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Officers Murdered in Tajikistan as Forced Recruitment Hits Headlines Again · Global Voices
Chris Rickleton

Conscripts watch a wrestling match in Tajikistan. Photo by Eurasianet and David Trilling, Used with permission.
The murder earlier this week of two recruitment officers in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe is being viewed by local internet users as a consequence of oblava — the kidnapping of young conscripts of military age.
On November 9 a conflict took place between unknown assailants and four recruitment officers in Dushanbe. For reasons not disclosed by officials, the suspects stabbed the officers and their driver, resulting in two deaths.
Global Voices has written on the oblava phenomenon here, here and here. For many young Tajik men, the question of how to avoid compulsory military service is among the most salient they will ever face. Tajikistan's army offers recruits notoriously poor conditions, while exposing them to everyday hazing at the hands of older soldiers.
According to the statistics quoted by BBC in 2013, at least 40% of new conscripts in Tajikistan arrive at service in the army through the practice of kidnappings.
Tajik authorities have denied the deaths of the recruitment officers are an act of reprisal or self-defence by recruitment targets, citing the fact that the recruitment plan had been completed in Dushanbe on schedule for the first time since independence.
But few are convinced by their explanation.
Firstly, admitting the link between oblava and the deaths would imply that official structures use kidnappings in a systematic way to sustain a desperately underfunded and unpopular military.
Moreover, the threat of being forced to serve in the Tajik army is also an effective mechanism to sustain poorly-paid employees.
When caught by recruitment officers, young men can pay a bribe on the spot and thus avoid being taken to a recruitment office. This suits all parties, and so the shakedowns continue.
One commenter under an article about the incident on the local outlet Asia Plus hinted the recruitment officers that got attacked were doing just this:
1 ноября официально объявили о полном окончании осеннего призыва, а эти молодчики решили немного поправить свои финансовые положения. Увы, не на тех нарвались. Уверен, что наши комиссары и Минобороны немного задумаются о своем здоровье и подумают о своей жизни – стоит ли из-за нескольких сотен сомони нарываться на грубость и идти на нож.
November 1 was officially declared the end of the autumn recruitment drive, but these guys decided to improve their financial situation. Alas, they caught the wrong types. I am sure that our recruitment officers and the defense ministry will now think about their health and lives before taking such risks for just a few hundred somoni [local currency].
While a reader using the nickname MMY ventured:
походу облава,поэтому подростки отх*ярили их и убежали,я думаю правильно сделали,ибо нех*й гонятся за поцанами и силой уводить в армию,а от туда отправлять их инвалидами или что хуже ешё убитыми
It seems like oblava, that`s why the teenagers beat them up and ran away. I think they did the right thing because they shouldn`t chase guys and force them into serving in army where they turn them into handicapped people or even kill them there.
This last point is not an exaggeration.
Last year a military officer was sentenced to nine years by a Tajik court for beating a conscript to death. While the trial was seen as a potential landmark judgement, directing public attention towards violence in the army, reports of severe beatings remain widespread.
As another reader of the Asia Plus service wrote:
Я лично сожалею, что сотрудники комисариата пострадали и даже погибли! И кто это сделал тот должен ответить перед законом!
С другой стороны, это эхо той системы которая работает больше двадцати лет во время призывов в армию Таджикистана? И я надеюсь этот скорбный случай будет поводом для комисаров военкоматов отказаться от “облав” и “бизнеса”…
I personally regret that the recruitment officers got injured and even killed! Those who did it definitely should be held accountable before the law! From the other side, this is the echo of the system that has been working for more than 20 years during recruitment periods in Tajikistan. I hope this mournful incident will become a reason for recruitment officers to restrain themselves from using the “business of oblava.”
So far the Ministry of Internal Affairs has said it is willing to give $10,000 dollars as a reward to anyone that has information about the suspects’ whereabouts.


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Russia Changes Its Mind, Asks Twitter to Store Russian User Data Locally · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

“I'm so changeable!” Kremlin's Internet regulator is back to wanting Twitter data stored in Russia. Twitter bird image by Andreas Eldh on Flickr, CC-BY 2.0. Images mixed by Tetyana Lokot.
Russia's Internet watchdog Roscomnadzor is demanding that microblogging service Twitter store its Russian users’ personal data on servers inside Russia. The demand is based on the recently introduced data localization law that came into force at the start of September.
The new demand marks a turn in the censor's policy towards the microblogging website, as previously Roscomnadzor had said Twitter was exempt from the norms of the law. On July 17, 2015 Alexander Zharov, the head of Roscomnadzor, told the press that federal censors didn't consider the kind of user data Twitter collects to be “personal information.”
But now the regulator says Twitter has made changes in their terms of service about information gathered from users and storing said information, so the exemption no longer applies. Roscomnadzor said they were also approaching Facebook over similar changes in their policies.
“They changed their user agreement some months ago. And if you read that, people must provide a set of metadata, which in our understanding as a whole counts as personal data and [makes it possible] to identify an individual,” the regulator's chief Alexander Zharov said, as quoted in the Financial Times. Twitter representatives have declined to comment on the matter.
The data localization law mandates that Internet businesses with Russian users who accumulate their “personal information” must store this data on servers within Russian territory, but the definition of what is considered “personal information” or which users qualify as “Russian” in the law is rather vague. Roscomnadzor has the power to block or fine the companies that don't comply with the law. Those who support the new legislation believe it will help protect the RuNet users’ data and strengthen national security, whereas critics of the move view it as part of the Kremlin's increasing desire to control the Internet.
According to Zharov, there are roughly 2.6 million companies in the world that store the kind of user data identified by Russia’s new law. Businesses on this list include AliExpress, Booking.com, Uber, PayPal, Samsung, and Lenovo—all of which have agreed to buy or rent servers inside Russia, Roskomnadzor claims.
Roscomnadzor has vowed to inspect 317 Internet businesses, both Russian and international, before the end of 2015, but said that Google and Facebook would not be among them. Most recently, the Russian Internet watchdog announced it would start inspecting social networks for adherence to the data localization law in 2016, along with financial Internet businesses and online shopping websites. Zharov said the inspections would be “as public as possible” and promised that a list of the companies subject to these inspections would be made available in December this year.
Given their sizeable Russian user base, compliance with the data localization law could be an issue for both Twitter and Facebook. On the other hand, since neither social network asks their users for proof of citizenship, it would be difficult for them to determine which of their users should be designated as “Russian.” Whether Roscomnadzor would go as far as blocking Twitter or Facebook in their entirety in Russia, should they defy the demands of the law, remains unclear.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Tanya Lokot


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The Crisis in Burundi Takes a Troubling Turn for the Worse · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

Burundians living in Nairobi, Kenya and friends of Burundi says no to a third term for President Pierre Nkurunziza. Photo by Vincent Munga. Copyright Demotix
Burundi has been in crisis since April, but the country is still too rarely mentioned in international media. However, in the last two weeks of October, the level of violence and random assassinations have reached proportions that make crisis observers fear the worst.
As a reminder, President Pierre Nkurunziza was reelected in 2010 as the head of the country. The constitution of Burundi forbids presidents from running for a third term. On 25 April 2015, Nkurunziza announced that he would run for a third consecutive term in the 2015 Burundian presidential elections. On 5 May, the Constitutional Court validated his candidacy.
Demonstrations erupted throughout the country to protest this decision. At least 22 demonstrators have died. On 13 May, General Godefroid Niyombare announced that he would take power while President Nkurunziza was visiting Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.
On 14 May, the military coup failed in its attempt to take control of the national radio and television station RTNB. That evening, Pierre Nkurunziza's staff announced that Nkurunziza would return to Burundi and retain his position as head of country.
On 21 July, Nkurunziza ran in the elections and won 69.41% of the vote. This election, however, did not stem the tide of the crisis. Thousands of refugees left Burundi for Tanzania fearing armed conflicts to come.
“Pierre, we say no to three-term president.” Image compilation illustrating the crisis in Burundi in 2015
On the Burundian website Les Voix, reporter Ngabire Elyse had a discussion with renowned Burundian political actor Aimé Magera about possible solutions to Burundi's crisis:
Aimé Magera constate que les dirigeants actuels n’ont presque rien gardé de l’expérience du passé récent de notre pays : « Ils sont entrain de marcher exactement dans les pas d’un ancien régime qui les a précédés juste avant que le vent de la démocratie ne souffle dans le paysage politique burundais en 1992. ” Dans un contexte où les cœurs sont déjà meurtris par les longs mois de manifestations réprimées dans le sang, des enlèvements, tortures, assassinats, découvertes des cadavres ligotés ou emballés dans des sacs et abandonnés le long des routes ou jetés dans des rivières, etc., la commission (de reconciliation) telle que définie par le décret qui l’a créée, n’apportera rien de nouveau.
Aimé Magera notes that current leaders have learned almost nothing from the recent affairs of our country. “They are following precisely in the footsteps of a former regime that preceded them just before the wind of democracy blew through the political landscape of Burundi in 1992.” [Editor's note: From 1987 to 1992, Burundi was under military ruling led by Major Pierre Buyoya. The first open elections happened in 1993 and were won by Melchior Ndadaye] In a situation where hearts are already bruised by long months of demonstrations suppressed in blood, kidnappings, torture, murders, bodies discovered bound hand and foot or wrapped in bags and left along the roads or thrown in rivers, etc., the reconciliation commission (as defined by the order that created it) will bring about nothing new.
On Waza Afrique, the creator of the Facebook group “Emploi à Bujumbura / Jobs in Bujumbura” Landry Sibomana gave his opinion on the crisis that permeates his country:
Les causes sont multiples : politiques, économiques, sociales, etc. Ce qui m’attriste, c’est surtout les pertes en vies humaines, les dégâts matériels, mais aussi cette inquiétude et incertitude du lendemain qui se lit sur les regards des gens. La vie tourne au ralenti. C’est regrettable. La jeunesse est une ressource extraordinaire pour une nation et s’en occuper devrait être une priorité.  Beaucoup de jeunes se sont laissés embrigader dans des aventures dangereuses qui, finalement, ne font que leur coûter la vie. Et là, c’est toute la nation qui perd. je pense que les acteurs concernés devraient s’asseoir et dialoguer et penser à l’intérêt commun, qui est la paix et la sécurité pour tous. Qu’on le veuille ou non, tout le monde est victime.
The reasons are numerous: political, economic, social, etc. What saddens me most of all are the losses in human life, the material damage, but also the anxiety and uncertainty of tomorrow on people's faces. Life moves in slow motion. It's unfortunate. Youth is an extraordinary resource for a nation and it should be a priority. Many youths let themselves get caught up in dangerous adventures which, ultimately, only cost them their lives. In the end, it is the whole nation that loses. I think that the concerned parties should sit, discuss, and think about the common interest that peace and security are for all. Whether they like it or not, everyone is a victim.
In effect, thousands of Burundians find themselves on the road fleeing confrontations and more and more frequent witch hunts. This report from Al Jazeera -The Stream  explains the resurgence of violence in recent months:
Valentin Vyabagabo, a resident in North Bujumbura, maintains that he has seen bodies floating regularly in the river since September.
In the face of growing ethnic tensions, Roland Rugero of Bujumbura notes that this crisis has multiple factors:
Dans dix ans, le Burundi aura plus de huit millions de demandeurs d’emplois, sur plus de 13 millions d’habitants. La résolution de la crise de 2015 ne doit pas faire oublier à tous les intervenants politiques et sociaux, locaux ou amis du pays, l’essentiel : si la population burundaise reste pauvre, avec tous les problèmes liés à une forte démographie et l’exiguïté des terres, le pays aura toujours et encore des violences cycliques. La crise burundaise renvoie à des frustrations économiques, sociales et politiques profondes : les jeunes qui ont fourni l’essentiel des contingents de manifestants sont les jeunes chômeurs, les travailleurs précaires, les jeunes ruraux désœuvrés en quête d’espoir en ville, mais aussi la majorité des étudiants qui rejettent tous un ordre politique et social qui les condamne durablement à la misère et au chômage, à un avenir sans perspective. Ils dénoncent un pouvoir incapable de répondre à leurs aspirations économiques et sociales. Cette impuissance n’est pas propre à ce régime.
In ten years, Burundi will have more than 8 million job-seekers out of more than 13 million inhabitants. The solution to the 2015 crisis must not make us forget all of the social and political players, local or allies. The crux of the matter is that if the Burundian population remains poor, with all of the problems that come with a large population and a small territory, the country will always have violent cycles. The Burundian crisis renews economic, social, and profound political frustrations. The youth who comprise the core contingents of the demonstrators are the unemployed, those with insecure employment, the idle rural youths looking for city life, and the majority of students who reject all political and social order that condemns them to long-term misery, unemployment, and a future without prospect. They denounce a power incapable of responding to their economic and social aspirations. This helplessness is not specific to this regime.

