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Sleeping or Dead – Part 5: This Farce Called a Homeland · Global Voices
سرمد الجيلاني

PHOTO: Public domain from Pixabay
This is the fifth installment in “Sleeping or Dead”, a six-part series by activist Sarmad Al Jilane about his experiences in a Syrian prison. Read parts one, two, three and four.
We are transferred to Homs, AlBalony area, and arrive at a large yard full of cannons. It is my first time seeing such large artillery. They bring us in, barefoot and naked as usual. We get dressed and they divide us among the cells, more than 400 people in each dormitory-like space, the biggest cells I’ve ever experienced in prison.
There are three bathrooms at the back of the cell, which is on the criminals’ floor. So you feel even more imprisoned inside your cell as it is full of supporters of the regime. Thieves, looters and rapists awaiting release and talking loudly about “the few dogs trying topple the regime in a protest spree” and who crashed their “safe” cells. It’s hard to get used, even for a few minutes, to the continuous sound of artillery bombing. They tell us that the bombing is targeting Baba Amr. Time comes to a complete standstill.
The next transfer date arrives exactly one day later. I think over and again how these entry and exit ceremonies are more like worship rituals performed to get closer to the leader. They carry them out as though they are religious acts, and they overdo them as much as possible.
We reach Damascus, the Military Police branch in Qaboun. They spread us over a narrow corridor and start assigning us to the cells right under the stairs. 235, I hear the number and have no idea where that is, but I know its name is 235. We’re transferred to the back of an eight-seater vehicle. I don’t know any of the men with me, except for a young man from Al-Raqqa I’d met in the Military Police branch in Aleppo.
We arrive at Palestine Branch, who have the reputation for being “professional murderers”. We enter, no longer needing to await the commands, as we’ve now memorized them by heart: belongings in bags, stand naked, two security checks, assigned to cells.
Several days pass and surprisingly they are not the worst, but rather almost the best. When you get used to a certain level of torture it becomes your natural limit—anything less seems like bounty. An interrogation, a question about whether I would consider changing any of my confessions, then back to the cell.
The following day we’re transferred to the interrogation in the same way. We make a stop that takes hours in a platoon of the Military Security in the Mezze, to bring along some “company”, as our assigned guard put it. We head to our final destination—a point they emphasized in their conversation and made sure we heard clearly. We enter a large yard of which I manage to get a glimpse before they remove my mask as I reach the top of a low staircase. We descend into a big lounge; we number over a hundred.
Everyone strips down as soon as they arrive, clothes are inspected and we’re assigned to cells. 124/1 is my number. We enter a smaller hall, then into “One-Wood” as one of them called it. There are 86 of us in a small room. Two light bulbs caged in with metal bars hang from the ceiling. Even the lights are imprisoned in this country.
Uday, Bilal and Mudar, three young men from the countryside of Deir al-Zour whom I know well, have reserved for me a place next to them. “You’re lucky, as some were transferred out today, before we had shifts for standing and sitting. Currently we are managing by squatting and sleeping on each others’ shoulders.” Bilal, the one who is almost my age, tries to soothe my shock.
It is Friday; I know that from the orange which is to be shared among every five prisoners, and the teaspoon of jam at lunch. “Here, they give us an olive each and a loaf of bread for every four, and some days, depending on the situation, potatoes or tomatoes. They are spoiling us these days. I know that you don’t eat such food. No problem—jam and bread days are for you and we will figure out our situation.” Mudar gives me an idea of the food situation as he is the eldest among us.
No new developments for several days. We wake up in the morning for the daily roll call. We are permitted access to the bathroom twice a day, for no more than ten seconds, as the bathroom is close, right to the left of the cell. We have a five-liter bottle of water that we fill when we go to the bathroom. It should last us the whole day. We also have several empty cans for emergency urination, for the many elderly who can’t wait for a long time. Most often we have two meals, sometimes reduced to one; but if you gather all the food they give us it wouldn’t make one proper meal for an ordinary human being.
“It’s OK, you needed a diet for a long time now, this is a forced diet. You don’t like your big belly but I like my shape. We’re a perfect match,” says Uday, trying to join with Mudar and Bilal in comforting me.
The instructions start: you have to take off your clothes, turn them inside out as lice live in the inner parts, right where the stitching is. You also need to pull your socks over the bottom of your pants so that lice can’t enter. “My grandmother used to say picking lice is for those who have nothing to do; now we’re doing that. Try not to get disgusted and scratch. Just get used to it as we have.” Mudar carries on as normal and picks lice from his T-shirt.
I go out to my first questioning, with my head covered and hands cuffed behind my back. As I stand in the yard I hear the sound of screams, moans, investigators, whiplashes, electricity. Different sounds, but they all indicate the same thing. The investigator arrives. “I won’t strike you. Just stand still, feet apart and your head to the ground.” I hear only this sentence. Time passes. An hour. . . two hours. I try to pull myself together, although I almost collapse several times. No use. I fall to the ground. The kicks and beating go on for minutes. They make me stand again and this cycle continues until dawn, with no questions asked. They take me back to the cell.
The next day is a repeat of the same, and we go back to our lice-picking routine.
Several days pass. “Number 124/1 to investigation.” After covering my head and handcuffing me, he takes me into a room and unmasks me. The room is completely empty, three meters by two. A blonde guy, slightly shorter than me, 184 cm approximately, enters. “Undress quickly.” He isn’t carrying a stick. I strip down. He brings two chairs. “Sit down. What’s your story with terrorists and weapons, filming and organizing demonstrations? Imagine that I don’t have the portfolio of confessions that came with you, and repeat all that you’ve done over the last few months up to your arrival here.” In his hands is a piece of transparent nylon string, similar to the kind used for fishing lines, but only a few inches in length. He is very focused on this string.
“I don’t think I have anything more to add, if indeed I carried a weapon or took photographs or something like that, I would have confessed already. Believe me, the beatings I’ve suffered would lead a person to confess to anything you accuse them of, things they didn’t even do. But I’m quite confident that I did nothing and hope you believe me.” My voice trembles. Minutes of silence pass.
“You mean you’re not going to please my ears with anything new, apart from your usual lies?” I remain silent, fearing his sharpening tone.
“Stand up,” he saying, in an even stronger, more severe tone. He handcuffs me again, pushes me with all his strength against the wall, lifts my right foot. I’m trying to understand what is happening. He ties the big toe of my right foot to my manhood with his nylon string. It is surely a piece of fishing line, from the feel of it. He leaves me standing on one foot. Any movement or vibration would be enough to wound one’s soul. My soul shreds with pain. He sits on a chair opposite me, making sure I don’t rest against the wall.
I cannot tell how long this goes on, but I do know that this is the greatest humiliation I have experienced so far. I lose consciousness after a while, and wake up in the cell.
There is no paradise beneath the feet of his mother, contrary to the saying of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), the mother who raised such a monster, a murderer, a butcher. Those were moments when I felt so full of hate for everyone and everything. I pretend that I am still asleep so no one can see my tears.
Back then I was not waiting for somebody to grieve for me, or for those who were with me in this farce called homeland. I was not waiting for a smile or encouragement for what I was doing as a sacrifice for the revolution of a country. Back then I was Sarmad—just Sarmad, the 18-year-old whose torture was seen as a basis on which to build a country, and whose death under torture would be perceived as is a path to enter heaven. They plant hatred and spite in us whether we like it or not. They slice open our hearts and implant steel wires that divide the country and that grow into high walls of isolation nurtured by a desire for revenge.
Mudar, who has been charged with bearing arms, tries to comfort me. “This is all an honor to us; they are the ones holding the shame, not us. When you stood, everyone stood like you for two, even three, days. They are trying to insult your manhood today but they can’t, because they themselves lack manhood.”
He says this with a broken heart, he who has also been subjected to various kinds of torture. He had told me that the first time they covered his head with a plastic bag and tied it at the bottom, so that you feel that every breath was the last particle of oxygen left in this life; but one keeps taking those last breaths. There are many cases of fainting, he said, I had no reason to be ashamed. People are thrown back in the cell with an opened back, or bloodied feet caused by reverse hanging. Others are kept for days in a water tank with only a small hole to breathe; they pee in the water and drink from it.
This is a regime whose horrid stories of torture are true, a regime accustomed to barbarism, a regime that knows how to kill and is creative at it, a regime whose hands are covered in all the blood that has been shed in  those cellars, forgotten by history.
“Laborers” in the branches and dormitories are the ones chosen to go out and bring bread and food from outside, but here they are a resident group of young people. Their beauty is the sin which they must carry throughout their lives. That young blond guy who of not more than 16 years of age has been raped. The officer who did it wasn’t Alawite, so sectarianism is not the issue here. However, I am sure such a man does not belong to any sect or religion or doctrine, he doesn’t even belong to the human race. I am sorry he was Syrian, from the same country as I.
That young man kept on being raped until we lost our manhood. He had been arrested during one of the arrest sprees in Homs. Bilal told me there are others similar to him, one who is barely 12 and who has been shunned by his family for months. After months of detention his father finally visited and discovered that his son was been subjected to rape, so he disowned him, backed by a long history of societal norms.
All of us have been raped, one way or another, from the time of arrival and while performing the two standard security measures, until the moment we are released. During that time every detainee lives naked, stripped of everything but our morals, which we pack and surrender along with our bags of valuables, praying to God they remain untouched.
At those times I have felt like I was suffocating. Those were eleven or twelve times—I’ve forgotten the number—moving between branches and provinces, and having every time to perform “the rituals of worship of the security branch.” Imagine that all these acts are not rape to them! They try to take our manhood, assisted by the masses that loathe us, but they are all but just a flock of sheep being led blindly along.

