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Spain: General Strike Across Cities and Neighborhoods · Global Voices
Lidia Ucher

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
“Act, take to the streets, do not consume [es].”  With this slogan, the Assembly of the Neighborhood Los Austrias in Madrid convened the 29M General Strike (on March 29) in Spain, which had a massive attendance across the country.  This direct call to action [es] is contrasted with the labor unions’ more impersonal slogans – “They want to change everything” – and is an example of the rift that opens in every social movement between the official conveners and those who demonstrate without a flag of any sort.
In this sense, the 15M movement has been a turning point in terms of supporting the calls of a part of civil society, organized in collectives, neighborhood assemblies, and local or individually-led associations.  In this general strike, the citizen movement has taken different forms in the streets, neighborhoods, social organizations, and digital social networks.
One of the initiatives has been the “consumption strike.”  Many took to the streets with their own food and drinks from home:
Popular Lunch in favor of the workers' strike in Campo de la Cebada de Madrid. Photo by author Lidia Ucher.
- 14h: Comida Popular – traerse el tupper para compartir (recuerda #HuelgadeCONSUMO, cocina el día anterior)
The intention was to support the strike and take to the streets without paying to consume food for 24 hours. This is how Kaos en la Red summarize the motives:
En principio, la idea es sencilla: una huelga de consumo consiste en dejar de consumir bienes y servicios durante el día fijado para la huelga. Realizar una huelga de consumo respondería a dos de las limitaciones de una huelga general: por una parte, incluye a toda aquella persona que no puede realizar huelga “laboral” – en realidad, se supone que sólo pueden realizarla trabajadores por cuenta ajena, y de estos ni tan siquiera todos-; por otra, dejar de consumir bienes pero sobre todo servicios contribuiría de alguna manera a no forzar a alguien a trabajar – y así, de paso, contribuir a deslegitimar la práctica de fijar servicios mínimos abusivos para minimizar la repercusión de la huelga.-
One of the suggestions to support the consumption strike was to “disconnect oneself,” to affect the statistics of home electric consumption at the moment the strike's impact was measured.
Another one of 29M's proposals from the neighborhood assemblies was the “care and gender strike” [es]:
…la propuesta es ponernos nuestro mejor delantal, guantes y utensilios varios con un cartel “Huelga de Cuidados” ¿Y dónde hacemos el piquete? Pues en los hogares. Vamos a contarle a las señoras que no lo sepan lo que es una huelga de cuidados y porqué es necesaria. Nos apoyaremos en el díptico que adjuntamos  Díptico: Comando de cuidados para la huelga (Es importante imprimir a doble cara para cortar por la mitad, haced las copias que podáis!!!).
From the collectives and neighborhood assemblies, 29M has become a new important date for the movements’ agenda, in which hundreds of people have thrown themselves to organize, call, and mobilize thousands more.  And it is not revolving around large productions nor labor union meetings, but rather simple ideas that can motivate many more people to take to the streets and take part in demonstrations, in another way, or perhaps the same way as always [es]:
29M in Madrid. Photo by author Lidia Uche
14:00 en el Campo de la Cebada Austrias: Comida Popular a favor de la Huelga de trabajo, consumo y cuidados. . Haremos un gran puchero.
29M in Madrid. Photo by author Lidia Ucher.
On social networks, the following hashtags have been created to make innovations in alternative and creative slogans surrounding the strike [es]:  #Take29M, #29M, #29BadStreet, #TaketheSTRIKE, #Iamstriking,#onstrike… and #SignsStrike
On their part, some social organizations have supported the general strike like State Coordinator of Spain-NGO's, the 2015andmore Platform, and the Spanish Alliance Against Poverty [es]:
…Y además el Gobierno asesta un duro golpe a nuestro modelo social, a los pilares del Estado de bienestar: la sanidad, la educación y las políticas sociales; eliminando o devaluando importantes derechos civiles como el derecho de las mujeres a la interrupción del embarazo, el matrimonio homosexual o los derechos de inmigración. De no evitar esta reducción de derechos, presentadas de forma falaz como reformas, asistiremos a una quiebra de nuestro modelo de convivencia, y a la confirmación de un programa de acción política sometido a la exigencia de los mercados financieros.
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Lidia Ucher


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Video: Cropshare System Unites Landowners and Land-less Farmers in Spain · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Shared Vegetable Gardens (Huertos Compartidos) is a project in Spain that brings together people who wish to grow their own food but don't have the land, with landowners who may have the land but not the time to tend to them. This video [es] explains how this non-commercial system works, where food grown on these plots is not sold but only used for personal consumption.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Bahrain: Tweeting Against Formula 1 · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

Twitter hashtags are no longer spontaneous, at least not to Bahraini Twitter users who are using hashtags as another tool to spread information about their protest against a regime which has so far granted them cosmetic reforms after a whole year of protest. Although Bahrain's population is small in number, Twitter users are very organized online, using social media platforms as their only way to document the crimes of the regime against them.
This idea to trend hashtags started in solidarity with Abdulhadi Khawaja, a prominent activist and opposition figure, who is sentenced to life imprisonment after being accused of attempting to overthrow the regime and who has been on hunger strike for weeks.
For the previous month, Bahrainis have succeeded in getting several hashtags to trend worldwide. In their latest attempt, they wanted to address Formula 1, the famous car race organiser, to cancel their race in Bahrain in protest against the regime's violations against human rights. The race is scheduled to be held from April 20 to 22, 2012.
Twitter users announced the hash tag on this account @Feb14TT:
@Feb14TT: غردوا على #BloodyF1 Tweet on This Hashtag Only NOW !!!
The rest followed on cue as Twitter users started tweeting and trying to get the hash tag to show in the top trending topics worldwide:
“@ROMI14FEB: We never got enough media attention and now ur disrespecting our martyrs and prisoners by allowing the #BloodyF1 in Bahrain”
@asoolalsayed: I don't support the #bloodyF1 because it sends a wrong msg that everything is OK in Bahrain while the people suffer on a daily basis
@MohmdAshoor: #BloodyF1 may annoy you, but does it annoy you more than the 83 who lost their lives?
Anti-Formula1 signs tweeted by activist @SAIDYOUSIF
Protester in Sitra wearing a shirt against the formula 1 race (tweeted by @SAIDYOUSIF)
Other netizens tried to show how horrifying the situation in Bahrain is:
"@Mothame: See how riot police treating our sisters, this is only in"
Others tweeted pictures of tear gas attacks, which have became part of everyday life for Bahrainis.
"@Peacelooving: Bahrain: Flood the villages with poison gas"
"@Alaswad87: Govt of bahrain is killing us by using toxic gases.. Bahrain not ready for #F1"
And for two minutes only, the hash tag was able to make it to the top trending stories on Twitter:
"@Anarchist74: #BloodyF1 is officially trending"

author: Mona Kareem


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Bolivia: The Wandering Hands of the Santa Cruz Mayor · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

It was not the first time that Santa Cruz Mayor Percy Fernández was caught on video behaving badly. This time it was during a March 29, 2012, public event, where he appeared with suspended city council member Desirée Bravo. When Bravo got up to address the assembled crowd, the tape clearly shows the hand of Fernández near Bravo's rear end, and it appeared that Bravo attempted to brush his hand away, which led to many to believe that Fernández was sexually harassing the council member. To add to this bizarre behavior, Fernández could be seen kissing and caressing her hand, while laughing with those sitting nearby.
Some point to a pattern of questionable behavior with women displayed by that Fernández in such a public setting. Another 2010 video shows him forcing a long kiss on the mouth [es] of an unnamed public official at the inspection of a new public works project in the city.
Naturally, Bolivian bloggers were outraged and wonder how such a situation could happen or continue to happen. Javier Badani (@jbadani) believes that Fernández is a national embarrassment and wonders why “Cruceños (residents of Santa Cruz) are so permissive with this pig of an authority? [es]”.
However, some wonder why Bravo did not immediately scold Fernández or prevent the Mayor from continuing to touch her. The blogger that writes under the name Inés Punto G on the blog La Mala Palabra is quite frustrated how politicians have been treating women lately [es], and believes that Bravo should have stood up in defense of this pattern of behavior:
Somos la mofa de las otras vaginas que mientras le agarran el culo a Desirée, ésta le sujeta cándida la manita a Percysconi (el nuevo Berlusconi de Santa Cruz), y a la par somos la lástima de los hombres que dicen: “si se deja”, vaya burla. ¡Pero dale un revés pues, que no está para uno! Desireé, no me amargues el día como lo hiciste hoy, por dignidad renuncia o mándale a comer mierda al viejo-verde de tu lado.
Twitter user @arbork writes [es]:
El silencio de Desirée me duele más que el silencio cómplice de Mujeres Creando y colectivos femeninos en Bolivia a manoseo de Percy.
Journalist and Twitter user Mery Vaca (@meryvaca) responds to some of this criticism placed on Bravo [es]:
Sólo veo que crucifican a Desirée (está bien, debió darle una bofetada), pero, el depravado es Percy. No perdamos de vista eso
A nearby Assembly member claims that Fernández was simply trying to clean Bravo's pants [es] because she had been sitting on a dirty chair. Nevertheless, a day later Fernández released a statement apologizing for his behavior and that it was not his intention to offend anyone. He added that due to the age difference of about 20 years, that Fernández could essentially be Bravo's father, to which Ximena Flores (@ximefloresss) responded [es]:
#Percy dice que #Desire es “como su hija”. pero no recuerdo que mi padre me ande manoseando, su disculpa es tan inapropiada como su acción.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Brazil: “Kilombos”, Stories of Slaves Bridging Three Continents  · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

