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Uncovering Attempts to Hide Oil’s Footprints in Peru (Part II) · Global Voices
Convoca Perú

Resident of Jose Olaya village. Photo: Julio Angulo – La Republica.
Gabriela Flores and Milagros Salazar bring you this story that was originally published on Convoca and republished on Global Voices with permission.
Convoca, an investigative reporting outlet in Peru, reviewed more than 20,000 pages of documents about the damage perpetrated by oil companies on the environment and on indigenous people's health. In the first part, Convoca revealed the reports, which had not been made public and had been ignored by the country's last three governments, despite the seriousness of the evidence. In the second part, presented here, Convoca focuses on the companies that benefitted from the omissions.
From the hundred or so companies mentioned in the more than one thousand recorded reports, 54.2% of the reports correspond to only 17 companies. Most of them share commercial interests and are among those most often fined by the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA).
The two operators of the Argentine group Pluspetrol appear among the companies most penalized for environmental infringements between 2007 and 2014, with more than US$22 million in fines. But the 36 instances of imposed fines represent less than a fourth of all the archived reports.
Ranking of the 20 Peruvian oil companies with the largest number of environmental reports filed.
While Pluspetrol Peru Corporation is mentioned in 136 archived reports, its twin company Pluspetrol Norte is a few positions below with 13 reports. The latter company operates at Loreto in lots 8 and 192 (ex 1AB), where indigenous communities have reported the damage to the environment and their health.
Eleven of the 13 reports that were archived between August 2013 and September 2014, correspond to the operations of Pluspetrol Norte in the former lot 1AB. Pluspetrol Norte's contract here expires in August and the company is currently undergoing a process of consultation with indigenous people prior to the renewal of the contract.
Regarding these cases, Pluspetrol said via email that it is “a serious company working in compliance with laws and commitments acquired with the authorities and the State.”
The gas extracted by Pluspetrol from the Peruvian jungle is transferred to the coast by Transportadora de Gas del Peru (TGP), which is the second most fined company, sanctioned for not respecting their own environmental studies. These cases hardly account for 2% of the 107 archived monitoring reports.
Report about a diesel spill from Pluspetrol Norte in lot #8 for which the company was never prosecuted.
In 2005, TGP faced five ruptures of the pipeline that transferred the Camisea gas, the main source of energy in the country. Although the then president Pedro Pablo Kuzcynski defended the company and suggested the possibility of sabotage as a cause of the damage to the pipeline, the Supervising Agency for Investment in Energy and Mining (Organismo Supervisor de la Inversión en Energía y Minería, Osinergmin) did record other environmental incidents.
Due to the permanent Camisea gas leak, on August 29, 2005, the inspectors detected three oil spots the size of a round table on the ground near the pipeline. According to the report, it took three months for the company to remedy the potential environmental impact.
Two months later, another report described the spill of 172 tons of natural gas liquids in the Chunchubamba River in Ayacucho, killing fish on which five local communities depended. The company did not repair the damage, according to other reports between 2006 and 2007.
Among other companies often mentioned in the reports are Grana and Montero Petrolera (GMP), which acquired part of Pluspetrol’s shares in TGP in November 2013. A subsidiary of GMP is Consorcio Terminales, which operates a hydrocarbon storage terminal in Ilo, next to a school with over one thousand students. Since 2001, the authorities of this school have complained about the hydrocarbons leaks and the lack of controls, but until this day the relocation of the terminal has not happened.
Ranking of the most sanctioned oil companies.
Other references to GMP’s activities include possible air pollution for not preventing gas releases in three lots that GMP operates in Piura. But customers of this company also benefited from the violations. One of them was Petrotech Peruana, the company linked to the “petroaudios” case, with eleven official environmental reports.
The OEFA’s resolutions that declared the prescription of environmental monitoring reports were signed by its Deputy Director of Investigations Mercedes Aguilar Ramos and his successor Jerry Espinoza Salvatierra after inheriting most of the archived cases in the Osinergmin period. Aguilar signed 23% of the prescriptions in just over 2 years at the Division of Instruction and Research of OEFA while Espinoza was the most productive: he signed 77% of the orders in just nine months in 2014.
Espinoza’s work record is interesting: he worked at the law firm Muñiz, Ramirez, Perez-Taiman & Olaya between July 2008 and April 2013. He left the law firm to become advisor to the Supervision Directorate of OEFA and then became deputy director of Instruction and Research of OEFA where he signed the prescription resolutions of at least two companies that were clients of the law firm where he worked: Interoil Peru S.A. (formerly Mercantile Peru Oil ) and TGP.
The website of Muñiz law firm shows that both companies were advised on disciplinary proceedings and environmental permits. Convoca has asked Espinoza for his version but, at the writing of this article, there has been no answer from him or OEFA.
These hundreds of archived cases are not the only ones. Convoca had access to 62 other archived resolutions in the hydrocarbons, mining and fishing sectors, which were delivered by the Comptroller. This institution declined to give details of the research carried out on officials who allowed the thousands of cases that we reveal today to be prescribed and archived.
When this article was being completed, we received a reply from Osinergmin stating that the documents found by Convoca were not “administrative disciplinary proceedings or reports” and that most of them were “letters, internal management documents” of the entity. However, this is precisely what our investigation has shown: that the formal disciplinary proceedings had never been filed, despite the overwhelming evidence.

author: Convoca Perú


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Where Will China’s Anti-Graft Campaign Go? · Global Voices
Jack Hu

Wang Qishan, China's anti-graft campaign leader. Photo from China's state-run news wire China News.
Where is China’s anti-graft campaign going? Questions remain about whether the central government will issue an amnesty for the majority of the officials who have committed minor offences.
The chief of the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Wang Qishan's recent speech addressing the “four approaches” in party governance during his inspection tour in Fujian Province between 24-26 September left many wondering whether the anti-graft campaign was cooling down.
According to China's state media outlet Xinhua News, Wang stressed that instead of adopting an antagonistic approach of defining a party member as either a “good comrade” or a “criminal,” the governing party apparatus should address the discipline of party members with four different approaches – criticism and self-criticism, minor disciplinary punishment, major disciplinary punishment and prosecution:
党内关系要正常化，批评和自我批评要经常开展，让咬耳扯袖、红脸出汗成为常态；党纪轻处分和组织处理要成为大多数；对严重违纪的重处分、作出重大职务调整应当是少数；而严重违纪涉嫌违法立案审查的只能是极极少数。
[We] should set up a norm for each party member, accepting criticism, self-criticism, reminders and embarrassing remarks as part of the daily norm. The majority should face minor party disciplinary punishment, those who are subjected to serious party disciplinary punishment or major duty adjustment should be the minority. Only a tiny minority would be prosecuted for serious disciplinary offences and suspected violations of the law.
Dozens of senior officials in the Chinese government and the army have been investigated since Xi Jinping launched a massive anti-graft campaign after he came to power in late 2012. Among these “criminal” officials are notorious ex-security czar Zhou Yongkang, Director of the party’s General Office Ling Jihua, and two previous Deputy-Presidents of the army.
Many China observers have criticized Xi for utilizing the campaign to strengthen his authority and curb rampant corruption among officials at the same time. The battle, however, has also exposed enormous amounts of corruption and some shocking scandals inside the party, leading to a shake-up of the public confidence in the party leadership.
On the other hand, since many economists have argued that China's economic growth has been driven by crony capitalism where government officials’ policy implementation is motivated by personal gain during their work with the investors and the private sector, the anti-graft campaign has impelled many government servants to inaction for fear of possible investigations. The side effect, however, is that the campaign seems to be hindering the economic reform plan set forth to rescue the slowing economy.
Wang’s statement has attracted significant attention from experts and netizens on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.
Liu Shengjun, a famous economist, believed that Wang had sent a signal to adjust the anti-graft policies, and that it was likely that the party would offer amnesty to the majority of the officials who had committed minor disciplinary offenses:
与“重点查处十八大后不收敛”相呼应，此次提出“极极少数”，意在暗示对绝大多数官员进行有条件的特赦。这应被视为十八大以来反腐策略的一次重要调整。
[Wang's speech] is consistent with the “focus on investigating officials who don’t stop being corrupt after the 18th party congress,” the rhetoric of “a tiny minority” indicates the party would offer conditional amnesty to the majority of officials. This could be a significant adjustment of anti-corruption policy after the party’s 18th congress.
Zhang Ming, a well-known political scientist, called for the construction of an anti-graft system to fundamentally address the problem of corruption:
反腐不能总是依赖非常手段，必须及早建构制度机制，实行釜底抽薪，让政府中人没有机会腐败。否则，这样反下去，事情会变得更糟。
Anti-corruption can’t always depend on special measures. The government must build a system to eliminate any chance for officials to engage in corruption. Otherwise the situation could become worse.
Some netizens are skeptical of the new political rhetoric and worry that it could provide an excuse for selective anti-corruption crackdowns. Instead, they have called for the disclosure of officials’ assets for public monitoring. Below are some of the comments under economist Liu Shengjun's Weibo post about the anti-graft campaign:
共犯结构，全抓的话，架构就坍塌了
It is an accomplice political-economic system, if all corrupt officials are arrested, the whole system will disintegrate.
这不成了选择性反腐了吗？那就把前面抓的判的都放了吧！否则不公平！
Doesn't that sound like selective anti-corruption? Release the previously arrested officials, or it’s unfair!
搞那么多花腔干啥。财产公布了。全民帮你监督。纪委才多少人呀。效率还是低啊
There is no need for so much political rhetoric. The public will help you supervise officials after disclosing their assets. How many staff does the Central Commission for Discipline Inspector have? It’s inefficient for them [to do all the investigation].
反了这么长时间，我周围的贪官还是贪官，有卵用？？
All the officials around are still corrupt since the lengthly anti-graft campaign was launched. What’s the use of it?
首先，腐败是犯罪行为，不存在审查多数少数之分，更没上下半场，这也说明，中国不是法治国家，法治仅仅是一个口号，还是党治。如今，各位也该看清楚了，反腐仅仅是为了排除异己，因为无官不贪……
First, corruption is a criminal act, regardless of whether a majority or a minority of the officials are involved. And anti-corruption efforts should not be divided into first and second phases. This indicates China is not a country upholding the rule of law. The rule of law is just a slogan, and party rule is still prominent. Now it is clear, the anti-graft [campaign] is only used to crack down on political opponents because all officials are corrupt……