author: Rakotomalala


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Where’s the Outrage Over Mass Rape in War-Torn South Sudan? · Global Voices
Ayo Awokoya

South Sudanese women dancing to celebrate their country's first independence anniversary on July 9, 2012. Photo by Reporter#34145. Copyright © Demotix.
In recent mouths, numerous reports have confirmed the staggering level of mass rape in South Sudan, Africa's newest nation.
The United Nations, for example, accuses the South Sudanese army of gang rape and torture, including burning girls alive.
The African Union report on South Sudan's war, which was published last month,  contains details of old and young women who were gang raped and left bleeding and unconscious. The African Union has called for the establishment of a court to prosecute those responsible for gross human rights abuses.
The South Sudanese Civil War is a war between government soldiers supporting President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and rebels supporting former Vice President Riek Machar, a Nuer. The war began on 15 December, 2013 after President Kiir fired Machar.
The brutal sexual attacks are not indiscriminate. Rape is being used as a weapon of war in the country. Regional leaders and the international community are accused of inaction as women continue to suffer.
Under the UN, mass rape is a crime against humanity. In 2008 the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1820, which noted that “rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity or a constitutive act with respect to genocide”.
In spite of the UN resolution, no state has ever been held accountable for using sexual violence as a weapon of war. And the situation in South Sudan is no exception. In face of a growing outcry for humanitarian intervention, the international community remains mostly silent on the atrocities caused by sexual violence.
According to a report by Amnesty International, women's bodies have become part of the terrain of conflict worldwide. It says that rape and sexual abuse are not just a by-product of war but are used as a deliberate military strategy.
Discussing the issue on Twitter, Hannah McNeish, a freelance journalist in East and Central Africa, asked:
Why do we hear so little about sexual violence in #SouthSudan when UN rep says worst seen in 30yrs, rape victims >2? https://t.co/oXMGFJyN35
— Hannah McNeish (@HannahMcNeish) October 14, 2015
Hal Dockins, a trial lawyer, pointed out:
Oil everywhere but starvation, rape, and cruelty are the reality in South Sudan. Politics and greed.
— Hal Dockins (@HalDockins) November 1, 2015
“Mr Happiness” blamed the United Nations for doing nothing:
@secgen Shame on united nation allow suffering around the world South Sudan rape and genocide is taking place united nation is toothless
— mrhappiness321 (@mrhappiness321) November 1, 2015
Responding to a tweet by David Milliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Hannah McNeish wondered why South Sudan's case does not receive much attention as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):
@DMiliband Many charities delivering aid in #SouthSudan but only @theIRC dealing with rape cases in Unity. Why so little noise, unlike #DRC?
— Hannah McNeish (@HannahMcNeish) October 14, 2015
There is an argument that countries such as South Sudan enjoy a high level of impunity when it comes to sexual violence because of the lack of gender balance in the world of foreign policy making:
The troubling lack of women in the world of foreign-policy making and media. http://t.co/3BBnGl8JBd pic.twitter.com/zmI7MBcUUl
— David Takaki (@Truth2Pwer) October 1, 2015
The majority of the victims of this weaponization of rape are women and girls, but the international community has disregarded rape as posing no threat to regional security. The distinction between issues of security and the boundaries of gender has long been held in place by states and international law. While issues of chemical and biological weapons or acts of extremist violence are under close scrutiny by the international community, rape is regulated to work of NGOs and women support groups.
This points to the need of greater representation within the top tiers of the international community. If the UN and the rest of the world do not acknowledge the right of these victims, those in South Sudan and beyond, this culture of impunity will continue to perpetuate.

author: Ayo Awokoya


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A New Hashtag Battles the Hatred Between India and Pakistan With Love · Global Voices
Rezwan

Image courtesy Twitter account of Ram Subramanian
The relations between India and Pakistan are complex, traditionally characterized by rivalry and suspicion. However, every now and then you hear of initiatives to rekindle good relations at the personal level.
Recently, the hashtag #ProfileForPeace has trended both in India and Pakistan, where ordinary Indians and Pakistanis confront the hate with love.
The campaign was initiated by a tweet from Mumbai resident Ram Subramanian and has since gone viral:
#ProfileForPeace enough of banning Pakistani artists. Enough hate politics. Make a similar profile picture. #SpeakUp pic.twitter.com/xuUFoMuJEl
— Ram Subramanian (@TweetOfRam) October 22, 2015
Indian blogger Supriyo Chaudhuri described how Indians view Pakistan:
We share a long border, similar food and culture. Pakistanis use a language, Urdu, which originated in an Indian court, Lucknow, and our histories were identical up to 1947. Indians have a strange feeling about Pakistan – most of us believe that we should drive all our Muslim citizens out of India and into Pakistan, and also that we should conquer Pakistan and undo the partition.
Because of Pakistan, India has a seize within. We remain a country in fear. We always see the world conspiring against us.
In 1947, India was partitioned by its British rulers into the Dominion of Pakistan (later Islamic Republic of Pakistan and People's Republic of Bangladesh) and the Union of India (later Republic of India) primarily along religious lines as an answer to tensions between the Hindu and Muslim communities. The partition forced people on both sides to migrate, and in some places riots and violence erupted. The trauma still looms large over today's India and Pakistan, and the relationship between the two remains delicate.
Maria Syed, a PhD scholar at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University, talked about the war of words between the two countries in a piece for the Asia and the Pacific Policy Society:
Inflammatory statements from both sides have added fuel to the fire. India’s public pronouncements have highlighted its desire to push around its neighbour while Pakistan has responded by reminding the former of its nuclear credentials. A mutual blame game and finger-pointing exercise goes on unabatedly as neither side admits to provoking aggression on the border.
Subramanian said in an interview with Times of India about the impetus of such campaign:
It had been brewing in my head ever since I heard of a series of bans and attacks. Most of us common blokes don't feel such hate nor want these fights. And when you close the doors to art you open up a door for dark and unwanted things to come in.
And people from India and Pakistan chimed in:
A small msg from my students @dilipkpandey #ProfileForPeace pic.twitter.com/N2X06Jb04D
— swati sachdeva (@swati_aap) October 25, 2015
I don't hate Pakistan and there are many more like me! #ProfileForPeace pic.twitter.com/BE5QM62SgY
— Karan Bhatia (@sonofsardar4) October 29, 2015
Happy Diwali💞💞💞I'm a Pakistani and i don't hate India, I'm not alone there are more like me.. #profileforpeace #HappyDiwali
— #ProfileForPeace (@ARKspeaks) November 11, 2015
I am Beebagr Baloch, Iam Baloch, I hate Pakistan and Don't hate India. #ProfileForPeace #Balochistan pic.twitter.com/KkxPKqmwh6
— Beebagr Baloch (@Beebagr_Baluch) October 27, 2015
The sweetest photo of them all for #profileforpeace pic.twitter.com/9SyjGaUxij
— Rehan Allahwala (@RehanAllawala) November 1, 2015
I don't hate Indians. I hate war. #ProfileForPeace pic.twitter.com/Wt836GDtWX
— Muhammad Bilal (@Mohammadbilaaal) October 31, 2015
I am a Pakistani. I do not hate Indians. I am not alone, there are many people like me #profileforpeace #indianflag pic.twitter.com/gyPMhVd5va
— Sheraz Khan (@SHERAZPYO) October 31, 2015
Participants had high hopes for love and reconciliation:
Let us learn to support good causes for a positive outcome. Instead of just indulging in rivalry. #ProfileForPeace
— ashish shelar (@ShelarAshish) November 10, 2015
#ProfileForPeace initiative is a major defeat for Pakistani, Indian media and right wing forces on both sides of the border
— stilla dimpi (@StillaDimpi) October 30, 2015
Hundreds & thousands of tweets frm across d globe, every hour proves there is more #Love on our planet, go for it! pic.twitter.com/oc7byF0xsl
— #ProfileForPeace (@ProfileForPeace) October 25, 2015
According to Twitter analytics site Topsy, more than 12,000 tweets were sent using the hashtag. That's not much, considering the number of Twitter users in both the countries, but it is a start.
In this YouTube video, Subramanian speaks about this campaign:
A commenter on an article in Pakistani news site Dawn about the hashtag wished that those in power would listen:
Does it make difference to the hawks out there…No… people and place don't hate until told to do so and the hawks know the job….
Economically and socially Pakistan for sure and India may as well cannot afford a short or long war… not in the budget,..
Hope sanity prevails.
Amjad Surhio commented:
I love the peace campaign…. But I hate the politics of hate from both side… But it is commendable initiative taken by the civil society of both countries. Let peace be spread everywhere…Long Live Peace…Long live peace lover of both countries….
And despite many initiatives like this before, success seems to be momentary as new rivalries at the political or personal level start again:
So where are the #ProfileForPeace campaigners? Pakistan army killed 2 Indian army jawans @gloryatanycost @amit_karia99 @g_maurya @vcky4u
— Sumit Roy (@SumitRoys) November 3, 2015
India is trending #BJPGoToPakistan Pak is trending #BJPStayInIndia Is this the next level of #ProfileForPeace? pic.twitter.com/6gzCpdX6EK
— Ankit Lal (@ankitlal) November 5, 2015
I'm a Pakistani I don't want my celebs to work in India I'm not alone there are many people like me #ProfileForPeace
— ⭐ (@creation_lush) November 5, 2015

