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No, Bangladesh’s High Court Didn’t Uphold Islam as State Religion · Global Voices
Palash Ranjan Sanyal

Baitul Mukarram is the national mosque of Bangladesh. Located at the center of Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh. Image from Flickr by Toufique E Joarder. CC BY 2.0
Bangladesh's High Court dismissed a petition filed by a citizens’ group nearly three decades ago to remove Islam as the state religion of the Muslim-majority nation, a provision added to the constitution by then-President Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1988.
The rejection was based on a technicality, not the merits of the case. In fact, the court quashed the petition in just two minutes, with the judges saying the citizens’ group wasn't properly registered and therefore wasn't legitimate.
However, celebrations broke out throughout Bangladesh around the inaccurate idea that the court had upheld Islam as the state religion, while religious minorities and secular thinkers in Bangladesh expressed their anger and frustration. Some international media reports didn't help matters with their simplistic or sensational coverage.
Blogger Arifur Rahman tried to cut through the misinformation:
The petition was due to be heard on the bench formed of three justices, at the begining [sic], even before the actual content of the petition could be opened up for hearing, the judges deliberated on the admissibility.
It was found that the ‘locus standi’ (the right or capacity to bring an action or to appear in a court) was not met.
[…] Unfortunately, for both sides, this was kind of a draw. The battle did not even take place. The match was cancelled.
That leaves open the possibility of another petition and a real debate on the issue.
Bangladesh is about 90 percent Muslim and 8 percent Hindu, with Christians and other religions filling the remaining 2 percent. In 2014, a research by Pew Research Center showed that in 30 countries, the heads of state must legally belong to a certain religion. Bangladesh is not one of them, but the country is among a handful which has a state religion.
Tensions were high ahead of the court's decision. After the court announced it would hear the petition, some religious groups vowed to stall the country with protests if Islam was dropped from constitution. The religious party Jamaat-e-Islami called a nation-wide strike.
Allama Junaid Babunagari, secretary general of Hefazat-e-Islam, a radical Islamist party in Bangladesh, declared that if Islam were to be removed from the constitution, millions of Muslims would wage holy war in the country to reinstate it. He put forward this argument:
“ফুল অনেক আছে, কিন্তু জাতীয় ফুল শাপলা। মাছ অনেক আছে, কিন্তু জাতীয় মাছ ইলিশ। ফল অনেক আছে, কিন্তু জাতীয় ফল কাঁঠাল। ভাষা অনেক আছে কিন্তু আমাদের জাতীয় ভাষা বাংলা। তাহলে ধর্ম অনেক থাকলেও রাষ্ট্রধর্ম কেন ইসলাম হবে না”?
There are a lot of flowers, but the national flower of Bangladesh is the water lily. There are a lot of fish, but the national fish is the hilsa. There are a lot of fruits, but the national fruit is the jackfruit. There are many languages, but our national language is Bengali. So, then there are a lot of religions. Why should Islam not be the state religion?
While Bangladesh has a state religion in Islam, it also protects freedom of religion. In the third part of the Bangladesh Constitution, which covers fundamental rights, is Article 41, stating that every citizen is free to profess, practice or propagate any religion, and religious communities are free to establish and publicize their institutions.
Recently, however, the government's treatment of non-Islamic thinking hasn't lived up to that ideal. Six secular Bangladeshi writers have been killed since 2013, and authorities haven't taken any significant measures to deter extremists from targeting those who challenge Islam. Meanwhile, the last several years have seen a series of attacks against religious minorities and foreigners, the majority of which ISIS has claimed responsibility for.
Secularism was actually one of the four fundamental principles of the original 1972 Constitution of Bangladesh, which was promulgated after the country's liberation from Pakistan in December 1971. A military coup in 1975 brought Chief of Army Ziaur Rahman to power, and his government did away with the secularism principle in 1979 with the fifth amendment to the Bangladesh constitution, which proclaimed that “absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah shall be the basis of all actions”.
Another military ruler, General Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who was the 10th president of Bangladesh, continued on this path. He inserted Article 2A in the eighth amendment to the constitution, which reads:
The state religion of the Republic is Islam, but the State shall ensure equal status and equal right in the practice of the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and other religions.
The military ruler used the eighth amendment and religious sentiment of people to silence a popular uprising in 1988.
A group of 15 eminent Bangladeshis calling themselves the Committee to Oppose Autocracy and Religious Communalism filed the petition that same year, questioning the constitutional provision giving Islam the status of state religion. But their petition languished for years.
In 2010, after the current Awami League government came to power, a Bangladesh court declared the fifth amendment to the constitution was illegal, restoring the secularism principle. This was further formalized with the passage of the 15th amendment to the constitution in 2011, which repealed many aspects of the fifth amendment. However, Article 2A containing the provision for state religion remained intact.
After almost two decades, the petition was brought back in 2011, but another five years would pass before the court moved on it.
Online, many defended or were indifferent to the idea of having a state religion, while others thought having an official religion was incompatible with a modern state. On Facebook, user Helal Mohiuddin argued that a state religion didn't make much of a difference:
একবিংশ শতকে কোনো দেশের সংবিধানেই রাষ্ট্রধর্ম বা সেকুলারিজম বলে কিছু থাকা বা না-থাকায় কাঁচকলাটিও আসে যায়না। রাষ্ট্রধর্ম থাকলে এই লাভ হবে, সেক্যুলারিজম না থাকলে সেই ক্ষতি হবে জাতীয় ভীতি-আশঙ্কাগুলো কিছু চিন্তকের পঞ্চাশ-ষাট দশকে আটকে থাকা তাত্ত্বিক ও আদর্শিক হ্যাংওভার মাত্র! নিতান্তই অমূলক অহেতুক ঘোর-তমসা!
In the 21st century it doesn't matter whether the constitution has the stamp of state religion or the mention of secularism. “If we have state religion we will gain this”, “if we have secularism in the constitution, we will lose this” — these type of fears and thoughts are just old theories and ideological hangovers. It's futile drooling over nothing.
While Blogger Nisshongo Bios argued on Choturmatrik blog:
রাষ্ট্রের যদি রাষ্ট্রভাষা থাকতে পারে তবে রাষ্ট্রধর্ম থাকলে সমস্যাটা কোথায়? রাষ্ট্রধর্ম ইসলাম হলে অন্য ধর্মাবলম্বী কিংবা ধর্মহীন নাগরিকদের প্রতি বৈষম্য করা হয়। দেশে এমন অনেক জনগোষ্ঠী আছে যাদের মাতৃভাষা বাংলা নয়? তাহলে রাষ্ট্রভাষা হিসেবে বাংলাকে স্বীকৃতি দিলেও কি একইভাবে তাদের প্রতি বৈষম্য করা হয় না? শুধু সংবিধানে ধর্মনিরপেক্ষতার কথা লেখা থাকলেই কি দেশ অসাম্প্রদায়িক হয়ে যাবে?
If the state can have a state language, then whats wrong with a state religion? If the argument is that the state religion of Islam discriminates against people of other religions, then there are also people of other ethnicities in the country other than Bengalis. So are they not discriminated against if we have Bengali as our state language? If we stamp our constitution as secular will the whole nation become secular?
Nazia Afrin wrote in an opinion piece for NTV news portal that having a state religion while at the same time protecting freedom of religion was a way to appease folks of every religious hue:
বাংলাদেশের সংবিধানে রাষ্ট্রধর্ম হিসেবে রাষ্ট্রধর্ম থাকা না-থাকাটা একটি আপেক্ষিক ব্যাপার। ‘ইসলাম’ যেমন রাষ্ট্রধর্ম আছে, তেমনি এটাও পরিষ্কার উল্লেখ আছে যে দেশটিতে সব ধর্মের মানুষের অধিকার ও নিরাপত্তা সমান। ফলে এটা থাকায় সমাজের একটি ধর্মান্ধ অংশ আত্মতুষ্টিতে ভোগে, কিন্তু আইনের বিচারে সেটা তাদের কোনো বাড়তি সুবিধা দেয় না। সবচেয়ে বড় ব্যাপার হচ্ছে, রাষ্ট্রধর্ম থাকা বাংলাদেশে কোনো ধর্মভিত্তিক দল স্বাধীনতার পর আজ অবধি এককভাবে ক্ষমতায় আসতে পারেনি। ভবিষ্যতে পারবে এমন কোনো ইঙ্গিতও নেই।
The issue of state religion in Bangladesh constitution is a relative matter. In it, the state religion is mentioned as Islam and it guarantees equal rights and security for the other religions. The presence of this appeases the fundamentalists in the society, but they do not get any privilege in the rule of law. The important thing is that in spite of the presence of state religion, no religious party could come to power winning majority in popular votes. There is no indication that they will be able to do it in the future.
Blogger Mohammad Jane-e-Alam, however, said that it was only a matter of time until Bangladesh gets rid of its state religion:
আদালতের এ আদেশে, অর্থাৎ মামলা খারিজের কারণে যারা উদ্বাহু নৃত্য করছেন-তাদের বলি-এ কিন্তু শেষ নয়। সমাজ-সভ্যতার ক্রমবিকাশের ইতিহাসের দিকে তাকালে আমরা দেখতে পাব, অগ্রগতির চাকাকে কখনো কখনো পেছনে টানা যায়-কিন্ত তা সাময়িক-চুড়ান্ত বিচারে সমাজ এগিয়েই চলেই । আজকের যুগে এগিয়ে যেতে হলে, উন্নত সমাজ গড়তে হলে,মানবাধিকার সংরক্ষণ, সুশাসন, অর্থনৈতিক উন্নয়ন অগ্রগতি অর্জন করতে হলে, আধুনিক রাষ্ট্র ব্যবস্থার কোন বিকল্প নেই। বিজ্ঞান ভিত্তিক সেকু্লার রাষ্ট্র ছাড়া কোন রাষ্ট্র আধুনিক রাষ্ট্র হয়ে ওঠতে পারে না।
Those who are dancing on the decision of the High Court dismissing the petition, I tell you that this is not the end. If we look at the progress of society and civilisation, you will see that you can stall the wheel of progress sometimes, but that doesn't keep society from going forward. In this era if you want to build a progressive society, ensure human rights, rule of law and achieve economic progress then there is no alternative for a modern state. Without being a scientific secular nation, no nation can be a modern state.