A few days after the Brazilian government suspended for five months the reinstatement of ownership requested by the Brazilian Navy of the land of the Quilombo Rio dos Macacos in Bahia – one of the oldest communities of slave descendants in Brazil, inhabited by around 75 families [pt] -, on the other side of the Atlantic, in Lisbon, the international conference “The Passage of the Quilombos: from Africa to Brazil and the return to origins” [pt] was held at the beginning of March. This meeting saw the release of the documentary Kilombos, produced by the Portuguese journalist Paulo Nuno Vicente, and described [pt] by him on the website ‘Buala’ as “a rescue film about the Quilombos of Brazil”, which “transports us through the oral history of the African roots of the Quilombo communities, showing the intersection of these roots with contemporary cultural practices”.
O sentido de pertença a uma identidade extravasa a fronteira do medo. Ser quilombola é estar para lá do lugar. Uma imagem perdura para lá do que representa. «Kilombos» é uma tentativa de cartografia antropológica para os antagonismos do Brasil contemporâneo, metonímia oral do globalizante e do ancestral em fluxo.
31.3% of African slaves were transported to Brazil. Photo by Hollywoodsmille78 on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The documentary, filmed mainly in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, but also in Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau, forms part of a triannual project[pt] promoted by the Portuguese NGO Instituto Marquês Vale de Flor (IMVF), in partnership with local organisations:
A escolha destes três países reside no seu passado histórico comum. Os navios que transportavam a mão-de-obra escrava vinda da costa africana rumo ao Brasil fazia a sua primeira paragem em Cabo-Verde. Esta rota marítima, que ligou os três territórios há mais de quatro séculos, deixou marcas ainda hoje visíveis. Estes navios não transportavam para o Brasil apenas homens e mulheres africanos, transportavam igualmente tradições, crenças e costumes, ainda hoje respeitados e praticados nos três países.
Since Cape Verde was populated by Portuguese settlers in the second half of the 15th century, the islands have served as “a turntable for the slave trade between Africa and America”, says José Semedo, from Praia, in an interview [pt] for the documentary ‘Kilombos’. “According to data from that time, half of the African slaves who arrived in Maranhão between 1774 and 1799 were taken from Guinea-Bissau”, notes[pt] Eduardo Mello, from the blog Jovens Diplomatas (Young Diplomats), in a text which gives his impressions on the return of the Quilombolas to their origins in Cacheu three centuries later, funded now by the IMVF project.
Quilombo Santa Joana – interview with João Baptista. Image captured from the documentary Kilombos.
“We witness and suffer the black holocaust”, comments[pt] Mello on the celebration at Cacheu, in which a play was staged depicting the trafficking of slaves in the 17th century, protagonised by descendants of African slaves themselves, the members of Quilombo communities in Maranhão – “in the horror of the ships, about to transform America and Brazil, they sang. They wept”:
Perto da sagrada Floresta de Cobiana, uma multidão celebra o reencontro com os retornados, que a cada frase, receita, som ou expressão, redescobrem origens e destinos. Hoje, a cidade está decorada com instrumentos musicais, artesanato, frutas, e histórias em comum. O cuxá, prato maranhense, é idêntico ao “baguitche” guineense – mas a etnia mandinga sempre chamou de cuxá mesmo. A noite começa a banhar em prata o caudaloso Rio Cacheu. As apresentações das etnias guineenses misturam-se às dos quilombolas brasileiros, à voz de Eneida Marta, e aos discursos. (…) Os grupos cantam, dançam, sobem em árvores, celebram o estranhamento de parentes separados pelos séculos. A matriz é guineense, mas muito mudou: nosso canto não é da e pra terra, é de procissão; o compasso marcado de cada etnia mestiçou-se, no Brasil, com a percussão de inúmeros outros povos do continente africano, no caldeirão dos entrudos (ou “N’tturudu”, como se diz aqui).
“The history of the Quilombos is one of liberty and dignity”
Screenshot of the documentary Kilombos.
As Mello says, “a lot has changed” in the identity of this culture which, in the words [pt] of the producer of ‘Kilombos’, “crosses borders and brings continents closer together”. However, and returning to the Quilombo Rio dos Macacos mentioned in the opening paragraph of this article, the current struggle of the Quilombolas has shown that there is also a certain continuity in the violation of the human rights of these communities, such as the right to land. Alan Tygel, from Vírus Planetário [Planetary Virus], draws a historical parallel, and speaks of “modern practices” [pt] which transport us once again on a journey between times and territories:
O sol já vai se pondo, e os escravos aproveitam o fim de tarde na senzala para descansar da jornada extenuante. O trabalho no engenho de cana é duro. Açoitados, acorrentados, longe da terra natal, separados de suas famílias, os negros ainda assim jogam capoeira e cultuam seus orixás. Nesse mesmo dia, houve duas fugas na fazenda: Zé Preto tentou sair por trás das amendoeiras de baixo. Almeida, o capitão-do-mato, não teve muita dificuldade: o negro não tinha mais forças, fugiu por desespero. As chibatadas que levou ali mesmo, no mato, foram suficientes para encerrar seu sofrimento e levá-lo para a outra vida. Gangá não teve a mesma sorte: foi para o tronco, e deve ficar lá por dias. Para todo mundo saber o que acontece com escravo fujão. Num lugar não muito distante dali, cerca de 300 anos depois, a situação não mudou muito. Para os moradores do Quilombo Rio dos Macacos, foi como se a escravidão tivesse acabado e depois voltado. Alguns ainda possuem fotos de seus bisavós vestidos com trapos trabalhando na fazenda. Os mais idosos se lembram do jongo, da capoeira e do samba-de-roda na comunidade. Da época em que eram felizes, na sua roça, com seu pescado, sua dança e sua religião. Há cerca de 30 anos, voltaram a ser cativos.
A petition [pt] remains in circulation calling for ownership of the Quilombo Rio dos Macacos to remain with the Quilombolas, who have received a guarantee for now that they will not be expelled in the next four months, during which time the Incra (National Institute for Colonisation and Agrarian Reform) [pt] must conclude a Technical Report of Identification and Delimitation with the intention of determining for how long the land has been occupied.

author: Sara Moreira


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Bulgaria: Construction of the Nuclear Power Plant “Belene” Cancelled · Global Voices
Rayna St.

On March 28, Bulgaria officially announced the cancellation of its newest nuclear power plant (NPP) “Belene” construction. The Parliament has stopped this controversial project after years of discussion and more than half a billion euros invested in the construction of the first reactor. The decision was announced not only by the mainstream media, but also by the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolay Mladenov, who tweeted:
@nmladenov: #Bulgaria suspends controversial #Belene Nuclear Power project that has cost hundreds of millions for the last 31 years…
A Facebook page screenshot of ‘the European campaign to prevent the construction of a nuclear power plant in an earthquake-area in Belene, Bulgaria.’
A long-lasting fight surrounds this joint venture with Russia [ru], which was to be built in an active seismic zone. Activists have been continuously advocating to raise awareness about the risks of building a nuclear power plant in this region, recalling the Vrancea earthquake of 1977 [en], which caused the deaths of more than 1,600 people. In Svishtov, a major Bulgarian city in the area, located 14 km away from the construction site, 120 people were killed back then; the 1977 earthquake also destroyed buildings in the city of Belene, just 3 km from the NPP site.
A report on the seismic risks, produced by Greenpeace activists and the Green Policy Institute in Bulgaria and published on the anti-NPP National coalition “BeleNE” website, showed that the previous report was inconsistent and no real risk assessment had been completed. Thus, they concluded that no argument exists to claim that the zone is safe from a seismic standpoint and went on calling for the cancellation of the project.
But other considerations went into play in the Belene controversy. Edvin Sugarev, a former MP, started a huge discussion on his blog svobodata.com [bg] (translates as “the freedom”):
Започваме тази гражданска дискусия в момент, в който страната ни е на ръба, отвъд който следва срив: срив на геополитическите ни приоритети, срив на шансовете да се превърнем в нормална европейска страна, срив отново към руската орбита на влияние. Над България е упражнен огромен натиск да бъде подписан протокол 12 от договора за АЕЦ “Белене” – с което този проект става необратим, а нашата енергийна и политическа зависимост от Русия – също. Доколкото можем да съдим по изявленията на българския премиер, управляващите вече са се поддали на натиска – и реално са предали българските национални интереси. Като българи сме длъжни да направим всичко, което е по силите ни, за да не позволим това предателство да стане факт – и то да определя оттук нататък дневния ред на България.
Such a standpoint has also been defended by a well-known journalist and blogger Ivo Indjev. He is famous for his much more furious opposition to the NPP “Belene” construction. And he was actually the first non-government person to be informed [bg] about the cancellation of the project by the Prime Minister himself. Yesterday, Indjev asked [bg]:
След СССР и неговата проекция в Белене отиде в небитието- накъде сега?
The use of the “Soviet Union” denomination of Russia is not random: in his positions [bg], Indjev frequently dubs Russia in such a way to depict its imperialistic desires about the former “16th republic,” as Bulgaria used to be called. Indjev has also written about the Russian government that he refers to as “the Russian mafia”.
These provocative words made him the media black sheep, but seem to be confirmed through the recently leaked Stratfor files. The Bulgarian citizen analyzer Bivol (a WikiLeaks partner for Bulgaria) thus writes [bg] about a meeting in April 2009 between the Bulgarian then-Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and the Russian “minister of organized crime” Yuri Luzhkov. The latter is defined as such by Stratfor and was in charge of a special budget dedicated by the Kremlin for maintaining interactions with organized crime actors in Russia. The outcome of this meeting is announced as “a negotiation aiming at increasing Russia's implication in the NPP “Belene” project.”
After the announcement that the NPP “Belene” construction was cancelled, the media said a gas plant would be built on the very same site, using gas supply by Russia. On March 30, Bulgarian representatives, led by the newly-appointed Minister of Economics and Energy Delyan Dobrev, met their Russian counterparts to discuss a diplomatically friendly way out of the current situation, since Bulgaria has to pay a 1-billion-euro compensation to Russia [ru] as a result of the cancellation. This meeting provoked sarcasm on Twitter, where Ognyan Georgiev (@OGeorgiev) tweeted:
@OGeorgiev Бедни, бедни Добрев. Руснаците ще го сдъвчат и изплюят. Опасявам се от тази визита. #belene
"Learn Russian in a day" textbook. Picture from @OGeorgiev, CC-by-SA 3.0
Whole-heartedly, @OGeorgiev also tweeted a picture of a Russian phrasebook “Learn Russian in a day,” wishing best of luck to Dobrev.
Reactions following the official announcement were mixed. Andrew MacDowall, a journalist writing about the Balkans, tweeted:
#Belene #nuclear plant scrapped. Is this the end of a four-decade saga? NPP could have been a boost for #Bulgaria http://t.co/ITf1IOhn
Many Bulgarians believe this NPP would have helped the country to alleviate the ever-increasing prices of electricity. Also, the question to arise is: how will the money spent on the now-aborted project be taken back? Hristo Ivanov (@cipisec) tweeted ironically:
@cipisec: а ся ми вдигнете осигуровките,за да ги избиете RT: @nmladenov:#BG suspends #Belene that has cost hundreds of millions for the last 31 years…
Others suggest that building the reactor was just a political manoeuvre:
Как Ви се струва обаче хипотезата, че всъщност цялото протакане на решението за Белене през последните 2-3 години е било нарочно за пред „публиката“, колкото да се стигне до завършването междувременно и изплащането му на реактора – така че сега да сме в положение с готов и платен реактор и следователно, да бъде почти неизбежно слагането му в Козлодуй? […] Ако се бяхме отказали от АЕЦ Белене още преди 2-3 години, такъв вариант би бил много малко вероятен.
Indeed, as the Prime Minister announced, Bulgaria has still to add only 140 million of euros [bg] to finish the reactor. The sarcasm website Не!Новините (NotNews) found an alternative explanation [bg] of what is to be built on the “Belene” site: a huge fermentator for rakia [en], the famous traditional Bulgarian alcoholic beverage (alcohol content ranges from 40° to more than 60°).

author: Rayna St.


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Bulgaria: Students Protest Teacher’s Dismissal · Global Voices
Rayna St.

