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Exploring Identities: Kazakhstan’s Planned Shift to the Latin Alphabet · Global Voices
Eurasianet

People in Central Asia study the differences between a Cyrillic alphabet and the so-called Yangälif, a common Latin alphabet introduced for most of the Turkic languages of the Soviet Union in the 1920s-1930s. Individual Cyrillic alphabets were introduced for Soviet Turkic languages in the 1930s-1940s, replacing Yangälif. (Photo: Public Domain)
The following is a partner post from EurasiaNet.org written by Uli Schamiloglu. Republished with permission.
Kazakhstan’s planned transition to the Latin alphabet raises complex questions. While alphabets may not be important in and of themselves, they play an important role in helping define a nation’s place in the world.
As a Turkologist, I regularly teach a range of historical Turkic languages using the runiform Turkic alphabet, the Uyghur alphabet, the Arabic alphabet and others. Turkologists also study various Turkic languages written in the Syriac alphabet, the Armenian alphabet, the Hebrew alphabet, the Greek alphabet and others.
Stated briefly, you can use a lot of different alphabets to write Turkic languages. From a technical point of view, it is just a question of how accurately any particular alphabet represents speech sounds.
The classic version of the Arabic alphabet — with additional letters introduced for Persian — does not represent the vowels of Turkic languages accurately. Nevertheless, it was used successfully for Chagatay Turkic in Central Asia and Ottoman Turkish in the Ottoman Empire until the early 20th century. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, innovations were introduced to represent vowels more accurately, and this is certainly the case with the reformed Arabic alphabet used currently for Uyghur.
Using the Latin alphabet to represent Turkish languages is not a new phenomenon. The alphabet was used to write the Codex Cumanicus in a dialect of Kipchak Turkic in the early 14th century. More recently, Turkey adopted one version of the Latin alphabet beginning in 1928, as did Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan from 1991, and Uzbekistan in 2001, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
We should also recall that in the early Soviet period most of the Turkic languages of the union shared a common Latin alphabet — the so-called Yangälif — beginning in 1926. But this alphabet was soon superseded by individual Cyrillic-based alphabets that were different from each other.
There are several linguistic factors supporting Kazakhstan’s planned switch to the Latin alphabet. One, of course, is that the Latin alphabet is familiar to a far larger number of educated persons than the Cyrillic alphabet. It is also used widely for communication over the internet and cellular telephones.
Far more significant to me personally is another phenomenon that I have often observed. Speakers of Kazan Tatar — and I am myself of Kazan Tatar heritage — Kazakh and other languages who may not be fluent in their ostensibly native language often impose the pronunciation and phonological rules of the Russian language and the Cyrillic alphabet on their own language.
To explain it in technical terms, front vowels in Russian palatalize the preceding consonant. So it is that you have speakers of these Turkic languages pronouncing words as though they were written in Russian — “spelling pronunciation” as it were. In other words, they pronounce words in their own language with a “Russian accent.” I have even encountered speakers of Kazakh learning Turkish who pronounce Turkish according to the rules of Russian pronunciation. There is every likelihood this phenomenon will be disrupted if schoolchildren are exposed to the Latin alphabet from an earlier age.
So, yes, I am in favor of the transition of the Kazakh language from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin alphabet.
Beyond the linguistic phenomena, there are political, cultural, and even ideological elements to consider. In other words, will Kazakhstan remain forever identified with the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union that succeeded it? Or does it wish to be seen as part of a larger world community, including the European community, of which it is also a part?
Another question is whether the Kazakh nation — and I am thinking here of ethnic Kazakhs, rather than all Kazakhstanis — should remain apart from the rest of the Turkic world. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have all adopted some variation of the Latin alphabet. Kyrgyzstan is also considering such a move. What would be the argument for Kazakhstan to remain isolated from this large part of the Turkic world, especially when there is sentiment in other parts of the Turkic world to adopt the Latin alphabet? (It is believed Tatarstan too would consider the transition were they to be permitted to do so, although it is currently against the law in Russia to use an alphabet other than Cyrillic).
Arguments against the adoption of Latin are inherently grounded in imperial Russian or Soviet ideology.
Beginning in the late 19th century, the various Muslim Turkic peoples of the Russian Empire were beginning to explore modern identities. I have argued elsewhere that the Kazan Tatars of today began to advocate for a Tatar territorial nation already in the 19th century, whereas many other Muslim Turks in the Russian Empire advocated for a non-territorially based shared identity extending across the Turkic world, and more broadly across the Muslim world.
The latter view raised concerns over “pan-Turkism” and “pan-Islamism” among authorities in the late Russian Empire — views that persisted during the Soviet era and beyond.
One of the underlying notions against the Kazakh language switching over to Latin is this irrational colonial-era fear of the unity of Turkic-speaking peoples.
Given the growing cultural integration of the Turkic world through the founding in 2009 of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States — which was established by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey — and the growing role of Astana as a new cultural capital for the entire Turkic world, why shouldn’t Kazakhstan try to develop closer cultural connections with other Turkic republics via a similar alphabet?
My late father used to talk about how Kazan Tatars became illiterate twice in one generation, first as the Arabic script was abandoned in favor of the Yangälif, and then again when that “new alphabet” was abandoned in favor of Cyrillic. Individual Cyrillic alphabets were introduced for Soviet Turkic languages in the 1930s; Kazakh adopted the Cyrillic alphabet only in 1940.
There are inescapable social costs to this change, such as the older generation potentially becoming illiterate, or at least disadvantaged. Then there is the cultural cost, such as the younger generation potentially becoming cut off from its past — for the second or third time! Turkey experienced this shock beginning in 1928, and it still has not gotten over it completely. Although Turkey undertook this as a kind of “shock therapy,” Kazakhstan has chosen a gradual path by choosing the final form of the alphabet by the end of 2017, training educators in the new alphabet, and then finally completing the switch to the Latin alphabet by 2025.
At the same time, there is a political dimension to the process. Russia has very strong feelings about the Russian-speaking world and its position of dominance within it, even though its actions have often arguably undermined its own interests in this respect. Russia would naturally prefer not to see Kazakhstan abandon Cyrillic. Whether it will take any steps to prevent this from happening will be discovered soon enough. I hope not.
It is now official policy in Kazakhstan to promote three languages through the educational system — namely Kazakh, Russian and English. I think it is well documented by now that the Russian-speaking space is in decline throughout the former territories of the Soviet Union. But Kazakhstan, like Tatarstan, is so strongly bilingual that I am not worried so much that the use of Russian will decline in Kazakhstan any time soon. The real challenge is to make sure that Kazakh becomes viable as the official language of Kazakhstan.
Unlike in Turkey, or say Uzbekistan, Kazakh has a long way to go before it becomes the default language of choice among citizens of Kazakhstan.

author: Eurasianet


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Mexico’s Appeal for an Impartial Federal Prosecutor General · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