author: Rezwan


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Calls to Sack New Zealand House Speaker Over Sexual Assaults Fiasco · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

New Zealand Speaker David Carter ejects female members of Parliament. Screenshot from TV NZ.
The speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, David Carter, sparked outcry after he ejected several female members of Parliament who had been trying to disclose that they were victims of sexual assaults.
The clash followed Prime Minster John Key's attack on opposition members for “backing the rapists” over the controversial detention of New Zealand citizens in Australia. They are waiting on appeals against their deportation, which applies to those who have had gaol terms of more than one year.
The prime minister insisted that majority of New Zealand citizens detained in Australia were convicted for murder and rape.
Some female members of Parliament felt offended by the remarks of the prime minister and demanded an apology from the leader. Some came forward to testify that they were victims of sexual violence but they were stopped by the speaker.
If you wonder why sexual assault victims don’t speak up, just note how Speaker Carter dismissed those who did https://t.co/MwsiciB1XW
— Philip Fierlinger (@skyrize) November 11, 2015
Paul Williams expressed feelings that were being shared widely under the Twitter hashtag #SacktheSpeaker:
Disgusted with our government right now https://t.co/aejQLA4Q6h #sackthespeaker
— Paul Williams (@paulwilliamsnz) November 11, 2015
Many have been concerned that the issue of sexual assault has been diminished by its use for political point scoring:
Trivalising rape is easy, coming forward is hundreds times harder #SackTheSpeaker #HoldKeyAccountable
— rediscoveringcabot (@anderson_rosie) November 11, 2015
Eleni Grace agreed, sharing a Greens Party video of the attempted disclosures in parliament.
Rape is not something to be trivialised #1in4 women @JohnKeyPM you seem to need the reminder #sackthespeaker https://t.co/Ya8QBqHBa1
— Eleni Grace (@this_isnt_eleni) November 11, 2015
Speaker David Carter has had his supporters with some questioning the integrity of those expressing outrage over the incident:
Tired of faux outrage, members heckling other members on the way to Parliament, and grandstanding by throwing tantrums and walking out #nzqt
— James Halcrow (@JimmyHalcrow) November 11, 2015
Allan Buxton did not pull any punches in his criticism:
Those MP's who just made those points of order to get thrown out are nothing but scum. #NZQT. I know that sounds harsh but it's a fact IMHO
— Allan Buxton (@RamjamNZ) November 11, 2015
To judge by the handle, ArrestJK is no friend of Prime Minister Key and would like to see another form of democracy applied:
Now that #nzqt seems to be the top rating reality show, can we start to vote people off it? John Key or David carter tough choice #nzpol
— ArrestJK (@ArrestJK) November 12, 2015
Matthew Codd suggested an even more creative solution:
Launch John Key and David Carter into the sun.
— Matthew Codd (@MC_Odd) November 12, 2015
Anyway, it is a fair bet that the New Zealand speaker does not top the national Twitter trends very often:
David Carter is now trending TOP in NewZealand. Visit https://t.co/MSDhFJQIZV for Top videos in your area pic.twitter.com/zwMMbKcfkH
— Trendsinnewzealand (@newzealandtrenz) November 11, 2015

author: Kevin Rennie


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#FreeBassel: Death Sentence Rumored for Syrian Web Developer · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

Bassel Khartabil. Photo by Joi Ito via Wikimedia (CC BY 2.0)
Rumors are circulating that imprisoned Syrian-Palestinian software engineer Bassel Khartabil, also known as Bassel Safadi, has been secretly sentenced to death by the Syrian government.
The open-source software developer and blogger has been in prison in Syria since March 2012. In October 2015, Bassel was transferred from Adra prison to an undisclosed location. At that time, his wife, Noura Ghazi, reported that “military police took Bassel from his cell in Adra with a ‘top secret’ sealed order from the Military Field Court.”
On November 12, 2015, Ghazi reported that she was contacted by people who identified themselves as insiders in the Assad government who informed her of the alleged sentencing. Ghazi wrote on Facebook:
إجاني خبر صاعق انو باسل محكوم اعدام وهاد بيعني انو نقلو عالشرطة العسكرية كتير خطير … ما بعرف شي غير هيك وما بعرف اذا تنفذ شي بحقو … يارب نقدر نساعد باسل … يا رب ما يكون فات الاوان عالمحاولات …. كتير خايفين على حياة باسل
I've just gotten disturbing and shocking news that Bassel has been sentenced to death. I think this means that the transfer to military prison was very dangerous. I really don't know other news. May God help him, we hope it's not too late. We are worried sick about his life.
While these rumors are difficult to confirm, Bassel's whereabouts still remain unknown. Supporters are urging foreign governments and the UN to take action and demand that Syrian authorities inform Bassel's family of his whereabouts and give him clemency.
At the UN-sponsored Internet Governance Forum in João Pessoa this week, supporters circulated a statement that read:
Bassel's detention is arbitrary and in violation of international human rights law. The refusal of the authorities to reveal his whereabouts is an enforced disappearance. His prosecution do not meet the standards of a fair trial. Bassel can and should be unconditionally released to the care of his family.
Bassel was arrested on March 15, 2012, on the first anniversary of the start of the Syrian revolution. He was interrogated and tortured for five days by Military Branch 215. He was then transferred to the Interrogation Division Branch 248 and detained incommunicado for nine months. On December 9, 2012, Khartabil was brought before a military prosecutor without an attorney present, and charged with “spying for an enemy State”. He was then sent to the Adra Prison in Damascus, where he was held until recently.

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


text:
On French TV, Iran’s President Plays Down Women’s Facebook Protest Against Hijab · Global Voices
Mahsa Alimardani

