshal, Ivan Konev, who is considered in Russia to have been a “liberator of Czechoslovakia from the Nazis”. To parts of the Czech political establishment, he is a more controversial figure, one who in fact played a limited role in the liberation while being directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of Hungarians during the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. Following the removal of the statue, Czech politicians critical of Moscow received threats from Russia and were given police protection.
In this charged climate, Czech politicians are divided into those calling for closer ties with Russia, and those who warn that Moscow cannot be trusted.
Kremlin supporters include President Miloš Zeman, who maintains close links with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In April, he requested the sacking of Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček, for allegedly having an anti-Russia policy and not being “qualified to be a Foreign Minister”.
Petříček was indeed sacked on April 11, and replaced by Interior Minister Hamáček, who had stated that he would visit Moscow to negotiate a deal on the purchase of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V, but cancelled the visit – planned for April 19 – on April 15. The vaccine has so far not been approved by either the European Union, or the Czech health authorities. The Czech Republic (at the time of writing) has the highest Covid-19 related death rate in the world, and has had four health ministers in seven months.
Meanwhile, as the country navigates what can safely be described as one of its biggest political and diplomatic crises in decades, President Zeman announced on April 18 that he would remain silent for a week on the issue.

author: Filip Noubel


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How Azerbaijan’s government abused Facebook’s loopholes—for years · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

Photo by Alex Haney, Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/AGqzy-Uj3s4
A series of recent reports by the British newspaper The Guardian revealed that Azerbaijani officials have been persistently abusing loopholes on Facebook in order to generate fake engagement.
The investigation, which focuses on 25 different countries, showed Facebook has tolerated major abuses of its platform in small or non-Western nations as it prioritized issues that attracted international media attention or affected the United States and its adversaries, such as Russia and Iran.
The Guardian's report comes after the leak of an internal memo by former Facebook data scientist Sophie Zhang, in which she outlined concrete examples of how the company “repeatedly allowed world leaders and politicians to use its platform to deceive the public or harass opponents despite being alerted to evidence of the wrongdoing.”
Zhang was fired for performance in September 2020. On her final day, she published the memo internally, which was then obtained and first reported on by BuzzFeed News.
One of the examples described in Zhang's memo deals with Azerbaijan, where, she says, the ruling party Yeni Azərbaycan “utilized thousands of inauthentic assets (…) to harass the opposition en masse” in 2019.
The main loophole exploited by Azerbaijani actors, according to the memo and the follow-up investigation, was the fact that while Facebook restricts the number of profiles a single user can administer, it imposes no comparable restriction on pages. That means that a single person can administrate thousands of pages, and those are able to perform the same kinds of engagements — such as liking, sharing, and commenting — as personal profiles.
“(…) The individuals behind this activity (…) primarily relied on authentic accounts to create Pages designed to look like user profiles — using false names and stock images — to comment and artificially boost the popularity of particular pro-government content,” the memo said.
Despite warnings, Zhang says Facebook only started looking into the case of Azerbaijan a year later, in October of 2020, when it announced the removal of 589 profiles, 7,665 pages, and 437 accounts on Instagram that were linked to the ruling party or its youth branch. According to Facebook, these accounts violated Facebook's policy on “coordinated inauthentic behavior.”
However, according to recent reports by Azerbaijan Internet Watch, a platform that documents information controls in Azerbaijan, the problem continues to this day.
In February 2021, Meydan TV, an independent Berlin-based news website, posted a call for applications for a program aimed at Azerbaijani content creators to produce thematic media pieces on cultural and political issues about the country.
The post received hundreds of negative comments; a closer look revealed that they were made mostly by pages posing as real people.
On March 24, Mikroskop Media, another overseas online news platform covering Azerbaijan, posted on its Facebook page an infographic with data about the country's COVID-19 vaccine rollout. The post received over 1,600 comments, many of them negative. Once again, a closer look revealed that most of them came from inauthentic pages.
Facebook's most recent report on coordinated inauthentic behavior was issued in March 2021; Azerbaijan was not mentioned on the list of countries where inauthentic networks had been taken down.
The government of Azerbaijan has long been exploiting social media platforms, especially Facebook, to target critics both at home and abroad.
Ahead of a referendum in 2016 that opposition groups were boycotting, a live broadcast by Azadliq Radio (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's service in Azerbaijan) and Meydan TV was heavily spammed in what later was found to have been a coordinated action connected to the ruling party.
In recent years, scores of political activists and media platforms have had their Facebook pages and profiles compromised through hacking. Last month, a group of women activists was targeted through a series of leaked intimate videos and photos. Both Facebook and Telegram were used to disseminate the content.
Azerbaijan's track record on human rights and freedom of expression is rather poor, according to rankings and indexes published annually by international human rights and media freedom watchdogs. Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index 2021 ranked the country 167th out of 180. Freedom House classifies Azerbaijan as a “consolidated authoritarian regime.”
Much of Azerbaijan's independent media and civil society has been silenced since 2014 as the government drastically ramped up its repressive apparatus in reaction to mass demonstrations that took place in the years before. Social media platforms are among the few remaining avenues for activists to organize and for the public to stay informed on news in the country.
While Facebook may be too busy resolving higher-profile cases of harassment, disinformation, and inauthentic behavior, its platform is affecting the very real lives of people in countries like Azerbaijan as well.