author: Palash Ranjan Sanyal


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Two-Day Workshop Strengthens Ties Between Indigenous Language Digital Activists in Peru · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Workshop participants. Photo by Christine Mladic Janney.
The city of Cusco, Peru, was once at the center of the Incan Empire. Today, thousands of tourists flock each day to catch a glimpse of what remains of that history in the stone walls in the city center, as well as at ancient temples and archeological sites.
Physical monuments aren't the only bridge the city has to its past. Quechua was spoken back then, and is still alive and well today. Wander the streets of Cusco or the surrounding communities and you'll hear residents proudly chatting away in the ancient language, which is now protected by modern public policies.
This backdrop of linguistic pride and promotion made Cusco an ideal site for the latest installment of the Gatherings of Indigenous Language Digital Activism in Latin America.
Held over the course of two days on December 11-12, 2015, this event aimed to forge connections between young indigenous activists using digital media to revitalize their native language. It was the third such gathering, with earlier versions held in Oaxaca, Mexico and Bogotá, Colombia.
The event was co-organized by Global Voices through its Rising Voices initiative. Other co-organizers and partners including the Bartolome de las Casas Center (CBC), the Peruvian Ministry of Culture (Indigenous Language Directorate and Cusco Cultural Directorate), the Living Tongues Institute, and Mozilla Nativo. The event took place at La Casa Campesina, a conference center of the CBC located in the historical center of Cusco. The gathering was also made possible in part through the support of Hivos.
“Gathering of Indigenous Language Digital Activism”. Created by Rodrigo Carús.
In mid-October, organizers published an open call inviting interested individuals from Peru already working to revitalize their native language through Internet-based tools to apply. Participants were selected with geographic and linguistic diversity in mind; a commitment to sharing what they would learn with their own communities was also important.
Unsurprisingly, Quechua applicants were the most represented among the applicant pool, although interest poured in from different regions in the country, including the Amazon, the Andes, and the Altiplano. Applicants demonstrated the commitment through their community-based projects, including a digital television show, audio podcasting, poetry, oral traditions documentation, and social media. Following a thorough review, the selection committee chose 25 people to take part in the two-day event.
Plenary session. Photo by Christine Mladic Janney
The event included a mix of group discussions, project presentations, and hands-on workshops, similar to the format of the previous two gatherings. Organizers led the group discussions by introducing a topic, such as linguistic or technical challenges in using native languages on the Web, community rights when sharing information online, and partnerships public and grassroots organizations to increase the impact of activism. Following a short presentation, participants shared their ideas and own personal experiences with the topic in a conversation-like setting.
Participants also introduced their own personal projects and gathered feedback from their colleagues. These included audio podcast interviews in Quechua, an oral storytelling documentation project in the Shipibo-Konibo language, and an activity created GIFs in many of Peru's languages. Mentors also shared their own projects, such as the Talking Dictionaries from the Living Tongues Institute, the Languages Sound Map from the Ministry of Culture, Mozilla's localization efforts, and the Rimasun Quechua Podcasts from New York University, among others.
Audio podcasting workshop. Photo by Christine Mladic Janney.
When it came to interactive workshops, participants chose one workshop to spend approximately six hours in over the course of the two days, instead of several 90-minute workshops like in past gatherings. This change allowed attendees to delve deeper into a specific digital tool and be able to create a concrete product at the end of the event.
While many participants commented that they would have liked to learn all of the tools or platforms offered, it allowed them to leave the workshop with more experience that can be applied when they returned home. Participants chose from among the following workshops:
A public forum co-organized by Global Voices and the CBC called “Internet in My Language — Experiences of Peruvian Indigenous Language Digital Activists” was held on the evening of the first day. Free and open to the public, the forum was an opportunity for workshop participants to interact with the general public to help raise awareness about the topic.
With two days of networking, skills-building, and inspiration drawn from their fellow participants, the 25 attendees reflected upon their recent experience during the closing session. Many said they were motivated to do more for their language and culture with the opportunities provided by technology. Participants also indicated that they wanted to stay in touch through virtual platforms, such as through the gatherings private and public Facebook groups.
Video interviews with the participants — conducted in Spanish and in their native language — are gradually being shared on ActivismoLenguas.org, a portal launched by Rising Voices in 2015 to feature indigenous language digital activism projects across Latin America. The interviews were filmed during the digital video workshop led by Ch'aska Rojas-Böttger.
These gatherings demonstrate that innovative work is taking place on a grassroots level, but there is still need for technical, linguistic, and community support. The challenge remains finding meaningful ways to connect these young indigenous language digital activists. Building a network for them is a step in the right direction.
Global Voices hopes to continue to co-organize more workshops in 2016 by seeking partnerships with local organizations that share this mission of deepening the impact of these young digital activists's work.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Eduardo Avila


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An Iraqi Translator for the US Military Is Now Stuck in Greece · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Ibrahim Esmael Ibrahim at the train station in Idomeni, Greece. As a teenager, he worked as a translator with the US military in Iraq. Credit: Filip Warwick. Used with PRI's permission
This article by Jacob Resneck originally appeared on PRI.org on March 24, 2016, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Ibrahim Esmael Ibrahim is a 26-year-old nattily dressed guy from Baghdad.  When I met him, he was standing on the platform at the train station in Idomeni, Greece — though there are no trains running now. Ibrahim speaks good English; as a teenager he landed a job with GLS (Global Linguist Solutions), a Virginia-based contractor that provided interpreters to the US military during the Iraq war.
He says the pay was good — $1,500 a month plus bonuses. The soldiers liked him and nicknamed him AP.  But after six months on the job, Ibrahim says his life was threatened by insurgents.
“They told me I will cut your head from your body if I see you again here,” he recalls.
Ibrahim’s family urged him to leave the country. But before he got out, he emailed his favorite American sergeants to tell them what was going on.
“I told them what happened with me and they told me to give my badge number to GLS in the Green Zone in Baghdad,” he says, recalling the incident 10 years later. “So I went there and gave [it] to them and the next day I took a bus to Syria.”
In Damascus, he found a white-collar job at a telecom company. But he dreamed of some day going to the US where his sister lives. His brother-in-law pointed out that because of his service to the US military in Iraq, he could apply for a US Special Immigrant Visa.
But for that, he’d need proof of his employment. So he wrote to GLS, the company with the big Pentagon contract.
“They don’t answer, they don’t answer me,” he tells me. “They say the contract is closed with the US Army and you can’t get your documents. It’s very difficult.”
PRI's The World contacted GLS in Virginia last week and left several messages, but we've yet to get a response.
Ibrahim say he stayed in Syria for a few years, then moved to the Kurdish region of northern Iraq where he worked odd jobs under the table. But he says being an ethnic Arab there was a problem; Kurdish authorities told him to go back to Baghdad, but he was too afraid to go.
Instead, he crossed the border into Turkey, where he met an Afghan woman in 2014. They got married in a religious service. Ibrahim says she was able to get to Canada, but she can’t bring him over because they don’t have a legal marriage license.
“I’m alone. My wife is in Canada and my sister is in America,” Ibrahim says. His parents are in Turkey and he says his sister is able to bring them to the United States in a few months, but it might take years for him to get permission.
So Europe is his preferred destination for now. But under the European Union’s new deal with Turkey, it’s unlikely he’ll be allowed to stay. The EU plans to send back asylum seekers like Ibrahim who make the crossing from Turkey to Greece. Turkey has agreed to take them back in exchange for about $6 billion in aid and other incentives.
The EU says the arrangement would discourage people from paying smuggler’s fees and risking their lives to make the perilous Aegean crossing from Turkey to Greece. But critics say when one route closes, another just opens up.
Most of the asylum seekers who have gotten stopped in Greece are Syrians escaping the war at home. Credit: Filip Warwick. Used with PRI's permission
And human rights officials say the prospect of mass deportation is inhumane and potentially, a violation of international law.
“Every person seeking protection has the right to have his case examined on a case-by-case basis on the individual merits,” Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muiznieks told The World.
He says the EU’s agreement with Turkey threatens to throw that principle out the window.

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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Meet the Filipino Scientist Who Invented the Videophone in 1954 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Filipino scientist Gregorio Y. Zara demonstrating his “telephone-television” invention in 1954. Photo: National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines / Facebook
This is neither an April Fools’ joke nor a viral Internet hoax. On March 30, 2016, the Philippine National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) posted on Facebook a photo from 1954 of Filipino engineer Gregorio Y. Zara demonstrating his latest invention: a two-way television telephone, or videophone, patented as a “photo phone signal separator network.”
The post quickly became popular especially among Filipino Internet users, who appreciated learning that a Filipino invented a videophone as early as the 1950s. Here’s the full caption of the Facebook photo:
Before there was Skype and Facetime, a Filipino scientist invented a television-telephone. Aha!
National Scientist Gregorio Y. Zara, a physicist, invented a device that makes it possible for two persons to see each other on a television while talking on the telephone as early as 1954.
NAST is an advisory body in the Philippine government that deals with science and technology. One of its mandates is to recognize outstanding achievements by Filipinos in science and technology.
Aside from the videophone, Zara has 30 patents under his name, including a solar-energy device, a propeller-cutting machine, and an airplane engine that ran on plain alcohol as fuel.
Most of the reactions on social media praised Zara's pioneering achievement in building a videophone. Many students know Zara as an important Filipino scientist, but only few remember that one of his inventions was an early prototype of a gadget that we came to know as a videophone.
Other social media users have seen the story as evidence that the country's previous governments failed to support the work of scientists and visionaries like Zara.
There is no clear explanation as to why Zara’s videophone didn’t reach the commercial market, but one commenter noted that the transmission used by the machine is the same as broadcasting a live television. Hence, it was “expensive and impractical.”
Zara died in 1978, but his legacy lives on every time a Filipino overseas worker connects with his or her family in the Philippines using an Internet videophone.