Bulgarian blogger Boyan Pishtikov publishes [bg] images from a students’ demonstration in the north-western city of Vratza [en]. The protest was organized by high school students who disagree with the recent dismissal of one of their teachers. According to the principal [bg], the layoff was caused by alleged libel by a teacher who claimed corruption was rampant at the school. On a dedicated Facebook page [bg], the students express their support to all fired teachers. The Ministry of Education has opened an investigation [bg] into the claims.


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Chile: Open Letter to Daniel Zamudio Goes Viral · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Chilean netizens were deeply moved by an open letter to Daniel Zamudio, a young gay man who died after a brutal beating, written by Felipe E. Mercado and published on Tumblr [es]. The letter, with more than one thousand notes on Tumblr, became a local Trending Topic on Twitter.

author: Silvia Viñas


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East Timor: Early Warning Early Response Mapping System · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

NGO Belun in East Timor has teamed up with Columbia University to establish the Early Warning Early Response mapping system which was designed to increase early responses to conflict and prevent the escalation of violence at the national and community levels.

author: Mong Palatino


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Georgia: Tongue-in-cheek development forecast · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

A satirical video posted on YouTube takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the development of Georgia ahead of parliamentary elections later this year and a presidential vote in 2013. With the current president, Milhail Saakashvili, unable to run for a third term in office it foresees him following in the footsteps of his nemesis, Russia's Vladimir Putin, by becoming prime minister as Georgia joins NATO, regains the lost territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, hosts world famous rock bands in seaside resorts, launches a space programme, develops a small town to take the place of Amsterdam as a sex-capital, and much, much more.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Human Rights Mapping in Cambodia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Human rights advocates in Cambodia have been using online maps to document, monitor, and expose human rights violations across the country. Sithi or the Cambodia Human Rights Portal has a Violation Map which provides an overview of the extent of rights violations in Cambodia
The map below shows different human rights violations occurring throughout Cambodia. The map on the page when you first enter this section shows the most recently recorded human rights violations on Sithi, represented by the red icons. You can search the violation section by human right, victim, alleged perpetrator, case status, location and date
Sithi's Violation Map
Land conflicts have been rising in the past years and many of them are related to development projects which have displaced hundreds of thousands of residents
According to our research, 223 land disputes have been reported on in the public domain in the last 4 years since 2007…The province with the highest number of land conflicts, according to our findings, is Phnom Penh with 10% of total land conflicts occurring in the province containing the country’s capital and largest city.
Land Disputes in Cambodia
The Cambodian Daily Weekend has published an article about the questionable land concessions in Cambodia
3,936,481 hectares have been granted as mining and economic land concessions, covering 22 percent of Cambodia’s surface area
1,900,311 hectares have been granted as mining concessions to companies exploring for precious minerals such as gold, iron ore, copper and bauxite
2,036,170 hectares have been granted as land concessions for agro-industrial plantations for crops such as rubber, sugar and cassava, an area equivalent to 53 percent of Cambodia’s arable land
346,000 hectares of land concessions are located inside conservation areas administered by the Ministry of Environment. This area represents about 10% of protected areas under the ministry’s control
400,000 people have been affected by land disputes in 12 provinces since 2003, according to Licadho, mostly after concessions were granted in their area
Below is a map showing where journalists had been killed in Cambodia
Media Killings in Cambodia
Global Voices has already featured the prison mapping of Licadho, also a human rights group. Below is the group’s freedom of expression mapping
Freedom of Expression Mapping
Other Maps
An online map of the Members of Parliament is also now available. Last month, a map of the power cut schedule in Phnom Penh was also made public. There are also maps of Phnom Penh’s streets, restaurants, public service agencies, shops, and hotels. A website has been launched to track Cambodia’s infrastructure development and other development-related issues. Meanwhile, map researchers are complaining against the prohibitive costs charged by the National Archives


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India: Arresting Tibetan Activists · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dilip D'Souza at Death Ends Fun  comments on the arrests of Tibetan activists in India: “we gave the Tibetans shelter when they fled from the excesses of China. Now we arrest them when Chinese premiers come visiting.”

author: Rezwan


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India, Bangladesh: Caught In The Cyber War · Global Voices
Rezwan

A cyber war between Bangladesh and India broke out last month as Bangladeshi hackers defaced Indian border security Force's website in protest of the recent border killings by BSF. When news broke out in Bangladeshi media on February 11, 2012 that Indian hacker groups, Indishell, Hindustan Cyber Army and Indian Cyber Army hacked five Bangladesh government ministry websites in retaliation, their Bangladeshi counterparts, Bangladesh Black Hat Hackers (BBHH), Bangladesh Cyber Army (BCA) and 3xp1r3 Cyber Army (3CA) joined in the frenzy. Between February 11 -14 reports claimed that over 400 Bangladeshi sites were hacked by Indian hackers and thousands of Indian websites were attacked by Bangladeshi hackers and many of them were defaced.
Anup Sadi informs:
Screenshot courtesy Anup Sadi
Bangladeshi hackers started cyber war against India on 8 February, 2012. The hackers declared that the Border Security Force of India must stop border killing at Bangladesh-India border.
Sebastian Murdoch-Gibson reported:
Young hackers affiliated with both the “Black Hat” group and “Bangladesh Cyber Army” have begun attacks on Indian commercial web sites. These hacker groups claim to have hit targets critical to the continuation of Indian commerce. Some of these sites include stock exchanges.
In keeping with the combative language of the hacker community groups, “Indishell” and “India Cyber Army” launched a retaliatory strike on Bangladeshi web sites.
The attacks of Bangladeshi hackers, who are claiming the complete attainment of all objectives, have followed a popular form similar to that employed by “hacktavist” group Anonymous. The hackers have typically defaced web sites, replacing their content with Bangladeshi flags and images of people tortured by Indian border guards.
The news caught much media attention and even a masked hacker was interviewed by a local TV channel. Netizens were also vocal on this issue.
Anarjo Sangeet at Sachalayatan writes [bn]:
সব মিলিয়ে জানতে পারলাম ভারতীয় ১৫ হাজারেরও বেশিসাইট হ্যাক করেছে বাংলাদেশী এবং বাংলাদেশের পক্ষে অন্য দেশের হ্যাকাররা। ভারতীয় হ্যাকারদের দল ইন্ডিশেল বলেছে, রবিবার রাতের মধ্যে বাংলাদেশীদের এই হ্যাকিং বন্ধ না হলে তারা বাংলাদেশের গুরুদ্বপূর্ণ সব ওয়েব সাইট গুঁড়িয়ে দেবে। তাতে অবশ্য বাংলাদেশের হ্যাকাররা থেমে নেই। বরং দেখতে পাচ্ছি ব্লগে-ফেসবুকে সাধারণ ইন্টারনেট ব্যবহারকারীদের প্রয়োজনীয় নির্দেশনা দিয়ে হ্যাকিংয়ে সম্পৃক্ত করছে হ্যাকাররা।
বাংলাদেশের হ্যাকারদের ক্ষোভ এবং আবেগের সততায় কোনো সন্দেহ পোষণ করছি না আমি। বিএসএফ-এর কর্মকাণ্ড ঘৃণ্য তাতে কোনো সন্দেহ নেই। এর প্রতিবাদ করা দরকার। প্রতিবাদ যাঁরা করছেন তাঁদেরকে অভিনন্দন জানাই। বাংলাদেশের হ্যাকারদের কর্মকাণ্ডও প্রতিবাদ। অবশ্যই যৌক্তিক প্রতিবাদ। প্রশ্ন হচ্ছে, প্রতিবাদের পদ্ধতিটি কতটুকু গ্রহনযোগ্য। অথবা যে পদ্ধতিতে প্রতিবাদ করা হচ্ছে তাতে কী ফলাফল আশা করতে পারি আমরা?
The blogger also says that this incident should be a learning curve for the Bangladeshi government too who needs to beef up cyber security for its government sites.
Screenshot of a message by Indian hackers
Diganta commented [bn] on the above post:
ওয়েবসাইট হ্যাকিং করা সময় নষ্ট ছাড়া আর কিছু বলে মনে হয় না।
Blogger Kowshik warns [bn] that some political elements, especially the religious party Jamaat-e-Islami are using this cyber war to spread their hatred against India. He warned internet users not to fall into their prey.
The hacking spree ended when the law and enforcement agencies of both the countries became active to catch the hackers. Blogger Kawser Alam reports [bn] that on 27th of February a Bangladeshi hackers group had announced in their Facebook group that the war has ended claiming their success in escalating their cause.


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India: Is God Now An Industry? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ugich Konitari at Gappa writes about the VIP pilgrims of the famous Hill Temple at Tirupati, who keep the ordinary pilgrims waiting for many hours for their chance to perform rituals. “Should money be the deciding factor in defining classes of worship?” the blogger asks.


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India: Media And The State · Global Voices
Rezwan

Aagan reports that a recent circular from the West Bengal Ministry of Mass Education Extension and Library Services caused much buzz on mainstream and social media. The West Bengal government has decided that it will not stock any “politically funded” newspaper in government libraries.


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Iran: Earth Hour celebrated in Tehran · Global Voices
Hadi Nili

Iranians are going to celebrate the “Earth Hour” today Saturday 31st of March. Here in this Farsi-language website, Iranians are organizing the “Earth Hour” events, including turning-off lights for an hour ‘to protect the planet’. Parham, an Isfahan-based user, tweets: ‘They are going to turn off Si-o-se Pol (historical bridge) in Isfahan. I guess this is the first time I would see this bridge to be in darkness’.