President Hassan Rouhani was confronted with this picture from the “My Stealthy Freedom” Facebook page during an interview with French journalists.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's trip to France has garnered much attention this week, not the least because of the “no wine at dinner” debacle that became a controversy overshadowing the first European trip by an Iranian president in over decade. Now, it's because of his reactions to a photo from the “My Stealthy Freedom” Facebook page.
The Facebook page features Iranian women shedding their headscarves in public in Iran in protest against the country's mandatory hijab laws. The public clothing framework enforcing hijab under Islamic codes have been part of Iran's laws since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Rouhani's trip to France has come amidst hopes that the French and Iranian heads of state will discuss important matters such as the nuclear deal signed in Vienna last July as well as the Syrian conflict. Indeed, this trip has marked an important milestone in Iran's diplomacy and cooperation with the West. However, the popular moderate president's reactions on questions regarding mandatory hijab have elicited many reactions, especially from Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist now based in New York. Alinejad is the creator behind the Facebook page that has come to be described as a new social movement for women's rights in Iran.
French journalist David Pujadas presented Rouhani with a photo of a woman shedding her headscarf in Iran from the Facebook page.
French journalist David Pujadas shows Rouhani a picture of an Iranian women from the mandatory hijab protest page “My Stealthy Freedom.” Screenshot of interview.
The president was asked if he was shocked or offended by the image, to which he responded in Farsi:
What an issue! We have so many issues so we don't have time for these things. Everyone in Iran is free in their own private lives to do as they please. But when someone lives in Iran, they should abide by the laws of the country…
In every country there are rules for society. There are a number of rules for men and women on dress code and I am responsible for obeying the laws…
The laws are made in parliament and it is the lawmakers in the parliament who approve the laws and all the people must respect the law…
On her personal Facebook page, Alinejad gave her impressions of the president's answer to the photo:
عکس یک زن ایرانی از صفحه آزادی های یواشکی جلوی صورت روحانی بالا می رود در دفتر خود رییس جمهور در ایران
خنده های کمی عصبی آقای روحانی با دیدن عکس جالب است که سریع می گوید چه مسئله ایه این ….ما انقدر مسائل مهمتر داریم که اصلا به اینها نمی رسیم…..
بلاخره سوال زنانِ صفحه آزادی یواشکی به گوش مسولان ایران هم رسید.
کاش خودم می توانستم پرسشم را بپرسم و نه یک خبرنگار غیر ایرانی ولی واقعا خوشحالم که تونستم یک سوالِ همیشه سانسور شده را از طریق صفحه آزادی های زنان به گوش کسی برسانم که خودش بر اساس آنچه در کتاب خاطراتش نوشته یکی از مجریان طرح اجباری شدن حجاب در ادارات بوده در همان اوائل انقلاب ولی حالا می گوید قانونگذاری وظیفه مجلس ایران است و خبرنگار از او نمی پرسد که مسولیت دولت چیست؟
……..
شما می گویید من به عنوان یک حقوقدان می گویم مردم باید به قانون کشور احترام بگذارم حالا هر قانونی که می خواهد باشد؟ آقای روحانی یعنی به هر قانونی باید احترام گذاشت؟ یعنی الان شما و کابینه تان به قوانین فیلترینگ شبکه های اجتماعی احترام می گذارید؟ یعنی اگر قوانینی تصویب شود که همسرتان و یا زنان ایران را وادار کند حجابشان را در نشست های بین المللی بردارند آیا به آن قوانین احترام می گذارید یا اعتراض می کنید؟
مهمتر از همه شما در مورد اجرایی شدن قوانین مربوط به اجباری شدن حجاب بر اساس نوشته های خودتان، مسول هستید و الان که در قدرت هستید باید پاسخگو باشید، صدای زنانی که در شبکه های اجتماعی عکس بدون حجاب منتشر می کنند را شنیدید و می گویید اصلا مسئله مهمی نیست ولی ما یک گام به جلو رفتیم و این سوال را انقدر می پرسیم تا دیگر کسی نگوید قانون قانون است و بس چون هیچ قانونی مقدس نیست و باید به قانون بد اعتراض کرد.
The photo of an Iranian woman from the “My Stealthy Freedom” page in front of the face of Rouhani will now be recorded in the office of the president of Iran.
The nervous laughter from Mr. Rouhani when confronted with the photo is interesting when he quickly responds by saying, “What an issue! We have so many issues so we don't have time for these things…”
And so the question of the women of the “My Stealthy Freedom” page has reached the ears of the powers to be.
I just wish I could have asked this question and not a non-Iranian journalist, but I really am happy that this question, which is typically censored, was brought using the “My Stealthy Freedom” page to the ear of a person who, according to his own memoirs, was the architect of the mandatory hijab policy early on in the revolution. But now he says the task of legislation on this topic is the responsibility of the Iranian parliament, and the journalist does not press him on what exactly is the responsibility of his government?
[…]
You say as a man of the law that the people must abide by the laws of the country so these can just be any laws? Mr. Rouhani, you mean we must respect all the laws. You mean now that you and your cabinet are respecting the filtering laws of social networks? You mean if a law comes into place that will force your wife or Iranian women to remove their headscarves in international meetings you will respect this law or you will protest it?
Most important of all is that the creation of the law that made hijab mandatory in Iran is in part due to your own writings. You are responsible and now that you are in power you must be accountable. You have heard the voices of women who on these social networks have published their photos without hijab and you say that this is not an important problem at all, but we will go one step further and we will ask this question so many times that no one will dare to say that a law is a law because no law is sacred and one must protest bad laws.

author: Mahsa Alimardani


text:
Thousands March Against Gender Violence in Spain · Global Voices
Elena Arrontes

A widely circulated poster for the 7N march.
Last weekend, people once again flooded the streets of downtown Madrid, this time to demonstrate against gender violence. In an event dubbed “7N” (an allusion to the date of the protest, November 7), roughly 20,000-30,000 people from all over Spain came together and occupied central Madrid to denounce gender violence and demand that the government treat the issue as a greater priority. Despite existing Spanish laws against domestic violence, various organizations, like Doctors of the World, consider the state's current enforcement measures to be insufficient.
The so-called “state march” turned into an unprecedented feminist demonstration, organized by over 400 groups composed of people from all over the country and representatives of most of Spain's political parties.
Demonstrators’ main message addressed the country's political parties, demanding urgent action against murders resulting from patriarchal violence (“violencia machista”). This wave of violence has included the abuse of partners, children, and transgender individuals, and is estimated to have claimed the lives of more than 1,300 people in Spain in the past 20 years, according to protesters. In 2015 alone, there have been more than 80 crimes of this nature—41 of which were committed against women by their partners or ex-partners, according to feminicidio.net, a website that provides visibility and collects data on patriarchal violence in Spain. In a message to readers, Feminicidio stressed the preserve the memory of those who have been murdered:
Desde que empezamos a documentar los asesinatos de mujeres en el 2010 hasta ahora, hemos registrado 648 casos. En nuestra base de datos, Geofeminicidio (la máquina de la memoria), el feminicidio es un relato ausente de vidas inacabadas de mujeres. Detrás de los datos, hay un trabajo de preservación de la memoria histórica de las mujeres asesinadas por violencia de género. Un deseo de no olvidar, un duelo silencioso puesto en común. Participamos de la marcha del 7N convencidas de que no podemos claudicar a la utopía de erradicar el feminicidio y las violencias machistas.
Since we began documenting the murders of women in 2010, we have registered 648 cases. In our database, Geofeminicidio (the machine of memory), feminicide is a story absent from the unfinished lives of women. Behind the data, there's the need to preserve the memory of the women murdered by gender violence. A wish to not forget, a silent duel brought together. We participate in the 7N march, convinced that we cannot give up the utopia of eradicating feminicide and domestic violence.
With hashtags like #TerrorismoMachista (Sexist Terrorism), #CuestiónEstado (State Matter), #PactoEstado (State Pact), #NosFaltanTodas (We Need Them All), #NiUnaMenos (Not One Less), #7Noviembre (November 7), and #MarchaContraViolenciasMachistas (March Against Patriarchal Violence), the demonstrations moved from the streets to social networks. Notably absent on the day of the mass demonstration in Madrid was the ruling party, the People's Party (Partido Popular), which previously opposed the march.
Ahora Madrid, the citizen collective now in charge of Madrid's city council, pointed it out with the following tweet:
Menos el @ppmadrid, el resto de grupos recibe a las organizadoras del #7N. #YoVoy7N pic.twitter.com/9jHb9mEBvZ
— Ahora Madrid (@AhoraMadrid) noviembre 6, 2015
Aside from the People's Party, the rest of the groups welcome the #7N organizers.
Below is a video of the march by the newspaper Diagonal:
Support for the demonstrators has been wide, so far, and the media covered the protest extensively. Not everyone was pleased with that coverage, however, and some people vented their frustration on Twitter. For example, @fanetin criticizes overuse of the word “allegedly” in news reports about the harm committed against victims of domestic violence:
Mensaje a lxs periodistas del ‘murió presuntamente’. Tomad nota o seréis cómplices p/ v @fanetin #7NFeminista pic.twitter.com/haVcwdQo25 — peoplewitness (@PeopleWitness) noviembre 7, 2015
Message to the “allegedly died” journalists: Take note or be complicit.
Molaría que hoy los medios dejaran de enfocar las noticias en que ellas denuncien, en vez de en que ellos no maltraten. #7NFeminista
— HIβΑΙ (@Hibai_) noviembre 7, 2015
It'd be great if today the media stopped focusing the news on women denouncing [the violence], and instead focused on men not inflicting it.
Muchos eufemismos al escribir sobre los ASESINATOS machistas a mujeres, la misma tibieza para (no) llevar en portada el #7N — Belén M. Iglesias (@belen_iglesias) noviembre 8, 2015
Many euphemisms when writing about MURDERS resulting from domestic violence against women, the same indifference to (not) having #7N on the front page
Even at a moment like this, when feminists can take pride in the broad support displayed for the protest against patriarchal violence, the mood is hardly celebratory. Just 72 hours after the 7N rally, four cases of suspected domestic violence were reported across Spain. Sadly, the threat of such violence remains as present as ever.

author: Elena Arrontes


text:
Unearthing Local Stories on the Russian-Language Internet · Global Voices
Aric Toler