author: Mong Palatino


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Prankster Blames Leap Year for Failure to Produce April Fool’s Article · Global Voices
Global Voices

IMAGE by Dan Moyle (CC BY 2.0).
For the past several years, Global Voices readers have—perhaps arguably—looked forward to the annual April Fool's post, which offered some much-needed levity in the midst of the stories of conflicts, protests, imprisonments, corruption, censorship, corporate graft and other tales of global gloom and doom that appear regularly on the web site of the 11-year-old citizen media network.
On April 1 2016, however, the Global Voices front page was its usual serious old self, and Managing Director Georgia Popplewell placed the blame squarely on contributor Allen Smithee.
Smithee, who has been authoring the Global Voices’ April Fool's article since 2009, joined Global Voices in 2008 as a normal contributor, but was relegated to the role of court jester after submitting a handful of stories that were rejected by editors on the grounds that, according to Executive Director Ivan Sigal, “nothing in them had any basis in fact or truth.”
In previous April 1 posts Smithee has claimed that Global Voices spent years covering a fake country, that the nonprofit had embarked on outrageous for-profit ventures, and that Popplewell was forced into hiding after an April Fool's prank promising the community free iPhones enraged community members.
“I'm not convinced Smithee knows that what he's writing isn't factual,” said Managing Editor Sahar Habib Ghazi when contacted for comment. “But the pieces more or less work in the context, so we publish them.”
According to Popplewell, who also edits The Bridge, GV's original writing section, in the third week of March Smithee e-mailed her pitches for four stories, two of which were deeply libelous and one of which was “indescribably vulgar”. Last week Smithee submitted a fifth pitch, which Popplewell said she accepted. Late on March 31, however, Smithee e-mailed to say he'd got the dates mixed up “because 2016 is a leap year.”
“This makes absolutely no sense,” said News Editor Lauren Finch, who has previously had what she calls “the misfortune” of editing Smithee's work. “The extra day in February should have caused him to submit the story a day early. But that's Smithee for you.”

author: Global Voices


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7 TidBits from the Bahrain Grand Prix Formula One Race You May Have Missed · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Bahrain International Circuit hosted the F1 Grand Prix today. Photo credit: @BAH_Int_Circuit
Bahrain hosted the Grand Prix Formula One race today. Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg won the race, followed by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in second place and Lewis Hamilton, also Mercedes, in third.
Here are seven tidbits shared by F1 champions on the Bahrain race.
Gold Cutlery for F1 Drivers:
According to race champion Nico Rosberg, he had to rummage through his breakfast in gold cutlery. He even shared the photograph with his 1.2 million followers on Twitter. To his credit, he did remember those less fortunate.
Golf cutlery for F1 drivers in Bahrain. Photo credit: @nico_rosberg
CRAZY!!! GOLD Bahrain Breakfast!
Made me want to do good. Check out @ShareTheMealorg app!https://t.co/bEa34Aj49D pic.twitter.com/6T8UKUbbSY
— Nico Rosberg (@nico_rosberg) March 31, 2016
Lewis Hamilton the Arab Sheikh:
Lewis Hamilton dressed up in Arab garb as he made his entry into the circuit and loved it. He brags to his 3.6 million followers on Twitter that wearing the long flowing white robe made and Arab head gear made him feel “royal”:
Nothing but love and respect for this culture, and Bahrain!! Feeling royal! 🇧🇭🇧🇭🇧🇭 #BahrainGP #LetsGO #TeamLH pic.twitter.com/CsyHpPrvol
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) April 3, 2016
Skydiving in Bahrain is Fun:
Still with Hamilton, he went indoor skydiving in Bahrain and tweeted the experience, which he described as “so much fun”:
Indoor skydiving today in Bahrain!!! So much fun!https://t.co/Ut9nRpMKbr
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) March 29, 2016
Alonso had a Cake Car:
Spaniard Fernando Alonso couldn't get into the racing car because he did not pass his medical. But he did get a car cake, which he shared with his 2.4m followers on Twitter:
#BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/c0wBUbnSnf
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) April 2, 2016
Spectacular Scenery of the Desert:
French driver Romain Grosjean shares a photograph he says is of Bahrain from the sky and describes the dusty blob of desert as a “wonderful view”:
Arrived in Bahrain. Wonderful views from the sky today ;) #r8g #f1 #BahrainGP #views pic.twitter.com/X2oJpuo8Gp
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) March 30, 2016
Rain Vs Sandstorm:
And what's a desert without a good sandstorm? Luckily, there was a bit of rain on the first day of the qualifying runs, and no sandstorm. Max Verstappen's met report is not accurate and his worst nightmare didn't come true — but he did finish in sixth place in the race.
No rain expected this weekend. Worst case scenario is a sand storm 😉 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/hufp3s367n
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) March 31, 2016
Off Track:
Away from the action on the track, muted protests continued in the restive country, where a popular Arab Spring-like uprising in February 2011 was faced by a severe government crackdown.
Many, including Amnesty International, feel the race whitewashes severe human rights abuses which continue to this day. In a statement, it said:
This weekend Bahrain hosts the Formula One Grand Prix, a glamorous event putting the country in the international spotlight. Away from the racing circuit Amnesty International has continued to documented a range of appalling human rights violations.
“Behind the fast cars and the victory laps lies a government that is tightening its chokehold on any remnant of dissent in the country by stepping up arrests, intimidation and harassment of political opposition, critics and activists. The alarming erosion of human rights in Bahrain in recent years means that anyone who dares to criticize the authorities or call for reform risks severe punishment,” said James Lynch, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
A Young Yemeni Man Wants You to Know How War Changed His Life · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Bilal and Ahmed Credit: Ahmed Algohbary
This article by Ahmed Algohbary originally appeared on PRI.org on March 25, 2016, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
A young Yemeni man wants you to know how the war changed his life. His two-minute audio recording is a heart breaker.
On March 26, 2015 a coalition of air forces led by Saudi Arabia began a bombing campaign in Yemen. It was meant to defeat rebel forces that had taken over much of the country and driven out the internationally recognized government.
As the first anniversary of the air war was approaching, Yemeni college student Ahmed Algohbary made this recording. It's the story of his best friend, Bilal, who died in a Saudi airstrike April 20, 2015. Ahmed wrote the story in English so that westerners could understand. “It is my most important message for what is happening in Yemen,” he says.
Hello. My name is Ahmed Algohbary. I'm from Yemen, Dhamar City. I'm going to talk about my best friend, Bilal.
Everyone in this life has a best friend. Someone who knows all your secrets. Someone you talk to every day. Someone who can always put a smile on your face. My best friend is Bilal.
Me and Bilal were playing football together, surfing the net, watching movies and going to school together. Bilal always knows how to make me laugh. He has changed my life and made me a better person.
Three years ago Bilal went to the capital, Sana'a, to study there. And a year ago Saudis started to bombard my lovely country, Yemen.
On the 19th of April, 2015 I went to Sana'a to meet my friend, Bilal. I took him to a coffee shop. We had a nice chat. And then I went back to my house, and Bilal went to his uncle's house. Saudi jets targeted Faj Attan mountain. It was the biggest explosion. My house windows shattered. Three hours later I received a call from Bilal's mother.
She said, “Ahmed, Bilal is dead.”
I said, “What?” I was in a very big shock.
She said, “Saudi killed my son.” And she was crying. I cried, too. I couldn't really believe that: my best friend killed by Saudi air strikes.
Bilal is one of many who are killed by Saudi war on Yemen.
I will never forget watching ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes every day together and dancing around his room and singing.
I hope one day I will wake up and the war will be over.
My message to the Saudi coalition: Please stop killing. We have kids. We are human beings like you. This is not a game.
Another message to United Kingdom: Please stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.
And also now the Saudi jets are over my city.


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Dying to Escape India’s Crumbling Infrastructure · Global Voices
Vishal Yashoda Manve