author: Hadi Nili


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Mexico: One Year After Birth of “Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity” · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity [es] lead by former poet Javier Sicilia celebrated its first birthday on March 28, 2012; in other words, it's been a year since the assassination of his son Juan Francisco Sicilia whose body was found along with other victims of the violence in Mexico in the community of Las Brisas in Temixco, Morelos.
National newspapers like Milenio [es] reported the activities that took place in remembrance of the anniversary:
Con la asistencia de unas cien personas, cantidad mucho menor a la que lo acompañó hace un año, Javier Sicilia, Julián LeBarón y familiares de otras víctimas de la delincuencia iniciaron la jornada de 12 horas para conmemorar el aniversario de la muerte del hijo del poeta y de otros seis jóvenes, cuyos cuerpos fueron hallados en el fraccionamiento Las Brisas, en Temixco, Morelos.
En la fuente de la Paloma de la Paz, Sicilia señaló que la ausencia de más acompañantes en este aniversario se debe a que la sociedad ya aprendió a tolerar lo intolerable y que, de cara a los comicios electorales, quien en realidad pierde, consideró, es la sociedad.
A un año del multihomicidio, Sicilia declaró que no hay justicia en este caso porque hasta ahora no hay ninguna persona sentenciada.
With the attendance of approximately one hundred people, a lot less than the crowd that joined him last year, Javier Sicilia, Julián LeBarón and family members started the 12 hour activity schedule to remember the anniversary of the death of the poet's son and six other young men whose bodies were found in the community of Las Brisas, in Temixco, Morelos.
At the fountain of the Peace Dove, Sicilia pointed out that the absence of more attendants was explained because people have learned to tolerate the intolerable and that the biggest loser, facing an election year, was the society itself.
A year after the massive murder, Sicilia declared that there has not been justice in the case because until now, no one has been declared guilty nor sentenced.
During 2011 there were several protests like this one in Puebla. Image by Flickr user FotoyMensaje under Creative Commons licence (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Karina González for The Narcosphere remembered the movement origins:
The MPJD began with a letter from the poet Javier Sicilia, when he lost his 24-year-old son, Jaunelo, as a result of the violence of the war. With the cry of “Estamos hasta la madre!” (“We're fed up!”), thousands of Mexican citizens overcame their fear and poured into the streets in protest of the war.  One year ago, the movement that was born in Morelos inspired thousands of Mexicans to denounce the effects of the war and to bring to life the stories of the victims.
As part of this anniversary, the blog Mexicans in Switzerland for Peace [es] spread the following letter of support:
Nosotros, Mexicanos viviendo en Suiza; Manifestamos con fuerza que la distancia que nos separa fisicamente de nuestro país, es nada cuando nuestros corazones se quedaron en México. Amamos, respetamos y sufrimos de igual manera que ustedes. El clima de violencia por el cual atraviesa nuestro país nos duele profundamente y nos indigna.
Por eso queremos decirles que desde Suiza estamos con ustedes en la lucha, Aún así, estando a miles de kilómetros. Porque como dice el escritor alemán Bertolot Brecht : « Quien lucha, puede perder. Quien no lucha, ya ha perdido.”
Con ustedes luchando por un México en paz.
We, the Mexicans living in Switzerland strongly demonstrate that the distance that physically separates us from our country does not mean anything when our hearts stayed in Mexico. We love, respect and suffer the same way that you do. The violent period that our country is going through hurts us deeply and outrages us.
That is why we want to tell you, from Switzerland, that we are together in this fight. Even like this, thousands of miles away. Because, as the German writer Bertolot Brecht said: “Those who fight may lose. But those who don't fight have already lost”.
With you fighting for a peaceful Mexico.
Animal Político [es] gathered some of Sicilia's anecdotes about his dead son, particularly his fondness for football and for a specific team:
“Mi hijo Juan tenía una sola falla –se lamenta Javier Sicilia–: era americanista, en eso nunca lo pudimos corregir”. El poeta mira a su costado, donde su compadre, Francisco, corrobora sus palabras con un gesto afirmativo de la cabeza.
“My son Juan had only one fault – Javier Sicilia regrets-: he was an America Club fan, we could never correct that”. The poet looked to the side, where his friend Francisco corroborates his words with an affirmative gesture.
On Twitter, Presidential pre-candidate Josefina Vázquez (@JosefinaVM) [es] did not miss the opportunity to get attention by sending a message to Javier Sicilia:
Un abrazo solidario a Javier Sicilia, Gaby Cadena y los padres de los jóvenes asesinados hace un año. Su lucha no es en vano.
A hug of solidarity for Javier Sicilia, Gaby Cadena and the parents of the murdered young men. Their fight is not in vain.
Journalist Katia D'Artigues (@kdartigues) [es] also pondered about the anniversary of the death of Sicilia's son:
Hace un año, hoy, Javier Sicilia estaba a unas horas de que le cambiara su vida.
A year ago, today, Javier Sicilia was hours away from a life-changing moment.
User @lafalconielsa [es] expressed her feelings about the activist:
Dirán lo que quieran, pero yo amo a Javier Sicilia
Say what you want, but I love Javier Sicilia
User @roblesmaloof [es] didn't limit himself to talk only about the Sicilia family, he also dedicated a tweet to another victim that is being represented by the Movement of Peace with Justice and Dignity:
Hoy como todos los días, pensamos en don #Nepomuceno Moreno, quien como muchas madres y padres, fue asesinado por buscar a su hijo #MPJD
Today, as every day, we think of Mr. #Nepomuceno Moreno, who like many mothers and fathers, was assassinated for looking for his son #MPJD
You can read more reactions and reports on this anniversary by following the hashtags #MPJD, #hastalamadre (fed up), #AniversarioMPJD. Besides, the Movement's official Twitter account (@MxLaPazMx) [es] informed its followers about the activities that took place during the day.
Like Global Voices reported since August 2011, Sicilia's activism and the movement he leads have caused countless opinions and reactions on the Internet that seem to suggest that despite differences of opinion, there is a common hope that the situation of violence in this North American country change for the sake of all Mexicans.

author: J. Tadeo


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Myanmar: Responsible Tourism · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Irrawaddy interviews Dr. Andrea Valentin who talks about responsible tourism and the prospect of pro-poor tourism in Myanmar.


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Philippines: Petition Against Magnetite Mining · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

An online petition urges the Philippine government to deny the magnetite mining applications in the northern coastal areas of Luzon Island in the Philippines.


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Puerto Rico: A Small and Modest Art Blog · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Check out artist Omar Banuchi's blog on Tumblr: “a small and modest blog of images.”

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Puerto Rico: “He Leaves at Last” · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Blogger and historian Yvonne Acosta comments on the recent dismissal  [es] of the Superintendent of the Police Emilio Díaz Colón.


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Puerto Rico: Youth, Facebook, and News · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

A recent survey of 130 college students [es], mostly from the Río Piedras campus of the University of Puerto Rico, shows that many of them actually use Facebook to read news.


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Slovakia: Paying More Due to Corruption in the Area of State Tenders · Global Voices
Tibor Blazko

One of the problems with corruption in Slovakia is when friends of pro-government parties are being thanked through over-financed public projects.
State officials tend to be very flexible in their interpretation of the law. For example, in 2007, when it was necessary to start a public competition for a 119.5 million euro project, they announced it only on a small noticeboard in the hallways of the Ministry of Development; the scandal became known as the Noticeboard Tender Scandal.
Just now comes the decision of the European court [sk] in the road toll system case, where the less expensive offer was rejected because of its “suspiciously low price” of 630 million euros; the offer of the tender's winner was about 800 million.
Not so uncommon were contracts covered by commercial secrecy laws, with subsequent unofficial adjustments that included higher prices.
That's why the outgoing government had introduced new, stricter rules. For example, any state-related contract becomes valid a few days after it is published in full online [sk]. (Alliance Fair Play and Transparency International Slovakia provide their own copies [sk] with automated analyzing and the possibility of citizen comments.)
In 2010, Global Voices wrote about a highway construction pricing controversy, when the Slovak minister of transport announced that the “extremely low prices charged by Chinese road-builders would not be accepted automatically in Slovakia.” Eventually, the price of the highway construction was lowered close to the European average – and even without the Chinese companies’ involvement.
But, as the recent story of overpriced Apple computers shows, the situation is still far from perfect.
Without investigating the real needs, the Slovak ministry of finance has recently been keen on quickly signing a new, more expensive licensing contract with Microsoft, which looked like it had been written by a private company. According to the ministry, avoiding discussion and public competition was necessary because of the alleged threat of economic damages (three months later, no damages have been reported yet). The signing of the contract has now been postponed [sk], due to public pressure, and the final decision is to be made once the new government is formed.
Now that SMER is back, it has already announced that highway construction prices would grow again. A friendly construction company mentioned [sk] an expected price growth of approximately 30 percent.
The idea of SMER's leader Robert Fico is to reject the cheapest and the most expensive offers. “Firms that often do not have employees win with unbeatably low prices, and then they do not pay subcontractors,” “a voice similar to Fico's” said in a newspaper interview [sk] just two days after the 2012 elections.
Below are some of the netizens’ reactions to the item linked to above.
lieu:
And why do you think that striking the lowest price out will solve the problem? […] Rejecting one price will solve absolutely nothing, just puzzle everyone who joins the tender and will establish a lot of non-transparency there.
Jape:
Just do not eventually find out that the lowest bid was the only fair one and the others were bloated. And isn't not paying to subcontractors a crime? If it is not, then there is more work for lawmakers.
Chech:
If Fico insists on having the lowest price rejected, then simply the company owner who wants to build a house for 75,000 would own two companies that both have submitted a bid, one for 75,000 and the other for 74,000 euros. […] Fico's proposal will only increase the bureaucracy, is easily avoidable and thus does not solve anything. But people who do not understand … will feel that Fico is doing something and is fighting for their “certainties.”
smrek:
it's awful drivel, also the dumping price for the highway is at least [50 percent] higher than is necessary – prices have to be compared in the context of Europe – divided by two :)
BTW:
Welcome to SK :)
Again it will be the same as with the toll system, all prices will be too low and the highest will win. … This is another certainty.
babs:
Failure to pay subcontractors should be fully addressed by completely other instruments than this one. For example, by fast judiciary and efficient law enforcement. Because even the subcontractor of the most expensive bid is not guaranteed to be paid by the main supplier.
Martinn:
This logic could be used elsewhere. E.g., from Parliament we should exclude the parties with the most and least mandates. It often happens that some party fools the voters by unrealistic promises, wins elections, but then fails to fulfill their promises.

author: Tibor Blazko


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South Asia: Every Day Is Earth Hour for Us · Global Voices
Rezwan

Earth Hour is a worldwide awareness event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and it is held on the last Saturday of March annually. On this day households and businesses are requested to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness about climate change. More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 and this year many more cities like Dhaka, Bangladesh, will be joining.
South Asia is a region with many developing countries hungry for power. Millions of people in the Indian sub-continent have no access to electricity, and the power sector is plagued by corruption and inefficiency. The demand is much bigger than supply so many countries use load shedding (planned rolling blackouts) to manage the electricity distribution.
In countries like Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh daily there are 4-12 hours of load shedding varying on the situation everyday. Netizens are vocal on the issue of observing earth hour in the social media. While some are requesting others to observe Earth Hour, some are thinking that this is not more than a joke. The following tweets from the region reflect what they have in mind.
Bangladesh
@KaziAhadKader (Kazi A. Kader): “@dailystarnews Bangladesh for the first time tonight will observe Earth Hour…” We were doing that long before it had such a fancy name.
@shuvo666 (Shuvo Rashid): No wonder #Bangladesh is one of the most environment conscious countries in the world. We celebrate Earth Hour every day, 12 times! #Blackout
@irteja (Irteja Ali) Today Power Development Board (PDB) is going to celebrate Earth Hour 2012 by giving 12 hours of load shedding of electricity in Bangladesh.
Bhutan
@AumChang (Aum Chang): i had an Earth Hour today. and also yesterday. and day before yesterday. thanks to BPC power cuts, i enjoy an #EarthHour every day! #Bhutan
A view of an Earth Hour in Dimapur, Northeastern State of India. Power Department of Nagaland, shut down power supplies to celebrate Earth Hour. Image by Sorei Mahong. Copyright Demotix (27/3/2010))
India
@suyogg (Suyog Gaidhani): Earth Hour in India is a cruel joke.
@MalluJat (Ramesh Menon) 72% of India with no power connection celebrate earth hour. 1% from the rest switch off their lights, and issue PR and congratulatory msgs
@RealBharatkumar (Bharat Kumar): In india especially where I am we have earth hour everyday. So all you people who are switching their light off an hour we do it everyday.
@virenb (Viren Bhandari): People of the world should not worry about the earth hour, India has got it all covered!! #nobizlii here.
Nepal
@ayushbista (Aron): Please Switch off your lights for the Earth Hour !! Oh wait !! Don't bother ! We've got Loadshedding anyway. Nepal, (Earth Hour Forever) !!
@hardfire (Avinash Kundaliya): every day, we celebrate earth hour in Nepal .. :-P
@cinderellaman23 (SumanK Rajbhandari ): #Nepal may be the greatest Earth Hour Supporter because of loadshedding :)
@nazushrestha (Sujan Shrestha): In case you don't have loadshedding 2nite, switch off your lights for one hour from 8:30pm-9:30pm to support Earth Hr. #Nepal @tfcNepal #fb
People participate in a programme on 60+Earth Hour in Kathmandu, Nepal. Image by Sunil Sharma. Demotix (26/3/2011))
Pakistan
@adnanrasool (Adnan Rasool): I have to say this… Y r certain corporations spending tons of money to celebrate earth hour.. we have it every other hour.. #Pakistan
@AzeemUhassan (Azeemullah Hassan ): So the Earth Hour would be celebrated from 8:30pm to 9:30pm in #Pakistan Thankfully there's no light in my area in #Karachi at that time :P
@Mahamali05 (Maham Ali) Is Pakistan also supposed to observe Earth Hour? We already observe Earth Hour at least 6-8 hours a day everyday.
Speak For Change writes in a blog post:
Earth Hour is a serious issue and one must not write against it. Is it a bigger issue than load-shedding that we experience daily in all parts of the country? Is it a bigger problem than the losses in millions we attain due to the absence of electricity to the industries? Is it more serious an issue than the non-availability of electricity in a local hospital where patients are operated upon under standby generators because the electricity doesn’t show up? I don’t think it is more serious than countless scenarios like these, because it is not for us, people living in third world countries.


