text:
Ahead of Tunisia elections, social media was flooded with mis- and disinformation · Global Voices
Yosr Jouini

This story is the first in a two-part series on mid- and disinformation online during Tunisia's 2019 presidential and legislative elections.
Press conference by Tunisia's Independent High Authority for the Elections to announce the results of the legislative poll of October 6. Photo by the election body [Public Domain].
Between mid-September and mid-October, Tunisians headed to the polls three times. On September 15, they voted in the first round of the presidential election, before voting again on October 6 in the legislative election. On October 13 they voted in the second round of the presidential election, in which retired constitutional law lecturer Kais Saied, an independent, was elected president.
This election season was the fourth since the 2011 uprising that toppled the 23-year-rule of autocratic president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.
In the months leading up to the elections, mis- and disinformation spread widely across social media platforms, Facebook in particular. Its impact on the electoral process, voter turnout, and public opinion became a major concern expressed by various parties, including civil society organizations and the country's independent electoral authority.
To woo voters, political parties and candidates have used various communication channels including social media, which remains by far the most effective way to reach a large audience and more specifically young voters. A poll conducted by research and news organization Barr al Aman found that during the 2018 municipal election campaign, 41 percent of respondents said they relied on Facebook as their primary source of news, followed by television, cited by 19 percent.
The Oxford Internet Institute's new report, “2019 Global Inventory of Organised Social Media Manipulation“, examined disinformation operations in 70 countries (including Tunisia) carried out by “cyber troops’’—”government or political party actors tasked with manipulating public opinion online.’’ The report found Facebook to be the only platform used significantly by ”cyber troop” activities in Tunisia.
Observers of the political scene in Tunisia have noted the rise of political party- and candidate-affiliated Facebook groups and pages with substantial numbers of followers. Pages without declared ties or affiliations were also actively involved in spreading political disinformation and sponsored content praising certain parties.
According to a report on social media monitoring published by the Tunisian Association for the Integrity and Democracy of Elections (ATIDE) and Democracy Reporting International, from 15 May to 15 July 2019, unofficial Facebook pages with no declared political affiliation or purpose produced 38.5 percent of the political messages in their study sample. These pages, which categorized themselves as entertainment or satirical, became more active as the elections approached. The report also posits possible coordination among the administrators of these pages and uses the term “page network” to describe groups of pages sharing similar content within a certain time period.
Earlier this year, Facebook announced the removal of 265 Facebook and Instagram accounts, Facebook Pages, Groups and events involved in coordinated “inauthentic behavior”. According to the company, the activity originated in Israel and targeted multiple African countries, including Tunisia.
“The people behind this network used fake accounts to run Pages, disseminate their content and artificially increase engagement,” announced Facebook in a press release on May 16, 2019. “They also represented themselves as locals, including local news organizations, and published allegedly leaked information about politicians. The Page administrators and account owners frequently posted about political news, including topics like elections in various countries, candidate views and criticism of political opponents.”
Inkyfada, an independent investigative media website, used data collected by the Digital Forensic Research Lab to analyze the content posted by the Tunisia-related pages that were removed by Facebook. Their analysis concluded that the number of these pages, which were created between January 17 and March 12, 2019, was 11. Together, these pages nearly had 500,000 followers.
The analyzed content on these pages includes 359 publications that generated more than 1 million interactions (likes, comments, and shares) and 36 videos with nearly 8 million views
Inkyfada also reported that posts on these pages criticized many politicians, but never attacked the media magnate and presidential candidate Nabil Karoui. Five pages shared content from Karoui's television channel Nessma TV, or his charity Khalil Tounes, that either directly or indirectly favored the candidate.
Karoui spent most of his electoral campaign in prison. He was arrested in late August—at the height of campaign season—on tax evasion and money-laundering charges and was only released from prison a few days before the runoff against Saied. In the first round of the presidential election, he obtained 15 percent of the votes, while Saied came first with 18 percent of the votes. In the second round, Saied won the presidency in with more than 70 percent of the votes.
Karoui's imprisonment led to widespread rumours about his release from jail or the withdrawal of his candidacy.
Another common form of disinformation that recurred throughout the election season were reports about presidential candidates withdrawing from the race to support other candidates, as well as false reports about political figures or celebrities supporting certain candidates.
A young voter casting his vote in Tunisia's presidential runoff held on October 13. Photo by Tunisia's electoral authority [Public domain].
For example, prior to the first round of the presidential election, fabricated reports spread on social media about candidates Abdelkarim Zbidi, Mehdi Jemaa and Abir Moussi withdrawing from the race to support Karoui. Another false report claimed that Othman Battikh, the Grand Mufti of Tunisia, supported Saied.
Composition of Tunisia's newly elected parliament. The Islamist Ennahdha party came first with 52 seats, followed by Karoui's newly founded Qalb Tounes party with 38 seats, and the social democratic party Attayar with 22 seats. Photo by Tunisia's electoral authority.
Multiple rumours targeting parties and candidates competing in the legislative election also proliferated on election day, including the rumor that one candidate, Olfa Terras, was arrested while trying to influence citizens. Another fabricated story claimed that candidate Seif Eddine Makhlouf, whose party won 21 seats in the parliament, assaulted a polling center official. There were also attempts to mimic and amplify incidents. After media reported on a group of people distributing money to influence voters, news spread about similar incidents that, after verification, were revealed to be inaccurate.
Exit polling data were also subject to falsification. A few days before the first presidential round, a fake poll in the form of a screenshot incorporating the logo of SIGMA, a polling and consulting company, was widely spread on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. SIGMA's director, Hassen Zargouni, denounced the poll as fake in a Facebook post, telling Agence France Press, that “the names and figures [in the fake poll] do not match the reality and try to influence voters to favor tactical voting.”
The French embassy in Tunisia issued a press release denying any connection to the fake poll. The day after the first round of the presidential election, the embassy circulated another statement in response to false declarations attributed to the French ambassador, that criticized current presidential candidate (now president-elect) Kais Saied.
The credibility of the electoral process was also targeted in disinformation campaigns. The vice president of the Independent High Authority for Elections took to the radio airwaves to deny rumors that the pens provided at polling stations were filled with erasable ink, adding that voters could use their own pens when voting.
On the day of the second presidential round, Hasna Ben Slimane, another member of electoral authority, denounced social media rumours aimed at ‘'disrupting the electoral process.”
#Tunisia: @ISIETN member Hasna Ben Slimane has warned of rumors circulating on social media aimed at disrupting the electoral process and dissuading voters from heading to the polls, highlighting ISIE's efforts to ensure smooth running of election. #TAP_En pic.twitter.com/pd6aE2uXF6
— TAP news agency (@TapNewsAgency) October 13, 2019
In addition to the electoral authority, political figures, journalists, activists and voters expressed concerns regarding the spread of mis- and disinformation campaigns during the recent elections. There have also been calls by civil society groups to regulate political ads on social media.
In the second part of this story, we will highlight measures taken by affected parties, national institutions, media professionals and tech companies to counter mis- and disinformation.
This article is part of a series of posts examining interference with digital rights through methods such as network shutdowns and disinformation during key political events in seven African countries: Algeria, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The project is funded by the Africa Digital Rights Fund of The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA).

author: Yosr Jouini


text:
Twitter users from North Macedonia fight disappointment with EU non-decision with humor · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

