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Mozambique: Musician with a Cause · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Ruben Mutekane playing Ndjerendje in Maputo, Mozambique (September, 2012). Video by Miguel Mangueze on Youtube
Ruben Mutekane invented Ndjerendje, a musical instrument that he uses to accompany social intervention songs while singing around Maputo, Mozambique. In the following video by Miguel Mangueze (@FotoMangueze)…
Mutekane sings a song in the xichangana language on social inequalities in Mozambique, which Francisco Chuquela (@chuquela) has partly translatedon Facebook: “the rich live in our country and we suffer, even when they kill they are not arrested because they pay.”


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Myanmar: Peace Day Demonstration  · Global Voices
Chan Myae Khine

Peace Day rally urging a stop in the ongoing civil war in northern Myanmar. Photo from Facebook Page of CJ Myanmar
On September 21 2012, a peace day rally was organised demanding an end in the civil war in the north part of the country. Various volunteer groups, youths and individuals joined the demonstration. Meanwhile, the police held a press conference[my] on the same day and warned that protesters would be detained because the rally was organised without an approved license.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Chan Myae Khine


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North Korea’s Parody of K-Pop Sensation ‘Gangnam Style’ · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korea uploaded a video entitled “I'm Yushin style!” in its government website Uriminzokkiri as a parody of South Korean pop sensation, ‘Gangnam Style‘. The parody lambasts Park Geun-hye, South Korean ruling conservative party's presidential candidate. Ms. Park is a daughter of former President Park Chung-hee, whose “Yushin” system brutally suppressed democracy and free speech in the 1970s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-6x3cUtcMwM

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Portugal: Demonstrations During Presidential Meeting with State Council · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Following September 15's massive anti-austerity protests around Portugal ‘Screw troika! We want our lives’, new demonstrations were organized for September 21, the day President Cavaco Silva is holding a meeting of his advisory State Council at the Belém Palace. Follow hashtags #15sPT, #CE21s and #QueSeLixeaTroika on Twitter for updates.

author: Sara Moreira


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Russia: Activist Journalists or Bolshevik Bloggers? · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

This post is part of our special coverage Russia's Protest Movement.
Anyone following the Russian protest movement cannot help but notice the degree to which many Russian journalists are involved with the opposition. Not only do they actively attend rallies — they also eat at the same cafes, drink at the same bars, and go to the same clubs as the movement's leaders. In the age of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, such interpersonal relationships are clearly visible to outside observers.
Although this is questionable behavior by Western standards (National Public Radio, for example, actually prohibits staff from participating in protests, even outside of work), it has failed to attract any attention in Russia, until last Monday.
On September 17, Ekho Moskvy radio host Alexander Plushev tweeted the following [ru]:
Я считаю, что журналисты, баллотирующиеся в КС оппозиции — это безобразие. Либо ты в оппозиции, либо журналист.
I believe that journalists running for the opposition's Coordinating Council is a travesty. Either you’re in the opposition, or you’re a journalist.
He then elaborated [ru]:
Хочешь в политику — на время/навсегда перестань называть себя журналистом. Хочешь оставаться журналистом — и думать забудь про всякие КСы
[If] you want into politics — temporarily/permanently stop calling yourself a journalist. [If] you want to stay a journalist –- forget about Coordination Councils.
Plushev was referring to the fact that quite a few journalists (according to him, as many as twenty) are participating in the opposition's coming Coordinating Council elections [ru]. Writing on his personal blog [ru], he expanded on the idea, describing the phenomenon as ethically reprehensible, and citing the Moscow Charter of Journalists [ru], a 1994 document that, among other points, tries to draw a clear line between journalism and politics (a line that was blurry during the Soviet Union).
Alexander Plushev picketing, ironically in light of today's dispute (on several levels), in support of Oleg Kashin, after his brutal beating. Sign reads, “Journalist Oleg Kashin has been beaten, and I demand that those who committed and ordered this crime be found.” 7 November 2010. Screenshot from Lenta.ru.
The Council will clearly be a highly political organization, tasked with anything from ranking opposition leaders to being a “shadow government” and coordinating street protests [ru]. (As a nascent institution, the jury is still out on what it will do, exactly.) Though journalists joining the Council would seem to represent an obvious violation of the 1994 Charter's principles, many have attacked Plushev for arguing just that. Ironically, one of his most vocal critics is Sergey Parkhomenko, an original signatory of the 1994 Charter. Parkhomenko is himself running for a position on the CC and wrote a lengthy blog post [ru] in response to Plushev, where he oscillated between claiming (1) that membership in the Coordinating Council is not a “position,” and (2) that Russian journalism is ethically bankrupt anyway.
Although he calls himself a journalist [ru], Parkhomenko has a pass to seek political involvement. According to his boss at Ekho Moskvy and fellow Charter-signatory Alexey Venidiktov, Parkhomenko is not a staff journalist, but rather an op-ed columnist. This makes his participation in a political organization “not frightening,” [ru] according to Leonid Bershidskii, former editor of Slon.ru and current editor of Forbes.ua.
Venediktov later tweeted [ru] in support of Plushev, expressing his “solidarity.” Another old-school journalist, Sergey Korzun, agreed, drawing a distinction between columnists, publicists, and journalists, writing [ru]:
Когда в процесс политического лоббизма вовлечены штатные журналисты, издание теряет свой статус 4-й власти.
When staff journalists become involved in political lobbyism, the publication loses its status as a member of the Fourth Estate.
Journalist Oleg Kashin responded with an article [ru] on Slon.ru, where he dismissed Ekho’s impartiality internal policies as quaint and “last-century corporate rules.” Proud that these rules do not apply to his own work for Kommersant, Kashin is of the opinion that a journalist can’t avoid bias. And if that is the case, why pretend to be objective by staying out of political organizations?
Oleg Kashin (center) attending protests at Chistye Prudy in Moscow, 10 May 2012, photo by Evgeniy Isaev, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Those who disagree with Plushev -– among others, former Kommersant chief editor Demian Kutdriavtsev [ru], journalist Kirill Martynov [ru], and political activist Oleg Kozyrev [ru] –- all parrot Kashin's argument. It is impossible for a journalist to be truly objective, therefore political participation subtracts nothing from the quality of their work — indeed, it can even enhance it, since activism clearly exposes the bias of the journalist. There is a logical disconnect here: Plushev does not argue against having opinions, he argues against subjecting those opinions to the influence of participation in the process being covered.
Oddly, Kashin and Martynov believe that the world, including the United States, is full of “party” newspapers and “left and right publications” for which political bias is a badge of honor. Assuming that this is the case (a dubious proposition for mainstream American journalism, which is often criticized for having gone too far in the other direction with its “teaching the controversy” style), it does not follow that staff of these organizations is actively political. Even most FOX News anchors, for all of their opinionated support for the Republicans, would probably not participate in the kind of official party structure that the Coordinating Council is in essence.
Of course, there are other cases made against Plushev. Some ask [ru], “But what will journalists eat, if they quit their jobs to become politicians?” The answer is unclear. Others, like Kudriavtsev, argue that it is essential that journalists be a part of the protest movement because they represent society. Arguments like this have led Maksim Kurnikov, a regional editor at Ekho Moskvy, to tweet [ru]:
@plushev мне кажется, или большинство отвечающих про журналистов и КС, не опровергают ваши тезисы, а переводят разговор в “кто, если не мы?”
@plushev is it just me, or is the majority of people responding to journalists and the CC not arguing with your thesis, but rather changing the conversation to “if not us, then who?”
Another interesting point, made by the ostensibly pro-Kremlin publicist Dmitry Olshansky in his Facebook [ru], is that Russia has a rich turn-of-the-century tradition of journalist-politicians. In his list, he includes Lenin, Trotsky, Kropotkin, Plekhanov, and many others. Some of Olshansky’s commenters point out [ru] that, although these people did write and even published newspapers:
Деятельность тех людей в то время в тех СМИ больше всего походит на нынешнее блогерство или ведение колонок. Блогеры – это не журналисты
The activity of those people, at that time, and in those mass media, is more akin to modern blogging and writing op-eds. Bloggers aren't journalists.
This is a comforting thought. The Internet would have been a powerful tool in the hands of Lenin, Trotsky, or Purishkevich, undoubtedly putting the current propaganda flame wars to shame.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia's Protest Movement.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Russia: After the APEC Summit · Global Voices
Karl Soper