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Spain: The Faces of the Young and Unemployed 51% · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Three Barcelona-based journalists, Lucija Stojevic, Jennifer Baljko and Marc Herman, have launched the excellent digital magazine 51percent with the mission “to go beyond the news headlines and put a face to the youth unemployment crisis facing Spain. We’ll be investigating this issue for the next couple of months, on-the-ground around Barcelona.”


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Taiwan: Failed ‘Made in Taiwan’ Clothing Promise Disappoints · Global Voices
鄭 國威

Taiwan's garment market has gained competition in the past few years; fashion brands from Japan and Spain have entered the Taiwanese market and attracted local consumers. The long queues outsides foreign fashion brand flagship stores have become a news focus.
Local brand, Lativ, has managed to survive in the competition by its online shopping and ‘Made-in-Taiwan’ marketing strategy. The design of Lativ is similar to Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo, targeting the popular market with very low price. Its fashions are sold online via popular portal websites such as Yahoo! Kimo [zh], and YouTube Ads with catchy slogans such as “Made in Taiwan” (MIT), and “A Renaissance of the Taiwan Garment Industry”.
Lativ has been very successful in the local market. In 2011, its annual sales reached [New Taiwanese Dollar] NT 4 billion (approximately USD 12 million) and its staff had 40 months salary as their bonus, and its success has encouraged many local entrepreneurs to enter the popular fashion market.
Screen capture from Lativ
However, in early February 2012, its website issued a statement [zh] that ruined the image of its Taiwanese brand:
2月初，当大家刚从春节假期回到工作岗位时，我们换上了新系统，以全新面貌持续为大家服务。
2/1当日涌进许多大家对新系统的建议与想法，其中留言主题数量最为庞大的，是希望我们恢复产品说明内既有的产地标示。
其实，成衣业在台湾的产能相当吃紧，最主要的原因是台湾成衣生产线上极度缺乏劳工投入。
相关说明请您参考此篇日志：MIT的现况与困境
从2010年开始，lativ不得不将台湾厂商无法负荷的订单，逐步转往越南、印尼、大陆等地，但有些原料则仍是从台湾生产，如何标示服饰产地对我们来说，一直有担心误导消费者的隐忧。
“品质”是lativ创始至今的核心价值，不过大家总认为我们以MIT做为销售诉求却将订单移至海外生产，诸多误解的声音让我们重新思考在页面上标注产地的做法。
最终，我们决定移除商品页面上的产地标注，但服饰上的吊牌仍按照台湾法令，具备明确的标示说明。
若您非“台湾制造”不买，我们诚恳地建议，请您确认后再下单，因为台湾已经没有这样的生产环境。从2007年开站至今的我们，面对台湾产业的变化，说出这句话倍觉沉重。但可以向您保证的是，lativ在追求品质与穿着安全上的用心。
我们目前配合的工厂，已经提升到全球第一大的生产线，同时也是世界知名品牌的重点生产工厂，2012年的所有产品也符合CNS 15290相关检验规范，请您安心选购。
This February, when you returned back to your work after the Spring festival, we had changed into a new system with a new image for our service.
On February 1, we received a lot of opinions about the new system, most of the comments asking us to restore the “Made in Taiwan” [MIT] tag.
However, we do not have enough of a labour force for a production line in the Taiwanese garment industry. Please refer to this blog post: ‘The conditions and challenges of Made in Taiwan‘ [zh].
Since 2010, Lativ has started to relocate production to Vietnam, Indonesia and Mainland China as the local factories [in Taiwan] could not afford to take our order. Some raw materials are still locally produced. However, the ‘Made in Taiwan’ tag would be misleading to our consumers.
The core value of Lativ is always ‘quality’. However, when our production was relocated overseas, we had to adjust the MIT tag.
Eventually, we will remove the origin of production tag but keep other details according to Taiwanese law.
If you have to stick to ‘Made in Taiwan’ products, let us sincerely remind you to be cautious before you place any order, as we do not have such a production environment in Taiwan. Since our establishment in 2007, we have witnessed the change in Taiwan garment industry, and we also feel very sad to speak out about such facts. However, we would like to assure you that we will continue to provide top quality products.
The factories that we are working with are the best quality ones in the global production lines. They produce the most well-established global brands. All our products in 2012 will strictly follow the CNS 15290 requirement. Please be assured of our quality.
The statement has stirred up a heated debate online. Many netizens feel disappointed and cheated and they call for a boycott of Lativ's product. Prominent blogger Miss pretty Xixi's opinion is most representational of netizens’ opinions [zh]:
当时是谁口口声声说　要给台湾产业一个机会？
现在却跟我们说　一切都是误解
若您非“台湾制造”不买，我们诚恳地建议，请您不要下单
讲白话一点就是
不　爽　不　要　买～　登登！
不但已经不是”MIT”
甚至连产地都不标示在网页上了
好啦不是MIT没关系　我买淘宝货买韩货也不是MIT
但至少说一下是哪里产的吧！囧>
而不是像抽抽乐一样
收到衣服看到标签才知道是哪国来的衣服吧～！
噗友说得好
爱台湾对商人而言 不过就是个用完就丢的工具罢了
我个人感觉到非常地
可惜……..且可悲……….
Who said “Give Taiwan Industry a Change” at the very beginning?
Now you say everything is a misunderstanding
If you have to stick to “Made in Taiwan”, let us sincerely remind you…
[In simple terms] don't buy if you are unhappy! Ha!
Not only that it is no longer “MIT”
It has removed the origin of production from its websites
It is okay that the products are not “MIT”, when I shop in Taobao [zh] [Mainland China online shopping platform], the products are not “MIT”
But at least you should tell me where they come from!
Rather than making it like a lottery..
Only to find out where it comes from after we received the clothes.
Well spoken by friends from plurk [zh] [Taiwanese microblogging platform]
Love for Taiwan is just a tool for businessmen
I feel so disappointed… and sad……
Another blogger Zen called for a boycott [zh]:
当初Lativ不就是标榜因为台湾纺织业环境不容易
所以要给一个机会 而这个诉求被大众所认同
所以强大起来
结果今天竟然用同样的理由
作为外移的藉口
确实荒谬
我曾经也买过很多Lativ
身边很多朋友也买
不过 从今天开始 我个人不会再买
诚如官方宣言所说的 :若您非“台湾制造”不买，我们诚恳地建议，请您不要下单，因为台湾已经没有这样的生产环境。
我不是非MIT不买
而是看不起这样的厂商才不买…
这世界上成衣品牌那么多
何必让这些拿热血当行销话术壮大自己后又狠狠抛弃的厂商赚….
你不一定需要抵制
只是如果你当初也是被该公司的热血小故事所感动而决定购买该公司的产品
至少你应该瞭解该公司已经做出营运管理上的变化
你应该重新审思 这样一个公司 背弃自己的承诺的公司(找一堆理由替自己的背弃合法化不难 难的是找到方法克服困难而不背弃承诺)
是否要继续支持
反正我是不会支持了….
Now they use the same reason to relocate
This is so absurd
I used to buy a lot of Lativ clothes
And my friends are also their customers
But I won't buy from them again
Like what the official statement has suggested: “If you have to stick to ‘Made in Taiwan’, let us sincerely remind you to be cautious before you place the order, as we do not have such a production environment in Taiwan.”
I am not a MIT fundamentalist
But I look down upon such a business…
There are so many fashion brands in this world
Why do you have to market with a hot-blooded slogan and then trash it…
You do not have to join this boycott
However, if you have been attracted by its hot-blooded story
You had better be aware of the change in their ways of operation
You should reconsider whether to continue supporting a company that betrays its own promise (and justifies it rather than overcomes the challenge)
I won't support it anymore.
Another famous blogger Sumi Chen, author of “Taiwan Treasure” and a promoter of local brands, has recommended Lativ in the past. She said in her Facebook profile [zh] that she would no longer support this brand:
我承认当初在部落格大力推荐这么品牌，是因为看到该品牌网站一则小故事，品牌拥有者声称因为不忍心看到台湾许多优秀的阿嬷裁缝失业，所以Lativ愿意为台湾成衣业在网路找一条生路。那个故事太热血了，画面中，车衣服的阿嬷手纹太催泪了，当时总是想着，如果可以因为自己的消费，让台湾成衣业活存下来，很多人有工作，可以留在台湾跟家人生活在一起，不必到异乡奋斗，贵一点也没关系，那么，为什么不支持呢？
然后Lativ在网友的热血支持之下，逐渐壮大，壮大到台湾市场吃不下他们的订单，台湾没有足够的技术支援他们，当初为了扶植台湾阿嬷裁缝的心愿，后来好像成为他们的难处。
I admitted that I have highly recommended this brand in my blog before. I was moved by its story that they wanted to support local unemployed tailors who are middle aged ladies. They wanted to open up a new path for the Taiwan garment industry. The story was too hot-blooded. I still remember the pictures showing the winkles of these old ladies’ hands. I believed that if we could use our consumer power to help Taiwan garment industry to survive and provide jobs for these Taiwanese, so that they did not have to leave their families in Taiwan and work overseas, it would be OK to pay more and support such an endeavor.
Then Lativ grows quickly with the support of hot-blooded netizens. It grows so big that the Taiwanese market could not consume all its orders, that Taiwan does not have enough technical support to keep up their growth. Their dream to support the middle aged tailors has become an obstacle now.
There are also quite a number of discussions on Twitter. Below is a selection of comments:
@Osmosis404: Lativ,a brand that insists in producing cloth with local factories in Taiwan,changed it's promise for gaining profit. flpbd.it/7IpwE
@simmmons: 我对Lativ坚不坚持台湾制造没有意见，纯粹讨厌公告文里一副天下人负我的假高尚。又，如果当初你是靠台湾人近乎盲目的爱国心起家，现在就别怪消费者由爱生恨的反感抵制。
@ivanusto: 可以抵制Lativ品牌服饰的方法有很多种，除了不买以外，对这个品牌价值的观感降到最低，也会影响已经购买Lativ服饰的消费者，当越来越多人不敢穿Lativ服装上街时，Lativ就不会再是话题了。就和香港H和G牌这两个平民服饰会有人讨论吗? 类似感觉。演变成更庶民的基本需求品牌。
@kaxing: 只能说 lativ 玩火自焚，平价品牌没有死忠用户就灰飞烟灭了。
@chuiyi: 从Lativ事件看台湾企业可以发现一件不变的铁则：脑子可以换钱，但钱换不回脑子
@RetonKao: Lativ没救了。连MIT最初的品牌信念都摒弃，呼了一堆买过lativ的消费者狠狠一巴掌。商人的贪婪面终究还是跑出来了。
@pofeng: “为什么台湾失去了制造 Lativ 的工作 ? ” 老板说: “那些工作不会回来了” 转头继续发 40 个月年终 。i.imgur.com/VEYbX.jpg
@hirakujira: 抵制完Lativ之后就可以正大光明地排队去买uniqlo跟Zara了欧耶
@pipperl: 忘了说，lativ 能把冬衣做得那么薄的确需要过人的技术。 #lativ
@watertseng: 或许 #lativ 还是会继续卖的很好，赚更多的钱，但是它让一些原本认同它理念的人感到失望，犹如是欺骗一个人的感情 。