author: Arzu Geybullayeva


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As St. Vincent’s La Soufrière erupts again, experts say it’s ‘not over yet’ · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

La Soufrière's second explosive eruption in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on April 9, 2021; Questelles Bay is seen in the foreground. Photo by Nadia Huggins, used with permission.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ La Soufrière volcano, which has been sporadically erupting over the past ten days, continues to be very active, as yet another explosion took place on April 18.
This most recent eruption, again quite substantial, is about the sixth major blast from the stratovolcano since April 9, though some Vincentians who have been keeping a close eye on its activity suggest the number of explosions is closer to 30. This time, the eruption began in the late afternoon (GMT-4):
HAPPENING NOW!! #VolcanoUpdate: The La Soufriere has erupted again today Sunday April 18th.#LaSoufriereEruption2021
(Vid not mine) pic.twitter.com/i3ZI8pTrqn
— Lavern King ?? (@Lavern_King) April 18, 2021
There were also concerns about the latest eruption's ash cloud movement on an island that is already heavily covered in volcanic residue:
There was an explosive eruption at the La Soufrière at approximately 4:49 p.m. today. Ash clouds are moving towards the south and west of the island. Alert level remains RED. #LaSoufriereEruption2021 #notoveryet #StaySafe
— NEMO SVG (@NEMOSVG) April 18, 2021
Photo thread from today's field work in the Leeward side of the red zone. This is the start of the Leeward trail to #LaSoufriere – covered in ash and deposits from the pyroclastic density currents that reached the coast. Credit: Richard Robertson, UWI-SRC @VincieRichie pic.twitter.com/yN9Yp4xQcL
— UWISeismic Research (@uwiseismic) April 19, 2021
On Twitter, St. Vincent's National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) explained that such activity was to be expected:
La Soufriere continues to erupt. Its pattern of seismic activity over the last few days is typical of the growth and destruction of lava domes. Explosions with accompanying ashfall, of similar or larger magnitude, can occur with little or no warning #LaSoufriereEruption2021
— NEMO SVG (@NEMOSVG) April 19, 2021
Volcanologist Professor Richard Robertson added:
“Not out of the explosive period yet and we still could have explosions going forward. I don’t think I will be saying we are outside of the explosive period for a little while now,” says Scientist Professor Richard Robertson #LaSoufriereEruption2021 #stilldangerous #notoveryet #
— NEMO SVG (@NEMOSVG) April 17, 2021
Meanwhile, officials have been trying to focus on relief efforts, taking care of displaced residents, and educating the public about how to stay safe. It is a task made that much more difficult because of pandemic restrictions; therefore, much of that thrust has been online, via free webinars and social media infographics.
Still, some netizens — including one tour guide — risked capturing footage of La Soufrière from a dangerously close vantage point:
As close as it gets to #LaSoufriere pic.twitter.com/6xoC1oSVBF
— Lavern King ?? (@Lavern_King) April 18, 2021
It is a decision Professor Robertson chastised as being foolhardy:
Anyone on the volcano at [this] time is at risk of dying horribly from blunt trauma to the body, from excessive burns, and from asphyxiation. Anyone at the summit as you were today will certainly be killed if it has one of the kinds of eruptions that it had on the very same day that you visited. […]
Stop putting yourself, your co-hikers, and potentially the search and rescue team that would come to get you if something happens [at risk]. This is neither brave or useful […]