The 2012 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vladivostok has come and gone. What remains is discussion of what APEC means to Russia’s Far East and the country as a whole. Russian bloggers have reacted to the same handful of media reports and commentaries. They focus more on the summit's cost and benefit to Russia than its politics. Bloggers’ biggest issue, however, was President Vladimir Putin's promise to send some APEC volunteers on a cruise to Japan, who went, and who did not.
Commentary online seems to orbit a handful of incendiary items publicized by the mainstream media. NewsRu.com, for instance, published a compilation [ru] of other outlets describing Russia as Asia's raw materials appendage, begging the question: does Russia have anything but national resources to offer China and other Asian economies? NewsRu also retransmitted Kommersant-Vlast's suggestion that Moscow could share the luxurious lifestyle of its ruling class with its guests in Vladivostok.
Official banner from Russia's APEC Center site. Public domain.
The BBC Russian Service concluded [ru] that, because it's dwarfed by Asia's economic powers, Russia is not really serious about reorienting itself toward its depopulated Far East. That hesitation to advance eastward in turn fuels the public's doubts about how effective it was to spend two-thirds of a trillion rubles updating the region's infrastructure for the summit.
In an article for Novaya Gazeta, Yulia Latynina declared [ru] that the Kremlin was determined to impress, even though APEC is neither necessary nor useful to Russia. However, her op-ed hits hardest when it asks:
Вопрос: что подумают бизнесмены и выборные чиновники этих стран, когда они приезжают во Владивосток, и только фейерверки для них обходятся в 7 млн долларов? (А сам бесполезный и пустой саммит, повторю, стоит 18 млрд долларов.) Что они подумают, когда узнают, что власть, которая не может построить шоссе от Москвы до Владивостока для собственных избирателей, выложила 2 млрд долларов, чтобы впечатлить заморских гостей мостом на остров Русский? И что Путин по дороге на саммит возглавил стаю стерхов?
A question: what do the businessmen and elected officials of these countries think when they travel to Vladivostok, and fireworks for them alone cost 7 million dollars? (And the useless and empty summit itself, I repeat, costs 18 billion dollars.) What do they think when they learn that the authorities, which cannot build a highway from Moscow to Vladivostok for their own voters, invested 2 billion dollars to impress its foreign guests with a bridge to Russkiy Island? And that Putin led a flock of white cranes on his way to the summit?
The bridge to Russkiy Island. Vladivostok, Russia. 10 August 2012. Photo by USK Most, CC BY-SA 3.0; Wikimedia Commons.
So are bloggers less critical than news organizations of the money Moscow spent to host APEC?
Some are.
Yevgeniy Druzin, for example, posted great photographs [ru] of what Vladivostok gained from APEC. He writes with not a little sarcasm concerning those who complain about the money Russia spent on the summit:
Информационные фекалии потекли широкой рекой. Непаханное поле для оппозиционеров, критиков, креативщиков всех видов, диванных специалистов и всех остальных. И дорогу смыло, и в аэропорту кондиционер капает и вообще все это зря, украли миллиарды, сплошная показуха и никакой пользы. Логичное продолжение – ничего толком не построили, только распилили бюджет, а надо было раздать деньги народу, купить иностранный банк, акции производителя мобильников, в общем вариантов правильных куча, а диванные специалисты хором решили, что неправильный способ траты денег только один и именно его выбрала воровская власть…
The information feces flowed in a broad river. An unplowed field for the opposition, critics, all types of creative people, armchair specialists, and all the rest. And the road washed away, and the air conditioner drips in the airport and generally it's all in vain, they stole billions, completely for show and of no use. The logical continuation is they didn't build anything properly, just siphoned off some budget money, but they needed to disburse money to people, buy a foreign bank, shares in a mobile phone maker, in general a heap of the right kinds, but armchair specialists decided in unison that there's just one incorrect way of spending money and the thieving authorities picked it precisely…
Druzin concludes that the reality of citizens’ needs is the growth of much-needed infrastructure for the region. But one could respond that infrastructure, while necessary, is not sufficient for development.
Similarly, Putin-supporter and LiveJournal-user Sergey Nikitskiy would like to see Russkiy Island become Russia's Asian investment center [ru]. The counter argument to this notion is: don't financial hubs emerge organically, in a process that naturally marshals the needed infrastructure?
Mail.ru forum participant Tatyana Kormye argues the same point more gently and personally when she notes:
Ни в одной стране саммит не проводился в городе, долгие- долгие годы “забытом” федеральным бюджетом…Не развивался город то; закрыт был, как форпост. Неужели трудно это понять. Надеюсь, любой бы согласился, что человек, проживающий в конкретном городе почти что всю свою жизнь, знает немного более, чем человек издалека, так сказать.
The summit was not conducted in a city in any country “forgotten” by the federal budget for a great many years … A city that was not developed; it was closed, like a fortress. It can be difficult to understand this. I hope someone would agree that a person living in a particular city for almost her entire life knows a little more than a person [looking in] from far away, so to speak.
Others, however, take issue with this characterization. LJ user Dzheyson Born (Jason Bourne?) responds with references to oppositionist blogger Vladislav Naganov's accounting of Russia's APEC costs [ru]. (Naganov also proposed alternative better uses of the money.) Born then asks [ru]:
Уж не очередную ли потёмкинскую деревню с пусканием золотой пыли в глаза иностранцам?
Isn't throwing gold dust in the eyes of foreigners just the latest Potemkin village?
Controversy over sending some young Russian APEC volunteers on a cruise to Japan marred the end of the summit for Moscow.
On September 9, President Putin met [ru] briefly with 2,500 volunteers to thank them for their work. As a reward, he promised to send the 500 “best” on the “Legend of the Seas” cruise liner to Yokohama.
The scandal took off when volunteers who did not get to take the trip went public with their complaint that, along with a few volunteers, local bureaucrats and their relatives filled most of the allotted 500 spots on the ship. Some offended students appealed [ru] to Putin asking only that those in the Primorskiy Kray administration responsible for the situation be identified and issue a public apology.
Putin addresses volunteers in Primorsky Krai, 9 September 2012. Photo by Russian presidential service. Public domain.
The Foreign Ministry subsequently claimed that 460 travelers were students from Moscow and Vladivostok.
The offended in this case do not blame Putin, but rather the venal officialdom over which he presides. In any event, this incident is unlikely to be untangled.
LJ user yuss sees the moral [ru] of the story this way:
Почему всё, к чему прикасается рука жадных на халяву бюрократов начинает смердеть и превращается в собственную противоположность? Ну и представляю уже накат на ВВП по данному поводу со стороны рукопожатной медиаобщественности. Тут тоже Госдеп виноват? Или Березовский?
Самое печальное, что это скорее правило, чем досадное исключение. И к “бочке мёда” -неплохо проведённому АТЭС и его достижениям обязательной добавкой стала “ложка дёгтя”, которую старательно в силу своей непорядочности, жадности и мелочности добавляют винтики властной вертикали -каждый на своём месте.
Why does everything the hand of greedy bureaucrats touches become a handout, and start to stink and turn into its own antithesis? And I'm already imagining the groundswell for VVP [Putin] on the given subject from the side of the glad-handing public media. Is the State Department to blame here too? Or Berezovskiy?
The saddest thing is that this is more the rule than the unfortunate exception. The success and accomplishments of the APEC summit, which was carried out well enough, were inevitably spoiled by the diligent dishonesty, greed, and pettiness of the power vertical's cogs — the fly in the ointment. Indeed, it ended with everything in its place.
Commentator Rara_avis on dirty.ru adds [ru]:
Ура, товарищи! Наше правительство стало более лучше врать, существенно сократились сроки невыполнения обещаний. […]
Самое поучительно, на мой взгляд, что чиновники подставили своих же, в основной массе волонтеры АТЭС были набраны из числа мологвардейцев и нашистов.
Hurrah, comrades! Our government has begun to lie even better, [and] the period for not fulfilling promises has been cut substantially. […]
Most instructive, in my view, is the fact that the officials actually shafted their own: the APEC volunteers had been picked mainly from the [pro-Kremlin] Young Guard and NASHI ranks.

author: Karl Soper


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Saint Lucia, St. Vincent: Going to Canada?  Got to get a Visa!   · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

Early last week, Citizenship and Immigration Canada () imposed visa requirements for entry on five countries, including two from the Caribbean – Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines:
‘Beginning at 12:01 a.m. EDT today, citizens of St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (St. Vincent), Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland now require a visa to travel to Canada,’ Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced.
For the first 48 hours, or until 11:59 p.m. September 12, 2012, citizens of these countries who are in transit to Canada at the time the visa requirement takes effect will be able to receive a Temporary Resident Permit on arrival in Canada, free of charge, if they are not otherwise inadmissible to Canada.
‘We continue to welcome genuine visitors to Canada,’ said Minister Kenney. ‘These changes are necessary to protect the integrity of Canada's fair and generous immigration system by helping us to reduce an unacceptably high number of immigration violations.’
The statement contained a brief explanation for the new policy:
A key reason why the government has imposed visa requirements on St. Lucia and St. Vincent is unreliable travel documents. In particular, criminals from these countries can legally change their names and acquire new passports. In some instances, people who were removed from Canada as security risks later returned using different passports.
The Government of Saint Lucia expressed disappointment at the decision stating in a press release that:
…it deeply regrets that the Canadian Government did not give it an opportunity to address the concerns regarding the claims of ‘unreliable travel documents’ allegedly held by some Saint Lucians.
While St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves felt that the reason for the visa requirements was the excessive refugee applications from citizens,  Vincy View cited the Consul General, who believes immigration fraud is to blame:
…SVG Consul General in Canada Steve Phillips has stated that the main reason behind the visa restrictions on Vincentians is immigration fraud, in which certain people come to Canada with passports baring false names, after being deported from Canada.
Phillips further noted that there have been several instances of immigration fraud by Vincentians, with the Canada Border Services Agency making constant reports on the issue.
Vincy View also noted that Phillips himself has written supporting letters for refugee status applicants:
Both Opposition and Government officials in SVG have wrote letter supporting refugee claims. Steve Phillips, SVG’s consul general in Canada, in 2008 wrote a letter to support the refugee claim of domestic abuse victim Leila Brown-Trimmingham, who feared for her life in SVG…
At Bajan Reporter, Vicky Augustin spoke to a source within Canadian immigration and found out the problems were longstanding and that the goverments had been informed of the impending action:
There has been an unacceptably high number of asylum claims from St. Lucia with about one and a half percent of the population of the country making asylum claims in Canada over the past five years.
For months the Government of St Lucia has recognized the problem of immigration violations out of St Lucia. These problems have gotten worse, not better.
Julian Williams felt the decision of the Canadian authorities was inevitable:
During Prime Minister's Trudeau's rule, every English speaking Caribbean country enjoyed that non-visa agreement with Canada. But Jamaica was the first casualty in the late 80's with their drug pushing and violent crime. Then later it was Guyana and Trinidad and Grenada who lost the privilege after review of their falling GDP and their crime statistics in Canada. But it was the trinis who brought that frivolous refugee status application in the equation. Now its St Lucia and St Vincent.Only Antigua and St.Kitts /Nevis enjoy that non-visa privilege and I wish them well in safeguarding it.
Williams also criticized what he considers the poor representation of the Caribbean by its diplomats overseas:
And the OECS High commission was closed last year! Go figure the impression that was conveyed when our Caribbean constituency voluntarily abandoned their constituency! I wondered how those same Caribbean diplomats would have handled a situation if revocation of the non-visa agreement also meant stripping them of their diplomatic status or passports!
Abeni saw the visa requirement as burdensome and suggested that Vincentians find somewhere else to visit:
With the economic downturn  being felt Vincentians have been packing their bags and heading northwards to Canada. Some rather than applying themselves to being productive citizens have found themselves in trouble with the law and subsequently deported. From my vantage point both political sides have valid points but I suspect they would rather die than give any such concession. So now visas are needed and the form is so discouraging that persons may not even want to bother applying. For example, applicants must list the names of all their siblings-half, full, step along with their DOB and occupation. Hmmmm, given the dynamics of the Caribbean family that list could get very long!
Darby Etienne also wondered what role the closing of the OECS High Commission played:
Could it be that as a result of closing the High Commission of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States in Ottawa, Canada which served both St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines lost their diplomatic stripes and the respect of the Canadian government? Or is it that their reliance on their consulate offices, in Toronto, lacked the mandate to deal with diplomatic issues thereby placing them at the end of prejudicial anger?

author: Matthew Hunte


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Senegal: ‘Completely White’ Whitening Cream Stirs Outrage  · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