author: 鄭 國威


text:
Zambia: Can Barotseland ‘Seccession’ Hold? · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

South Sudan may hold the record as the newest nation in the world but this may no longer hold if the developing situation in Zambia in which advocates of an independent Barotseland, better known as Western Province, force matters and secede from the rest of the country.
The predominantly Lozi people of the province, bordering Angola, Namibia and Botswana, met on the 26 March, 2012 under the auspices of the Barotse National Council (BNC) and resolved, among other  things, that:
Barotseland coat-of-arms. Courtesy of the Barotseland web portal.
We the people of Barotseland declare that Barotseland is now free to pursue its own self-determination and destiny
We are committed to a peaceful disengagement with the Zambian government in the same manner that we attempted integration as a state within Zambia.
We call on the international community to support our legitimate right to self determination as a people and nation by resolving as follows:
1. That all the people in Barotseland shall continue to enjoy the centuries old harmonious peaceful co-existence by all the ethnic groups as had always been the case.
2. That the people of Barotseland shall not, in any way, take kindly to any individual, authority or groups of individuals bringing the institution of the Litungaship into public ridicule and disrepute by making derogatory remarks with intent to undermine the authority of the Litunga and Barotse Government.
3. The Zambian government to immediately refrain from committing actions of violence and intimidation against the people of Barotseland.
4. That no part of Barotseland shall be ceded to any other country.
The Barotseland Agreement 1964 issue has been brewing for sometime now but it came to prominence once again in the run up to the 2011 elections when the then opposition Patriotic Front (PF) leader, Michael Sata, promised that once elected, he would restore the agreement. In partial fulfilment of his election promise, he set up a Barotseland Commission of Inquiry to look into the grievances of the people of Western Province but rejected the recommendations saying they would open a pandora’s box.
A number of Zambian netizens have weighed in on the issue as it has been unfolding. One such netizen is former Zambia’s ambassador to Libya and blogger, Mbita Chitala who gave three options of how to resolve the Barotse question and recommended the following:
To re-negotiate the Barotse Agreement so as to ensure more regional autonomy of all the regions of Zambia anchored on liberal democratic values and federalism. This will require that the PF government provides for Zambia a new constitution that entrenches federated structures in our governance. The Technical Committee appointed by President Sata can be requested to negotiate with the Litunga and the BRE and other Royal Establishments together with all civil society on the historical necessity of devolution and recommend in the new draft constitution the federated way in which Zambia would be governed. It is a notorious fact that no country has ever developed under the so called unitary state structures. In fact, this is a colonial legacy that suited despots. All serious countries only developed when they federated. This is true for the UK, Germany, Japan, India, RSA, Brazil. USA, France, Russia, India even small countries like South Korea, Switzerland and so on.
How Zambia would look like without Western Province. Image courtesy of Matongo Kanenga Musiba Maumbi's Facebook page.
On the Zambia Peoples Pact group page on Facebook, Derrick M Muwina questioned the sincerity of President Michael Sata for not fulfilling his election promises:
No matter which side you are on the Barotseland issues, is it not true that President Sata promised to “honor/restore” the agreement whatever he meant? Is he now paying the price for making promises he could not fulfill to get votes only to renege after the election? Should we not be holding the President to accountability on this one?
The Barotse issue, whose BNC resolutions was being debated in the national assembley brought despondency among netizens. Rueben Lupupa Lifuka, a well known governance activist, after watching the proceedings, presumably on TV, wrote:
Watching the MPs debate the resolutions of the Barotse National Council in Parliament, confirms my worst fears- the calibre of some of our representatives leaves much to be desired. in part, it explains the reason why this country is lagging behind in its development
There were a number of reactions to Vice President Guy Scot’s ministerial statement in parliament on the issue in which he said that the resolutions by the BNC to breakaway from the rest of Zambia would have to be considered by all Zambians through a process that involves elaborate and credible consultation because the resolutions of the BNC have severe consequences and ramifications if not correctly managed.
Commenting on Zambian Watchdog website, Kafue Province Advocate wrote:
Well said Mr. VP. These Lozis are fraudsters, how do they claim that all the seven districts have indorsed there nonsense when Nkoya Chiefs did not attend the silly and tribal meeting.
The fraud they have committed in now is the same as the fraud that was committed during the BA64 signing by making bogus claims.
The VP and indeed the President are alive to the fact that Nkoyas will NEVER indorse any rubbish coming from the Litunga and the BRE.
In fact the VP even attended Kazanga Ceremony of the Nkoya people in Kaoma last year so he is personally aware of the official position of the Nkoyas and others on this BA64 matter.
These are just acts of desperation from the BRE since most of them are now unemployed since PF took over government.
Another reader calling himself Dagga, in support of secession, wrote:
Guy [Scott]. A salute you for helping keep peace in western because fat fat [Defence Minister Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba] and [Home Affairs Minister] sakeni I would have acted emotionally to attack the lozi.
However, I disagree with you when you condense lozi people for choosing to secede as irresponsible and unacceptable and yet you do not condemn the Zambian government for abrogating the agreement as irresponsible and unacceptable.
Lozi people chose to live with northern Rhodesians through trust and love, and today the must pay the price of condemnation for doing such a humble thing.
For forty seven years, they have tried to ask you to honour the agreement so that we Ramon the same, but pride has failed all reasoning.
Now,vyou still want to tell us that we are wrong, why?
This is wrong.
Come back to the table and negotiate. Otherwise we are going to our sand
Surelyz, you guys can’t be so stubborn and proud. We shall surely perish together.
The Barotseland Agreement 1964 was signed on 18 May, 1964 by Litunga Mwanawina III, King of Barotseland and Kenneth Kaunda Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia to establish Barotseland's position within Zambia in place of the earlier agreement between Barotseland and the British Government.
Barotseland activists have created an official web portal to make it easy for the public to get Barotseland Government information and services online.
On 29 March, 2012 Barotseland Prime Minister Clement Wainyae Sinyinda was arrested by the Zambian security forces.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


text:
Bulgaria: Sofia Students Plan to Protest if Officials Impose Curfew · Global Voices
Rayna St.