author: سرمد الجيلاني


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Australians Ask: Have We Lost the War on Drugs? · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Nimbin H.E.M.P. Embassy – Image courtesy Flickr user Nimal Skandhakumar  (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Many Australians agreed with Greens party leader Richard Di Natale recently when he called for an end to the war on drugs. The Greens is a minority party that supports conservation, responsible environmental management such as climate change action, and social justice. It also advocates a more independent foreign policy for Australia.
The country's politicians, policy makers and health professionals have been arguing for years over recreational drug strategies — ‘Just say no’ versus ‘harm minimisation’, and tough law enforcement versus decriminalisation are well trodden warpaths.
Of course, members of the general public have more than a passing interest, as the new Greens policy calls for decriminalisation, including support for drug testing kits at music festivals. These kits allow festival-goers to test substances they have bought to see what they contain. A private trial this summer by the #JustOneLife campaign which is advocating for these legal testing kits has been very controversial.
Many from the health community tweeted their thoughts, while others have used proposals such as Thailand's latest move to decriminalise meth [methamphetamine] as evidence of a growing international trend:
@AJEnglish @RichardDiNatale Thailand's brave trial of a COUNTER-CULTURAL approach to SO-CALLED "War on Drugs" shd B commended 4 adopting…
— Rich Krasnoff (@rikrasnoff) November 29, 2016
The Australian Medical Association, according to its president, Dr Michael Gannon, rejects decriminalisation of illicit drugs including cannabis, but would like to see more done:
AMA welcomes change focus to diversion, rehab'n, treatment. Any #cannabis law relax'n must come with accurate, well resourced educ'n #auspol pic.twitter.com/utLvse63ge
— AMA President (@amapresident) November 28, 2016
The Age, one of Australia's key daily newspapers, supports the move, arguing that the war on drugs “should be dumped in favour of a harm minimisation strategy based on decriminalisation, regulation and education”. It added, “We continue to so advocate, and believe the resources being wasted on this misguided, indefensible ‘war’ should be diverted from the criminal justice system to the health system, where there is a need for more treatment facilities and support to help those with drug issues recover and stay well.”
Many tweets linked to their editorial. Twitter user and drug law reform doctor Alex Wodak was clearly frustrated by the political inaction:
Growing number of media editorials, OpEds calling for urgent drug law reform but many leaders still in denial. https://t.co/RJE8Oa2RQR
— Alex Wodak (@AlexWodak) November 29, 2016
Harm Reduction Australia released an online statement on what it calls ‘drug hysteria':
There has been an ill-informed, and at times bizarre, response to the Greens’
announcement that their blanket opposition to legalising any drugs will be replaced with a more evidence-informed and regulatory approach to drugs.
…The lifelong consequences of arresting, charging and in some cases imprisoning tens of thousands of people every year are costly, counterproductive and harmful.
We are also experiencing a level of drug related overdose deaths that is once again escalating at alarming rates.
There were few online responses criticising the Greens’ proposal. Perhaps it was a case of the silent majority. Shooglebunny's comments on a Guardian opinion piece may well represent their views:
Yes its always time for a ‘grown up conversation’ that of course must conclude that legalisation of drugs will be the best thing since sliced bread.
Its essential that the middle classes can access weed and the lighter drugs easily, with no possibility of being criminalised and that some sort of quality control is imposed.
That way they can puff, snort and swallow to their hearts content. Never mind any negative social consequences for other less privileged people; they don't count anyway.
It may all be in vain for the time being, as the major parties have shown little interest in discussing the Greens’ policy. The Federal health minister, Sussan Ley, swiftly rejected the Greens’ calls for change”. The opposition Labor Party do not currently endorse decriminalisation, arguing instead for more treatment options and strengthening of harm minimisation strategies.
The Greens have nine senators and one member of the House of Representatives in the Federal Parliament. Since the government does not have a majority in the Senate, they should be able to keep the issue on the national agenda.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Kevin Rennie


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Egyptian Authorities Are Using Travel Bans to Crack Down on Human Rights Activists · Global Voices
Salma Essam

Photo shared on Twitter by the Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in MENA. Link.
Travel bans on politicians and human rights defenders are just one of the many human rights violations that Egyptian authorities have committed in recent years with disturbing frequency, and a rash of them in November has brought the issue into tight focus.
Aida Seif El-Dawla, a renowned Egyptian activist and co-founder of Al-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, is one of several people who were banned from leaving the country with no prior notice. In late November, she was prevented from traveling to Tunisia as she was boarding the plane to attend a conference on the rehabilitation of torture victims in North Africa, according to independent Egyptian newspaper Mada Masr.
Authorities informed her that she was involved in an unspecified case without providing further details. On Twitter, prominent Egyptian journalist Hani Shukrallah bluntly theorized what the motivation for her travel ban was:
#Egypt authorities ban psychiatrist @aidaseif from travel for
23-year struggle against torture and rehabilitation of torture victims
— Hani Shukrallah (@HaniShukrallah) November 23, 2016
In a statement to Mada Masr, Seif al-Dawla herself said:
هذه الخطوة تأتي في سياق الهجمة على الجمعيات، خاصة لو تم تمرير قانون الجمعيات الأهلية المزمع إصداره. يريدون إحكام الخناق علينا وعلى الناس جميعًا.
This step is in line with the crackdown on community foundations and the NGO law they [the parliament] want to ratify. They want to suppress all of us.
In September 2016, the government approved a new draft NGO law that “places Egypt’s security apparatuses at the forefront of monitoring the work of NGOs, through their membership on the coordination committee,” according to Mada Masr. The law, which will regulate foreign NGOs in Egypt and establish an apparatus to monitor sources of foreign funding, was approved at the end of November by parliament.
Negad al-Borai, a human rights lawyer and head of the legal unit at the United Group firm, told Mada Masr:
The government has been working for the last two years on restructuring the legislative system to violate the constitution. Even in the time of Mubarak we didn’t see this.
The travel bans are a part of the government's broader efforts to tighten its grip on civil society and social movements.
In February, independent information platform Daftar Ahwal examined the 554 known cases of departure and entry ban and arrests in Egyptian airports between February 11, 2011 and February 20, 2016 that were tied to the subject's activism in the realm of politics, human rights, journalism, arts and culture, or social movements. According to their analysis, the number of human rights defenders prevented from leaving the Egyptian territories had drastically increased since the events of June 30 and July 3, 2013 that saw the removal of President Mohamed Morsi from power.
The report also broke down the number of travel bans issued by the successive rulers of Egypt since the 2011 Egyptian revolution that ousted longtime President Hosni Mubarak. The data shows Adly Mansour, the chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt and acting president between July 2013 and June 2014, and the current President Abdel Fatah Al Sisi, who took over in June 2014, as the leading offenders by a wide margin, with 279 and 218 cases respectively.
They were followed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which ruled between February 2011 and June 2012, and President Morsi, who ruled between June 2012 and July 2013, with 36 and 21 respectively.
Infographic from Daftar Ahwal, republished under a Creative Commons license.
November 2016 saw several more human rights activists subject to travel bans without prior notice. Ahmed Raghed, a lawyer and founder of the National Community for Human Rights and Law, was informed at the airport that he was not permitted to travel to Morocco for the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, according to Front Line Defenders.
And Azza Soliman, founder and head of the board of trustees of the Center for Egyptian Women Legal Assistance (CEWLA), was prevented from traveling to Jordan on November 19 for a training on women's rights in Islam. Her assets and those of her law firm were also frozen.
Nadeem AbdelGawad, Soliman's son and a student at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, wrote on Facebook on November 19:
Today, Egyptian authorities have banned lawyer and women's rights’ defender Azza Soliman, who I am proud to call my mother, from traveling. It appears that my mother's name is the latest update to a continousely growing list of travel bans against human rights’ defenders. She was informed at the airport that she is banned from traveling because she has a case against her although there have been no official charges or pending cases, leaving her in a status of legal uncertainty. People like my mother have already been through a lot and they have managed to survive. This too shall pass.
On December 7, 2016, AbdelGawad announced on Facebook that Soliman was arrested, saying that
Police came to our house with an arrest warrant for my mother Azza Soliman. We are on our way to Masr Elgedida police station.
CIVICUS, a global network of civil society organisations and activists, expressed support for Soliman on their Twitter account:
@AzzaSoliman1 faces a travel ban and an asset freeze from Egypt's government over her work to improve women's rights. Justice for Azza! pic.twitter.com/MoNzZxgaaQ
— CIVICUS Alliance (@CIVICUSalliance) November 22, 2016
Mozn Hassan, the founder and executive director of the Egyptian women's group Nazra for Feminist Studies, wrote about Soliman's plight for independent global news site Open Democracy. She said although neither Soliman nor any CEWLA member were officially charged or summoned for investigation, “it is assumed that these measures are directly related to the case nb. 173 for the year 2011 at the Cairo High Appeal Investigations” in which several human rights defenders and heads of civil society organisations are being investigated over foreign funding.
Hassan herself had become a target in June when she was prevented from attending the Executive Committee meeting for the Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD) Regional Coalition for the Middle East and North Africa that took place in Beirut.
Throughout 2016, many more have been banned from traveling, including Hossam Bahgat, former head of the Egyptian Initiative for Human Rights; Gamal Eid, head of the Arab Network for Human Rights; and Mohamed Zarea, head of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies.
In response to the new NGO law, 22 NGOs and six political parties released a statement on November 24 condemning the bill “because it effectively eradicates civil society and defers administration of it to the government and security apparatus.” An excerpt reads:
لقد قطعت الدولة شوطًا بعيدًا في خطتها الهادفة لاستئصال المنظمات الحقوقية الدولية والمصرية، من خلال القضية 173 لسنة 2011 والمعروفة إعلاميًا بقضية التمويل الأجنبي، والتي على خلفيتها تم إغلاق مقار عدد من المنظمات الدولية، ومنعت بعض المنظمات المصرية ومديريها الحالين والسابقين من السفر ومن التصرف في أموالهم، إلا أن مشروع القانون المقترح من “نواب الشعب” سيمهد الطريق للقضاء على العمل الأهلي التنموي والخيري والخدمي، وسيصبح وجود جمعيات التنمية المحلية المنتشرة في القرى والنجوع و التي تقدم خدماتها لسكان تلك المناطق أمر شبه مستحيل.
The state has already taken real steps to eliminate Egyptian civil society organizations by prosecuting case no. 173/2011 on foreign funding, and several organizations and their current and former directors have been banned from travel and have had their assets frozen. This new law, however, would pave the way for the eradication of any sort of civic action geared to development, charitable activities, and services. The operation of local development associations throughout Egyptian villages and hamlets, which provide services to local residents, will become nearly impossible.
The hashtag #LetThemTravel trended in recent days in efforts to draw international attention to the issue. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International joined forces, creating a video asking, “Why is the government of Egypt threatened by these people?”
Joint call from @HRW and @amnesty to lift arbitrary travel bans on human rights defenders in Egypt. #LetThemTravel https://t.co/Gc4W3tVxtW pic.twitter.com/mzBnGvrwzT
— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) November 3, 2016