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Jack Hu


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Why Young North Koreans Are Daring to Wear Skinny Jeans · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

24-year old North Korean refugee Danbi was a smuggler in North Korea's black markets. Here she gives us a tour of a market in South Korea, which reminds her of the markets in the North. Credit: Heidi Shin. Used with PRI's permission
This article and radio report by Heidi Shin for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on September 29, 2015, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Would you wear skinny jeans if they were illegal?  As it turns out, the answer is yes, at least for one young North Korean woman.
Danbi and I are browsing through a South Korean market, when she stops to admire a pair of slim fitting pants. “Girls just love these back home!” she declares. By home, she means a city in far-off North Korea.
She flips her hair dramatically, and laughs heartily, as she tries on a sparkly hair clip. She recalls, “We all wanted to be able to run our fingers through our hair like this. Like we saw in a South Korean TV show. But we couldn't. Because we didn’t have enough shampoo in North Korea, so your fingers would just get stuck!”
Danbi is a 24-year-old North Korean refugee, who paints a picture of the totalitarian regime that’s quite different from the one we’re used to seeing, but an account supported by other defectors and those working with North Koreans. Yes, the country is rife with human rights abuses and grinding poverty. But Danbi, who took on her new name after fleeing, is from a city near the Chinese border — which has become surprisingly porous, and so she’s grown up in this presumably closed nation with a window to the outside world.
She says she shopped in black markets with smuggled foreign goods and watched American and South Korean TV shows, via smuggled USB sticks, since she was a kid. So by the time she entered junior high, Danbi says what she learned in school — that Americans can’t be trusted and South Koreans are poor — she doubted its truth.
A police officer browses a South Korean market. Danbi says many of the goods sold here can also be found in North Korean markets. Credit: Heidi Shin. Used with PRI's permission
So she started skipping class and started smuggling goods across the now porous border. She sold North Korean mushrooms to Chinese merchants, and brought back crates of rice, flour and other goods.
Now Danbi was probably a lot more daring and enterprising than your average North Korean teen. But she is part of a generation of North Korean millennials who were kids during the country’s devastating famine of the 90s. So young people like Danbi didn’t look to the country’s dictators to provide in the way their parents did, nor did they respect the government's rules.
She’s otherwise confident and even-keeled, but her voice rises suddenly when asked about the country’s leadership. “We see their large bellies, while the rest of us are hungry. We know it’s not fair,” she says sharply, her inflection slipping into a North Korean accent.
North Korean refugee Danbi in her South Korean apartment, getting ready to go out. In North Korea, youth informants patrol the streets, to report young people who violate the country's dress codes. Jeans, which are popular in South Korea, were seen as a symbol of American imperialism in the North. Credit: Heidi Shin. Used with PRI's permission
I’m struck by how much Danbi sounds like an American teen. She questions authority and brags about skirting the country’s dress codes as a teenager in North Korea. She tells me about the time she was caught by youth informants for wearing a form-fitting outfit, which had been smuggled from the South.
“They draw a line on the street, and make you stand there, while they tear at your clothes as people walk by. To make an example of you,” she explains. Jeans were seen as a symbol of American imperialism—and girls caught wearing them would have holes punctured in them to keep them from being worn again. Hair that was too long was also cut on the spot, she says.
Danbi adds that if you’re caught five or six times, that’s when you’re sent to do forced labor, unless you have the connections and resources to pay a bribe.
“In North Korea, so many things can be resolved if you have enough money now,” she insists. “We depend on the black markets for our survival. All of the work, smuggling goods, selling goods, getting officials to turn their backs, that’s all done through money.”
24-year old North Korean refugee Danbi swipes through photos on her mobile phone. She has no contact with family back home, she says. But some North Korean refugees continue to communicate with their families in the North, via care packages and smuggled Chinese cell phones. Credit: Heidi Shin. Used with PRI's permission
Still most North Koreans live in extreme poverty. Electricity is limited to a few hours each day, food and running water can be scarce, and the daily threat of forced labor camps — or even harsher punishments—is real.  But Danbi saw the difference it made to have access to the outside world.
She recalls, “We had neighbors with relatives in the South, and suddenly they started doing a lot better, since their family started sending money back. At one point, my mother even joked, why don’t you disappear and send some money back for us, too.”
According to the NGO Liberty in North Korea, North Korean refugees routinely send money back to North Korea each year. Those who can afford it are also said to communicate with their families on a regular basis, via care packages and smuggled cell phones.
Danbi escaped to South Korea four years ago — after learning she was being investigated by the North Korean government, and she couldn’t bribe her way out. Now she’s married to a South Korean man, and what she says she misses most about North Korea — is working the black markets, and the family she left behind.

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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Belarusians Protest Against Russian Military Bases Inside Their Borders · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

A young man in a traditional Belarusian t-shirt holds a poster against Putin’s policies of military expansion in front of a woman with a poster that reads “Fly Home!” at a protest over locating Russian military airbases in Belarus. Photo by Alyaksey Stalyarou for Demotix.
The October 4th protest rally was the third one to gather citizens opposing the alleged deployment of a Russian military aviation base in the Belarusian city of Babruysk. However, the event came with mixed messages: themes included not only the military presence of Russia in Belarus, but also the fairness of the coming elections (questionable) and the unfavorable political climate for any opposition forces in the country (a recurring issue).
About five hundred citizens, armed with flags and posters, gathered in the center of Minsk on Sunday evening. Signatures under the petition against a Russian base were collected. Besides the military base as a point of contention, the protesters seemed to be generally disposed to complain about Russian intervention, and some even expressed support for their closest neighbor, Ukraine.
Anti #Russia|n airbase protest in #Minsk with white-red-white flags of #Belarus flying: pic.twitter.com/Xx8H5FXHw0
— Alex Kokcharov (@AlexKokcharov) October 4, 2015
Minsk now!#noRussianBaseinBelarus pic.twitter.com/QOYuDhXSrL
— Ihar Losik (@ihar_losik) October 4, 2015
Акцыя пратэсту супраць расейскіх вайсковых баз #noRussianBaseinBelarus pic.twitter.com/z13ZEfKU5g
— Radyjo Racyja (@Racyja) October 4, 2015
Protest action against Russian military bases.
According to a report from Charter97, Opposition figure Mikalai Statkevich pointed out that “as such actions had not been held in Minsk for five years, the fact of its holding was something anyway.” Yury Hubarevich, Deputy Chairman of the movement ‘For Freedom!’ insisted that “hundreds of thousands of Belarusians would take to the streets” should a Russian military base actually be deployed in Belarus.
"Няма баз – няма вайны" #norussianbaseinbelarus pic.twitter.com/D65hAjb2BZ
— Радыё Свабода (@svaboda) October 4, 2015
No bases—no war! (poster: “A Russian military base makes us a target!”)
Нават па-расейску напісаў, каб "сусед" зразумеў )))Не ведаю, хто ён, але падтымліваю.#noRussianBaseinBelarus pic.twitter.com/cJSRPj2uB3
— Звычайная Беларуска (@belaruska69) October 4, 2015
He even wrote it in Russian, so the “neighbor” would understand:) I don't know who this guy is, but I support him. (poster: “Shove those bases up your a**!”)
Online, the protest was paralleled with occasional Twitter storms using the hashtag #noRussianBaseinBelarus, with social media users expressing their views on the matter. The hashtag trended in Belarus, especially on the day of the rally.
#noRussianBaseinBelarus pic.twitter.com/d0LhJL1wtM
— Андрей Горщарик (@Andrei_To4kA) September 27, 2015
I support any peaceful cooperation but not this violation of the Constitution. #noRussianBaseinBelarus
— Котя (@kkatyaka) September 29, 2015
That is not a good idea to put russian aviation base in Belarus, so #noRussianBaseinBelarus
— Strizhevich Marina (@Marishkaaa_STR) October 4, 2015
#NoRussianBaseInBelarusЯ не хочу, чтобы Гомель превратился в Донецк!
— vlvikin (@vlvikin) September 27, 2015
I don't want Gomel to turn into Donetsk!
Eventually, the police did show up and wrote up a protocol for the rally as an unsanctioned mass event, taking down the names of the opposition leaders who had organized the demonstration.
Now in Minsk – Police are trying to prevent speakers. The #noRussianBaseinBelarus rally continues pic.twitter.com/53PNHeLLkT MT via @svaboda
— GorseFires Collectif (@GorseFires) October 4, 2015
Міліцыянты склалі пратакол і сталі перад выступоўцамі. pic.twitter.com/E6NA3L1ynU
— Радыё Свабода (@svaboda) October 4, 2015
The policemen wrote up a protocol and embedded themselves in front of the speakers.
The participants of the rally adopted a resolution that would be sent to the Belarusian government with a show of hands. Furthermore, a new movement ‘For the statehood and independence of Belarus’ was established at the meeting, also with a show of hands from those present. Poet and opposition figure Uladzimir Nyaklyayeu was elected Chairman of the movement.
The anti-military base protest is likely to be one of the few public expressions of dissent that will be allowed to occur before the coming election in Belarus, widely seen as pre-destined to be won by incumbent president Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Previous elections have seen mass protests and harsh crackdowns, with many opposition leaders arrested and jailed.

author: Tanya Lokot


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Murder and Abortion Cases Highlight Continuing Injustices Against Women in Colombia · Global Voices
Lully