[All links forward to French text unless otherwise stated]
Lightening the skin is a common practice in Africa where the sale of skin lightening products is legal in many countries. However, the use of these creams is not safe: stretch marks, pimples, hair, hypertension and diabetes are all risks user take.
In Senegal, a whitening product named “Khess Petch” is creating controversy on the web.
Kiné Fatim Diop explains in ‘A whiter skin in 15 days‘:
“Toute blanche”, c’est la traduction de l’expression en Wolof« Khess Petch », du nom d’une toute nouvelle crème aux vertus prétendument éclaircissantes.
“Completely white”, is how one translates the Wolof expression “Khess Petch”, the name of a new cream supposedly with skin whitening qualities.
Amadou Bakhaw DIAW on the site Ndarinfo, writes in ‘The  “Khess Petch” campaign,  an insult to our identity‘:
Depuis une vingtaine de jours environ, un nouveau produit le « Khess Petch » a fait son apparition dans l’agglomération dakaroise, sur plus de 100 panneaux publicitaires de 12 m2.
Twenty days ago, a new product called “Khess Petch” appeared in the Dakar greater area, on more than 100 billboards of 12 square meters each.
With her blog post, ‘A very clear skin at any cost: Understanding the phenomena in Africa‘, Carole Ouédraogo on the website NextAfrique explains that this phenomenon is common in many African countries:
Les chercheurs estiment que 25 % des femmes à Bamako au Mali utilisent des produits éclaircissants … en Afrique du Sud 35 % … au Sénégal 52 % …
The researchers estimate that roughly  25 % of women in Bamako, Mali use the skin lightening products… in South Africa 35%  …  in Senegal 52% …
And she adds:
Les femmes au Sénégal associent la peau claire avec la beauté, l’élégance et un statut social élevé. Une étude menée en Tanzanie a révélé que nombre de Tanzaniens ont embrassé les idéaux de beautés eurocentriques.
Women in Senegal associate light skin with beauty, elegance and high social status. One study in Tanzania has revealed that many Tanzanians have also embraced Eurocentric ideals of beauty.
This video [in French] outlines the risks of skin lightening, uploaded to YouTube by myskreen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADrWc2I0xzA
On the blog A Toubab [the word “toubab” means a westerner in West Africa] in Dakar, a blog post entitled ‘The Xessalisation a.k.a the stupid quest for whiteness‘ tries to answer the question  “Why whiten your skin?”:
Certaines pensent que les Sénégalais aiment la chair claire, elles se dépigmentent alors pour leur plaire . D’autres parlent de “complexes” …
Some believe that Senegalese man love clear skin, so somewomen whiten their skin to please them. Other talk of an”inferiority complex” …
Blogger Fatou on Blackbeautybag goes further in his post ‘Skin Whitening: Practices, Challenges and Accoutability‘:
Il y a les séquelles de l'esclavage et la colonisation. D'un point de vue psychologique, ce passé a laissé des séquelles chez beaucoup de personnes. Ce sentiment d'infériorité n'a pas totalement été éradiqué malheureusement [..] Il y'a des filles qui ne sont pas complexées à la base, mais à force de railleries venant de leurs proches, elles sautent le pas. Les remarques comme: TU ES NOIRE COMME LA NUIT, SI TU ES TROP NOIRE AUCUN HOMME NE VOUDRA DE TOI, et j'en passe des meilleures …
These issues are related to sequels from slavery and colonialism. From a psychological point of view, the past has left its mark on many people. The complex of inferiority has not been totally eradicated unfortunately […] There are girls who aren't feeling inferior to start with, but by dint of taunts coming from the family they take the leap. Remarks like: YOU ARE BLACK AS THE NIGHT, IF YOU ARE TOO BLACK, NO MAN WILL WANT YOU, and the list goes on and on…
On the feeling of inferiority, blogger Mama Sarate writes a post to generate controversy: ‘From Black to White ↗ RACIAL ASCENSION‘.
What can bloggers do to raise this issue and counter the trend ? Historically in Senegal, a decree has prohibited skin de-pigmentation among students in elementary, primary and secondary school since 1979. In Jamaica, the question is also identified as a public health issue. In the United States last year, the documentary Dark Girls (see preview below) illustrated and debated prejudices against women with dark skin. In Kenya the top model Ajuma Nasenyana launched a campaign against skin whitening products.
One of the first counters from the blogger community is explained by Kiné Fatim Diop:
Très rapidement, une mobilisation citoyenne dénonçant les risques de cette lotion [Khess Petch] est née sur les réseaux sociaux. Lancée sur Internet le 8 septembre, une pétition en ligne appelant le ministère de la Santé à mettre fin à cette campagne publicitaire a recueilli plus de 1.000 signatures en quatre jours.
Rapidly, a citizen awareness project exposing the risks of the cream [Khess Petch] grew on social networks. Launched online on the 8 September, a petition calling for the Ministry of Health to put a halt to the advertising campaign, gathered more than 1,000 signatures in four days.
@K_Sociial on Twitter mused:
@K_Sociaal:  Je vais bientôt créer : “Nioul kouk” [toute noire] vous allez voir. Les filles deviendront bleues ! …
@K_Sociaal: I will soon create : “Nioul kouk” [all black] you will see. The girls will become blue! …
Bloggers and infographics designers took the idea to task and organized a counter-campaign: “We see your Khess Petch (completely white) campaign and we raise its counter: Nioul Kouk (completely black in wolof)”.

author: Anna Gueye


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Sri Lanka: The continuing occupation of a school by the Navy · Global Voices
Rezwan

The villagers living at the Malankaadu temporary resettlement camp were evicted in 2007 by the Sri Lankan Navy. Most of them are being resettled in an adjoining village, however, the Mullikulam Roman Catholic Tamil Mixed School continues to be occupied by the Navy. Groundviews has more.

author: Rezwan


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Thailand’s Lese Majeste Law: ‘A Strange Legislation that Needs Reform’ · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Article 112 of Thailand’s criminal code is often described as the world’s harshest Lese Majeste (anti-royal insult) law. The controversial law is often invoked to censor web content and shut down websites. Aside from webmasters, even ordinary citizens have been jailed for allegedly sending mobile phone text messages that insult the royal family.
Scholars and activists have been demanding a reform of the law but the government has dismissed the petition. Thailand’s King is the most popular and well-loved public figure in the country. Politicians have argued that the law is necessary to promote national unity.
A contributor of Global Voices went to Bangkok and interviewed a former staff of the Committee to Investigate Lese Majeste Cases in the Royal Thai Police. The interviewee wishes to be anonymous for security concerns. Below is an excerpt of our conversation with the person:
What is the process in receiving complaints with regard to Article 112?
A rare protest march over lese majeste law in Bangkok. Photo by Matthew Richards, copyright Demotix (12/10/2011)
When someone files a claim against another individual on a possible ground for violating Article 112 of the penal code at a police station, the claim will be examined by three divisions of the Royal Thai police. They can prosecute someone at this stage or submit the claims to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) in Bangkok, depending on the nature of the cases. Once the claims are submitted to the CIB, they are then passed on to the Committee for further investigation.
What is the role of each committee in handling Article 112 cases?
There are many different ways to violate Article 112. If it is a message on Facebook, the first sub-committee has the authority to block it or shut it down, for example. If the claim involves further investigation, then it gets passed on to the second sub-committee, which further assess whether the claim is valid. This applies to claims whose alleged perpetrators cannot be named.
In essence, the first two sub-committees determine whether claims do violate Article 112 or not. The second sub-committee, in particular, ensures there are legal grounds to prosecute the claims. Once that's determined, the third sub-committee, to which I belonged, investigate who the perpetrator is.
Below is a video interview of  CJ Hinke, the head of Freedom Against Censorship Thailand. The video provides an overview of Thailand's “lèse majesté” law
Below is the continuation of our interview with a former investigator of Lese Majeste cases in Thailand. What is your opinion on the controversies generated by the application of the law?
Article 112 is a strange legislation. It is based on “emotions” and “norms” rather than the rule of law. The article applies to “Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent…,” and so forth. To determine whether someone “defames” the monarchy is an emotional rather than a logical process. As such, it is safer for the investigators to be on a safe side and find charges to be valid. No one wants to come across as being disloyal to the monarchy.
Do you think the law needs to be reformed?
We know that lese majeste is not doing any good to His Majesty but we are put in a very difficult position. As police, we feel society expects us to persecute those deemed a ‘threat to the nation’. There is too much emotion in society about the royal institution. If the Committee begins to relax its role, then other units both within and outside the police will scrutinize us. It's difficult to find an alternative to satisfy everyone. Hence, the status quo.
I do think that article 112 does need reform. But before we reform it we need to ask ourselves again for what or whom this article is meant? If the purpose of article 112 is national unity then I think the punishment is too harsh. Perhaps the problem is with the case processing…why is it a police's responsibility, for example? Could the Bureau of Royal Household take over? I don't think it is practical to do away with article 112 altogether. Too many people in society will oppose such move.
What should be reformed?
Indeed some people believe there is nothing wrong with the actual wording of article 112 per se, but the problem is its application. There is too much societal pressure to persecute violators so harsh that it becomes difficult to properly use the law. In truth I feel that since the law itself is flawed, enforcing it becomes inherently problematic.

author: Mong Palatino


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Togo: Waves of Women in Red March Down Lomé for Political Reform  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Togolese Women March by the Let's Save Togo Association on FlickR with permission.
Several thousand women dressed in red marched in Togo's capital Lome on September 2Oth demanding political reforms. The Association Let's Save Togo posted several photos [fr] from the march.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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UK: A Geeky Marriage Proposal  · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

Dan Braghis proposed to Global Voices Author, Sylwia Presley in a pitch session at Oxford Geeks event, #OGN28, and she said yes! Congratulations!

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


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Armenia-Azerbaijan: Hatred in the Caucasus · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Murad Gassanly, an activist in exile, comments on the case of Ramil Safarov, a soldier convicted of murder in Hungary and recently pardoned in Azerbaijan, by examining how and why ethnic hatred has come to define society in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Political Forces United on Pardoned Axe Murderer · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

In Mutatione Fortitudo says that the two main opposition parties in Azerbaijan have united behind the government in its criticism of a European Parliament ruling condemning the 31 August pardon, release, and promotion of an Azerbaijani soldier who axed to death a sleeping Armenian counterpart on a NATO Partnership for Peace program in Budapest, Hungary, in 2004.