author: Salma Essam


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Report Shows Ghana’s Opposition Presidential Candidate Leads in Facebook Likes, Incumbent President Leads in Twitter Followers · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The cover page of the Governance Social Media Index.
Penplusbytes, a non-profit organisation promoting effective governance using technology in Africa, has released its third edition of the Governance Social Media Index (GSMI) report, assessing which political parties and leaders have the most presence on social media and the level of their engagement as of December 4, 2016.
The organisation released its first edition on June 30, which assessed the presence of political party leaders, political parties and election management bodies on Twitter and Facebook, while its September 30 second edition measured how the political parties and their candidates are using social media tools for their benefits ahead of the 2016 elections.
Ghanaians are voting today, December 7, for presidential and parliamentary elections. The main contest in the presidential race is between incumbent President John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and opposition candidate Nana Akufo-Ado of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The third edition of the index shows that Akufo-Ado, the leader of the New Patriotic Party, the largest opposition party in the country, leads the pack of seven presidential candidates on Facebook with 1,253,452 likes, which is an increase of over 200,000 more likes from the last report. President Mahama comes in second with 1,073,088 likes on Facebook, which is an increase of over 60,000 likes from the last report.
This represents a change from the second edition, when President Mahama came out on top of everyone with 1,007,595 likes. Akufo-Addo gained more likes (272,395) as compared to that of President Mahama (65,493) in the last two months.
However, President Mahama leads on Twitter with 303,924 followers, followed by Akufo-Addo with 119,725 followers. The report notes that even though President Mahama comes in first in followers, Akufo-Addo has engaged more with his followers with 5,372 tweets.
The executive director of Penplusbytes, Kwami Ahiabenu II, explaiend on their website:
the report has shown that social media has become a normal and central form of communication for all segments of the population, particularly, political parties and their leaders who increasingly rely on this new media for constant engagement with their constituents because it provides direct, cheap platform, and a two-way information dissemination in real time about their programs ahead the 2016 Ghana elections.
Early this year, Penblusbytes released its first Social Media Index (SMI) report on Ghana’s print, radio and television media houses.
Download the full Governance Social Media Index here.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Sudanese Government Targets Activists, Stifles Media Coverage of Civil Disobedience · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

A compilation of photos showing empty streets during the three-day civil disobedience action in Khartoum, Sudan. Shared widely on Twitter.
Sudanese authorities are shutting down media offices, confiscating newspapers and arresting activists and social media users in an effort to prevent coverage of three days of civil disobedience in response to massive price hikes on critical resources.
The civil disobedience action began on 27 November after the government removed subsidies on electricity, fuel and medicine. Over the past few weeks, students and workers have led demonstrations and even doctors and pharmacists have gone on strike, demanding free healthcare in emergencies and improvements in medical facilities. The country's economy has struggled since 2011, when its southern region (South Sudan), rich in oil, declared independence in July 2011.
In retaliation for what one official dismissed as mere “Whatsapp calls” to join the strike, Sudanese police responded with censorship of both traditional and online media.
On 28 November, agents affiliated with the infamous National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) confiscated all printed copies of four independent newspapers (al-Tayar, al-Jadida, al-Ayyam and al-Youm al-Tali) before they were distributed. Al-Tayyar editor-in-chief Osman Mirgani told The New Arab:
At 2:00 am today [28 November] an NISS officer came and ordered our printer to stop printing..He confiscated the entire print run without giving any reason.
Sudanese activists however, believe that the reason is the newspapers’ coverage of civil disobedience. Sudanese journalist and blogger Reem Abbas told Global Voices that while the press freedom situation in Sudan is “generally dire”, police crackdowns intensify when there is unrest. She also added that independent newspapers are often targeted:
It was no coincidence that the security knew that they would report the disobedience but to impose more losses, they wait until they print [the newspapers] and then confiscate the entire issue
In addition, on the first day of the strike, privately-owned TV station Omdurman received a shutdown order from the General Authority for Radio and Television Broadcasting under the pretext that it does not have a license to broadcast, despite the fact that it has been operating for six years. The TV station's journalists believe their coverage of the subsidy cuts is the real reason behind this order, according to Sudan Tribune.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been in power since 1993. Image in public domain.
In addition to targeting traditional media, the Sudanese government also went after social media, which has been central in driving support for the disobedience and documenting its consequences. Several users were arrested for expressing their support for the demonstrations and uploaded images showing empty streets and closed shops as a result of the general strike.
On 26 November, security officers arrested sports commentator Ahmad Al-dhay Bichara from his home. Online, Bishara is vocal critic of the Sudanese government. On the day of his arrest, he livestreamed a video on Facebook expressing support to the civil disobedience, and calling for people to join the strike. In the same video, he described Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir as a “cut-throat whose history is full of blood.”
Sudanese activists also reported that a woman named Om Kabas al-Ameen was arrested after she recorded an audio message shared on Whatsapp, complaining of the economic crisis and price increases while “al-Bashir is sleeping at his home.”
Activist Mahmood Sadek was arrested by a security officer in civilian clothes, while live streaming on Facebook the streets of the capital Khartoum on Day One of the civil disobedience.
His name is Mahmood Sadik & he was arrested while filming a live video#السودان_عصيان_مدني_27_نوفمبر#العصيان_المدني_السوداني_في_يومه_الأول pic.twitter.com/Qy1UqX1SDo
— Wael Jabir (@waeljabir) November 27, 2016
Though the civil disobedience concluded on 29 November, protests and strikes continue in Sudan. On 30 November lawyers protested in front of the Supreme Court against the government's campaign of arrests, while journalists went on strike to protest censorship of the press. There have also been calls for civil disobedience on 8 December.
“I think people now are excited that this actually works,” Abbas told Global Voices. “They want to continue doing it, as the government is very aggressive when it comes to handling the other alternative which is protests”.
In 2013, security forces killed at least 200 people during protests against fuel subsidies cuts. That year, the government went so far as to shut down internet connections, to prevent protesters from organizing through social media. Time will tell whether authorities will resort to similar tactics this time around.
Digital rights groups watch #Sudan for Internet interruptions. Nov 27 is national day of civil disobedience #السودان_عصيان_مدني_27_نوفمبر
— Dalia Haj-Omar (@daloya) November 26, 2016