Photo of a banner at a protest condemning violence against women in Colombia, taken from the ‘Marcha Patriótica’ Flickr account, under a Creative Commons license.
Two events in the last few weeks have left Colombians wondering if their country is still hostile towards women: the murder of journalist Flor Alba Núñez, and the announcement of possible charges against actress and singer Carolina Sabino for allegedly having an abortion.
Following the killing of the 25-year old journalist, who died from a gunshot wound to the head on September 10, 2015, Colombian trade unions immediately took to the streets to express their repulsion at what had taken place.
The Foundation for Freedom of the Press (Fundacion para la Libertad de Prensa)  called on  the Colombian public prosecution to act with diligence in this case, while the non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders encouraged people to be more aware of online threats and to take them seriously. Núñez had received threats online due to her reporting.
The organisation concluded their statement with some quite disturbing figures:
Colombia, el tercer país más mortífero para el gremio en el continente americano, se encuentra en el lugar 128, entre 180 países, en la Clasificación Mundial de la Libertad de Prensa 2015 de RSF.
Colombia, the third most most dangerous country in the American continent for labour unionists, is in 128th place out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders’ 2015 World Press Freedom Index.
The blog Journalism in the Americas looked at the cases of murders committed in the country this year:
Luis Carlos Peralta Cuellar, director and owner of radio station Linda Stereo, was shot on February 14 in Doncello in the department of Caquetá.  Edgar Quintero, journalist at Radio Luna, was fatally shot by an unknown assailant on March 2 in Palmira in the southwest Colombian department of Valle del Cauca.
CPJ reports that 46 journalists have been killed in Colombia since 1992. The country ranks 8th on the organization's 2014 Global Impunity Index for murders of journalists.
Journalists have come out in protest against the death of a fellow journalist. Héctor Abad Faciolince condemned her murder and tweeted a link to a graphic YouTube video of what appears to be closed-circuit television footage showing the moment of Núñez's death, posted on September 11, 2015:
Con esta sangre fría y esta indolencia asesinan a una periodista radial el Colombia, Flor Alba Núñez: https://t.co/ipFrTJnIWy
— Héctor Abad (@hectorabadf) septiembre 14, 2015
It is in cold blood and with indifference that the Colombian broadcast journalist Flor Alba Núñez was murdered.
Others made a stand:
Periodistas en #Neiva hacen plantón rechazando la m uerte de Flor Alba Núñez @floralbanoti pic.twitter.com/8sEATRxcod — Fecolper (@FECOLPER) septiembre 12, 2015
Journalists in #Neiva protest saying no to the death of Flor Alba Núñez
The day after Núñez's murder, the Office of the Attorney General requested a hearing to press charges against Carolina Sabino for the alleged crime of abortion. The case came to be known when a phone call between Sabino and her sister, the actress Lina Luna, was intercepted as part of an investigation into Luna's former partner.
Her former partner, Andrés Sepúlveda, was a hacker who was sentenced last April to 10 years in prison for spying on negotiators of the peace process between the Colombian government and the militant group FARC.
The same day, Carolina publicly voiced her disapproval on her Twitter account of Attorney General for publishing private information without her consent. In doing so, authorities not only violated her privacy but also her dignity:
pic.twitter.com/NqCvG7j8Wf
— Carolina Sabino (@sabinocaro) September 12, 2015
Press release for the public's consideration
Bogotá, 11 September 2015
Given the information circulating in the media I would like to say the following:
1. It surprises me that such a personal and painful episode would be put on display for all Colombians to see without consideration for my family, mainly my son Tomás, who doesn't understand the reasoning behind this situation. This hasn't just violated my privacy, but has also attacked my dignity and my rights as a woman, as a person and as a citizen.
2. I have yet to be officially notified that I have to appear at the hearing, to which the Office of the Attorney General will supposedly summon me to file charges against me.
3. I appreciate everyone who has shown me their solidarity.
Carolina Sabino
In Colombia, the law states that abortion is legal only in the following cases: if the pregnancy poses a risk to the woman's health, if the fetus has a deformity, or if the pregnancy occurred as the result of rape.
However, the incident surrounding Sabino's abortion has opened up a debate in Colombia and generated a wave of widespread support for the actress, particularly because of the way in which the news had come to light. Due to public outrage at the way in which the case had been handled, the attorney general revoked the request for a hearing three days later.
These are just a few examples of the many messages of solidarity on social media that Sabino received:
Acusar y perseguir mujeres por ser autónomas sobre su cuerpo es medieval e inútil. Mi solidaridad con Carolina Sabino @sabinocaro — Mauricio Albarracín (@malbarracin) septiembre 12, 2015
Accusing and persecuting women for making autonomous choices about their bodies is old-fashioned and ridiculous. My solidarity is with Carolina Sabino
Respeten la privacidad de Carolina Sabino y la libertad de su útero. No la usen de chivo expiatorio solo porque es famosa.
— Ian Schnaida (@IanSchnaida) septiembre 12, 2015
Respect the privacy of Carolina Sabino and her reproductive freedom. Don’t use her as a scapegoat just because she is famous
Toda mi solidaridad con la actriz Carolina Sabino @sabinocaro Tiene derecho a que su intimidad sea respetada y a la presunción de inocencia.
— Daniel Coronell (@DCoronell) septiembre 12, 2015
All of my solidarity is with the actress Carolina Sabino. She deserves to have her privacy respected and to be presumed innocent
On the independent journalism website Las2orillas, Juan Mosquera Restrepo also joined in Sabino's defense:
El atentado que ha cometido la Fiscalía al filtrar esta historia privada a medios de comunicación es, a todas luces, una violación del derecho a la intimidad
The attorney general's attack on Sabino by leaking this private story to the media is without a doubt a violation of privacy.
And others like Gustavo Bolivar agreed on the importance of this issue:
Hay algo que no podemos permitir: Que las mafias del poder se metan en su vida privada. Hoy es Carolina Sabino mañana puede ser Ud #Respeto
— Gustavo Bolívar (@GustavoBolivar) septiembre 14, 2015
There is one thing that we cannot allow: that the powerful ruling clique intrude into one's private life. Today it is Carolina Sabino, tomorrow it could be you #Respect
It's not the first time that Eduardo Montealegre, the attorney general of Colombia, has been involved in a controversial case related to women. Earlier in 2015, Montealegre intervened and ordered the re-arrest of former paramilitary Alejandro Cárdenas Orozco, who was a suspect in the kidnapping and rape of journalist Jineth Bedoya 15 years ago, following a prosecutor's decision to end the investigation and release him. The case remains unresolved.
Regarding the accusation against Sabino, Montealegre maintained that he knew nothing about the incident. Hopefully, he will succeed in bringing the perpetrators of Flor Alba Núñez's murder to justice.
Juan Manuel Santos, the Colombian president, enacted a law this year that classifies femicide as a separate crime with a maximum punishment of 41 years in prison. A report released by the Economic Commission for Latin America revealed that in 2014, 88 women were murdered by their partners or ex-partners in Colombia.

author: Lully


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Musicians Protest Over Hong Kong Metro’s ‘Tone Deaf’ Enforcement of Luggage Rules · Global Voices
Hong Kong Free Press

Musicians playing inside Tai Wai MTR station. Photo: HKFP.
This post was written by Kris Cheng and originally published on Hong Kong Free Press on October 4, 2015. The edited version below is republished on Global Voices under a partnership agreement.
More than a hundred people joined a protest at Tai Wai metro station on Saturday evening, October 3, against the ‘selective’ enforcement of the Mass Transit Railway's (MTR) bylaws regarding luggage.
Demonstrators wielding guitars, accordions, trombones and bagpipes, were responding to a Facebook campaign urging citizens to take their musical instruments on to the MTR system.
It followed an incident in which a Baptist University music student was warned by MTR staff for bringing his cello into Tai Wai station last month. Some accuse staff of harassing musicians while turning a blind eye to oversized luggage carried by tourists and parallel traders–mainland Chinese who buy up Hong Kong goods and carry them back over the border to resell.
Mavis Lung Man-wai, a yangqin teacher who started the Facebook campaign, said that she was happy with the protest turnout.
I feel we have achieved our goal, because we have received a lot of media exposure. No matter whether MTR’s response can meet our demands or not, we have done what we can do.
Although the MTR Corporation promised a public consultation on luggage policy, the company did not respond to Lung.
MTR didn’t talk to me at all. I’ll send emails to them in my personal capacity to ask for exemption for musical instruments [from warnings and fines]… I hope musical organisations such as the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra can do more, art organisations like the Arts Development Council, and universities that have a music department, as students are the ones that need to travel by MTR.
Lung added that she would not usually carry her yangqin onto the MTR, but she started the campaign “to stand up against injustice.”
Miss Lung and her yangqin. Photo: HKFP
Around half of the protesters were from localist groups that promote values and culture of Hong Kong people such as Hong Kong Localism Power, which claimed the MTR did not enforce their own bylaws on parallel traders, yet picked on local people.
One of the protest placards read, “[MTR] Prosecutes HK Citizens only but not Chinese Smugglers–No [to] MTR Corruptions”, while another read, “MTR staff take bribes and assist smugglers evading taxes.”
Most of these protesters did not bring musical instruments but chanted slogans against the MTR company.
“Shameful MTR!” pic.twitter.com/h1jSu82wb5
— Kris Cheng (@krislc) October 3, 2015
Miss Ng, a protester, said:
I live in Lohas Park, I have to take MTR with my cello. I have had it for ten years and it was fine before – it’s not reasonable to give warnings to people with musical instruments now. It’s disturbing many students, but they have no choice.
Miss Ng with her cello. Photo: HKFP.
She said her cello was a full size one that was 134 centimeters tall–4 centimeters over the MTR guidelines.
Patrick Brousseau, a teacher wearing a kilt, drew lots of attention with his bagpipes. Brousseau had an alternative suggestion for the MTRC:
Considering that the first and last cars usually have bigger open spaces, the MTR [can] just [ask] people with oversize baggage to go to those cars. I think most people would say ‘yeah, I can do that’, right? It would be nice if there were special carriages, because then it would help transport bicycles on the train. But also I don’t think that the smuggling problem is going to go away very soon […] If the MTR actually introduce baggage cars… for people transporting goods to China… they can make a ton of money, and kill two birds with one stone.
bagpiper pic.twitter.com/fAbzm2vvvj
— Kris Cheng (@krislc) October 3, 2015
Some protesters played and sang popular Cantonese songs such as Beyond’s ‘Under a Vast Sky’, a song often heard at pro-democracy protests.
beyond songs pic.twitter.com/prK6Bcaz9F
— Kris Cheng (@krislc) October 3, 2015
Another demonstrator painted the station floor in protest of the MTRC “disturbing livelihoods and suppressing art”. He cleaned the floor before leaving.
“Protest against MTR suppressing art” pic.twitter.com/lJRyAkTqes
— Kris Cheng (@krislc) October 3, 2015
Painter Perry Dino, who is often seen at protests, said:
MTR should give people a chance to bring musical instruments, as some are teaching music for a living and don’t have money to take taxis or vans.
Painter Perry Dino. Photo: HKFP.
Dino added that his paint set exceeded MTR luggage guidelines when expanded. “I am prepared to be fined here,” he said.
Mr Lee, who brought a symbolic yellow umbrella instead of an instrument, said:
Hong Kong people should protect children’s right to learn music. In the past it was allowed to carry musical instruments into stations. Why not now?
Mr Lee with his yellow umbrella. Photo from HKFP.