Digging for Buk missile systems. Original photo by Mark Robinson. May 1, 2014. CC 2.0. Edited by Kevin Rothrock.
This article is part of a larger guidebook by RuNet Echo to help people learn how to conduct open-source research on the Russian Internet. Explore the complete guidebook at the special project page.
While a lot of open-source research on the RuNet is possible thanks to broad searches on Google, Vkontakte, Twitter, and other websites, sometimes it’s best to drill down to the narrowest sources available. This guide will instruct you on how to find local online communities on the Russian-language Internet. Oftentimes, eyewitness accounts, photographs, and videos that spread virally on the Internet originate in small, relatively unknown communities.
Contents
How do small groups make big waves on the Internet and in the media? Consider an example from September 2015, when a local online community for the Russian city of Novocherkassk garnered international attention after someone shared a photograph of a child being walked like a dog.
As we read the story, we see that the post was made in the “Overheard in Novocherkassk” group on the Russian social network Vkontakte:
Content that resonates online widely sometimes originates on such websites, and we as researchers can verify photographs and videos by tracking down the original source, or by investigating other claims through these pages.
For nearly every Russian and Ukrainian city and region, there is a local group on Vkontakte for residents to swap stories and chat. The two most popular groups are called “Подслушано в …” (“Overheard in…”) and “Типичный …” (“A Typical Day in…”). In the latter case, the word “typical” (типичный) may change endings to “типичная” or “типичное“, depending on the gender of the locality's name. A Google search, however, yields results for all spellings, regardless of the grammatical ending to the word in the community's name. Additionally, if these two methods do not produce useful results, you may try searching for the word “public” using the phrase: “паблик” + [city name].
Internet users primarily use these groups to chat with other locals or to find services available in town. Common queries you'll find in these communities are “Who can give me a ride to a neighboring town?” and “Does anyone know a good place to get my cell phone fixed?”
When news breaks in certain localities, however, these groups can transform into platforms for heated discussions. When war came to eastern Ukraine, some Vkontakte communities became digital spaces to talk about the conflict from local points of view. The topics in these groups include talk of troop movements, checking in on the safety of residents in certain apartment buildings, and sharing photographs and videos of the scenes from the conflict.
As you would imagine, these local groups can offer unique access to open-source information in the form of eyewitnesses and local reports. However, there are challenges, as these groups’ administrators often have strong political allegiances, particularly in conflict scenarios. In eastern Ukraine, for instance, many of the Vkontakte groups’ administrators sympathize with the pro-Russian separatists, leading to either outright censorship or self-censorship from locals who post in these groups.
You can find these local groups by searching the Internet for the words “Подслушано в” or “Типичный,” plus a city or region name. Providing the correct grammatical case of the word is not important, as websites like Google can bring relevant results for both “в Донецк” (to Donetsk) and “в Донецке” (in Donetsk), even if one is used incorrectly. The search results for “Подслушано в Донецке” reveal numerous groups, including mirrors for these communities hosted on LiveJournal and Ask.fm (where user-submitted questions are posted), as well as the addresses of the Vkontakte groups.
When you visit some groups, often there are thousands of posts, making it very difficult to find content published several months earlier. Thankfully, there is a quick way to find posts that are archived. First, click the link that lists how many posts there are in the group (see the red box below).
Scroll through a few pages of the group (see the new red box below), and notice the number next to “offset=” in the URL (highlighted in blue below). This number indicates the posts being displayed, with “1” being the most recent. There are 3,670 posts in the group displayed below, as indicated in the screenshot above, so we can determine the the chronology of posts based on that number. If you replace the number (120 below) with a larger number, you will be able to quickly navigate through old posts. It could take a while, but after entering a few numbers, you can find the correct period of time. For example, if you replace the number 120 above with 1680, then posts from July 17 and 18, 2014, will appear.
When Bellingcat [note to readers: the author of this guidebook is a contributor to Bellingcat] conducted research into the anti-aircraft system that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the “Подслушано в Торезе” (Overheard in Torez) group provided essential information. Eyewitness reports of a military convoy moving through the cities of Torez and Snizhne were posted in this group on July 17, shortly before MH17 was shot down.
The screenshot above captures correspondence between two Vkontakte accounts that apprently belong to residents of Snizhne and Torez. They discuss how three tanks without flags passed through Snizhne at 1:14 p.m. (local time)—almost exactly three hours before MH17 was shot down near Snizhne. According to Ukrainian security services, a convoy of three tanks and two BTRs escorted the Buk system through Snizhne on July 17. Thus, we can use local communities to find eye witnesses who can verify—or refute—the official accounts of government officials.
Vkontakte is not the only online forum for local communities; there are several popular social networks and message boards for neighbors to meet and talk.
Many Russian Internet users turn to Odnoklassniki to organize discussion groups almost as often as thye use Vkontakte. With a simple Google search, you can find nearly every one of these groups without much trouble. Here is a search string that will identify numerous local groups on Odnoklassniki dedicated to the Russian city of Novosibirsk:
In some communities, public message boards and forums are still popular, though they are not nearly as widely used as groups on Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki. To find these less common communities, search the city name along with keywords that include the word “форум” (forum). In the search below, two unique message boards and two Vkontakte groups reveal the so-called “Kharkov Forum” (Харьков форум). The first result, Kharkov Forum, has hosted millions of messages over the past several years, addressing topics including politics, sports, and help for soldiers and wounded civilians in the war, and included local chatter about road conditions.
Additionally, in local communities, outside of the large public groups, there are often improvised communities set up during emergencies, designed to coordinate relief efforts. For example, during the devastating wildfires that swept across Siberia in April 2015, the “Volunteer Wildfire Firefighters of Zabaikalye” public Vkontakte group organized response efforts and distributed useful information to locals about avoiding the approaching forest fires. Additionally, locals wrote in this group to disseminate information and to organize volunteer and humanitarian efforts.
***
Researching the RuNet by broadly searching Google, Twitter, and Vkontakte searches can only get you so far. To get through to a more specific, localized stratum of information, you must be able to locate and navigate the groups described above. While much of the open-source research concerning Russia and Ukraine over the past 18 months has focused on the Ukrainian conflict, there are still seemingly endless pools of information on local networks for nearly any other topic of research, from wildfires to local oddities.

author: Aric Toler


text:
As UN Climate Talks Approach, a Look at What’s Changed Since Copenhagen · Global Voices
Ensia

Climate change march at the Vatican on June 28, 2015. Photo by Flickr user EcoSikh. CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0
This post by Fiona Harvey was originally published on Ensia.com, a magazine that highlights international environmental solutions in action. It is republished on Global Voices in two parts with permission. Read part one below.
This year will mark the most important negotiations on climate change since the 15th gathering of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change talks in Copenhagen in 2009 (COP 15). Those talks ended up with progress on several crucial fronts, such as getting developed and developing countries to jointly agree on emissions targets for the first time, but were marred by scenes of chaos in the final hours and bitter recriminations among governments.
No one wants to repeat the experience of Copenhagen — least of all the French government, which, as host to this year’s gathering, is determined to wring commitments from governments well in advance of the start of the talks in order to be sure of getting a deal.
The world has changed markedly since 2009, with key developments in science, geopolitical shifts and a new focus on climate change that all put this year’s crunch conference in a far different context from the last one. As we prepare for COP 21 in Paris beginning November 30, it’s worth examining some of the most important of these changes and considering how those differences might influence the tenor of the talks and, ultimately, the outcome.
First is the expansion of our scientific knowledge. Thanks to ongoing work from thousands of researchers around the world, we now know even more than we did in 2009 about the workings of climate change, its probable future impacts and what we need to do to avoid the most damaging consequences.
That is the good news. The bad news is that the warnings from leading scientists are growing ever more urgent.
As ice melts, the liquid water collects in depressions on the surface and deepens them, forming melt ponds. Photo by Flickr user NASA Goddard Flight Center. CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0
The most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the body of the world’s leading climate scientists, was published in three parts in 2013 and 2014. The findings strengthened the science reported in 2007, with an elevated certainty — now 95 percent — that warming has a human cause and included refinements on projections for changes in sea level, ice melt, upper atmosphere warming and other parameters.
Two things stood out above the other findings: an examination of the so-called “pause” in global warming, so much talked about in recent years; and estimates of the world’s “carbon budget,” or the amount of greenhouse gas that can safely be released into the atmosphere if the limit of 2 °C (3.6 °F) over preindustrial levels — beyond which scientists estimate that aspects of climate change are likely to become catastrophic and irreversible — is not to be exceeded.
On the “pause,” the IPCC warned that there was still too little data to decide the cause of the slight slowdown in the upward march of global temperatures in the past 10 to 15 years. Periods of slower rise in temperatures are to be expected because of natural variations, it noted, and there may be other causes.
New science on the pause has come forward that was not in time to be included in the IPCC report. This includes studies showing that a likely cause is the increased absorption of heat by the oceans. Further studies will undoubtedly follow: This year’s temperatures are once again breaking records, indicating the pause may be ending.
The IPCC’s estimate of a carbon budget found that about half of the carbon that we can emit and stay within 2 °C has already been released into the atmosphere. This is crucial because, for the first time, it gives a clear idea of what we can safely do in producing further emissions. On current trends, we would use up the remaining budget in about three decades.
In the context of the COP talks, carbon budgets are highly controversial because they suggest that the atmosphere could be “carved up” into finite portions of carbon emissions that could be allocated to rich and poor nations. That issue is fraught with notions of equity that will be impossible to resolve before Paris, and perhaps ever. However, even if policy-makers refuse to be bound to considerations of a carbon budget, the issue — and the IPCC’s calculation — will loom over the talks.
At the same time scientific warnings on the need to make urgent cuts in emissions have intensified, global emissions have continued to rise in most of the intervening years. The International Energy Agency reported a small fall in emissions from energy in 2009, after the financial crisis. Afterward, the upward trend resumed until 2013, when falling coal use in China resulted in a stalling of emissions growth. It remains to be seen whether this was a temporary blip or a more concerted “decoupling” of carbon from economic growth.
A solar energy installation in Germany. Photo by Flickr user Windwärts Energie. CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0
Another important emissions milestone was reached recently: China’s per capita carbon emissions exceeded those of Europe for the first time. Per capita emissions are important because many in the developing world regard them as a fairer measure than gross aggregate emissions, so for China to join the rich club in this respect marks yet further divergence of its interests from many smaller developing countries.
While emissions have risen since Copenhagen, technology has also advanced. Renewable energy sources have come down rapidly in price, to make wind and solar, at least in the most favorable cases, competitive with fossil fuel electricity generation. The widespread use of fracking in the U.S. has meant the world’s second biggest emitter is on track to reducing the intensity of its emissions from energy use. However, the rise of fracking should be viewed with caution: Poorly managed fracking facilities can leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas; and shale oil, to which many frackers are turning, is much more emissions-intensive than shale gas. Meanwhile, on a separate energy front, the turning away from nuclear energy in Japan and Germany after the 2011 Fukushima incident is raising concerns that these countries will be forced to use more fossil fuels, chiefly coal. The full implications of this have yet to be seen.
Read part two of this post: How Popular Perceptions of Climate Change Have Changed Since the Copenhagen Talks.

author: Ensia


text:
Activists in Turkey Try to Keep #SilvanUnderAttack in the Media After the Paris Attacks · Global Voices
Ece Basay