author: Afef Abrougui


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Trinidad & Tobago Shaken—and Stirred—by Strong Earthquake · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Earthquake graphic. Image by Jofre Ferrer, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
On the afternoon of December 6, 2016, Trinidad and Tobago experienced a strong earthquake — reportedly 5.8 in magnitude. Lasting as long as a minute according to some reports, the quake was originally thought to be as high as 6.2.
Its epicenter originated 16 kilometres south-east of Scarborough, Tobago's capital city, at a depth of 29 kilometres, but netizens across both islands felt its effects.
6.2 #Earthquake in #Trinidad. Biggest one since 1974 #seismic says 5:42pm local time.
— Schelle Sweets (@schellesweets) December 6, 2016
Netizens from both Trinidad and Tobago  posted videos of their experiences on Facebook. Despite the quake's vigour, there were no reports of injuries or serious damage, although a hotel in Port of Spain experienced some breakage and one popular grocery in the west of Trinidad had much of its stock fall off the shelves:
Aftermath of #Trinidad #earthquake in Diego Martin pic.twitter.com/4OP52ts5AR
— CERT Calgary (@CertCalgary) December 7, 2016
Twitter was rife with reactions:
Ohhhhh I'm rocking #earthquake #Trinidad
— Kester Douglas (@hotboy1kjd) December 6, 2016
Worst #earthquake I've felt in a LONG time. Legit couldn't even think for a second. Hope everyone's ok #trinidad
— Wild Meat (@allyrvee) December 6, 2016
I swore to God that was it for us! #earthquake #trinidad
— Chantal (@Ms_Chantal) December 6, 2016
On the heels of the tremor, heavy rains began to fall in some parts of the country:
Now right after the #earthquake, the rain now starts to fall.#motherEarth‘s having a full conversation with #trinidad and #tobago.#trini
— Khadine (@khadine868) December 6, 2016
Even netizens who are usually unperturbed by earthquakes thought this particular one was a bit too much to bear:
I'm always excited for earthquakes but this one was terrifying ? #earthquake #Trinidad
— ? (@OhSnapItzDevi) December 6, 2016
Commentary soon followed about the country's perceived readiness — or lack thereof — in the face of natural disasters:
The lack of response from these emergency organisations in #Trinidad just proves we are not prepared of any kind of disaster #earthquake
— Denise Besai (@deniseb1305) December 6, 2016
On Facebook, Marie Emilie posted a sobering observation:
Today's earthquake was 6.2 on seismic measure – the one that destroyed Haiti was 7.0! When are we as a state going to implement Evacuation Mechanisms and buffers? Trinidad and Tobago is directly in a high-risk Earthquake Zone – the Central Range Fault Line:
In 2010 the U.S. Geological Survey revealed that Trinidad sits directly on top the Central Range Fault line – an unstable, high-risk earthquake zone running through the centre of the island. Subsequent research conducted (2013) by the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) in conjunction with foreign experts concur that an earthquake with devastating consequences even more catastrophic than the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti can be triggered along this fault line as pressure has been building dramatically on the tectonic plates bordering South America on which the Caribbean basin is situated. The entire Central Range-Warm Springs Fault Zone runs roughly from eastern Manzanilla to Claxton Bay and extends offshore on both sides of the island, so that the entire country is at risk of disaster.
Unfortunately, panic and rumours soon began to get the better of some netizens, who were posting false information about the country being on tsunami watch. The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPMTT) quickly issued a statement advising citizens that “all pertinent information will be disseminated ONLY through official ODPMTT and UWI Seismic Research Centre social media platforms and public releases. We reiterate that this rumour is FALSE.”
Once it was clear that there was no imminent danger, Trinidadians and Tobagonians began to do what they do best in trying situations — laugh. On Facebook, Elspeth Duncan explained:
I laughed a lot tonight after the earthquake…reading status updates and comments about who dived under tables, whose arthritis suddenly disappeared as they ran down three flights of stairs, who ran outside, who was frozen in a chair as their multi-storey building rocked from side to side, etc. I know it's not funny, but there's a degree of amusing drama and excitement in the Trini accent that comes across even in the written word of a status update. But the two that really had me laughing were the one who bathed and dressed in case of evacuation and the one who ran to the safe to get her passport!
On Twitter, Juliana Rose quipped:
#Earthquake!
My first guess was dragons, but my fiance assured me otherwise.#Trinidad
— Juliana Rose (@thejulianarose) December 6, 2016
Web developer John Camacho added:
All my desktop icons fell to the bottom of the screen. #earthquake #trinidad
— John Camacho (@jcamachott) December 6, 2016
Twitter user Khadine tapped into the Trinbagonian penchant for partying under any circumstances:
Where d #earthquake lime tonight??#trini #trinidad #tobago #shakennotstirred
— Khadine (@khadine868) December 6, 2016
A couple of Facebook users took the opportunity make jabs at previous governments, whose proclivity for using Chinese contractors on state construction projects earned them much criticism, especially as certain buildings allegedly had safety issues.
Next came the memes. One photo, posted by the Facebook group WTF Trinidad, took aim at the country's reputation for unpleasant customer service:
Post-earthquake meme being shared on Facebook.
Another supermarket meme was tickled by the fact that seemingly the only product that hadn't fallen from the shelves was a local brand of juice. The meme wasted no time in playing on the brand's tagline:
Meme shared on the Facebook group Meanwhile in T&T.
Lexo TV's Facebook page, which has become famous for the production company's creation of the caustic “Santana” puppets, took the angle that is often the default position of Caribbean societies when natural disasters strike — religion:
Meme shared by Lexo TV on Facebook.
Not to be outdone, Facebook user Gilberte O'Sullivan said in a public Faceook post, tongue firmly in cheek, “Repent!”
Finally, popular satirical website The Late O'Clock News attributed the cause of the earthquake to the plummeting grade point average (GPA) of students nationwide:
The Seismic Research Centre of UWI, St. Augustine has confirmed that the source of this afternoon’s earthquake was the result of a massive drop in the collective GPA’s of our nation’s tertiary students.
While the Ministry of Education has blamed the falling GPAs on a lack of discipline in our country’s youth, UWI student Curtis Collins shared a differing opinion:
‘Ever since they raise the alcohol tax, it get a little harder for students to buy rum. Is exam time, everybody want to relax and take they mind off the stress a little. What you think will happen now that we can’t afford a lil Puncheon?’
All jokes aside, citizens have been warned to brace themselves for aftershocks. The Seismic Research Centre at the University of the West Indies has since confirmed that there have been two more tremors since yesterday's earthquake.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Activist Arrested on Royal Insult Charges for Sharing BBC Article About Thailand’s New King · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Screenshot of the BBC Thai article about Thailand's new king
The government of Thailand is currently investigating the Thai team of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for publishing an ‘erroneous’ profile of the country’s new king.
Thailand enforces a strict lese majeste (royal insult) law which forbids the public from criticizing the monarchy. A simple notice to authorities about a lese majeste violation is sufficient to compel the police to launch an investigation. Those found guilty of disrespecting the monarchy can face a prison term of up to 15 years.
Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej died last October after seven decades on the throne. His son became King Vajiralongkorn, Rama X last December 1.
A day after King Rama X ascended to the throne, BBC Thai published a brief biography of the new king, which quickly went viral on social media. In just a few days, the post received 27,000 ‘likes’ and was ‘shared’ by 2,500 Facebook users.
One of those who shared the article on Facebook was activist Jatuphat Boonpattaraksa. He was arrested on December 3 for allegedly violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law. He was subsequently released after posting a bail.
Jatuphat Boonpattaraksa (second from left) is reunited with his family after his release from detention. Photo from Prachatai
It is not clear why the BBC Thai article was deemed insulting to the new king. After the arrest of Jatuphat Boonpattaraksa, Thai netizens and even journalists have not commented about the content of the BBC article.
But if the profile published by BBC Thai is similar to the article published on the English website of BBC, perhaps Thai authorities were displeased to learn that BBC tackled the marriage, divorce, and other personal information of the new king. Some of the past controversies involving the new king were also briefly mentioned in the article. Even if these are public knowledge in Thailand, these are not discussed in mainstream media, in academia, or most especially within the bureaucracy.
A BBC spokesperson said the BBC Thai article adheres to the media group’s editorial principles.
Aside from arresting Jatuphat Boonpattaraksa, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has ordered local Internet Service Providers to block the article. The police also ‘visited’ the BBC Thai office but they found it closed for the day.
Grey sticker covered the locked glass door of the BBC office in Bangkok which no longer has any identification sign. #Thailand #LM#BBCThai pic.twitter.com/jyWqD8nAMJ
— Pravit Rojanaphruk (@PravitR) December 7, 2016
That an activist was singled out by the police for lese majeste-related arrest was seen by several groups as another indication of how the law has been used by the government to quell dissent.
The army grabbed power in 2014 and has outlawed protests as well as strictly regulated the media. It drafted a new constitution this year to pave the way for the restoration of civilian rule, but it also guaranteed the control of the military in all branches of the government.
The iLaw network, which has been pushing for the amendment of the lese majeste law, explained how the draconian law has undermined freedom of expression in Thailand:
It has engulfed the whole society with the notion that the monarchy is untouchable and unspeakable and people are supposed to practice self-censorship. They have to be utmost cautious when discussing any issues about the monarchy including during personal communication and public communication. Such condition has gravely compromised Thai people’s knowledge and understanding about the monarchy.

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Calls for ‘All Hands on Deck’ as Caribbean Islands Recover From Devastating Rains · Global Voices
Janel Ramkalawan

A damaged house in the Brasso Seco area in northeastern Trinidad. Photo by Kelly Warren-Fitzjames, used with permission.
A tropical disturbance, caused by a trough of low pressure, provoked severe weather conditions in several Central-Eastern Caribbean islands recently. Thundershowers and torrential rainfall began on November 28, 2016 and continued well into the end of the month. Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Lucia reported some flooding and minor damage, but according to citizen media reports, the most severe instances of flooding and landslides took place in Trinidad Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, devastating several villages.
At the start of the inclement weather, a flood warning was issued for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with forecasts predicting up to six inches of rain within 24 hours. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education closed all schools, many until December 2, 2016. The National Emergency Organisation (NEMO) further advised that only the most “essential” employees should report to work.
By the morning of Tuesday November 29, floods and landslides had been reported in various areas of St. Vincent and residents were being asked to be pro-active about evacuating their homes. The brunt of the impact was felt in the northern reaches of the island, around the communities of North Windward and Sandy Bay. “The damage is devastating”, Vincentian Senator Camillo Michael Gonsalves lamented on Facebook following his visit to North Windward. “Many of the people at the shelter in the Sandy Bay school have lost EVERYTHING. Not just all their personal possessions and furniture, but their actual house.”
Photos and videos posted on social media show the extensive destruction of homes, bridges, and roads in the area.
St. Vincent resident Sanjay Jiandani shared especially unsettling photos of the flooded London Cemetery in Sandy Bay, where coffins and skeletal bones lay exposed. He later expressed his sadness and exasperation with the current situation in a follow-up post, but put a religious spin on the situation:
Three major weather events in a matter of weeks. […] I hope priority is given to fixing the damaged infrastructure ASAP and also to assess and address potential problem areas island wide. This is not going to stop. No matter what people wish to say (deny or not), this is all Gods will and it is time for us all to take a serious look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we are living according to his word. God bless SVG and the other islands by extension.
It is not uncommon, Caribbean-wide, for people to attribute natural disasters to some kind of religious comeuppance, as the majority of islands have thriving Christian communities, especially in rural areas.
Jiandani’s call for a focus on infrastructure reconstruction is not unfounded.
In a Facebook post, Senator Gonsalves reaffirmed that “the infrastructural damage is widespread”, saying, “[An] engineer told me that it's easily tens of millions of damage in London/Sandy Bay alone.”
A NEMO “situation report” released on November 30 noted over a dozen damaged roads and bridges in addition to widespread loss of electrical power. The Central Water and Sewerage Authority (CWS) reported seven major interruptions in its main transmission line near Sandy Bay, which affected water supply in many areas.
Beginning the arduous process of recovery, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and other government officials met with Windward-side families and assessed the affected areas. NEMO’s damage assessment teams joined these efforts at the beginning of December, while at the same time working to provide food and supplies for shelters, and the nearby Orange Hill Mental Health Centre.
Politician and Facebook user Carlos James echoed this message, using the hashtag #AllHandsonDeck.
The storm hit the island of Trinidad on November 29, 2016, triggering serious flooding, and causing large sea swells and landslides that isolated the North Coast fishing villages from the rest of the country.
A landslip on the main road heading out to the town of Arima in Trinidad. Photo by Kelly Warren-Fitzjames, used with permission.
One resident, A Pencos Reyes, shed light on the gravity and urgency of the situation in a Facebook post:
Up to 3,000 villagers in these vulnerable rural areas [Toco, Grande Riviere, and Matelot] are in desperate need of food, water, mattresses and in some cases shelter as heavy winds blew the roofs of an undetermined number of houses. Up to late last night, many were without power, as electricity poles were pounded down by the wind and rain. Water lines were also broken, according to reports, and damage to the infrastructure has been described as extensive.
Head of the Office of Disaster Preparedness Management (ODPM) Dr. Stephen Ramroop called the devastation in Matelot “the worst disaster to have hit the village in the last five years”.
A precariously leaning light pole in the area — one result of the heavy rains, landslips and flooding. Photo by Kelly Warren-Fitzjames, used with permission.
By December 1, the ODPM released a public service announcement to residents of Matelot, ensuring imminent relief. Since that time, the roads have been cleared and a bailey bridge was constructed, fully reconnecting Matelot to the rest of Trinidad. The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) worked in the area to restore power to the affected communities, and the ODPM distributed mattresses, garden hoses, coolers and water to affected residents. The army and air guard also participated in recovery efforts.
Citizens responded to the situation with empathy, organizing numerous donation drop-off centers in the north-eastern area of the country.
Destruction, however, was not isolated to that area. Brasso Seco, located in the country's mountainous Northern Range, also experienced serious damage.
Facebook user and Brasso Seco resident Kelly Warren-Fitzjames chronicled her experiences through a series of posts in which she shared photos of the scene on the morning of November 30, and expressed appreciation for the “rapid response of government workers”.
However, this sentiment regarding government response was all but universal. Terry Rondon, councillor for the Toco/Matelot community on the northeastern tip of the island, expressed frustration with the relief initiatives, referring specifically to the 72 hours that it took for residents to get water. He questioned why the area had not been regarded as a disaster zone and expressed concern about a repeat of Tuesday's disaster, saying, “We have to be prepared for an event like [this]”.
A home in danger, positioned just below a landslide on the mountain. Photo by Kelly Warren-Fitzjames, used with permission.
Rondon’s concerns were echoed by a larger critical dialogue sparked by the week’s devastations.
Trinidadian netizen Michael Bartholomew aired similar trepidations in a Facebook comment:
This should certainly be an eye opener for all of us. We're just not ready for any kind of natural disaster in Trinidad and Tobago. I mean most nations aren't but they do have certain contingencies in place that will allow them to react quickly and we don't. I hope we can learn from it though. I hope the residents get the help they need, We should thank all the members of the defense force and disaster teams that are currently working day and night to help those that have been affected by this.
Climate change was also a recurring topic of conversation. Kent Thomas, a citizen of St. Vincent, expressed similar frustrations in a Facebook post:
It is ridiculous there are people who still do not believe in climate change while my country lives on the forefront of this war and we are losing every battle. […]
It is ridiculous my country still does not fully appreciate the need for disaster research and local research support.
Both Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have made significant strides in recovery since the storm, but there are still many conversations to be had and much left to be done before the lives of those affected can return to normal. As reiterated by many involved, the process will take #AllHandsonDeck.