Image shared on Flick by Democracy Chronicles, reproduced on licence terms CC BY 2.0.
Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the party of incumbent President Enrique Peña, intends to name one of its loyal members as head of the Federal Prosecutor General (FGR). As a result, Mexican public opinion has been shaken.
As part of the legal reforms enforced in recent years, we expect that once put into operation, the duties of the current Attorney General of Mexico (PGR) will be taken over by the FGR. Beyond a simple name change, the intention is for the FGR to be an autonomous organization, and not subject to the usual government rules. The objective is also that the District Attorney who heads the FGR will be someone who has not been nominated by the president. This aims to avoid conflicts of interest which could arise when the investigator has to conduct inquiries about issues involving those who appointed him to the position.
In the context of the damaging and apparently unending corruption scandals afflicting Mexico, it is difficult for the government to find a new head of the FGR (who in theory will have a nine-year term) with absolutely no involvement in mainstream political parties.
Therefore, the PRI asking the current head of the PGR, Raúl Cervantes to become the head of the FGR, is something which was deemed by public opinion as an “automatic pass”, since Cervantes would change his post directly to FGR. This change of post could make it easy for power to be managed by people with the same interests.
Raúl Cervantes worked with the PRI during the presidential campaign of Enrique Peña. According to reports, Cervantes was also an unofficial adviser of the ex-governor of Veracruz, Javier Duarte, who has since become a symbol of corruption of the PRI party. Duarte is currently subject to trial and the PGR is the organisation in charge of  the prosecution.
This is what analyst Leo Zuckermann had to say about the links between Cervantes,the PRI and Peña:
El primer fiscal autónomo debe ser lo más autónomo posible para ganarse la credibilidad y legitimidad de la ciudadanía. Será difícil encontrar una persona interesada en este puesto que sea “químicamente pura”, es decir, independiente por los cuatro costados. El problema con Cervantes es que está lejísimos de la independencia porque está cerquísima del Partido Revolucionario Institucional y de Peña. Eso, en caso de que se convirtiera en fiscal, le complicaría mucho la vida a él y a la nueva institución de justicia.
The first autonomous district attorney should be as autonomous as possible to earn credibility and legitimacy. It will be difficult to find a person interested in this position who is “chemically pure”, that's to say, independent on all sides. The problem with Cervantes is that he is extremely far from being independent because he is extremely close to Peña's Institutional Revolutionary Party. In the event of Cervantes becoming District Attorney, this would really complicate both his life and the new institution of justice.
At the start of September 2017, it became known that amongst the possessions of lawyer Raúl Cervantes is an ostentatious Ferrari car, registered to a nonexistent address which could be part of a tax-dodging scheme. The public was not willing to overlook the situation and took to social media to express their protest:
El Ferrari 2011 #PlacasMorelos PXJ-9181 de @RaulCervantesAvale 4 veces más que su casita en Xochitepec.#FiscalCarnal pic.twitter.com/4spoF9HYLJ
— Arne aus den Ruthen (@arnemx) September 4, 2017
@RaulCastro‘s 2011 Ferrari  PXJ-9181 is worth 4 times more than his little house in Xochitepec.
#FiscalCarnal o #FiscalFerrari acabamos pagando los mismos pic.twitter.com/1TeKAk6RQU
— Ray Balderas (@BalderasM_LR) September 4, 2017
[Text in the image: Corruption: a proud sponsor of Ferrari in Mexico] #FiscalCarnal [#attorneyfriend] or #FiscalFerrari [#attorneyferrary] it will always be us who'll pay.
#FiscalFerrari, desvelado https://t.co/jI6iFTCYTy
— hectorjn (@hectorjn) September 6, 2017
[In the summary of the article: Those who know Raúl Cervantes, know about his dealings with millionaires. Travelling in bullet-proof cars, taking vacations in Miami…] #FiscalFerrari, revealed
In one tweet, which has been shared more than seven thousand times, Diego Peterson Farah sent the following message to Cervantes, highlighting the public servant's intention to avoid paying taxes known as “possession taxes”:
Sr Procurador, la neta si no le alcanza para la tenencia no se compre un Ferrari. Si lo q no alcanza es la moral, no se postule para fiscal.
— Diego Petersen Farah (@DiegoPetersen) 4 de septiembre de 2017
Mr Attorney, honestly, if you can't afford to pay taxes you can't afford a Ferrari. If what you can't afford are morals, don't apply to be District Attorney
News about Cervantes’ Ferrari and his tax avoidance was downplayed by traditional national media outlets:
Lo del Ferrari de Cervantes no lo traen: Excélsior, El Universal, Televisa, TV Azteca, Adn40. Lo traen El País, Reforma, AP, SE, Aristegui.
— Darío Ramírez (@dariomrs) September 4, 2017
The news about Cervantes’ Ferrari wasn't mentioned in: Excélsior, El Universal, Televisa, TV Azteca, Adn40. It's brought by El País, Reforma, AP, SE, Aristegui.
Various civil society organisations, including Fundar and Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad – about whom Global Voices published a piece in 2016 – have launched an appeal to the country's leaders and to the public to stop the PRI's plan to appoint Raúl Cervantes as head of the FGR. They also implore that in order for the institution to be fair and useful, it should be headed by an individual who is not involved with any political party. On social media networks, particularly Twitter, people have been using the hashtag #FiscalíaQueSirva [an attorney general that can work].
Acto en el Ángel de la independencia de organismos de sociedad civil y empresariales por una #FiscalíaQueSirva #VamosPorMás pic.twitter.com/yfmZKI032S
— Alejandro Meléndez (@alexmelon) August 29, 2017
Protest at the Ángel de la Independencia [Mexico city's most known monument] with civil society and business organizations for a #FiscalíaThatWorks
Colectivos #VamosPorMás y #FiscalíaQueSirva exigen, en una carta al Senado, frenar el pase automático de Cervantes https://t.co/aumndXM4vb
— Marco A. Rssi. (@Marcross10) September 6, 2017
Organizations #Let'sGoForMore and #FiscalíaThatWorks send an appeal to the Senator to reject Cervantes’ automatic pass. The extract of the letter reads: “It is not our goal to evaluate personally or professionally the work of the Attorney General to see if he can become head of the Federal Prosecutor General. This task is for Mexican [citizens] in general. Thus, the legislative power needs to pay attention to citizen's opinions so the honor, the autonomy and the independence demanded by the post can be ensured. The social legitimacy of that public servant is fundamental.
Ciudadanos llevan al Senado propuesta para fiscal @Milenio#FiscalíaQueSirva#VamosPorUnaFiscaliaQueSirvahttps://t.co/bANAZlCIRb
— Fundar (@FundarMexico) September 6, 2017
Citizens appeal to the Senator over the District.
Public opinion about the issue has gone beyond social media networks since it also led to street activism.
In the past, Global Voices has reported how the ruling party has plotted against addressing public demands and managed to limit legal reforms to continue operating in a corrupt and secretive manner.
Amongst the cases that Cervantes has been unable to resolve or submit to the courts is the disappearance of the 43 students in Iguala (better known as the Ayotzinapa case), which took place in 2014. Another case is the illegal surveillance and attacks on privacy perpetrated by the Mexican state via spyware Pegasus (reported in 2016). Another urgent issue is the unpunished homicides of reporters and other attacks against freedom of expression, on which Global Voices keeps a special coverage.
The future of Cervantes is uncertain, as are the intentions of the national political leaders on the matter. We shall have to wait to see if they yield to the #FiscalíaQueSirva or instead opt for a system which could lead to impunity for the next nine years. The decision, for now, is in the hands of the legislators.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: J. Tadeo


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For Some Stunning Photos of Japan, Check Out Tokyo Camera Club · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Tokyo Camera Club Editor's Picks. Screencap from Tokyo Camera Club main site.
Tokyo Camera Club is a vibrant community in Japan devoted to sharing and discussing photographs of Japan. More than 400,000 people follow its Facebook page, while more than 300,000 people follow on its Instagram account. Many of the posts are widely popular, generating tens of thousands of likes, as well as a lot of shares and comments.
As a for-profit business, Tokyo Camera Club receives sponsorships and paid advertising from many camera makers. The site, besides showcasing some spectacular photos, is a good place to learn about upcoming photo contests.
Here is a selection of just some of the photos published on Instagram:
Selection of @tokyocameraclub. We welcome your like! & comment. Post by @paolo.fortades  #tokyocameraclub #東京カメラ部 #Japan #Photo #写真 #日本  Follow: @tokyocameraclub
A post shared by 東京カメラ部 (@tokyocameraclub) on
「@photo_shorttrip」Instagramアカウントへの @fujihirotanaka さんの投稿作品。いいね＆コメント大歓迎です。 東京カメラ部分室 photo_shorttripでは #photo_shorttrip で投稿された皆さまの「旅の一枚」を紹介します。 Follow: @photo_shorttrip #photo_shorttrip #小旅行 #shorttrip #short_trip #旅 #旅行 #写真 #photo #travelphoto #travelphotos #travelphotography
A post shared by 東京カメラ部 (@tokyocameraclub) on
Originally submitted by Instagram user @fujihirotanaka to the @photo_shorttrip Instagram account, this photo receives many likes and comments. Photo_shorttrip is a competition organized by Tokyo Camera Club that uses the hashtag #photo_shorttrip to showcase single images of a short trip.
Selection of @tokyocameraclub. We welcome your like! & comment. Post by @taiseiko75  #tokyocameraclub #東京カメラ部 #Japan #Photo #写真 #日本  Follow: @tokyocameraclub
A post shared by 東京カメラ部 (@tokyocameraclub) on
Selection of @tokyocameraclub. We welcome your like! & comment. Post by @ri_ri_ri_3  #tokyocameraclub #東京カメラ部 #Japan #Photo #写真 #日本  Follow: @tokyocameraclub
A post shared by 東京カメラ部 (@tokyocameraclub) on
「@photravelers」Instagramアカウントへの @akira_1972_ さんの投稿作品。いいね＆コメント大歓迎です。 東京カメラ部分室 Photravelersでは、 #photo_travelers を付けたインスタグラム投稿とPhotravelers Facebookページに投稿いただいた旅行写真を紹介します。 Follow: @photravelers #photo_travelers #photravelers #travel #traveler #旅 #旅行 #写真
A post shared by 東京カメラ部 (@tokyocameraclub) on
Originally submitted by Instagram user @akira_1972_  to the @photravelers Instagram account. Please like and comment on this photo. With this feature, Tokyo Camera Club showcases submissions to its Instagram and Facebook pages images that uses the hashtag #photo_travelers. Follow: @photravelers #photo_travelers#photravelers #travel #traveler
東京カメラ部10選による、「バンガード」のトラベル三脚のハンズオンレビュー第一弾！ . http://bit.ly/VANGUARD_VEO2hara_1708 . 東京カメラ部10選の原朋士さんが、バンガードのトラベル三脚「VEO 2 265CB」とともに、工場夜景や滝など長秒撮影を駆使した撮影へ。 携行性と剛性を追求したモデルで、持ち運びが簡単で超軽量。高度な機能の脚とツイストロックシステムを使用しながら、多彩な創造的なポジションをお楽しみいただけます。 より高度な撮影を可能にする「VEO 2 265CB」の実力を、活用シーンや作品集とともに是非ご覧ください！<PR> . 作品：原朋士さん（東京カメラ部10選2012)
A post shared by 東京カメラ部 (@tokyocameraclub) on
One of Tokyo Camera Club's top 10 images. This is from part one of a review of the new Vanguard travel tripod: http://vanguard.tokyocameraclub.com/veo2_userreview/page01.php
Photographer Hara Tomoshi took the Vanguard tripod on a trip to photograph waterfalls and night scenes of industrial complexes. […]
Selection of @tokyocameraclub. We welcome your like! & comment. Post by @y_ooseto.ps  #tokyocameraclub #東京カメラ部 #Japan #Photo #写真 #日本  Follow: @tokyocameraclub
A post shared by 東京カメラ部 (@tokyocameraclub) on
A post shared by 東京カメラ部 (@tokyocameraclub) on
Whether you live in Tokyo or not, anyone can submit an image to be considered for Tokyo Camera Club's feed, as long as the photo is of someplace in Japan. Rules, in English, for how to submit a photo can be found here.
More Tokyo Camera Club photographs can be seen on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and on the web.