Berlin, Germany. 12th November 2015 — A woman gives a speech behind a banner remembering Silvan. — Dozens Kurds and Yazidi rally at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to condemn Turkish attacks on and the siege of Kurdish Silvan in Turkey. They also remember the fate of the Yazidi in Iraq who are murdered and enslaved by the Islamic State (ISIS) . Demotix photo by Thomas Strasas.  ID: 9039057.
Pro-Kurdish internet users in Turkey are concerned the devastating blasts attributed to ISIS in Paris will undermine international media coverage of what they say is a daily campaign of terror being waged in eastern Turkey by the Turkish state.
For more than ten days before attacks in Paris left over 120 dead and France reeling, the city of Silvan has been under siege as government forces clash with militants from the independence-seeking Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The #SilvanUnderAttack hashtag served as an instrument to mobilize the attentions of mainstream media during this period.
While expressing solidarity with Paris, many Twitter users are now using the hashtag in combination with #ParisUnderAttack to ensure their message is not drowned out in the pick and mix world of social media.
Muhteşem medyamız #ParisUnderAttack doğru malesef Peki ya #SilvanUnderAttack !?
— K@Y@HS¥N (@asabikofte) November 13, 2015
Our magnificent media, #ParisUnderAttack is unfortunately true, what about #SilvanUnderAttack?
Paris saldırısından sonra Türkiye bölgede tamamen yanlızlaştı. Bakalım ne olacak. #ParisUnderAttack #NusaybinUnderAttack #SilvanUnderAttack
— Dino (@halimakin21) November 13, 2015
After the Paris attack, Turkey has become completely alone in the region. Let's see what happens.
Thousands of residents have been forced to flee the city of Silvan in the Diyarbakir region of eastern Turkey amid a drawn-out government operation that has involved warplanes, helicopters and snipers. At least six civilians have been killed, according to the Human RIghts Foundation of Turkey, along with around a dozen militants and three soldiers in the Turkish army since the operation began on November 3.
That is in addition to over a hundred deaths as a result of terror blasts and other government operations since the first of two general elections held by Turkey this year in June.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said the operation in the city with a catchment area of over 130,000 will continue “until not a single terrorist remains.” His government has also denied that the city is facing food, water and electricity shortages as schools and other crucial city infrastructure suffer from the fighting.
Statements from the pro-Kurdish leftist People's Democratic Party (HDP) run contrary to what Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said.
Ertuğrul Kürkçü, one of HDP's parliament members and a member of a delegation that visited Silvan November 12, called the operation “a war on people”:
There is a war being waged on people. People are being punished for rejecting [President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan's regime, withstanding and resisting it.
Unable to re-secure its parliamentary majority in times of relative peace in June, the AKP (Justice and Development) party led by Davutoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wrested back control of Turkey's legislature at the second time of asking with a controversial electoral victory earlier this month.
Campaigning took place against a background of fear and repression of the media as Ankara's decades-old conflict with the PKK was reignited following the July Suruc bombing that claimed 33 lives and was claimed by ISIS.

author: Ece Basay


text:
Old Photos Show How the West Perceived Japan · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Japan circa 1886. Source: Flickr user yves Tennevin, licensed under public domain.
Flickr user yves Tennevin has located and uploaded some fascinating hand-colored photos of Japan from the 19th century, just after the country had opened its doors to the rest of the world.
The photos are all available as part of the public domain, and are assumed to have been taken in Japan in the late 1880s by Italian-born early photographer Adolfo Farsari. Many of his prints are hand-colored, a practice that was fairly common in Japan in the late 19th Century when Farsari traveled there.
Judging by his photos, Farasari traveled far and wide around Japan, and documented almost everything he came across.
Japan circa 1886. Source: Flickr user yves Tennevin, licensed under public domain.
It is fairly obvious that Farsari staged most of his photos. This means that his portrayal of Japan was not always accurate, and may have contributed to the perception the outside world had about the newly opened country, rather than reflecting how Japan perceived itself.
Unfortunately, not all of Farsari's prints feature captions, so it can be difficult to determine where they are taken.
Japan circa 1886. Source: Flickr user yves Tennevin, licensed under public domain.
It is hard to say if this is how Japanese people would have enjoyed a garden, or if it is just the way Farsari asked his subjects to pose for the photo.
Japan circa 1886. Source: Flickr user yves Tennevin, licensed under public domain.
It is possible this photo is of Yokohama. Just thirty years before this photo was taken, Yokohama would have been a quiet fishing village.
Japan circa 1886. Source: Flickr user yves Tennevin, licensed under public domain.
Some of Farsari's travels took him to more remote locations where it was possible to capture what daily life would have been like for people outside of the cities.
Japan circa 1886. Source: Flickr user yves Tennevin, licensed under public domain.
These are likely fishermen, posing for Farsari to show how they launched their boats.
Japan circa 1886. Source: Flickr user yves Tennevin, licensed under public domain.
Many of Farsari's images would be of ubiquitous symbols of Japan.
Japan circa 1886. Source: Flickr user yves Tennevin, licensed under public domain.
A bigger selection of Farsari's photos are available in a variety of places around the web as well. The Nagasaki Library Collection's selection of Farsari's photos includes descriptive captions about where the photographs were taken.
If you like these you may want to check out another old Japan photoset from the same era, taken by Japanese photographer T.Enami.

author: Nevin Thompson


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Tajik Woman Reportedly Killed at Russian Military Base in Tajikistan · Global Voices
Censored Voice

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Wikipedia image.
The purpose of Russia's military base in Tajikistan is to help the weakest country in Central Asia ward off hypothetical incursions from neighbouring Afghanistan. But as Moscow reinforces its presence in the republic of eight million amid the intensification of fighting to the south, the greater threat to Tajikistan's security seems to be the soldiers of the 201st rifle division stationed there.
On the night of November 5, Tajik national Shoira Jabborova was reportedly killed on the territory of the base by Russian military officer Ivan Sherbakov, a senior lieutenant of the 201st division. During the preliminary joint Russian-Tajik investigation Sherbakov reportedly said he could not remember anything because he was so drunk.
A source from the investigative group told local outlet Asia Plus November 12 that the reason for Sherbakov's lethal violence towards Jabborova may have been jealousy and that Jabborova was known by base security as his ‘wife’ despite Sherbakov having a wife of his own in Russia.
The incident comes at a bad time in Tajik society's conflicted relationship with Russia, less than a month after the death of a five-month old child of Tajik migrant workers. Umarali Nazarov died of a reported lung complication having been confiscated by authorities in St-Petersburg from his parents, who were under suspicion of breaking migration law.
It also follows the murders of Tajik taxi drivers by Russian soldiers at the base in 2009 and 2014.
Jabborova's death is top news in Tajikistan, with the comments free-for-all under the independent Asia Plus news agency's Russian language service serving as a platform for debate, bickering and occasional hate speech among users.
Gulomkul, a reader of Asia Plus news agency, wrote:
Мало убивать,насиловать,сажать,издеваться таджиков в России,теперь продолжается убийство дома, на своей земле!
It is not enough that they kill, rape, imprison and make fun of Tajiks in Russia — now the killing continues at home, on our own soil!
A commenter called Human demanded a local court try Sherbakov, rather than allow him to be tried by a Russian military court as the soldiers that killed the two Tajik taxi drivers were.
Блин а, почему народ молчит, это уже какое убийство по счету??? Почувствовали безнаказанность собаки. Если не будет открытого суда и эту свинью не посадят, то нечего говорить о нашей независимости. Мне стыдно за наше правительство!!!
Why are the people silent, how many murders already? These dogs feel impunity. If there is not an open court and this pig is not imprisoned, then you can forget talk of our independence. I am ashamed of our government!
Shortly after the murder Tajikistan's Foreign Minister called in Russia's ambassador to the country and handed him an official note of protest.
The incident carries the risk of causing tension between Tajiks and the country's remaining ethnic Russian minority, who are especially supportive of the base's presence in the country. One vented:
Во-первых что она делала на территории базы в общежитии для вояк.Во-вторых его вина пока не доказана.И в-третьих,русофобы ну хватит уже галдеть одно и тоже.Что таджики не убивают и не насилуют в России?Научитесь вести себя нормально иначе так и останетесь гастербайтерами.У вас родственники друг друга кромсают и жгут,о чем вы говорите? 201-я тут была,есть и будет.Иначе сюда придет ваш Игил и уничтожит тут все.Чем раньше вы поймете,что без России вы никто,тем будет лучше для всех…
Firstly, what was she doing at the hostel of the soldiers? Secondly, his guilt is not proven yet. Thirdly, Russophobes quit clamouring for the same thing all the time. Don't Tajiks kill and rape in Russia? Learn how to behave otherwise you shall remain “gastarbeiter” [a commonly-used term for immigrants]. Your relatives shred and burn each other, what are you talking about? The 201st division was, is, and will be here. Otherwise your ISIS will come and destroy everything. The sooner you realize that you are nobody without Russia, the better for everyone…
Dilshod, in turn, thinks it is time for Tajikistan to bid farewell to the 201st Motor Rifle Division:
Скоро уже эти не до человеки в наши дома будут заходить и убивать всех подряд. У себя они убивают наших младенцев и обвиняют их родных родителей, в своей 201 базе устроили притон тут где насилуют и убивают наших сёстр.
Ну зачем нам тут эти алко-вояки которые только могут убивать не винных женщин и детей у нас, а границу уже десять лет мы сами охраняем и справимся без вас вы лучше свою границу охраняйте от Китая и не лезьте к нам со своими советами. Мы как нибудь сами разберемся со своими проблемами без вас.
Soon these non-people will enter our houses and kill everybody one by one. They kill our babies and blame [the babies’] parents in their homeland, they create a brothel on the 201st division's base where they rape and kill our sisters. Well, then, why do we need these alco-warriors who kill the innocent women and children? We have guarded our borders ourselves for ten years*, and can handle it without you…We can deal with our problems ourselves.
That is unlikely to happen any time soon. Russia's military presence in Tajikistan was extended via a 30-year extension signed between the two countries in 2012. Tajikistan also hosts a Russian Space Control System and the Okno Space Surveillance System. Russian troops guarded the Central Asian state's frontier before local forces reprised that role in 2005.