Park Street Flyover, Kolkata. Image from Flickr by Paul Hamilton. CC 2.0
India's infrastructural woes took another hit this past week, when tragedy struck the East Indian state of West Bengal, where nearly 26 people were killed and more than 200 were seriously injured in an overpass collapse. A 100-meter section of an under-construction overpass at Vivekananda road, a crowded area of Kolkata (capital of West Bengal), collapsed on Thursday, March 31, crushing buses, rickshaws, and creating logistical problems for the evacuation procedures.
The disaster puts the spotlight on the state government, which is led by Centre-Leftist Mamata Banerjee's All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with state elections in just a couple of weeks, on April 17, 2016.
The Indian and international media have widely aired video footage of overpass collapsing, which has been a viral sensation online.
JUST IN | OP Singh, DG , NDRF on Kolkata bridge mishap: Have been told that 100 mts of the bridge has collapsed pic.twitter.com/hZlygHSRjJ
— CNN-IBN News (@ibnlive) March 31, 2016
Residents had to use their bare hands to rescue people pinned under a 100-metre-long section of metal and cement that snapped off at one end and came crashing down in the teeming commercial district in Kolkata. On social media, people have been urged to donate blood.
Urgent Requirements for #Blood Donors after the #KolkataFlyOver Accident. Kindly Contact @savelifeindia volunteers. pic.twitter.com/ZBne98fOmF
— Amit Panchal (@AmitHPanchal) March 31, 2016
While the search for victims was underway, the firm that built the overpass (Indian company IVRCL) called the incident an “act of God,” triggering a public backlash. Later, the company clarified its stance:
It is an act of god: 1st statement from builder IVRCL's KP Rao on #Kolkata flyover tragedy #IndiaWithKolkatahttps://t.co/1JmsvRHlQh
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) March 31, 2016
Pooka Khirsagar, a journalism graduate and a blogger, thought IVRCL the company was avoiding its responsibilities:
Oh, I couldn’t be more surprised over that explanation! It is like, I make a cup of coffee, accidentally put salt instead of sugar, and then blame God for it! If the builders or the company who supplied material for the flyover’s construction doesn’t take accountability for the accident, who should?
The National Disaster and Rescue Force led efforts to rescue survivors and provide aid.
BBC reporter Justin Rowlatt visited the site on Friday to monitor the rescue operations. Here are some graphic images from the site.
A shattered auto-rickshaw, just one of the vehicles recovered from the ruins #Kolkata pic.twitter.com/zNLTx7vo0s
— Justin Rowlatt (@BBCJustinR) April 1, 2016
The overpass was just metres away from buildings #Kolkata pic.twitter.com/tnGgBWCuGX
— Justin Rowlatt (@BBCJustinR) April 1, 2016
The last body was recovered on Friday, thereby concluding the rescue operation.
Citizens complained about the pace of the rescue operation in its initial stage, saying better efforts could have saved more lives.
The area where the bridge collapsed was very congested, making it difficult for rescue to reach victims quickly. Additionally, there was not enough mechanical rescue equipment on site, at first. Rajyasree Sen writes in an opinion piece in Live Mint:
When you look at the rescue operations underway, you realise that there’s little hope for any of us in a similar situation. There are no cranes in sight. It was an hour and 45 minutes before rescue teams turned up. When they did, they had to try and remove the iron girders by hand and with rods and then with gas-cutters. One of the gas-cutters set the surrounding area aflame. [..]
If this is the state of rescue operations in a metropolitan city of India, God help the rest of India.
Sandip Roy argued in Huffington Post:
What we see on television in the middle of a metropolitan city is damning proof that our emergency response to a disaster can almost be more disastrous than the tragedy itself.
Numerous passenger vehicles were trapped under the debris, which rescue workers had to clear, before removing the people trapped inside the cars. Workers used large cranes and other vehicles to clear the debris, finally bringing out the injured. Not everyone was happy about how the operation went:
Kudos to everyone who worked on Rescue Op in Kolkata including only organisation which was busy clicking photos and informing they r helping
— Joy (@Joydas) April 1, 2016
Rescuers themselves also complained about the “disaster tourists” who blocked access for rescuers as they were busy with taking photos to upload to Facebook. Angikaar Choudhury writes in Scroll.in:
As people continued to stream around, a few volunteers, brandishing lathis, attempted some sort of crowd control. But it had little effect. Onlookers pushed forward, desperate to get as close as possible to the site of rescue operations.
With elections looming near, various political parties including the BJP, Congress, AITC, and CPI are involved in a slugfest, trying to blame each other before voters head to the polls.
The chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, wanted the overpass—already five years overdue—to be completed by February, while engineers expressed apprehensions about this timetable.
Aerial View of Indian smart city Palava, a 4,500 acres township inside Mumbai municipality. Image from Wikimedia Commons. CC 4.0
This tragedy has raised questions about India’s smart-cities project, which is a vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. West Bengal has four cities under the project, including New Town Kolkata, Bidhannagar, Durgapur, and Haldia.
Many experts question the veracity and usefulness of the projects and other like it, given that numerous infrastructural projects on the “Public-Private Partnership” model have yet to be finished in other cities across India. Due to legal hurdles, a lack of reforms and the many companies now facing massive debt problems, these projects are now moving at a snail's pace.
So long as this keeps up, the public will continue to pay in blood, as construction crews turn to substandard materials and collapses like the one last week become a normal feature of life in Indian cities.

author: Vishal Yashoda Manve


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#IamSyrian, a Campaign to Make Every Syrian Proud · Global Voices
Rami Alhames

Brazilian soccer player Kaka, participating in #IamSyrian campaign. Photograph from Facebook Moustafa Jacob Page.
Nowadays, it's not strange to bump into a Syrian in every corner of the globe. This doesn't only take into account the refugees of the current conflict in Syria, but the generations of families of Syrian descent whose grandparents left Syria decades ago.
Dozens of international campaigns have focused on the suffering of Syrians over the previous five years of brutal war, which has claimed the lives of about a quarter of a million people and left millions more homeless, marching to Europe, knocking on humanity's doors.
In response to years of mainstream media coverage showcasing the anguish of Syrians and portraying them as starving and needy people who want pity, the #IamSyrian campaign aims to show the real mettle of Syrians. Following the string of New Year's sexual assaults in Germany, in which Arab refugees, among them Syrian, were accused, Texas-based Syrian artist Moustafa Jacob decided to take the lead and change the discourse of the conversation. His goal was to highlight Syrians who have contributed to culture and humanity in different areas.
His #IamSyrian campaign was motivated not only by the impressions that the media were giving about Syrian refugees, but also by Islamophobia pumped out by far-right-wing national parties as well as the fifth anniversary of Syrian revolution against President Bashar Assad which continued peacefully during the ceasefire agreed in February 2016.
Jacob used the Oscars film awards to kick off his campaign. He explained on Facebook:
بمناسبة قدوم الأوسكار, وبعد الهجمة الإعلامية على اللاجئيين السوريين واتهامهم بالهمجية والتخلف, أحببت أن أقوم بتصميم مجموعة من البوسترات عن بعض مشاهير أمريكا ذوي الأصول السورية.
والحملة بعنوان (I am Syrian)
#I_AM_SYRIAN
#IAmSyrian
Famous Faces of Syrian Ancestry
On the occasion of the Oscars event, following the media attacks on Syrian refugees accusing them of barbarism, I designed a set of posters of some American celebrities of Syrian origin.
Famous people with Syrian roots include Steve Jobs, “Prison Break” star Wentworth Miller, “Desperate Housewives” star Teri Hatcher, award-winning actor Murray Abraham and Jerry Seinfeld, says Moustafa Jacob.
#IamSyrian took an international turn when celebrities and artists around the world began adopting its slogan, among them the World Food Program organization and celebrities like Brazilian football player Kaka, British-Iranian singer Sami Yusuf, and Egyptian actress Hind Sabri.
Users on Twitter and Instagram as well as other social media platforms soon joined the bandwagon to spread the message.
Today, 1 in 3 Syrians live under the poverty line. We are standing #WithSyria. #IamSyrian pic.twitter.com/KyagOa2FuK
— World Food Programme (@WFP) March 15, 2016
To drive his point home, Jacob shared the names of people of Syrian descent who have had international impact. Among the Syrian figures posted on Jacob's Facebook Page are:
Jacob isn't the only one trying to put a human face to Syrians. In October 2015, photographer and art director Isabel Martinez recruited top models to appear in a powerful short film posted on Instagram on her account @IsabelitaVirtual, in which models from around the world proclaim “I am Syrian”:
#IAmSyrian are you? Thanks to @wmag @ola_quetal  @soojmooj  @Iriska_Kravchenko  @lineisymontero @molllsbair  @nykhor  @hannegabysees  @Stellaluciadeopito  @ruthnotmay
A video posted by .O⭕. (@isabelitavirtual) on

author: Rami Alhames


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Japan and Its Wonderful Cherry Blossoms · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Cherry blossom illuminations at Kanegasaki Shrine in Tsuruga, Fukui. Image by Nevin Thompson.
Late March and early April is cherry blossom time for much of Japan.
The cherry blossoms are expected to bloom at the end of March and the beginning of April, which marks the true start of the Japanese year.
A photo posted by しぃ 。 (@shiinyanko77) on
The new school year starts in April, when new employees typically start their jobs, as well. The cherry blossoms are supposed to welcome everyone to the new year. Recently, because of climate change, the cherry trees have bloomed a week or two early.
This is #Yoshino #吉野 in NARA
A photo posted by JapanGram 🇯🇵 いいね！ニッポン。 (@this_is_japan) on
The weather and the cherry blossoms are cooperating in 2016. For a few days, everyone stops what they're doing to spread a blue tarp on the ground and enjoy the cherry blossoms while eating, drinking, and often singing as much as possible.
Yoshino, in southern Nara prefecture, is one Japan's most famous (and hard to reach) cherry blossom viewing spots.
A photo posted by Asuka（明日香） (@_asuka_asuka_) on
Groves of cherry trees blossom up and down the hillsides, making for a spectacular site.
A photo posted by @mao_saori on
Different species of cherry trees have been planted in groves located at different altitudes in Yoshino, so that the cherry trees will come into bloom at different times of the spring.
#yoshinoyama #吉野山 😍🌸
A photo posted by Lena 🍫🍰🍮🍵 (@lleffox) on
While cherry trees bloom throughout most of Japan in March and April, cherry trees in prefectures and regions in colder northeastern Japan, where the winter lasts longer, won't start blooming until later in April.
Here is a famous “weeping” cherry tree near the small fishing town of Obama, about two hours north of Kyoto.
A photo posted by Masato Kawakatsu (@masattoh) on
The castle grounds in the center of Fukui City on the Japan Sea coast are lined by cherry trees, whose blooms are illuminated at night.
A photo posted by tkeuchi_ryoutarou (@riyo_take) on
Tokyo's Ueno Park is probably the most popular cherry blossom viewing area in Tokyo, if not all of Japan. Every spring, hundreds of thousands of people visit Ueno Park to view the cherry blossoms.
A photo posted by yuka (@yuka_tokyoadvisor) on
Families and groups of friends spread a blue tarp on the ground and eat, drink, and generally relax under the cherry blossoms. Many workplaces will organize a company cherry blossom-viewing excursion.
A photo posted by viachesiva (@viachesiva) on
The weather is generally still fairly chilly. If it rains, it means a quick end to the cherry blossom season, as the petals are washed away. But beautiful weather is just around the corner.
A photo posted by Ichina Kurita (@ichina.k) on
The Asuwa River in Fukui City.
While lasting just a few days, cherry blossom season is a favourite time of year for many Japanese people. Everyone, and everything, is focused on this short season.
A photo posted by @xiaoqiume on

author: Nevin Thompson


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Facebook Lands More People in Trouble in Kazakhstan · Global Voices
Eurasianet