A proposal for “new Macedonian flag” with a block diagram of the French veto to granting date for start of EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia. Translated graphics by @banekoma, used with permission.
The week ending October 19, 2019, was a rough one for North Macedonia and Albania, as the date for the long-anticipated start of negotiations for the two Western Balkan countries’ European Union (EU) membership didn't materialize, due in large part to a lack of support by France.
Despite clear recommendations by the European Commission to grant the date, neither the foreign ministers who convened in Luxembourg for the General Affairs Council on October 15, nor the top member country leaders who met at the European Council on October 17 and 18 could reach consensus. The result? Postponement of a decision that had already been delayed.
The EU's non-decision forced Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev to call early elections. “A great injustice was inflicted on us… I am disappointed and angry and I know our people feel the same,” he said in a press conference on October 21. Zaev's election on a pro-EU platform in 2017 broke a 12-year streak of nationalist, right-wing governments in North Macedonia.
Zaev's disappointment was shared by EU top leaders, including Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn, who also voiced concern over the EU's shattered credibility. But reactions by social media users from North Macedonia, many of whom had hoped their country would be able to join the European Union as soon as possible, ranged from unpleasant surprise and outrage to… well… humor.
Members of the troll army linked to the country's biggest opposition political party engaged in triumphant gloating, and also used the opportunity to defame pro-EU opinion makers. One propaganda portal, for instance, published a photoshopped image of a fake tweet, which purported that a journalist used vulgar hate speech against the French and Roma people.
Nationalists whose party had been receiving various kinds of support from the Kremlin echoed its demands for the government to resign, as well as their desire for the Prespa Agreement — which changed the country's name as a precondition for joining the EU and NATO — to unravel.
As was the case with other politically tense circumstances, however, some internet users vented their frustration by making light of the situation:
ЕУ ги поправи и непоправливите оптимисти.
— Slobodan Jakoski (@FlavrSavr) October 18, 2019
EU managed to redeem even the irredeemable optimists.
Many reactions focused on the role of France in the ongoing developments:
French kiss is when, in the right moment, you look straight into her eyes, pull her gently closer to your body, and then you block her EU accession processes.
— Брада (@legovski) October 17, 2019
One Twitter user even asked whether the French had been holding a grudge since 2012, when North Macedonia's right-wing populist regime plagiarized Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, producing a local copy as part of its Skopje 2014 project.
On October 16, French President Emmanuel Macron said that one of the reasons for disallowing EU enlargement into the Western Balkans was the high number of asylum applications France had received from Albanian citizens. The satirical persona of Mile Panika countered Macron's excuse with a tweet that received over a hundred retweets and more than six hundred likes. This was representative of the regional zeitgeist that underpins mass emigration, something that could potentially get worse:
Неќеле ваква багра како нас во ЕУ. Нека им каже некој дека ако ни дадат датум има шанси да си останеме овдека, ако не ни дадат, сите ќе им се иселиме таму, па нека му ја мислат.
— Миле Паника (@Mile_Panika) October 15, 2019
They didn't want scum like us to enter the EU. Let someone tell them that if they give us the date there's some chance that some of us would remain here. But if they don't give us [the date], then we shall all move out there [into Western Europe], and become a much bigger problem for them.
Mile Panika was a member of the Monty Python-like local TV comedy show K-15, which was closed down in 2012 after its sponsors, pressured by the nationalist regime of Nikola Gruevski, pulled the plug. One of the show's old sketches, which pokes fun at EU resistance to Western Balkan accession, made the rounds on social media this weekend — a local portal said it had “predicted the future in the style of the Simpsons“.
The sketch proposes linking Macedonia with Montenegro, which would bring many benefits such as access to the sea for landlocked Macedonia and solving the name issue with Greece (sine qua non at the time), as the name of new state would be a portmanteau of Montenegro and North Macedonia: “Black Macedonia.”
Hundreds of Twitter users also shared and liked the tweet by a parody account designed to poke fun at North Macedonia's prime minister, Zoran Zaev. This English-language profile intentionally includes grammatical mistakes and translates Macedonian idioms literally, all for comedic effect. For instance, the following tweet mistranslates the phrase “да сме живи и здрави”, which means, “After all, the important thing is to be alive and healthy”, no matter what else has happened — but the transcription doesn't quite communicate that sentiment:
If no date to be health and live
— Zaev internation oficial fan (@OficialZaev) October 15, 2019
In addressing the possibility that the anti-enlargement forces within the EU might not allow entry of new member states in this lifetime, information technology expert Ilijanco Gagovski referred to another piece of popular culture, that would be well-known to anybody born before 1980. He reminded of an oft-repeated saying by the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito which references a two-pronged policy of internal reforms aimed at rebuilding the country after World War II while at the same time preparing to defend its independence from foreign invasions during the Cold War:
Имаше една парола од времето на Тито – “Радимо као ће 100 година бити мир, а спремајмо се као да ће сутра бити рат!” – прилагодена за нашата ситуација би била – “Да се реформираме као веќе да преговараме за влез во ЕУ, а да си го бараме чарето као да никогаш нема да влеземе!”
— Ilijanco Gagovski (@ilijanco) October 18, 2019
During Tito's reign, a popular quote was attributed to him — ‘We shall work as if we'll have 100 years of peace, but we will also prepare as if we expect a war to start tomorrow!’
Adjusted to our situation it would be ‘We should conduct reforms as if we are already negotiating EU accession, while we are also looking for solution as if we expect never to become a member state!’
Finally, designer and activist @banekoma, who had been posting satirical comments on different fora with proposals for the new Macedonian flag, suggested an updated version of the EU flag featuring the main character from the Italian-Japanese cartoon Calimero. In North Macedonia, the luckless little bird is most famous for his frequent quip, “There's no justice!”:
#новоЕУзнаме #датум pic.twitter.com/VvazfBkQYw
— Neb. Gelevski – Bane (@banekoma) October 18, 2019
#NewEUflag #date

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Filip Stojanovski


text:
Australian newspapers ‘censor’ their front pages in protest against government secrecy laws · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Front pages of Australian newspapers on 21 October 2019. Photo from Twitter post of Australia's National Press Club
In an unprecedented show of unity, Australian media outlets ran similar stories and redacted front pages featuring the ‘right to know’ campaign in response to government actions that undermine the work of journalists.
Australia’s Right to Know coalition said that rival media groups have joined forces to defend press freedom:
The media plays a vital role in telling the public what’s really going on. But journalists and whistleblowers in Australia live in fear of criminal charges, police raids and damaging court battles that threaten their professional careers and personal freedom.
The coalition also asserted that the campaign is not just intended to benefit the media but also the public’s right to know:
Even though our coalition is made up of competing businesses, we still team up to protect Australians’ right to know. We do this because media freedom is critical for holding powerful people accountable and ensuring you know about issues like aged care abuse, secret spying on Australian citizens and mysterious land deals with foreign owners.
According to the coalition’s research, Australian governments have passed around 75 laws related to secrecy, encryption, and spying which are often used to intimidate, prosecute, and arrest journalists.
In the past year, some media offices were raided for publishing classified information. Information requests on some public matters such as elderly abuse, the number of children in adult detention centers, and public surveillance were also denied.
Paul Murphy, chief executive of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, said some laws impede the work of journalists:
The culture of secrecy that has descended through these legal provisions restricts every Australian’s right to know and goes well beyond the original intent of national security.
Journalism is a fundamental pillar of our democracy. It exists to scrutinise the powerful, shine a light on wrongdoing and hold governments to account to the people, but the Australian public is being kept in the dark about matters that affect them.
Michael Miller, executive chairman of News Corp Australasia, criticized the use of national security laws to restrict public access to information:
It’s clear the national security justification doesn’t tell the whole story of a government’s secrecy obsession when it stops journalists telling you whether your parents or grandparents are at risk in a nursing home or whether the tax office might be raiding your bank accounts.
Australian Community Media (ACM) chief executive Allen Williams explained why they are supporting the campaign:
Australians expect and deserve to know what's going on, and how and why the government decisions that affect their lives are made.
The communities we serve trust us to keep them connected and informed, so ACM is proud to support this campaign to protect the public's right to know.
Some of the demands of the campaign include the call for public sector whistle-blowers protection, enactment of a “properly functioning” freedom of information regime, and the right to contest the application for warrants for journalists and media organizations.
These are some of the Twitter photos shared by journalists in their respective newsrooms:
Took us a while but here we are… Age and Melbourne AFR newsrooms support #PressFreedom and #YourRightToKnow pic.twitter.com/VDErJKzgBE
— Sarah Danckert (@sdanck) October 21, 2019
When you miss out on the group photo but still want to participate lol #PressFreedom #righttoknow pic.twitter.com/P2qeLRW0Gc
— Madeline Hayman-Reber (@MadelineHayman) October 21, 2019
When the government keeps the truth from you, what are they covering up? What stories aren't being told? #righttoknow @abcperth pic.twitter.com/JnVeyiMKyv
— Emma Wynne (@em_wynne) October 21, 2019
You have a right to know what govts you elect are doing in your name. But in Australia, whistleblowers are penalised + journalists are raided by police. It needs to change. @ConversationEDU stands with colleagues across the country supporting the @withMEAA #RightToKnow campaign. pic.twitter.com/2jYjN49t7L
— The Conversation (@ConversationEDU) October 21, 2019
Court reporters shared some of the challenges they face when access to information is restricted:
Suppressions, split trials, closed courts, inconsistently applied rules, blocked access to documents – it’s not just governments that are withholding information! Everyday court reporters are up against defence lawyers and judges. #yourrightoknow @withMEAA pic.twitter.com/21cwcfULbB
— Karen Percy (@PercyKaren) October 21, 2019
Photographers also participated in the campaign:
After photographing the press gallery members, some of the photographers and camera operators join the group. #YourRightToKnow pic.twitter.com/Fw5aLKvXDM
— David Crowe (@CroweDM) October 21, 2019
Even detained asylum-seeker and award-winning writer Behrooz Boochani tweeted his support to the campaign:
Stand up with Australian media for freedom of speech. Some Oz politicians are enemies of democracy & the system itself has a problem if it creates this kind of small dictator. This same dictatorship has been played out in the secrecy about exile of refugees.#righttoknow pic.twitter.com/iB14DpSH0x
— Behrouz Boochani (@BehrouzBoochani) October 21, 2019
The media protest was briefly discussed in parliament with the prime minister accusing the previous government (which is now the opposition) of passing laws that gag the press. Meanwhile, the police said they will conduct a review of their policies on dealing with the media during official operations.