author: Nevin Thompson


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In Ukraine, Fears of ‘Technological Terrorism’ Cause Free Expression to Decline · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Open air exhibition of posters of different kinds of soldiers from Ukrainian history next to landmark St. Andrew Church in Kiev. Photo by Filip Stojanovski, CC BY.
Olga Kyryliuk, PhD, is an expert in International Law, and co-founder of the Ukrainian NGO Digital Defenders Partners – DDP (Партнери цифрового правозахисту in Ukrainian), focused on protecting human rights online and promoting the idea of free, open and affordable to all Internet.
DDP is a member of the Internet Freedom Platform of Eastern and Central Europe and Eurasia, established by civil society organizations that work on fostering of the freedom of expression, association and flow of information on internet.
In this interview, Kyryliuk spoke to Global Voices about the results of the recent research, and the current situation with digital rights in Ukraine.
Filip Stojanovski (FS): DDP recently published an analytical report on freedom of expression in Ukraine. What is your general assessment?
Olga Kyryliuk (OK): Freedom of expression is gradually deteriorating in Ukraine as the conflict in the East of the country gets protracted. The threats faced by Ukraine are of hybrid nature, and, therefore, require some non-linear reaction and deterrence tactics. Somehow succeeding over time in maintaining its military positions, Ukraine appeared to be absolutely unprepared to handle the information confrontation. Instead of ensuring equal protection to all the values recognized in any democratic society, Ukraine put itself before a dilemma of protecting either national security, or freedom of expression. And I strongly believe that this is the choice that should have never emerged. We should never sacrifice one basic value for the sake of the other, but rather try to balance them as much as possible.
FS: Unlike other European countries, Ukraine is in a particular situation: since 2014 parts of its territory are not under control of the government, but no state of war had been declared. How does this affect the level of freedom of expression in the country?
OK: This is another aspect where, in my opinion, Ukraine has to deal with extremely challenging reality of armed conflict without even using proper names to define this reality. And it really makes difference in terms of the limits of state’s discretion when safeguarding human rights in the peacetime and during the period of martial law. And if the martial law provides for respective restrictions, the latter are not justified when the country officially keeps living under the general rules applicable during the times of peace and stability.
FS: According to 2017 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters without Borders, Ukraine’s current rank is 102, on a scale of 1 (Norway) to 180 (North Korea). During the last two years it had been improving, from 129 in 2015 and 107 in 2016, but is still among the lowest in Europe. What are the difficulties on the efforts to measure the level of media freedoms?
OK: This particular Index is based, inter alia, around the criteria of pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. In case of Ukraine, war with Russia and oligarchic control over the media and information still remain the biggest challenges. Such low position is also explained by the government’s failure to provide adequate guarantees to journalists and the lack of access by critical international observers and journalists to non-government controlled territories.
Olga Kyryliuk at the presentation of the analytical report on freedom of expression in Ukraine. Photo by DDP, used with permission.
FS: The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine reportedly includes ‘information warfare’, such as use of propaganda and counterpropaganda. How are journalists, as well as regular citizens, affected by this situation?
OK: We are all struggling on a daily basis trying to surf through excessive amounts of information. Internet facilitated the dissemination of such information and made it easy accessible but, at the same time, blurred the reliability threshold. This gets even more complicated when huge amounts of fake and propagandist information are being generated on purpose. That’s where the digital literacy of regular citizens is of huge importance, as only by using the analytical skills it is possible to differentiate between facts and propaganda.
Another option is to use reliable and respected sources of information. But the thing is that people tend to believe and be more sympathetic towards the information, which already coincides with their own views. As for the journalists, I would say that conflict settings place additional responsibility on them, requiring to double check their sources, as well as deliver information timely and in objective way. At the same time, it is critically important to reach not only Ukrainian citizens but also international audience, which means producing qualitative information in foreign languages. In this regard, among the most successful projects promoting Ukraine abroad can be named Ukraine Crisis Media Center, StopFake, Free Voice Information Analysis Center, and Promote Ukraine.
FS: Recently Ukraine has also been discussed in terms of quite controversial steps of blocking access to Internet resources, foreign journalists’ expulsion and legislative initiatives restricting Internet freedom. What is the justification used, and your positions in this regard?
OK: It is noteworthy that all the restrictions are motivated by the national security interests, which for some reason are persistently opposed to freedom of expression. One of the most discussed initiatives was the extension of sanctions to a quite big number of individuals and legal entities. But in fact, that had huge collateral effect and meant blocking access to Russian social networks, search engine, email service, antivirus programs, etc. Currently, the parliament has a registered bill, which, if adopted, would make possible extrajudicial blocking of Internet resources and significantly broaden the definition of technological terrorism to include therein any dissenting opinion, criticism of the government or simply sensitization of the critical issue within the society.
FS: Freedom of expression is a much broader area than just freedom of the press, and censorship or self-censorship can affect all segments of society. How individual citizens of Ukraine react to the identified lack of this basic human right?
OK: The introduced restrictions and bans clearly divided society into two opposing groups, with some believing that national security should be the ultimate value in conflict settings, and the others pointing to them as a slippery slope that may end up in total control over the public opinion. Some Ukrainians became more careful in their online communications and tended to self-censorship, while the others started to use VPNs to circumvent the bans or moved to alternative communication and information platforms.
One of the biggest deficiencies of all the restrictions that are being introduced is the fact that they are poorly, if at all, communicated in advance. No public consultation and preliminary expertise is being conducted. Thus, instead of uniting the society in this critical historical moment the authorities are accentuating the disparities between different groups.
FS: What needs to be done and by whom in order for the situation with internet freedoms to improve in Ukraine?
OK: The best case scenario would be the end of the conflict itself, which would eliminate the government’s justification as to the urgent need of protecting national interests by all means. But so far as we have to deal with the current reality, what is really missing is the communication between different stakeholders. The restrictions are imposed without government ever explaining the actual motives behind them.
Moreover, the restrictions themselves fail to comply with the proportionality and adequacy test. Internet is not divided by borders, thus can’t be subject to legislative segmentation. By trying to win the battle, it is important not to follow the erroneous and restrictive tactics of your rival. We all know that states are much faster to impose the restrictions, than to abolish them. That’s why it is so important to keep all the laws and practices within the framework of international law.
Watch Olga Kyryliuk present the DDP report, in Ukrainian:

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Indigenous Rappers from Brazil Are Using the Internet to Bring Their Message to the Masses · Global Voices
Thalita Alves

Indigenous rap group Brô MCs performing in Asuncíon, Paraguay. Photo from the Brô MCs Rap Indígena Facebook page, published with permission.
Several indigenous hip-hop artists from Brazil are leveraging the power of technology to shed light on their culture, identity and the wider social issues that matter to their communities.
Through platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, these artists have been using their voices and lyrics to start a conversation — and to bring their message to a wider, more connected audience.
Currently, there are more than 240 indigenous tribes residing in Brazil, representing about 0.9% of the country’s total population. These communities have experienced many injustices throughout history, but in present times, land rights are the most prominent issue for the indigenous population.
In the midst of these debates, hip-hop has proven to be a powerful tool in highlighting indigenous viewpoints. Here are some of the rappers who have been at the forefront of this movement.
Brô MCs are a group of four indigenous rappers from the Jaguapirú and Bororó village in the town of Dourados, in the centre-western state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
Back in 2009, when Bruno Veron, Clemerson Batista, Kelvin Peixoto and Charlie Peixoto formed the group, their musical pursuits were met with skepticism, from outsiders as well as from those within their own communities.
But they have since proven that rap culture and indigenous issues can work powerfully together.
Not only have they toured around Brazil, their music has also reached as far as Berlin's International Film Festival – the song “Terra Vermelha”, or “Red Land”, made it into the soundtrack of one of the Brazilian films submitted to this year's awards ceremony.
Brô MCs. Photo from the Brô MCs Rap IndígenaFacebook page, published with permission.
Their debut single was launched on YouTube in 2015 through the Guateka channel – a project that seeks to capture the daily lives of indigenous communities across the country.
“Koangagua”, which loosely translates to “Nowadays”, is sung entirely in Guarani Kaiowá (the group's native language), with Portuguese subtitles accompanying it. Its lyrics talks about the importance of their chosen genre of music in the promotion of their beliefs and the things that matter most to their communities.
Here's an excerpt of the song in question:
Minha fala é forte e está comigo / Falo a verdade, não quero ser que nem você / Canto vários temas e isso que venho mostrando / Voz indígena é a voz de agora
My speech is strong and is with me / I speak the truth, I don't want to be like you / I sing about various issues and this is what I'm showing / The indigenous voice is the voice of the now
Most of their social media activity is on Facebook, where fans can find out about upcoming shows and media appearances and gain some insight into the issues that the group is passionate about.
One of their most recent posts, for instance, promoted a photography exhibition in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, that showcases the lives of the Guarani-Kaiowa people.
Brô MCs has also made their debut on TV with “Guateka“, a five-episode fictional mini-series loosely based on the rap group’s personal journey as indigenous musicians. They play themselves in the locally produced series, which was funded by public grants and premiered on Brazil's public TV channels in May 2017.
Oz Guaraní are the first indigenous rap group from the southeastern city of São Paulo, Brazil's hip-hop capital and the home of the country's most famous rappers, among them Emicida, Mano Brown and Criolo.
The teenage trio, Jefinho, Mano Glowers, and Vlad Macena, hail from Tekoa Pyau and Tekoa Ytu villages of the Jaraguá suburb, on the western end of the city.
Their origins stem from a series of local protests a few years back, sparked by ongoing land disputes between the Jaraguá tribes and the local government. The group met during one of the gatherings, and decided to write a letter about what was happening at the time – which was in turn transformed into their first single, “Guerreiro da Aldeia Jaraguá” (“Warrior of the Jaraguá Village”):
Their online presence places an emphasis on social issues, such as the aforementioned land battles. They also use Facebook to share their successes and upcoming endeavors, including video interviews, new singles, and performances.
Another platform that Oz Guarani uses to disseminate their songs is Palco MP3, an independent Brazilian music-sharing website that's quite similar in concept to SoundCloud: artists can upload their tracks, which are freely available for download, and update their profiles to connect with those who want to know more about their music.
Werá Jeguaka Mirim, who goes by the artistic name Kunumi MC, first rose to prominence on the national stage not for his music, but for his activism. During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Kunumi raised a sign in the middle of the field asking for the demarcation of indigenous lands.
The rapper, whose musical moniker means “young one” in Guaraní, has since made his mark as Brazil's first solo hip-hop artist by releasing his first debut album, titled “My Blood Is Red”, on June 2, 2017.
Kunumi MC. Photo courtesy of Werá Jeguaka Mirim (aka Kunumi MC), published with permission.
Kunumi comes from the Krukutu village in Parelheiros, in the extreme south of São Paulo, and has been expressing his creativity from a very young age. In fact, his own father, writer Olivio Jekupé, was the one who sparked the boy's interest in the use of language to shed light on issues that truly warrant attention.
You can find teaser videos for some of his songs on YouTube, as well as the full-length music video for his debut single “O Kunumi Chegou” (“Kunumi Has Arrived”):
An excerpt from the lyrics to that song above reads:
Lutar pelo povo e ser o que é/Na multidão, você não é o melhor/Mas pode agir como ela/ Sempre com humildade, raciocínio consciente/Grave isso em sua mente
To fight for others and being true to oneself / Among the crowds, you might not be the best / But you can act collectively / Always with humility, conscious reasoning / Keep this in mind
His most recent release, “Guarani-Kaiowá”, also talks about the struggles and violence his people endure on a daily basis:
On Facebook, Kunumi shares a mix of local activist projects, personal views, as well as his music and creative projects.
Like Oz Guarani, Kunumi also makes his music available on Palco MP3. You can find his album on Spotify as well.

author: Thalita Alves


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The Conflict in Eastern Ethiopia, Explained · Global Voices
Endalkachew Chala