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Belarus: Early Voting Boosts Turnout Amid Calls to Boycott Elections · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More than 39,000 users have joined the Stop Luka [be, ru] VKontakte group, which is urging voters to boycott the Sep. 23 parliamentary election in Belarus (the “non-election,” as The Economist's Eastern Approaches blog calls it):
[…] When we come to the polling station, we put our signatures and “vote.” The only thing that matter here is the turnout, which legitimizes the regime, and our illusion that we are making “some sort of a choice.” […]
There's no point voting – your vote will be stolen. There's no one to vote for – only pro-regime bureaucrats and special services’ proxies are running. There's no use coming to the polling station and thus complying with falsifications. Only the boycott. Only the refusal to cooperate with the regime. […]
It's easy to steal the vote, but impossible to falsify the turnout. If Belarusians don't show up at the polling stations, it will be visible with the naked eye. And it will mean that the people oppose the tyrant. […]
If you're boycotting the election, you're helping your country to make a step towards freedom. […] It's up to you to choose whether to play the dictator's games or to refuse to help [President Aleksandr Lukashenko]. […]
A banner calling to boycott the Sep. 23 “election” in Belarus, posted in the “Stop Luka” VKontakte community.
It appears, however, that there'll be no problems with the turnout.
Journalist Pavel Sheremet wrote [ru] on Facebook on Thursday, Sep. 20, that 3 percent of the voters had cast their votes on the first day of early voting.
User Aleh Pov pointed out [ru] in a comment to Sheremet that on the second day the turnout was already 7 percent:
[…] At this rate, we'll have 25 percent by Sep. 22.
User Irena Ławrowska posted this comment [be]:
Just returned from the hairdresser's… [Educated the ladies] there – and what do you think? Most of them aren't going [to vote]. Among those who are going [to the polling stations] are […] the pensioners, because they've never skipped a vote, [those who couldn't care less], because “their boss asked them to,” and, of course, the complete “blondes”!
On Friday, BelarusPartisan reported [ru] on Facebook that 12.5 percent of the votes have been cast in the first three days of the early voting.
Invitation to the parliamentary election in Belarus: “23 September 2012 – Elections of the members of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus – Everyone come to the election!” (Image in public domain.)
In another Facebook post, Sheremet shared [ru] BelarusPartisan's photo of a group of soldiers queueing for an organized early vote in Machulishchi [ru], a village near Minsk that houses a military base. Below are some of the readers’ comments:
Lyudmila Saakyan:
The patience of Belarusians must end eventually.
Vadim Savransky:
I think Belarus will explode sooner or later. This cannot go on forever.
Marina Pavlova:
It can [go on forever].

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Brazil: A Celebration of Bolivian Culture · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Global Voices author Yohana de Andrade celebrates the presence of Bolivian migrants in her hometown city, São Paulo, Brazil, in an article she wrote for Future Challenges. Yohana describes one of the cultural demonstrations that the Bolivian community brings to the city: the Feira de Kantuta.


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Brazil: Reflections of a Country Searching for Peace  · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Brazil is 83rd among 158 ranked nations in 2012's edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), having fallen nine places since last year's. The report points out [pt] that, in general, the world has become more peaceful for the second year in a row, with the exception of the Middle East and North Africa region.
Natasha Romanzoti [pt] explains the reasons for Brazil's position in the middle of the ranking:
Historicamente, não nos envolvemos em muitas guerras, porém nossa violência interna é suficiente para não deixar o país subir muito no Índice. […]
O IGP de 2012 mostra que os pontos em que somos menos pacíficos são, em indicadores em ordem decrescente: homicídios, crimes violentos e terror político, acesso a armas, e violência percebida pela sociedade.
Alguns dos pontos em somos mais pacíficos são, empatados: conflito organizado, atos terroristas, mortes por conflito interno e por conflito externo, armas pesadas e relações com países vizinhos
Historically, we haven't got involved in many wars, however our internal violence is enough not to let the country climb up the index. […]
2012's GPI shows that the matters we're less peaceful at are, in indicators in descending order: homicides, violent crimes and political terror, access to weapons, and violence perceived by society.
Some of the matters we are more peaceful at are, tied: organized conflict, terrorist acts, deaths by internal conflict and by external conflict, heavy weaponry and relations with neighbouring countries.
“Peace at the speed of light”, by Tales Carvalho, published on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
Perhaps Brazil will have its position improved next year, following the National Disarmament Campaign [pt] which has already collected over 57,000 weapons [pt] across the country. Launched a year ago with the slogan “Take a weapon out of the future of Brazil,” the campaign uses Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social networks to spread the message.
While disarmament is a controversial subject among adults, a new generation of children are learning early on the importance of peace through the parallel campaign of “child disarmament” which collects toy guns and turns them into recycled plastic. The Diarinho Blog reports [pt]:
Quem descobre desde a infância que arma – mesmo falsa – não é legal vai preferir ficar sempre bem distante dela. E isso pode impedir que muitas tragédias aconteçam. Ainda ocorrem casos de meninos e meninas que encontram por acaso armas de verdade em casa e, por curiosidade e falta de informação, machucam alguém ou a si mesmos. Em casos mais graves, podem até morrer ou matar sem querer.
The ones who find out since childhood that a weapon – even a false one – is not cool [Translator's note: the original word in Portuguese, ‘legal’, may have two meanings, either cool or legal] will prefer to always keep a distance. And that may prevent many tragedies from taking place. There are still cases of boys and girls who find real weapons at home by chance, and for curiosity and lack of information, they hurt someone or themselves. In more serious cases, they can even die or kill without meaning.
Many other initiatives are emerging within the population itself, as the Yoga Pela Paz [pt] (Yoga for Peace) movement, which promoted in August more than 500 free classes that have benefited thousands of people in cities across the country.
Marcia De Luca, founder, explains that the idea was born of a “dream of working for a better world”, with some inspiration from Ayurveda, an ancient Indian healing system that defends the practice of “therapy of opposites” to create balance in life:
Yoga for Peace at the Ibirapuera Park, August 2012. Photo by Rodrigo Maciel for disclosure
Assim, em um mundo de violência, movimento e stress, temos que acionar o contrário: paz, aquietamento e calma. É a forma de contrabalançar o que há em excesso no momento atual e melhorar nossa existência.
Praticar yoga e meditação e seguir uma rotina diária de aquietamento e paz são a proposta maior do Yoga pela Paz. Vivenciar o momento presente é também nosso foco, pois assim conseguimos minimizar a “tagarelice” da mente e começamos a observar o que acontece à nossa volta com maior atenção.
[…]
Muita gente se pergunta: mas será que eu posso mesmo mudar o mundo? A resposta é não e sim. Não podemos mudar o mundo em si, mas podemos mudar o mundo através da nossa mudança individual. Se cada um de nós se tornar um ser humano melhor e a partir dessa mudança individual formarmos uma massa crítica de pessoas com a intenção de paz em todos os sentidos, aí sim! Juntos, podemos fazer a diferença para um mundo melhor.
Thus, in a world of violence, movement and stress, we have to activate the opposite: peace, quieting and calm. It's a way to counterbalance what is in excess at the present moment and to improve our existence.
Practicing yoga and meditation and following a daily routine of peace and quieting are the main proposals of Yoga for Peace. To experience the present moment is also our focus because that way we can minimize the “chatter” of the mind and begin to see what happens around us with more attention.
[…]
Many people ask themselves: but could it be that I can really change the world? The answer is no and yes. We can not change the world itself, but we can change the world through our individual change. If each one of us becomes a better human being and from that individual change we form a critical mass of people with the intention of peace in every way, then yes! Together we can make a difference for a better world.
Marilda Reina [pt] is inspired by slides she found on the Internet about peace and nature:
Algumas fotos registram o amor entre as espécies e, também, registram a irracionalidade do nosso semelhante. Por sorte, uma grande parcela de seres humanos estão se unindo para tornar nosso planeta um mundo mais harmônico, aprendendo e ensinando a respeitar os recursos naturais. Ainda temos muito trabalho pela frente, então vamos passar os bons exemplos adiante, vamos contagiar mais e mais pessoas com o sentimento de amor e respeito.
Some photos register the love between species and also the irrationality of our neighbor. Luckily, a large portion of humans are uniting to make our planet a more harmonious world, learning and teaching to respect natural resources. We still have much work ahead, so we'll pass the good examples below, we will infect more and more people with the feeling of love and respect.
In the eve of International Peace Day, September 21, Suzane Rodrigues [pt] explains that to find the long-sought peace not major efforts are needed:
Paz uma palavra que colocam como extinta ou de um futuro próximo. Em verdade o conceito de paz é errado, pois passaram a ideia errada. E todos consomem essa ideia. Paz é apenas ter tranquilidade e estar bem consigo, apenas isso. Não interessa se o dia está nublado ou de extremo calor, a paz está ali na sua frente basta você acordar bem e convida-la para entrar na sua mente e futuramente na sua vida. Não quer dizer que ela estará vinte quatro horas por dia nos trezentos e sessenta e cinco dias do ano, mas durante duas horas ou durante alguns minutos ela pode estar conosco, basta ela ser o suficiente para transformar o restante do dia. A paz pode ser diária.
Peace, a word which they pose as extinct or referring to the near future. In fact the concept of peace is wrong because the wrong idea was passed on. And all consume that idea. Peace is just having tranquillity and being good about oneself, just that. No matter if the day is cloudy or extremely hot, peace is there in front of you, you just have to wake up well and invite her [peace] to come into your mind and in the future into your life. It doesn't mean that she will be there twenty four seven, for three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, but for a couple of hours or for a few minutes she can be with us, she can just be enough to turn the remainder of the day. Peace can be daily.
“Da quietude” (On stillness), photo by Fabíola Lourenço, published on Flickr under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
And finalizes:
O mundo pode ter paz se deixarmos nossa mente aberta à novas respostas, não pensar que para ter paz precisamos de pessoas melhores, porque você é o mundo, logo, a paz depende de você e não das pessoas. Eu faço a minha paz e você faz a sua. E assim teremos uma sociedade em paz, porque o mundo individual se encontra em paz. Vivemos em conjunto, mas não somos o conjunto, somos uma parte desse conjunto e para o conjunto estar em paz, toda sua parte precisa estar. Falando sério, isso é muito difícil pois a paz do outro não depende de você, como sua paz também não depende dele. E estar em sintonia não é fácil quando falamos de seres humanos.
The world can have peace if we let our minds open to new answers, not to think that to have peace we need better people, because you are the world, so peace depends on you and not on the people. I make my peace and you make yours. And so we have a society at peace, because the individual world is at peace. We live together but we are not the whole, we are a part of that whole and for the whole to be at peace, each part of it must be. Seriously, this is very difficult because the other's peace does not depend on you, like your peace doesn't depend on him. And being in tune is not easy when it comes to humans.