author: Janel Ramkalawan


text:
The Bengali New Year’s Celebration of Democracy and Diversity Is Declared Intangible Cultural Heritage · Global Voices
পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)

Mangal Shobhajatra is a colorful rally which starts at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Dhaka University in the morning of Pahela Baishakh, the Bengali new year. Image from Flickr by Aaapon. CC BY-NC 2.0
Mangal Shobhajatra, a colourful public rally organized by students and teachers of Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Arts in Bangladesh to celebrate the Bengali New Year, has been recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Every year on the morning of Pohela Baishakh, the first day of the Bengali calendar (14 or 15 April), thousands of people from all walks of life gather for the rally, which starts in front of the Faculty of Fine Arts located in the busy Shahbag intersection of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka. Participants wear traditional dress and multicoloured masks and hold placards depicting the rural life and the daily affairs of Bengali people.
According to the UNESCO:
The Mangal Shobhajatra festival symbolizes the pride the people of Bangladesh have in their folk heritage, as well as their strength and courage to fight against sinister forces, and their vindication of truth and justice. It also represents solidarity and a shared value for democracy, uniting people irrespective of caste, creed, religion, gender or age. Knowledge and skills are transmitted by students and teachers within the community.
Over the years, the Mangal Shobhajatra rally, which has been protested and threatened by religious fundamentalists, has stood as a bold statement against communalism and religious fanaticism in the Muslim-majority country.
UNESCO announced the honor on November 30, 2016 after a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Inscribed on the Representative List of #IntangibleHeritage https://t.co/g2Ecs254mQ #Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/3aX9uDcgBU
— UNESCO (@UNESCO) November 30, 2016
Bangladeshis were excited about this recognition. Misir Ali wrote on Facebook:
এটা আমাদের বিজয়, বাঙ্গালী সংস্কৃতির বিজয়|সেই সাথে আমাদের দায়িত্ব আরও বেড়ে গেল বর্ষবরণের বর্নিল আয়োজন করার,কারন এটি এখন শুধু আমাদের প্রোগ্রাম থাকল না,সারা বিশ্বের মানুষের অনুষ্ঠান হয়ে গেল|
This is not only the victory of a country, but the victory of the Bengali culture. And this puts added responsibility on us to ensure that the New Year's celebrations remains colourful and joyous as ever, as it is now a world event.
Our very own Mongol Shobhajatra is now a part of UNESCO cultural heritage. #happy #proud #tradition #Bangladesh ❤?
— Ishtiak Aritro Rizz (@Istiak_Rizz) November 30, 2016
Shortly after the announcement, the state minister for foreign affairs, Mr. Md. Shahriar Alam, explained on Facebook that the declaration was the product of much work on their part:
আমরা বেশ কিছুদিন যাবৎ এটা নিয়ে কাজ করছিলাম এবং আজকে সকালে দুই ঘণ্টাব্যপী বিতর্কের পর এটা নিশ্চিত করা গেছে । সবাইকে অভিনন্দন !!!
We were working on this for a while and today the declaration has been secured after a two-hour debate. Congratulations everyone.
People celebrating Pahela Baishakh at Mangal Shobhajatra (Rally), Image by Sourav Lasker. Copyright Demotix (14/4/2015)
Although the Bengali New Year celebration is a few centuries old, the Mangal Shobhajatra is a relatively new addition. The rally was started in 1989 by the students of Dhaka University, who were frustrated with the military dictatorship that ruled the country at the time. The following year, that same frustration would boil over into mass protests around Dhaka, a movement that eventually ousted the dictatorship and paved the way for parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh.
Artist Najib Tareq was one of the organisers of the early days of Mangal Shovajatra. He remembers being one of the youngest volunteers:
১ লা বৈশাখে হবে শোভাযাত্রা এবং সেটা হবে আনন্দ শোভাযাত্রা। আনন্দই পারে স্বৈরাচারের জুজুর ভয় দূর করতে। স্বৈরাচার তো আনন্দকেই প্রথমে হত্যা করতে চায়, তো আনন্দই হোক স্বৈরাচার প্রতিরোধের প্রথম ও প্রধান হাতিয়ার।
The fun rally began on the first day of Bengali New Year. We knew that fun and happiness can push away the fear inflicted by the dictatorship. Any dictator wants to suppress the happiness among the population and install fear. So we let the happiness be the first and foremost weapon to fight the dictatorship.
Rafiqun Nabi, an artist and a teacher at the Graphics Arts Institute of Dhaka University, also recalled in an interview the resistence that the rally has received:
মঙ্গল শোভাযাত্রাকে একটি সার্বজনীন উৎসবে পরিণত করতে গিয়ে স্বৈরাচারীদের নানা রকম হুমকি শুনতে হয়েছে, মৌলবাদীদের রক্তচক্ষু দেখতে হয়েছে।
We faced immense difficulties in making Mangal Shovajatra a public fest. We got intimidated by the dictatorship and threatened by the religious fundamentalists.
Bangladesh has a rich heritage of nearly 2,000 years accomodating peoples from numerous different religions, castes and creeds. Present-day Bangladesh is 90% Muslim. Many conservatives have deemed that Mangal Shovajatra is not Islamic and goes against religious values.
Conservative Islamic leader Maulana Ahmed Shafi has called for scrapping the Mangal Shovajatra:
মুসলমানদের বিশ্বাস মতে ভাল-মন্দ, মঙ্গল-অমঙ্গল সব কিছুই আল্লাহর হুকুমেই সংঘটিত হয়ে থাকে। মুসলমানকে কল্যাণ ও মঙ্গল কামনা করতে হবে একমাত্র আল্লাহর কাছেই। সুতরাং মুসলমানদের জন্যে মঙ্গল শোভাযাত্রার সংস্কৃতি চর্চা অবশ্যই পরিত্যাজ্য।
According to Muslim belief, good and bad, benevolent or nefarious, all happen according to the will of Allah. So Muslims should pray only to Allah to wish good in the society. So the culture of Mangal Shovajatra should be avoided by Muslims.
Some also term the festivity to be part of Hindu religious celebrations, and therefore they think Muslims should avoid them.
However, on Facebook Gazi Joyeeta Mahid countered the rhetoric of religious conservatives:
যতদিন বাংলাদেশ থাকবে, বাঙালি থাকবে- ততদিন এই নববর্ষের আয়োজন থাকবে। আনন্দ উৎসব থাকবে, বৈশাখী মেলা থাকবে, মঙ্গল শোভাযাত্রা থাকবে। এইটাই অসাম্প্রদায়িক চেতনার বাংলাদেশের প্রতিচ্ছবি।
As long as Bangladesh lives, there will be this type of New Year's celebration. There will be fun and festivities, New Year's fairs and Mangal Shivajatra. This is the image of a secular Bangladesh.
TV journalist Shimul Bashar made a documentary on Mangal Shovajatra. He shared it on YouTube after hearing about the Cultural Heritage declaration:
Here are some images of Mangal Shovajatra from Instagram.
The masks for the rally are being prepared by the students of Faculty of Fine Arts of the Dhaka University. Others also help them make:
#charukola #noboborsho #pohelaboishakh #dhakadairy #epicdhaka #dhakagram #dhakauniversity #artist #art #artwork #paint #painting #painter#caricature #craft #artistic #concept #conceptual #streetphotography #photooftheday #picoftheday #photographersofbangladesh #bangladeshi_photographer #fineart #fineartphotography #portrait #women #epic #2016
A photo posted by Intellectual Mimu (@mimu_das) on
Not only masks, other colourful placards and pieces of art are painted by hand:
#bangladesh #new #year #festival #celebrations #pohelaboishakh #arte #artesania #ceramica #pintura #pincel #bengali #art #international #local #comerciojusto #agricultura #pueblo #costumbres #village #feni
A photo posted by Jewel Rana (@masum.rahman06) on
The Mangal Shovajatra takes over many of Dhaka's streets:
#pohelaboishakh1423 #celebration #festival #banglanewyear #culture #beautifulbangladesh #visitbangladesh #banglanewyear2016 #instagram #instaglobal #pother_shilpi #bangladesh
A photo posted by Sheikh Mehedi Morshed (@pother_shilpi) on
Mangal Shovajatra is now celebrated in many countries across the world by the expat Bangladeshi community. Here is one such event in Western Australia:
Happy New Year to WA's Bengali community and congratulations to the Bangladesh Australia Association of WA (BAAWA) on a spectacular celebration! #bengalinewyear #pohelaboishakh #1423 #bengali #WA #Perth #perthlife
A photo posted by OMI (@multiculturalwa) on
Everyone plays a part in the festivities:
পহেলা বৈশাখে।#festival #celebration #instabangla71 #instabangla #bangladeshi #bangladeshi #banglanewyear #pohelaboishakh
A photo posted by ALL ABOUT BANGLADESH. (@instabangla71) on

author: পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)


text:
The Thin Line Between Political Censorship and Fighting Fake News in Iran · Global Voices
Mahsa Alimardani