The Borana: catch the colour. The Borana people live in Ethiopia's Oromia region. Photo by Carsten ten Brink via Flickr. CC BY 2.0
Ethnic tensions between Ethiopia’s two regions, Oromia and Somali erupted into violent conflict that killed at least dozens of people and drove thousands of men, women and children from their homes during the second week of September 2017.
Reports on social media about the death toll and displacement of people are wildly different depending on who reports them. Pro-government journalists based in the capital Addis Ababa reported dozens of deaths while diaspora-based media put the number much higher. However, both reported that thousands of people were displaced.
A referendum still reverberates 14 years later
The longest border in Ethiopia is shared between Oromia and Ethiopian Somali region, which are respectively the country's first and second largest administrative regions by area.
Tension has been simmering for years along this border which led to intermittent clashes involving mostly Oromos and Somalis.
In 1994 an opposition political party known as Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) accused the Ethiopian Somali Region of infringing into the south-eastern provinces of Oromia Region. OLF was eventually labeled as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian regime. In June 2000, OLF reported that at least 70 people were killed in an armed conflict that ensued between Oromos and Somalis.
In December 2003, a violent clash  over scarce water and land resources led to the displacement of 19,000 people in the border.
In 2004, the Ethiopian government held a referendum to settle the territorial dispute. The official results of the referendum gave about 80 percent of the disputed districts to Oromia Regional State.
But in December 2005, all hell broke loose when the federal government attempted to enforce the results of the vote. According to Relief Web International, tens of thousands of people have been displaced from both regions forcing the Ethiopian government to defer to transfer of the districts that have voted to be redistricted as part of Oromia Regional State. Things remained relatively quiet since then.
How did the latest conflict begin?
In April 2017, violent conflicts were reported in the southern border town of Moyale where members from both Oromo and Ethiopian Somali ethnic groups were killed. The cause of the violence again was scarce water and land resources.
During the same month, the Ethiopian government announced that the two regions have agreed to rearrange their boundaries per the outcome of the 2004 referendum.
This was when the conflict picked up and reached the level of violence that was last seen in 2005. Authorities and activists from both Oromia and Ethiopia-Somali started to trade accusations of unleashing paramilitary groups against civilians.
While most Oromo activists on social media refuse to view the latest conflict in ethnic terms, the civilians caught in the conflict are actually divided largely along ethnic lines.
Last week, at least 32 people were killed both in Oromia and Somali regions. Thousands of Oromos have been fleeing the Somali Region as they have come to be a target of violence.
What has the Federal Government done about it?
According to the state media, the Federal Government has stepped in to protect civilians. However, many see the government’s role with suspicion. Some even accused the government of deliberately stoking tensions and exploiting political fissures among different ethnic groups in the country to control the growing discontent in Ethiopia.
Over the last three years, thousands across Ethiopia mainly in the Oromia and Amhara regions rose up, demanding more political freedoms and social equality and a stop to government land grabs. The government's response was swift and brutal which led to mass arrests and killings.
Ethiopia is a one-party state in which the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) monopolizes power.
The EPRDF, however, is a coalition of four ethnic-based parties: Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO), Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM) and Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF). However, the TPLF is the core of the EPRDF, holding absolute power over the last quarter of a century by controlling the intelligence, security and military apparatus of the country.
Member parties of the EPRDF govern four of the nine ethnically federated regional states; the remaining five states are administrated by the respective ethnic-based parties that share the same ideology with EPRDF albeit they are not part of the coalition.
Critics allege that since members of the TPLF are among the most high-ranking military officers who control the nation's security they are the de facto rulers of these regions.
Many Oromos fervently blame the TPLF for manufacturing the conflict by pitting the Ethiopian Somalis against the Oromos. They are convinced that the conflict is the work of TPLF military personnel that are based in Somali region.
Other Ethiopians tend to blame Ethiopia’s ethnic based federal government structure that defined communities based on ethnic identity.
Meet the parties at the center of the conflict
The violence this year has created a bitter dispute between Somali and Oromo politicians on a scale not seen before.
Many Oromo politicians and opposition activists attribute much of the violence to a paramilitary group known as ‘Liyou Police’. They both claim that ‘Liyou Police’ is no longer an anti-insurgency military group limited in Somali region.
However, Oromo opposition activists take their  allegation a little further by describing  ‘Liyou Police’ as an invading force that enjoy the overt assistance of Tigrayan military personnel. One of the primary demands of the protest that was held in  August 2017 was the removal of ‘Liyou Police’ from disputed districts in Oromia.
In fact, an accusation of such violence is nothing new for Liyou Police. Past reports of Human Rights Watch frequently mentioned the human rights violations allegedly committed by ‘Liyou Police’ such as indiscriminate killings, gang rapes, arbitrary arrests and maltreatment in Somali region
‘Liyou Police’ was created in 2007, after some sections of the Somalis from the Ogaden clan took up arms against Ethiopian government, alleging mistreatment under the Tigrayan-dominated government of Ethiopia. The Ogaden clan members of Ethiopian Somali have long had grievances against the Ethiopian government. They account for 80 to 90 percent of the Somali population in Ethiopia.
Pastoralists drive their goats towards Gode in Ethiopia's Somali region. Photo by Andrew Heavens via Flickr. CC BY 2.0
Though it has been obscured by the escalation of their conflict with the federal government, there is also a strong internal conflict among the Somalis themselves. There are moderate and radical members of the Ogaden clan. While some demand greater autonomy, others seek an outright independence. Still, there are others who have aligned themselves with the Ethiopian regime. To crush the insurgent members of the Ogaden clan, the Ethiopian government has tapped members of the ‘Liyou Police’.
From his early days as a leader of the ‘Liyou Police’, Abdi Mohamud Omar, or better known as Abdi Illey, eventually became the president of the region. Abdi Illey, a member of Ogaden clan himself, has helped the Ethiopian government to launch a crackdown against the insurgents.
Since the latest escalation of the conflict, his communications team has been lashing out at Oromo officials of the ruling EPRDF party. On their Facebook page, Abdi Illey’s communications team has accused top OPDO officials of being terrorists by linking them with the diaspora-based Oromo activists
On their part, OPDO officials have rejected the allegations and appealed to the federal government to prosecute the culprits.
Will the conflict stop anytime soon?
After weeks of trading accusations, the presidents of the two regions, Mr. Lemma Megersa and Mr. Abdi Mohamud Omar held a press conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital on September 17, 2017. Flanked by top federal government officials, they both spoke about the conflict in general terms.
They both insisted the need of stability in the area but they can’t seem to agree on the root causes of the conflict. For instance, while Mr. Lemma laid the blame at the door of unnamed individuals, Mr. Abdi implied that top OPDO officials are culpable for the conflict. They both clearly absolve the Ethiopian regime of any responsibility.
The problem is many Ethiopians especially Oromo activists believe that the Tigrayan-dominated regime is actively involved in the conflict. They allege that Ethiopian security officials, who have close ties with the region’s president, Mr. Abdi Mohamud Omar, have a vested interest in Ethiopian Somali Region.
However, both leaders seem to agree on immediately relocating the displaced people back to their homes.
But the conflict continues on the ground and even on social media where polarized rhetoric has generated not only confusion but also deliberate distortion of the real issues that caused the violence in the country.

author: Endalkachew Chala


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Evidence of Government Surveillance in Mexico Continues to Mount · Global Voices
Giovanna Salazar

Image taken from Pixabay under CC0 Creative Commons License.
In early September, further attempts to spy on activists in Mexico were confirmed. The president of Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI), an organization dedicated to investigative journalism, received several SMS messages that were intended to infect his mobile device with malicious software.
According to The New York Times, Claudio X. González Guajardo was threatened with Pegasus, a sophisticated espionage tool or “spyware” sold exclusively to governments that was acquired by the Mexican government in 2014 and 2015, with the alleged intention of combating organized crime. Once installed, Pegasus spyware allows the sender or attacker to access files on the targeted device, such as text messages, emails, passwords, contacts list, calendars, videos and photographs. It even allows the microphone and camera to activate at any time, inadvertently, on the infected device.
In an interview with journalist Carmen Aristegui, MCCI investigative journalism director Salvador Camarena pointed out that the messages received by González Guajardo indicated the following (it should be noted that both Aristegui and Camarena also suffered attacks using the same espionage technology):
Abogado, acabo de recibir esta notificación del MP y me URGE que me ayude a dar respuesta. Se lo adjunto (LINK)”
Hola Claudio, aparte de saludarte, paso a compartirte esta nota de Proceso donde hacen mención de tu nombre (LINK)”.
Señor Claudio, le comparto esta nota del Universal donde hacen mención de usted de forma deplorable, mire: (LINK)”.
Couselor, I just received this notification from the MP and he URGES me to help give a response. It is attached (LINK)”
Hello Claudio, apart from greeting you, I'm sharing this note from [the media outlet] Proceso where they mention your name (LINK)”
Mr. Claudio, I want to share this note from El Universal, where they mention you in an unfavorable way, look: (LINK).”
The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto confirmed that the links in each of the messages received by González Guajardo were infected with Pegasus spyware. González Guajardo is the 22nd person not involved with organized crime who researchers have confirmed was targeted with Pegasus in Mexico:
Updated list of 22 known targets in Mexican spyware case incl anti-corruption advocates & journalists #gobiernoespia https://t.co/uA2io9ICrG pic.twitter.com/k3RI3NMBJJ
— citizen lab (@citizenlab) August 30, 2017
Each of the infection attempts, documented in an investigation jointly conducted by digital rights and civil liberties organizations Article 19, Network in Defense of Digital Rights (R3D), SocialTIC and Citizen Lab, occurred at critical junctures related to the work of espionage targets:
Now, following recent revelations by The New York Times, we know that this has not been the only intimidating tactic aimed at hampering the work of the organization and silencing, in particular, its director, González Guajardo.
Ni siquiera la inmunidad diplomática del @GIEIAYOTZINAPA impidió que fueran objetivo del #GobiernoEspía pic.twitter.com/xY2rsr2bMS
— R3D (@R3Dmx) 21 de agosto de 2017
Not even the diplomatic immunity of the @GIEIAYOTZINAPA prevented that they were the objective of the #SpyGovernment
Similarly, it is no small matter that attempts at espionage have also been directed against members of the National Action Party (PAN), a party opposed to that of the current federal government.
In addition to these revelations, this same week, a former agent of the National Security and Research Center (CISEN), Rodolfo Raúl González Vázquez, publicly denounced political espionage activities attributed to the former governor of Puebla, Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, and the federal representative, Eukid Castañón Herrera, through the use of spying software developed by the Italian company, Hacking Team.
In early January of this year, The New York Times itself published an extensive report covering, among other things, the use of such software (in particular the ‘Galileo’ Remote Control System) for political espionage during the internal elections of the National Action Party in Puebla, Mexico.
The extensive network of spyware acquired and operated under the administration of the now former-governor of Puebla and aspirant president of the country, Rafael Moreno Valle, had already been evidenced in the investigative journalism carried out by the independent media Animal Político and Lado B in 2015.
Recent statements by former CISEN agent Rodolfo Raúl González Vázquez not only confirm the existence of the network, but also reveal the size of its scope and objectives, which he declared to Aristegui Noticias:
Amantes, vicios y negocios” era lo que los empleados que operaban la red tenían que encontrar entre los adversarios del aspirante presidencial, los activistas, críticos y periodistas e incluso sobre prominentes integrantes de su grupo político.
Lovers, vices, and businesses’ was what the employees who operated the network had to find among the opponents of the presidential candidate, activists, critics, and journalists and even prominent members of his political group.
The abundance of examples and technical evidence unearthed by this range of civil society groups and media outlets strongly indicates that these sophisticated espionage tools acquired by the Mexican government are not being used for legitimate purposes. From the opacity in its acquisition and use, to the many investigations and revelations that have arisen in recent times, it appears more and more likely that these intrusive technologies are being used to intimidate and silence dissent.