author: Paula Góes


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Chile: Netizens tell Mexican President-Elect to “Go Away” · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

On Thursday, September 20, 2012 the Mexican president-elect, Enrique Peña Nieto, started a visit to Chile, the fourth country in his first tour across Central and South America.
After a private dinner with President Sebastián Piñera, the next morning he had a meeting with Chile's main businessmen and later he paid an official visit to the Moneda Palace. Peña Nieto thanked President Piñera for the hospitality on his Twitter account (@EPN) [es]:
@EPN: Agradezco al Presidente @sebastianpinera su hospitalidad y la productiva reunión. Nuestra relación con Chile seguirá siendo estratégica.
@EPN: I thank President @sebastianpinera for his hospitality and productive meeting. Our relationship with Chile will continue to be strategic.
Nonetheless, not everything was conferences, handshakes and protocol. Members of the #YoSoy132 movement in Chile denounced the arrest [es] of six of their peers – one of them from Mexican origin [es]– for protesting at the Moneda Plaza against the visit of the President-elect.
Meanwhile on Twitter, Chilean netizens welcomed the next Mexican leader with the hashtag #VetedeChilePeñaNieto [es] (“leave Chile Peña Nieto”). Mexican netizens answered back to this hashtag, creating an exchange that turned the hashtag into a trending topic. The comments varied from support to the student movements in both countries, to jokes and sarcastic remarks regarding the meeting of two of the most controversial politicians in Latin America these days. Here we collected some of these responses:
The Chilean Max Barata (@MaxBarata) [es] joked:
“What would you ask the imposed President on his arrival to Chile?” Image shared by @YoSoy132chile on Twitter
@MaxBarata: Piñera y Peña Nieto. Falta Lex Luthor y Darth Vader y le ponemos “Cumbre”.
@MaxBarata: Piñera and Peña Nieto. We are missing Lex Luthor and Darth Vader to call it a “Summit”
While Chascas Valenzuela (@elchascas) [es] imagined how the encounter between the two leaders could be:
@elchascas: Un diálogo entre Peña Nieto y Piñera debe ser como un sketch de humor. Los dos hablando de pobreza, helicópteros y golf al mismo tiempo.
@elchascas: A dialogue between Peña Nieto and Piñera must be like a humor sketch. The two of them talking about poverty, helicopters and golf at the same time.
The parody account of journalist Carmen Aristegui (@Aristegui_CNN) [es] was direct:
@Aristegui_CNN: #VetedeChilePeñaNieto ¡No! ¡Que se quede allá! ¡Se lo regalamos!
@Aristegui_CNN: #VetedeChilePeñaNieto No! Make him stay there! You can have him for free!
To what Alonso Damian (@AlonsoDamian) [es] from Iquique, Chile answered:
@AlonsoDamian: @Aristegui_CNN no gracias! les mandamos a Piñera si gustan
@AlonsoDamian: @Aristegui_CNN no thank you! We can send Piñera over if you want
From Mexico, the Judicial and Human Rights Committee 132 (@ComiteDH132) [es] made this comparison:
@ComiteDH132: Si acaso, la única diferencia entre el pinochetismo y el priismo es que acá, en efecto, la dictadura fue perfecta…#VeteDeChilePeñaNieto
@ComiteDH132: If anything, the only difference between pinochetism and priism is that here, in fact, it was the perfect dictatorship… #VeteDeChilePeñaNieto
Meanwhile Gaby (@Gigi_091) [es] denounced:
@Gigi_091: Las protestas en Chile en contra de Peña Nieto ¿Tampoco son noticia Televisa? pero si es noticia un apagón en la Cámara de Diputados…
@Gigi_091:The protests in Chile against Peña Nieto are not news for Televisa? But a blackout at the Congress is…
And Enrique J. Bautista (@kmach02) [es] from Tabasco, Mexico spoke about the bond that some netizens from both countries felt through this online protest:
@kmach02: #VetedeChilePeñaNieto y ese día Chile y México se sintieron mas hermanos que nunca…ellos peleando por educación y nosotros por Imposición
@kmach02: #VetedeChilePeñaNieto and that day Chile and Mexico felt they were more brothers than ever… they are fighting for education and we are fighting against the imposition

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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Environment: World Rhino Day  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

22 September 2012 is World Rhino Day. Currently there are an estimated 4,800 black rhinos and 22,000 white rhinos in Africa.Current poaching levels could see both species extinct in the wild by as early as 2025! Here is an animated clip about the rhino horn trade.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Trinidad & Tobago: Justice Minister Fired, but is it Enough?   · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

On September 20, 2012, Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago Kamla Persad-Bissessar delivered a national address on the issue of the controversial Section 34 of the Indictable Offences Act. After laying out a timeline of the progress of the legislation and dismissing any notions of a conspiracy, she announced that Justice Minister Herbert Volney had been dismissed from the Cabinet:
I held a formal and candid meeting with Minister Volney today who has admitted that he erred.
In the circumstances, I wish to state that I have advised, His Excellency the Acting President Timothy Hamel Smith to immediately revoke the appointment of Mr. Herbert Volney MP as the Minister of Justice.
The Prime Minister's reason for Volney's dismissal was his misleading of the Cabinet as it related to consultation with the Chief Justice and the Director of Public Prosecutions about the bill:
The Hon Minister of Justice had a duty to faithfully and accurately represent the position and views of the Honorable Chief Justice and the DPP. He failed to do so and the cabinet relied and acted on his assurances in good faith. His failure to do so is a serious misrepresentation and amounts to material non-disclosure of relevant facts to the Cabinet which effectively prevented it from making an informed decision.
The Prime Minister also reacted to the opposition protests last Tuesday afternoon:
Public apathy and indifference would have been indications of jaundiced democracy and lukewarm patriotism. Your marches, comments and blogs are positive indicators of the people's political health.
I have listened to the voices of man on the street and the utterances of learned professionals from their respective platforms and understand some of the sources of confusion. And while I may not agree with all of the sentiments and views expressed, I embrace the debate and demonstration. It is your constitutional right to so do and we welcome those who feel so passionately about the state of the nation and its future.
She ended her speech by reiterating her government's commitment to good governance, stating that the country's “historic tolerance for wrong doing is over”, but aka_lol felt that the entire episode indicates the Prime Minister's lack of judgement and that this will cause the demise of the government:
It seems you were the last person in Trinidad and Tobago to realize that Mr. Hubert could not be trusted around the laws of the country. What does that say for your other choices of members of your cabinet? Is Mr. Hubert the only one who can not be trusted? Your judgment apparently leaves a lot to be desired and I now truly believe that we will have many more disgraceful and unpatriotic lies and schemes which you and your cabinet are planning to ‘unintentionally’ unleash onto the public.
TobagoDaily noted that this was the eighth minister the Prime Minister has dismissed in only two and a half years in office:
Volney's termination is the eighth to be ordered by Persad-Bissessar since the People’s Partnership assumed power in May 2010.
She also revoked the ministerial appointments of Minister in the National Security Minister Collin Partap, Minister of Planning, Restructuring and Gender Affairs Mary King, Health Minister Therese Baptiste-Cornelis, Public Administration Minister Rudrawatee Nan Gosine-Ramgoolam, Minister in the National Security Ministry Subhas Panday, National Security Minister John Sandy, and Gender Affairs Minister Verna St Rose-Greaves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXMut3RoxL0
The Eternal Pantomime thought that the timeline laid out by the Prime Minister was obscuring the facts and that the controversy has only just started:
Another large issue that loomed it's (sic) head last night is your time line of events. You created a time-line that obscures the AG’s involvement in the passage of this Bill through Parliament. But, Madam Rani, the thing is that a bill does not pick up and walk itself through Parliament and over to the President’s House for Proclamation. People help Bills through. And while the AG in the form of Anand Ramlogan may indeed have been out of the country, someone would have acted as AG, and given the trend this year that may well have been Ganga Singh. Yet another person from the old UNC administration with clouds over his head who keeps popping up in your government. A government that is increasingly equivalent to corruption. So if the AG wasn’t here at the time of proclamation, who was acting in his place? Further, I am advised that even though Ramlogan was out of the country from July 20th to August 4th, the cabinet meeting to proclaim Section 34 occurred on August 6th. Was Ramlogan not here, then too?
She also felt that Volney's dismissal was more out of political expediency than out of principle:
In another instance, you claimed that up until Wednesday of this week that you were still investigating matters and only removed Volney as a Minister yesterday. That’s a misspeak, Rani….you fired Volney over the weekend. How do I know? You had one of your favourite Ministers announce it at a crucial COP meeting at the start of this week. You’ve known since Monday that Volney was fired. So, why wait until Thursday to announce it? You wanted to see if the march would be successful to know precisely what your government would be pressured to do? That was just the first, Madam. We want you out…ALL of You!
Plain Talk also felt there were problems with the Prime Minister's timeline and that the issue simply cannot be dropped:
The fact of the matter is we cannot move on until we know where we want to go, and we cannot know that until we understand what exactly took place here. The eight hundred pound gorilla in the room is the question that STILL has not been answered, and that question is why. Why was this done? Even if we take the Prime Minister on her word and accept that Herbert Volney set out on this path to deceive the Cabinet and the nation on his own, we still do not know why, and until that matter is ventilated we cannot realistically know who else was involved, and until we know that we as a nation can have nowhere to go as none of this makes any sense.
TnT Monitor was of the opinion that whether or not the Attorney General was guilty of misconduct, he should be dismissed for incompetence:
We do not for one minute allege collusion, conspiracy or any other form of misconduct on the part of the Attorney General in this shameful episode, but we insist that he is guilty of gross incompetence if not downright negligence and palpably poor judgment for which he should be fired irrespective of his absence from the country from July 25th 2012 to August 4th 2012 and not withstanding the fact that he did not participate in the proclamation process as confirmed by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel.
According to the blog, the Attorney General's conduct in the Section 34 matter may have brought the government into even greater disrepute than the actions of former Minister Volney and may well force the government to call a snap election:
The  Attorney's General's stubborn, arrogant refusal to acknowledge that a mistake was made by the government in the early proclamation of  Section 34 and his strong denial of any wrong-doing by Volney have done as much, if not more damage to the Government's image than Volney's initial act of indiscretion and deception. The damage may be irreversible  and irreparable. It may well prove to be the catalyst for an early general  election with surprise results that could put Trinidad and Tobago back into the thieving clutches of the incompetent and intellectually bankrupt PNM. And that would be an immitigable disaster for this country, still reeling from 10 years of PNM mismanagement and failed PNM policies.