author: Censored Voice


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The Best of Paris Shines Through During Its Worst of Times · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Adapted peace sign  following the attacks in Paris (initial design by Jean Julien)  – via twitter – Public Domain
On November 13, 2015 mass shootings and suicide bombings took place in the 10th and 11th districts of Paris, as well as in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis.
Three separate explosions blasted near the Stade de France where a football match was taking place between Germany and France, while six mass shootings killed dozens of civilians. The deadliest attack was at the Bataclan theatre where attackers took hostages and killed at least 80 concertgoers. Eight attackers were killed in addition to two suicide bombers.
As of November 14, at least 128 people were reported dead. In addition, more than 300 people were injured during the attacks, including 80 people who were listed as being in serious condition.
French President François Hollande announced a national state of emergency, and  temporarily closed the borders of France, the first time such a decisions was taken since 1961.
This is the worst tragedy to have struck Paris since the Charile Hebdo attacks in January this year.
The city has awakened in a state of dread and fear as police convoys patrol the streets. Many messages of sorrow and solidarity were posted following the attacks, whether on private messaging apps or public forums.
Cellular networks slowed as people tried to confirm the safety of friends and relatives.  Many families were still trying to find out the whereabouts of their loved ones via the hashtag #rechercheparis. Others showed solidarity with victims by posting messages followed by #liberteegalitefraternite:
#LiberteEgaliteFraternite pic.twitter.com/ZbdAXkA19i
— Léa (@KeepCalmImHere) November 14, 2015
For pete's sake, will you just love one another ?
“#LiberteEgaliteFraternite are values shared by all of us.” @BarackObama #PrayForParis pic.twitter.com/uAFmyW6YZb
— Georvin Bugeja (@GeorvinBugeja) November 14, 2015
Others recalled the civic response following the Charlie Hebdo attacks:
This is Beautiful. Remember the aims of a ‘Terrorist’ #LiberteEgaliteFraternite #Pray4Paris #PrayForBetterWorld pic.twitter.com/ZImXaf7zWz
— King Crow (@ChicoBangz_) November 14, 2015
Se soigner. Comprendre. S'organiser. #LiberteEgaliteFraternite #MemePasPeur pic.twitter.com/NTxTyuakdq
— David Jourdan (@davidjourdan) November 14, 2015
“Not even afraid” but we need to heal, understand and get organized.
Despite grief and shock, many Parisians have been praising spontaneous acts of kindness took place during the night of terror. Taxi and Uber drivers reportedly offered free rides to stranded pedestrians, for instance.
As the nature and the location of the attacks became clearer, Parisians took to Twitter to try to help those stuck in the gridlock on the streets via the hashtag #portesouvertes (open doors).
The hashtag was trending during the night of the attacks. Residents provided home addresses to offer temporary shelter:
#porteouverte send me a message for a safe place in canal Saint Martin. Please be safe
— Florian Duretz (@duretzflo) November 13, 2015
Still have 2 places if needed near metro #marcadet (L4 & L12) at 43 rue Ordener #PorteOuverte just answer this msg
— Julien Philippe (@JulienPhilippe_) November 14, 2015
Ordinary French people opening their doors to those affected. #PorteOuverte is a sign that the French spirit is stronger than ever.
— The Ranting Rozzer (@RantingRozzer) November 14, 2015
un Hommage aux Parisien avec leur #PorteOuverte merci à Vous pic.twitter.com/pfsexQu93U
— papounay © (@papounay2000) November 14, 2015
Tribute to Parisians’ spirit during #PorteOuverte. Thank you
Citizens in other cities reciprocated the idea by offering shelters to Parisians who were stranded outside France after its borders were closed.
Any Parisians stuck in the UK, we have room at our home not too far from Heathrow airport #PorteOuverte
— Judi McIndoe (@jpm1108) November 14, 2015
Jerome Kern concluded with an inspiring thought:
In times of adversity, the true character of a community shows through. To those offering #PorteOuverte, you make me proud to be a human.
— Jerome Kern (@jerrykern) November 14, 2015

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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The Streets of Paris Are as Familiar to Me as the Streets of Beirut · Global Voices
Elia J. Ayoub

Memes widely shared in solidarity with the victims of the Paris attacks.
I come from a privileged Francophone community in Lebanon. This has meant that I have always seen France as my second home. The streets of Paris are as familiar to me as the streets of Beirut. I was just in Paris a few days ago.
These have been two horrible nights of violence. The first took the lives of over 40 in Beirut; the second took the lives of over 120 people and counting in Paris.
It also seems clear to me that to the world, my people’s deaths in Beirut do not matter as much as my other people’s deaths in Paris.
We do not get a “safe” button on Facebook. We do not get late night statements from the most powerful men and women alive and millions of online users.
We do not change policies which will affect the lives of countless innocent refugees.
This could not be clearer.
I say this with no resentment whatsoever, just sadness.
It is a hard thing to realize that for all that was said, for all the progressive rhetoric we have managed to create as a seemingly united human voice, most of us members of this curious species are still excluded from the dominant concerns of the “world”.
And I know that by “world”, I am myself excluding most of the world. Because that’s how power structures work.
I do not matter.
My “body” does not matter to the “world”.
If I die, it will not make a difference.
Again, I say this with no resentment.
That statement is merely a fact. It is a political fact, true, but a fact nonetheless.
Maybe I should have some resentment in me, but I am too tired. It is a heavy thing to realize.
I know that I am fortunate enough that when I do die, I will be remembered by friends and loved ones. Maybe my blog and an online presence might even gather some thoughts by people around the world. That is the beauty of the internet. And even that is out of reach to too many.
Never so clearly as now have I understood what Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote about when he spoke of the Black Body in America. I think there is a story to be told of the Arab Body as well. The Native American Body. The Indigenous Body. The Latin American Body. The Indian Body. The Kurdish Body. The Pakistani Body. The Chinese Body. And so many other bodies.
The Human Body is not one. It sure feels that it should be by now. Maybe that in itself is an illusion. But maybe it is an illusion worth preserving because without even that vague aspiration towards oneness on the part of some part of the body, I am not sure what sort of world we would be living in now.
Some bodies are global, but most bodies remain local, regional, “ethnic”.
My thoughts are with all the victims of today’s and yesterday's horrific attacks, and my thoughts are with all those who will suffer serious discrimination as a result of the actions of a few mass murderers and the general failure of humanity’s imagination to see itself as a unified entity.
My only hope is that we can be strong enough to generate the opposite response to what these criminals intended. I want to be optimistic enough to say that we are getting there, wherever “there” might be.
We need to talk about these things. We need to talk about Race. We just have to.

author: Elia J. Ayoub


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Think You’re Cool? Then These Stop-Motion Ultraman Videos Are for You. · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Ultraman Zeos, Ultraman Man, Ultraman Dyna and young fan at Tedori Fishland, Ishikawa. Photo by Nevin Thompson.
YouTube user ultramanvszetton makes compelling short movies using elaborate backdrops toys, action figures, stop-motion animation, and sound effects.
The star of ultramanvszetton's YouTube channel? The various characters who inhabit the universe of popular Japanese superhero Ultraman.
Here Ultra Seven fights Bira Seijin (Alien Bira).
Ultra Seven is the third incarnation of Ultraman, first appearing in the series in 1967. Ultraman is similar in many ways to the British television series Dr. Who.
Like Dr. Who, the Ultraman series has been around for about 50 years, with numerous series occurring in multiple timelines and universes.
Each series introduces a new Ultraman hero who must fight cosmic aliens trying to invade Earth. The various Ultraman heroes travel from their home planet and choose a human host as they protect Earth from monsters.
Over the years, the various Ultraman television series and movies have created an unstoppable merchandize juggernaut, selling dozens upon dozens of different models of Ultraman figurines and the space monsters they must defeat.
Ultraman action figures sold in a Japanese toy store. Photo by Nevin Thompson.
This all provides tremendous creative fodder for rabid fans, such as YouTube user ultramanvszetton.
In this animated short created by ultramanzetton, Ultra Seven returns to fight the giant car-eating robot Crazygon from planet Banda.
While the long-running Ultraman series is aimed at children, the series has been around for such a long time in Japan that it is truly a cultural phenomenon. Ultraman can be expected to make an appearance in just about every part of life in Japan, including at Japanese baseball games.
おいウルトラマン、野球好きやなww チケット売り切れんのコイツらのせいやろww ネオス、マナー悪いから制止されてるw pic.twitter.com/WMeuwmw5ux
— まっす～@優勝!! 本垢(公式) (@baseballer9kcal) September 3, 2014
Hey, it looks like Ultraman is a baseball fan too (lol). The game was sold out tonight… I wonder if it was these guys who bought all the tickets? Ultraman Neos, don't stand up in front like that!
Of course, Ultraman is not the tokusatsu (特撮, or SFX) series in Japan.
YouTube user Goji73 has created an entire series of web videos using action figures called Godzilla and his Amazing Friends (there is some crossover between Godzilla and an Ultraman spinoff called Daikaiju Battle ).