author: Giovanna Salazar


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German Anti-Immigrant Party Targets Russian-German Voters With a Xenophobic Ad · Global Voices
Alexey Kovalev

Anti-immigrant German party AfD targets Russian-German voters with an election ad. Image courtesy AfD Hamburg.
Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, or AfD for short), a conservative, Euroskeptic, anti-immigration party competing in the federal elections in Germany's Bundestag, has been busy courting its favored segment of the electorate: Russian-speaking Germans.
AfD is also vocally pro-Kremlin, which is a constant source of anxiety about potential meddling by the Russian government in Germany's elections. The party has been so persistent in targeting Russian-Germans that several diaspora organizations have publicly distanced themselves from its virulent rhetoric.
But AfD’s local chapter in Hamburg — home to a large Russian-speaking community — recently did something extraordinarily tone-deaf and offensive, even by its own standards. On its Facebook page, AfD Hamburg posted a campaign ad in Russian, rife with spelling and grammatical mistakes, but that’s not the worst thing about it. It also used a xenophobic idiom, dating back to Mongol invasion of early Russian proto-states in the 13th century.
Below is the translation of the campaign ad from Russian:
Смело за Германию и наших детей
Не званый гость хуже татарина
Защищать границы, высылать исламистов!
With valor for Germany and our children
An un wanted [sic] guest is worse than a Tatar
To protect our borders, to deport Islamists!
The accompanying post says:
Личное обращение к немцам из России в Гамбурге
Уважаемые Гамбуржцы, родившиеся в бывшем СССР! 24. сентября 2017 будут выборы. В связи с этим у немецкого народа будет возможность остановить вредную политику, последствия которой описаны высше. Я глубоко убеждён в том, что наступила пора совершить жёсткий поворот в политике; поэтому я обращаюсь к Вам за помощью. Будучи народом, история которого прежде всего связана с жестокими политическими переворотами, Вы очень точно замечаете, когда политика и общество подвергаются фундаментальным изменениям. Гамбургская Фракция АфД убеждена в том, что делам и нуждам немцев из России по сей день не уделяют должного внимания в политическом дискурсе. Поэтому нам хотелось бы наладить с Вами общение и узнать о Вашем опыте. Отныне Вы можете звонить нам по горячей линии 040 / 428 31 25 18. Давайте бороться за нашу страну плечом к плечу, поддерживая AfD на выборах 24. Сентрября 2017. Помогите мне, стать депутатом в Бундестаге, где я буду отстаивать интересы нашего города.
Dr. Bernd Baumann
первый кандидат Гамбурга
Дальнейшая информация:
http://bit.ly/2xhuS7s
#AfD#Russland#Deutschland#Hamburg
A personal appeal to Germans of Russian origin in Hamburg
Dear Hamburgers born in the former USSR! On September 24, 2017, elections will be held. Hence, the German nation will be offered the opportunity to reverse the negative effect of policies described above. I am deeply convinced that the time is ripe for a political U-turn. Which is why I am seeking your help. Being a nation that has survived many violent political turmoils, you are keenly aware when your country’s policies and society are undergoing fundamental changes. AfD’s chapter in Hamburg is convinced that Russian Germans’ affairs and needs are being consistently neglected in today’s political discourse. So we are interested in communicating with you and learning about your experience. From now on you can contact us by calling the number 040 / 428 31 25 18. Let’s fight for our country shoulder to shoulder by supporting AfD in the September 24 elections. Help me to become an elected member of the Bundestag where I will be advocate the interests of our city.
Dr. Bernd Baumann
Hamburg’s first candidate
Further information: http://bit.ly/2xhuS7s
#AfD#Russland#Deutschland#Hamburg
Tatars referenced in the ad are the largest ethnic and religious (Sunni Muslims) minority in Russia. Most of them live in the federal republic of Tatarstan, a constituent part of Russia since the 16th century.
A number of them live in Germany, too, forming part of the Russian-speaking diaspora — so AfD’s ad, charitably speaking, is problematic and caused an immediate backlash among its target audience.
Of more than 100 comments under the Facebook post, the overwhelming majority are highly critical of AfD’s clumsy attempt at addressing its potential voters in Russian and, of course, the blatant xenophobia of its message.
Others, native Germans, were puzzled at a message in a foreign language they don’t understand. One Facebook user wrote:
Экономические беженцы, бежавшие от совковой нищеты, ненавидят беженцев из горячих точек, бегущих от российских бомбардировок. А путлерские СМИ об этом рассказывают в киселёвских часах промывания мозгов.
Economic refugees, having fled from Soviet poverty, are now hating refugees from hotspots bombed by the Russian air force. And Putler’s media [“Putler” being a blend of the names Putin and Hitler] are praising the bombing during [Dmitry] Kiselyov’s [an ultra-loyalist news show host on Russian state TV] brainwashing hour.
Another threatened legal action against AfD:
от немки, родившейся в бывшем СССР, лично херу Бауманну: поскольку я только за то, чтобы бороться за нашу страну, думаю подать на Вас и Вашу “партию” в суд за разжигание межнациональной розни (знаете, статья такая есть в немецком законе, §130 “Volksverhetzung”, неплохо бы знать законы нашей страны, а ещё лучше соблюдать)
Here’s my personal message to Herr Baumann, from a German woman born in the ex-USSR: because I'm all for fighting for our country, I’m considering suing you and your “party” for incitement of ethnic hatred (you know, it’s a criminal offense according to the German law, [article] §130, which wouldn’t be amiss for you to know or even respect)
It might very well be that AfD actually hurt its prospects of electing their representatives to the Bundestag by appealing to the Russian-speaking community in such a crass way. One Facebook commenter put it bluntly:
Теперь я точно за CDU голосую
That’s it, now I’m definitely voting CDU [Christian Democratic Union, the party of Angela Merkel whose migration policies AfD has been fiercely criticizing]
The Russian-German community has been in the spotlight recently and is often cast in the media — unfairly, its members say — as Putin’s “fifth column” or “Trojan horse” in Germany. A recent feature in the New York Times Magazine detailed the infamous “Liza case”, in which a Russian TV segment about the alleged rape of a teenage Russian-German girl by “Arab migrants” sparked national anti-immigrant protests. The allegations were later revealed to be unfounded, but the “Liza case” has since been used as an example of Russia’s aggressive meddling in other countries’ affairs through propaganda and stoking fears on social media.

author: Alexey Kovalev


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Steven Seagal Rediscovers Celebrity in Central Asia, and the Implications Are Alarming · Global Voices
Peter Paul Rankin

Steven Seagal meets Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sapar Isakov. Screenshot from state television broadcaster KTR.
“When the seagulls follow the trawler,” the well-known French footballer Eric Cantona once told a group of bemused British journalists, “it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.”
In a barely related but equally mind-muddling incident, B-list Hollywood actor Steven Seagal is trawling through ex-Soviet Central Asia, and he is not doing it purely out of goodwill.
This is a man with a worrying plan.
Seagal's ongoing tour of the region that began earlier this month has allowed him time and space to feel famous again.
In case you missed him, Seagal, 65, stopped making movies that people had heard of in the same decade Eric Cantona stopped playing football: the 1990s.
Plummeting box office sales haven't persuaded Seagal or the directors he works with to change the format of his films much, however, if this critic's review of a 2016 release he starred in is anything to go by:
If you're reading this review of the Steven Seagal vehicle “The Asian Connection,” it is probably too late to dissuade you from seeing almost any other movie. I get it: you want to see a movie with a vaguely racist-sounding title starring the has-been star of cheesy action films like “Hard to Kill,” “Marked for Death,” and “Above the Law.” These films are bad, but in an endearingly disastrous way. The same is basically true of “The Asian Connection,” a lousy bank heist flick and one of Seagal's most engagingly tacky recent efforts. I want to defend this movie, but it's so bad that I must warn you: if you watch this film knowing that it is Steven-Seagal-wearing-a-du-rag-and-glowering-impassively-at-attractive-young-women bad, you will get what you pay for. That's both an endorsement and a warning.
Seagal's Central Asian and Russian connections go back at least a decade, as this well-written account of his various trips to former Soviet countries details.
Since late 2016 he has been the holder of a Russian passport, and on September 15, Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister Sapar Isakov disappointed many of his countrymen by extending the same offer:
The country's former chief of staff-turned opposition-minded social media exciter Edil Baisalov scathed on Facebook:
Я считаю оскорбительным для Кыргызской Республики, и даже не смешным с точки зрения заезжей звезды, предлагать Сигалу гражданство Кыргызстана. Наше законодательство содержит исчерпывающий перечень оснований для получения кыргызского гражданства.
Дружба иностранца с премьер-министром не является одним из таких оснований. Реакцией на такой жест Исакова прошлой ночью стало всеобщее даже не возмущение, а отвращение.
I consider it an offense to the Kyrgyz Republic to offer Kyrgyz citizenship to some visiting star. Our legislation contains an exhaustive list of grounds for obtaining Kyrgyz citizenship. The friendship of a foreigner with a prime minister is not one of these grounds. Last night the reaction to Isakov's gesture was universal. It was one not so much of outrage, but rather downright disgust.
Sapar Isakov: #Kyrgyzstan‘s rapid growth will be associated with Steven #Seagalhttps://t.co/ofGcSD3Vdz
— eng24.kg (@Eng24Kg) September 16, 2017
This is just getting waaaay out of hand. https://t.co/Bp9efSTTUF
— Bruce Pannier (@BrucePannier) September 16, 2017
Kyrgyz government image shared by Kaktus Media.
So far, Seagal's trek through the region has also taken in autocratic Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
In the latter he reportedly arrived as a replacement for Jean-Claude Van Damme, who had intended to appear at a martial arts tournament there but fell ill at the last moment.
Обычный день, обычные съемки, обычный Стивен Сигал ;) pic.twitter.com/1eePRveUbo
— Aziz Hasanov (@AHasanov) September 17, 201
Ordinary day, ordinary shoot, ordinary Steven Seagal ;-)
But why should anyone care about his visit? Shouldn't Steven Seagal be free to build bridges and facilitate cultural exchange through violent sports while glad-handing leaders in countries ranging from semi-authoritarian to worse?
Not really. The problem is that Steven Seagal's latest journey through Eurasia is actually all about promoting Steven Seagal's years-old and very public bid to star as Genghis Khan in an epic made by any producer with deep pockets.
A horrendous, horrendous, idea? Probably. This is how you can try to stop it happening.