Although no one who has been following the tempestuous eruptions of the last ten days should need further convincing, the images underscore what the experts have been saying all along: La Soufrière's 2021 eruption isn't over yet.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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European Court backs Ukrainian journalist’s right to phone data privacy from the state · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Natalia Sedletska hosts Schemes, an investigative TV programme jointly produced by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Ukrainian Public Television. Photo courtesy of RFE/RL Pressroom.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of a Ukrainian investigative journalist who has been fighting to protect her smartphone data from government officials and law enforcement.
Natalia Sedletska, an investigative journalist with RFE/RL Ukrainian Service and host of the investigative TV programme Schemes: Corruption in Detail (Схеми: Корупція в деталях), has been waging a three-year battle to safeguard her phone records from being seized by Ukrainian prosecutors, who are investigating a leak of state secrets that took place almost four years ago.
The ECHR concluded that Sedletska's data should be protected from government access under Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It also stressed the importance of protecting journalists’ sources for a functioning free press:
[T]he court is not convinced that the data access authorisation given by the domestic courts was justified by an ‘overriding requirement in the public interest’ and, therefore, necessary in a democratic society.
The April 1 ECHR ruling reaffirms its initial October 2018 ban on government access to Sedletska's data, after a Ukrainian court ruled investigators had the right to access and review data on her phone during a period of 17 months. The ruling stemmed from an earlier criminal investigation into the alleged disclosure of state secrets to journalists in 2017 by Artem Sytnyk, director of the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine. During the period in question, Schemes had reported on several investigations involving senior Ukrainian officials, including Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko.
Sedletska's employer, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, welcomed the ECHR ruling, saying it offers the necessary protections for “the confidentiality of journalistic communications and sets limits for executive power”.
(1/3) ? @RFERL applauds ECHR ruling on @RadioSvoboda @cxemu editor-in-chief Natalia Sedletska’s petition against efforts in 2018 by Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General to get broad, unwarranted access to data on her cellphone. #PressFreedom https://t.co/Ki7K60dVBG
— RFE/RL Pressroom (@RFERLPress) April 1, 2021
Experts from the Regional Press Development Institute, a Ukrainian media rights organisation, said the ECHR decision to protect Sedletska's privacy sets “a precedent not just for Ukraine, but for ECHR practice overall” and would be invaluable to other journalists whose sources and data could come under threat.
Sedletska is a veteran journalist who has co-authored multiple exposés on high-level political corruption and abuse of public office in Ukraine, as well as international money laundering schemes. Most recently producing and hosting Schemes, a joint production of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service and Ukrainian Public Television, she has also contributed to projects such as YanukovychLeaks and From Russia with Cash, a UK Channel 4 investigative documentary on how dirty money from Russia and elsewhere is laundered through London's high-end real estate market.
Selfie made during secret filming at the London luxury apartment for Channel4 film #FromRussiaWithCash @danreed1000 pic.twitter.com/0PwWMbnIHZ
— Natalie Sedletska (@natasedletska) July 8, 2015