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Uganda: Teenage Girl Becomes Africa’s Youngest MP · Global Voices
James Propa

Proscovia Alengot Oromait has become Africa's youngest Member of Paliament (MP) at the age of 19, after she won the Usuk county election with 11,059 votes. The outspoken youngster replaces her father who died earlier this year.
Alengot is a member of National Resistance Movement, headed by President Yoweri Museveni. Other people who stood for the post included, Charles Ojok Oleny with 5,329 votes, Charles Okure from FDC with 2,725 votes and Cecilia Anyakoit of UPC with 554 votes.
Honourable Alengot Oromait. Photo used with permission of monitor.co.ug.
Many people have come out to congratulate her, whilst some are saying she will not survive her term in parliament because of her age and limited experience. Some people believe this is the beginning of change in Africa and its time to get rid of the overly old leaders and allow young people to take the continent forward.
Hon. Alengot's area faces challenges of clean water, electricity and poor roads among others. For now the people of Usuk have their hopes pinned on the 19 year-old MP. Hopefully, she will be in position to represent her area and develop it.
Google map of Alengo's constituency:
Some citizen media comments are sampled below:
Solar Sister believes its the young women that are the pillar of change now:
Young women powering change! 19 year old Proscovia Alengot Oromait elected to Uganda Parliament. http://fb.me/28DoJ2IUr
Joy Doreen Biira requests someone to teach Ms Alomait the basics she needs to learn as an MP:
@JoyDoreenBiira: Alengot Oromait, 19 years old is now a MP in Uganda…. Very Good. But can someone “home-school” her on the basics she needs to know else…
Commenting on New Vision website, Agambagye Frank thinks its good that she was elected and believes this is how democracy should be:
thats why democracy is good pple voted her
lakodo urges Hon Aromait not to leave her boyfriend, now that she has got more money and has a lot of opportunities to get a rich boyfriend:
Hon Prossy , plse dont forget ur little 19 yr old boy friend who used to buy for u chapatis, he kind of also helped u in a way, and remember to take haert not to be scared of some MPs like Moses Ali who snores like the whole roof of parliament is coming down.
Commenting on a story on the Monitor website, nkuutu urges advises the MP to concentrate on her studies, as the MP seat can be lost at anytime and she may have to look for a job:
I just have one piece of advice for the hon MP: Don't worry, be happy. This might be the only time in your life to shine! Come next elections ….who knows. Don't forget your day job …I mean your studies. No one will give you a job with a CV with “ex-MP but no qualification”. Anyone can be an MP, but not everyone is educated.
Congrats!!
Proscovia does not need too much advice. You guys are treating her like a baby. At 19 she's an adult. Schooling began at home. Why is every man trying to be a parent to her? Leave this young woman alone to think critically for herself. It seems that there are too many cooks around. Proscovia actually has the figure of Michelle Obama. Tall, athletic, beautiful and confident. Michelle the first Black US first lady did not need too much advice on how to be a first Black first lady in the White House. Congratulations to Proscovia!
Proscovia Alengot was sworn in on Thursday 20, September, 2012. She is the youngest and first female teenage Member of Parliament in Africa.

author: James Propa


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Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Controversial Wedding · Global Voices
Madalitso Mwando

After Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai went ahead with his wedding on 15 September, 2012, despite attempts to bar it by an estranged former partner, netizens of course took to Twitter and Facebook to express their thoughts.
Tsvangirai's former lover sought the court's order to stop the wedding on the ground that the two of them were married. He abandoned plans for a civil wedding and went ahead with a traditional one; Zimbabwe's customary laws allow for polygamy.
Reactions on Facebook
On Facebook, Tafadzwa Makanda posted:
U can not stop the wind from blowing or either the time from moving, loca u failed dismally to stop the weding, tsangson [Tsvangirai] is brand no wonder the commander in chief is now supportng him..
Morgan Tsvangirai with Elizabeth Macheka cutting the wedding cake at at the Glamis Arena. Photo used with permission from nehandaradio.com
Mandiso Moyo-Vundla wrote:
if u love 2people @the same time,choose the 2nd one ,bcoz if u really loved the 1st one,u wldnt have fallen 4 the 2nd……(he juss did that,dn fight it gal,he followed his heart)
Nqoban Dawue Sibanda added:
God knows the way wait n see the good things coming soon in your life madam, never give up coz of criticism but smile God loves you.
Diamond Rwatinyanya said of the Prime Minister’s other “jilted lover”:
should not force to be loved. For love without mutual respect is hollow plus its high she resist to be used as a porn for political expediency.
Regies Marowa advised:
Re-build your life and forget about Morgen [Tsvangirai]!
Garikai David Tembo posted:
She must visit TB JOSHUA [Popular Nigerian preacher]. Ane mhepo dzake [she is possessed]
Gerry Kuzivakwashe Chinyonga said:
gold digger/ image tarnisher/ mutumwa [agent]
Innocent Grayz prayed:
Oh Heavenly Father help this lady who had reduced Zimbabwean courts to be kangaroo courts.
Sams Takaniza commented:
leave the pm (Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai)alone dont tell me you have not been having an affair since morgan dumped you. If you did it was adultary indeed.
Reactions on Twitter
@LanceGuma: Some people can't read PR trends. At #Locardia level the plot was working. Enter the SA woman & the overdose turned #Tsvangirai into victim.
@herzimbabwe: Is Morgan #Tsvangirai fit to be the leader of women? What are we feeling about all his love scandals as the electorate of Zimbabwe?
@percyzvomuya: Ah, Tsvangirai, why snub one woman for another? Why not do a couple of weddings? One in Harare, another in Bulawayo & make everyone happy?
@Zanele_20: Wonder how long Tsvangirai's wedding is goin to last this time.

author: Madalitso Mwando


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Brunei: e-Darussalam Government Portal · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

e-Darussalam is Brunei's official web portal which aims to facilitate government transactions and delivery of services. The website also offers the contact details of the country's major government agencies.


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Cambodia: Photo of BarCamp Phnom Penh 2012 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Participants of the 2012 BarCamp Phnom Penh, Cambodia at the University of Puthisastra. Photo from @barcamppp
Participants of the 2012 BarCamp Phnom Penh, Cambodia at the University of Puthisastra held on September 22-23, 2012. Photo from @barcamppp


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Chinese ‘Soft Power’ Expands in Africa with CCTV · Global Voices
Ronald Yick

Chinese government state-controlled media, China Central Television (CCTV), launched its African regional bureau in Nairobi, Kenya on January 11, 2012.
While its presence has diversified the media landscape in Africa, media watchdogs and foreign media outlets – such as CNN and the New York Times – have been rather skeptical of its journalistic independence given the media organization's close ties with the government.
Background of CCTV Africa
According to its official website, CCTV Africa produces a daily one-hour news program, a weekly talk show, a weekly documentary series program. The channel has recently produced a special documentary program to introduce Kenya. CCTV Africa has about 100 employees, many are Kenyans.
A screenshot of a promotion trailer of CCTV Africa from YouTube.
The new entrant “raid[ed] a number of local TV stations for notable broadcasters and other staff”, according to eXpression Today, a magazine published by The Media Institute, a media-watch non-governmental organization in Kenya.
Since the decision to establish CCTV in Nairobi was made in the 2006 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the NGO watchdog speculated:
Although details of how the Chinese TV (that is, CCTV) network gained entry remain ‘top secret’ because of the opaque nature with which China cuts deals with partners, sources at Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Information say that CCTV’s entry into Kenya was crafted during the Africa-China summit of 2006 (that is, FOCAC), when President Mwai Kibaki led a Kenyan delegation to Beijing to join more than 40 other African heads of state and government in establishing a new platform of co-operation between China and Africa. Apart from deals on infrastructure development, other areas of cooperation included capacity-building in media and ICTs (information and communication technologies).
CCTV and China’s soft power in Africa
The presence of Chinese media outlets in Africa can be traced back to as early as 1950s, when Xinhua News Agency and China Radio International (CRI) started broadcasting. During that time, the goal of these outlets was to disseminate propaganda and support the African liberation movements.
Nowadays, many western media and observers believe that the presence of CCTV in Africa is to expand the Chinese government's soft power and compete with media giants in the West, such as CNN and BBC.
Tom Rhodes from the Committee to Protect Journalists comments that:
The expansion comes as other, predominantly Western media houses are shrinking their media presence in East Africa; BBC has been forced to cut a number of correspondents and France 24 announced a merger with Radio France Internationale to contain costs, for example.
Wu Yu-shan [pdf], who published a research paper in June 2012 on the rise of China’s state-led media dynasty in Africa recently, points out:
Its soft power is about not only promoting international status but also making Chinese values and culture attractive to a public grown weary of traditional ideology. Therefore China needs to inspire its own public before it can offer anything beyond economic growth to the world.
Wu [pdf] also argues that China wants to counter the negative portrayal by Western media giants, an observation confirmed by CCTV Africa bureau chief Song Jia-ning in July 2012:
The Western media’s treatment of China and its expanding role in Africais one of the most obvious examples. Common themes in Western media coverage are China’s negative impact on Africa and its dealings with corrupt governments. They regularly report on China as a monolithic entity, criticize China’s colonial ambitions and emphasize present circumstances – with little socio-historic explanation of the China–Africa relationship.
Objectivity of CCTV in question
Wu's paper also questioned the editorial objectivity of CCTV [pdf] given its state-owned nature:
At the same time, the Chinese media have state objectives to meet. When covering Africa, where competitors tend to comment on the controversial areas of China–Africa relations, the Chinese media emphasize the easier narrative of positive stories, friendship and sincerity, avoiding any grey areas.
Media Watchdog NGO eXpression Today also points out:
…China rarely comments on the political affairs of other countries publicly. In this regard, CCTV’s entry into Kenya is unlikely to have any significant impact on Kenyan politics because ‘toxic’ politics is a no-go-zone for Chinese media.
By keeping off serious political issues, CCTV will be no different from KBC and will, therefore, not pose any serious competition to local TV stations and other international networks in any significant way so long as politics remains the preferred media content.
Journalist Sambuddha Mitra Mustafi believes that money can't buy credibility:
The success of China’s global media effort may depend on whether its media can identify that big story when it arrives, and then let the coverage prove their journalistic mettle to the world in a way that declarations from well-meaning editors and officials never will. If CCTV can become the go-to channel for everyone in the world, even if only for a few days, it could change the game for good.
And when such a moment does arrive, journalists must be able to ask tough, relevant questions, even of the Chinese leadership. Does the leadership have the stomach for that?
Media exchanges between China and Africa have become more frequent since the 2000s (see Wu's paper [pdf]), ranging from technical support, content provision, exchange between officials, and journalistic training. However, the journalistic training programs has been under scrutiny.
There is a story in Shinn and Eisenman’s new book, China and Africa: A Century of Engagement, written by Gideon Nkala and originally published in Mmegi Online:
After returning home from the June 2008 African journalist training program, Gideon Nkala of Botswana’s The Reporter newspaper published his firsthand account providing a rare glimpse into China’s multilateral journalist training programs through African eyes. He notes that the African journalists were all looking forward to the lecture on Tibet, during which, the CPC instructor said, ‘Tibet has always been a part of China and greater Tibet is a media creation that never existed.’ The Chinese people ‘see all the lies and fabrications of the west, [which] tells of the atrocities committed by the Chinese and says nothing when the Monks in Tibet kill and maim people.’ The instructor also ‘brought pictures to show that even pictures are cropped to cover the atrocities committed by the Monks and their supporters’. He made the whole class burst into laughter when he said, with a straight face, that a new entrant into Chinese street lingua for anything that is untrue and fabricated is now called CNN. ‘If someone is telling a lie in China, we now say “you are CNN.”‘