Stock photo from Pixabay. Licensed for reuse.
The following is a partner post from EurasiaNet.org written by Aigerim Toleukhanova. Republished with permission.
Two political activists in Kazakhstan learnt to their cost this year that posts on Facebook can spell trouble. And they aren’t the only ones.
New website Pavlodar-Online reported on March 30 that the former head of a chemicals plant is suing a local journalist, Alexander Baranov, for 10 million tenge ($29,000) in libel damages for posts made on the social media platform.
Yerlan Kusanov, the ex-director of Pavlodar-based Neftehim Ltd, said in his complaint that Baranov used his Facebook page to alleged that the executive had left his job following an accident at his company. According to Kusanov’s retelling of the post, Baranov claimed three laborers were killed and that another two received serious burns while working at Neftehim. Baranov is also accused by Kusanov of implying the chemicals company was involved in illegal activity.
Kusanov says he is now unable to find work because of the damage to his reputation caused by Baranov’s posts.
In an initial court hearing, Baranov’s lawyer moved to have screen grabs of the offending posts dismissed as evidence, arguing that there were discrepancies between those and the original version.
Another court hearing is scheduled for April.
Kazakhstan has drawn criticism in the past for what media rights advocates have described as the excessively punitive libel damages sometimes leveled at journalists.
Proponents of stiff libel damages argue, however, that the legislation is intended to protect individuals from potentially harmful defamatory material. It is widely believed that some journalists in Kazakhstan accept illicit payments for writing what amount to hit-jobs against business rivals.
Careless Facebook activity also opens users up to criminal prosecution.
In the southern city of Kyzylorda, a woman has been fined almost 64,000 tenge ($185) for using her Facebook account to allege that criminal activity was taking place in neighboring apartments.
State-run news agency Kazinform reported that the woman posted what apparently amounted to gossip from another neighbor.
The offender fell foul of legislation that makes it illegal to spread false information that could disrupt public order.

author: Eurasianet


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Panama Papers: Huge Leak of Offshore Records Implicates Russian, Ukrainian Presidents · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Huge cache of leaked documents reveals shady offshore dealings of many world leaders. Image from ICIJ on Twitter, edited by Tetyana Lokot.
On Sunday, April 3, a new hashtag started trending on Twitter: #panamapapers. This, coupled with unusual activity on many mainstream media and investigative news websites, which received thousands of views within hours, was the Internet's reaction to a financial news bombshell that some journalists are calling “one of the biggest leaks in journalistic history.”
A joint yearlong investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than a hundred other news organizations, based on a massive cache of 11.5 million financial documents, uncovers the offshore holdings of “12 current and former world leaders” and describes how “associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin secretly shuffled as much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies.”
#PanamaPapers :
🔴11.5m files
🔵150 politicians
🔴50 countries
🔵21 tax havens
— PanamaPapers (@PanamaPapers_) April 3, 2016
The leak also exposes details of the hidden financial dealings of 128 more politicians and public officials, as well as billionaires, celebrities and sports stars around the world, who use a global network of law firms and banks to conceal their financial machinations.
This is hiw big the #panamapapers leak is compared to other famous leaks pic.twitter.com/fOyX8K4ccz
— Vladimir Hernandez (@vlad_hernandez_) April 3, 2016
Among other politicians, the Panama Papers and investigations based on them implicate both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in using offshore holdings to conceal their financial activity. Targeting the Russian-speaking audience, the investigative consortium has also made the reports available in Russian.
Earlier, on March 28, a Kremlin spokesman accused ICIJ and its media partners of preparing a misleading “information attack” on Putin and his associates, though no specific organizations or media outlets were named in the accusation.
The revelations of the Panama Papers investigation obviously drew significant attention online: the #panamapapers hashtag trended quickly, and websites of the media who published reports on the investigation saw massive traffic, including from Russia.
This is what's just happened to @guardian referral from Russia #panamapapers pic.twitter.com/wN2p0qSXuQ
— Chris Moran (@chrismoranuk) April 3, 2016
Another indicator of attention were the series of DDoS attacks on websites who published reports on the investigation.
We are under a sustained dDoS attack as is our partners. We are able to operate from our pages at https://t.co/00M3Zyk9HK
— Drew Sullivan (@DrewOCCRP) April 3, 2016
The RuNet's reactions varied from complimentary remarks and amazement to expressions of disillusionment and doubt that any meaningful reaction from Russian (or Ukrainian, for that matter) officials would follow. One Twitter user summed up the spectrum in a succinct tweet:
фейсбук: отличное расследование, огромная работа, молодцы
твиттер: испугали ежа голой жопой, ничего не доказано, вот мемес
— Чатбот-расист (@RomanFedoseyev) April 3, 2016
Facebook: great investigation, a huge amount of work, well done
Twitter: meh, don't try to scare a hedgehog with a naked butt*, there's no proof, here are some memes
(*a Russian metaphor for trying to threaten someone with something they have no fear of)
Russian anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny was quick to react on Twitter.
Расследование OCCRP действительно крутое. На основании этих документов вся верхушка российской власти должна сидеть в тюрьме.
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) April 3, 2016
The OCCRP investigation is very cool. Based on these documents the whole top of the Russian power vertical should be sitting in jail.
Other users weren't as enthusiastic.
Russian Twitter users try to play down the #panamapapers’ “revelation” that Putin (maybe) has $2b in slush funds. pic.twitter.com/8vTohmy2VF
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) April 3, 2016
Ukrainian politician Mustafa Nayyem, who was formerly a journalist himself, called the revelations about Poroshenko's offshore dealings “a hybrid war, but against corruption,” alluding to the Ukrainian President's earlier remark that a critical NYT op-ed about Ukraine's slow reforms was “part of a hybrid war” against the country.
Some social media users also commented on how local media in Russia and Ukraine were covering the offshore leaks story, if at all. Russian media, especially those loyal to the Kremlin, initially faced criticism for staying mum, but RIA Novosti later published a summary of the accusations brought against Putin.
Noting about #panamapapers‘ Putin revelations on state/pro-Kremlin outlets @RT_com, @SputnikInt, @rianru, @komsomolpravda, @lifenews_ru…
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) April 3, 2016
Немецкие СМИ сообщают о якобы причастности мировых лидеров к офшорным схемам https://t.co/314xYlMwwb pic.twitter.com/9zlpOUt0at
— РИА Новости (@rianru) April 3, 2016
German media report on alleged implication of world leaders in offshore schemes
Despite faint praise online for some Ukrainian media, journalists lamented the silence of Ukrainian officials on the matter of Poroshenko's role in the offshore scandal.
Are you wondering which Ukrainian media are *not* covering #PanamaPapers? Here's my quick check, as of 12 am pic.twitter.com/dtdpLdvwp4
— Evgen Vorobiov (@vorobyov) April 3, 2016
Now the last tweet for the evening. The @Slidstvo investigation of #PanamaPapers was broadcast on state-funded @1tvua. Media in UA are free.
— Evgen Vorobiov (@vorobyov) April 3, 2016
.@poroshenko‘s office tells me no statement tonight. Unlikely we'll hear from the Ukrainian president on #panamapapers until Monday.
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) April 3, 2016
The investigation has seen record reader numbers on its first day.
Amazing day on #panamapapers. We had to such down our stats to streamline but looks like we had over 1 million visitors. Glad you liked.
— Drew Sullivan (@DrewOCCRP) April 3, 2016
OCCRP, ICIJ, and the cross-border investigative team have promised to release more details based on the leaked records cache, so further exposés are likely to follow.
This baby ain't over. Join @OCCRP tomorrow for Azerbaijan and more of Russia. This is the gift that keeps giving. #panamaleaks
— Drew Sullivan (@DrewOCCRP) April 3, 2016

author: Tanya Lokot


text:
Smouldering Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Ablaze After Clashes Between Azeri and Armenian Forces · Global Voices
Akhal-Tech Collective

Agdam in Nagorno-Karabakh. Wikipedia image.
The two sides have each admitted to over a dozen of their own casualties while claiming — most probably falsely — to have racked up several times that number in enemy kills.
Whatever the truth, it is clear that the violence that has broken out in the Nagorno-Karabakh region contested by Armenia and Azerbaijan is the worst in over two decades of on-off conflict.
Currently the best estimate based on respective official counts is that at least 32 people were killed in heavy fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh that began April 2.
A fragile peace achieved in 1994 has been broken periodically over the last two decades, although the recent violence, which appears to have claimed the lives of more than one child, is more than a standard border skirmish.
The landlocked slither of territory nestled between the two countries was claimed by Armenian separatists following a six-year war that began when both countries were still inside the Soviet Union.
Most of the 150,000 people that live there now are ethnic Armenians, although a quarter of the population used to be ethnic Azeri prior to displacement after the conflict began in 1988.
Currently Azerbaijan says it has ceased hostilities amid a flurry of statements of concern by the West and Russia, a military ally of Armenia's.
Voices on the Armenian side, however, say fighting is ongoing:
#Azerbaijani Defense Ministry statement on a unilateral cessation of fire is completely false! #NKPeace #KarabakhNow pic.twitter.com/27PDgbob4Z
— lilit (@LilitArzoyan) April 3, 2016
Turkey, at loggerheads with Moscow over its downing of a Kremlin fighter jet close to the border with Syria last year, has reportedly expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan.
Typically, the real fighting has been accompanied by an information war on all fronts, with Armenian and Azeri Twitter users using the #NKpeace hashtag to highlight their perspective on events:
.@AmbJamesWarlick IF THIS ISN'T WAR, WHAT IS?? The killing of an innocent child due to #Azerbaijani military offensive. Shame #NKpeace
— Maria Titizian (@MariaTitizian) April 2, 2016
#Armenia continues occupation of Azerbaijan’s lands, deliberate actions to escalate situation and to target civilians. #Nkpeace @GER_OSCE
— Hikmet Hajiyev (@HikmetHajiyev) April 2, 2016
Other Caucasus tweeps meanwhile are speculating about whether peace will ever be achieved in a conflict whose official end was in 1994.
Frozen conflict means reloading guns if new generations are educated with even stronger ethnocentrisms and cult of victimhood #NKpeace
— Shota Kincha (@shotakincha) April 2, 2016
This. pic.twitter.com/qOxesobIWt
— Karena Avedissian (@KarenaAv) April 2, 2016
The two sides are evenly matched militarily only insofar as Armenia can count on Moscow's help, since Azerbaijan has been outspending it massively in militarily terms in recent years.
The Kremlin is theoretically well-positioned to play the role of arbiter in this ex-Soviet conflict but in practice has profited from the ongoing standoff between the two countries by selling arms to both of them.
Nevertheless, the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) of which Armenia is a member was quick to condemn Azerbaijan for reigniting violence in the region.
#NKpeace
Since '94 ceasefire, Azerbaijan earned zillions in oil money, spent much of it on arms. Armenia poorer & weaker, but Russian ally.
— Jake Turk (@71djt) April 2, 2016
According to Eurasianet.org's Bug Pit blog, the latest burst of conflict was “remarkable” in that it “happened while the presidents of both Armenia and Azerbaijan were out of the country, in Washington.”
The blog written by Joshua Kucera goes on to add that “what probably happened was that a small provocation got out of control due to the heightened tension along the border.”
With both countries bombarding their citizens with nationalist rhetoric over the enclave, it is Karabakh that has suffered most, with its majority ethnic Armenian population cut off from the world and starved of opportunities to boost a stagnant economy.
One such lost opportunity is tourism, because whoever the ‘Black Garden’ belongs to — and international law tips towards Azerbaijan's side, here — its wild, verdant, mountainous terrain remains some of the most dramatically beautiful in the South Caucasus region.
The sky over Artsakh by Suren Manvelyan… may it be peaceful #NKPeace #Artsakh pic.twitter.com/f1NiVkrF5n
— Arpiné Grigoryan (@arpik) April 2, 2016

author: Akhal-Tech Collective


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Does Azerbaijan’s Ruling Family Feature in the #PanamaPapers Leak? Of Course it Does! · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