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Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing camp wants to ‘get rid of’ pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po's full-page feature calling for an investigation on pro-democracy media outlets for “spreading fake news”. Screen capture via Twitter user Galileo Cheng.
Hong Kong's independent media are anticipating a sweeping purge of the critical press in the coming weeks — if recent words voiced by Police Chief Chris Tang, which were widely endorsed by the city's pro-Beijing newspapers, are any indication.
In a public speech delivered on the occasion “national security education day” on April 15, Tang accused a few media outlets of “disseminating fake news” that “serves the interests of foreign forces.”
Tang's views have since been echoed in editorials of pro-Beijing newspapers, which have then taken the opportunity to explicitly demand authorities to “get rid of” pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.
These events took place just as Jimmy Lai, the founder of Apple Daily's parent company Next Digital, was sentenced to one year and two months in prison on April 16. He was found guilty of “organizing” and “participating in” two unauthorized protests, respectively on August 18 and 31, 2019.
The 73-year-old media tycoon is also facing five other charges, including “colluding with foreign powers,” under the Beijing-imposed national security law. The maximum penalty for that charge is life in prison.
While it is an open secret that Beijing has staged a crackdown on the Hong Kong press that began with Lai's arrest in August 2020, the suggestion that critical news reports could be viewed as threats to national security is more than chilling.
In his speech, Tang categorically said that foreign powers have used Hong Kong's media to disseminate disinformation and incite violence:
Agents of foreign forces disseminate fake news and disinformation to drive a wedge in the community, cause division in society and to incite violence[…] I am not making allegations. I am talking about facts. The United States is one of the countries that tries to cause security threats in Hong Kong and China. […] This is not something really secret.
These foreign forces will identify some sectors or media in Hong Kong that would serve their political objectives, with a goal to influence and plant in Hongkongers thoughts that may endanger China […]
On April 16, Tang further elaborated on his views during a meeting at the Legislative Council. He condemned “a newspaper” for publishing side-by-side photos comparing a school kid holding a toy gun in a police facility during the national security education day with a viral image of anti-riot police firing pepper spray at protesters.
Tang was referring to Apple Daily’s front page of April 16 (see top image of this story). He said:
What I said yesterday has come true, if you look at the newspapers today (…) I think this is very unethical and is hurtful to children, and shows that some people want to use threatening ways to smear whoever wants to be close to the police. Citizens need to see this clearly or a danger against Hong Kong and the nation’s security will always be present.
And added:
For those endangering Hong Kong’s security using fake news, we will launch an investigation right away, and when there is evidence, we will pursue a prosecution.
On the same day, pro-Beijing newspapers began running opinion columns advocating for a clampdown on the media and the closure of Apple Daily.
On April 16, Ta Kung Pao published an editorial claiming that a number of “anti-China” media outlets, including Apple Daily, had made use of a national security loophole to engage in advocacy for Hong Kong independence disguised as news reports.
It highlighted a news story published on Apple Daily on April 15 about an advertisement campaign organized by the offshore activist group “Stand with Hong Kong,” labeling the report as de facto pro-Hong Kong independence propaganda.
It then called for a “payback” on Hong Kong media outlets, in particular Apple Daily:
《蘋果》已經成為香港國安的一大漏洞，《蘋果》不除，香港國安仍然存在漏洞，依法取締《蘋果》等「煽暴煽獨」、挑戰國安法的媒體，已是刻不容緩。
Apple Daily has become a loophole in Hong Kong’s national security. The loophole will continue to exist while [authorities] don't get rid of Apple Daily. [Hong Kong] should act and ban Apple Daily, among other media outlets that incite violence and independence and challenge the national security law.
On April 17, Wen Wei Po ran a full-page feature criticizing the Hong Kong Journalists Association for “protecting the spread of fake news,” while also condemning the pro-democracy media outlets for “brain-washing” young people into becoming rioters. It then called for “a thorough investigation on the dissemination of fake news” by pro-democracy media outlets.
In addition to Apple Daily, the pro-Beijing paper also named The Stand News for “inciting hatred against the police authorities.”
The pro-democracy sector had previously anticipated that the Hong Kong government would introduce laws to “counter fake news” in order to suppress press freedom. Hong Kong's pro-Beijing politicians have been advocating for such laws for months; recently, the city’s Chief Executive said that the Hong Kong government has been “the biggest victim of fake news.”
However, these latest talks about media collusion with foreign forces in spreading disinformation suggest that the police could instead use the national security law to prosecute media organizations.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou: The UFC champion’s fight from grass to grace  · Global Voices
Richard Wanjohi