author: Peter Paul Rankin


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Native Stereotypes, Beware: Indigenous Comic Con in the US Is Nearly Here · Global Voices
Andrea Chong Bras

A young fan poses at the 2016 Indigenous Comic Con in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Screenshot from YouTube video by City Alive.
On the heels of the first Indigenous Comic Con's success comes its second installation, due November 2017 in Albuquerque, in the southwestern US state of New Mexico. This year's comic convention promises more vendors, artists, guests and cosplay, all part of what many are hoping is a growing movement to promote Native pop culture — on their own terms.
Misrepresentation and under-representation in mainstream media is a source of pain for many minority communities, and Native communities are no exception. North American superhero stories have a history of ignoring Native peoples altogether or drawing characters that offer an inaccurate or offensive portrayal of their culture.
“Without indigenous voices, the few representations feel like the flip of a coin,” James Leask, a contributor at the Comics Alliance site, explains. “Heads; the warriors named Warpath and the shamans named Shaman, representations so ludicrously simplistic that they verge on redface. Tails; representations so whitewashed that the characters feel like a coloring mistake.”
Over the years, a growing community of Native artists and writers have taken up their pens to create images of Native peoples that combat these old stereotypes and speak to the complex social issues affecting their communities.
And it's these artistic efforts that Indigenous Comic Con seeks to celebrate. In an interview with Global Voices, Indigenous Comic Con organizer Dr. Lee Francis IV says stereotyping in the industry needs to be counteracted by amplifying these new voices:
You have so many stereotypes out there because there is not enough to counteract that, and to show what’s positive, productive and acceptable. What’s dynamic…to show the brilliance of what’s out there. We got superheroes, we got soldiers, we got everybody out there and that’s what we want to do. It is showing across the spectrum, rather than just a historicized view, of essentially, what boils down to cowboys and Indians.
The internet and social media has helped provide a space where independent artists can produce work that big publishers might otherwise pass over. To combat the lack of support for Native creators, Francis himself founded Native Realities Press, an independent publishing house, which credits much of its success to this ability to reach larger audiences in a digital space.
Native Realities has since become a platform for innovative artists, like Jeffrey Veregge, who are creating Native characters in a completely new way:
I have waited my whole life for this. A comic with my name on it. Here it is my creator owned series: DemiCon, published by Native Realities pic.twitter.com/Jsv2eDifrM
— Jeffrey Veregge (@JeffreyVeregge) September 7, 2017
For Francis, the motivation behind the Indigenous Comic Con was simple:
What we wanted to do was to bring together all of the Native folks that are doing really cool stuff across industries. A lot of us show up to the comic cons, and a lot of us show up to the game conventions […], but we weren’t all getting together in one place. So I wanted to basically take all of that pop culture stuff and bring everyone together.
The event promises participation from Native artists and writers from all across the country. Guest artist Weshoyot Alvitre, who will make her first appearance at the 2017 Indigenous Comic Con, talked to Global Voices about why this event is so important for her and other Native artists:
At this comic con, there are going to be so many amazing writers and artists, so many creative types that are all going to end up together. Other creative people, other Native people who get what you are doing. There is a language there, in regards to Native issues that so many Native people just get because they have experienced racism, sexism… They carry the weight of whatever history that they have, in regards to genocide, stuff with their land, with their family […] there is just some level where I think we all understand one another, and when we are trying to do good work for change, whether it’s through art or writing, there is a real sense of appreciation for it because it is tying in to the way we live our lives.
#marvelcomics #danimoonstar #weshoyot
A post shared by Weshoyot Alvitre (@weshoyot) on
The comic con is open to everyone, but event policy makes it clear that you must leave any disrespectful representations at the door. Any cosplay that might be interpreted as culturally insensitive, like the controversial Tonto in the Lone Ranger, will be asked to leave.
Some see the event as an opportunity to educate. For Alvitre:
Comic conventions tie in with pop culture and current events. It can only do well for non-Native people. This will be such an eye-opener. They will be welcome to come into this place and see the way we are representing ourselves and be invited into this whole other world of Native storytelling. Knowledge is key in anything. The more people learn about things, the less room they will have to be latched on to stereotypes.
The movement of Native artists and writers who are carving a space for themselves on their own terms is growing stronger. Around 1,500 people attended Indigenous Comic Con in 2016, and 3,000 attendees are projected for this year.
“Marginalized communities in this country are actively seeking representation,” Francis says. “We want to tell our own stories and we want some of the stories to look like us. I want to be able to show my son somebody that looks like him.”
For Alvitre, the success of this event is only the beginning:
I can’t see it diminishing because there are generations of kids that want to read comic books, and tons of kids and parents who are so excited by the fact that there are comics written about Native peoples in regards to current Native issues, in regards to Native mythologies… It only spreads from there in the best way possible.
For a peek at 2016's Indigenous Comic Con, take a look at the video report by City Alive below.

author: Andrea Chong Bras


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Netizen Report: Germany’s New Social Media Law Puts a Price on Hate Speech · Global Voices
Netizen Report Team

The Problem with Censorship is XXXXXXXXX, Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Cory Doctorow via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
A new German law set to take effect in October will impose fines on social networks if they fail to remove “manifestly unlawful” hate speech within 24 hours of being posted.
Under the Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz, called the NetzDG for short, companies have up to seven days to consider the removal of more ambiguous material.
Germany’s criminal code already defines hate speech, so the law does not create new measures or definitions. Instead, it forces companies to police hate speech or face astronomical fines. The law is unprecedented at the global level, and could have game-changing ripple effects worldwide.
The final draft of the law sets clear punishments for companies that fail to comply and places the burden of determining what messages, images or videos count as hate speech on companies themselves. It also compels companies to create stronger mechanisms for transparency around their processes for taking down content. But it does not prescribe a legal mechanism to appeal the removal of material.
In an interview with BBC, an unnamed Facebook spokesperson said that the law “would have the effect of transferring responsibility for complex legal decisions from public authorities to private companies.”
Even without the law in place, this responsibility already exists in many dimensions. Companies typically have full authority over users’ accounts and postings — when a user’s account is suspended or content is taken down, that person is often unable to access information about how the decision was made, or have direct contact with an actual company employee who can help to resolve disputes. The same is true for users who report abusive content or messages and receive no remedy.
On top of these concerns, there is consensus among the law’s critics that it will result in overcompliance — and thus, increased censorship — by companies eager to avoid fines.
UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression David Kaye said of the law:
With these 24 hour and seven day deadlines – if you are a company you are going to want avoid fines and bad public branding of your platform….If there is a complaint about a post you are just going to take it down. What is in it for you to leave it up? I think the result is likely to be greater censorship.
Rohingya activists say that their Facebook posts documenting what the UN now says is the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya people in Myanmar are routinely being removed or their accounts suspended. This is particularly significant given the proliferation of anti-Rohingya propaganda online, and the mounting barriers to accessing accurate information about the conflict. These factors make Facebook and other social media platforms a critical space for spreading information about the conflict.
A UAE court upheld the sentence of an Indian migrant worker who was sentenced to one year in prison for posting comments on Facebook that allegedly “disrespected” and “insulted” the Prophet Mohammed. The man claimed that hackers had posted these messages, but this appeal was rejected.
Iranian app developers are mounting a petition against Apple Inc for blocking their apps from the App Store. In a Change.org petition, a group of developers ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to “stop removing Iranian applications from [the] App Store and lift policies that are limiting our access to the products and services offered via Apple’s platforms.”
Multiple developers have reported that when they submit an app for review, they receive a message indicating that the App store “cannot host, distribute, or do business with apps or developers connected to certain U.S. embargoed countries.”
Apple began shutting down Iranian apps in August, the same month US President Trump signed a new sanctions bill into law, but it remains unclear whether the administration meant to impose new restrictions on technology companies. European companies lifted all sanctions against Iran after the negotiation of the 2016 nuclear agreement.
Afef Abrougui, Ellery Roberts Biddle, Mohamed ElGohary, Pauline Ratze, Elizabeth Rivera and Sarah Myers West contributed to this report.

author: Netizen Report Team


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Sentenced to One Year in Prison for ‘Inciting Protest,’ a Moroccan Journalist Goes on Hunger Strike · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