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Hong Kong political scientist likens Hongkongers to a stateless nation · Global Voices
Violeta Camarasa

Brian Fong. Photo taken by Violeta Camarasa.
The Hong Kong anti-extradition protests have evolved into a movement against Beijing's political encroachment. While the Chinese government calls the protests a separatist movement, local political science scholar Brian C.H. Fong, addresses Hong Kong's political status under Chinese rule and the city's democratic aspirations through a different lens which compares Hongkongers to a stateless nation and calls Hong Kong an undemocratic autonomy.
Parallel to the pro-democracy movement, a new collective national identity seems to be rapidly growing in Hong Kong. The last poll published in late June by the Public Opinion Programme at the University of Hong Kong (HKUPOP) highlighted this upward trend in identity sentiment observed in the last decade among Hong Kong citizens. According to the latest available data, 53% of those surveyed identified themselves as Hongkongers, while only 11% feel Chinese. Both percentages are the highest and lowest since the sovereignty of the territory was transferred to China.
The author, Violeta Camarasa, interviewed Brian Fong about his views on the Hongkonger identity and its relationship to the city's democracy movement. The interview was firstly published in the Catalan news outlet El Temps in Catalan and republished in English on Global Voices with the magazine's permission.
Violeta Camarasa (VC): In your research work, you have argued that Hongkongers are a nation without a state, and that their political status can be compared to that of Catalans or ScotsWhat are the main arguments you use to defend this view?
Brian Fong (BF): The academic term, stateless nation, is one of the concepts that I use which applies to both Catalonia and Hong Kong, and other places around the world in similar circumstances.
Hongkongers are a political community without a sovereign status but striving for greater degree of self-government. But if we compare Hongkongers to other cases like Scots or Québécois… the political community of Hongkongers is still very young. Catalans, for example, have several hundred years of history as a stateless nation, much deeper cultural links and a longer political history striving for autonomy.
VC: In your opinion, since when can we consider Hong Kong a nation with a specific collective identity? Why?
BF: After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the U.S, Hong Kong was situated along the “bamboo curtain”, which separated communist China from the capitalist countries in Asia. As an ally of the U.S, the British government tightened immigration controls between China and Hong Kong. People who took refuge in the city from Chinese Civil War (1945-1949) and the Chinese Communist Party regime had gradually settled in as permanent residents. By the 1970s, a majority of Hong Kong residents were not immigrants but born locally. People have started to identify themselves as Hongkongers rather than Chinese. Such identification has also been reflected in Cantonese popular culture. As a capitalist city, Hongkongers enjoy more civic freedoms and the way of life in Hong Kong is very different from life in China.
The unique economic, social and cultural status of Hong Kong was “codified” by the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and the 1990 Basic Law. And on 1 July 1997, when Britain handed over Hong Kong to China, a young stateless nation called “the Hongkongers” has been attached in the package.
VC: Could you briefly explain the main features of this new Hong Kong’s collective identity and its evolution in the last decade?
BF: In recent years, especially after the mass protest rally against the enactment of national security law in Hong Kong in 2003, Beijing’s efforts to strengthen political control and assimilate the population have helped consolidate the identification of Hong Kong people as Hongkongers rather than Chinese. The more Beijing tries to undermine Hong Kong distinctiveness, rule of law and civic freedoms, the more Hong Kong people resist. And every time you resist, you reinforce your identity. This is why Hong Kong identity is becoming stronger.
VC: How would you explain the generational clash as seen in the latest round of pro-democracy movement triggered by the anti-extradition protests?
BF: Young people have a much stronger sense of Hongkonger identity, which also means a stronger interest in seeing Hong Kong become a fully autonomous territory. Many of those who are now in their 50s and 60s still identify themselves as Chinese or “Hong Kong Chinese”. But starting from my generation, those who are now in their early forties or late thirties, most of us exclusively identify ourselves as Hongkongers.
A clear indicator is how the young people are very actively demanding international support for their cause in order to counteract Chinese influence. The older generations, even if they are pro-democracy, they would have a lot of reservations to internationalize Hong Kong’s opposition movement due to their Chinese identity. But for young people, their top priority is to defend Hong Kong ’s interests.
VC: The Cantonese language is a very important element of this distinctive identity, which is something Hongkongers have in common with other peoples like the Catalans or the Scots. How would you explain the evolution of attitudes towards their own language?
BF: Identity is about distinctiveness. How a group of people is different from another group of people. Young people are more and more eager to highlight the distinctiveness of Hong Kong as opposed to mainland China. In the past, pro-democracy movements had focused on the defense of civic liberties, human rights, etc. in both Hong Kong and mainland China. Now young people combine the defense of core values with local cultural features, like Cantonese language and the use of traditional Chinese characters in writing. There are more and more people concerned with the preservation of Cantonese. Some are devoting their professional lives to promote and even teach Cantonese to foreigners. This is extraordinary, we could have never imagined this 10 years ago.
VC: One main difference with Catalonia is that Hong Kong has never been a sovereign territory, yet it has enjoyed a wide range of autonomous power. What exactly are Hongkongers struggling for?
BF: That’s true. Compared to other stateless nations like [Catalonia], we have extraordinary autonomous power: we have our own government, our legislature, our own currency, our own passport… we can even sign international treaties with any foreign country! But Hong Kong's autonomy has a very big problem: its autonomous powers are not directly exercised by the people of Hong Kong through a representative democratic government. I call it an “undemocratic autonomy”, with a government handpicked by Beijing.
Hong Kong’s autonomy was formally established in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, and later on in 1997 in the Basic Law, the constitutional document for the HKSAR. Both documents were the result of negotiations between former colonial power Great Britain and the PRC, without participation of the Hong Kong people. Because in practice Hong Kong has very extensive autonomous powers, what we have missed so far is democracy, a truly democratic self-government being accountable to the Hongkongers.
VC: The pro-democracy movement has been calling for international support, especially from the U.S. Do you think intervention from a foreign power could make things even more difficult for Hongkongers?
BF: Hong Kong is an interesting case, not only because it is an undemocratic autonomy, but also because of its “internationalized autonomy”, I’d say. Even if Hong Kong’s sovereignty corresponds to China, there are many international interests in Hong Kong. The US has had a strong presence here ever since the Cold War. This is also part of Hong Kong’s singularity as a bridge between the East and the West. Hong Kong’s situation is not a simple central government-peripheral region conflict, it is also a geopolitical conflict.
VC: You have argued that in the coming years we will see more and more US-China confrontations in Hong Kong as a “new Cold War” develops between the two world powers. Could extending HK’s self-government be a way of balancing both powers?
BF: Yes. In order to balance the interests of China, the U.S. and Hong Kong people, the city needs a truly democratic self-government that can represent the interests of Hong Kong people and also understand the complexity of geopolitics. And we also need China and the US to be ready to make concessions and exercise a certain degree of self-restraint when defending their interests in Hong Kong.
VC: Is there hope for democracy in Hong Kong?
BF: I want to believe that Hong Kong will manage to navigate between the two superpowers in this “new Cold War”, this is why Hong Kong is Hong Kong. In the long run, I believe that we Hongkongers should be able to achieve full and democratic autonomy, but the struggle will be long and harsh.

author: Violeta Camarasa


text:
Remains of Trinidad and Tobago’s First Peoples returned to resting place · Global Voices
Jada Steuart

Visiting Surinamese Lokono people (Arawaks) at the reinterment ceremony of the First Peoples’ bones at the Red House in Port of Spain, Trinidad, October 19, 2019. Photo by Maria Nunes, used with permission.
When restoration of Trinidad and Tobago's Red House — the seat of the country's parliament before the building fell into disrepair — began in 2013, construction workers found the bones of as many as 60 Tainos, indigenous islanders. In a long-awaited reinterment ceremony on October 19, 2019, their remains were finally laid to rest once more.
The indigenous people of Trinidad and Tobago are commonly called First Peoples, a term which includes the original inhabitants of the islands prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus and his Spain-funded ships. When the bones were first discovered, construction on the Red House came to a halt so that a full archaeological excavation could take place. The process eventually confirmed that the bones belonged to approximately 60 ancestors, believed to be 47 adults and 13 children. Investigations — which included radiocarbon dating — revealed that these ancestors had lived on the island between the estimated dates of 125 and 1395 AD.
The remains and artefacts of 60 Amerindian ancestors, which were reinterred at a ceremony in Port of Spain, Trinidad, October 19, 2019. Photo by Maria Nunes, used with permission.
This revelation was quite significant to photographer Maria Nunes, who captured images of the reinterment. In a Facebook update, she noted:
[T]he remains are pre-Columbian […] This reveals to us that our capital city of Port of Spain today was a place of human community for close to 1,500 years before the first Spanish contact in 1492.
Indeed, the discovery confirmed that life and settlements had been thriving in the country's current capital, Port of Spain, for over 1,000 years.
For the First Peoples community, it was a reclamation of an important piece of their past. At the reinterment ceremony, the Santa Rosa First Peoples’ Chief, Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez, said it was a way for their ancestors to speak to them and a moment to properly commemorate their dead:
Some may look at this ceremony as something that does not matter, neither important nor significant. But just as most of us treat our dead with respect, and use the appropriate rituals in their own tradition, we feel very strongly that the remains of our ancestors should be respected and treated likewise.
Chief Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez conducts a sacred ritual to lay the bones of the First Peoples’ ancestors to rest at the Red House in Port of Spain, October 19, 2019. Photo by Maria Nunes, used with permission.
Of the ceremony itself, he said that it was significant not just because it allowed the remains to be put back where they were found, but because it acted as a moment to shine a light on the struggles of the First Peoples community, which has not always been afforded the recognition and respect that it is due.
Local members of the First Peoples community, as well as Taino representatives from other Caribbean, South and Central American territories, including Dominica, Guatemala, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela, were present for the reinterment. Government officials and media also witnessed the ceremony.
A member of the visiting Surinamese Lokono contingent plays a flute at the reinterment ceremony on October 19, 2019, in Port of Spain. Photo by Maria Nunes, used with permission.
In a Facebook Live of the event by university lecturer Rhoda Bharath, it is evident the descendants of the First Peoples played a vital role in the ceremony. Their chief called on the “Great Spirits” for guidance and to sanctify the area where the remains were being placed, after which each representative made his own call or offering to the dead. Rituals included singing, often to the accompaniment of indigenous instruments like the shak shak, drums and flutes. Various members of the community performed their own rituals and offerings before the remains were buried.
Many netizens were moved by the ceremony, which they saw as a historical moment in the country's history and a chance to show due respect to the descendants of the islands’ indigenous people.
On social media, posts containing photos and videos of the ceremony were flooded with likes and comments about how emotive the observance was:
Many citizens are unaware that (human) remains of the ancestors of Trinidad’s indigenous First People were discovered while renovating The Red House -its one of the reasons it’s taken so long. Their remains are being buried today. So touching.
— Kris⭐ (@KrisClarkie) October 19, 2019
Facebook user and First Peoples descendant Dale Orosco added:
By looking at these images there is a feeling that can't be expressed with words, thoughts of my forefathers long gone, the stories told by grandpa of his forefathers that is us [.] It pains me to the core, it also gives the feeling of relief that our people who [were] disturbed from sleep are finally given peace again.
The proposed design for the monument to the country's First Peoples, to be installed at the site. Photo by Maria Nunes, used with permission.
Fayola Rudder shared a similar sentiment:
Finally respect for the first people on whose shoulders we stand […]
Chief Hernandez thanked the government for fulfilling its promise to keep the bones at the Red House, and for the monument dedicated to the indigenous people of Trinidad and Tobago on the site.
He also announced that he and the Santa Rosa First Peoples community may advocate for an annual public holiday honouring the First Peoples. Despite originally being against it because of the already high number of national holidays in Trinidad and Tobago, he said the community — and its opinion on the issue — was evolving.