The Iranian government has announced plans to regulate social media channels with more than 5000 followers. As the largest social network application in Iran, this is thought to directly affect Telegram. Image created by author.
The Iranian government is reportedly taking steps to expand regulations on large public news channels on the instant messenger Telegram. The move would apparently affect groups with more than 5,000 subscribers.
It remains unclear, however, if state officials seek dramatic changes to controls on these online communities (ostensibly in the battle against “fake news”), or if the government merely plans to extend and continue existing Internet controls.
As reported by Tasnim News, a hardline news agency affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, Iranian ICT Minister Mahmoud Vaezi made the announcement at a press conference during the National Conference on Public Service. Vaezi cited the dangers “unofficial news channels” pose in Iran's rural and less developed regions, where fake news and misinformation have gained sizeable audiences.
با توجه به اینکه مردم باید نسبت به اخباری که در این کانال ها منتشر می شود، اعتماد داشته باشند تصمیم گرفته شد تا کانال هایی که بیش از تعداد مشخصی عضو دارند، ملزم به دریافت مجوز شوند.
Considering that people have to trust the news released on these channels, it was decided that channels with more than a certain number of members will require a license.
Minister Vaezi's announcement builds on discussions now underway inside Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace, the country's chief authority on Internet policy. According to Vaezi, the ICT Ministry will manage the new licenses alongside the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance — the state agency responsible for regulating Iran's media. Vaezi says the government will form a committee in the coming months, and news channels with more than 5,000 subscribers will be required to win the committee's approval to continue operating legally.
در صحبت های اولیه ای که صورت گرفته کانال های خبری که حداقل 5000 عضو دارند باید نسبت به دریافت مجوز اقدام کنند. اما با این حال در آیین نامه تدوینی به جزییات بیشتری اشاره خواهد شد.
In the initial conversations that have taken place, news channels with more than 5,000 members need to get a license. However, more details will be revealed once the regulations have been finalized.
In his remarks, Vaezi never mentioned Telegram by name, but the chat and social-media platform, with its 30 million users in Iran and a public-channel feature, is likely the government's top target. Telegram, moreover, has been accused recently of facilitating the spread of viral and fake news stories.
Telegram is one of the few Western social networks that hasn't been blocked in Iran. Facebook and Twitter, for example, have been banned since 2009. Originally created as a platform for secure instant messaging (with many critics still unhappy about the service's security), Telegram has morphed into a major news source after it introduced public channels in September 2015. This is especially true in Iran, where local news websites and many blocked diaspora media outlets are able to broadcast content freely to Internet users who subscribe to their public channels.
Some political observers even credited the reformist faction's savvy use of Telegram channels with a wave of victories in Iran's 2016 parliamentary elections. The reformists’ success was all the more striking, given the dominance of Iran's conservative political faction over the country's traditional media, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
With Telegram's data servers located outside Iran, it's unclear how state officials intend to identify the administrators of specific public channels on the network.
The Iranian government announced in July 2015 that they would not censor Telegram despite the existence of immoral content on the platform, but would instead work with Telegram to regulate it. This was an accusation the company's founder and CEO denied vehemently.
In a meeting of the filtering committee in January 2016, the government decided against censoring Telegram, however in May 2016, the Supreme Council for Cyberspace announced that all platforms wishing to remain accessible in Iran had one year to relocate their servers inside of Iran. It is unclear whether technology companies such as Telegram will comply, or if the government will follow through on the censorship if the request is not complied with.
Regardless, Iranian officials have in the past managed to track down and arrest some administrators of Telegram channels. In November 2015, police arrested the administrators of more than 20 groups on Telegram for spreading “immoral content.” Iranian authorities have also hacked several Telegram accounts by intercepting text messages used in the service's two-factor authentication.
Despite the obvious danger of political censorship, Iranian officials are also acting against the genuine threat posed by fake news. Just as fake news stories on Facebook may have influenced the United States’ recent presidential election, phony information circulated on Telegram is polluting Iran's information space, as well.
There have been two notable cases of fake news rippling across Iran, causing mass panic and paranoia: a deadly hostage crisis that never happened, and reports that the government could track individuals’ Telegram activity by using their IP addresses.
Viral fake news story from Persian Telegram channels. Image from Tabnak news.
On November 22, news started spreading virally on Iranian Telegram channels that 27 people had been killed in a hostage crisis at a shopping mall in central Tehran. Photos allegedly taken at the scene turned out to be from an old police training exercise. The story appeared in the moderate-conservative newspaper Tabnak.
Images surfaced on Iranian Telegram channels in June 2015 showing a notice from Iran's Cyber Police (FATA) warning an unknown user about their unlawful Telegram activities. The head of FATA quickly denied this, saying Iran's cyber police never send private messages like these. No one else has produced evidence that they ever received such messages, and the IP address shared in the message is invalid. The message is thought to have originated from a channel claiming to be the official Cyber Police Telegram channel.
Screenshot of the viral fake notice from Iran's Cyber Police to an Iranian user to take down his account. Translation of the notice is to the left. Screenshot from a fake Cyber Police Channel on Telegram.
185.111.678.75:مشترک مورد نظر شماره شما پیگیری شد. شما
به الت توهین و نقض قوانین حکم بر کشور جمهوری اسلامی ایران و پیدا شدن عکس و فیلم مستهخن در گوشی همراه شما باید اکانت تلگرم شما حذف شود
ما میتوانیم به شما اجازه دهیم تا ۱ ساعت متوالی خودتان اکونتان را حذف کنید ولی اگر خود شما این کار را نکنید کلیه اکانت های شما با اجازه مقام معظم رهبری و طبق اصل ۱۱۵ حذف و از شما خواسته می شود خود را به نزدیک ترین اداره پلیس معرفی کنید. پلیس فتا
You subscriber number has been followed. IP: 185.111.678.75
Because you have insulted and infringed upon the rule of law of the Islamic Republic of Iran and have found pornographic photos and videos on your phone, you have to delete your Telegram account.
We can give you permission to delete your account yourself within the next hours, but if you do not do this yourself, with the permission of the Supreme Leader and article 115, we will delete your account and will want you to turn yourself into the nearest police station. FATA Police

author: Mahsa Alimardani


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After Missing Woman Is Found Dead, Trinbagonians Say, ‘Enough is Enough’ · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A graphic posted by Facebook user Natasha Pierre, asking netizens to wear black in solidarity with victims of violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago; widely shared on Facebook.
Three days after 20-year-old bank employee Shannon Banfield went missing, her body was found in the warehouse of a variety store in Port of Spain, Trinidad, bringing to a gut-wrenching end any hope her family had of finding her alive.
On Monday December 5, 2016, Banfield told her family that she would take a taxi home after she ran a few errands in the capital city, one of them to the store in which her body was found. Shannon was widely known to be active in her church and a family-oriented, God-fearing person. On learning of her death, a member of her church said in a public Facebook post:
Words can't express how I feel right now. We prayed and hoped for your safe return but God alone knows. Rest in peace my dear […]
Basnfield's former employer, Republic Bank Limited, called her death “a tragedy of immeasurable proportions”:
We kept vigil with the rest of the nation’s concerned citizens, in hope of a safe return of our team member.
Our thoughts, prayers and support are with Shannon’s parents and family at this time.
We have not received any further detailed information from the police, thus far, but we shall continue to work with them as needed.
We have initiated emotional assistance processes for the staff […] many of whom are inconsolable.
This is a sad day for the Republic Bank team and for our nation.
In short order, the police circulated a press release containing the photographs of two persons of interest in the investigation. However, the swiftness with which the authorities responded did little to assuage the local blogosphere — social media users launched a hashtag, #JusticeForShannon, to help raise the profile of the case and agitate for its quick resolution. A corresponding Facebook page was also started.
While the police were careful not to refer to the men as suspects, many netizens had already made up their minds, especially in light of other reports which suggested that three employees of the store in which Banfield's body was found — two men and one woman — had reportedly not clocked in for work since Monday.
There were also several conspiracy theories being shared on Facebook, alleging that the 2015 murder of another young woman showed loose connections to the store in question.
The overwhelming sentiment on social media sites, however, was that people had had enough of the country's spiralling crime rate, the impotence of the judicial system, and of violence against women. Facebook user Sharon Boodoosingh hit the nail on the head for many female netizens when she said:
#LifeInLeggings town is where it started for me. Shannon RIP
The viral #LifeinLeggings hashtag, created by two Barbadian women who wanted to highlight the issue of sexual harassment in the Caribbean, is giving regional women the online space and support to share their stories. Banfield's murder was the latest in a disturbingly high number of incidents of violence against women, many of which end with their death.
University lecturer and activist Gab Souldeya Hosein lamented on Facebook:
Shannon Banfield. Oh precious 20 year old Shannon Banfield. There can't be a woman in Trinidad today not feeling like falling down with fear, trauma and sorrow.
Fellow activist Tillah Willah expressed the weariness of the country's women quite well:
I eh have no car. Is walk I walking. Taking taxi. Taking pictures of the car number. Holding keys, a pencil, a shoes, a book. Holding anything like a weapon in case I have to defend myself. I ready to run if any man watch me too hard. I have no more tears to cry for anybody. I have no more tears to cry for myself. I am sick and frigging tired of walking and watching who watching me. Of jumping at the jingle of the zip on my bag because it sounds like footsteps. I am fed up of this shit and when I get scared and mad for men to tell me I am over reacting. Make sure better than cocksure. Better your ego bruised than I end up dead because I tryna be polite. Allyuh like too much statistics. Stop counting and start being accountable. Y'all better tell your boys to watch their conduct. I fed up. We fed up. Paul going to start to pay for all jus now.
Another Facebook user reiterated the importance of properly socialising boys to respect women:
This is why I am doing everything within my power to raise a generation of Kings. We need to do better..we really do. This one has penetrated so deeply #JusticeForShannon
Facebook user Ruth Joyette said:
Women, in the PRIME of their lives being taken in some form, because even if they are released or escaped their quality of life decreases. Awareness is the game. Teach women to be vigilant, teach men to respect boundaries and teach men to protect when they see things off. How are we to face tomorrow knowing this is a possible fate for our mothers, our daughters, our sisters, our wives, our grandmothers, our aunts, HOW? Everyone is talking faith and prayer, but faith and prayer without WORKS is what? Nothing. It's been a hard 3 days for a lot of us, friends and especially family. WAKE UP and FIGHT! #justiceforShannon
She wasn't the only one who thought it was time for action. Brigette R Joseph added:
If this store had been robbed, the tapes would have been pulled. The owners would have sent it to Ian Alleyne [a local crime show host] and it would have been aired THE SAME DAY and the perpetrator's face and the security video would be seen and blasted all over social media.
But a mother calls the police, knew something was up with her daughter. That she was missing.
NOTHING happens. Four days later she is found the same place the mother said she was.
Dead.
Truly. Honestly. WHAT?
Dunno about y'all, but I am Ready to ACT.
Steven Valdez contributed to the discussion by making the point that “the increasing incidents of violent crime is [sic] creating an obstacle to national development”:
While we mourn the loss of another murder victim, let us recognise that our country is in very deep shit and ask some pointed questions:
How do we fix this? Where do we start? Who has the expertise and the power to bring about the changes that are required to get these criminals off our blood splattered streets?
There was much talk — and a petition — about reintroducing the death penalty; the last time that convicted criminals were executed in Trinidad and Tobago was nearly a decade ago. However, journalist Judy Raymond tweeted in response:
More squawking about “bringing back” the death penalty? Sigh. It hasn't gone anywhere. But more importantly, you gotta catch them first!
— Judy Raymond (@heyjudeTT) December 8, 2016
One Twitter user did not hold out much faith that the virtual outcry would translate into realistic action:
So is anyone willing to march for her? Plenty talk and no action. RIP. #trinidad #ShannonBanfield #justice #womensrightsarehumanrights
— Natasha (@Natalake) December 9, 2016
But journalist and managing director of the Lloyd Best Institute of the West Indies — an independent think tank dedicated to Caribbean development — invited people to come to the space to strategise, explaining, “Outrage is a powerful force for change. We cannot afford to waste it.”
Citizens have been asked to wear black on Friday December 9, 2016, “in solidarity with the families of those brothers and sisters who have lost their lives, the families in anguish and to send a message that WE the people are taking back our land”.