On February 29, 2012, a 19-year-old student died during a violent brawl with three other students. The tragic accident happened in Sofia, in the district Studentski Grad (Students’ City), where Bulgarian public universities provide accessible accommodation to their students. It is unclear who exactly is responsible for the death of the student, but the whole situation sparkled a debate in the mainstream as well as the citizen media.
In response, the government decided [bg] to impose a curfew over the district: housing buildings will be accessible up to 11pm and nobody will be authorized to enter between 11pm and 6am. Furthermore, from April 5 onwards, guests will be prohibited from entering without identification. Lastly, the government promised to install CCTV observation at each level of the buildings in the district.
This measure has some lingering odour reminiscent of the practices employed under the communist regime, and it has shocked more than one person. Twitter user @GreenLSK wrote [bg]:
@GreenLSK: Колко се радвам, че не живея в Студентски град… Как ще им слагат вечерен час, бе?
The curfew was immediately denounced as inefficient and insulting. Thus, blogger Anguel Igov offers a thought-provoking view [bg] on why “the curfew won't work”:
Мярка лесна за въвеждане, трудна за налагане и в крайна сметка напълно безсмислена. Вечерни часове има в подобни общежития по света и практиката показва, че потърпевшите от тях са много изобретателни в заобикалянето им. Но вечерният час е безсмислен не защото няма да се спазва, а защото дори да се спазва, няма да реши проблема с атмосферата на Студентски град – която предразполага към всичко друго, само не и към учене, и очевидно създава ред опасности за здравето и живота на обитаващите го.
Като съм казал “проблема”, дайте да видим къде е всъщност той. Предлагам ви два отговора: а) проблемът е в студентите; б) проблемът е в кръчмите и чалготеките, превзели квартала. Мярката “вечерен час” почива на логиката, че верен е отговор а): дайте да затворим студентите по стаите след определен час и всичко ще бъде наред.
This measure is easy to introduce, difficult to enforce, and is ultimately completely pointless. Evening hours are frequent in similar residences in other countries and experience shows that their victims are very creative in circumventing them. But the curfew is not meaningless because it would not be respected, but because – even if observed – it will not solve the problem of the atmosphere in Studentski Grad – which predisposes to anything but studying and creates obvious health and life hazards for those dwelling there.
As I said “problem”, let's see where it actually lies. I suggest two answers to you: a) the problem is the students; b) the problem is in the pubs and [chalga] clubs plaguing the neighborhood. The measure “curfew” is based on the logic that the faithful response is a): let's close our students safe after a certain time and everything will be okay.
As he points out, the real issue is the conditions of life in Studentski Grad, denounced as insanitary and utterly insufficient for optimal study. Indeed, three students usually share a 25-30 sq. m room, the whole district has only one library, no bookshop, and innumerable pubs and chalga clubs. The often quite nasty media opinions [bg] depicting students as lazy, uninterested, eternally-drunk young people with dubious moral values have never really stopped popping up. Strikingly, this happens after such rare tragic accidents when the mainstream media and various experts explain ad nauseam how violent the students are and how they threaten Bulgaria's future development.
A student quizz at the Faculty of History, University of Sofia: another entertainment is possible! Photo by Zornitza Radulova (CC-by-SA 3.0)
The curfew is thus presented to the population as the only way of calming down a bunch of people whose lowest animal instincts transform them into public danger. In turn, the government acts as a tamer, compensating for the alleged failure of the university.
Some argued [bg] that this measure is just an imitation of action:
Вечерният час няма да реши нищо по никакъв начин. Това е поредният блъф на държавата за пред обществото, с надеждата, че като отчетат някаква дейност, всичко пак ще се забрави. Най-вероятно то така и ще стане… засега.
Others, such as Global Voices Bulgarian contributor Ivaylo Dinev, reacted to this misrepresentation with numerous arguments describing [bg] where the real problem is: not the people, but the environment they evolve in and the irresponsibility it creates:
Не считам, че пресилено ще прозвучи, ако реша да определя българското студентсване като една самозаблуждаваща се свобода на безотговорността. Една свобода без отговорности. […]
Студентите обаче, и бих се самоцитирал, не сме виновни, защото ние сме продукт.
Социалната роля „Студент” е продукт на цялото общество, което задава изискванията към своите най-жизнени части. Нужно е да разберем, и това е пределно ясно, че студентите не се самопроизвеждат.
Занижените критерии към студентите не стимулират дейното им участие в образователния процес. Оценките се изкарват лесно, а изпитите са веднъж на семестър. Защо тогава да не се напиват и пребиват ежедневно? Защо да не мързелуват? Всъщност мързел ли е, когато никой не изисква да свършиш някаква, дори минимална работа през годината?
I do not think that it will sound far-fetched if I decide to define Bulgarian studentship as an auto-deluding freedom of irresponsibility. A freedom without responsibility. […]
Students, however, and I'd include myself here, are not guilty because we are a product.
The social role of a “student” is a product of the society, which specifies the requirements for its most vital parts. We need to understand it and it is clear that students don't stem up out of nowhere.
University's lowered criteria do not encourage students to actively participate in the educational process. Grades are easily obtained and exams are once per semester. Why not drink and beat people up every day? Why not be lazy? Actually, is it laziness when nobody requires from you to finish some, even minimal, work during the year?
The student mobilization against this measure was so strong that BNR (the Bulgarian National Radio) conducted an interview [bg] with three students and aired it, provoking a reaction from the Ministry of Education, which stated [bg] it would control all pubs in the district and would close the illegal ones.
In their interview, the students pointed out [bg] the real problem that had been carefully avoided by the officials so far:
Не трябва да се лъжем, че има някакви лоши хора в Студентски град, мутри, примерно, които са дошли ей така. Те са дошли, защото им е позволено, и то от ректорите на университетите.
Indeed, the deans are the official representatives of public universities and are responsible for the housing facilities and what their uninhabited parts are used for by private entrepreneurs. Thus, students are accused of going to pubs instead of studying, but university deans are the ones signing the renting agreements with pub owners.
A screenshot from the Facebook event page
Whether to impose a full curfew or not will be decided on April 5, by the Deans Council. A Facebook event [bg] has been created, calling for a protest in case the curfew is imposed. The motivation [bg] behind it seems straightforward:
Поощряването на простотията в една самозаблуждаваща се свобода без отговорности направи Студентски град „Град на греха”. И докато данъкоплатците осигуряват пиршества и забавления, смятайки че зад тях се крият денонощия четения на тежки томове, обществото ще се самозаблуждава, че висшето образование е качествено.
Някой трябва да прекъсне затворения кръг. И неминуемо това ще се случи.
Promoting stupidity in an auto-deluded freedom without responsibility has transformed Studentski Grad into “Sin City.” And while taxpayers provide feasts and entertainment, thinking that days of heavy-volume study hides behind, the public will maintain the error that higher education is of high quality.
Someone has to break the cycle. And inevitably it will happen.


text:
Mali : Coup Leader Steps Down as Tuaregs Enter Timbuktu    · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

As Junta leader Sanogo announces that he vows to “re-establish, from today, the Malian constitution of Feb. 25, 1992 and the institutions of the republic”, and set up a transition body with Malian political parties, Tuareg rebels claim to have control over the town of Kidal and have entered Gao and Timbuktu. Africa Nova writes that the army has fled Timbutku and that the main traders there are negotiating with rebels to prevent pillages [fr].

author: Lova Rakotomalala


text:
Myanmar: Monitoring the Elections Through Facebook · Global Voices
Chan Myae Khine

Myanmar has been implementing a lot of reforms in the past years which included the release from prison of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, the suspension of a controversial dam project and the unprecedented release of hundreds of political prisoners. And now, it's time for by-elections.
Two major parties namely National League for Democracy (NLD) which is led by Aung San Suu Kyi and Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) dominated by former military generals are competing for all 45 places in parliament while some other parties such as The Democratic Party, New National Democracy Party (NDP), National Unity Party (NUP) and so on are competing for fewer places.
Myanmar Facebook users are overwhelmed with different news regarding the election which is coincidentally on April Fools’ Day.
Khin Nyein Chan posted a photo of a USDP campaign in which they were using a photo of United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Myanmar last November. Many Facebook users have commented that such campaigning is inappropriate.
Lion tries to fly intimating peacock,
Couldn't fly and fall
Mg Mg Lwin Eu wrote [my] the rhyme above about a photo of a USDP election campaign posted by Demo Waiyan where some people were believed to have been forced to attend a speech event comparing to NLD's massive success in campaign activities, since the lion is the icon of USDP and the peacock is that of NLD.
Election rally in Myanmar
There are also news reports and rumours from unknown sources, whose impact could be large and may affect the result of the elections. Demo Waiyan shared [my] news he heard that the blank spaces to tick on ballot paper are wax coated in some places so that voters won't be able to vote properly.
Some rumours which are believed to have really happened, sounded like real April Fools’ Day stuff. One of those claimed [my] that the USDP tried to give away a shirt and a cap to a beggar in Mandalay and he declined to accept the gifts. Some said [my] that a USDP member in Tadar Oo, Mandalay kept on insulting NLD with loud speakers for a whole night.
The most famous rumour [my] about USDP lately is that they were campaigning for election by treating Briyani to public in East Dagon, Yangon. It is also mentioned [my] that a USDP representative gave away cash during his campaign speech.
Despite the best efforts made by USDP, majority of people are eagerly supporting NLD even though not all of them are eligible to vote for this by-election. In a small survey [my] made on Facebook, 974 people said they are going to vote for NLD while only 24 people chose USDP.
We'll go and vote for NLD tomorrow 5 AM.
This was posted [my] by Myint Myint Khin Pe, wife of actor Kyaw Thu and one of the founders of Free Funeral Services Society on her Facebook.
Election campaign by USDP
Htoo Tay Zar, a blogger and citizen media journalist, wrote about his views on NLD and USDP:
Most people always said NLD Party as opposition party… For me, USDP Party is more like opposition party… Today, I just witnessed USDP Party's campaigning trip around Khawmu township.. No one pays attention to em.. they are also not very active.. party members are just like sleeping on the truck… after all, They are opposition party and they oppose people's desires… =)
Active Facebook users in Myanmar have been expressing support for NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi.  Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Kawt Hmu where she hopes to represent the NLD in the parliament. DVB posted a video [my] of her arriving in Kawt Hmu where people have high expectations for the elections. There are also many comments which read “Good Luck Myanmar” on Facebook

author: Chan Myae Khine


text:
Russia: US Envoy’s Use of Twitter to Further Transparency  · Global Voices
Donna Welles

Michael McFaul, the United States (US) Ambassador to Russia, used his Twitter account earlier this week to voice his concerns that diplomatic protocols had been violated when it appeared his schedule had been leaked to journalists at the NTV television network, a project of the state-owned natural gas company Gazprom.
Global Voices discussed the Obama administration's efforts to facilitate transparency in US-Russia relations through the use of citizen media when Ambassador McFaul was sworn in last January. Later, Global Voices captured the controversy initiated by the creation of a fictional McFaul Twitter account that called into question the legitimacy of the March 2012 Russian presidential elections.
This week, on March 29, several issues were raised, including: 1) the use of a personal Twitter account of a high-ranking diplomat as a means to communicate directly with the general public, 2) regulations established by the Vienna Convention, which allow for the safety of diplomats on foreign soil, and 3) Ambassador McFaul's chosen diction and syntax as he interacted with the NTV journalists.
Ambassador McFaul and the Guardian's Moscow correspondent, Miriam Elder, had a Twitter exchange Thursday afternoon, in which Ms. Elder provided a short video of the ambassador interacting with the NTV journalists.
Miriam Elder, 1:30 pm:
Walking to metro. Run into @McFaul being harassed by ppl who say from NTV http://twitvid.com/9VF6I
Michael McFaul, 5:08 pm:
@MiriamElder [Welcome] to my life. Press has right to film me anywhere. But do they have a right to read my email and listen to my phone?
Miriam Elder, 5:40 pm:
[…] Indeed. And what I don't get is: if the anti-US stuff was just a pre-electoral ploy, why are they still hounding you?
Michael McFaul, 6:05 pm:
@MiriamElder interesting question.
Ambassador McFaul elaborated further via his Twitter account on what exactly about the journalists’ behavior concerned him.
2:43 pm:
Everywhere I go NTV is there. Wonder who gives them my calendar? They wouldn't tell me. Wonder what the laws are here for such things?
5:10 pm:
I respect press right to go anywhere & ask any question. But do they have a right to read my email and listen to my phone?
5:14 pm:
When I asked these “reporters” how they knew my schedule, I got no answer. Heard the same silence when they met me after meeting w/ Chubais.
He then took some time to discuss his official diplomatic activities of the day, including his upcoming meeting with the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.
5:27 pm:
With Acting Under Secy Gottemoeller, had productive meetings at MFA and Security Council today. Tough issues, but spirit of cooperation.
12:38 am, March 30:
Tomorrow I have the great honor of meeting Patriarch Kirill I, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church
NTV emphasized [ru] Ambassador McFaul's use of the word “wild” – which the network found offensive – when it aired his interaction with their journalists Thursday evening. Twitter user Andrew Ryvkin included a link [ru] to that video in a Russian-language tweet:
Смотрю видео, как НТВ занимается харассментом посла США. НТВ, конечно, редкостные уёбища. Просто поразительно. http://t.co/YWtAblzW
The ambassador responded by saying that he was not referring to Russia as a country, but rather to the activities of a few journalists:
Just watched NTV. I mispoke in bad Russian. Did not mean to say “wild country.” Meant to say NTV actions “wild.” I greatly respect Russia.
Yahoo News Blog wrote about the White House's response to the incident:
The United States formally complained to Moscow on Friday about possible danger to Ambassador Michael McFaul, a day after he described Russia as a “wild country” and charged repeatedly that a state-run broadcaster there may be hacking his email, spying on his telephone conversations and tracking his movements.
“We have raised our concerns about the Ambassador's security with the Russian government,” the State Department said in a terse written statement.
Headlines found in mainstream coverage of the incident display a variety of emphases:
Finally, Friday evening the ambassador retweeted an observation about the times in which we live by Rose Gottemoeller:
More often #diplomacy is happening in the open, and at quicker speeds. The world has changed and we have to adapt to the new circumstances.