author: Hong Kong Free Press


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Portrait of Nobel Literary Prize Winner Pablo Neruda Sparks Debate About Rape Culture in Chile · Global Voices
Danica Jorden

A selection of Pablo Neruda's poetry books. Images mixed by Tetyana Lokot.
Chilean artist Carla Moreno's depiction of the country's famed poet Pablo Neruda, accompanied by a rereading of the text he wrote about a possibly non-consensual encounter he had as a young man, has sparked controversy and debate about the culture of rape in a machista (male chauvinist) society.
The latest installment in a series of lurid portraits reminiscent of pulp fiction book covers portrays the celebrated Literature Nobel Laureate with a dripping coil of excrement on his head, under the banner “Progressive Male Chauvinist.” Purporting to be a new edition of the author's memoir “I Confess That I Have Lived” (1974, posthumous), Moreno's version reads “I Confess That I Have Raped,” followed by the subtitle “a poor, black, Tamil, Pariah caste woman while I was Consul in Colombo”.
Chilean artist Carla Moreno's portrait of Pablo Neruda “I Confess That I Have Raped,” followed by the subtitle “a poor, black, Tamil, Pariah caste woman while I was Consul in Colombo.”
Moreno annotates her work with a deconstruction of a passage written by Neruda describing an experience he had while he was Chilean consul in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) during the 1920s. Developing an intense attraction for the woman who cleaned his toilet every morning, he recounts how he finally prevailed and had sex with her, despite the fact that she never once returned his entreaties.
Una mañana, decidido a todo, la tomé fuertemente de la muñeca y la miré cara a cara. No había idioma alguno en que pudiera hablarle. Se dejó conducir por mí sin una sonrisa y pronto estuvo desnuda sobre mi cama. Su delgadísima cintura, sus plenas caderas, las desbordantes copas de sus senos, la hacían igual a las milenarias esculturas del sur de la India. El encuentro fue el de un hombre con una estatua. Permaneció todo el tiempo con sus ojos abiertos, impasible. Hacía bien en despreciarme. No se repitió la experiencia”.
One morning, I decided to go for all, and I grabbed her forcefully by the wrist and looked her in the face. There was no language I could speak to her. She allowed herself to be led by me unsmiling and soon was naked upon my bed. Her extremely slender waist, full hips, the overflowing cups of her breasts, made her exactly like the thousands year old sculptures in the south of India. The encounter was like that of a man and a statue. She kept her eyes open throughout, unmoved. She was right to have contempt for me. The experience was not repeated.
Neruda notes his position of authority over the woman and how he had exoticised and objectified her. According to Moreno, he refers to her as “Not a person, not an equal.” As she puts it:
Tan naturalizada está la cultura de la violación y el racismo, que un hombre blanco y con poder puedo incluir el relato de una violación como una anécdota más de sus memorias, y no pasa NADA.
So naturalized is the culture of rape and racism that a white, powerful man can include an account of rape as just one more anecdote in his memoirs, and NOTHING happens.
In an article in ElDesconcierto, Vanessa Vargas Rojas asserts:
Convertido en un referente cultural de Chile ante el mundo, la figura del poeta no ha dado lugar a los cuestionamientos por este tipo de episodios en su vida, muy en contraste a lo que ocurre con otras grandes artistas chilenas como Violeta Parra o Gabriela Mistral, constantemente criticadas desde su relación con la maternidad y la sexualidad.
Converted into a cultural reference for Chile to the world, the figure of the poet has not been the subject of interrogation in terms of these types of episodes in his life, in stark contrast to what has happened to great female artists from Chile like Violeta Parra or Gabriela Mistral, who are constantly criticised for their relationships with motherhood and sexuality.
Neruda is widely considered one of the greatest poets of the 20 century. His work is a part of the cultural heritage of Chile and Latin America. He also combined his writing with political activities. In addition to his diplomatic career, in 1945 he was elected to the Senate and joined the Communist Party. Three years later, when the Chilean government moved to the right with president Gabriel González Videla and declared communism illegal, Neruda was persecuted in his country and forced into exile for a time. The author of Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, he died on September 23, 1973, in Santiago, Chile.
For fans of his famous poems, the revelation has been shocking:
Pablo Neruda's poems are alluded to rape why do people praise him for “love poems”
— Champagne Mami (@actualoser) July 6, 2015
rape can never be rendered poetically, even by previous fav Neruda. — kali-mathangi (@_youlendree) March 3, 2014
How do you overlook the rape part of Neruda's memoir? All this birthday adulation. So many feelings.
— nandita tiwari (@zhili_byli) July 13, 2014

author: Danica Jorden


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The Self-Ruling Indigenous People of Cherán, Mexico, Celebrate Their First Government Transition · Global Voices
Mas de 131

Hundreds of people from Cheran joined with their new traditional authorities and applauded those who had left office. Around their necks, they wore pandakuas to which they attach bread rolls; it signifies recognition. Photo: Yoco Reyes del Movimiento Juvenil Huizizilapan, courtesy of Más de 131
Three years after the indigenous community in Cherán began to govern themselves according to their own customs and traditions, the first autonomous government passed the ceremonial baton to the winners of last May's election, marking Cherán's first transition of power under self-rule.
On 2 September 2015, hundreds of people from Cherán attended the event to meet their new traditional authorities and applaud those who had left office.
Cherán, which is located in the Mexican state of Michoacán, runs a government independent from the rest of the country's political system and based on the P’urhépecha's people own customary law (usos y costumbres in Spanish). The movement for political autonomy began in earnest in April 2011 when locals, frustrated over authorities’ failure to stop organised crime from clearing their forests of trees, blocked the passage of many logging vehicles. Later that same year, the Superior Court of Mexico's Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary cancelled municipal elections, allowing the community to organize its own elections and government. In 2014, the country's Supreme Court officially recognized their right to self-rule.
That land has since been reforested by the local Council Commons Department of Construction, an achievement that received applause during the government transition ceremony. The department's other works such as a nursery and a rainwater capture facility were featured in a video shown in each district.
Two days before, Cherán’s governing council submitted its report on the past year directly to the town’s four districts and received the comments and criticisms of its people. In contrast, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto requested behind closed doors that the report on his third year of government be submitted, a year that was plagued by unspeakable violence.
From behind a banner carrying the message “strengthening our right to free decision”, the new authorities marched with a pandakua around their necks. A member of Radio Fogata, the community radio station that was set up after the 2011 movement, explained that the pandakua, to which bread is attached and worn around the neck, is a form of recognition that serves to make the wearer stand out. Behind them were boys and girls, members of support groups, and members of the Mexican Electricians’ Union.
Members of the town's four districts then came together and entered the town square. Each group carried banners and performed different dances. In the centre of the main square there was an enormous offering of corn, Agave leaves, stones and incense that marked the four cardinal points. Residents released commemorative floating lanterns. The square's kiosk was decorated with seeds and seedlings from the nursery by the Commons Council.
The master of ceremonies said:
Aquí estamos en reconocimiento de esta gran aventura que hemos decidido emprender. Hoy es la toma de protesta de muchos municipios, ninguno como el de nosotros. Este pueblo seguirá unido en defensa de la naturaleza, de la seguridad, de la dignidad, de los animales. Porque somos un pueblo culto y ancestral que ha habitado este territorio. Ante el rumbo de la crisis política del mundo -crisis ecológica, social y económica- el pueblo de Cherán va a demostrar que tenemos la capacidad de reivindicar lo perdido”.
We are here to recognise the great journey we have decided to undertake. Today is the day oaths are taken in many places, places very different to our own. Our people will continue on, united in our defence of nature, security, dignity, and animals, because we are an ancestral and learned people who have lived on these lands. Facing the course of the global political crisis — environmental, social, and economical crisis — the people of Cherán will show that we have the power reclaim what has been lost.
Various guests attended the occasion: the lawyers who took the case before federal court, representatives of the Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (a national teachers’ union), various state schools, indigenous people, and the magistrate Juan Carlos Silva Adaya, president of the Toluca Courtroom of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary, who swore in the 12 members of the new elder council.
“They have made the words of the constitution and treaties into a reality. We have a lot to learn from the P’urhépecha community”, Silva Adaya admitted. He also emphasised: “Their experience must be made known to other groups of people in Mexico and Latin America so they can follow their example.”
The people continued the ritual, asking Tatá Jurhiata (Father Sun), Naná Echeri (Mother Earth) and the beings who in the indigenous P’urhépecha's belief inhabit the four cardinal points to give “strength to the authorities for their new roles […] let them embrace humility.”
The old and new kericha (elder in the P’urhépecha language) were blessed by the traditional healers. Trinidad Ramírez, a member of the previous Elder Council, handed the baton to new member Mario López and told him:
Este es un símbolo de sabiduría, honestidad y respeto, cuando se veía oscuro el corazón p’urhépecha, se encendió y resonó fuerte su voz. Es la voz de todos contra la falta de explotación y falta de respeto a raíces, territorio y esencia.
This is a symbol of wisdom, honesty and respect, when the P’urhépecha heart appears dark, it lights up and its voice resounds. It is the voice of all those against the crime of exploitation and the lack of respect for roots, lands and spirit.
He then shouted, “Juchari Uinápikua!” (Our strength!), which was echoed by the other authorities. Finally, he went off dancing with the other kericha around the offering.
Pedro Chávez, another of the 12 new members of the Elder Council, read the first declaration of the new council on duty:
Somos parte de la tierra, la lucha es por la vida. Comuneras, comuneros, colectivos que nos brindan su apoyo, nos toca una página más de la historia de la lucha de la comunidad. Ratificamos nuestra lucha en defensa de madre naturaleza y vida; tomar protesta como segundo consejo es ratificar el ejercicio de recuperar nuestra cosmovisión que surge como respuesta a la problemática de la nación y mundo entero.
We are part of the earth, the fight is for life. Men and women of our community, and the groups who offer us support, give us another page in the story of our community's fight. We confirm our fight in defence of Mother Nature and life; to take oath as the second council is to confirm our task of recovering our world view that comes as an answer to the problems of our nation and the whole world.
He urged residents to “not participate in a system of pillage and death” and mentioned the violence in Ostula, Ayotzinapa, Apatzingan and Tanhuato, in which Mexican authorities played a part. He thanked the outgoing councils and the community circle and condemned the political party system. He also asked the community not to become distant from their traditional government: “the journey requires the participation of all.”
Outgoing Elder Council member Trinidad Ramírez recognized that their communal government had unfinished business, but for this reason two new councils emerged: the council for the young, and the council for women.
Nunca tuvimos tiempo de amarrarnos una corbata porque teníamos que salir a levantar una piedra, ayudar a alguien. Nos ven ayudar a los vecinos, estar en contacto con el pueblo. Ahí te platican sus cosas. Las faenas es el momento para platicar sus necesidades, cosas íntimas. Yo digo que ahí está la clave, el día que nos alejemos del pueblo, perdemos.
We never had time to put on a tie because we always had to go out and help people. They see us helping our neighbours, being in contact with the people. That is where they chat with you about their things. Doing chores is a time to talk about their needs, their intimate things. I say that this is the key, the day that we distance ourselves from the people is the day we lose.
He mentioned that the most difficult thing for the Elder Council was to meet residents’ expectations for the new form of government, and how community authorities had to make arrangements with government authorities, in which, he said, they almost always faced obstacles.
Lo más difícil es convencer a la gente que hacemos todo lo posible. ¿Cómo resolverlo? Hablándoles con la verdad, siendo honesto y decirles: está es mi capacidad, hasta aquí puedo. Si alguien me orienta, háganlo.
The most difficult thing to do is to convince the people that we are doing everything possible. How can we do this? By speaking the truth, by being honest and telling them: this is my ability, this is as far as I can go. If someone can guide me, then please do so.
Ramírez denounced the members of the 72nd term of the state Michoacán Congress trying to promote three laws (the Law of Linguistic Rights in Michoacán, the Law of Indigenous Culture, and the Law of Citizen Participation Mechanisms of the State of Michoacán) without prior consultation of the communities.
He stated that after the 2011 uprising for self-rule, the people of Cherán question the decisions of the government. He considers this to be the reason why the Michoacán government does not want to initially consult the people on these laws in a free and informed manner, as indicated in Convention 169 of the International Labour Organisation, signed by Mexico.
Members of the Liaison Committee of the outgoing and incoming community governments have already submitted a document to  the state congress in an attempt to get it to inform the districts of Cherán about its intentions in enacting the aforementioned laws. Due to a lack of response, the traditional authority was ultimately the one to inform the people of Cherán about these laws.
Victor Hugo Campanur Sixtos, a member of the new Elder Council, revealed that the members of the new government structure have already visited the bonfires (a gathering spot reserved for dialogue that emerged during the 2011 movement) to request information about the people's most urgent needs. With this information they will create a plan of work to be consulted. The priority will be security. They will also continue on with infrastructure works and will focus on the “reconstruction of the social fabric”, especially among youth.
Regarding the laws that the state government wants to enact, it was revealed that President of Michoacán Congress Raymundo Arreola Ortega had not initially received them in the correct form, but now has said that they are working so that the laws “turn out in favour of the communities.”