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Digital Activists Meet Up Offline to Promote Bolivia’s Language Diversity Online · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Group photo of workshop participants in Cochabamba, Bolivia
According to the country’s Constitution, all of Bolivia’s 37 languages are recognized as official languages. However, while this linguistic diversity can be observed in daily life, the same is not necessarily reflected on the internet, where Spanish remains the dominant language.
Even though digital initiatives have emerged to promote the other 36 indigenous languages, most concentrate on the languages with higher numbers of speakers like Aymara and Quechua. Many of the other 34 languages still remain without a significant online presence driven by native speakers.
Indigenous digital activists put special emphasis on the challenge of including all Bolivian languages during a two-day workshop held in the city of Cochabamba on July 28-29, 2016. The gathering was co-organized by Global Voices through its Rising Voices initiative in collaboration with local digital activists Gladys Camacho and Juan Carlos Romero, along with partners Jaqi Aru and Voces Indígenas Urbanas.
The event’s host was the Simón I. Patiño Pedagogical and Cultural Center. This Bolivian workshop was another in the series of workshops held across the region with local partners, including previously in Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.
Leading up to the workshop, a national open call for participation was put out focusing on indigenous internet users who are already working to revitalize their native languages. Participants were chosen taking into account geographic and linguistic representation; a demonstrated commitment to sharing their knowledge and skills with their own communities was also a determining factor.
Banner for the workshop.
Approximately 50 applications were received, and as expected, Quechua and Aymara applicants were the most represented among those interested in taking part. However, after outreach efforts especially to communities in the Bolivian Orient, participants representing Guaraní, Chácobo, Bésiro, Mojeño Trinitario, and Yurakaré communities also were selected.
In total, 25 participants were invited to take part in the two-day workshop to share their experiences, build new digital skills, and make connections with other Bolivians working towards revitalizing their native languages through the use of the internet.
Languages know no borders, so some of the indigenous languages of Bolivia are also spoken in neighboring countries. Upon discovering the call for proposals, a group of activists from Resistencia, Argentina who speak the Qom language (or Toba as it is known in Bolivia) also requested to take part in the gathering.
The gathering’s primary purpose was to create a space for experience exchange among the different activists. Over the course of two days, there were hour-long plenary sessions led by facilitators and participants that touched on linguistic and technical challenges related to language use on the web.
Much of the rest of the program focused on personal presentations of their own personal projects. For example, Elias Ajata, a prolific blogger from the city of El Alto, has been creating content on YouTube, SoundCloud and other social media sites. During his presentation, he showcased the variety of memes and other content created through his project Aymar Yatiqaña, which is primarily shared on the Facebook group of more than 8,000 members. The following video created around the time of the 2016 constitutional referendum where voters decided whether or not to allow the president and vice president to run for a third consecutive term. The video uses Aymara-speaking puppets to show the contentious divide between voters opting for “Yes” and “No” votes.
Another activist from El Alto, Josue Qhispi, has been uploading lessons to learn the Aymara language on his Wix site called Aymaryaya, which he also shares on his Facebook group.
Volunteer translators Victoria Tinta and Gloria Chambi spoke about their motivations for participating as editor and translator with the Global Voices in Aymara project, which provides translations of news stories from Spanish into the Aymara language. This work also included a pilot project producing repackaged audio content of these translations for online use and with partner radio stations, such as Radio San Gabriel, which also took part in the event.
The host city of Cochabamba is considered to be one of the cradles of the Quechua language. On a local level, the public university San Simón (UMSS) has played an important role in developing resources to promote the language online, such as the multimedia Quechua podcast platform created by the Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching team at UMSS. In addition, two of the workshop organizers, Gladys Camacho and Juan Carlos Romero,  have been very active with the Linguistics Department of the university and have also participated as Quechua teachers. Both shared their experiences promoting the language through a variety of multimedia platforms.
Camacho continued her graduate studies at New York University where she contributed to the Rimasun audio podcast project. As part of his teaching duties, Romero filmed videos depicting daily situations using the Quechua language, including the following that took place at the dentist's office.
Based in the Department of Santa Cruz, the Voces Indígenas Urbanas project shared their work listening and amplifying the voices of indigenous communities living in the country's largest city of Santa Cruz. Among the topics that they regularly discuss include the importance of maintaining the language. Several of the team's members regularly promote their native language on social media.
The Bolivian workshop continues to demonstrate the interest and need for gatherings such as this to connect indigenous internet users who have made a commitment to preserve and advance their languages with the aid of digital technologies. Their own experiences often mirror those of others regardless of language, and real and virtual spaces can help share these lessons learned and become the building blocks for the creation of local networks of digital activists who share a common mission.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Macau Casinos’ Show of Communist Patriotism Leaves Many Scratching Their Heads · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

During the four-day training, members of the Ginggang mountains tour dressed like soldiers of the red army. Viral online photo.
A group of 60 employees from several Macau casinos took a four-day “patriotism training course” last week in the Jinggang Mountains, considered to be the birthplace of the Chinese Communist Party’s Red Army. The trip was coordinated by Beijing's representative in Macau, which is a special administrative region of China with a high degree of autonomy, and was meant to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Long March, a military retreat by the Red Army during the Chinese Civil War.
The casinos publicized the training course, but their odd show of patriotism was not well received — at home or on the mainland.
The course is offered by a school called China Executive Leadership Academy, whose major clients are from the corporate sector. Every year, the school gives about 30,000 certificates to graduates of the course, which is composed of a series of site visits, hiking, seminars about the revolutionary history of the Chinese Communist Party.
Representatives of the six casino groups, including SJM, MGM, Wynn, Melco PBL, Galaxy, VML, shared their patriotic education experience with the public in a press conference. Tour leader Daniel Fok said he expected participants would bring the spirit of the Chinese revolution, meaning solidarity and the will to victory, back to their personal and professional lives in Macao and spread it like “starting a prairie fire with a single spark” — a popular quote from late Chinese leader Chairman Mao.
While the restoration of so-called red culture has become part of the agenda of today's Chinese Communist Party, casino representatives speaking in communist revolutionary language is a rather strange sight, not to mention that about half of the casinos are American and Australian owned.
Of course, Macau, a former Portuguese colony handed over to China in 1999, could not have developed into the “Las Vegas of Asia” if the Chinese government had not given a green light to the entrance of foreign casino operators in 2003 and allowed millions of mainland Chinese gambling tourists to visit. With the growth of the gaming industry, Macau’s gross domestic product (GDP) jumped from US $7 billion in 2002 to US $55 billion in 2014, but it has also become a money laundering hub that facilitates the flight of capital out of mainland China.
Mainland China's anti-graft campaign, which began in 2014, has had a negative impact on Macau's casino revenue; Macau’s economy shrank 20% in 2015 and continued to contract in 2016. As the city’s economy is vulnerable to Beijing’s policies, it might be that the gaming sector sees pledges of loyalty like the patriotism training course as a last resort to save the industry.
However, their efforts fell flat. Thus far, no Chinese state and communist party media outlets have praised the casino trip to the Jinggang Mountains. A commentary from Beijing News even criticized them for disturbing moral harmony in mainland China and asked them to stop paying visits to the revolutionary site:
一个在内地人看来不务正业的赌徒或赌博组织，道德上可能就难以站得住脚，却去做一件貌似神圣的事情，或是亲近貌似神圣的事物，就会在心理上难以接受，说不出的怪味。难怪有网友说，“革命先烈被你们玩儿坏了”。
博彩业在澳门是合法的，不过，其在内地的活动还是要尊重内地的法律和文化。澳门博彩业屡屡去井冈山学习，气氛上不搭，观感上不协调，以后，还是不要去了吧!
Gambling and casinos are considered an indecent sector and morally wrong. But this sector is performing a sacred act. It is very difficult for people to accept such a strange performance. No wonder why some netizens said “You’ve ruined the imagine of revolutionary hero”.
Though gambling is legal in Macau, you have to respect the law and culture in mainland China. The gaming sector going to the Jinggang Mountains for [patriotism] education has destroyed the atmosphere. Don’t go there anymore in the future!
Outside mainland China, on Facebook Hong Kong and Macau netizens took the patriotism trip as a joke. Below is a selection of some random comments via Facebook search:
搶錢的土匪交流搶劫經驗……
The thugs (referring to the casinos and CCP) who mob others are exchanging their experience in robbery…
學習共產革命烈士精神，咁第一件事澳門賭場員工應該批鬥佢老細梁安琪呢啲腐敗資產階級，梁安琪等腐敗資產階級經營賭場剝削勞動階層權益，應該沒收梁安琪財產重新分配給人民，賭場係腐敗資本主義產物，違背共產革命烈士精神
To learn from communist revolutionary heroes, the first thing is to have a purge of the corrupt capitalist bosses like Angel Leung [a key figure representing the gaming sector] for their exploitation of the proletariat. Her property should be confiscated and redistributed to the people. Casinos are the product of corrupt capitalism and against the spirit of the communist revolution.
對唔住，井崗山冇共產主義學，佢地係去學大天二 / 土匪精神，誰曰不宜？
Sorry, there is no communism for anyone to learn in the Jinggang Mountains. It is absolutely appropriate for them to go there to learn the spirit of the thugs.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Now That’s Epic: Kyrgyz Woman Singer Remakes Poem Traditionally Sung By Men · Global Voices
Akhal-Tech Collective