author: Donna Welles


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Video Highlights: Culture, Human Rights, Online Activism and Crowdfunding · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The Earth, image by Esparta Palma CCBy on Flickr
Culture
India: The Last Handwritten Newspaper in the World
The earliest forms of newspaper were handwritten and now ‘The Musalman‘ probably is the last handwritten newspaper in the world. This Urdu language newspaper was established in 1927 by Chenab Syed Asmadullah Sahi and has been published daily in the Chennai city of India ever since.
Azerbaijan: Novruz Bayram
Alongside Iran and elsewhere, Azerbaijan once again celebrated Novruz, the Zoroastrian or Persian New Year. Usually celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox, Novruz marks the first day of Spring, and is one of the most important dates in the Azerbaijani calendar.
This next promotional video prepared for Eurovision shows how the holiday is celebrated in Azerbaijan.
Human rights and videos
Ethiopia: Child Abuse Caught on Mobile Phone Camera
Ethiopian Facebook users have reacted to a mobile phone recorded YouTube video which shows a little girl constantly being abused by her mother. Shortly after the upload of the video, netizens on Facebook organized an online campaign for justice by starting a Facebook group called “Ethiopians Against Child Abuse”:
Warning: the video shows situations of child abuse.
This month also saw other reactions in Ethiopia regarding human rights abuses, in the next case, an Ethiopian domestic worker was beaten by her employers in front of the Ethiopian Embassy in Lebanon, and it was captured on video. Sadly, she committed suicide shortly after.
Ethiopia: Outrage Over Abuse of Ethiopian Domestic Worker in Lebanon
Ethiopia Lebanon: Online Outrage Over Death of Domestic Worker Turns into Activism
http://youtu.be/aJeoGYG2Nfc
The graphic nature of the video together with the tragic end of the plot left Ethiopians netizens outraged. Ethiopians have been using Facebook and online petition sites to mourn her death and campaign for justice for domestic workers in the Middle East.
Online activism
Kony 2012 Special Coverage Page
With the Kony 2012 campaign, discussions increased online on the topics of online activism, its efficiency and how media portrays the conflicts and situations lived in different African countries. A Special Coverage page was created to follow the reactions on the polemic video with Ugandans weighing in on the topic:
Uganda: Kony 2012 Video Response from Ugandan Prime Minister
http://youtu.be/ye5X9Xdg2CE
On the YouTube comments for the previous video, Ugacentricity gives credit to the intentions behind the Invisible Children's video, but defends the need for an accurate portrayal:
No doubt, Jason's intentions MAY have been good, but he threw truth and fact out in favour of drama and innuendo. True, he may not have got the 100 million+ viewers, but the end doesn't always justify the means. As a Ugandan who was affected by Kony, I'd rather have had 100 people listening to the truth in my story than 100 million believing the untruths in it.
A series of video responses made by people inspired by the original Kony 2012 video can be found in the post Uganda: Yes We Kony!.
Other examples of online activism:
Online activism continues in the following examples of stories posted during the month of March 2012:
In Puerto Rico, an organization is seeking to raise awareness on the dangers and risks of planning unnecessary C-sections on women expecting babies through a music video.
In Russia, sex and videos were used as a means for political support by Putin supporters and detractors during the Election season, and this article walks us through some different examples.
In Latin America, women who had breast surgery with faulty implants are taking to the web to get their stories out and gather support. Through blogs, online forums, Facebook groups and online videos [es], women are talking about the high incidence of cosmetic breast enhancements, on financial responsibility for the removal of faulty implants and on the legal aspects of dealing with medical procedures that go wrong.
Crowdsourcing
Nicaragua: Film on the Consequences of a Leaked Sex Video Seeks Crowdfunding
An award-winning team of producers and actors is coming together in rural Nicaragua to make a movie based on actual events exploring the consequences of a couple of young people in love who make an intimate video of themselves which then becomes public by mistake, and how they deal with the backlash of their actions. They are looking for extra funding to cover costs on location in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, and all the money raised will be spent locally.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Announcing the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit in Nairobi, Kenya · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

We're delighted to announce the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2012! Our gathering takes place this year in Nairobi, Kenya on July 2-3, 2012, in partnership with Nairobi's iHub.
Visit the  Summit web site for background information on the goals of the meeting – we'll be adding registration details very soon.
Over the next days and weeks we'll be fleshing out the program, adding speaker bios, a list of attendees and more — and do keep checking in at the site for blog posts and commentary from Summit participants and others, as well as to join in the conversation.
The Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2012 has been made possible thanks to the generous support of Google, Hivos, MacArthur Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, Adessium Foundation, Knight Foundation, Omidyar Network, and Yahoo!.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Argentina: Covering the 30th Anniversary of the Falklands War · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Lillie Langtry from the blog Memory in Latin America looks at the Argentine media coverage of the 30th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War. Lillie also shares some cartoons on the anniversary by Pagina/12 cartoonist Miguel Rep.


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Azerbaijan: Amnesty International Running Scared Eurovision action · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Ahead of next month's Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan, Amnesty International has posted a web feature using the spotlight on the international song contest to demand greater human rights protection and freedom of expression in the oil-rich former Soviet republic. In particular, the international human rights group is using the hashtag #freeaznow on Twitter and also calling on supporters to post messages on the Eurovision Song Contest and Azerbaijani President's Facebook page. There is also a Facebook page for the action itself.


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Bolivia: Health Workers’ Priorities During Protests · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Much of the Bolivian public health sector is protesting the government's decision to raise the workday for doctors from six to eight hours a day. Patricia Almanza, a child anesthesiologist, tweets where she was instead, “My colleagues are blockading Arce Avenue [in protest] and here I am in surgery to perform an urgent Caesarean section (it was a boy). Emergencies are taken care of.”

author: Eduardo Avila


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China Social Media Crackdown: 6 Arrested, 16 Websites Closed · Global Voices
Violeta Camarasa

News spread through the Chinese Internet as the country woke up to the following on Saturday, March 31, 2012: six people had been arrested and 16 websites closed for “fabricating or disseminating online rumors,” according to China's National Internet Information Office (SIIO) and Beijing police, as official news agency Xinhua reported.
The same report stated that popular Twitter-like microblogging sites Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo, where the so-called rumours appeared, had been “criticized and punished accordingly”. What the punishment consists of, there is no way to know, but Chinese netizens soon noticed the results: the two microblogging sites banned users from posting comments from Saturday, March 31, to Tuesday, April 3.
Many foreign media picked up the story, such as BBC, The Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera or Forbes.
No one can hear your screams here. Have the people duct-taped. From Ministry of Tofu
Brand new blog Rectified.name posted:
Early last week there was a flood of sensational rumors on Chinese microblogs alleging political unrest and splits among the Party’s top leadership. Last night news broke that the relevant authorities slapped China’s two most influential microblog platforms, Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo, for not acting strongly enough to suppress the rumors.
Xinhua quoted a SIIO's spokesman who claimed that these rumours (a common euphemism for criticism of the government) were on “military vehicles entering Beijing and something wrong going on in Beijing”. They referred to conversations on a supposed coup attempt and the power struggle at the Chinese Comunist Party (CCP) that took place on the Internet after top official Bo Xilai was removed from his post.
Comments on Bo Xilai and the supposed coup d'état were censored earlier this month on Chinese social media.
Jing Gao, from Ministry of Tofu, wrote:
On the morning of March 31, Sina Weibo users who tried to leave comments received an error message from the system:
“To all Weibo users, recently, comments left by microbloggers have started to contain much illegal and detrimental information, including rumors. In an effort to clean them up in one stroke, comments function of Sina Weibo will be temporarily disabled from 8 a.m. March 31 to 8 a.m. April 3. After the clean-up, we will reopen comments section. Necessary clean-up of information is conducive to providing everyone a better communicating atmosphere. We expect your understanding and consideration. Thank you for your support.”
A Sina Weibo's user: "Sina’s mascot should look like this these days". Image from Ministry of Tofu
Another statement by SIIO's spokesman quoted by Xinhua points out that an unknown number of people, also accused of disseminating rumours, were “admonished and educated,” but showed “intention to repent”. According to Xinhua, Beijing police stated that rumours “severely disturb the public order, undermine social stability and deserve punishment”.
C. Custer, from Techinasia, stated:
The rumors are referred to as exerting an “evil influence” on society, and those who spread them are called “lawbreakers” who acted “maliciously” and “without reason.” Xinhua is China’s official state wire service, and these words were probably carefully chosen.
The report ends with this sentence: “The two companies [Sina and Tencent] expressed that they would thoroughly implement the relevant regulations, take steps to reform themselves, and increase their supervision [of content].” That is very significant, especially if you’re a weibo user.
China has arguably the most sophisticated Internet censorship system in the world, known as the Great Firewall of China. Yet social media, especially microblogs, are seen by many as the XXI century tool to challenge the Government's control on information.
The Communist Party is well aware of the power of social media. Chinese authorities have increased efforts to control online information last year, after the Arab Spring episodes brought Twitter and Facebook into the limelight as a tool to overthrow governments. Last December, Chinese authorities set up new measures that forced microbloggers to sign up with their real names. There is a widespread feeling, however, that Chinese Internet companies are popular and powerful enough to challenge the Government. The question is: Can anyone in China fool the CCP?
C. Custer, from Techinasia, stated at the end of his post:
If they think Weibo poses a real threat to social stability, they will not hesitate to pull the plug.
But it will never come to that, because Sina and Tencent aren’t stupid. They may have been playing fast-and-loose with the real name regulation rules so far, but they both understand that complying with regulators is the only way a company can do business in China. (Don’t believe me? Ask Google.) So, if you’re on weibo, expect to see significant changes in the months ahead (and maybe don’t retweet those coup rumors unless you’re interested in getting to know your local State Security agents a bit better). Real-name registration hasn’t significantly impacted the discourse on Chinese microblogs yet, but I have the distinct feeling that the music is about to stop.
Control of the Internet is a major issue in China. The power of social media to articulate social and political unrest poses a direct threat to the CCP’s Orwellian harmony and stability. In the face of a cooling economy and in the midst of a leadership transition, the CCP seems to think that cracking down on the Internet is the best way to hold its grip on power.

author: Violeta Camarasa


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China: Doctors Talk about Health Issue · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Tom from Seeing Red in China highlighted some points in a papers written by a group of doctors on the challenge of health system in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Talking with a Female Massage Worker  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Tricia Wang from Bytes of China chatted with a female massage worker in Changsha, Hunan about her life prospect.