author: Jada Steuart


text:
How football-mad Cameroon is lifting up the sport in the country · Global Voices
Ekonde Daniel

Cameroonian Football League at Limbe Stadium, Limbe, Cameroon, 2019. Photo by Ekonde Daniel, used with permission.
Cameroon will host two big football events in the next two years: the 2020 African Nations Championship (a tournament restricted to African players playing in their domestic leagues) and the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Yet, the country’s domestic football leagues have seen years of regression and neglect.
The central African nation won the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon (its fifth title), but at the moment, it can only show off its international selections. The country’s league football has ground to a halt due to a lack of sponsorship and the constant migration of its players to North Africa or Europe.
Women’s football is semi-functional and youth football is a luxury.
However, the country’s football authority, the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) has decided to restructure the men's and women's senior leagues and create a youth league for the first time.
Seidou Mbombo Njoya, président of Fecafoot, tweets:
We have started a great project to rebuild our football and there is a lot to be done on all fronts. We must stay focused on our goals in order to succeed.@FecafootOfficie @CAF_Online@FIFAcom#Football #Passion
— Seidou Mbombo Njoya (@MbomboSeidou) October 17, 2019
League 1 game pit Union of Douala against Colombe of the Dja and Lobo at Limbe Stadium in Limbe, Cameroon, in 2019. Photo by Ekonde Daniel, used with permission.
In late August, Fecafoot held off on the activities of the Cameroon Professional Football League, a body organizing the country’s first and second division championships, over repeated breaches of its own statutes.
The following month, the Cameroonian Football Association created an interim body to manage the leagues for two years.
Njoya, Fecafoot president, told BBC in September that he wants to attract new sponsors and ensure credibility in the running of football. Njoya, who became the president early this year, explained:
We had to step in to save local football that is in a desolate state now. Our championship is far from being glamorous and the most glaring example is the poor performance of Cameroonian clubs in continental competitions…
… The league can’t account for state and Fecafoot money handed out to them and the two main sponsors of the domestic championships have left. We feel things can be done better and that’s what we’re trying to change.
In the 1970s and 80s, Cameroonian giant Canon Yaoundé dominated Africa’s elite club competition, the Caf Champions League, and won three titles between 1971 and 1980.
Today, the closest the country has gone is the final level, when Coton Sport lost the 2008 finale to Egypt’s Al Ahly.
Yannick, a football fan in the town of Buea, southwestern Cameroon, says he used to relish the country’s giants Canon Yaoundé and Tiko United when they clashed in western Cameroon. Yannick, who requested not to share his last name, said he was optimistic that Fecafoot can relive the memories. On October 16, he told Global Voices:
I used to watch Tiko United host Canon here in Tiko [a town in Cameroon’s western coast]. People will gather around the stadium to watch entertaining football but we don’t have that now because the organization is poor. The move by Fecafoot is good – hopefully it brings football back.
The federation promised to pay monthly salaries of 18 players in each club, to help teams who can’t meet their financial demands, which they announced at a press conference in Yaoundé this month.
Despite hosting the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations three years ago, Cameroon only restructured its women’s league this year, amid calls for the sport’s improvement after an embarrassing World Cup loss to England in June in France.
A transitional committee was created by Fecafoot to rearrange and oversee the league for two years.
After June's World Cup meltdown against England, #Cameroon launched a restructured Women's Football League yesterday.
Canon Filles brushed aside Vision Sports 5-2 in the inaugural game in Ydé.
Pray @FecafootOfficie broadens the platform for women. pic.twitter.com/tTzuLZwBxX
— ekondedaniel (@ekondedaniel4) October 19, 2019
“This is a historic day because one of our [campaign] promises was to set up the Women’s Football League and today we have done it. Women’s football today as you know is one of the most important events of the century and we want to give it all the attention it deserves,” Njoya told local media on September 9 while installing the committee.
The female competition started this October.
The central African nation’s Under-17 [U-17] football team are champions of Africa after winning the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations this year in Tanzania and are in Brazil for the global event starting late October.
The new President of the Youth Football Ligue Gilbert Kadji outlines the main points of his action plan.#YouthFootballLeague @CAF_Online @FIFAcom pic.twitter.com/eJv3RF1JUH
— Fecafoot-Officiel (@FecafootOfficie) October 16, 2019
But youth football had never been a national priority, until Wednesday, October 16, when the federation decided to set up a youth football team, during its executive committee meeting in the country’s capital, Yaoundé.
The league is expected to kick-off at the end of November with the former president of FC Sion Swiss club, Gilbert Kadji, voted president.
“I am very proud, but it’s a big challenge because youth football is not only to prepare those who will be professionals in the future…it’s also to make the maximum of young Cameroonians who want to play football, love to play football. And tomorrow they will be those to help the federation,” he told media outlet Kick442.
As the men’s and women’s senior leagues begin this month, many want to see Fecafoot change. Epie, a former local league supporter who requested not to share his last name, says he's now a staunch Manchester United fan but will be following Cameroon's developments closely. He told Global Voices on Friday, October 18:
I don’t [usually] follow local football again because the organization is poor; players don’t play with zeal as we see on our TV screens in Europe. More to that, the organizers are not serious.

author: Ekonde Daniel


text:
Mexican feminist groups fight for the right to stay safe online · Global Voices
Mercedes Matz

On September 28, 2019, in Mexico City, feminist groups held a demonstration for the approval of the Olimpia Law, which penalizes with jail and fines the dissemination of erotic or sexual content without consent. Photograph by the author, CC-BY 3.0.
In 2014, Olimpia Coral Melo Cruz, then 18 years old, recorded a sex video with her boyfriend. Days later, the video was shared online without her consent, and it was seen by her neighbors, acquaintances, relatives, and friends in her community of Huauchinango, in the state of Puebla, Mexico.
The activist told the BBC in Spanish that everyone in her community was talking about her and the video. “Olimpia locked herself in her house for eight months and attempted suicide three times,” the website writes.
After going through a difficult depression, Olimpia regained her strength to stand up and defend her right to freely enjoy her sexuality. But when she decided to report the incident, the authorities said that there was no crime to prosecute, since there was no law or code that punishes digital violence against women.
For the last five years, with the support of feminist groups and organizations, Olimpia has been fighting to promote reforms to make the non-consensual dissemination of sexual or intimate content a punishable crime.
The initiative has become known as #LeyOlimpia (#OlimpiaLaw) and has already been approved in 12 of the 32 states of Mexico, including Puebla. According to the Criminal Code of this state, “it is punishable to disclose, distribute, publish or request without consent an image, whether printed, recorded or digital, with sexual erotic content of a partially or totally naked person.” The penalties range from three to six years in prison and a fine.
The Facebook page of the National Sorority Front has an information campaign on how women can be safe online.
A similar law is yet to be approved in Mexico City, but a bill has been submitted to the local Congress and the legislative process has begun. On September 28, activists and various organizations have taken to the streets in the capital to gather signatures in favor of the law. Over the past months, activists have also used the hashtag #LoVirtualEsReal (“the virtual is real”) to talk about digital gender-based violence.
As spokeswoman for the National Sorority Front, Olimpia has traveled the country to promote the law that seeks to make visible the violence experienced by women in the virtual space. “They don't need to penetrate us in order to rape us through the digital spaces,” she said during her recent participation in the Legal March for the Legalization of Abortion, in the Zocalo square in Mexico City.
“No woman or girl who has been exhibited online wanted to be exposed like this,” she said.
Mensaje de @OlimpiaCMujer durante marcha por #AbortoLegalParaTodoMexico pic.twitter.com/HXXtTiwjov
— Mrcds (@abraxas_m) September 29, 2019
Message from @OlimpiaCWoman during the #LegalAbortionForEveryoneMexico march
According to the Digital Defenders of the National Sorority Front, the dissemination of sexual or intimate images and videos of the victims has consequences: “isolation, rejection in the social context, fear, social maladjustment, persecution syndrome, trauma, critical despair that can lead a person to depression, low self-esteem, physical and emotional imbalances and, in some cases, suicide.”
Photograph from the Facebook page of the National Sorority Front. Used with permission.
Although many survivors leave the digital space after being exposed, their physical environment, such as their school, family, and work, is also affected.
Finally, the Report on Online Violence against Women in Mexico written by the Luchadoras.mx collective warns that young women, aged 18 to 30, are the most vulnerable in digital spaces. However, the collective says that a detailed statistical record on the scale and characteristics of digital violence is still needed.