Protesters at a sit-in in Imzouren, 14km from the city of Al-Hoceima in the Rif region. Photo by AlhoceimasOfficiel. Used with permission.
Moroccan journalist Hamid El Mahdoui has gone on hunger strike after a court of appeal increased his prison sentence to one year.
In the early hours of 12 September and after a trial that lasted more than nine hours, the appeal court of Al Hoiceima issued a verdict that increased El Mahdaoui's sentence from three months to one year in jail, for giving a speech that they say incited others to protest and break the law under the country's penal code.
El Mahdoui is the director and editor-in-chief of the independent news website Badil.info. He was arrested by Moroccan authorities on 20 July in the Rif region, where he had traveled to cover protests, and was later convicted of inciting protest.
The primary piece of evidence used against him was a 19 July video filmed by a police officer that allegedly shows Mahdaoui inciting people to take part in a 20 July protest that had previously been banned by Moroccan authorities.
The rights to protest and assembly are guaranteed under the Moroccan constitution and the Law on Public Assemblies. Organizers are not required to apply for a prior authorization, but they should notify the authorities of the place, time and date of upcoming protest. However, authorities can ban a protest if they believe that it could disturb public order.
After the court announced a verdict on 12 September, Mahdoui decided to go on hunger strike to protest his unfair trial and the violation of his right to freedom of expression, his wife Bouchra El Khounchafi told the Moroccan edition of the HuffPost.
Al Hoceima and other cities in the Rif region have been shaken by protests since the death of fish vendor Mohsin Fekri last October. Mohsin Fekri was crushed to death by a garbage truck while trying to retrieve his fish, confiscated by local authorities. The protests have since grown into a “Hirak” or a movement for jobs and economic development, and against marginalization and corruption. In response, Moroccan authorities resorted to repression, arresting protesters and activists and cracking down on media coverage of the protests.
El Mahdaoui speaking in a video about the crackdown on protesters in El Hoceima. Source: Screenshot from a video uploaded on the journalist's YouTube channel on 28 June.
Local and international human rights groups say Mahdoui did not incite to protest, but only expressed his views about the government ban on the 20 July protest when passers-by who recognized him stopped him and started a conversation with him about the Hirak.
Human Rights Watch analyzed the video and read the transcript used as evidence in Mahdoui's trial:
According to a transcript of the video, Mahdaoui criticized the government’s decision to ban the July 20 protest, saying, “It is our right to protest in a peaceful and civilized manner; (…) I am oppressed and looked down upon, it is my right to express myself and demonstrate.”
Human Rights Watch watched the video and read the transcript and found nothing in either that contains a direct incitement by Mahdaoui to others to participate in the banned July 20 protest. Hajji, the lawyer, said that the court did not provide any other evidence than the video and transcript.
Mahdaoui's independent website, Badil.info, covers a variety of topics in Morocco including politics, human rights and corruption, and has been reporting on the protests in the Rif region.
Mahdaoui is also known for his outspoken online criticism of the Moroccan authorities. He has more than 97,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel where he provides commentary on the political and human rights situation in Morocco. Over the past months, videos uploaded to his channel included interviews with rights activists and families of arrested protesters, and footage showing police violence against Hirak protesters in El Hoceima and Rabat. On 25 June, Mahdoui published an interview with the parents of the movement's leader Nasser Zafzafi, who has been in jail since 29 May, after a public prosecutor ordered his arrest for interrupting a state-backed Friday sermon critical of the protest movement.
This is not the first time Moroccan authorities have gone after Mahdaoui in relation to his work as a journalist or for expressing himself. According to Reporters Without Borders,”he has been the subject of at least ten legal proceedings of various kinds, including defamation actions”. In June this year, Morocco's interior minister filed a criminal defamation complaint against Mahdaoui after the journalist published a video accusing him of corruption.
On 29 June 2015, a court in Casablanca sentenced him to a fourth-month suspended jail sentence, fined him 6,000 Moroccan Dirhams (640 USD) and ordered him to pay 10,000 Dirhams (around 1070 USD) in damages to the head of the general directorate of national security, for reports published on Badil about political activist  Karim Lachqar, who died while in police custody.
In August 2015, a criminal court in the city of Meknes ordered Badil to shut down for three months and fined Mahdoui 30,000 Dirhams (3,200 USD) for publishing a report on a car bombing in the city. Media reports of the bombing were later denied by the government.
Although the Moroccan government says that Mahdoui's arrest is not related to his work as a journalist, several other journalists have been harassed or arrested by Moroccan authorities for their coverage of the protests in the Rif region. Between 26 May and 22 July, Reporters Without Borders documented the arrests of seven citizen journalists and media workers in relation to their coverage of the Hirak. Morocco also resorted to deporting foreign journalists who were covering the protests, including two Spanish journalists working for El Correo Diplomatico and an Algerian journalist working for the Algiers-based French-speaking El-Watan newspaper.
By quadrupling Mahdoui's prison sentence, Moroccan authorities have shown that they are unwilling to end the media crackdown and create a safe environment for journalists to do their work amid the unrest in the Rif region. In the meantime, the journalist continues his hunger strike.

author: Afef Abrougui


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Speaking of Independence Is Getting Harder for Hong Kongers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

“Hong Kong independence” slogan at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Photo: Apple Daily, non-commercial use.
The leaders of 10 universities in Hong Kong are condemning “abuses” of free speech on campuses. In a joint statement published on September 15, university chancellors also expressed firm opposition to the idea of Hong Kong breaking away from China.
Two days later, a Hong Kong politician from the pro-Beijing camp labeled those who advocate for independence as “enemies” who should be killed.
The two events highlighted not only the precarious state of free expression in Hong Kong, but also tensions over the city's future. Hong Kongers enjoy more freedoms than their counterparts in mainland China under a principle known as “One Country, Two Systems.” This autonomy is enshrined in Hong Kong's governing doctrine, known as the Basic Law, which went into force in 1997 when the United Kingdom handed the former colony over to China.
According to the Basic Law, the city shall retain its way of life for 50 years, or until 2047. After that date, Hong Kong's fate is uncertain.
What is certain is that in recent years, Beijing has been more forcefully asserting its influence over Hong Kong. Those who support more democratic rights, such as genuine universal suffrage, or outright independence have faced fierce repression.
The university administrators’ joint statement, which was noticeably brief, was perceived as a response to the appearance of pro-Hong Kong independence slogans on campuses since September 4. The statement in full read:
我們珍惜言論自由，但我們譴責最近濫用言論自由的行為。言論自由並非絕對，有自由就有責任。所有下列的大學，特此聲明，不支持「港獨」，並認為這是違反基本法。
We treasure freedom of expression, but we condemn its recent abuses. Freedom of expression is not absolute, and like all freedoms it comes with responsibilities. All universities undersigned agree that we do not support Hong Kong independence and believe that it contravenes the Basic Law.
City University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Lingnan University
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Education University of Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Open University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong
The statement echoed a comment on September 8 from Carrie Lam, the city's chief executive or top leader, that argued pro-Hong Kong independence messages go against the “One Country, Two Systems” principle and the Basic Law.
Student unions from 12 universities and colleges issued a response:
我們珍惜言論自由，此權利生而有之。校方不支持港獨，但大學師生享有言論自由，討論港獨絕無不可。所有下列的學生會，特此聲明，討論港獨絕對符合《基本法》第二十七條，校方請停止混淆視聽。
We treasure free speech, a basic human right. The universities can say they don’t support Hong Kong independence, but students and teachers should have the freedom of speech to discuss Hong Kong independence. Below the undersigned student unions hereby issue this statement of clarification: the discussion of Hong Kong independence is in alignment with Basic Law Article 27 [which guarantees freedoms of speech and assembly], the university administrators should stop confusing the public.
The joint statement did not specify what the “recent abuses” were, but could be referring to incidents such as a Chinese University of Hong Kong student allegedly using the derogatory term “Chee-na” during a row with mainland peers over independence, or messages posted to bulletin board at Education University of Hong Kong taunting a top Hong Kong education official over the suicide of her eldest son.
Au Kar Lun, an experienced media worker, believed the careful wording of the statement points to it being the product of political pressure from Beijing:
左報與維穩機器催促鞭策之下，十間大學校長發表簡短聯合聲明，「不支持港獨」。聲明語焉不詳，明顯沒有共識，模模糊糊，沒有清楚說明問題，也沒有解釋理據，內容欠奉，卻仍然要集體表忠，只有一個目的，就是為了應付龐大壓力，交貨表態；唯一清晰的，是一句「不支持『港獨』」。
Under pressure from a pro-Beijing newspaper and the stability maintenance machine, the heads of 10 universities issued a brief joint statement saying that they do not support Hong Kong independence. The content of the statement is so empty and it is clear that they don’t have consensus. It does not address the context and has not explained their reasoning behind the statement. There is no content and it only serves the purpose of expressing loyalty. Obviously, the statement is in response to political pressure as the clearest message in the statement is, “We do not support Hong Kong independence.”
One concrete example of such political pressure emerged when Leonard Cheng, the head of Lingnan University, said students could discuss Hong Kong Independence in campus. In response, a pro-Beijing newspaper criticized him for indulging the students, and a number of pro-Beijing university council members warned that academic and speech freedoms should not be abused to “cover up illegal acts.”
On citizen media platform inmediahk.net, Chu Kong Wai, an alumni of the Chinese University, expressed his disappointment with the university administrators’ statement:
這個聲明的目的，在十大校長和其支持者的角度，是一個棄車保帥的「止蝕」行為，希望能夠抵擋借「港獨」議題，乘勢進攻大學自主領域的攻勢。他們認為譴責所謂濫用言論自由的行為，表態反港獨效忠基本法，就能保住現有的空間；他們不是天真無知，就是鴕鳥可笑。…十間大學校長的聯合聲明正要告訴我們，香港人其實就連討論這部小憲法的權利也沒有。今日不能討論港獨，明天是否不能討論「真普選」，後天會否就不能討論「量入為出」的原則？
Supporters of the university heads’ statement believe that it is a move to “cut losses” and save the universities from further political intervention under the excuse of cracking down on “Hong Kong independence.” They believe that by condemning the abuse of free speech and reaffirming their stand against Hong Kong independence and their loyalty to the Basic Law, they can maintain space for academia. But they are either too naive or are acting like turkeys [burying their heads in the sand]… The joint statement by the 10 university heads tell us that Hong Kongers cannot even have the right to discuss the mini-constitution. Today we can’t talk about Hong Kong independence, tomorrow we can’t talk about genuine universal suffrage and the day after we can’t even talk about the budget principle of “keeping its expenditure within the limits of revenues” [according to Basic Law Article 107].
Opposition to discussion of independence took a turn toward open hostility on September 17 at a rally calling for Hong Kong University to sack Professor Benny Tai for leading the massive pro-democracy protests that took over downtown Hong Kong for three months in 2014.
At the gathering, pro-Beijing figure Tsang Shu Wo exclaimed on stage:
If he advocates Hong Kong independence, he’s not Chinese, he’s an outsider and must be killed.
Julius Ho at a rally on September 17 calling for Benny Tai to be sacked from the University of Hong Kong. Apple Daily photo. Non-commercial use.
His comment was met with chants of “no mercy” by the crowd of thousands, including lawmaker and Lingnan University council member Julius Ho, who remarked later that it was “not big deal to kill pigs or dogs.” He further argued:
If we’re talking about Hong Kong independence, that means war. What’s wrong with killing enemies in a war?
Though a public call to kill is against the criminal ordinance, Secretary of Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung has played down Tsang's and Ho's statements. In contrast, just a month ago, three pro-democracy activists — Alex Chow, Nathan Law, and Joshua Wong — were sentenced to between six and eight months in prison for advocating the peaceful protests of 2014.
Perhaps the more fundamental issue is why some Hong Kongers want to discuss independence from China in the first place. Hui Fung Ming, a student activist and a graduate of Education University, argued on inmediahk.net that debate about Hong Kong as an independent state is necessary given the city's post 2047 future is unclear:
香港基本法寫明五十年不變，2047就係另一場二次前途談判，而港獨係香港未來2047年二次前途談判嘅其中一個可能性同option。依家2047年定左方向啦咩？未吖嘛，你地屋企啲屋契到時候都會到期架喎，有可能會好似中國咁行社會主義集體所有制收哂你地啲地同屋架喎，你地係咪唔介意？
The Basic Law in Hong Kong promises Hong Kong’s way of life will remain unchanged for 50 years. By the time of 2047, Hong Kong’s future will be another round of negotiation. Hong Kong independence is a possibility and option in the negotiation. Have we decided Hong Kong’s direction after 2047? Not yet. A large number of land leases will expire after 2047, and it remains possible that if Hong Kong follows China in adopting the socialist collective system, the land can be confiscated. Is that none of your concern?
Hui Fung Ming continued, saying that Beijing and Beijing supporters’ logic is flawed:
港獨違法根本就係一個偽命題，如果按呢個邏輯推演，咁應該除咗一國兩制作為唯一一種政治體制以外無嘢係可以討論到，因為按香港基本法去講香港係落實一國兩制個喎。咁樣嘅話嘢講一國兩制以外嘅嘢都應該係違法喎，成日指手劃腳嘅黨媒講中國政府全面實施對香港管治行一國一制都違法喎，點解佢地又可以講，政權又唔去禁止下呢又？…如果連學校都唔俾講港獨，我想問以同樣嘅邏輯推演落去的話，係咪喺街入邊警察求其聽到有人講港獨兩個字就即刻可以執法拉人呢？大家係咪想要咁樣的香港？
The claim that Hong Kong independence is against the law is false. According to such logic, “One Country, Two Systems” should be the only political system that can be discussed. According to the Basic Law, Hong Kong has adopted “One Country, Two Systems,” so other alternatives should be illegal. But pro-Beijing media outlets keep advocating Beijing to implement “One Country, One System” in Hong Kong, so they are allowed to propose an illegal political system? Why doesn’t Beijing ban them from saying so?… If we can’t deliberate Hong Kong independence in universities, according to the logic, shall the police officers take action in arresting whomever talks about Hong Kong independence in the street? Do you want a Hong Kong like this?