Francis Ngannou. Photo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
On March 27, Francis Ngannou, a Cameroon-born mixed martial arts fighter, became the first African to ever win the heavyweight category in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Ngannou overcame American Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 260, which took place in Las Vegas, United States. With expectations of a close contest, Ngannou outwitted his opponent and knocked him out with a left hook and a right hammer fist 52 seconds into the second round of the fight.
The fight was a rematch of their 2018 encounter, in which Miocic won with a unanimous decision for the five-rounds fight going his way. Stipe Miocic, the immediate former heavyweight champion, has defended his title four times and won them. Miocic is a former boxer with a great combination of his boxing past and technical wrestling skills.
Coming into this fight and as he entered the ring, Ngannou carried the expectations of his country, and indeed of the continent of Africa. As the third Africa-born fighter to win at a major weight category — in the past, Nigerians Kamarubeen “Kamaru” Usman won the welterweight belt, and Israel Adesanya the middleweight – he does bring the full array of skills and experience to the UFC, an American mixed martial arts event that in 28 years of existence has attracted media interest and cult followership across the globe.
Ngannou grew up in the Cameroonian town of Batie. After an initial interest in boxing, he switched into mixed martial arts after meeting Fernand Lopez, a Cameroonian former mixed martial artist, coach, and gym owner. Lopez convinced Ngannou to take the leap given the lucrative prospects to UFC athletes.
Luke Feltham writing for Mail & Guardian noted this in the run-up to his monumental fight on Saturday:
Francis Ngannou is terrifying. Possibly the scariest man in combat sports today. There’s no hyperbole in saying that he demolishes his opponents – ruthlessly pummeling them with fists the size of soccer balls. But no less legendary than his power in the cage is the incredible story of his fight for survival that began long before he even entered an arena.
In Ngannou we have an athlete who has forged his own path in the truest sense. Leaving Las Vegas with a belt on Saturday, capped off what is possibly the greatest climax to the most epic saga MMA has ever told.
Ever since he landed in the mixed martial arts scene in the United States, he was primed to become one of the most recognized fighters. Mixing his boxing background and quickly learning the ropes of the art, Ngannou soon became a promoters’ favourite with his great skill and crowd-pulling antics.
In an editorial, the givemesport site notes:
‘The Predator’ lived up to his nickname, delivering a series of devastating punches to put away Miocic in the second round of their rematch from 2018. His rise to heavyweight champion may seem meteoric; in reality it has been anything but. Ngannou has suffered a huge amount of turmoil and setbacks on his journey, making victory for himself and the people of Cameroon even more sweet as he inspires a new generation of African fighters.
The editorial comment on his humanitarian side. Knowing the challenges he faced while growing up and fending for himself to survive, it captures his willingness to share and stay grounded:
Growing up in the poverty-stricken town of Batie, Cameroon, Ngannou's days consisted of going through bins just for something to eat, with his only fights back then against the local rats who tried to get there first.
He hasn't forgotten his roots either. ‘The Francis Ngannou Foundation’ has been set up back in his homeland, providing young people with the facilities and opportunities he was starved of when he was young. He even gets his hands dirty by helping out at the same sand quarry from time to time.
Following his ring triumph, Twitter was ablaze with congratulatory messages;
Fellow Cameroonian and NBA basketball star, Joel “Troel” Embiid, said:
FRANCIS NGANNOU
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) March 28, 2021
Hollywood star and former pro-wrestler Dwayne Johnson said:
Wow that was dominant.
What an incredible #goat run @stipemiocic had.
Nothing but respect for that guy.
A huge congrats to my brother @francis_ngannou.
The era of the Predator begins. #WarriorMana #UFC260
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) March 28, 2021
Former NBA Star and currently sportscaster and analyst on ESPN Shaquille O'Neal said:
@francis_ngannou is a beast daaaaaaam #UFC260
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) March 28, 2021
Sports-site Bleacher Report tweeted:
??? pic.twitter.com/5cUtFLzaKz
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 28, 2021
In a 2017 story, Bleacher Report reported Ngannou’s meteoric rise in the UFC;
The wide-open Nevada landscape fills him with a sense of freedom, he says. For most of his life, having a place like this was an impossible dream. The fact he's made it here at all must seem like a miracle. Yet Ngannou knows not to stare too long.
I can't allow myself to be happy with this. This is not bad at all. It's a good thing. But it's not enough to make me stop.” Not enough because this isn't the dream. The dream, what Ngannou really wants, is to become UFC heavyweight champion. Once he's champ, maybe he'll be able to take a moment to reflect on how far he's come.
The piece continues noting the fighter’s potential then and his raft of skills;
At 6'4″, 255 pounds, the 31-year-old (now 34 years) striker possesses a lithe athleticism that sets him apart from his slower, more plodding contemporaries. Add in his mammoth 83-inch reach and uncanny ability to quickly absorb the game's most complex nuances, and Ngannou shapes up as the most exciting heavyweight prospect since Brock Lesnar.
On his Twitter handle, Francis Ngannou gave a message of hope and inspiration on his patience and persistence in competing in the UFC:
Here we are. CHAMP ?
Finally got a hold of the belt & this is going to be for a while.
This right here is more than a belt, but a symbol of hope and dedication, it shows how far you can go if you believe in you and doesn't matter how far behind you are, doesn't matter how many pic.twitter.com/QSwNn4cuvL
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) March 29, 2021
Bloody Elbow, a news site focusing on MMA and UFC, is already looking into the future as they seek out Ngannou’s next opponent:
As for what’s next for Ngannou is unclear at the moment. All signs pointed towards Ngannou making his first title defense against Jon Jones, but another pay dispute between the UFC and ‘Bones’ has left that fight in question. UFC president Dana White said a rematch with Derrick Lewis “is the fight to make” next for Ngannou.