author: Mercedes Matz


text:
Mozambican journalists and activists targeted with threats in election year · Global Voices
Dércio Tsandzana

2019 elections posters in Mozambique. Photo by the author, used with permission.
On October 15, Mozambicans cast ballots for president, parliament and provincial governors in the sixth general election held in the country since the multiparty constitution was approved in 1992.
Contested elections
The main opposition party RENAMO, as it has done at every poll since 1994, has rejected the results. It accuses FRELIMO of defrauding the ballots. The government denies this.
Meanwhile, missions by the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa and the European Union highlighted irregularities in the voter registry and condemned the violence it says marred the campaign season.
However, observatory missions by the African Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries and the Southern Africa Development Community have jointly declared that the election was conducted in an “orderly and peaceful fashion” and “in accordance with international standards,” positing that incidents of violence were “isolated” and “did not compromise the integrity of the process.”
Partial results show President Filip Nyusi headed for reelection with over 75% of the vote. His FRELIMO party, which ruled Mozambique since 1992, is expected to obtain two-thirds of the seats in the unicameral legislative and to elect all 10 provincial governors.
In this election year, human rights organizations documented several cases in which journalists and activists were threatened and subjected to pressures interfering with their work, including threats that were sent via SMS.
One day before the elections, community radio association FORCOM said on Twitter that one of its journalists, Naldo Chivite, received a threatening SMS.‘’Chivite, you must have attention about what you will say on Tuesday [election day]. You have talked too much about the Nampula [a province in northeastern Mozambique] elections and we've accepted it. Be careful,’’ the message read, according to FORCOM.
In a press release, the association said that they filed a police report and requested protection for the journalist, adding that threats such as those violate the right to freedom of expression.
Global Voices spoke with Chivite, who said he suspected the threat was sent by members of a political party, without specifying which one. He added that he received similar threats during the 2014 elections.
Established in 2004, FORCOM is the national forum of community broadcasters in Mozambique. It has 45 community radios from across Mozambique as members.
Another case involved Tomé Balança, a broadcaster at Radio Chuabo FM. According to the radio's director Zito Ossumane, unknown persons broke into Balança's home on election day, ”torturing him and threatening him with death,” Ossumane said on Twitter. Ossumane himself said he has received threatening calls on election day:
Antecede a isso varias chamadas que eu próprio recebi enquanto gestor do canal para interromper a transmissão e paralisar os trabalhos na redação que alimentava minuto a minuto os sites do @Jornal_Txopela e da @ChuaboFm
— Zito do Rosário Ossumane (@Zitodorosario) October 17, 2019
This is preceded by several calls which I received as media manager to stop the broadcasting and stop working to @Jornal_Txopela and @ChuaboFm websites during the election day.
On January 18, Fátima Mimbire, activist and former employee of the Center of Public Integrity (CIP) received intimidating messages and death threats through social media. CIP is a civil society organization that helps with electoral observation in Mozambique.
According to Amnesty, ‘’known FRELIMO militants had been advocating violence against her on social media.’’ Member of parliament Alice Tomás called for her to be raped at that time: ‘’She talks a lot and must be raped by 10 strong and energetic men to teach her a lesson,’’ the MP said on Facebook.
These types of threats, particularly via SMS and social media, are not unprecedented in Mozambique.
During last year’s municipal elections, several journalists, media organizations and human rights defenders received threatening messages for publishing live election results and because of their role in monitoring the poll, Amnesty said. In Tete province, Aparicio Jose de Nascimento, editor of the weekly Malacha newspaper received death threats for publishing the electoral results online.
According to MISA-Mozambique in Tete, the threats, which were circulated via WhatsApp, forced the journalist to take refuge in an unknown place. The journalist started receiving threats in the morning of October 11, 2018 when his newspaper published municipal election results in Moatize that showed the main opposition party winning.
He told Global Voices that he was warned by people close to him that information was circulating in a private WhatsApp group that he should be kidnapped.
In previous elections, mobile and internet connections were key tools for election monitoring efforts in Mozambique. Citizen observers have used their cameras to document any issues or irregularities on election day to contribute to the transparency of the voting process.
Unlike some of its neighboring countries, Mozambique does not have a record of restricting access to networks at times of elections and political upheavals. For example, Malawi partially shut down the internet and social media during the counting after the May 21 vote, while in January Zimbabwe restricted access to social media, and entire networks in certain areas of the country, in response to anti-government protests.
However, threats, whether online or via SMS and calls, represent a gross violation of Mozambicans’ rights to access information and expression. They contribute to an environment of fear and intimidation for journalists and activists to do their work without interference at a time when the public needs credible reporting.
This article is part of a series of posts examining interference with digital rights through methods such as network shutdowns and disinformation during key political events in seven African countries: Algeria, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The project is funded by the Africa Digital Rights Fund of The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA).

author: Dércio Tsandzana


text:
Nigerian journalist under threat of arrest for exposé of police and prison corruption · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