author: Mas de 131


text:
Guineans Want Their Presidential Candidates to Run on Policy, Not Ethnicity · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Provisional lists of candidates being posted. Photo by Jacob Kpézé Guilavogui CC-BY-40
The citizens of Guinea-Conakry are preparing to cast their ballot for president on 11 October, a vote that is eagerly awaited since the 2010 elections — the first free elections held in the country since independence — were marred by irregularities and ethnic tensions.
The country’s blogosphere is buzzing with anticipation. Many social media users and bloggers have revived the Association des Bloggeurs de Guinée (the Guinean Association of Bloggers), also known as Ablogui, and have set up Facebook pages to share their views. Their main objective is to reform political discourse by forcing candidates to talk about their policies rather than their ethnicity.
On 10 September, coinciding with the beginning of the electoral campaign, Ablogui launched GuinéeVote, a platform whose goal is to provide a tool to compare the policies of the eight candidates. But as of 6 October, only two candidates have provided their policy manifesto to the platform, and current President Alpha Condé, who is running for reelection, announced his on social networks. The remaining five haven't communicated their plans for the country, hindering the citizen effort for more transparent elections.
Banner of the Guinea Votes Project to encourage citizen election monitoring via Ablogui with their permission
Fodé Kouyaté Sanikayi, president of Ablogi, explained that it is critical that voters base their choice on policies and therefore policies need to be made available to the public:
En fin de compte, on ne vote pas des programmes, mais plutôt des personnes. Les partis ont été incapables de faire une divulgation adéquate de leurs programmes, ils ne savent pas mobiliser les citoyens autour de leurs objectifs de sorte qu’il est plus facile de jouer la carte du communautarisme, celle de l’appartenance ethnique. Voilà les raisons de notre l’initiative de changer le discours politique. Des discours simplistes et bon marché qui font appel aux différences ethniques, en aggravant les antagonismes, qui conduisent souvent aux tensions et même à la violence, nous voulons une comparaison des contenus des programmes proposés, forçant les politiciens à être plus constructifs en essayant de convaincre leurs électeurs dans l’exercice cohérent du pouvoir.
At the end of the day [in Guinea], we do not vote for programs, but rather for individuals. Political parties were unable to make adequate disclosure of their programs, they do not know how to mobilize citizens around their policies so it's easier for them to play the community/ethnic card. That is why we started this initiative: to change the political discourse. We do not want simplistic and cheap speeches that only appeal to ethnicity and are worsening antagonistic ethnic tension. This often leads to further tensions and even violence. We want to compare the contents of the proposed programs, forcing politicians to be more constructive in trying to convince their constituents on how they will exercise the power that will bestowed upon them.
Guinea is home to several ethnic groups, with the Fula people and the Mandinka people representing about two-thirds of the population.
The GuinéeVote platform also offers an interactive map that will collect and curate social media to monitor the elections:
Snapshot of Map of Guinee election monitoring platform
Beyond GuinéeVote, the country's bloggers have tried to find original ways to talk about the election.
For example, Diakite Ibrahima Kalil, a Conakry resident and member of Ablogi, compared politicians with sales representatives in the way they have conducted their campaign:
Voici la figure d’analogie Commerce = Politique :
Leader politique = Commerçant
Projet de société = Marchandise
Electeurs = Clients
Vote = L’achat effectué par les clients
Pouvoir = Bénéfice
Campagne électorale = Publicité
A chart showing the analogy between commerce and politics:
Political Leader = Shopkeeper
Their vision for society = Goods
Electors = Customers
Vote = A purchase made by the customers
Power = Profit
Electoral Campaign = Advertising
He also criticised that some candidates refused to publish their policies or ignored the importance of the GuinéeVote platform. He argued that politicians ought to have taken advantage of the opportunity to explain their candidacy:
Dans d’autres pays ce genre d’initiative serait appuyé très convoité non seulement par les potentiels partenaires mais aussi par les politiques, puisque c’est un canal qui permet de divulgation de leurs intentions et projets chose qui peut séduire le maximum d’électeurs à travers le web à cette époque de nouvelle technologie et d’interconnexion, c’est de l’e-campagne. Mais depuis son lancement, beaucoup de ces candidats n'ont pas encore transmis leurs programmes…
Faire connaître son projet c’est en quelque sorte se faire des obligations solennelles qu’on aura à remplir une fois au pouvoir. Mais celui qui ne fait pas connaître son projet ne veut pas avoir d’obligation envers le peuple, moi je dis [si] une telle personne devient président, vous n’aurez rien à lui reproché quoi qu’il fasse puisqu’il n’y a pas eu de contrat entre vous, il n’a pris aucun engagement. Disons donc que le projet de société est un engagement pour un leader politique à réaliser les attentes du peuple une fois au pouvoir.
In other countries this type of initiative would be enthusiastically supported, not only by potential contributors, but also by politicians. In this era of new technology and interconnection, the Web is a channel through which politicians can communicate their intentions and projects and hence attract the maximum number of electors, through an e-campaign. But since its launch, many of the candidates have still not sent in their programmes…
Publishing a manifesto is a bit like making solemn promises that must be fulfilled once you are in power. But those who do not publish their programmes do not want to be under any obligation to the people. In my view, if such a person becomes president, then whatever they do, you will have nothing to complain about, because there was no contract between you since they made no promises. So we can say that a political leader’s vision for society is a commitment to carry through the will of the people once he gains power.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Kabul Taxi Is Blocked on Facebook. Long Live Kabul Taxi! · Global Voices
Najiba Madadi