author: Ronald Yick


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Georgia: ‘Broom Revolution’ as Elections Approach · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Thousands have protested in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, after videos showing physical abuse in the country's prison system aired on some television stations and were shared on YouTube. Although widely detailed in various human rights reports, the footage surfacing on 18 September, 2012, was the first that many Georgians had actually seen.
This video showing the physical abuse of a prisoner was uploaded to YouTube by vfor georgia on September 18 [WARNING: Graphic content]:
Social media reactions
According to media reports, Georgia has the sixth-highest prison population per capita in the world along with a high mortality rate. Commentary on Facebook reflected the widespread anger at the videos while others such as Eka Rostomashvili updated followers on Twitter as to developments during the first evening of protests.
@ERostomashvili: Horrific, inhuman things happening in Georgian penitentiary. Ppl gather outside Philharmonics to protest against violence in prison #Tbilisi
@ERostomashvili: Protestors have blocked Melikishvili. Drivers don't seem to object terribly and turn around. #Tbilisi #gldaniprison
@ERostomashvili: Journalists estimate 500 ppl are protesting against violence in prison outside Philharmonics. #Tbilisi #gldaniprison
@ERostomashvili: Protestors request resignation of ministers of interior #Akhalaia + penitentiary #Kalmakhelidze. #Tbilisi #gldaniprison
@ERostomashvili: Protestors ask drivers to join them. Estimated turnout at the moment: 1000 people. #Tbilisi #gldaniprison
@ERostomashvili: Protestors take turn to make speeches. Emotional speech was made by a mother of two prisoners. #Tbilisi #gldaniprison
@lingelien: Famous Theater director Sturua comments on prison abuses: “We, the Georgian people, are deeply shocked by the events. ” (1) #gldaniprison
‘Broom Revolution’
The following day, with momentum building behind calls for the resignation of high profile ministers, the protests increased in size and were also reported in other urban centers in Georgia. Referring to scenes of a prisoner being raped with a broom handle, Georgian Photographers, as well as others, dubbed the protests a “Broom Revolution.”
It was the video broadcast On TV about prison torture in Georgia.
Footage shows prisoners being beaten, kicked and abused by a group of staff members.
Additional footage allegedly shows prisoners being sexually assaulted.
Hundreds gathered in central Tbilisi today after two pro-opposition channels broadcast the video.
In case you are wondering why BROOM revolution. One of the videos shows half-naked man, crying and begging for mercy as he is beaten and after raped with a broom.
Protesters burn brooms in Tbilisi, Georgia © Georgian Photographers
Protesters burn brooms in Tbilisi, Georgia © Georgian Photographers
With the Minister of Corrections, Probation, and Legal Assistance resigning a day after the videos aired, The Young Georgians updated its readers to new demands from protesters:
Thousands of students marched in streets of Tbilisi on Wednesday to protest abuse and rape in Georgian prisons. Disturbing videos of prisoners being tortured by guards leaked on TV and immediately sparkled Georgians to come out and stand against violence. A protest was organized by the Tbilisi State University students, however they were joined by all major universities. At 3:30 pm students moved to the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) where they demanded the later to air abuse videos. After negotiating with the General Director of GPB students marched towards the Ministry of Internal Affairs where they were joined by drivers and local neighbors. Students demanded the Minister of Internal Affairs Bacho Akhalia and several other officials to step down. Protests were held in all major Georgian cities and across Europe.
Gldani Prison Abuse Protest, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik Krikorian
Gldani Prison Abuse Protest, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik Krikorian
Tamada Tales reported that their demands were met:
In a move signalling the seriousness of the political crisis facing the Georgian government over videos documenting the sexual and physical abuse of Georgian prisoners, Georgian Interior Minister Bacho Akhalaia late on September 20 submitted his resignation to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Rustavi2 television reported.
[…]
The news of his resignation was greeted by raucous cheers and car-horn-honking from outside Tbilisi's Philharmonia, where a late-night protest was underway.
As did Twitter:
@ZoeReyners: Resignation of the minister of interior Akhalaia
@SabineICG: Significant: MIA Akhalaia who is resigning was head of prisons during last prison scandal in 2006 when 7 died. End of impunity? #Georgia
Global Voices’ outgoing Caucasus Editor, Onnik Krikorian, also documented the protests, especially those involving students. Meanwhile, at time of writing and despite visibly reducing in size in the evenings, protests continue.
Gldani Prison Abuse Protest, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik Krikorian 2012
Gldani Prison Abuse Protest, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik Krikorian
Gldani Prison Abuse Protest, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik Krikorian


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Iran: Google and Gmail Will Be Filtered · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, an Iranian official declared [fa] on Sunday 23rd September, Google and Gmail are going to be filtered in the next few hours.He says people asked us to take a stand against the sites insulting Islam's Prophet. Khoramabadi is one of key members of a “Commission to Determine Instances of Criminal Content”.


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Malaysia: New Lacewing Species Discovered with Online Help · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Malaysian photographer Guek Hock Ping blogged and posted photos of a lacewing species he found in Selangor, Malaysia. Readers saw it in his blog and Flickr page and eventually scientists confirmed that it's a new species of lacewing. It's now called Semachrysa jade


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The Pain of Being Physically or Mentally Challenged in Pakistan · Global Voices
Faisal Kapadia

In this world everyone is striving for perfection, and yet there are many who are falling behind from our relentless rat race for existence. Being a physically or mentally challenged person in Pakistan is a very painful existence because society finds it exceedingly hard to accept people who are a bit different, who need a little special care. They are usually shunned to the point that they feel alienated.
The first issue though is that of access. Less than 10% of buildings, restaurants and public places in Pakistan have proper ramps and facilities for disabled people. Erum Sangji, an apparel sourcing agent in Karachi, speaks on the lack of access issue in reference to her niece who is autistic:
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Furhan Hussain commented on Twitter:
@FurhanHussain: Please note how schools/universities inculcate zero awareness in youth by not providing ramps and accessibility options in campuses.
Disabled protesters set a wheelchair on fire during demonstrations against social welfare cuts and demand special job quotas during International Disability Day. Hyderabad, Pakistan. Image by Rajput Yasir. Copy right Demotix (3/12/2011)
Bisma Askari, an architect working in Karachi, said:
bismAskari: Even basic facilities such as ramps are at a minimum, but are made with the wrong proportions. A wheelchair access ramp should have a ratio of 1:10 therefore making it comfortable for wheelchair use (an example of this is the pedestrian bridges at sharah e faisal. Only now do places like dolmen mall and port grand have wheelchair access but something like the flooring at port grand is not convenient for wheelchairs as well as there is no access to the shops / mall as there are steps.
Samra Muslim said:
@samramuslim: @faisalkapadia with older people it's like ‘why do u need to be out – u r old and dying’ … Sad mindset we have …
Another huge stumbling block in the lives of physically and mentally challenged people in Pakistan is the social stigma attached to them as well a lack of proper educational facilities.
Taimur Mirza, an adventurer and off-road enthusiast who is raising a disabled 23 year son, Shehryar, speaks on this issue:
Ameenah remarked on the non participation of the state:
@ameenahtobani: haven't seen any facility for them they really feel handicapped no effort from state to make them feel indpndnt!
Faizan Lakhani chimed in about the lack of facilities:
@faizanflkhani: We don't have dedicated car park area for them. No special arrangements in public transports. #gv #Pakistan
This is not the only chapter in this book though. Despite all of these issues and hurdles, disabled citizens of Pakistan have been busy striving to achieve success with great merit in fields such as sports and education.
The Paralympics Association was founded in 1998 in Pakistan, and had trained athletes with disabilities to achieve the amazing result of 16 gold, 19 silver and 20 bronze medals in various sporting events around the world. The video below is a small reminder of their achievement:
There are several organizations and NGOs in Pakistan working for the rights of physically and mentally disabled people. Schools such as Manzil, Autism Institute, Dar ul Sakoon in Karachi and the Rising Sun school, and the Thevenet Centre in Lahore are also included in this list. These are just a few examples in this fight against injustice and humiliation. One of the most recent achievements in this field is a remarkable rickshaw provided by the NOWPDP, which can be controlled by hands alone.
Imran Ghanchi at the Unique Pakistan blog talks about the special rickshaw for disabled people:
“This rickshaw has better features than the one I had,” explained Ghanchi. “I am encouraging other disabled people to become drivers.” He is buoyed by the backing of the network.
Zafar Ullah Khan, a disabled person aged 40, writes in his blog:
The Government of Pakistan should at least take concrete steps to provide government jobs to educated special people. Those who have fake degrees reach the parliament. We have genuine degrees but are deprived of our right. It is also the clear violation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which has been signed by 153 countries including Pakistan, which on 5th of July, became one of 107 countries to have ratified it. The most fundamental principle of the convention is to change society attitude towards person with disabilities by making it more inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based.
The government has taken some steps such as the formation of a separate NIC (national id card) for the differently abled people in this country, giving them the chance to at least apply for some of the benefits they should get by default. However the integration of such individuals in the society at an acceptable level is a fight which they and the concerned citizens of this nation are fighting everyday.

author: Faisal Kapadia


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Philippines: TEDxDiliman Trends on Twitter · Global Voices
Schubert Malbas