Family moments: Googling the Aliyevs links you to any number of articles sharing one central theme: corruption. (Google search).
The trending hashtag #PanamaPapers and the massive volume of documents associated with it is a non-seasonal gift for anti-corruption geeks that enjoy pouring over the exotic financial connections of the world's infamous and powerful.
Unsurprisingly ex-Soviet Azerbaijan's graftprone ruling Aliyev family features quite prominently in “an unprecedented investigation that reveals the offshore links of some of the globe’s most prominent figures.”
The leak affects clients of, and persons connected by paper trail to, the Panama-based offshore services firm Mossack Fonseca.
According to their proponents, the Panama Papers are “11.5 million leaked files to expose the offshore holdings of world political leaders, links to global scandals, and details of the hidden financial dealings of fraudsters, drug traffickers, billionaires, celebrities, sport stars and more.”
Now, like leaks before them, the Panama Papers are set to feed the global media machine for weeks, months and possibly longer.
The documents were initially received by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's reputation for corruption goes before him.
In fact, he was celebrated in 2013 as the OCCRP's ‘Person of the Year‘. Unfortunately, this wooden spoon award did nothing to knock him or his closest relatives off track.
Members of the Aliyev dynasty in power in Azerbaijan since before independence who are mentioned in the Panama Papers leak include:
According to #PanamaPapers data mapped by the ICIJ, matriarch Mehriban took a leading role in one of the ownership schemes set up with Mossack Fonseca's help:
Image is a screenshot from icij.org, a panamapapers partner outlet.
In 2005, President Aliyev's wife, Mehriban Aliyeva, was named as one of two managers of the Panamanian UF Universe Foundation, incorporated in 2003. Under a complex proposal submitted to Mossack Fonseca in 2005, UF Universe Foundation would have ultimate control of AtaHolding, a major Azeri conglomerate. The 2005 proposal named President Aliyev's three children in addition to other senior members of Azerbaijan's tax office as beneficiaries. Two secretive companies central to this proposal were established through Mossack Fonseca although it is unclear whether or not the proposal was ever adopted. The UF Universe Foundation was inactivated in January 2007, but in January 2014, its representative asked Mossack Fonseca to reactivate it. In addition, Aliyev's daughters controlled a Panama-incorporated company and two others in the British Virgin Islands. The Panamanian company held a significant stake in a consortium of companies exploring goldfields in Azerbaijan. Aliyev's sister was the sole shareholder and owner of a BVI company registered in December 2005. Registration records list her at an address in a West London neighborhood where average home prices touch $9 million.
In light of these revelations, many have questioned the timing of a massive April 2 Azeri offensive on positions occupied by Armenian separatists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region the two countries contest:
#PanamaPapers , offshore, corruption and the #Aliyev family (what a convenient war in #Karabakh)#Azerbaijan https://t.co/GSY9G5BsBz
— Paul (@PH_on_tweets) April 3, 2016
In reality, however, this latest leak would be unlikely to make a splash in the country, even if there wasn't a boiling conflict underway involving the national army.
After all, Azerbaijan is a republic where the corruption of the ruling family is assumed rather than challenged, and media freedoms are significantly suppressed by the authoritarian regime.
Indeed, for those that dare to attempt to dig up dirt at home, jail awaits.
Azerbaijan’s brightest investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova did much to bring to light the “spheres of influence” and “dominance” of the Aliyevs in the national economy.
Ironically, it is Ismayilova who is now serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for “tax evasion” and “abuse of power”, the very charges she levelled at the entrenched regime.
Beyond the tangle of offshore companies linked to the family through the #PanamaPapers leak, the Aliyevs are known to be the owners of Azerbaijan’s largest mobile phone company, Azerfon, and key shareholders in the Silk Way Group, a state-endorsed “leader in the private sector of Azerbaijani economy” that controls 23 enterprises including the country’s airline company AZAL, Silkway travel, Silkway ground handling, the Duty Free stores at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, Silkway Bank, Sky Catering, Sheraton Baku and other important entities.
Despite having oil wealth to burn the government has done little to address huge inequality and poverty in the country of 10 million, which increasingly appears to be a playground to indulge the hobbies of the family's various members.
Sports fan Heydar Aliyev, 18, for instance, is seen as the driving force behind the decision to host the Formula 1 European Grand Prix race, which will come to Baku for the first time in June.
The country has committed itself to a 10-year contract with the sport's main organising body and will have to pay a hefty fine if it fails to uphold its hosting obligations in the next five years.
Commenting on the suitability of Azerbaijan as a Grand Prix host journalist Kate Walker wrote that the plan appeared “somewhat misguided. The cost of hosting a grand prix runs to the tens of millions of dollars per annum, and that’s without considering the costs of erecting a street circuit on an annual basis. With only 9,500 hotel rooms in Baku, the capital offers limited accommodation for prospective tourists.”
Art is another key area of regime interest. Leaked US embassy cables from 2010 revealed that the powerful Pashayev family from which First Lady Mehriban hails controls the impressive Museum of Modern Art in Baku, while Aliyeva herself even wanted to build a Guggenheim museum along Baku’s waterfront.
Mercifully for the state budget, the project never went ahead.
The #PanamaPapers have huge stories to tell over the next two weeks of leak-related reporting, and citizens of the former Soviet Union will be paying close attention along with the global media scrum.
But for disillusioned Azerbaijanis already well-acquainted with the machinations of the Aliyevs, there is unlikely to be anything that shocks.

author: Arzu Geybullayeva


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Film Says Students Across Central and Eastern Europe Should Cooperate on Fighting Corruption · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Dona Kosturanova explaining the benefits of networking of student organizations. Photo: Screenshot from the documentary “Youth Networking Against Corruption.”
A recently published documentary available in English and Macedonian shows how youth organizations from various countries can cooperate to try to put an end to the shady dealings that too often occur within educational institutions.
According to “Youth Networking Against Corruption,” the first step is to exchange experiences about the problems they face, ranging from widespread issues like cheating to country-specific challenges such as the unlivable conditions in Macedonian student dormitories.
The documentary also relates the introduction of codes of ethics in Macedonia, Armenia and Azerbaijan through the Transparent Education Network (TEN) as tools for dealing with corruption and promoting transparency. Including students in the creation of such codes proved instrumental in their implementation, as those who were supposed to apply them had a sense of ownership and awareness of their rights.
The importance of student participation in decision-making to keep educational institutions honest was recently highlighted in Georgia, where massive anti-corruption student protests erupted on March 10. The demonstration resulted in the withdrawal of the lead (and only) candidate for the chancellor of Tbilisi State University student government four days later. The candidate, Giorgi Gaprindashvili, was a member of the student government when it was found to be embezzling funds.
The first documentary in the “Youth Networking Against Corruption” series covered “Defining and Recognizing Corruption,” while the next episodes will cover “Data and Research on Corruption,” “Online and Offline Activism Against Corruption,” and “Institutional Communication.”

author: Filip Stojanovski


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#PanamaPapers Tell a Familiar Tale of Rich Political Elites in Pakistan · Global Voices
Sana Saleem

Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, during a visit to Downing Street in April 2014. Photo from the Flickr account Number 10. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
It was around 10 pm on a Sunday night in Pakistan when talk began on social media of an upcoming leak that would be massive and newsworthy. By midnight, the #PanamaPapers hashtag was all over social media, with hundreds and thousands of people reacting to what is now termed “one of the biggest leaks in journalistic history” revealing the shady offshore account dealings of many prominent world leaders, including Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Offshore Power Players: See how Nawaz Sharif's relatives are linked 2the #panamapapers: https://t.co/JDeMk8kPet@PTIOfficial will love this
— Lawangin (@Pashtoonkhan) April 4, 2016
Sharif family owned, mortgaged UK property through offshore companies, leaked docs reveal#PanamaPapers #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/AQbu17QyOi
— Mahwish Rajput (@wishrajpoot) April 3, 2016
Ministry of Information reactions right now #Pakistan #PanamaPapers pic.twitter.com/iJ6pthNSSM
— Adnan Rasool (@adnanrasool) April 3, 2016
The massive cache of 11.5 million financial documents exposes the internal operations of one of the world’s leading firms in incorporation of offshore entities, Mossack Fonseca, headquartered in Panama. The trove contains over 40 years of records with data belonging to 140 politicians from 50 countries.
According to the documents, which were compiled by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the children of Prime Minster Sharif set up four offshore companies that owned at least six properties in the upmarket and posh neighborhood overlooking London's Hyde Park. The ICIJ report notes that:
Three children of former and current Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif – Mariam, Hasan and Hussain– were owners or had the right to authorise transactions for several companies… Hasan Nawaz Sharif was the sole director of Hangon Property Holdings Limited incorporated in the British Virgin Islands in February 2007, which acquired Liberia-based firm Cascon Holdings Establishment Limited for about $11.2 million in August 2007. Mossack Fonseca resigned as agent for Hangon because Hasan Nawaz Sharif was a “Politically Exposed Person.”
The Sharif family denied to comment when approached by ICIJ. However, on a TV show that aired on 19 March, the prime minister's son Hussain Nawaz admitted to having off-shore companies as a matter of pride (“Allhamdullah” means “praise be to God” in Arabic):
@hyzaidi: Hussain Nawaz admitted on Javed Ch show that they own offshore companies. He said “Allhamdullah’ we own these offshore companies”
— Hassan Iftikhar (@Hassaniftikhar) April 3, 2016
And his sister Maryam Nawaz Sharif tweeted a press release saying that none of the corporations mentioned in the leaks are owned or operated by their father, the Prime Minister of Pakistan. She added that her brothers, mentioned in the leaks, were residents of Saudi Arabia and the UK and “neither is a tax-payer in Pakistan”:
Sharif family's official response to distortion of information given in Panama Leaks. pic.twitter.com/d84jfOsQz6
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) April 4, 2016
Pakistan, a developing country, relies on foreign financial aid to reach its poorest as the country lacks a social safety net system. A significant portion of the country's population lives in extreme poverty, but many of its politicians are notoriously wealthy. The documents reveal a much-known story of rich political elites who rarely feel the responsibility to be fully transparent and accountable to its people.
The leaks have been met with mixed reactions. Political workers from Imran Khan's opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party consider this a validation of their demands, while others feel this may not lead to any fundamental change:
The frustration doesn't end. #panamapapers.
Denial will show our disinterest in the people and the future of #Pakistan
— yada (@YadaThoughts) April 4, 2016
any one who is patriotic to Pakistan will leave to support this corrupt crime minister n his family now#PanamaPapers
— Syed Omer Ijaz (@IamBukhari14) April 4, 2016
A fresh Supreme Court Commission is needed to examine #PanamaPapers Pakistan's integrity & democracy depends on it. pic.twitter.com/8lhoBlQjo3
— PTICyberForce (@PTICyberForce) April 4, 2016
So serious question – where do we go from here? Like beyond the tweets and shouting matches on TV.. What now? #Pakistan #panamapapers
— Adnan Rasool (@adnanrasool) April 3, 2016
In 2014, blogger Shahid Saeed wrote an in-depth examination of the wealth of the Sharif family. The piece provided extensive details on the various businesses owned by the Sharif family. Saeed concluded:
This would probably bring Nawaz Sharif into the top 100 richest individuals in Pakistan, maybe a bit below that too. A large portion of these holdings are illiquid (total cash in-hand and bank deposits combined for Nawaz Sharif and his wife are Rs 140 million) and constant industrial investments in Pakistan. The family is by no means poor, and neither have they ever claimed of being so.

author: Sana Saleem


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Posting Photos of Red Bowls on Facebook Is Now Deemed Seditious by the Thai Junta · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

After posting this photo on Facebook, the person holding the red bowl was charged with sedition. Source: Human Rights Watch
A Facebook user in Thailand was arrested and charged with sedition for posting a photo of a red bowl given to her by ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The bowl, one of many that were once distributed among Thaksin's supporters in northern Thailand, is intended to be used during the traditional water ceremonies in the Songkran festival, also known as Thai New Year, this month.
Thaksin was deposed in a coup in 2006 although he remained popular among voters. He went into exile to avoid detention after he was found guilty of corruption. In 2011 his younger sister, Yingluck, was elected prime minister. The army then removed her from power in May 2014 and continues to lead the country through its appointed officials. It promised to restore civilian rule once it implemented political and electoral reforms, but this has yet to take place.
Many of Thaksin’s supporters are members of the so-called ‘Red Shirts’ which launched massive rallies in Bangkok in 2010. The army has banned public protests, including the activities of the Red Shirts and Thaksin’s party (Pheu Thai party), in the name of political stability.
The army has accused Thaksin of trying to incite division in the country by encouraging his supporters to challenge authorities. Thaksin has denied this charge. Last January, the junta banned the distribution of calendars that bore the photos of Thaksin and Yingluck.
The red bowl photo used as a basis for arresting the Facebook user is etched with this message:
The situation may be hot, but brothers and sisters may gain coolness from the water inside this bucket.
Thai authorities acted quickly and arrested the Facebook user, a 57-year old woman from northern Thailand. She was released after posting a bail of roughly 2,800 US dollars. If found guilty, she could spend up to seven years in jail.
Former army chief and now Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha defended the sedition charge:
It was [a show of] support for people who have violated laws and run away from criminal charge.
I live in a country where this red bowl is a seditious item & a threat to national security. https://t.co/GULyuXnrc4 pic.twitter.com/mhqtBzD2Zf
— Kaewmala (@Thai_Talk) March 31, 2016
Meanwhile, the reporter of a newspaper who broke the story was also ‘detained’ by the army. The reporter was allowed to go home but he was told not to write another ‘misleading’ story.
The army subsequently raided the home of a former politician and confiscated more than 8,000 red bowls from Thaksin etched with this message:
Happy 2016 Songkran Day, this Songkran, I especially miss all my brothers and sisters very much and want to help you solve problems, but before that I would like to send encouragement, love and thoughts.
The red bowls are meant to be distributed in time for the Songkran festival.
The army defended the raid and accused Thaksin of trying to sow confusion by placing his photo and name on the red bowls. For his part, Thaksin urged the junta to focus on addressing the country’s problems and not his gifts to his constituents.
#Thailand #military loses its mind. The latest threat to national security? A red bowl https://t.co/ai3QhhR98k pic.twitter.com/2ObuQDAKvV
— John Le Fevre (@photo_journ) March 29, 2016
The tweet above features the red bowl and the photos of Thailand's two ousted prime ministers: Yingluck (left) and Thaksin (right).
It is not yet clear whether the government will file charges against leaders distributing red bowls but the army hinted that Thaksin’s allies and members of his party will undergo an ethics course. This is similar to the ‘attitude-adjustment’ sessions given by the army to activists, journalists and politicians criticizing the government.
The ‘red bowl’ issue is cited by activists and human rights groups as another proof of the junta’s ‘intolerance of dissent’. Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch adds:
The Thai junta’s fears of a red plastic bowl show its intolerance of dissent has reached the point of absolute absurdity. When military courts try people for sedition for posting photos with holiday gifts from deposed leaders, it’s clear that the end of repression is nowhere in sight.


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This Is What It Takes to Provoke an Angry Mob of Buddhists · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Image edited by Kevin Rothrock.
In February 2012, five women strolled into the Cathedral of Christ the Savior of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow, donned colorful balaclavas, and then recorded themselves jumping and flailing around. The group later added what it called music to the video, putting the final touch on what would lead to Russia’s infamous Pussy Riot case, in which three of the band’s members were sentenced to prison for a religious hate crime.
The women of Pussy Riot have been free for more than two years now, but they might soon get some company in the annals of Russia’s crimes against religiosity. This time, however, Christianity is absent, the perpetrator is a freestyle wrestler from the predominantly Muslim Republic of Dagestan, and the angry victims are the Republic of Kalmykia’s 107,000 Buddhists.
The scandal that could send a 22-year-old Dagestani man to prison for three years began innocently enough: his wrestling team was visiting Elista, Kalmykia’s capital, to attend (but not participate in) a wrestling tournament. Late on Saturday, April 2, after a night of merrymaking, the young man and his friends found themselves at a Buddhist temple. After relieving himself inside the temple, the man decided to show off his high-kicking skills, asking his companions to film him delivering his foot to the mouth and nose of a gigantic Buddha statue. They agreed, he performed the feat, and they recorded it, even broadcasting it on Periscope, Twitter’s live-streaming video service. Then they went back to their hotel.
Уголовное дело об осквернении статуи Будды завели в Калмыкииhttps://t.co/575paqNAmt#калмыкия #буддизм pic.twitter.com/fY6363v5EB
— Телеканал ЗВЕЗДА (@zvezdanews) April 3, 2016
Criminal charges for desecrating a Buddha statue in Kalmykia
Hours later, in the middle of the night, the team awoke to the shouting of an angry mob. It turns out that the video of Buddha being kicked in the face was a viral hit, and it didn’t take long for the Buddhists of Kalmykia to catch wind of the stunt.
Flanked by police, the wrestler addressed the crowd, claiming that he didn’t know he was in a Buddhist temple when he filmed the video. Unfortunately for him, this only further provoked his audience, which eventually pressured him into dropping to his knees and apologizing to Buddha. (There’s footage from outside the hotel available on YouTube. It’s in Russian, but the anger in the crowd’s voices is still plenty palpable without a lick of Russian fluency.)
As the mob gathered and grumbled outside the wrestlers’ hotel, local officials scrambled into action. Soon, Alexey Orlov, the head of the Republic of Kalmykia, and Abdusamad Gamidov, Dagestan’s prime minister, released a joint statement (immediately republished on YouTube) where the two reiterated the brotherly and respectful ties between Kalmykia and Dagestan. Gamidov announced that the wrestling team’s coach had been fired, and the wrestling tournament itself had been canceled, with all Dagestani and Chechen players returning home. The recorded announcement, which features two men standing awkwardly side-by-side taking turns speaking for five minutes, has more than 75,000 views at the time of this writing.
Alexey Orlov, the head of the Republic of Kalmykia, and Abdusamad Gamidov, Dagestan’s prime minister, remind everyone how friendly they can be. Image: YouTube
Orlov revealed that the wrestler who high-kicked Buddha is now in police custody, facing criminal charges for acts showing “clear and obvious disrespect for society and intent to offend religious believers’ feelings.” Because the act was committed in a temple, the maximum penalty rises from one year in prison to three years. The applicable law in this case, according to Orlov, was signed by Putin in June 2013, in the afterman of the Pussy Riot trial (though the punk rockers managed to get three years behind bars, before lawmakers ever cooked up legal protections for “believers’ feelings”).