‘Fisayo Soyombo, image from Facebook.
Investigative journalist ‘Fisayo Soyombo is at risk of arrest for an undercover inquiry he conducted in July this year, that revealed corruption in Nigeria's justice system — particularly among the police and prison service.
The Nigerian Guardian newspaper reports that Soyombo was “to be arrested at the venue” of a workshop where he was scheduled to speak on October 22 in Lagos, the economic capital of Nigeria. He got a tip-off about the impending arrest which made him withdraw from the event. Consequently, Soyombo has “has gone underground” after fleeing his residence on October 21.
So @fisayosoyombo has been forced to pull out of an event he was scheduled to speak at this evening because he got tipped off that the authorities want to arrest him for his stories on our prisons.
Part 3 of #CashAndCarryPrison isn't out yet…
— Chxta (@Chxta) October 22, 2019
Adopting the pseudonym Ojo Olajumoke, Soyombo plotted his own arrest and detention to expose corruption in the justice system. He committed  an ‘offence’ which got him arrested, detained, charged to court and remanded in prison. The feigned offense was committed in November 2018, when Soyombo purchased a car worth 2.8 million naira [about US$ 8,000] for which he paid a cash deposit of 300,000 naira [about US$ 800]. But after this payment, Soyombo began to avoid the person who sold the car to him. The car owner reported to the police and this lead to the arrest of Soyombo on July 8.
With the purported offence and consequent arrest, Soyombo had the opportunity to investigate the police and prison from within.
This award-winning journalist documented his experiences during the five days spent in police custody and eight spent as an inmate of Ikoyi Prison, Lagos. This exposed monumental corruption by the Nigerian police and the officers of the Nigerian Prison Service (recently renamed as the Nigerian Correctional Service).
In Part I of his story, which was simultaneously published on October 14 in the two online newspapers, CableNG and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Soyombo explained how he exposed corruption in the country's justice system:
Of course they didn’t know I was a journalist; I had assumed a pseudonym and grown my hair long enough — for 10 months — to blend with artificial dreads. My locks were tinted in gold and almost all my facial hair removed. I cut the profile of the kind of youth the police indiscriminately railroad into their notoriously ramshackle vans for no reason, for onward transfer to their cells. One look at me and the typical policeman would have mistaken me for a compulsive hemp smoker, an incorrigible internet fraudster or a serial drug abuser.
Part II of Soyombo investigation, published a week later October 21, exposed the “drug abuse, sodomy, bribery, pimping…” and the corruption in Ikoyi Prisons, Lagos, Nigeria:
Seeing the lack of restraint with which they discuss acts of bribery and corruption, I approach them for guidance on the allocation of accommodation in prison. Apparently, it’s a high-wire fraud involving prison officials in court and those in the yard proper. “You can get a cell for N30,000 [naira]” [US$ 83], one of the warders tells me. “You can also get for N100,000 [US$ 277] or N150,000 [US$ 417]. You can even get a N1.5million [US$ 4,170] cell.”
“A million and five hundred thousand? [naira]” I protest…
Another warder cuts in. “Don’t worry, you can never suffer in the prison yard,” he says. “As long as you have your money.”
In the Part III published on October 23, Soyombo recounts how he shared the same cell with a ‘mad’ inmate and the varied reactions of prison officials when his true “identity” as an undercover journalist was unraveled:
Over the course of my seven days in prison, it was, quite simply, too easy for me to separate the corrupt warders, who were in the majority, from the clean ones. The corrupt ones were usually pensive and jittery whenever they came in contact with me, and they were the ones who were most vicious during the initial attempt to unravel my identity. I could see the apprehension in the eyes of two of those filmed demanding and receiving bribes from me in court. The corrupt ones in the prison yard who didn’t appear in the videos were nevertheless furious, knowing it could have been them as well. The blameless ones wanted to know my mission quite alright, but they were calm and civil with me. No violence; their strategy was to engage with me and look out for any loopholes in my answers. Fair enough.
Soyombo if arrested, will be charged under Section 29 of the Nigeria Correctional Service Act [Subsection 1 (d)] for possessing and using “communication devices” within the prison to record “conversation through a mobile phone or other devices” without authorization. If convicted, he risks a fine not exceeding 2 million naira [about US$5,500], two years imprisonment or both.
Nigerians online are angry with the news with a hashtag #KeepFisayoSafe trending on Twitter.
Chris Akor, former chairman of the editorial board of Nigeria's BusinessDay newspaper stated that journalism was Soyombo's “life passion”:
Fisayo, since his student days, have been a passionate journalist — and that turned out to be his life passion. We pray for his safety! https://t.co/Kww14ZaEpw
— Chris Akor (@krissakor) October 22, 2019
“A sad day” for a journalist to be hauled to jail for exposing societal “rot”, activist Chioma Agwuegbo lamented:
It's a sad day when journalists are hauled into jail for exposing the rot in society. @fisayosoyombo should be feted & his reports used to expunge the corrupt amongst us but it seems it is easier to shut him up than to do right by Nigeria.#KeepFisayoSafe#JournalismIsNotACrime
— Chioma Agwuegbo (@ChiomaChuka) October 22, 2019
And rather than praises, the journalist is now “hiding of his life”:
Someone goes undercover, exposes a rot, and the next logical reaction is to find him and teach him a lesson. Is this how to go forward? @fisayosoyombo should not be hiding for his life but is now having to because of credible threats. #journalismisnotacrime #keepFisayosafe
— Lolade Nwanze (@LoladeSowoolu) October 22, 2019
The Enough is Enough (EiE) movement, a youth-led coalition promoting good governance and citizen engagement in Nigeria, urged the Nigerian government to “guarantee” Soyombo's safety:
According to information received, the personal safety of the investigative journalist, @fisayosoyombo may be under threat.
We urge the @NigeriaGov to guarantee his safety.#PressFreedom#KeepFisayoSafe#CashAnCarry pic.twitter.com/QeQC3gMaZD
— EiE Nigeria (@EiENigeria) October 22, 2019
“You cannot silence the media,” Kiki Mordi, who led a BBC investigation into sexual harassment in West African universities tweeted her support to Fisayo:
#JournalismNoBeCrime
Nigeria needs to stop her constant muzzling of the press! YOU CAN NOT SILENCE THE MEDIA!
We ask that our journalists go above and beyond to cover the news, and when they do they're targeted and victimised!
It is our collective DUTY to #KeepFisayoSafe
— Kiki Mordi (@kikimordi) October 22, 2019
Netizen Chuba Ugwu said Soyombo became a target for exposing an “irredeemably rotten criminal justice system”:
#keepfisayosafe is actually trending on Twitter.
A young journalist spent months, risking life and limb, to expose what is now looking like the most corrupt and irredeemably rotten criminal justice system in the world!@fisayosoyombo is now a target.
— Chuba Ugwu (@chonsyy) October 22, 2019
The intimidation of Soyombo exemplifies the precarious state of press freedom and free speech in Nigeria. From Jones Abiri to Omoyele Sowore to Agba Jalingo; the Nigerian government has flagrantly clamped down on journalists and dissenting voices.
The head of Nigeria's Prison Service, Ja’afaru Ahmed has set up an investigative panel to “establish the authenticity” of Soyombo's exposé, “and bring the culprits to book if found guilty of the allegations”. He also denied any plans of “arresting or harassing” Soyombo.

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


text:
Albanians angry at EU’s failure to open accession talks–but for PM sun ‘still shining’ · Global Voices
Ardi Pulaj

Flags of Albania and the EU in Gjirokastra, Albania photographed in July 2006 by Flickr user Nomad Tales, CC BY-NC-ND.
The European Union (EU) has failed to open accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia in a blow to pro-EU politicians in the small Western Balkan nations.
In meetings that took place over the week ending on October 19, French President Emmanuel Macron led a small number of member states in blocking the launch of membership talks with the two hopeful countries. Macron was joined by Denmark and the Netherlands in refusing Albania but France alone rejected North Macedonia. New membership talks require approval by all EU member states.
The lack of agreement was received negatively not only by politicians and the public in Albania and North Macedonia, but also by bureaucrats in Brussels.
The head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU, Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU was making a “major historic mistake”, while EU Council President Donald Tusk stressed that Albania and North Macedonia weren’t at fault.
I would like to send a message to our Macedonian and Albanian friends: don’t give up! You did your share and we didn’t. But I have absolutely no doubt that you will become full members of the European Union.https://t.co/8G5z2NjHPr pic.twitter.com/xgTjKS0HML
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) October 18, 2019
Albania is engulfed in a political crisis since February 2019, when an investigation by Voice of America and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network alleged government officials collaborated with criminal gangs in a vote-buying scheme in the 2017 elections. Opposition MPs renounced their mandates and took to the streets to demand Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign and the creation of a transitional government to oversee fresh parliamentary elections.
Comprised by the Democratic Party and the Socialist Movement for Integration, the opposition has blamed Rama for the EU's failure in starting entry talks. They urged Rama to follow on the steps of North Macedonia, where Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced snap elections shortly after the EU's decision last week.
#Albania opposition blames PM of failure to open #EU entry talks, urges for early electionhttps://t.co/r75Ac1lFJO#LulzimBasha #MonikaKryemadhi #EdiRama pic.twitter.com/18nco5Et5Q
— DTT-NET English (@dtt_net_english) October 21, 2019
PM Rama clarified that accession talks failed because of internal issues in the EU, and not because Albania failed to meet the required conditions. “There will be a series of communications with the French president and the other member countries in order to better understand the progress with this process”, Rama said.
But he also downplayed the consequences of the EU's decision when he said: “As you see, the sun is still shining, the bright day goes on.”
Rama: New communications with Macron
https://t.co/V5rOXXupbO
— Top Channel English (@topchannel_eng) October 21, 2019
Indeed, Albanians, as well as others in the Western Balkans, weren’t that happy on Twitter:
EU leaders' decision not to open membership talks with Albania ?? and North Macedonia ?? is a fundamental mistake and discouraging for reforms. However, both must remain focused on strengthening the rule of law, fighting corruption and organised crime. https://t.co/8FsbTu6c97
— Andi Hoxhaj (@Andi_Hoxhaj) October 18, 2019
This is the bigest mistake that #EU has made over this years, Albania is a reforming country who more than ever needed this decission to be positive soo they could have an hand over their shoulders to reform in a faster way. #disapointed @JHahnEU https://t.co/AWIiywQUo5
— Julian Hima (@HimaJulian) October 18, 2019
Others were firm in saying that EU integration is “the only path” for Albania.
Albania today need a Pact to Europe, to meet Bundestag conditions and to continue its reforms. Perhaps we will be more ready when the negotiations will be discussed again next year before Zagreb summit, May 2020. EU integration is the only path for ?? #Albania4EU
— Anisa Braho (@AnisaBraho) October 18, 2019

author: Ardi Pulaj


text:
Kanye West’s use of Jamaican symbols sparks national dialogue on ‘branding’ · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