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After the Paris Attacks: For It to Be Unity, It Can’t Be Partial · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Paris rally in support of the victims of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting, 11 January 2015. Photo by D B Young via Wikimedia Commons.
Last Friday’s attacks in Paris, and those that took place the day before in Beirut, hit me hard. Stuck with friends in a bar not too far from one of the targeted restaurants, I wondered why the targets should be ordinary streets with just a couple of restaurants. Why a stadium where regular people go. No attacks on the big symbols. Nothing against the Eiffel Tower. Nothing at the Champs Elysées. Instead, the targets were places where Paris shows its multiple colours and tendencies. It was a direct strike meant for all of us. Even if I still don’t have a very clear idea of who “us” is.
I arrived in Paris seven years ago to study education and work on a thesis that I haven’t finished yet. And it’s funny that I’m now on this path of becoming a sort of researcher in education and learning here, because almost everything I’ve done since I arrived has been precisely that—learning. I’ve learned how to be a foreigner, how to struggle for my studies, for work, for papers.
I’ve also learned what it is to live in a famous city and the parts of it that few people outside of it know about. I’ve learned about the exquisite Arab Paris. And the Antillean Paris, and the African Paris. And also the Paris of the groups variously known as expats, migrants and foreigners (who, funnily, are not the same thing, even if they live in really close proximity). In many ways I was reborn in Paris, which I have realised is not just a city or a (overused) symbol, but also a multicoloured, multicultural, multiethnic hub.
I’m also a proud Venezuelan woman who sees her country now from afar, but keeps it close. I am myself a mixture of colours and views that never stop moving. So, I too, am part of the different colours and nationalities that fly around this city and make it what it is.
Since I arrived in Paris I’ve followed the endless discussions on origins, skin colours, backgrounds and religious faiths. Part of my research work is based on—of all subjects—intercultural sensitivity. These conversations are emotional, and therefore uncomfortable. But they’re necessary. And I say this because it seems that dividing the world between “us” and “them” isn’t useful. And it never has been. In fact, the artificial creation of difference is what fuels all of this. And this is how we learn to see “ourselves” and “others”, and this is the lens through which we have studied history and watch the news. “Us” and “them”. “Here” and “far away”. I don’t think we can afford to keep this view of the world anymore—assuming we ever could—and maintain this denial of reality.
If there’s something that shocks a lot of friends and family coming to visit, it’s the diversity of a city they thought of as predominantly white. But if there’s something that shocks me in my current research work, it’s the way regions outside the West are referenced in books about intercultural studies/education/exchange. Mentions of the “Third World” are common. Different words are used to describe works and researchers from Europe and the US from those coming from Asia or Africa. The world outside our immediate view is a big blurry monolith lacking in the complexity we attribute to our own surroundings. The word “intercultural” becomes increasingly fashionable, but the subject continues to be blurry and the discussions too simple to be useful in addressing the challenges we’re now facing.
What I’ve concluded in the midst of all of this, is that friends have many faces, and so do foes. Victims and perpetrators come in many colours and the wear all kinds of clothes. The tradition of marking someone, or putting him/her in a box becomes less effective by the second. And as much as the media keeps silent about other attacks and other victims, they affect us all, they deepen this conflict. In the current context, even if no one sees the tree fall, it makes noise, it makes the ground move under our feet. Even if few people want to talk about discrimination and abuse, those things still happen.
This is why, I think, it has been very easy to say that the attack is against “our” values. I don’t know what values those are, and I’m not sure who “us” might be. Scrolling up and down Facebook, reading impressions, testimonials, opinions, statistics, I see that the main victims of the attacks are people of all colours, and over 15 nationalities. I also see that some of the perpetrators are French citizens. Just like the perpetrators that attacked Charile Hebdo’s offices. What I’m thinking now is that we’re seeing up close the danger that comes with dehumanising others, and trying to identify them with one quality or two. I’m also seeing a sort of nationalistic rhetoric growing, flags and symbols, and I see others fearing the way those symbols don’t evoke feelings of peace, but of separation and revenge.
I also read about so many young people alienated by images of success sold by media, and denied dignity by their own compatriots. When I come across research addressing violence in schools that discusses intercultural education in terms of “integration”, when I walk around my neighbourhood and see groups of young people hanging about for hours, apparently doing nothing other than smoking, when I talk to friends who face plain and direct discrimination, I think of conversations that need to go much further.
Not that this is, by any means, an easy discussion. Calling for unity make perfect sense. But the unity we speak of has has been damaged for a quite some time. Deepening those separations under a call for unity can only make things worse, and maintaining the narrative in which some victims matter more than others will fuel things further.
If there’s to be unity, it can’t be partial. It’s impossible for me to see this and not to think of the tragedy that keeps repeating itself in my homeland of Venezuela, with a similar number of violent deaths, except that in this case it's per week.
While these scenarios may be quite different, they connect with the fact that the role of young people, and those who serve them, is crucial. I realise it’s not surprising for an education sciences researcher to advocate for education right now. But I don’t see how we can overcome any of this without taking care of a generation currently mired in economic desperation and identity politics.
My hopes lie in the country’s public thinkers, whom I trust will use the their space in the media to remind the country of these urgent issues, and also in this new generation of French people. May they come to embrace values of peace, and not fall into the trap of those who wish to use them for political gain.

author: Laura Vidal


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Global Voices’ Hisham Almiraat Faces Trial in Morocco · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

Hisham Almiraat in his home city of El Jadida, Morocco in October 2013. Photo by Ellery Biddle.
Claudio Guarnieri contributed to this post.
Hisham Almiraat, a medical doctor and long-time community leader at Global Voices, will face trial in Morocco this week on charges of “threatening the internal security of the State.”
Almiraat is being charged along with four other civil society advocates — historian Maâti Monjib, journalists Samad Iach and Mohamed Elsabr, and free expression advocate Hicham Mansouri. Free expression advocates and media rights groups widely agree that the case represents an attempt by the Moroccan government to silence those who are critical of its policies and practices.
Evidence in the case against Almiraat, who has written for Global Voices since 2009 and served as the community's advocacy director from 2012 – 2014, includes his testimony for “Their Eyes on Me,” a research report on technical surveillance in Morocco. The report was published by London-based NGO Privacy International in cooperation with the Association des Droits Numériques (Association for Digital Rights), a Moroccan civil society group which Almiraat helped launch.
Hisham Almiraat, Nighat Dad, Sana Saleem and Ellery Biddle at IGF 2013 in Indonesia. Photo courtesy of Ellery Biddle.
Almiraat and his colleague Karima Nadir, vice president of the Association, were interrogated by Morocco's Judicial Police (BNPJ) in Casablanca in September 2015. Authorities asked them about their work and their relationship with Privacy International. The Ministry of Interior then filed a judicial complaint concerning the organizations’ aforementioned joint report on surveillance in Morocco.
Almiraat has spent most of his adult life working to improve the lives and well-being of Moroccans, both as a civil society advocate and as a medical doctor. While studying medicine and working as an emergency room physician by day, Almiraat ran his own blog, wrote for Global Voices, and co-founded citizen media projects Talk Morocco and Mamfakinch. The latter project was formed by Almiraat and a group of fellow human rights advocates in an effort to bolster media coverage of social uprisings in Morocco in 2011-12 and played a central role in galvanizing public support for the protest movement.
During this time, Almiraat and his colleagues at Mamfakinch were targeted with surveillance software that invaded their computer systems and left them fearful that their communications were being watched. These fears were later confirmed with research by the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab. In July 2015, leaks from the files of Italy-based surveillance software company Hacking Team showed that the Conseil Superieur De La Defense Nationale, a Moroccan government agency, purchased Hacking Team software in 2012.
Almiraat's work over time has been primarily in the service of supporting a robust media environment in his country, and holding his government accountable for its commitments to international human rights standards of free expression and privacy.
The Global Voices community stands in solidarity with Hisham and invites readers around the world to support his case on social media and to read and share his stories, which can be found here and here. Shortly we will release more information about the case, along with an open statement of support.


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Toraja Festival Features Traditional Dances of Indonesia · Global Voices
Arpan Rachman

Pagellu’ dance played by young women called Ma'toding. Photo by Arpan Rachman
Earlier this month, hundreds of people in South Sulawesi joined in celebrating traditional Indonesian dances during the annual Toraja cultural festival.
Toraja is an indigenous group in the mountainous region of South Sulawesi. An annual cultural festival called the “Lovely Toraja” showcases the ethnic group's traditional songs and dances. This year's event was held at Rantepao City on November 9.
The festival started with 500 students performing the kick-fighting dances of Sisemba and Pagellu. It was followed by the war dance Ma'tenten, which was played while a buffalo was sacrificed in a traditional ceremony. Next, dancers performed a Mangaru’ dance—a dance that was originally composed to honor the community's leader. A warrior dance (called “Ma'randing“) welcomed distinguished guests in a grand ceremony for the nobility. The dancers featured uniformed soldiers carrying a large shield and sword.
Toraja’s oldest dance, Pa'Tirra’, was performed during the ceremony Rambu Tuka’ (an expression of gratitude to God). This dance is believed to have descended from the sky with Puang Matua, the Almighty Creator in Nabua ceremony. Dancers used weapons made from bamboo while screaming continually to drive away evil.
In addition to dance and song presentations, a procession of six albino buffaloes was also a highlight of the program. Buffalo is an animal sacrifice in the death ceremony in Toraja. After the animal offering ritual, buffalo horns are used to decorate Tongkonan, the traditional house in Toraja.
The festival was witnessed by ambassadors from Zimbabwe, Chile, Croatia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Mongolia, and other diplomats from ten countries. An estimated 110,000 people visited the region to join in the Toraja festivities.
Below are some pictures from the 2015 “Lovely Toraja” festival:
Ma'katia is a traditional dance to welcome guests in the funeral of a noble person. Photo by Arpan Rachman
Manimbong is performed to honor God for His blessings. Photo by Arpan Rachman
The Manganda’ dance is performed with a group of men wearing head decorations made from a silver coin, the horn of a buffalo, and a sacred black textile. Photo by Arpan Rachman
Katekka or stiles is a traditional game in Toraja. Photo by Arpan Rachman
Albino buffalo led by shepherds. Photo by Arpan Rachman
Lettoan is a procession where the participants carry livestock on their shoulders as part of a ceremony to celebrate the building of a new Tongkonan (A traditional Toraja domicile). Photo by Arpan Rachman
Tongkonan: traditional houses of the Toraja tribe from Indonesia. Photo by Arpan Rachman
Fashion created by designer Dessy Ramona and Asdar Habie. Photo by Arpan Rachman
The ambassador of Zimbabwe, Alice Mageza, addresses the crowd during the festival. Photo by Arpan Rachman

author: Arpan Rachman