author: Richard Wanjohi


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Cuban artists fight repression through song, social media and hunger strikes · Global Voices
Luis Rodriguez

Screen shot of the anthem “Patria y Vida” on YouTube. In the photo, Manuel Otero Alcántara with the initials of the San Isidro Movement on his chest.
This article was written anonymously by an author in Cuba, using the fake name “Luis Rodriguez”
Historically, the political system in Cuba has repressed any form of opposition, including legitimate proposals supported by constitutional values. But in 2021, Cuban society has the power of social media in its hands to resist repression from the Cuban state, in addition to anthems and other methods of protest.
This past April 4, members of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo, known as Osorbo, thwarted an attempted arrest by the police with the help of its community in the Havana neighborhood of San Isidro.
The activists and intellectuals of MSI express themselves principally through music and from the aesthetic codes of performance, including striptease acts. Based in Havana, its membership features Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo, the independent journalist Carlos Manuel Álvarez, and the rapper Denis Solís, imprisoned in Cuba for an altercation with the police, among others. Nearly all members of MSI are black and mixed race, and since its birth in 2018, its leaders have been subject to arbitrary detention.
The day before the attempted arrest on April 4, the police paid a visit to San Isidro. Journalist Humberto López of the Cuban state television channel made a complaint against an event that would unfold on April 4 in the San Isidro neighborhood for an allegedly subversive purpose.
On that day, the community went to the streets to support the singers with their most recent song, Patria y Vida, also starring the group Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno, and Yotuel, members of the group Orishas. The theme music was sung in chorus that historic Sunday: “It's already over,” they sang. “You, '59. Me, double two,” in lyrics that refer to the year of the Cuban Revolution (1959) and the recent protest movement (2020).
Meanwhile, another symbolic scene of resistance was in progress. Given the worsening of the economic situation during the pandemic with effects on vulnerable groups throughout the country, the leaders of the dissident organization Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) took the initiative to distribute food to people in the community of Altamira in Santiago de Cuba. In the face of the government's actions, which included fencing off the headquarters to prevent its members from continuing with this practice, 27 of their activists started a hunger strike at the end of March. The conflict has awoken the interest of the international community, including the Organization of American States and the European Parliament. Cuban state media in turn has questioned the motives of the hunger strike and of the MSI movement overall. According to the Diario de Cuba, the UNPACU ended the strike on April 11 and began distributing food again.
The following day, on April 12, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was summoned by the police, Maykel Castillo was beaten, and other members of the community were detained, according to the MSI Instagram account.
A post shared by Movimiento San Isidro (@mov_sanisidro)
In what came to be known as 27N, the protests on November 27, 2020 were considered unprecedented in Cuban society and are comparable to the Maleconazo, a term used to refer to the antigovernment unrest that shook the Cuban nation in 1994 when Cuba experienced one of the worst economic crises in its history.
In November 2020, a group of nonconformist artists gathered in front of the Ministry of Culture to reclaim the right to freedom of creation and expression on the island, and reclaim the liberation of some of the incarcerated members of the San Isidro Movement (MSI). The night before, members of MSI were evicted from the headquarters of San Isidro, as their core members underwent a hunger strike demanding the freedom of Denis Solís.
This seemingly isolated event was the result of decades of artists and intellectuals being subjected to discontent and arbitrary actions. Eventually, they decided to peacefully confront Cuban power. Vice Minister of Culture Fernando Rojas has responded to the protests on Twitter by saying that he has invited the artists to engage in a dialogue, but they refused and caused trouble instead.
Many on and off the island have interpreted these protests as the prelude to a possible social outburst in Cuba, a signal to the government to speed up economic, political, and social changes called for by Cuban society, including the need to promote the existence of legitimate civil society. In Cuba, there does not exist, as it does in other countries, the freedom of association. The few NGOs that operate are controlled by the state, except those that operate in the Catholic sphere.
The Cuban intellectual expert on judicial topics, Julio César Guanche, explains this point of inflection in the history of the Cuban nation in the Chilean press:
El actual escenario cubano expresa el cambio generacional, social y cultural que experimenta Cuba desde hace años… Ninguno de los que estuvo el 27N frente al MINCULT [Ministerio de Cultura] nació ese día a la vida política en Cuba, como tampoco los que protagonizaron las protestas del Movimiento San Isidro. [Sus demandas], me parece, no se pueden reducir a una sola posición de izquierda o de derecha, y menos a la de “revolucionarios versus contrarrevolucionarios.”
“The current scene in Cuba expresses generational, social, and cultural change that Cuba has been experiencing for years… None of those who were at 27N in front of MINCULT [Ministry of Culture] were born that day into Cuban political life, nor were those that starred in the protests of the San Isidro Movement. [Its demands], it seems to me, cannot be reduced to only one position on the left or the right, and even less to the position of “revolutionaries against counterrevolutionaries.”
There is one factor that is vital to achieving this power to gather this number of artists with a sense of unity, when they are usually isolated and fragmented: New communication technologies and the power to mobilize on social media, above all through Facebook and WhatsApp. Since 2018, Cubans have had access to the internet on their cell phones.
For many, its use is so liberating that it can trigger mobilization in places where there is oppression, such as the case in Cuba, and where internet access acts as a mechanism for cohesion and enhanced leadership. Social media in Cuba could be contributing to the democratization of Cuban society and could empower the nascent civil society to weaken the historic monopoly that the state has exercised over the realms of information and culture, ideological pillars of all authoritarian states.
In response to the protests, there were internet blocks by the Cuban state and its company that monopolizes the sphere of communications, ETECSA. It happened after the protest in front of the Ministry of Culture in November 2020. On that historic night, ETECSA, by order of the government, revoked access to the internet and social media throughout the island without offering an explanation, in order to prevent the information from being transmitted to the world through international media. The members of the UNPACU headquarters in Santiago de Cuba have also suspended access to the internet on several occasions and have installed security cameras in front of the building. It has also deprived independent journalists of internet access. Oftentimes, someone with internet access manages to leak the information and it spreads like wildfire through cyberspace and the blogosphere.
Thanks to the use of private virtual networks (VPN), it is often possible to stay connected to social media. But with new legal attempts to control information constantly received by the Cuban people, the future is uncertain.