Kanye West performs at The Museum of Modern Art's annual Party in the Garden benefit, New York City, May 10, 2011. Photo by Jason Persse, CC BY-SA 2.0.
American rapper Kanye West brought his “Sunday Service” pop-up concert to Kingston, Jamaica, at the start of its National Heroes Day holiday weekend (October 19-21, 2019). This was the first time the rapper had taken his huge gospel choir outside the United States, reportedly at the request of a Jamaican member of his staff. However, the event was besieged with criticism from the outset, culminating with West's unapproved use of Jamaican emblems on merchandise being sold on his website.
With just two days’ notice, the free concert took place at Emancipation Park in Kingston, the capital city — a location that jarred some commentators because of controversial comments West had made about slavery during a media interview in May 2018. The park was opened in 2002 in honour of the “full freedom” of 300,000 slaves in Jamaica on August 1, 1838.
That may have been the first bone of contention around the concert, but it was not the last. Even as Culture Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange responded to early criticism by saying the country was benefitting from the concert, one music promoter felt the show, which was livestreamed on the Sunday Service website, “upstaged” other cultural activities over Heroes Day weekend.
In addition, Kingston residents, who suffered unusually heavy traffic flows throughout the week, predicted chaos and confusion during the evening rush hour. Nevertheless, the concert went smoothly, several thousand Jamaicans  enjoyed the show and Jamaican media companies earned online kudos for their flawless production:
As someone who is no fan of Mr. West but always supportive of anything that boosts my country I tuned in on the live stream and I never turned it off…largely due to the production of the #SundayServiceJa….so you should be well proud of what was a first rate production.
— Denise Miller ?? (@IrieDame) October 19, 2019
But there was another fly in the ointment. The Sunday Service group all wore T-shirts and baseball caps emblazoned with Jamaica’s national symbols. Soon after the concert, Jamaica-themed merchandise appeared in the Sunday Service online store — provoking immediate concern.
Many Jamaicans reacted angrily:
#SundayServiceJa Can't stop laughing so can't stop tweeting Free concert? How many of u idiots will be buyin ugly overpriced clothes w/ur own country's emblem used w/o permission like it's no big deal? Gd thing God turns away no one cuz ppl r selling themselves now for sure.
— StalkerWalkers (@stalker_walkers) October 20, 2019
Another tweeted a common complaint — that Jamaica has a habit of “selling out” its identity to foreigners:
So they really sold out our Jamaican heritage for a free concert. Jamaican leadership keeps allowing outsiders to take advantage ?#SundayServiceJa #KanyeWestSundayService #kanye pic.twitter.com/QbA0ZygTmO
— Detective Sasha ?? (@OneDonSasha1) October 19, 2019
Minister Grange responded quickly, asking for the items to be taken down. She noted:
We neither received a request for nor did we give permission for our national symbols and emblems to be used for a commercial manner or otherwise.
I have since requested that the items be withdrawn and the vendor has agreed to do so.
However, grey areas remain. As the minister confirmed in the second part of her statement, the government’s review of how to manage proper use of national emblems was put on hold when the government changed in 2011 — but now, she says, she has been “granted permission to reestablish the committee and to continue the work”.
The Office of the Prime Minister currently specifies six national symbols that cannot be used without its permission and for which a fee may be charged.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Kingston rejected claims by the opposition People’s National Party that the city’s emblem was misused:
As shown on the @JISNews website… The first image below is the Jamaican Coat of Arms… The Image beside it (credit: @cevancoore) is from the Sunday Service showing the shirt worn by Kanye West and his choir. The crests differ. pic.twitter.com/tQrUdBqVcl
— Delroy Williams (@MayorWilliamsJA) October 21, 2019
Online discussion about the significance of national symbols was rife:
Wouldn't you say they're not “trademarks” in a legal sense but rather an attempt to manifest our collective identity? That's one of the reasons there's been a debate abt including the Taino in the CoatofArms. I think we get a lot of insight into our history by meditating on them
— Peta-Anne Baker (@PA13Baker) October 21, 2019
One lawyer pointed out that the symbols are not actually “trademarks”:
I support GOJ (for doing their job). We aren't allowed to trademark national symbols and so people need permission from OPM for co-branding.
— Grace Lindo (@gracelindo_) October 20, 2019
She added that some of the merchandise with symbols was allowed to remain, as those images were not protected:
The coat of arms and the doctor bird hummingbird are protected. The bird which is on a T-shirt on KW's site is not our hummingbird and he can freely use it.
— Grace Lindo (@gracelindo_) October 21, 2019
At the end of the show, T-shirts were thrown into the crowd; one concertgoer figured he may have a collector’s item on his hands:
While people still mad, i like my sweater lol #SundayServiceJa pic.twitter.com/gUL3dxpBcx
— Andrew Brown (@drewpuddy) October 19, 2019
On Facebook, “The Artful Blogger” observed:
Word on the street is that there may be a move by [Sunday Service] to seek patent/ownership rights on the Kingston, Jamaica logos as well as […] the fabled streamer-tailed humming bird. I have done a fair amount of online searches for information to corroborate the claim without luck but have come across their online release of merchandise bearing these landmark symbols, which coincided with the concert…
Jamaica’s reality is that successive political administrations have never fully appreciated the economic value of the brand ‘Jamaica’ nor the symbols that [represent] that brand including its flag and its coat of arms […] The same is true for our music and its associated brand marks, Ska, Mento, Rock Steady, Reggae among others.
That Jamaica was blindsided by the release of clothing bearing the island’s important symbols is a classic case of guerilla marketing. Having a concert to promote the line at the historic Emancipation Park provides tacit assent of not only the line of garments by the government and people of Jamaica, but also of the use of the country’s national symbols in their creation.
I have noticed that there is now hurried pushback by the Ministry of Culture as well as from the Mayor of Kingston. Both should realize that this isn’t a bottle that will be easy to re-cork.
I hope that the government has good lawyers.
Indeed, lawyers may still have quite a bit of work to do to untangle the confusion surrounding the use of Jamaica's national symbols.

author: Emma Lewis


text:
Portuguese rapper causes controversy for portraying domestic violence in music video · Global Voices
Dércio Tsandzana

The Portuguese rapper Valete. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Valete, a Portuguese rapper of Santomean origin currently living in Lisbon, has faced many criticisms after releasing a video that shows a scene of domestic violence.
The music video for “B.F.F”, released on August 30, shows an armed man violently threatening his partner and her lover. On Valete's YouTube channel, the video has over a million views.
Dozens of women's rights associations in Portugal signed an open letter to Valete criticising what they said was a trivialisation of domestic violence. The letter says:
A violência contra as mulheres não é arte nem cultura. A reprodução clara de misoginia e a banalização da violência contra as mulheres não podem ser cronicamente escudadas na criação artística.
Violence against women is not art or culture. The clear reproduction of misogyny and the trivialization of violence against women cannot be routinely hidden behind artistic creation.
According to the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV), which provides support to families of victims of violence in Portugal, of 28 cases of attempted murder in 2018, 11 were committed by the victim's partner or former partner.
Facing criticism, Valete published a video reply rebuffing his critics, who he calls “bourgeois feminists who do not go to Lisbon’s suburbs to get to know the lives of the women who live there.”
To the newspaper Público, Valete called the controversy “empty,” created by “a small group of popstar feminists,” and claims his artistic freedom as a creator. “If I showed the same thing in a book or a film, there would be no problem.”
Valete is the artistic name of Keidje Torres Lima, 37 years old. He started his musical career in 1997, having released two albums and made several appearances in albums of other lusophone hip-hop artists.
The controversy provoked reactions from women on social media. On her Facebook page, the Portuguese activist Marta Sousa e Silva criticized the video, and also showed support for the musician’s artistic freedom:
Tive dois pensamentos quando vi o vídeoclipe. O primeiro foi “está mesmo bem executado e representado”. O segundo foi “não me apetece ouvir isto duas vezes”.
Fiquei desiludida. Reparem: Entendo o exercício artístico. Entendo que esta música é a representação de uma narrativa, não um apoio à situação descrita.
Mas a verdade é que foi um exercício que por si só trouxe ZERO à discussão da violência de género em Portugal. Isto porque essa narrativa já nós conhecemos bem. Não é nada de novo. É a narrativa dominante. É a narrativa que traduz o que já foi até lei, há menos do que 50 anos atrás. Do valete esperaria a narrativa anti-sistema e não a vigente.
Posto isto, faz sentido censurar a música? Não, porra. Claro que não faz. Faz tanto sentido quanto dizer que quem com ela se ofende é porque é feminista burguês, parvo, da aldeia, ou quer ganhar dinheiro.
É que no final, e ao contrário do que achava, o exercício artístico até abriu possibilidade de discussão. Gerou fricção, conflito, e é na resolução das fricções e conflitos que desconstruimos estruturas falsas e construímos bases mais sólidas. Infelizmente, não é isso que se está a passar.
I had two thoughts when I saw the video. The first was “it's really well made and performed”. The second was “I don't feel like hearing this twice”.
I was disappointed. Look: I understand the artistic exercise. I understand that this song is the representation of a narrative, not an endorsement of the situation described.
But the truth is that it was an exercise that in itself brought ZERO to the discussion of gender violence in Portugal. This is because we already know this narrative well. It's nothing new. It's the dominant narrative. It's the narrative that reflects what was once the law, less than 50 years ago. From Valete I would expect an anti-system narrative and not the current one.
Having said that, does it make sense to censor the music? No, dammit. Of course it doesn't. It makes as much sense as saying that whoever is offended by it is because they're a bourgeois, foolish, village feminist, or wants to make money.
In the end, and contrary to what I had thought, the artistic exercise even opened up the possibility of discussion. It generated friction, conflict, and it is in the resolution of frictions and conflicts that we deconstruct false structures and build more solid foundations. Unfortunately, that is not what is happening.
Other reactions came from Mozambique, one of them from Capito Semente, who said he did not see anything controversial in the video:
Assisti o vídeo BFF de Valete várias vezes. Não entendo o porque de tanta agitação das feministas com a suposta incitação a violência contra as Mulheres!
Cenas fortes como as que aparecem no vídeo são muito comum em filmes que retratam a violência doméstica. Curiosamente, as mesmas feministas que criticam o vídeo apoiam-se em cenas idênticas de outros vídeos para conscientizar as pessoas a não optar por actos de violência nos seus lares. O que acharam de tão grave no vídeo da música do Valete?
I watched Valete’s BFF video several times. I don't understand the reason why the feminists are so agitated about the supposed incitement to violence against women!
Striking scenes such as those that appear in the video are very common in films that portray domestic violence. Interestingly, the same feminists who criticize the video rely on identical scenes from other videos to raise awareness about not committing acts of violence in their homes. What do they think is so bad about Valete’s music video?
The Mozambican researcher Boa Monjane, who says he supports feminism, says he is in solidarity with Valete because although he was shocked by the video, he thinks that there is a racist exploitation of the case:
Eu sou dos que se decepcionou com a música e vídeo BFF de Valete.
Agora, daí a aproveitar-se da situação para exalar ódio, preconceito e ataques (de todos os tipos) faz-me solidarizar-me com ele, enquanto sujeito negro.
Assumo as consequências!!!
I'm one of those who was disappointed with Valete’s song BFF and the video.
Now, from the point the situation was taken advantage of to spread hatred, prejudice and attacks (of all kinds) it makes me sympathize with him, as a black man.
I assume the consequences!!