The cover of the Kabul Taxi Facebook page which was removed from Facebook last month.
“Life is bitter, the future is unknown” reads the message on the back window of a Kabul Taxi, a little yellow Toyota that became the new face of political satire in Afghanistan until it disappeared from Facebook last month.
The message was at once ironic and insightful, speaking both to the short, precarious existence enjoyed by Kabullians’ favourite imaginary cab and to Afghanistan’s own unknowable destiny, all of which existed in the form of a Facebook page.
The anonymous author of the page wrote imaginary accounts of his experiences driving a fictional cab that ‘picked up’ passengers of high profile — often senior government officials — and converted their political discussions into pithy posts en route to their destinations.
Although the discussions never actually took place, they were often uncomfortably realistic and revealing for the men in the back seat.
With social media use growing in Afghanistan at the same time that trust in traditional media, which is often politically compromised, is declining, satirical outlets like Kabul Taxi have emerged as a space for Afghans to express dissatisfaction over the country's current path.
Citizens’ frustrations with corruption, nepotism, insecurity and unemployment all found a home in the satirical hatchback. It made them laugh, and helped them scream. The page's 13,000 fans became 60,000 in the same month the Washington Post wrote three consecutive stories on the cab.
But just as Kabul Taxi looked as if it might fly, somebody put the brakes on it.
Facebook blocked the page shortly after it picked on President Ghani’s National Security Advisor, Hanif Atmar, and his cohort of 27 young advisors, who Kabul Taxi portrayed as the spoiled children of warlords and the Afghan political elite.
Hanif Atmar's letter to the NDS. Widely shared.
The post titled ‘Hanif Atmar’s Mantra Group’, commented on the high salaries of the young advisors and how they came to be appointed.
Atmar, who served as an intelligence operative for the communist regime during the 1980s, did not appreciate the satire. He sent a letter to the National Directorate of Security (NDS) — Afghanistan’s national intelligence agency — and asked them to look into the case.
Atmar's primary complaint — indicated on the right by the author of this post — was that the satire disclosed the identity and duties of National Security Council staff in a demeaning way that put their lives at risk.
While such an allegation deserves consideration, it seems far more likely Atmar was motivated to write the letter by wounded honour.
On August 22 and 23 the NDS summoned the senior editors of a local newspaper for interrogation under suspicion that they were responsible for the page.
Although the journalists were released, the incident sparked a substantial backlash on social media.
By the start of September, Kabul Taxi was out of service.
A Facebook user posted:
Kabul Taxi is closed but it is idiotic to think it will prevent people to think critically or speak up in today's world with many ways for communication.
“The council whose instructor is Atmar” reads the text below an image of Hanif Atmar, National Security Advisor. Posted by Kabul Taxi.
The closure might be seen by some as a worrying sign of Facebook bending to the will of national governments, but the social media network has not stopped several pages with similar names and aims that emerged shortly after Kabul Taxi was closed down.
All the new taxis claim to be driven by the same driver. Among the more credible heirs to the throne is a page that enjoys over 96,000 likes and claims to be the ‘true new Kabul Taxi’.
The page displayed a screenshot of an email it says is from Facebook. In the email, the company refuses to reinstate the page, presumably after contact with Afghan security officials:
Another post the page published featured an animation, ‘Atmar and Kabul Taxi’ showing the security advisor being teased by a yellow cab — Kabul Taxi. The animation ends with the announcement: ‘I am Kabul Taxi’s driver.’
Frustrated by a number of pages sharing the same post, Afghan Facebook users are confused as to which taxis are fake and which are not.
The gap left by the page in terms of satirical content is possible to fill, but what many are missing is the storm of discussion that accompanied each post on the original Kabul Taxi page.
That is unlikely to return, unless its author is willing to risk the consequences of disclosing his identity.
Just a month after it disappeared, Afghans are nostalgic for their favourite ride, praying it is out there somewhere, waiting to reclaim its adoring audience in full.
Kabul Taxi! “It has been a long time, no see!” #Literally pic.twitter.com/qmdKFIGPOl
— Muhib Shadan (@muhibshadan) September 26, 2015
[Translation from Pashto inscription on the window of a Kabul car]: Long Time No See!

author: Najiba Madadi


text:
Solar Power Is Booming in India, But Will It Reach Those Who Need It Most? · Global Voices
Ensia

Meenakshi Dewan brings something very special to her home in Orissa, India: electricity. Photo by Flickr user DFID – UK Department for International Development. CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0
This post by Didem Tali was originally published on Ensia.com, a magazine that highlights international environmental solutions in action, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
The sun is shining on India, and India is poised to take advantage of it, with massive investments in solar energy facilities to help meet the needs of a population that is expected to grow to make it the planet’s most populous nation by 2022. But will the power go to the people who need it most?
With its large land mass and tropical location, many experts consider the country particularly suitable for solar power. In fact, a recent study by Deloitte and the Confederation of Indian Industry estimated India’s solar power potential at 749 gigawatts — nearly three times the country’s entire installed electrical capacity in 2012 — and reported that not even 1 percent of this potential is currently tapped.
The Indian government is making aggressive moves to accelerate the country’s solar energy supply. According to Bridge to India, a Delhi-based solar energy firm, India’s solar industry is expected to grow 250 percent this year, putting the country on track to become one of the top five solar countries globally. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has just approved a plan to develop 50 solar cities. The world’s first airport that runs entirely on solar power was recently built in the southwestern Indian state of Cochin. And India is soon to have the world’s largest solar power station. Describing solar energy as the “ultimate solution,” Modi pledged to give all Indians access to electricity and called on the country’s scientists to develop more efficient solar energy equipment.
“Solar power is India’s opportunity of a lifetime. It has the power to address not only India’s development problems, but it could also be a game changer for global climate change,” says Tobias Engelmeier, director of Bridge to India. “Reaching a capacity of 100 gigawatts in 15 years is realistic,” he says.
According to the Delhi-based think tank The Energy and Resources Institute, 300 million people in India have no access to electricity. Solar power could make it easier for schoolchildren to do homework after dark, help residents connect to the world through mobile phones and more. However, Engelmeier says, it will be a challenge for solar power to filter to the urban poor:
A volunteer shows local residents a Polllinate Energy solar power system. Photo by Didem Tali.
Decisions regarding the solar power investments are very politically driven and erratic. Even those who have access to electricity in cities regularly suffer from power cuts. Especially without centralized power systems and with the unpredictable nature of politics, it’s difficult to anticipate what will happen.
That said, many initiatives intend to make India’s urban poor benefit from the solar power boom. Through the project “Lighting a Billion Lives,” The Energy and Resources Institute has already illuminated more than half a million households not just in India, but also in 11 other developing countries. Similarly, the Small-Scale Sustainable Infrastructure Development Fund provides financial, technical, and business support to small enterprises that provide solar infrastructure. Established in 2012, the Australia- and India-based social business Pollinate Energy has sold micro solar grids in more than 1,000 communities.
“It will be the [non-profit] sector and the individuals from communities who will leverage the solar power boom to slums,” says Katerina Kimmorley, founding director of Pollinate Energy.
However, even at subsidized rates offered by social businesses such as Pollinate Energy, a solar power unit costs Rs. 5500 (US$83), whereas a daily wage of a construction worker can be as low as Rs. 200 (US$3). Many urban dwellers work in volatile sectors, such as construction, where jobs are cut during the rainy season, which means many households would likely find it difficult to afford such solutions.
Not only that, but electricity is not the energy upgrade India’s poorest residents need most. By far the greatest use of energy in slums is for cooking food and sterilizing water — a need currently met by biomass fuels, which pollute the air and cause health problems, and which cannot easily be met by micro-solar photovoltaics because of the relatively small amount of electricity they produce. Nevertheless, micro-solar grids can benefit households to a certain degree, especially when it comes to satisfying smaller everyday needs, such as illuminating houses and charging mobile phones.
There’s little doubt that it will take many years, if not decades, for consumer demand and rising market competition to make solar power affordable enough for all. However, with the right steps, policies, and the heavy involvement of the nonprofit sector, solar may indeed play an important role in helping India’s 300 million current power-less people gain access to electricity.
Didem Tali is a freelance multimedia journalist specializing into international development affairs. She reports about economic affairs, gender, and the environment from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. She holds a Master’s Degree in media, communication, and development from the London School of Economics. She tweets from @didem_tali.

author: Ensia


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Steps On the Journey · Global Voices
Caoimhe Butterly