author: Luis Rodriguez


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As Brazil increases exports to China, politicians play the blame game · Global Voices
Giovana Fleck

In 2020, Brazilian beef accounted for 43 percent of all meat imported by Chinese consumers | Image: Giovana Fleck/Global Voices
Chinese consumption of Brazilian agricultural products grew sharply in 2020, reigniting debate about the environmental impact of goods produced for the Chinese market, who is to blame, and who benefits.
China has become the biggest buyer of Brazilian products in the last decade. This growth in exports has been accompanied by Brazilian nationalist rhetoric that accuses China of “buying” Brazil and destroying its ecosystem. And yet, Brazilian state ministries are in charge of land use and protection. Critics say that the Brazilian government blames China for destroying Brazil's environment in a nod to populist politics, even as the Brazilian agricultural sector profits handsomely from Chinese trade.
The Guardian reports a 76 percent rise in beef exports from Brazil to China in 2020 relative to the previous year. Brazilian beef accounted for 43 percent of all meat imported by Chinese consumers last year.
With increased exports, demand for land for crops and cattle has increased as well, particularly in areas in the Amazon and Cerrado regions, which together account for roughly 70 percent of the beef exported to China, igniting a new cycle of deforestation and environmental degradation.
However, China's consumption of Brazil's natural resources is not the central issue, according to Evandro Menezes de Carvalho, an expert in Chinese law and international trade from Fundação Getúlio Vargas.
Carvalho points out that all exports depend on the control of federal agencies, such as the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, and are regulated by Brazilian law, which specifically states which areas are protected.
Rising deforestation in Brazil, he says, is primarily the responsibility of the Brazilian government, not foreign countries. “The problem is not China. The problem is Brazil's current development model that turns it into a large farm,” he told Global Voices in a phone interview.
Since 2019, when Jair Bolsonaro assumed the presidency of Brazil, there has been a gradual growth in the devastation of the Amazon. The annual deforestation rate in 2020 was 11,088 square kilometers, more than three times the size of Central Park in New York, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Inpe). This rate has increased more than 70 percent compared to the previous ten years, on average.
Brazil needs to invest more in technology and in sustainable forms of production, such as family agriculture, according to Carvalho. “But, externally, China also has a role to play,” he said. As a consumer, China could be more stringent about ensuring that Brazil follows international resolutions and treaties, such as the Paris Agreement, to which the two countries are signatories.
On March 31, 2021, the Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) released a study examining Brazil's position as one of the world's biggest suppliers of agricultural commodities.
The devaluation of the Brazilian real against the US dollar and the trade war between the United States and China contributed to Brazil's leadership of the sector.
The study also shows that China received 33.7 percent of Brazil's total agricultural exports in 2020. China is the world's largest consumer of soy, also a key export from Brazil.
As Ipea points out, China's role as the main importer of Brazilian products goes beyond the trade war with the United States. Chinese demand for many Brazilian commodities exceeds supply, to the benefit of Brazil's agricultural companies. This demand also stresses the country's natural resources, as Brazil's drive for an expanded market fuels deforestation.
On social media, the narrative that China is “taking over” Brazil's natural resources has reverberated since at least 2020, as documented by Global Voices through the Civic Media Observatory.
Todo dia tem um animal no ônibus dizendo que a China vai dominar o Brasil, que a vacina tá matando as pessoas, que o vírus não existe… e termina dizendo: “acabei de receber pelo Whatsapp”.
??
— clayton silvestre (@clayton_History) March 19, 2021