Pop star Gulzada powers through a song based on the Kyrgyz epic poem about the life of mythical hero Manas. Screenshot from video produced and uploaded onto YouTube by producer Sumsarbek Mamyraliev.
Kyrgyz artist Gulzada Ryskulova has rocked the local music scene with a powerful take on an epic poem that serves as a fundament of the Central Asian country's culture.
Reciters of the Manas epic, or manaschi, are guardians of an oral folklore whose origins remain obscure. They are also almost always men.
Sent underground during the Soviet Union, the tradition of charismatic oral poetry themed on the life of a mythical warrior king received a powerful shot in the arm during the rule of Kyrgyzstan's first president Askar Akayev.
Now, with the release of a song based on the epic and sung by a woman, the tale of Manas has a new twist, now carrying an urgent message about the need to preserve the country's incredible nature and its nomadic heritage.
Ryskulova wrote on Facebook:
Friends,
The whole might of the Kyrgyz Nomadic Spirit, the intimate, magical fluids of our mountainous country. Authentic feelings can be experienced through the voice, the music and the song of “”Aikol Manas”. The epic of Manas stands as the most crucial cultural legacy of Kyrgyzstan. In the span of two years we have worked tirelessly to achieve a deep [and] quality immersion into the marvellous, centuries old Kyrgyz culture.
Below is the clip starring Gulzada and produced by Sumsarbek Mamyraliyev:
While Gulzada's release is a celebration of Kyrgyz culture, it is also a challenge to the patriarchy that presently surrounds the epic. Partly because there are many versions of the Manas legend (both written and oral) there are also different understandings as to what the warrior king should mean to the Kyrgyz people.
While Akayev used Manas as a tool to unite Kyrgyzstan's diverse ethnic groups, in more recent times the epic has been hijacked by nationalists that stress the position of ethnic Kyrgyz as the “children of Manas”.
Feminists and liberals were moreover aggrieved when a statue symbolising freedom in the form of a female angel in flight was replaced by one of Manas shortly after Kyrgyzstan endured its second and most bloody revolution in 2010.
Almost two years ago, Global Voices wrote about a Rising Voices* grantee, Kyrgyzstan's school-age Devochki-Aktivisti (girl activists).
One of the stories published on the blog managed and edited by the Devochki-Aktivisti and consisting of letters sent to the Devochki-Aktivisti concerned a young girl Manaschi.
In the story the girl wrote:
I have been a girl Manaschi (storyteller of the Epic of Manas) since I was 3 years old. When I was a child, everyone thought it was great – they considered all children equal. But I grew up, and found that being an older girl is much harder. Beginning when I was 9 years old, everybody started telling me the stereotypes I should follow. And so my favorite pursuit – storytelling – stopped for a while. I had already resigned myself to the fact that I was a girl.
Below, the same girl can be seen performing a Manaschi-style recital to promote gender equality:

author: Akhal-Tech Collective


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Russian Journalists Fired for Reporting About a Children’s Art Project That Ended at the Dump · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Image: Pixabay
Journalists working for a local state-funded television network in Russia recently discovered that city officials in Chelyabinsk trashed more than 3,000 holiday tree ornaments made by children, in a sad end to a public competition that was supposed to drum up publicity for the Russian Figure Skating Championships and place the ornaments on trees around the city.
If the reports about children finding their homemade ornaments at the dump, fighting back tears as they tried to locate and take back their own artwork, aren’t enough to rob you of your holiday cheer, perhaps this next detail will: the two journalists responsible for breaking the story were summarily fired two days later.
The segment in question never aired on the “1OBL” news network, a state-funded TV channel in Chelyabinsk, but two reporters for the station did cooperate with REN-TV to help put it together. The story was broadcast on December 6.
Children in Chelyabinsk find their tree ornaments dumped in the garbage. Video: REN-TV
Two days later, 1OBL newsroom chief Oksana Shevchenko began the morning staff meeting with a furious announcement, explaining that the station wouldn’t be renewing its contracts at the end of the month with Nadezhda Zalevskaya and Svetlana Sverchkareva, the two reporters who worked on the segment that aired on REN-TV.
“A government channel is selling stories to national networks that trash the Russian Figure Skating Championships! We smeared the reputation of the Russian Figure Skating Championships! Do you hear what I’m saying!?” Shevchenko said in a video recorded on a mobile phone by someone at the meeting and later leaked to REN-TV.
Speaking to the newsroom, Shevchenko also said that someone by the name of “Evdokimov” telephoned the director of 1OBL in a rage, complaining about the news segment. REN-TV believes she was referring to Vadim Evdokimov, Chelyabinsk’s lieutenant governor who manages the city’s public affairs. When REN-TV called Evdokimov to ask him about his relationship with 1OBL, he evaded the question and hung up.
After REN-TV began contacting various officials in the Chelyabinsk government, Zalevskaya and Sverchkareva say they started receiving anonymous, threatening phone calls. In response, Russia’s Federal Council and the Russian Journalists’ Union have reportedly agreed to help the two journalists defend their jobs.
1OBL journalists Nadezha Zalevskaya and Svetlana Sverchkareva. Photos: Vkontakte
On Vkontakte, Russia’s most popular social network, the 1OBL newsroom has been largely silent about the scandal. Nadezha Zalevskaya and Svetlana Sverchkareva aren’t even “friends” on the website, and only the former has posted anything publicly about her problems at work. Of the 29 Vkontakte users registered as employees at 1OBL, just two other people have written anything publicly about the controversy. In both instances, fellow young women in the newsroom shared REN-TV’s story about the crackdown and added short, supportive messages addressed to their colleagues.
Newsroom chief Oksana Shevchenko, who could scarcely contain her anger at this week’s 1OBL staff meeting, hasn’t posted anything publicly since December 4, when she shared a collection of Soviet holiday cards featuring squirrels, bunnies and bears.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Two Young Activists Get 10 Years in Jail Each After Graffiti on Azerbaijan Patriarch’s Statue · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

Stamp commemorating Heydar Aliyev's meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Baku in 2001. He died in late 2003. Creative commons.
On December 8, a court in Azerbaijan's capital Baku sentenced 21-year-old activist Bayram Mammadov to 10 years in jail on narcotics charges that were very likely trumped up. Most believe that his real crime was writing graffiti on a statue of long dead former leader Heydar Aliyev, who is also the father of current autocrat Ilham Aliyev.
Just weeks earlier, another youth activist, 22-year-old Giyas Ibrahimov, was sentenced to 10 years in jail on the same charges. Ibrahimov's supporters believe he was also punished for defacing the Aliyev statue in combination with Mammadov.
sad day for youth in #Azerbaijan as yet another N!DA member is sentenced to 10 years #BayramMammadov @a_hesenov5 pic.twitter.com/ZT5YJnmhSu
— Niko (@NikoBedok) December 8, 2016
#Azerbaijan: Another @nidavh‘s activist, #BayramMammadov, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for #graffiti https://t.co/hjby6Kl6ty
— Anna Zamejc (@stell7) December 8, 2016
Court in #Azerbaijan just sentenced activist #BayramMammadov 10 years in jail for graffiti protest. Take action now: https://t.co/ZYAT8YLp5E
— Levan Asatiani (@levan_asatiani) December 8, 2016
The Aliyev family has ruled Azerbaijan since before independence in 1991 and is widely viewed as one of the most thoroughly corrupt political clans in the former Soviet Union. Heydar Aliyev is the family patriarch and a de facto state symbol, who regime sympathisers sometimes compare to modern Turkey's founder Kemal Ataturk.
N!DA, which means an “exclamation mark” in Azerbaijani was formed by seven young men in 2011. N!DA promotes political and social change in society through education-focused initiatives. Two years after its establishment, the movement's key leaders were targeted, arrested and later handed lengthy sentences.
As of today, seven out of those eight men originally arrested have been released. But new convictions, such as those against Mammadov and Ibrahimov, indicate that the movement is still a key target for authorities.
For provoking an oil-rich regime that withholds citizens’ civil rights and squashes their opportunities, both men will spend the best years of their life in jail.
Ibraimov has already issued claims he was tortured in detention. In a letter sent from prison, he wrote:
I was beaten again as the policemen tried to force me to accept the drug charges. I told them that I had never seen narcotics in my life and they could not arrest me simply for having taken a photo [of the graffiti on the statue]. As a result, they beat me harder and demanded that I accept the charges. They swore at me and insulted me. They took my pants off and threatened to ‘immorally’ use a bat on me – that is, to rape me. I had no choice but to accept the charges. I ‘confessed’ and signed the testimony that was provided for me.
Bayram Mammadov, in turn, made a powerful speech prior to his sentencing, noting that it was more honourable to spend time in prison than to confess to a crime he had not committed and kow-tow to the regime on state television.
I regret nothing. If I could I would do it again. I don’t want to be remembered by apologising in my final statement. I refuse to see myself as a prisoner. I am a lover of freedom.
But the judge was not interested in listening to Mammadov or letting him finish:
Hakim Bayram Məmmədova son sözünü deməyə imkan vermədi. Hal hazırda hökm oxunur. Bayramın əlləri arxadan qandallıdır.
Judge did not allow Bayram Mammadov to finish his final words. Right now, he is reading out his sentence. Bayram's hands are handcuffed from behind.
Following his arrest, Ibrahimov's mother teamed up with Amnesty International USA and prepared this video about her son and the bogus charges against him and Mammadov.
In a joint statement issued December 6, a group of rights organisations issued a letter calling on the government of Azerbaijan to cease politically motivated prosecution and torture, and to repeal laws criminalising dissent and free speech while releasing the pair.
But authorities in Azerbaijan seemingly have no intention of slowing a rights crackdown that has intensified with an economic depression linked to oil prices that plunged in 2014.
Instead, they are introducing harsher laws. On November 29, the parliament in Azerbaijan made online defamation of the president a criminal offence punishable by prison terms of up to 3 years. Fines for the same crime now range from 569 to 853 USD in a country where the minimum living wage is $76 per month.

author: Arzu Geybullayeva