An inflatable raft full of refuge-seekers on its way to Lesvos, Greece. PHOTO: Radu Bec. Used with permission.
The coastal road of Eftalou on the island of Lesvos, Greece, is lined with olive groves, fig trees and the detritus of the daily passage of thousands of refuge-seeking women, men and children. The coastline is littered with deflated rubber dinghies, piles of life-jackets stuffed with styrofoam, sponge or dried grass, abandoned sodden outer garments, and the occasional toy or memento carried across the sea and lost in the rush to keep moving.
As the sun rises and glints off the Aegean sea, the horizon is dotted with dinghies already en route, making slow progress through the turbulent waters. Guided on to shore by volunteers, boat passengers stumble and wade through knee-deep water, clutching children, elderly people, salvaged ruck-sacks, and each other. Overwhelmed with relief, they embrace, cheer, weep, bow down in prayer or sit in shaken silence. Calls are made to reassure family members still in camps and communities in Syria, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Turkey, Eritrea, Somalia and elsewhere, that they made the crossing safely, that they’re alive, that they’re together.
Fatima, a teacher and mother of two young boys collapses on reaching shore, crying and momentarily struggling to breathe. Mahmoud, her eleven-year old son, kneels and cradles her as we loosen her head-scarf, calming her with reassurances that that they’re all safe and that he loves her. “On the dinghy, I held all of my fear inside of me so my boys wouldn’t see it,” Fatima explains later. “But they are older than their years. I hope, somewhere, that they can live the childhood that was denied to them and that I can re-build our lives”.
Ahmed sits on the rocks, his trembling legs failing him, surrounded by his grown children. Sawsan, his eldest daughter, holds his hand. Walking the six kilometres to Molyvos later, however, he revives despite the relentless heat and admires the lush agricultural fields, flowering trees and preserved ruins of a fortress in the distance. His two teenage sons had been detained and flogged in Raqqa, and when they were eventually released he decided to leave Syria—a decision, he says, that he found devastating. “There was no other option,” Ahmed says. “I raised my children to reject sectarianism and to have deep respect for all religions. We saw a brutality and inhumanity that I could no longer protect them from and I knew we had to leave”.
Lara and Haya, teenage hip-hop devotees, walk alongside us with their brothers. Their father, Ehab, is recovering from the open heart surgery he underwent the month before, a healing scar visible on his chest. He walks slowly, pausing frequently for breath, until a volunteer convinces him to accept a lift, reassuring him that his children will be safe and will follow him to the nearby rest-camp. As the group continues along the dirt road and the sun rises higher in a cloudless sky, the youngest decide to go for a swim. They jump off the rocks fully clothed and float on their backs in the now calm waters. They laugh, gesturing shyly at the sun-bathing tourists on the beach, wondering what they’re thinking, what they understand of their disparate group, thrown together by circumstance and now connected by deepening friendships as they journey together.
Canyar, a Kurdish musician from Kobane, Syria, sits and rests with his family and comrades. He has brought his instrument, a tanbur—a long-necked lute—and little else. “My music is my resistance,” he says. “I play songs to honour our fallen, those who died defending our people, and to celebrate life, our traditions and culture, too. My music is how I contribute to the struggle of my people”.
Salwaa, a compassionate, competent and multi-lingual Afghani university student in her mid-twenties, moves between groups of fellow travellers from Kabul, Kunduz and Mazar-i Sharif, assisting those who need help. She translates for a volunteer paramedic as he examines the painful feet of Karim, a Hazara school-teacher and diabetes-sufferer who has been walking for weeks with his family. He has deep tissue necrosis in both feet and will, it seems, have to undergo a double-amputation. “I couldn’t translate that,” Salwa says. “I couldn’t destroy his hopes. They will tell him the truth at the hospital, but I cannot”.
Later, outside a dusty parking lot where new arrivals wait for the infrequent buses that will take them to processing camps in Mytilene, a familiar laugh reunites us with Wissam, a Palestinian journalist and resident of Yarmouk refugee camp. Our last encounter was in 2007 in her work studio, in happier times, and we embrace and reminisce. She points to her son and brothers next to her, their clothes still damp and encrusted with sea-salt from the crossing. “Our world has been turned upside down—everything has changed in such a short space of time,” Wissam says.
Their dinghy had begun to sink when they were still far from shore and they had to throw anything that wasn’t essential overboard, including their water-logged, heavy ruck-sacks. “The seas are not only the graveyard of our bodies,” she reflects, referring to the thousands of those seeking refuge that have drowned over the past year, “but also of our memories—of our photos and belongings and the small things we brought with us to remind us of home.”
Days later, many of those we’d encountered when they first arrived are still waiting in camps in Mytilene, at the port or sleeping in the streets as they wait for the reception papers that would allow them to continue their journeys. The conditions are degrading, there is little, if any, humanitarian infrastructure in place, and each day they wait long hours at the port, enduring verbal insults and occasional baton-charges by port police. “It’s all so humiliating,” Sonia, an architectural student from near Damascus, says. “We really weren’t expecting this. We thought that if we lived through the sea crossing that that would be the hardest part of the journey completed.”
Accounts of the militarised borders still to be crossed filter back by word-of-mouth and through virtual chat groups. Marwan, one of the youths who paused to swim while his family were making the trek to Molyvos, gestures to the crowds of exhausted, patience-worn-thin fellow travelers around them at the port and says wryly, “If I knew we were hurrying only to get stuck here I would have stayed in the sea for longer and stopped to admire the views along the way”.
That night, we take Sonia and her group of fellow students to a celebration at Pikpa, a community-run solidarity camp that provides rest and refuge to the ill, injured and particularly vulnerable amongst those seeking asylum. Efi, a co-ordinator and tireless volunteer, dances surrounded by a group of little girls, all trying to hold her hands and attention. “We learn from their strength and we try to create a community that gives us all some dignity,” she says. A group of musicians, activists and volunteers from the Welcome to Europe network sing songs of border-less solidarity, of belonging, of ferries not Frontex, and of welcome.
Sonia sits on the ground amongst the children and their parents, her tensed shoulders relaxing and the weight of the anticipation of the days and weeks to come temporarily lifted. Mohammed, a thirteen- year-old from Aleppo, gets up and takes the mike. Under a beautiful night sky, surrounded by survivors, he raps about resilience and endurance and their long journeys. His audience joins in and, for a moment, his face is incandescent.
Caoimhe Butterly is an Irish organiser, migrant justice activist and post-graduate student. She has spent fourteen years working with social movements and community development projects in Latin America, the Arab world and elsewhere.

author: Caoimhe Butterly


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Syrian Refugees? Get Your Facts Straight Before You Share Their Stories · Global Voices
Rami Alhames

Refugees are Human Beings. Photograph from Commons Wikimedia CC-BY-SA-3.0
Sadly, this year is shaping up to be the year of Syrian refugees. Although the countless stories of people fleeing their war-torn country are heartbreaking, we need to look at some of those stories with a pinch of salt. Unfortunately, in some cases the world continues to be misinformed by images and video circulating online that are purportedly of the tragedy but have actually been manipulated or described inaccurately.
The reasons vary from clicktivism to politics. For instance, some European right-wing political parties are using the recent refugee crisis to further push their agenda and close the doors on Syrian refugees taking refuge in Europe. In fact, a photograph claiming to show Syrian refugees waving the ISIS flag in Germany, which is widely being shared on Facebook, is three years old and is not related to the current crisis.
Below are four stories of Syrian refugees stories you may have come across on your social media accounts, which are far from what they appear to be.
Shared on the Syrians in Belgium group on Facebook, this video above is shared with the following caption:
عارضة ازياء ايطالية تصور فيديو على الشاطئ وفجأة بطريقة عفوية وقع المحظور تصل دفعة لاجئين غير متوقعة الى شاطئ الامان في ايطاليا سوف تشتهر هده العارضة لهدا الموقف الظريف والعفوي الدي لايتكرر
معظمهم سوريين وفلسطينيين الحمد الله على السلامة
An Italian model is filming a video on the beach and suddenly the unexpected happened and a group of unexpected refugees arrives on the beach safely in Italy. This model will become famous for this funny and spontaneous incident which will not repeat itself. Most of them are Syrians and Palestinians. Thank God for their safety.
However, the model filming the video being shared far and wide is not Italian and the video itself is not even shot in Italy. And the refugees are neither Syrian nor Palestinian. The original video was published on July 10, 2015, on YouTube by US-based Russian model Ekaterina Juskowski with the description:
Ms. Juskowski, a Miami-based artist and a founder of the Miami Girls Foundation (www.miamigirls.org) “who migrated from Russia at age 18 as a university student – had a more compassionate take. She said, “Witnessing people starting their life anew by jumping off the boat and running into the city made my personal struggle seem rather small. As controversial as the problem of illegal immigration can be for many of us, it is important to remember that people come here in search of the better life, and it comes at a very high price of great courage, hard work, and loneliness. I got to know America as a country with a big heart. While I trust it to the U.S. government to work out the policies on improving the immigration laws, it feels natural to stay compassionate and understanding on a personal level.”
“There’s a big chance you have seen this dramatic picture of a Syrian boy covered by a blanket sleeping between the two graves of his dead parents. It went viral after some big accounts published it [in January 2014] on Twitter,” reads Harld Doornbos Blog.
There is only one problem: The picture is not from Syria, but from Saudi Arabia. Photo credit haralddoornbos blog
The blog was maybe the first to investigate the case by contacting the photographer behind this story, Abdul Aziz al Otaibi, a Saudi national, from Yanbu al Bahr city. His nephew is the boy who appears in the photo:
“Look, it’s not true at all that my picture has anything to do with Syria,” Al-Otaibi says, “I am really shocked how people have twisted my picture.”
“I love photography,” he continues over the phone, “Every artist has ideas in his head. So I had the idea to make a project whereby I show in pictures how the love of a child for his parents is irreplaceable. This love cannot be substituted by anything or anybody else, even if the parents are dead.”
On Twitter, Abdul Aziz al Otaibi shared another photograph of his nephew in January 2014, hoping to set the story straight:
هذي بعد صورة من خلف الكواليس لبراهيم ولد اخوي #ابومتعب_الامريكي_يسرق_صورتي pic.twitter.com/twjFO2BwS3
— عبدالعزيز العتيبي (@abdulaziz_Photo) January 17, 2014
This is also photograph from behind the scenes with my nephew Ibrahim
YouTube user komehtap K stated that Muslim refugees, on the border between Macedonia and Greece, refused the food parcels distributed to them because they carried the Red Cross symbol, which is, according to the author, not halal. While the video is true, this information is totally false.
According to Red Cross spokesman John Aangendal Nielsen speaking to French newspaper Liberation, refugees refusing the parcels was not related to the contents, which were halal, but was a kind of protest against the police who blocked their way and kept them stranded throughout the night under the rain.
On YouTube, komehtap K explains:
Muslim migrants in Macedonia refuse Red Cross parcels because of… the red cross
The headless chicken reaction by the leaders of the European Union regarding mass migration by hundreds of thousands of people has resulted in these so called refugees not only demanding to be allowed to go where they want to go, but insisting on subscribing to the religious bigotry they claim they are running away from.
Here on the Macedonian/Greek border Red Cross aid parcels are being refused due to them having a red cross on the box. And the left call me a bigot for questioning the veracity of these so called refugees
And on Twitter, many reacted with anger at the “ingratitude” of the refugees:
I saw a video of a load of Syrian men throwing food offered to them away because it ain't halal. They should be sent back IMO
— Niall (@SpiritBlade_) September 10, 2015
Unbelievable and ungrateful! #Syrian #refugees in #Hungary are complaining because the food they are being given is not guaranteed as Halal.
— Mike (@1961mike) September 11, 2015
A Syrian mother trying to swim to safety carrying her toddler child. Photo gone viral (source unknown), but it isn't what it seems to be.
This photograph of a Syrian mother struggling at sea has been making the rounds online. But something is amiss. Netizens were quick to notice that the photograph was photoshopped, covering the woman's hair. Omneya Talaat tweets:
عندما لا يهتم مجتمع سوى بتغطية شعر المرأة لا بتوفير حياة كريمة لها فهو مجتمع منتهي بلا جدال #SyrianRefugees #سوريا pic.twitter.com/Az8PcSbSqR
— Omneya Talaat (@OmneyaTalaat) August 29, 2015
When society is only concerned with covering a woman's hair and not providing her with a dignified life, then it is a society on its way to oblivion. There is nothing to argue about here
The blog Phogotraphy asked why a doctored photograph is being used to highlight the plight of Syrian refugees:
This terrifying photograph shows Syrian refugee Rukhsan Muhammed who was rescued off the coast of Turkey in 2013 after the boat she and her son were on capsized. Without the need for an expert’s inspection it is clear that a white headscarf has been crudely applied to the photograph using digital tools.
The moment captured is one of utter despair, indeed since the photograph was taken we learned that Rukhsan had been in the water with her one year old son who was washed away and drowned by the strong currents. So why trivialise this awful situation by drawing on a headscarf to protect this poor woman’s modesty?
Does her dress matter? Phogotraphy explained:
Of course underneath any clothing is a human being, a mother who has lost her child and nearly her own life. We want to care about this person and if she lived to tell of her ordeal. Within the series of images from the Anadolu Agency we can see that Rukhsan was thankfully rescued and what is striking to us now is not a story of survival, but further insight to her clothing. We can see now, clearly that she dresses like us, The West. During rising xenophobia in Europe being prevalent surely a more effective way of realising our compassion is by showing the world we are all the same.
Refugees arriving in Europe are escaping the fate of 320,000 Syrians who have been killed back home in Syria since the start of the war in their country four years ago. They have risked it all to ensure their future and that of their children. Should they be judged for aspiring to live?