On September 15, 2012, more than a hundred attendees flocked the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman to witness TEDxDiliman 2012. This was the second time that CANVAS (Center for Art, New Ventures, And Sustainable development) staged a TEDxDiliman event, which carried the theme, “The Future”.
Several recognizable personalities stood as speakers this year, including former Philippine senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani, film director Jose Javier Reyes, and controversial cultural activist Carlos Celdran.
Opening remarks by Gigo Alampay of CANVAS
The Future of the Past, by Carlos Celdran
Particularly, Leticia Shahani explored the diplomatic history behind the territorial dispute between China and the Philippines over Bajo de Masinloc (also known as Scarborough Shoal or Panatag Shoal) and the Kalayaan Group of Islands (also known as Spratlys). She emphasized that despite the obvious lack in technological capability of the country's military and navy, the Philippines should ready itself for the future, and to continually push for the protection of the seas and resources that surround it.
“We've been left behind”, reckons Leticia Shahani, when the Philippine armed forces is stacked up against neighboring countries in Asia
Meanwhile, netizens eagerly awaited and followed the entire occasion via livestream. On Twitter, the hashtag #tedxdiliman gathered a huge following, and quickly became a trending topic in the Philippines.
#TEDxDiliman trended on Twitter. Photo by Joseph Ubalde, used with permission.
@seph_ubalde: #TEDxDiliman trends on Twitter! Kudos to everyone and media partner @interaksyon pic.twitter.com/weYMWRaV
@cheriemercado: inspiring talks from expert speakers :) based on TED in the US. Check it out on you tube
@mikkahipol: A country of passionate citizens is not far from progress. #takehome #TEDxDiliman
@klaraiskra: That was so much fun and enriching! Hope I get to attend again next year! #TEDxDiliman http://twitpic.com/autlz2
Due to this year's success, Gigo Alampay of CANVAS promised a larger, bolder TEDxDiliman by next year.
@lookingforjuan: Next year ulit! Babalik kami, puede na mas marami! #TEDxDiliman
@lookingforjuan: See you next year! We'll be back, and we will accomodate more people! #TEDxDiliman
More photos are available from the official Facebook page of TEDxDiliman.
A number of local TEDx initiatives in the country have sprouted and gained attention over the last few years, owing to the movement's liberal and ambitious ideologies. Last June 16, nearby Ateneo de Manila University became the cradle of the first TEDxKatipunan; it strongly resonated among netizens on Facebook and Twitter. Last April 13, TEDxMakati was also held. Meanwhile, big plans are brewing for TEDxManila 2012, which is scheduled to take place on December 7.
All photos were taken by the author and posted under a Creative Commons – Attribution license, unless otherwise indicated.

author: Schubert Malbas


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Russia: Human Rights Figures Petition Online to Free May 6 Prisoners · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

As the din of the Pussy Riot trial fades, some human rights activists in Russia are seeking to shift the public's focus to protesters arrested in connection with violence against police at a mass demonstration in early May. Twenty-three of Russia's most noteworthy intellectuals and activists have signed an online petition [ru] calling for the 12 prisoners’ release, demanding that the authorities “come to their senses” and “end the repressions.” The petition has been signed [ru] by another 65 RuNet users.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Saudi Arabia: Celebrating National Day in Style  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi Arabia marks its National Day today (September 24, 2012) and young Saudis are celebrating the day in style. On Twitter, the day's events are tagged with a special hash tag #اليوم_الوطني, which translates to National Day.
According to accounts on social media, young men took to the streets to celebrate the day, with dancing and street parades in their cars. Some compared the celebration to halloween, which is banned in the Islamic kingdom, while others said this year's national day was like the dance show So You Think You Can Dance.
Hamad Draye expressed his disappointment:
@HamadDraye: Really disappointed at how “some” are celebrating #National_Day #اليوم_الوطني
Rasha Mohammed was curious:
@RshooMB: I'm being so curious about the national day celebrations in the street that I'm really considering going to watch it live #اليوم_الوطني
While Amal said it was best to ignore the behaviour of young men on this day:
@_hope21: Don't give idiots the attention they don't deserve. That's why they turn into werewolves on #اليوم_الوطني
Reem Alhindi shares this scene from the celebration:
A bus full of young Saudi men celebrating National Day. Photo shared by Reem Alhindi on Twitter
Faisal Mohammed shares the image below which shows a pick up truck painted green, to celebrate the occasion:
A pick up truck painted green to celebrate Saudi National Day. Photo shared by Faisal Mohammed on Twitter
Mohammed Abothnain comments:
@M_Abothnain: One would be forgiven to think that Saudi has open bars tonight

And Saudi News shares bad news [ar]:
سقوط شاب من أعلى كوبري شارع صاري أخرج جسده من نافذة السيارة ، حينما كان يحتفل بـ #اليوم_الوطني ..
@SaudiNews50: A young man falls from the flyover of the Sari Highway when he dangled his body from the car window as he was celebrating the national day
This photograph [WARNING: Graphic Content] shows the body of a man, on the ground, in what appears to be a pool of blood.
Meanwhile, Iman Willoughby wryly comments:
@XSaudiwoman: #اليوم_الوطني Oh wait, I think I know. You are celebrating your stupidity, cowardliness, Misogyny, prejudice, narcissism, egotism, and hate.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Thailand: Historic Cigarette Cards Now Digitized · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Historically 176 sets of cards, totaling around 9000 individual cards, representing 42 tobacco companies, were made for the Thai market. Of these some 60 sets were Thai specific designs. To many people, these cards are simply beautiful; collectable as artistic or decorative objects…
Through its online catalog, New Mandala has uploaded several historic cigarette cards from Thailand.


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Afghans Show Restraint Over Anti-Islam Film · Global Voices
Omid Bidar

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.
Afghanistan blocked access to YouTube for the first time on September 12, 2012 after the trailer for the highly-controversial film the Innocence of Muslims was disseminated online.
The film was allegedly produced by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, an Egyptian-American Coptic Christian and portrays the Prophet Mohammed as a philanderer and a religious fake. This sparked protests in many Islamic countries and led to the killing of a US ambassador and three other American diplomats in Libya.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that the filmmakers had engaged in a “devilish act” and that insulting Islam is not permitted by freedom of speech. Aimal Marjan, the general director of Information Technology at the Ministry of Communications told Reuters that they had been asked to block YouTube until the film was removed.
In spite of evidence to the contrary, Aimal Faizi, the Afghan president's spokesperson denied that YouTube had been blocked, saying on Twitter:
Youtube error, “You are attempting to access a website the content of which is in violation of and in contradiction with the laws and regulation of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan set by the Ministry of Information and Culture.” Screenshot by Ali M Latifi. (used with permission)
Afghanistan has not banned YouTube Website. MoIC had asked MoC to ban the video insulting the Prophet Mohammad in YouTube, not YouTube.
The Afghanistan National-Reconciliation Facebook page commented:
We profoundly denounce the barbaric killing of the U.S. diplomat in Benghazi, Libya and approving Karzai government banning U-Tube [YouTube] for precautionary measure of possible uncontrollable uprisings in Afghanistan.
The Taliban has also published a statement condemning the film and has asked the ‘Mujahideen’ to avenge the act, which they claim was perpetrated by the US government:
The Islamic Emirate also calls on all its Mujahideen to stand firm against all the violations against our heavenly book (Quran), Prophet and other sanctums perpetrated by the invading America. The Mujahideen in Afghanistan should avenge these actions of the American government by dealing a heavy blow to its invading troops on the battlefield. Similarly, the Islamic Emirate calls on all of the religious scholars of the country to fully inform the masses about such barbaric acts of America in their sermons and to prepare them for a lengthy struggle.
Some Afghan netizens, also shared similar views to the Taliban. For instance, Shabnam Samay Rakeen commented on Facebook:
I just love that these people make these movies to get a reaction out of Muslims, and we never fail to react in a violent way. As someone else said, a prophet of God does NOT need to be defended.
Many fear more protests against the film in Afghanistan, especially since earlier protests against ‘blasphemy’ have ended in violence and killings.
In February 2012 copies of the Koran were disposed of by US troops at Bagram base. The burning of the Koran burning sparked protests across Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of 30 people – including 4 Americans – and over 200 wounded.
NATO has also warned of possible violent protests across Afghanistan whereas Barack Obama and Hamid Karzai vowed to prevent a flare-up of anti-American violence after the killing of US diplomats in Libya.President Karzai also postponed a diplomatic trip to Norway reportedly because of riot fears. And on Thursday, 13 September, religious leaders gathered in Kandahar to call for calm and peaceful protests over the film.
On the U.S Embassy Facebook page, under a link to a statement by the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, James B. Cunningham, Harris Najib wrote:
I think that responding violently to the movie made by an ignorant fool will fuel the already incorrect stereotypes about Muslims around the world. In the past violent responses to these kind of nonsense videos, innocent people have died on streets. I hope my fellow Afghans will show restraint and engage in civil and peaceful protests.
Sakhidad Hatif, an Afghan blogger, having seen the previous ‘blasphemy’ cases was surprised that this time the Afghan protests did not turn violent:
من دیشب با این امید به خواب رفتم که فردا که خبرها را ببینم حد اقل بیست نفر افغان به خاطر این فیلم شکم های همدیگر را دریده باشند. امروز صبح دیدم که هیچ خبری نشده.
Last night I went to sleep with the expectation that tomorrow when I watch the news, at least twenty Afghans have ripped each other apart due to the film. But in the morning I heard nothing.
However, protests inevitably reached Afghanistan. On 14 September, Afghans held a rally in the eastern city of Jalalabad. Some of the protesters chanted “Death to America” and set fire to an effigy of Barack Obama.
Photo of protesters in eastern Nengarhar province – demo on anti-islam movie. Photo by: Ehsan Amiri. (used with permission)
Protests were also expected in Kabul and other cities of Afghanistan on 14 September. But, they didn't happen that day.
Atia Abawi, an NBC news reporter tweeted that she was proud of Kabul’s residents.
So proud of Kabul and its people right now. Came back from driving the streets, no protests or angry crowds.
However, the movie nevertheless sparked protests in other Afghan cities and on university campuses. Students in Kabul and Herat staged demonstrations against the film on 16 September.
Afghan Hackers also attacked the website of the Church of God in North Georgia, a move that only reinforces the widespread condemnation of the Innocence of Muslims.
Screenshot of Church of God, North Georgia, website hacked by Afghan Hackers.
This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by the International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide. This post was first published on the ISN blog, see similar stories here.

author: Omid Bidar