author: Oiwan Lam


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‘We Dare Not Look Out’: Dominica Is Brutalised by Hurricane Maria · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A still from an aerial video showing the near total devastation in Dominica after the passage of Hurricane Maria, September 19, 2017. Video by CDEMA – Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency; shared widely on Facebook and Twitter.
The northern Caribbean has been on the front line of the assault from the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Shortly after Irma, a Category 5 storm, ravaged the leeward islands, Maria — also a Category 5 — set her sights on Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts/Nevis and Montserrat.
Dominica, home to about 73,000 people, was one of the hardest hit. In the aftermath, the country's prime minister said the hurricane had “devastated” the island.
Maria made landfall on the evening of September 18. By the next morning, social media users region-wide were sharing photos of what claimed to be the aftermath of the storm in Dominica, but it turned out that some of the images being shared on WhatsApp chats and Facebook pages were fake — much of the communication on the island had been damaged, making it difficult for citizen journalists on the island to share anything. Others, however, were authentic.
Caroline Taylor addressed the issue on Facebook, pleading:
Please don't circulate photos you can't authenticate. That's to say nothing about the copyright implications. Most of those Dominica images are not from Hurricane Maria.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, however, communicated as much as he could have via his official Facebook page. He, like many other Dominicans, had lost his roof, confessing that he was “at the complete mercy of the hurricane”. In the heat of the onslaught, he posted:
We do not know what is happening outside. We not dare look out. All we are hearing is the sound of galvanize flying. The sound of the fury of the wind. As we pray for its end!
The small island nation was forced to battle maximum sustained winds of close to 160 miles per hour.
In an update early on September 19, he said:
Initial reports are of widespread devastation. So far we have lost all what money can buy and replace. My greatest fear for the morning is that we will wake to news of serious physical injury and possible deaths as a result of likely landslides triggered by persistent rains. […]
I am honestly not preoccupied with physical damage at this time, because it is devastating…indeed, mind boggling. My focus now is in rescuing the trapped and securing medical assistance for the injured.
We will need help, my friend, we will need help of all kinds.
It appears as if Dominica bore the brunt of the damage, though the neighbouring French-speaking islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique did have fatalities and destruction of property.
Regional netizens were heartbroken. In Jamaica, Annie Paul admitted that she was “really feeling it for the storm-fatigued islands of the Eastern Caribbean”, while Trinidadian Soyini Grey confessed:
The news from Dominica is making me sick
On Twitter, Judy Raymond added:
If T&T isn't ready for a natural disaster, imagine what it's like for the tiny islands without our infrastructure & oil & gas money
— Judy Raymond (@heyjudeTT) September 19, 2017
In solidarity, Dele Adams, who is in St. Kitts, one of the islands that recently faced Irma, posted:
A public status from Facebook user Dele Adams, who said, “No Facebook, I refuse to mark myself as ‘safe’ until Maria gone bout she business and left us and our neighbors alone. Sit down.”
Just as happened after Irma, Caribbean citizens rallied to send aid and supplies to the hardest-hit islands. There are already quite a few donation drives requesting everything from canned food and medical supplies, to toiletries and tools — but the brutality of this hurricane season also got social media users thinking:
This hurricane season is showing me that we have to plan, build, communicate and live to suit our environment and seasons.
— rhoda bharath (@rhodabharath) September 19, 2017
Hurricane Maria is currently battering the island of Puerto Rico as a slightly less intense Category 4 storm.
A Facebook page, Dominica Hurricane Maria Disaster Relief, has been set up to support and facilitate charitable donations to Dominica in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Afghanistan Mourns Honorary ‘Grandmother’ Nancy Hatch Dupree · Global Voices
Ezzatullah Mehrdad

Omid Sharifi: Afghans paint Nancy Dupree, calling her “My hero. The honest Guardian of Afghanistan’s culture.”
American historian Nancy Dupree spent half a century working to preserve Afghanistan's heritage from the ravages of the Soviet invasion, the civil war and the Taliban era. Her Herculean efforts were not forgotten by the country's citizens when she died earlier this month in the capital Kabul.
Even at age 90, Dupree was still focused on running and organizing the Afghanistan Center Kabul University (ACKU) where 60,000 Afghan documents are housed. She wrote five guidebooks  on Afghanistan, dying following a protracted battle with heart, kidney and lung problems at a hospital in her adopted city.
Days after her death, Afghan government officials along with foreign diplomats, colleagues and friends packed out a memorial ceremony, and praised her legacy at the Afghanistan Center Kabul University where the ceremony was held.
She had amassed a huge collection of valuable books, maps, wartime photographs and rare recordings of folk music at the ACKU where she also lived. Now the desk she worked at stands unoccupied, but honoured.
#Nancydupree ‘s desk at ACKU, just hours after her death pic.twitter.com/pAO8FEFDtq
— Khalil Ahmad Noori (@KhalilNoori) September 10, 2017
Afghans mourned Mrs. Dupree by posting condolences on social media. Both the current and former presidents of the country expressed their deep sorrow over losing her, as well as countless ordinary citizens.
Afghan Journalist Sattar Saeedi informed his followers about Dupree's death on Twitter.
‘مادربزرگ افغانستان’ رفت
ننسی دوپری، باستان‌شناس آمریکایی که زندگی‌اش را وقف معرفی تاریخ و فرهنگ افغانستان به جهان کرده بود، در کابل درگذشت pic.twitter.com/PZPSl5ISja
— Sattar Saeedi (@SattarSaeedi) September 10, 2017
The grandmother of Afghanistan has passed away…
Thank you Nancy for what you did for Afghanistan's culture and heritage. RIP. A 54sms mural to honor her memories in Kabul. pic.twitter.com/rX8nyWPXAF
— Omaid Sharifi (@OmaidSharifi) September 13, 2017
Like many other Afghan politicians, Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah posted a photo with her from his personal archive.
Very saddened by the death of #NancyDupree. Afghans value and respect her services of decades for #Afghanistan. Nancy will be missed! RIP pic.twitter.com/QdCuujQKDa
— Dr. Abdullah (@afgexecutive) September 10, 2017
Lina Rozbih, an Afghan journalist, posted a photo of Dupree in Afghani dress.
She was Mother Teresa of Afghanistan #nancydupree pic.twitter.com/WCBt15oUKN
— Lina Rozbih (@LinaRozbih) September 11, 2017
While another Twitter user recalled the Taliban's destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues by the Taliban, which brought Dupree to tears.
One of a few with unconditional love & adoration for Afghanistan. #nancydupree RIP pic.twitter.com/3WKP6L4ErQ
— Zarlasht A (@DocZarlasht) September 10, 2017
Dupree came to Afghanistan as the wife of an American Diplomat in 1962. Born and raised in India, Dupree graduated from high school in Mexico City and attended Barnard College and Columbia University, studying Chinese history.
She began writing about Afghanistan shortly after arriving in the country, where she met Louis Hatch Dupree, an archeologist and anthropologist, who soon became her editor. They were both married at the time, but would go on to divorce their spouses and spend decades traveling Afghanistan together. Their book on Afghanistan “Five o’clock Follies” brought them international fame.
When Soviet troops were deployed to Afghanistan in 1979, the Duprees were forced to leave the country. Louis was briefly imprisoned after the communist government accused him of spying for the C.I.A.
Rather than return to the United States, they moved to Peshawar, Pakistan, a hub for displaced Afghans. Here they were shocked to find that documents and books of cultural value were being sold and used for fuel.
In order to preserve as many documents and books as possible, they founded the Agency Coordination Body for Afghan Relief, and collected all documents related to Afghanistan’s history and culture.
Louis Dupree died of cancer in 1989, just as the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, but Nancy continued their vision. Waiting out the civil war and the Taliban occupation in Pakistan, she tried to preserve Afghan heritage by forging contacts with moderate Taliban officials, although thee efforts bore little fruit.
In 2005, Nancy returned to Kabul, taking the material she had collected during her stay in Peshawar to Kabul in hessian sacks.
A building of Afghan marble, stone and cedar, Afghanistan Center Kabul University, became her safe harbour. Here the books, photographs, maps, and other rare documents, she and Louis had collected were digitized so as to be accessible to other universities in cities such as Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Mazer-e-Sharif.
Dupree continued curating thousands of documents reflecting years of conflict and political upheavals, refugee work and international involvement in the war-torn country.
“One of our focuses is to promote the whole concept and methodology of doing decent research,” Dupree told the Guardian in 2013.
She also established the Louis and Nancy Hatch Dupree Foundation, aiming to promote the history and culture of Afghanistan.
In an interview with Washington post, she explained the motivation behind her organisation's battle to strengthen Afghan heritage.
“What we are trying to do is inject this idea that to have a sense of identity is what makes you strong,” she said.

author: Ezzatullah Mehrdad