author: Rami Alhames


text:
Turkey Puts a Gun to the Media’s Head in Lead-Up to Elections · Global Voices
Ahmet A. Sabancı

Citizen video of Özgür Gün TV reporter Murat Demir and DİHA reporter Serhat Yüce being threatened by police. Video via YouTube.
Turkey's November 1 election is fast approaching and journalists in the country are facing new levels of threat amid an atmosphere of fear and violence.
In the space of a week in October, journalists Ahmet Hakan and Serhat Yüce both suffered beatings that have sparked an outcry over the lack of security for journalists in the country. The October 1 assault on Hakan by a gang affiliated to Turkey's ruling party was the most resonant for users of social media in the country. Police aggression towards Yüce that took place on October 5 also has been widely condemned.
Pressure on journalists is intensifying ahead of a ballot the ruling AKP (Justice and Development) party hopes will grant it the majority it craves. The party lost some of its political dominance following elections in June that led to a split parliament and fresh snap elections, and has doubled down on opposition as one of its main achievements in the last decade — the Kurdish peace process — threatens to fall apart as a result.
In the face of Kurdish militancy and increased government violence towards the citizenry, journalists who use a critical lens to investigate and report on the activities of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his AKP party are left particularly vulnerable to harm.
Most noticeably, information campaigns and physical intimidation that once targeted Kurdish and leftist media are now being aimed at mainstream media as well.
Doğan Media, which encompasses influential outlets such as Hürriyet and Hurriyet Daily News, Posta, the TV channels Kanal D, CNN Türk, and tv2, is one of the biggest media groups in Turkey. Owned by famous media mogul Aydın Doğan, the group has always operated as a standard mainstream media organisation, dodging sensitive topics while tending towards objectivity.
But Doğan came under pressure before the June 7 election, wherein AKP's ambitions to dominate the next parliament were undercut by the arrival into the legislature of pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP). In the run-up to the vote, the group provided air time to members of the HDP and its leader Selahattin Demirtaş.
This was unpopular among nationalists who attacked the media group and claimed that they were “promoting” Kurdish separatism and “supporting terrorism”.
After elections, Doğan began to take precautions. As one journalist put it, self-censorship took hold across the network. Guests from HDP no longer featured in the broadcasts of Doğan group programs.
But even these precautions proved insignificant. On the nights of September 6 and September 8, the headquarters of leading Doğan group new site Hurriyet Daily in Istanbul were attacked with stones and sticks by a mob organised by the AKP parliamentary deputy and leader of the AKP Youth, Abdurrahim Boynukalın, who publicly delivered a threatening speech in front of the Hurriyet's offices.
Boynukalın was not punished for his role in organising the unruly demonstration.
Attacks on Doğan Media and their journalists continued when well-known anchor Ahmet Hakan Coşkun was beaten by four people in front of his house, who reportedly broke his nose and ribs. Following an investigation, it emerged that three of the four assailants were AKP members. AKP subsequently announced it had expelled them from the party.
Initially supportive of AKP and Erdoğan, Hakan became more critical of them over time, as AKP grew increasingly conservative and authoritarian. This switch was noted by scribes in the pro-AKP press such as columnist Cem Küçük, who spuriously accused Hakan of supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party that favours independence from Turkey for Kurds.
He wrote in the Star newspaper:
Like schizophrenic patients, you [Hakan] think you are still living in the days when Hürriyet ran the country. We could crush you like a fly if we wanted. We have been merciful until today and you are still alive.
Those words were printed less than a month before he was assaulted.
Although most journalists and media organisations condemned the attack, pro-AKP media tried to blame others. Groups on social media known as AKTrolls (pro-AKP anonymous users, mostly active on Twitter) even celebrated the event:
A leading palace-linked (pro-Erdogan) anonymous twitter account following assault on journalist Ahmet Hakan just now pic.twitter.com/aJmPsqu2kh
— ilhan tanir (@WashingtonPoint) September 30, 2015
The silencing of Kurdish outlets with the help of Turkey's security forces is another feature of Turkey's increasingly bleak media environment. Just two days before Ahmet Hakan was attacked, a building that houses both the Kurdish news agency DİHA and the Kurdish-language newspaper Azadiya Welat was raided by police.
The raid occurred without a warrant on the afternoon of September 28. Police took around 30 journalists, editors and reporters into custody where they say they were harassed and intimidated. Police also broke windows and doors inside the building.
Hakikate giden kapı! DİHA'yı basan polisler kapıyı bu hale getirdi. Gözümüz üzerinizde, peşinizdeyiz #DİHAyaDokunma pic.twitter.com/KFgCIbJcfF
— Nedim Türfent (@nturfent) September 28, 2015
A door to the truth! Police who raided DİHA did this. We're watching you and we're coming after you. #DontTouchDİHA -Nedim Türfent, English Editor of DİHA.
One possible reason for the raid is DİHA's hard work in Kurdish cities where conflicts between the Kurdish independence groups and the police have been prominent. AKP has demonstrated its will to to censor news coming out of cities like Cizre, Beytülşebbap, Hakkari and Şırnak, where the agency has been particularly active.
DİHA is the most respected news source for many Kurdish people living all around the world and many others who lack trust in mainstream media. Its website was first censored in July as part of a wave of blocks covered by Global Voices. Since that time, their backup domains and mirrors have been blocked more than 20 times.
The most recent event to shock journalists in the country demonstrates how far the government has veered off the track of acceptable behaviour in its war on the media.
Özgür Gün TV reporter Murat Demir and DİHA reporter Serhat Yüce were both threatened, beaten, and then taken into custody by undercover police in public in the provincial town of Silvan in Kurdish-populated eastern Turkey.
When they were preparing to photograph the town under curfew, a police man stopped his car nearby, loaded his gun and aimed it at Serhat Yüce's head while verbally threatening him.
Journalism has never been an easy profession in Turkey. Threats, beatings, torture or even killing journalists have been running themes in Turkish media history.
The attacks on outlets and media workers is reminiscent of very dark times and has justifiably breathed fear into the independent and critical press. Events including the arrest of VICE journalists and the deportation of Frederike Geerdink also demonstrate attacks on the free press are not limited to Turkish citizens.
Predicting the future anywhere is difficult, let alone in Turkey, where the last few years have seen a host of economic and security challenges drag the country back in the direction of its violent and unfulfilling past.
But it seems certain that until November 1, there will be no let up, and journalists will have choose between self-censorship and growing risk.

author: Ahmet A. Sabancı


text:
Cambodian Monks Are Protesting Against Destruction of the Prey Lang Forest · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Cambodian monks gather in the town of Battambang to demand protection of Prey Lang forest.
Cambodian monks have been mobilizing in the streets since July 2015 to demand stronger government action against the rapid deforestation of Prey Lang, the largest lowland dry evergreen forest in Cambodia and Indochina Peninsula.
Prey Lang has 3,600 square kilometers of forests, including giant luxury timber trees, which is home to at least 20 endangered plant species and 27 endangered animal species. More than 700,000 people live within 10 kilometers of the forest. The majority of the settlers belong to Kuys, a small indigenous group which has protected the Prey Lang for centuries.
In recent years, the Cambodian government gave land concessions to local and foreign companies in order to develop the country’s agriculture and mining potential. However, many of the land agreements covered protected areas like Prey Lang. The lack of transparency surrounding the land concessions also sparked various legal disputes and violent conflicts across the country.
Image from the Facebook page of ‘Prey Lang – It's Our Forest Too’
In 2011, Cambodian activists and indigenous tribes conducted an ‘Avatar’ protest to denounce the destruction of Prey Lang. Dressed like the Na'vi tribe from the Hollywood film Avatar, the protesters urged the government to stop the operations of logging and rubber plantations in Prey Lang.
The campaign to preserve Prey Lang continues to this day since there has been no letup in logging activities in the area. During the same period, Cambodia’s deforestation problem also worsened when the government gave away more land concessions.
“#Cambodia Sees World’s Fastest Acceleration of Forest Loss” https://t.co/XF9k9HEKIP via .@CambodiaDaily pic.twitter.com/eStmD2Bdqb
— Tweet Cambodia (@tweetcambodia) September 16, 2015
Last July, monks belonging to the Independent Monk Network for Social Justice hand delivered five confiscated chainsaws to the Forestry Administration and National Assembly in Phnom Penh, the country's capital, to highlight the continuing destruction of Prey Lang.
Monks sent petition to Cambodia Forestry Administration about Prey Lang. pic.twitter.com/YNT1Hpbiez
— channy chheng (@channychheng) July 7, 2015
The group’s leader, Venerable Buntenh, explained why the monks have decided to hold a protest:
Monks cannot remain silent on the issue given the alarming rate of deforestation.
Those Forestry Administration officers are the ‘dollar officers’, as they don’t care about the forest or Prey Lang and let bad merchants continue to destroy the forest day by day.
Cambodian monks delivered a protest letter to the government in Phnom Penh, the country's capital. Photo from the Facebook page of ‘Prey Lang – It's Our Forest Too’
During the last week of September, the monks gathered again in the streets of Battambang to remind the public and government officials that agribusiness companies continue to destroy the country’s forests.

author: Mong Palatino