author: Kevin Rothrock


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South Africa’s Court Orders President Zuma to Pay Back Public Funds · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Zuma's compound. Photo by John A Forbes. Released under Creative Commons.
The South African Constitutional Court, the highest court in the country, has agreed with recommendations by the public protector and rebuked President Jacob Zuma for breaching the constitution after he failed to pay back the money used for upgrades unrelated to security at his rural home in Nkandla, a town in Kwazulu Natal. The court has ordered the president to repay the money personally, as determined by the Treasury department.
In 2014, a report by South Africa's public protector, Thuli Madonsela, found that President Jacob Zuma unduly benefited from security upgrades to his Nkandla homestead, which cost taxpayers about 250 million rands, or US $25 million. The public protector asked Zuma to repay part of the money back to the state.
However, on May 28, 2015, Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko, a Zuma appointee, released his report on Nkandla, finding that the swimming pool, cattle kraal, chicken run, visitor's centre, and amphitheatre were valid security features and that the president was therefore not liable to pay back any of the money.
The report revealed that the cattle kraal, besides being sacred in Zuma's culture, will prevent animals from triggering motion detectors and causing panic, while the amphitheatre has an important security purpose by serving as an emergency assembly point for Zuma's family. The visitors’ centre in turn provides privacy functions and the swimming pool is a strategic asset in firefighting.
At the time, South Africans expressed their anger about the revelations and pressured Zuma to pay back the money. Internet users spread the hashtags #PayBackTheMoney and #WeWantTheMoney.
Two main opposition political parties, the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance, eventually took the matter to the Constitutional Court.
When the news of the “upgrades” broke, the government tried to silence the media by saying that anyone who published images or footage of Zuma's home would face arrest because they would be breaching the National Key Points Act.
However, South Africa's media defied the ban, with the Times newspaper publishing the photos under the headline “So, Arrest Us.” Many Facebook users used the photos as a “cover photo” on their personal pages.
After the Constitutional Court delivered its judgement, President Zuma said he respects the judgement and will abide by it. He later apologised to the nation in a televised broadcast saying he had no knowledge of irregularities relating to security improvements at his residence.
South Africa's prominent figures, opposition politicians, and ordinary citizens have slammed the apology, saying he should have offered his resignation.
One Twitter user, Russel Brueton, said:
The best apology he could have given us is his resignation. This rings hollow. It's now time for Parliament to #impeachzuma
— Russel Brueton (@RusselBrueton) April 1, 2016
Another user wrote:
Nixon on Aug 9, 1974: ‘I hereby resign office of President of US’. #Zuma on April 1, 2016: ‘I am sorry’. #SouthAfrica #Nkandla #ConCourt
— Ellis Mnyandu (@Ellis_Mnyandu) April 2, 2016
Chairperson of the ANC and Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete has also offered an apology:
On behalf of myself and the National Assembly, i would like to apologies to Nation for the approach we took in dealing with Nkandla matter.
— BalekaMbete (@Baleke_Mbete) April 1, 2016
The court also found that the National Assembly had flouted its constitutional obligations to hold the president accountable.
Many South Africans continue to ask President Zuma to resign, while the opposition Democratic Alliance has officially started a process for impeaching him.
A tweet from the party asking for South Africans to retweet it as a show of support for the impeachment motion has received more than 2,500 retweets.
RETWEET if you support the DA's motion to #ImpeachZuma after the #ConCourt ruled that he violated the constitution. pic.twitter.com/tsXcvao2yI
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) March 31, 2016
The issue has become a hot topic of discussion and debate on Twitter, where it is trending under several hashtags, such as #ImpeachZuma, #ConCourt, and #Nkandla.
Chanda Mfula asked the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to distance itself from Zuma:
Jacob Zuma has ruined his name irreversibly and the #ANC must disentangle itself from him if only for history's sake
#ConCourt
— Chanda Mfula (@ChandaMfula) March 31, 2016
Others are expressing concerns that a sitting president has failed to protect the country's constitution:
#ImpeachZuma….we cannot have a President who disregarded the Constitution, continue to pretend he is there to protect it! #ConCourt
— Sihle Ngobese (@SihleDLK) March 31, 2016
iTechHub SA noted:
Whether Zuma should go or stay is a frivolous question. The court made the judgment. He's not fit. He broke his Oath of Office. #impeachzuma
— iTechHub SA (@imThisDiego) March 31, 2016
Rhulani Bila wanted South Africa to lead other African nations by example:
S. Africans have been telling other Africans to remove dictators. Now it is time to show how is done. #ApologyNotAccepted #Zuma #ConCourt
— Rhulani Bila (@RhuBila) April 2, 2016
Some say the ruling party has only two choices:
“The choice for the ANC is binary – it can either protect the Constitution or protect #Zuma” – @MmusiMaimane. Help @Our_DA to #ImpeachZuma
— André (@afcoetzee) April 1, 2016
John Steenhuisen warned the ruling party:
Wake up ANC and realize what damage this man is doing to your party and country, time for consequences #ImpeachZuma pic.twitter.com/p87ayAvjLy
— John Steenhuisen (@jsteenhuisen) April 1, 2016
#ImpeachZuma Make south africa great again
— The Tribe (@TheTribeOffical) April 1, 2016
Not everyone, of course, is happy with the judgement against the president.
Sisonke Msimang said impeachment was a joke:
Please DA. You need another strategy. Impeachment is a joke. Your numbers are underwhelming. Mmusi tell your people please. #ConCourt
— Sisonke Msimang (@Sisonkemsimang) March 31, 2016
While Thandeka asked:
How is it #ConCourt can order pic.twitter.com/6M9o2THBBI
— T H A N D E K A (@_thndk) April 1, 2016
Many South Africans and other Africans have expressed admiration for the South African Constitutional Court. It is very rare in African politics for courts to deliver judgements against presidents.
Trevor Ncube, a South African based Zimbabwean entrepreneur, noted:
Elsewhere in Africa we would change the constitution and fire the judges or tell them we can't guarantee their security #ConCourt
— Trevor Ncube (@TrevorNcube) March 31, 2016
Stevie French, South African actress and TV anchor, tweeted:
Over the years I've lost a lot of faith in our judicial system's ability to act on corruption.
That ends today.#ConCourt #ImpeachZuma
— Stevie French (@StevieFrenchSA) March 31, 2016

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Travel 2.0: How the Internet Is Changing Travel in India · Global Voices
Alka

photo credit: The Modern Monk via Flickr (CC-BY-NC license)
India is a reasonably popular destination worldwide, accounting for 11 million foreign arrivals in 2015. In fact, India has historically been a “go to” place. Even the 13th-century Sufi mystic, Jalaluddin Rumi, said India was a destination of great spiritual merit.
The urge to travel and explore is as strong today as it has ever been, and an ever-growing army of bloggers alongside advancements in technology are making it easier for Indians and non-Indians alike to travel the enormous country.
Technology is an especially strong factor is making travel accessible. In India, for example, public infrastructure, travel schedules and support services like healthcare or security may not always be in the best shape. This puts the onus on the traveler to plan better and streamline his or her travel experience. This is where technology, and especially the social media revolution, is playing a crucial role.
Consider a recent case involving the Indian railways. A woman on board a train was being harassed by a man. Unable to locate any member of the railway police nearby, she sent a tweet directly to the Indian Railway Ministry.
@RailMinIndia plz plz help in tarin no 18030 one male passanger harrassing me at shegaon I am in train terrified
— Dr Namrata Mahajan (@namratamahajan1) November 26, 2015
The Railway Ministry alerted the Railway Police Force, and constables boarded the train at the next station to escort the man away.
Safety issues aren’t the only aspects people seek help for over the web. India is quite a vast land with several monuments, heritage sites and tourist spots. The nation’s archaeological survey department lists 3,686 places in India on its conservation list. However, except for the famous sites, a visit to many other places can be a journey into the unknown. The situation has improved considerably over the last decade, but a lot of pieces still need to be put in place before travel becomes a seamless experience.
This vacuum has given rise to bloggers who offer travel tips and advice and feature the lesser known places in India. Neelima Vallangi, for example, spends a lot of her time visiting and chronicling various offbeat destinations in the subcontinent. Her posts are usually geared towards the adventure and charm of the place itself, and less about the travel or stay options.
NEW!
Start your Monday by reading about “A Paradise called Kashmir” https://t.co/FcHQklMA1X#Kashmir #TTOT pic.twitter.com/AakIzZNpOd
— Neelima Vallangi (@i_WanderingSoul) April 4, 2016
Younger Indians seem less bothered about comfort and convenience and more interested in the adventure and travel aspects. Take the example of Dhruv Dholakia, who has been on a 14-month journey around India on his motorbike. Why? He explains on his Facebook page, where he chronicles the places he has visited:
Why such a long journey? The core reason for this is Junoon (an Urdu word meaning craziness). My junoon for travel began at a very young age and continues to be the driving force in my life. I have a biker friend who has done an all India road trip of twenty thousand plus kilometres in just two and a half months. That’s an average two hundred and fifty kilometres a day. Back to back everyday. What places could he have seen? To me, even fourteen months is less to just touch every state.
In a video speech uploaded by Nikita Rustagi, Dhruv shares his experiences at The India Bike Week:
Travel in India is also getting a big push from the country's prime minister, who occasionally asks Indians to tweet about places in the country. These tweets usually receive several hundred responses that can serve as a pool of recommendations for interested travelers.
Keep sharing photos of #IncredibleIndia. The photos are being compiled in the form of an album on my FB page. https://t.co/Vd6lmu9VFo
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 2, 2015
A large number of apps offer everything from ticket and hotel booking services to car rentals and destination planners too. Many of these crowdsource people’s reviews, ratings and opinions to help future users make informed choices and give solutions to common problems. India Mike, for example, is a forum where travelers share their experiences and ask questions regarding destinations and travel options.
Frequently, a trip to India can be a package deal of the good, the bad and the unexpected. But with a little help from Twitter, Facebook and the rest of the Internet, many travelers are managing to maximize the good, minimize the bad, and enjoy the unexpected.

author: Alka