Every day there is an animal (slang for stupid person) on the bus saying that China will dominate Brazil, that the vaccine is killing people, that the virus does not exist… and they end by saying: “I just received it through Whatsapp”. ??
Both countries are members of the five-country economic bloc known as BRIC, and their economies are deeply intertwined. They should not waste time blaming each other, said Brazilian economist Roberto Dumas, an expert in the Chinese economy, in a call with Global Voices. For Dumas, doing so only delays what can solve the problem: a more fully evolved partnership between China and Brazil that can address environmental as well as economic needs.
“Brazil is not an industrial power, in this sense. It needs China as China needs Brazil to feed its population,” he said. “For this to happen in a sustainable way, both for the environment and for the future of foreign relations, Brazilian diplomacy needs to abandon ideas that have no basis in facts.”
The economist points towards two specific narratives that are being shared by government officials from Bolsonaro's administration, and are rapidly spreading on social media.
The first began in October 2018. Bolsonaro, still a congressman running for president at that time, made headlines worldwide by saying: “China does not buy in Brazil. China is buying Brazil.”
The second happened five months later, with Bolsonaro as president. In a master class with trainees for the Foreign Ministry, when Ernesto Araújo, chancellor at that time and a Bolsonaro ally, told diplomats that Brazil would not “sell its soul” to “export iron ore and soybeans” specifically to the Chinese communist party. Araújo left the government at the end of March.
For Dumas, these ideas took root in the collective imagination of Brazilians. The idea of opposing a country that wants to steal Brazilian natural resources has now embedded within a growing sentiment of nationalism.
“These are false ideas that only block what could be a much broader and more autonomous relationship for Brazil,” he said.
Why do government officials promote this narrative? Carvalho explains that the Bolsonaro administration began its presidency embracing a narrative charged with many stereotypes towards Asia to hide a crisis in Brazil's own democracy. The country emerged from a dictatorship, of which the current president is a well-known defender, only 36 years ago.
Brazil's economy depends so much on commodities that it has become dependent on the biggest buyers, explained Menezes de Carvalho. In 2020, China spent $67 billion USD on Brazilian exports, three times more than Brazil's second-biggest trade partner, the United States, which spent $21 billion.
In 2020, Brazil earned more than $29 billion USD from the sale of soybeans to China, the equivalent to 60.601 million tons of the grain.
Soy has become the world's most sought-after and perhaps most divisive commodity crop because of its use in fodder to feed livestock. According to the monitoring group Transparency for Sustainable Economies (Trase), China's imports of Brazilian soy were related to 223,000 hectares of deforestation between 2013 and 2017.
The former vice president of the China Soy Industry Association, Liu Denggao, reflects in an article published by China Dialogue that the global soy industry needs to change dramatically to be sustainable.
“Protecting the rainforests and biodiversity, and combating climate change, are crucial for humanity’s future. We need to start working together today. No individuals, no companies, no countries can be left behind,” he writes.
Both Dumas and Carvalho also agree that the path forward should include combined efforts in future negotiations, especially in a post-pandemic future.
For Dumas, environmental goals can only be met “with the prevalence of strong laws that hold actors accountable for an unsustainable growth.”
Nevertheless, both experts agree that with growing deforestation and hostility between Brazil and China, Bolsonaro's administration seems to be an obstacle in the way of such a strategy.
This story is part of a Civic Media Observatory investigation into competing narratives about China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and explores how societies and communities hold differing perceptions of potential benefits and harms of Chinese-led development. To learn more about this project and its methods, click here.

author: Giovana Fleck