text:
A mud volcano might explode in Trinidad: Are villagers prepared? · Global Voices
Atiba Rogers

Mud bubbles out of the Piparo mud volcano in central Trinidad in November 2006. Photo by Jennie Mallela, CC BY-NC 2.0.
The twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago lies outside the hurricane zone, but it faces natural disasters caused by heavy rainfall, widespread flooding, earthquakes and even the occasional volcano.
In central Trinidad, the Piparo mud volcano has recently shown signs of heightened activity, enough to form cracks in nearby roadways. One particular house suffered structural damage and Piparo village residents reported hearing rumbling sounds and smelling sulfur in the air.
When it comes to national disaster readiness plans, the responsibility usually falls on the shoulders of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM). But some Piparo villagers sense that not enough has been done to prepare for the worst.
According to the local reports, volcano experts have yet to specify when the mud volcano could potentially erupt — but if and when it does, it wouldn't be the first time.
On February 22, 1997, the Piparo mud volcano erupted, displacing 31 families:
Mud volcanoes differ from traditional indigenous volcanoes in that during an eruption, it does not produce lava and ashes. Instead, mud volcanoes release gases, methane and smaller quantities of nitrogen and carbon dioxide:
Loud explosion at Piparo mud volcano, cracks appearing across roads, Trinidad and Tobago https://t.co/sLQhnCuLMP #Piparo #MudVolcano #TrinidadAndTobago #Warning
— The Watchers (@TheWatchers_) September 22, 2019
The surprise of that 1997 eruption underscores how imperative a disaster preparedness checklist is in the event of another explosion.
President of the Piparo Village Council, Ryan Ghanny, has put out a call for an emergency response team dedicated to the community in case the mud volcano erupts again. A Facebook update on October 6, 2019, confirmed that volunteers from the area were to undergo training to “improve our village response, inform us of the knowledge that is needed and equip us with the tools in the event of a natural disaster taking place in our community”.
The Ministry of National Security also weighed in on the Piparo mud volcano's activity via a press release. It stated that the ODPM, in conjunction with local government disaster management units, has been in touch with a senior geologist who has conducted tests at the volcano site, as well as drone surveys to produce 3D maps of the area.
In addition, nearby police and fire services are on alert and patrols have increased. The site is currently off-limits to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, as it is considered active.
Despite these measures, however, Ghanny was not satisfied with the preparation efforts.
In late September, a team of disaster officials met with villagers to appraise them of an evacuation plan in the event of a volcanic eruption, and the ODPM's disaster management unit held a training session with community members, but Ghanny insisted there were no resources, equipment, supplies or infrastructure in place to guarantee a systematic and safe evacuation response by agencies. As at September 30, evacuation routes still had not been confirmed.
As the craters continue to widen, however, state agencies met with the Village Council on October 17 at the Piparo Community Centre. Agencies such as the regional health authority, protective services, the Housing Development Corporation, the Environmental Management Authority and the Red Cross outlined the resources they would provide in the event of an eruption.
Although the “total evacuation plan for the long term” is still being developed based on the research that was done by The University of the West Indies, there are plans to do a simulation exercise. Chief Executive Officer of the ODPM, Major General (Ret’d) Rodney Smart, said he was confident in the planned response.
While state agencies play important roles in emergency management, responsibility also falls on the community.
The village of Piparo plans to ring a bell in the mosque and honk vehicle horns to alert villagers should the volcano erupt. Local community groups are also responsible for alerting residents, who have also been advised to develop a family evacuation that supports the community evacuation plan and form a Community Emergency Response Team.
The wider region of Princes Town is home to about 10,000 people, but the number of residents directly surrounding the volcano would be less.

author: Atiba Rogers


text:
Cry of ‘Free the [bleeping] weed!’ leads to arrest of Trinidadian cannabis advocate · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Activist Nazma Muller is led away by police officers in front of Trinidad and Tobago's parliament on October 18, 2019. Photo courtesy of Nazma Muller.
On October 18, 2019, activist Nazma Muller stood on the pavement outside Trinidad and Tobago's parliament to continue to press the government to enact existing medical marijuana legislation.
In a Facebook post that morning, she announced that she would be “outside Parliament from noon to 3 pm reminding the prime minister of his promise to decriminalise cannabis and make it available for personal and medical use by June 30 of this year.”
Muller has vowed to “be there every Friday until he keeps his promise” — but on this particular Friday, the police arrested her under Section 49 of the country's Summary Offences Act, which deals with “violent language and breach of the peace” — a law which some view as counterintuitive to the freedom of expression that is enshrined in the Constitution.
Jurist and lecturer Jamille Broome, for instance, believes the law to be “very oppressive” and thinks “the only limit on obscene language should be when it incites or has the potential to incite violence.”
Anyone arrested under this law faces a fine of $200 Trinidad and Tobago dollars (approximately $30 United States dollars) or 30 days’ imprisonment.
Images posted on Muller's Facebook page show her being led away by a police officer, who also took away her sign reading, “Honk your horn for the herb.”
Supporters soon began sharing the images, with photographer Christopher H. Samlal commenting:
Dr. Nazma Muller has been detained while protesting to “Free de Ganja”. Officers advised she will we taken to CPS to be charged and processed. Please share so people can see the real threats to our democracy.
#FreeTheWeed #LegalizeIt #DemocracyWhere
In the thread that followed, Samlal said that when the police officers approached, “they said we were ‘inciting others to disrupt parliament’.” While some commenters felt the police were simply doing their job, Imtiaz Rudy Mohammed asked:
I thought parliament was inside of a building, was she trying to breach the building? Was she found with an IED [improvised explosive device] on her person? Was she in any way harming anyone or influencing harming to anyone in parliament? If all these answers are a no then she is being abused by the police. […] Free the lady let her do her civil duty.
Muller was released from police custody at around 7:30 that evening. At her October 21 hearing, she pleaded “not guilty” to the charge and the matter was adjourned to November 13, 2019.
Speaking with Global Voices by phone, Muller said that she had retained Dr. Emir Crowne, Matthew Gayle and Jason Jones from New City Chambers as her attorneys and was not at liberty to discuss the details of the case. She did confirm, though, that the charge against her was “the use of obscene language to the annoyance of people in the street”. However, photos of the area outside parliament on the day in question do not capture any bystanders.
Via WhatsApp, Dr. Crowne told Global Voices that “there are serious constitutional implications in this matter”:
Here we have someone exercising her constitutional right to expression and her constitutional right to protest and both of those rights have seemingly been infringed by the state and […] it does appear to be a trend of silencing dissent, silencing unpopular speech in Trinidad and Tobago — so we are very concerned about two constitutional grounds that are triggered here — the freedom of thought and expression and the freedom of association and assembly.
Describing the process of arrest and detainment as “traumatic”, Muller said she is nevertheless emboldened to continue her fight for justice. Although the draft cannabis legislation is reportedly ready and simply needs to be laid in parliament, she says neither she nor any of the other stakeholders she has spoken to have been invited to offer feedback to help ensure its smooth passage.
The country's president has also turned down Muller's request to intervene in the medical marijuana issue.
The day after her hearing, Muller found herself at the prison located in the capital, Port of Spain — not as an inmate, but as an advocate. She shared her experience on Facebook:
To those who say the war is over, Rowley has promised to decriminalise, tell that to the citizens of this country who are packed 15 man to one stinking cell […]
I had the honour of coaching the debating team, the defending champions, to prepare for the annual prisons debate final in Woodford Square on November 13.
The question is: Should marijuana be decriminalised in Trinidad and Tobago? And Port of Spain will be answering with a very solid yes.
Until Keith Rowley brings the legislation to Parliament, marijuana is still illegal. And the police are still arresting and charging mostly young, working-class men for possession of marijuana, and sending them to the already overcrowded prison if they can't make bail.
How you think those men feel when they come out…?
To Muller, the question of cannabis decriminalisation and legalisation goes much further than medical needs, religious freedom (she is a Rastafarian) or even the right to personal use of the herb — it is intrinsically tied to many of the social ills the country faces, and to her, “freeing it” can offer much-needed relief — right across the board.
Muller will be protesting outside parliament again today, Friday October 25, and has support from Daniel Junior Sawic George — a father who staged a protest walk of his own to decriminalise cannabis because he believes medical marijuana can help his two sick daughters.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco