text:
Nine Signs the Journalism on Africa You’ve Just Encountered is Trash · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Imran Garda identifies nine signs of trash journalism on Africa:
You may already have accepted that those images of swollen potbellies underneath protruding ribs, those sticky flies sitting on the starving child’s eyebrows and lips, those panoramic views of refugee camps are not the be-all and end-all of Africa. Or those unclear references to Africa which suggest it’s a monolith, or even worse, a country. You may have accepted that all these, some of which are not inaccurate in some places, don’t provide the full picture. A picture which, if it were genuine, would reflect a continent of diverse peoples and ideas, varied standards of living (including horrendous poverty and unbelievable inequality) yet infinite potential, a picture of an eclectic mix of things good and bad.
Besides flies, potbellies and continental monoliths, here are some other telltale signs of simplistic and often pathetic attempts to cover Africa. If more than one of these apply to your print, online or broadcast journalism source, you’re probably not getting your information from the most reliable place.


text:
No Man’s Land: Kidnapping Journalists Worsens in Syria · Global Voices
Nour Al Ali

ANA New-Media Association began campaigning for the release of Syrian media activist Rami Al Razzouk, 25, who was kidnapped on October 1 while on enroute to a district in Syria's liberated Raqqah, a city in north central Syria located about 160 kilometres east of Aleppo, after negotiations with the Syrian State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) reached a deadlock.
“Negotiations began on the 2nd of October but no agreement was reached,” wrote ANA’s Co-Director Rami Al Jarrah in an email. “[T]he family have given us consent to begin a widespread campaign for Rami.”
Photo source: ANA New-Media Association
Al Razzouk's work mainly revolved around managing Radio ANA's Raqqah radio office as well as curating news for broadcast. That office was later raided by “masked men” on October 15, where “all equipment, including radio broadcasting tools were confiscated and the office was closed down with a direct threat to the building owner,” noted Al Jarrah.
In a Facebook update, Radio ANA revealed that the perpetrators belonged to ISIS:
When asked about their identity, the masked men revealed to be elements of the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) and that they were carrying out a task ordered by the ISIS leadership.
The update was concluded with a plea, asking everyone to speak up against ISIS crimes and help in releasing captured citizen journalists:
The association stresses about the importance to take action immediately and work seriously inside and outside Syria to put an end to these practices and to hold those who commit such crimes responsible by implementing justice, whoever they are.
To whom this concerns, please join us in demanding the release of all Citizen journalists like Rami who have become the victims of extremism's crackdown on free media.
This was not the first time, however, that insurgents stood in the way of free speech. ANA had previously received several threats when broadcasting anti-sectarian threats, explained Al Jarrah.
Following Al Razzouk's abduction, Radio AlKul reported that Basel Aslan of Al Raqqa Revolutionary Media Office was attacked by Al Hai'h Al Sharia (Authority of Sharia) while covering Eid Al Adha festivities.
This escalation in Raqqah is paramount considering it was the first Syrian city to be liberated by rebels. Nevertheless, ISIS has been known to also rampage other cities. This perhaps would explain why the Chief of the Free Syrian Army General Salim Idriss condemned ISIS crimes in Aleppo:
The events taking place in Aleppo today and specifically the actions of ISIS are intolerable abuses against the Syrian revolution #Syria
— Gen. Salim Idriss (@Gen_Idriss) October 13, 2013
Do Syrians Support ISIS?
Evidently, many Syrians are outraged by the ISIS actions as they do not reflect the revolution's original goals, which mainly demanded freedom of rights. Syrian blogger Maysaloon tweets his views, while another user argues that their actions improve the image of Bashar Al-Assad's regime in the West:
@Maysaloon I remain convinced they know their actions often work to improve regime appeal to International community.
— Scully (@Mathidiot) October 11, 2013
Sima Diab, known for her phenomenal work with Syrian refugees, calls them terrorists:
Is it fair to call ISIS & JAN 'rebels', it does the real rebels injustice. It may be best to call them what they are…terrorists. #Syria
— Sima Diab (@SimaDiab) October 11, 2013
While ISIS's ideology presumably follows Islam's laws, Mohannad disagrees:
A few examples of how Islam is the religion of peace to the world not just Muslims. (Exactly what ISIS is not doing)
— MohaNNad أبو مازن (@TheMoeDee) October 4, 2013
However, Racan indicates that their fate awaits them, as the Syrian people who rose against Bashar Al-Assad's regime refuse to be silenced:
When Assad began killing protestors we took up arms against him. Now that ISIS is killing protestors the next step is obvious… #Syria
— Racan (@Racanarchy) October 7, 2013
The Bigger Picture
The crackdown by extremist insurgents on journalists, both local and foreign, does not come as a shock to many, as such groups have been notorious for harassing and kidnapping people for ransom. Human Rights Watch Emergencies Director Peter N. Bouckaert told Syria Deeply in a June interview that kidnapping in specific began when “fighting broke out in Aleppo, and [has] developed and grown since then into a broader trend across many parts of Syria.”
Nevertheless, many foreign journalists have been abducted by insurgents since the beginning of the unrest. In an article raising concern about several missing journalists, Reporters Without Borders said that:
The number of foreign journalists who have been kidnapped in Syria since March 2011 is now 37, of whom 17 are still hostages, detained or missing. Syrian news providers are nonetheless the ones who have suffered most. More than 60 have been kidnapped or arrested by various armed opposition groups and more than 200 have been arrested by the regime.
Earlier in October, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault revealed that two of its reporters, Nicolas Henin and Pierre Torres, remain in captivity since June 22 in Aleppo, doubling the number of abducted French journalists in Syria to four.
Just three days ago, Abu Dhabi-based Sky News Arabia appealed for information about the whereabouts of its three-member crew who went missing in Aleppo on October 15. Samir Kassab, Ishak Moctar, and a third member whose name is withheld for safety reasons, went missing while covering the conflict through a humanitarian perspective.
However, some live to tell their story. Such is the case of NBC correspondent Richard Engel, who was abducted for five days, along with his crew, in December 2012. He explained what happened to him in an MSNBC interview:
While the reports of kidnappings pile up in Syria, many believe that the government is at fault for leaving Syria in complete disarray. Syrian-Spanish Activist and Professor Leila Nachawati Rego tweeted:
Of all the things to thank Assad for, invoking extremists from all over the world to kidnap a legitimate uprising is top of the list. #Syria
— Leila Nachawati Rego (@leila_na) September 18, 2013
Kidnapping victims are not only journalists in Syria, but also men of faith, civilians, and humanitarian workers, many of whom returned to their families in shrouds, or whose fate remains undetermined.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nour Al Ali


text:
Pakistani Web Rallies Against Proposed Ban on Whatsapp, Viber and Skype · Global Voices
Faisal Kapadia

The first week of October saw the government of Pakistan's Sindh province, which includes Karachi, the country's largest city, propose a ban on voice communication tools such as WhatsApp, Viber and Skype for three months due to security concerns.
Various activists and bloggers have taken to Twitter to vent their anger at the government over the plan. As the discussion heats up throughout social media, it's becoming clear that proposing and implementing a ban of this nature on such widely used technology is not going to happen quietly.
The jury is still out on whether the ban will be implemented. Some have worried that recent service disruptions on voice over Viber and WhatsApp meant that the government was going through with the plan. However, conflicting statements from the federal and local governments coupled with the fact that nothing has gone completely dark yet have lead Pakistan's online community to still have hope that the government will not put a ban in place.
Bytes for All, a human rights organization with a focus on communication and information technologies, had the following criticism for the plan in a blog post on 10 October:
The proposed ban is a disproportionate and overly broad measure. It will curb the fundamental rights of people in Sindh province and undermine the use of widespread communication platforms. Instant messaging and VoIP services, such as Skype, Viber, Tango and WhatsApp, are increasingly popular with Pakistani smartphone users looking for affordable means of communication. All of these services are now under threat of being suspended. The Sindh province authorities have not indicated how they will carry out this proposal: whether, for example, they will use filtering or blocking.
The ban wouldn't be the first of its kind in Pakistan – YouTube has been blocked for more than a year.
Syed Ali Raza Abidi (@abidifactor), a member of the national assembly from Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and a social media user, assessed the situation:
Then it was YouTube, now it will be rest of the Social Media. This won't work unless you completely shut down the internet all over Pakistan
— Syed Ali Raza Abidi (@abidifactor) October 3, 2013
Nida F Sameer (@Nidafsameer), a broadcast journalist previously with Samaa TV, wrote mentioning Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan and Shahidullah Shahid:
They can allow EhsanUllahEhsans n ShahidullahShahids 2 communicate media offices n journos via phones. won't allow poor ppl to use free aps.
— Nida F (@nidaFsameer) October 3, 2013
Some companies and individuals in Pakistan, however, chose to see the lighter side of the situation.
The official handle of telecoms company Nokia (@Nokiapakistan) took the opportunity to plug their own messaging services:
Who cares if #Viber, #WhatsApp and #Skype will be banned? LINE, WeChat and Nimbuzz on #NokiaStore are there for all your chatting needs :D
— Nokia Pakistan (@NokiaPakistan) October 3, 2013
Anthony Permal (@anthonypermal), a digital marketing expert from Dubai, jested:
Dear Sindh Gov, Pls ban taxes too. Apparently what we're paying can't be traced either.
— Anthony Permal (@anthonypermal) October 3, 2013
The blogosphere has been abuzz with this news as well, with anger and frustration mounting at the government's actions and arguments for “whatever it takes” measures.
Madiha latif with Bolobhi, a local advocacy group, addressed the potential impact of the ban on families who live far apart:
Leaning away from businesses and economics, lets reflect on the impact it may have on citizens who have family and loved ones all around the world. Increase in gas prices has made it too expensive to travel; work/school commitments don’t give one enough time to do so either. Phone bills are higher each day and communication just becomes more expensive by the minute. To combat the cost of communication and maintaining relationships, we use Skype, Viber, WhatsApp etc that provide us with cost effective modes to be able to keep in touch and feel connected. Its as simple as that. We want to stay in touch, and we have the resources to do so. But now, the government has decided to have a say in how we do that as well? What next will the government regulate?  Who we can or cannot talk to? It comes back to the same argument posed once before, has the government really become nannies for the citizens? (If so, Im still waiting on that college funding that was promised).
Amena Kamaal of Mindmap communications, a local digital advocacy consultant, pointed out the fallacy of the proposed ban:
Is this agony due to the fact that there are bad guys roaming social networks like whatsapp and viber and plotting things that are against national security? I suppose some of it maybe but to think those same tech equipped bad guys would not be able to side step a ban via proxy is somewhat un intelligent to me. Also more dim witted seems the idea that bad guys exist in sindh only and thus this region must be the only one subjected to this proposed ban.

author: Faisal Kapadia


text:
Remembering and Reviving Vietnam’s Ca Tru Singing · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Đoan Trang interviews Pho Kim Duc, a famous ca tru (sung poetry) vocalist in Vietnam in the 1940s.
Kim Duc said ca tru is a very noble form of art. “It’s is not just singing but also poetry. Whoever with a taste for poetry will love ca tru to find it highly developed, elegant, and court.” She said only since the colonial administration became lavish in granting licenses, allowing a rash of new inns owned by wealthy people, did dao ruou (wine maidens) appear and tarnish the reputation of ca tru.
Ca tru is listed in UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

author: Mong Palatino


text:
South Korea: Mass Candlelight Rallies Against the Spy Agency Scandal · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

More revelations of the spy agency's election manipulation scandal came out, rekindling several month-long protests. Three agents were being probed on Oct 18 for tweeting and re-tweeting political articles to influence pubic opinion. On Oct 19, about 20 thousands[ko] attended a mass candlelight vigil in Seoul protesting the spy agency scandal. @Wjsfree gathered photos of this weekend's protests held across the country.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


text:
Thailand Shark Conservation Project · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Thailand eShark Project was launched in light of the reported 95 percent drop in shark sightings in Thailand.
The Thailand eShark Project results will be used to bring awareness to declining shark populations in Thailand. Additionally to help improve protected marine park enforcement and reinforce the importance of no take zones.


text:
363 Coffins Close, Reopening the Debate on Illegal Immigration in Europe · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, visits the site of the coffins before the funeral. Photo Palazzo Chigi used under CC License BY-NC-SA 2.0.
A boat carrying almost 500 immigrants, many of them women and children, caught fire and sunk [es] off the coast of Lampedusa on October 3, leaving at least 363 dead.
Lampedusa is a small Italian island located between Sicily and the north of Africa, a little more than 100 km from Tunisia. Due to its proximity to the African coast, the island is one of the entry points used by refugees and undocumented migrants to reach the European Union. Citizens of Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea or Syria fall into the hands of mafias dealing in human trafficking, who use old fishing boats to carry them to the European coast.
These dangerous journeys, in old and overburdened boats, increase at the end of the summer in anticipation of the winter “break” during which such crossings are suspended due to poor sailing conditions.
Many of the survivors of this shipwreck are alive thanks to the help of fishermen who were in the area, although various witnesses state that at least three boats passed close to the site of the tragedy without stopping to help the victims [es].
This behaviour is due to the fear inspired in fishermen by the strict Bossi-Fini law against illegal immigration, supported by the far right and passed in 2002 during Berlusconi's mandate, which criminalises immigrants with an irregular status and those who assist them in any way.
According to the blog Kaos en la Red [es],
El otro horror de la ley Bossi-Fini reside en la condena por complicidad con el delito de clandestinidad a las personas que ayuden a un supuesto clandestino a poner el pie en “la tierra de Italia”. Así, los pescadores de Lampedusa que ayuden a una persona que esté ahogándose pueden ver su barco, su instrumento de trabajo, confiscado y ser condenados. Lo cual va completamente en contra de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas sobre los refugiados y del derecho internacional de navegación. Así, Giorgio Bisagna, experto en derecho a la inmigración, abogado en Palermo, afirma: “En el caso del naufragio de Lampedusa, el delito podría haber sido cometido por quienes no han intervenido para auxiliar a refugiados que se encuentran en la mar”.
The other horror of the Bossi-Fini law lies in the conviction on the basis of collusion with the crime of clandestinity of those persons who assist a presumed clandestine migrant to set foot on “Italian soil.” In this way, those fishermen in Lampedusa who assist a person who is drowning can see their boat, their working material, confiscated and may be sentenced to prison. This goes completely against both the United Nations Convention on Refugees and international maritime law. Thus, Giorgio Bisagna, expert in immigration law and a lawyer in Palermo, states: “In the case of the Lampedusa shipwreck, the crime could have been committed by those who did not intervene to assist the refugees who were in the sea”.
Map of African immigration routes to Europe. Image from Wikimedia Commons uploaded by the user historicair. With licence CC BY-SA 3.0
Spain is another of the entry points to Europe used by African immigrants. The Strait of Gibraltar, just 14 km wide, is one of the routes preferred by mafias to move immigrants in pateras [es], small boats or inflatable dinghies which are too fragile to cross these dangerous waters. Shipwrecks are common and immigrants must often be rescued by fishermen and coastguards in the area.
But this could soon change, as the website cuartopoder.es [es] reports:
Según la reforma del Código Penal que el ministro de Justicia, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, tiene en cartera quienes faciliten la entrada, acojan, ayuden o alojen a inmigrantes indocumentados incurrirán en delito punible y podrán ser castigados con dos años de cárcel. Algunos colectivos de ayuda a los inmigrantes se movilizaron en abril pasado y han recogido más de 100.000 firmas con la campaña “salvemos la hospitalidad”.
According to the reform of the Penal Code which the Justice minister, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, is planning, those who facilitate the entry of undocumented migrants, and shelter, assist or lodge them, will commit a punishable crime and will be able to be punished with two years of prison. Some collectives assisting migrants mobilised in April and have collected more than 100,000 signatures with the “let's save hospitality” campaign [es].
Besides the Strait of Gibraltar, other important entry routes to Spain for immigrants are the Canary Islands and the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the north coast of Africa.
European Union (EU) policy leaves the rescue of undocumented immigrants in the hands of the member states in whose waters they are shipwrecked, and does not allocate special financial assistance to those most affected by this problem. The Mediterranean countries, which are suffering more severely from the economic crisis than those in the north, have been asking Europe for help for years without obtaining any response.
The rise of far-right parties with a pronounced xenophobic ideology which support the strengthening of fortress Europe against illegal immigration, is causing European governments to adopt a tougher position on the issue in an attempt to counteract the populist discourse of the far right.
On October 8th, 28 European interior ministers met in Luxembourg with the intention of tackling the issue of the rescue of immigrants on the EU's Mediterranean coast. Once again, the meeting was a disaster, as El País [es] describes:
Toda la reprobación y la vergüenza que han expresado los políticos europeos tras la tragedia de Lampedusa han quedado, de momento, en una mera declaración de intenciones. La Unión Europea se mostró ayer incapaz de concretar un proyecto para rescatar a inmigrantes que naufraguen en las costas del Mediterráneo. La Comisión Europea trasladó su propuesta a los Estados miembros, pero ninguno fue capaz de ofrecer ni calendarios concretos ni dotación económica para intentar paliar el drama de quienes se lanzan al mar para llegar a Europa.
All of the condemnation and shame expressed by European politicians following the Lampedusa tragedy [es] has been, for the moment, no more than a mere declaration of intentions. The European Union demonstrated yesterday that it is incapable of settling upon a project to rescue immigrants who are shipwrecked on the Mediterranean coast. The European Commission transferred its proposal to member States, but none was able to offer a concrete timeframe or economic resources to try to alleviate the suffering of those who set out to sea to reach Europe.
Nacho Torreblanca sums it up in the following way on Twitter:
Lampedusa no es una tragedia. Es la consecuencia de unas serie de decisiones políticas deliberadas http://t.co/YJGRe13257
— Nacho Torreblanca (@jitorreblanca) October 11, 2013
Lampedusa is not a tragedy. It is the consequence of a series of deliberate political decisions http://t.co/YJGRe13257
— Nacho Torreblanca (@jitorreblanca) October 11, 2013
Tombs of unidentified immigrants in Tarifa's cemetery (Spain). Screen capture from a video by canalsuresposible on YouTube
Manuel Zaguirre says on the website Rebanadas de realidad [Slices of Reality] [es]:
El Papa Francisco, cuyas declaraciones, decisiones, tomas de postura y testimonio de vida me merecen cada vez más interés, visitó en el mes de Julio la isla de Lampedusa. Pudimos conocer entonces que tiene apenas 5000 habitantes y que han sido casi el doble los inmigrantes que han muerto a orilla de su “mare nostrum” en los últimos 15 ó 20 años. Conocimos, también, de la solidaridad de sus habitantes y de la combatividad de sus autoridades locales, con la Alcaldesa al frente, denunciando la falta de apoyos e interés ante el desborde y la tragedia de los inmigrantes.
Pope Francisco, whose declarations, decisions, stances and life's testimony deserve more and more of my interest, visited the island of Lampedusa in July. We were thus able to learn that the island has just 5000 inhabitants and that the number of immigrants who have died on the shores of its “mare nostrum” in the last 15 or 20 years is almost double this figure. We also discovered the solidarity of the island's inhabitants and the fighting spirit of its local authorities, with the Mayoress at the helm, condemning the lack of support and interest in the face of the overflow and tragedy of the immigrants.

author: Lourdes Sada


text:
Zambia’s President Increases His Salary, Blames Opposition MPs · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

Even before the echo of the voice of Zambia's Minister of Finance, Alexander Chikwanda, died down from his budget presentation in parliament in which he announced the freezing of civil service wages for two years, citizen media website Zambian Watchdog unearthed a Statutory Instrument dated 8 October 2013 that increased President Michael Sata's salary along with other constitution office holders.
President Michael Sata addressing parliament. Picture used with permission from Lusaka Times.
This is one Statutory Instrument government would have wished was buried among the documents citizens don’t get to know about for the furore it has caused has led to President Sata to offer to forego the 10 per cent increment on condition that opposition members of parliament also give up their share.
Breaking the news of the presidential increment, the Zambian Watchdog, which has been blocked by the Zambian government, reported:
Three days after increasing the salary for Sata and his ministers, Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda told parliament when he presented the 2014 budget that there will be a wage freeze for civil servants for the next two years and that there would be no recruitment for public workers […] Sata’s latest increment of his salary was done right in the middle of nurses and midwives’ strikes to ask for better pay.
President Sata’s latest salary rise marked the third time his earnings have gone up since he assumed office in September 2011.
Labour Minister, Fackson Shamenda, a former head of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions, justified the presidential salary increment by saying President Sata was the least paid head of state in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, saying:
People should be happy when we improve the living standards of others. Surely, in the world world today should we be proud that our president is the lowest paid in the region.
President Sata’s press aide George Chellah issued a statement, coinciding with Shamenda’s, in which he explained the procedure:
The procedure is once the Standing Orders Committee has determined what increment to award, the Minister of Finance issues a Statutory Instrument […] In fact, this year, the Committee, which includes opposition Members of Parliament met and came up with an increment of 10 per cent taking into account the national resource and notwithstanding the fact that the civil service was awarded increments ranging from 0 per cent to more than 150 per cent.
Another minister, Edgar Lungu, in charge of internal affairs, communicated the president’s willingness to forego the increment:
The President is saying that’s fine, but we have talked to the opposition UPND and MMD and they are saying we are with you and are actually saying it’s not enough, So you go and ask your opposition members of parliament why they are condemning the increment when they gave him that money through the standing orders committee.
On the contrary, Mywage website showed that President Sata was actually one of the highly paid heads of state with the Zambian Watchdog reporting:
According to a compilation by ‘My Wages’, Sata was until last week [before his salary increment] getting an equivalent of 845.436,00 South African Rands annually or 3.382,00 South African Rands daily.
Writing on the Zambian Watchdog website, Michelo Hansungule, a Zambian law professor resident in South Africa, called on President Sata to cancel the salary rise:
The president must denounce and cancel the increase and take responsibility as a leader should instead of childishly throwing the ball to a committee of Parliament. This should be easy for him to do given that he has exonerated himself and his executive preferring to blame a committee of Parliament and particularly opposition members of Parliament  in the committee which means if he is to be believed the decision is not his and someone is putting tax payers money on his account without his consent.
There is a general impression that for the man who spent 10 years in opposition and probably spent a fortune organising the Patriotic Front (PF), a party he single-handedly formed and runs as a personal fiefdom, he will spend his time in office recouping what he spent all those years running its affairs.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


text:
Why I’m Not Giving Up On Politicians (Yet) · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

“Sort out this problem because we are suffering”. Students on strike in Madagascar, by Jentilisa (used with permission)
On October 25, 2013, my home country of Madagascar will finally be electing a new president. In recent years the citizens of Madagascar have witnessed their economy plunge into the abyss, its natural resources pillaged. According to some estimates, more than four million people have entered into severe poverty in the past five years. There is currently no rule of law in the country, and ever since the 2009 coup d'état carried out by a fringe of the army removed the elected government and parliament, the political system had been devoid of legitimacy.
Elections have been pushed back five times since the coup, and a transition that was supposed to take one year at most has now lasted as long as the average electoral term. Even given Madagascar's complicated history, to say that the political situation is a mess is an understatement.
Thirty-three presidential candidates will contest the upcoming elections. With the vote only four days away, a significant number of potential voters still doubt that the elections will actually take place, as they have not received their voting cards. It's still an open question whether a sufficient quantity of ballots will be printed in time.
Whatever happens on October 25, this is a turning point for Madagsacar, so I figured it was the perfect time for me to jump into the political fray for the first time, and actively support one of only two women running for president. I have volunteered to help the campaign of Sahara Georget Rabeharisoa, the Green Party leader since 2009, by raising awareness of her cause and explaining her platform online.
These days, an overriding mistrust of politics and politicians seems to be the de rigueur position for most voters worldwide. The Edelman Trust Barometer indicates that the majority of countries now distrust their governments. And how can we blame them? The list of dysfunctional policies worldwide, ranging from government shutdowns to blatant concealing of nuclear disaster, is too long to mention.
Yet, for all our misgivings, politics and political activism remains the only effective way societal change has been brought about through history.
I have been involved in various Malagasy civil society projects (here and here), and I know the value they can bring to communities. I have also seen how all their great work can be undone in the blink of eye because of dirty politics and an unnecessary political crisis. I like to think it is the anger over the dashed hopes of my fellow activists that is driving me to jump into the arena. Some rotten practices can only be changed from the inside. The young Pakistani activist, Malala Yousafzai, said it best when she explained why she switched her career goal from becoming a doctor to politics: “I think it's really good because through politics I can serve my whole country, become doctor of the whole country, help children get education.”
Unlike Malala, I think my main motivation has been to move away from the comfortable position of “observer”, because neutrality is the product of fear and lack of courage to take a stand. As Dante Alighieri said, “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.” Make no mistake, the crisis in Madagascar is way past the political phase. It has long become a societal and a moral crisis, with most of the burden carried by an already overtaxed population.
I am not saying that the Green Party of Madagascar and their candidate Saraha Georget Rabeharisoa will have all the answers. But Saraha and I share similar reasons for getting into politics. She was the director of the non-governmental organization New Mind until the political crisis pushed her to raise her voice, then form her own party.
She possesses the kind of clarity of purpose and principle that one wishes to see in the head of a country. She knows that there no magic pill that will lift Madagascar out of poverty, but she believes that nothing will happen until we consider the ecosystem that is our country in its entirely: our youth, our land and natural resources, and the need to let all of these develop in a balanced fashion.
I support Saraha because she is a woman, and because she's already been battle-tested by her efforts to carve out a space for herself in a heavily male-dominated field. I support Saraha because she has her sleeves rolled up and is ready to work hard.
Maybe I am too optimistic, but I this is a decision I have considered carefully. You can read the thought process behind my decision to support her here (in French).
At the end of the day, it just did not feel right to stay on the sidelines and watch as my country spirals further down into a bottomless pit. I believe all hands should get on deck, starting October 25, by voting and participating actively in the election debate.
As a Malagasy living abroad, I cannot cast my own vote. But as an engaged citizen, I want my voice to be heard. I believe that there are still a few politicians out there willing to fight for a sustainable recovery in Madagascar. Saraha Rabeharisoa is one of these. My homeland deserves as much.
Lova Rakotomalala is a researcher in biomedical engineering and consultant in Global Health. Raised in Madagascar, he has a strong interest in international development and digital media as a tool to promote social change and transparency in the developing world.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


text:
Malaysian Court Rules Catholic Paper Can’t Use ‘Allah’ to Refer to God · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Malaysia’s Court of Appeal has ruled that the Catholic Weekly Herald cannot use the word ‘Allah’ to refer to God. The court was responding to the petition filed by the government which initially prohibited the paper from using ‘Allah’ in its Bahasa language publication.
Members of Al-Ehsan Islamiah Malaysia Welfare Association gather in a peaceful rally protesting the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims. Photo by Zulkifle Che Abdullah, Copyright @Demotix (1/6/2010)
The court agreed with the government that the use of the word ‘Allah’ by a Catholic paper would create confusion in the Muslim-majority country:
It is our common finding that the usage of the name “Allah” is not an integral part of the faith and practice of Christianity. From such finding, we find no reason why the respondent is so adamant to use the name “Allah” in their weekly publication. Such usage, if allowed, will inevitably cause confusion within the community.
The Attorney-General interpreted the court’s decision as a move to preserve public order:
…the use of the word “Allah” in the Malay version of the Herald is without doubt, has the potential to disrupt the even tempo of life of the Malaysian community.
…the use of the word Allah as interpretation of the word God or the concept of God by the Herald may cause religious sensitivity and has the potential to harm the public order and safety.
But Rev Lawrence Andrew, editor of The Herald, countered that Malaysian Christians have been using the word ‘Allah’ for many years already:
We have been using this word for nearly four or five hundred years, people have been living in peace and harmony. We have published The Herald for 19 years and we have not caused any trouble.
Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng of the Christian Federation of Malaysia is worried that the court’s decision would undermine unity among Malaysians:
The Bahasa Malaysia-speaking churches have been using the word Allah both before and after the independence of Malaya and the formation of Malaysia. The use of the word Allah by the Malaysian churches had not been an issue all these decades.
However, the various authorities in this country, by making an issue of it and by what would appear to be selective action or inaction, have only encouraged and fuelled further misunderstandings, mistrusts and brokenness between the Muslim and Christian communities. This will only further undermine the unity of Malaysians.
Joe Fernandez debunks the confusion theory which was argued by the court:
The confusion theory does not hold water either because no one anywhere in the world outside Malaysia has raised it as an issue.
Borealis commented that religions don’t need protection:
You can't own a religion, you can only practice it or have faith in it.
Religions don't need protection. Confusing Malaysians by using race and religion issues is too late now because the majority Malays have “awakened”.
Zan Azlee blamed Malay Muslim nationalism:
I, an official Muslim, hereby publicly declare that I have no problems with other religions aside from Islam using the word Allah to refer to God.
In my humble opinion, it is a way for Malay Muslims to show that they are the dominant race and everyone else who are not of that status should be put in their places.
It is sad to see this happening, but I think that I still have faith in Malaysia and the Malaysian people in the grander scale of things.
anas zubedy noted that the issue has further divided the Malaysian society:
…the stances adopted by some politicians, both Muslim and non-Muslim, have exacerbated the situation. Because issues of identity are at the centre of politics and power in our multi-religious, multi-ethnic nation, they are hoping to reap a harvest from the Kalimah Allah controversy. In the process, society is becoming even more polarised along religious lines.
KTemoc believes that the issue should not have been brought in the courts:
I once wrote that religion should be about faith and morality and not legality or for that matter, political approval. Thus I find it unfortunate that the Catholic Herald had taken the issue to the courts. In doing so they have opened a nasty Pandora Box where some innocents may well end up getting hurt.
Bru accuses The Herald of ‘politicizing’ the issue:
…it wasn't the Christians in Malaysia who wanted Allah as their God, it was The Herald, the Catholic Church's official publication, that demanded to be allowed to use “Allah” as and when it saw fit.
But I say The Herald has put Malaysian Muslims and Christians through enough trouble already. They allowed – even encouraged – the whole issue to be politicized and turned into a Malaysian election gimmick.
Mustafa Akyol insisted that there should be no copyright for ‘Allah’:
This is one of the most illogical, insensible and childish decisions I have heard in my life. It is sheer nonsense.
…the Malaysian decision to claim a Muslim copyright for “Allah” is grossly wrong. It is both un-Islamic and irrational. And it only reveals the burning lack of intellectual self-confidence among Muslims, not just in Malaysia, but also elsewhere.
Endy M. Bayuni, editor of The Jakarta Post, observed that there is a rising ‘religious exclusivism’ in both Indonesia and Malaysia:
The problem with religious exclusivism is that it breeds intolerance, which leads to prejudices against the others.
But there is only a thin line dividing tolerance and intolerance, so we should not take this moderation for granted.
With the rising exclusivism that the Muslim majorities in these two countries are pushing, we may be witnessing the Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia becoming less and less tolerant. In fact, it may already be happening.


text:
NSA Hacked Mexican Government, According to Latest Snowden Leak  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

According to information leaked by Edward Snowden and reported by the German publication Der Spiegel, the NSA (National Security Agency) “has been systematically eavesdropping on the Mexican government for years.”
Cory Doctorow explains more at Boing Boing:
A Snowden leak, discussed in detail in Der Spiegel, shows how the NSA broke into the email servers of the Mexican president Felipe Calderon's public account, and used that access to wiretap the president, cabinet members, and senior diplomats. The NSA described the program, called “Flatliquid” as “lucrative.” A second program, “Whitetamale,” also spied on senior Mexican politicians (including presidential candidate Peña Nieto), targeting efforts to change the country's disastrous War on Drugs.
The Guardian reports that Mexico's foreign ministry condemned these allegations and stated that “this practice is unacceptable, illegal and against Mexican and international law.” The foreign ministry also said that “US President Barack Obama had pledged to carry out an ‘exhaustive investigation’ into who was responsible for the suspected spying.”

author: Silvia Viñas


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Giving the Government the Finger?    · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Today, Trinidadians went to the polls in the much-anticipated Local Government Elections.  Polls suggest growing dissatisfaction with the governing People's Partnership coalition, whose opponents consist of two parties – the People's National Movement, which currently sits in opposition in Parliament, and Jack Warner's controversial Independent Liberal Party.  Although much of the electioneering has deftly avoided discussion of pressing issues, focusing instead on picong and personal attacks, netizens have been posting Facebook status updates about the importance of voting, with many uploading photos of ink-stained fingers as proof of having done their civic duty.
Danielle Dieffenthaler, for instance, posted this finger pic with the comment:
WELL! That was between the devil and the deep blue sea!
Samantha Bhopa's was a bit more optimistic, as she snapped a photo of her indigo fingertip next to a sign that reads “Hope”.  Her photo caption: “Duty done.”
Prior to the opening of the polls this morning, Rhoda Bharath posted a few status updates about some of the issues that would be influencing her vote:
NQ and Wasagate. Still total silence from the NQ Board and the officials at Wasa.
Public officials believe themselves above the law and some feel resigning from a board makes them immune from responsibility.
Others may forget, I bloody well won't!
Discussing the topic of public health services, she linked to this article and commented:
I paying health surcharge and can't get decent health care and like Fuad Khan hand finney or have pox.
Anybody head roll since he is Minister?
Bright and early this morning, Bharath shared this status update:
Good Morning, Folks.
Today is the day I send a Message to the People's Partnership.
My Sanity depends on it.
My Integrity depends on it.
My Future in this country depends on it.
# for the future!
#goodgovernance
#VoteLikeATobagonian!
Ian Ramjohn, a diaspora Facebook user, observed:
With Local Government Elections in Trinidad today, I'm pondering the Jack Warner phenomenon. Given the accusations against him, why is his party (the ILP) a credible alternative? There's a ‘people stupid’ option. There's a protest vote (can't vote UNC or PNM). But there's also an ‘honest crook’ option: if you assume all pols are crooks, should specific allegations of wrongdoing (accepting bribes, not paying taxes) weigh on your decision more than non-specific ones? At the other end of the continuum is the ‘badjohn’ theory – that Warner's (alleged) lawbreaking actually enhances his reputation.
I'm not in TT, so I can't evaluate the last option (but I have not gotten that impression). Normally, I'd expect the drip-drip of accusations to sink Warner. But if the corruption allegations are already factored in to people's decision, then I'd expect the ILP to do as well as they've polled (or better). In addition, it seems like the mudslinging has hurt the UNC more. If so, who benefits – ILP, PNM or what's left of the COP? It will be interesting to see.
Khara Persad, via Twitter, linked to a news report that alleges that the ILP was unfairly soliciting votes:
Allegations that ILP is ‘buying votes’ in today’s polls, check out story here: http://t.co/1eXenCGuqF via @guardiantt #LGE #trinidad
— Khara Persad (KP) (@khapers) October 21, 2013
Natasha [surname withheld], a Facebook user who lives in the North-West of the island, defended her right to not vote at all:
I am a responsible citizen who has attempted to wisely exercise my franchise. However, I have come to realise the choice NOT to vote is also a statement. They really needed to put a ‘none of the above’ on the ballot.
She was also disillusioned about the candidates’ avoidance of the issues:
So should I vote for you on the basis of your jingle? Your flag waving ability? The loudness of your music truck and how many car alarms you managed to set off? Or perhaps I should vote based on your good looks? Because there was little mention of real issues or solutions or even positions other than how high or low we should jump.
Twitter, under the hashtags #lge #trinidad, had quite a few updates about the elections. As early as a week ago, Spicy Crispy George could see the way things were shaping up:
Getting a bit tired of seeing a nation trade in its Morals for Morass. Sad, sad, sad. #Trinidad #lge
— Spicy Crispy George (@30daysnFebruary) October 14, 2013
Based on the quality of campaigning for these Local Government Elections, Liz Mannette held very little hope for the general elections campaign, due in two years’ time:
If this is the comedy for #LGE, can you imagine what will happen by the General Election in 2015 in #Trinidad
— Liz Mannette (@lizmannette) October 14, 2013
There were some interesting predictions about the election results, like this one tweeted by Indira Dookharan:
COP Executive,Wendell Eversley says the ILP will wipe out the PNM in the upcoming Local Gov't Election @wintvworld #LGE #trinidad #politics
— Indira Dookharan (@SandyDookharan) October 16, 2013
There was also some commentary about the fact that much of the campaigning centered around a Carnival-like atmosphere, with loud music blaring from moving trucks while supporters waved flags and danced.  TriniBerry.com tweeted:
I swear these roving political campaigners taking turns assaulting my ear drums #trinidad #LGE
— TriniBerry.com (@TriniBerry) October 19, 2013
Impact on Governance posed a few key questions:
DO YOU #RESPECT THE NEW BRAND OF #LEADERS. IT'S TOO MUCH! http://t.co/JQbWhtxGfj via @guardiantt#TTPolitics #Trinidad #soca #tandt #LGE #TT
— Impact on Governance (@IOGTTProject) October 20, 2013
Could the #LGE elections bring down the #Trinidad and #Tobago #government as the partnership only exist if the partners remain?#TTPolitics
— Impact on Governance (@IOGTTProject) October 20, 2013
The group also chastised the media for its coverage of the election campaigning:
Chi Ching Chi Ching, media houses happy tonight. More #advertisements than news. Lots at stake tomorrow?#TTPolitics #Trinidad #Tobago #LGE
— Impact on Governance (@IOGTTProject) October 20, 2013
They closed the day's discussion on Twitter with a pertinent question:
Do you think the population is using the #LGE to make a national statement to the #government?#TTPolitics #Trinidad #Tobago #tandt #myTT
— Impact on Governance (@IOGTTProject) October 21, 2013
The answer will be revealed once the ballots are counted.
All private Facebook status updates in this post have been quoted with permission.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Walk in a Homeless Person’s Shoes via Twitter  · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

October 17 was the international Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Four groups, the Abbé Pierre Foundation, France Inter, Génération réactive et la Fondation Agir contre l'exclusion de Seine-Saint-Denis decided to give four homeless persons a platform on twitter to narrate their everyday lives. They live in different cities of France: Paris, Metz or Bourges. The blog Tweets2rue explains in more details the objective of the project [fr]:
une expérience de 6 mois où la parole est directement donnée aux personnes de la rue pour raconter, via Twitter, leur quotidien ou partager leurs états d'âmes.
This will be a 6-months-long project in which homeless folks will directly tell their story via twitter, their everyday lives and their ups and downs
With their mobile phones, Patrick (@kanter57640, 47 and homeless for 3 years), Ryan (@usher226, 24, and homeless for 4 months), Nicolas (@nickopompons, 36, 10 year homeless) and Sébastien ( @DjamaikaPtiseb, 33, also 10 years without a home) will share their lives in the streets directly on social networks. You can also follow the project via the hashtag #tweets2rue.

author: Suzanne Lehn


text:
WhatsApp Sex Tape in Brazil Prompts Internet Meme Blaming Victim · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

Fran, a 19-year-old university student, is having oral sex with her 22-year-old partner in the city of Goiânia. She allows him to film her with his camera phone, asking him in the middle of the act, “Do you want my tight little asshole?”, giving the go-ahead in allusion to anal sex. A few days later, he shares the video through the application WhatsApp, “a repository of involuntary pornography” [pt], where intimate moments between couples have spread indiscriminately to phones throughout Brazil.
It has spawned a debate surrounding the moralistic, sexist and hypocritical judgements which have flooded the Internet in recent days. On Twitter and Instagram, hundreds of people have posted photos with the “OK” hand sign and the hashtag #ForçaFran (KeepGoingFran), which has become a meme. Some of them have done this as a mark of solidarity; others in a clear attempt at mocking the girl, as Manu Barem (@manubarem), editor of the site Youpix [pt], explains:
Image taken from the Facebook page “Força Fran”
Basta uma vasculhada nas postagens da tag #forcafran para você perceber que a maioria delas, principalmente as publicadas por mulheres, revelam um quê de “como ela foi burra e eu não sou”. (Até o dia em que você confiar num babaca ou ter suas imagens roubadas, né amiga?).
Assim, registramos um estágio novo e triste dos desdobramentos de um crime online – o machismo dominando até as iniciativas solidárias.
You just need to take a look at the #forcafran tagged posts to realise that the majority of them, mainly those published by women, have a hint of “how stupid she was and how I am not”. (Until the day you trust a jerk or have your own photos stolen, right my friend?)
So we are observing a new and sad development in the consequences of online crime- sexism dominating even solidarity iniciatives.
Even Brazilian footballers Neymar and Daniel Alves, who play for Spanish club Barcelona, and well-known singer Leonardo [formerly half of one of the most popular country and western duos in the country], have posted photos of themselves making the OK sign on the Internet, as attested by a local Goiânia broadcaster. On 12 October, during a friendly between Brazil and South Korea, fans carried signs with the phrase “Força Fran”. The image also circulated online, demonstrating the impact of the case.
After so much exposure, Fran left the shop where she worked and filed a complaint against the boy with the Police Special Delegation of Assistance to Women in Goiânia. The man may be given a sentence of three months to one year in prison for defamation if it falls under the Maria da Penha Law, which punishes those who practice domestic violence towards women. However, he refuses to hand up his phone to police and remained silent during the interrogation. He still denies having been the creator of the videos.
Besides the photos and messages filled with the letters “KKKK” [pt], meaning ‘LOL’ or ‘laugh out loud’, commonly used in Brazil, the netizens also made use of the web to give their opinions on the matter. On Twitter, there were comments like these:
Sonho com o dia em que o homem que vaza o vídeo será chamado de imbecil e a mulher seja reconhecida como vítima, não piranha #forcafran
— Luiz Prisco (@luizprisco) October 9, 2013
I dream of the day when the man who leaks the video will be called the moron and the woman will be recognised as a victim, not a whore #forcafran
#forçafran o carai. Quem mandou ela ser jacu e sambanga de deixar o homem filmar ela pagando o boquetin.. Sabe que espalha.
— Alexandre Couto ™ (@Alexandre_8) October 9, 2013
#forçafran what the hell. Who told her to be so stupid as to allow the man to film her while she was sucking him off.. She should have known that it would spread.
Errado ta o caboco que divulgou as fotos e vídeos. Tem q se fuder pra aprender a virar homem! #forcafran
— Alberto D. Filho (@albertofilho) October 8, 2013
The one in the wrong is the guy who released the photos and videos. He needs to go fuck himself to learn how to become a man! #forcafran
In support of Fran, journalist Nathalia Ziemkiewicz from the site Na Pimentaria [pt] wrote:
Lamento muito por todos os comentários grotescos e ofensivos que têm circulado na internet. Eles foram feitos pelas mesmas pessoas que acreditam que, se estava de saia curta na rua, pediu para ser estuprada. Tipo: não queria ser exposta, então não deveria ter se deixado filmar. É uma lógica machista que inverte os valores. Você é puta – e não o cara, um mau-caráter. Querida, nossa sociedade está mergulhada nos próprios pudores. Não há nada de errado no que você fez. A cretinice da história toda pertence somente àquele(a) que primeiro repassou o vídeo de um celular privado para uma rede infinitamente invisível.
I am sad to see all the grotesque and offensive comments that have been circulating on the Internet. They were made by the same people who believe that if you go into the street in a short skirt, you are asking to be raped. Like: if you didn't want to be exposed, you shouldn't have allowed yourself to be filmed. It’s chauvinistic logic which reverses the blame. You are the slut – and not the man, the bad guy. Honey, our society is steeped in our own prudishness. There was nothing wrong with what you did. The idiocy of the whole story goes back to the first person who forwarded the video from a private mobile phone to an infinitely invisible network.
Image from the Facebook page Apoio Fran. “Because we are all Fran, against sexism as a form of comedy and sex as a taboo.”
The page Apoio Fran (I Support Fran) was created on Facebook and already has more than 30,000 likes. On YouTube, Andrea Benetti, one of the founders of another Facebook page, Moça, você é machista (Girl, you're a sexist), spoke about the case. For Benetti, the incident portrays how society still judges a woman for her behaviour during sex:
(tem o) caráter definido a partir do que ela faz na cama, como se ela perdesse o valor…ou não valesse nada, (porque) alguém viu e tem certeza do que ela faz na cama
(she has her) character defined by what she does in bed, as though she has lost her value…or is not worth anything, (because) someone saw and is sure of what she does in bed
Blogger and writer Nádia Lapa also reflected on this matter on her blog Feminismo pra quê (Feminism for what) [pt] hosted on the website of the magazine CartaCapital:
Fran fez sexo. Coisa que a maioria de nós já fez, já quis fazer, ou continua querendo e fazendo. Qual o grande pecado dela? Sim, fazer sexo, ter desejo e expressá-lo. Simone de Beauvoir fala sobre como a sociedade encara a sexualidade feminina: “a civilização patriarcal condena a mulher à castidade; reconhece-se mais ou menos abertamente ao homem o direito a satisfazer seus desejos sexuais, ao passo que a mulher é confinada ao casamento: para ela, o ato carnal, em não sendo santificado pelo código, pelo sacramento, é falta, queda, derrota, fraqueza. Ela tem o dever de defender sua virtude, sua honra; se “cede”, se “cai”, suscita o desprezo; ao passo que até na censura que se inflige ao seu vencedor há admiração”.
Fran had sex. Something that most of us have already done, already wanted to do, or continue to want and do. What is her great sin? Yes, having sex, having desire and expressing herself. Simone de Beauvoir speaks about how society views female sexuality: “the patriarchal society condemns the women to chastity; it quite openly recognises the right of the man to satisfy his sexual desires, while the woman is confined to marriage: for her, the carnal act, not being sanctified by the code, by the sacrament, is a fault, a downfall, a defeat, a weakness. She has a duty to defend her virtue, her honour; if she ‘yields’, if she ‘falls’, she provokes scorn; while even in the censorship inflicted on her victor there is admiration”.

author: Thiana Biondo


text:
CCTV News Tweets About Zhou Yongkang Corruption Case · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Watch Twitters spotted a news tweets which was quickly deleted about the government's investigation on Zhou Yongkang's corruption case. Is it a rumor? Or a glimpse of the truth? Beijing cream put a spotlight on the discussion.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Egypt: “Morsi is Not Coming Back” · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi will not return to power, says Egyptian blogger Alya Gad, on Twitter. To make her message clear, she translates it in different languages:
مرسي لن يعود – Morsi is not coming back – Morsi no va a volver – Morsi ne reviendra pas – Morsi kommt nicht zurück – Morsi ne revenis 1/2
— Lady GaGad  أفهم  (@AlyaaGad) October 21, 2013
Morsi δεν έρχεται πίσω – Morsi si kuja nyuma – Morsi geri gelmiyor – Мурси не вернется – 穆尔西不回来了- Morsiは戻って来ていません – Morsi वापस नहीं आ रही है
— Lady GaGad  أفهم  (@AlyaaGad) October 21, 2013
In July, Morsi's one-year reign was cut short, after massive protests across Egypt calling for him to resign started on June 30.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Fujimori Trial Temporarily Suspended Due to His Haggard Appearance · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Alberto Fujimori's latest trial was suspended until Monday, October 28, after the former president showed up looking unkempt, disheveled, and carrying a blood pressure monitor.
Fujimori was subpoenaed to testify on Thursday, October 17, about the purchase of the editorial line of some media outlets as part of his re-election campaign during his second term, and which he did with public funds. The process is known as the trial over “chicha (tabloid) newspapers”.
Piden 8 años de cárcel para #Fujimori por desvío de S/. 122 millones para comprar línea editorial de diarios chichas http://t.co/AG6DpgG8MY— TV Perú Noticias (@tv_peru) October 18, 2013
[They are] asking for 8 years in prison for Fujimori for diversion of $122 million [Peruvian soles, $44 million US Dollars] for buying tabloid newspapers
Journalist Jacqueline Fowks, writing for El País, reports [es] what happened in the trial until it was suspended: “In the nearly 40 minute long hearing, the court confirmed that it was awaiting the decision of the Court of First Instance regarding the petition to recuse the three judges who were to try Fujimori; it heard the arguments of [William Paco] Castillo (Fujimori's attorney) for the Supreme Court to try Fujimori, and it sustained the prosecutor's request to increase the amount of civil damages.”
Many Twitter users  were not so convinced [es] about the actual state of the ex-president's health and it became the object of mocking memes [es]:
Por favor, pero para pintar, escribir, twittear si está bien? RT @larepublica_pe: Abogado de #Fujimori,El presidente puede colapsar
— Gammaerys Targaryen (@gammanormids) October 17, 2013
Seriously–but for painting, writing, tweeting, he's okay? Fujiromi's attorney: “the president might collapse.”
#Fujimori se convirtió en tendencia global tras aparecer con este aspecto en juicio http://t.co/17VfvoIiUv pic.twitter.com/Nvf3cAheFd
— Alfonso Baella (@alfonsobaella) October 18, 2013
Fujimori became a global trend after appearing like this at the trial
Some tweeted with sarcasm about what they considered a “show.”
And the winner is… RT @juanlvillegas#Fujimori tremendo actor, palmas por favor.
— Beto Mesones (@mesones) October 17, 2013
What a great actor, applause please.
Totalmente! RT @SeguridadBlanca: #Fujimori se lleva el #Oscar para el #MejorActorDelAño http://t.co/K3Dn7aI8LX
— Cristhian Rojas S (@CristhianRS) October 17, 2013
Totally! RT. Fujimori gets the Oscar for Best Actor.
Some questioned whether it might be part of a new strategy on the part of Fujimori's new lawyer [es], William Paco Castillo.
Fujimori estrenó abogado nuevo. Más adecuado a su perfil de “víctima” y charlatán. Nueva estrategia chicha con look de me acabo de levantar.
— Juan Carlos Barreda (@osobarreda) October 17, 2013
Fujimori debuted new lawyer. More suitable to his “victim” and charlatan profile. Simple new strategy– look, I just got up.
Others took the opportunity to remind us of Fujimori's history of human rights violations:
El Dossier #Fujimori – http://t.co/ermKuucloC
— Jo-Marie Burt (@jomaburt) October 17, 2013
However, there were those who showed concern about the former president's health:
@keikofujimori Fuerza familia #Fujimori, y nunca olviden que DIOS NUNCA SE OLVIDA DE SUS HIJOS BUENOS Y EL CHINO ES UNO DE ELLOS. MUCHA FÉ
— Gabriela Kelly (@GabbyGoodPerson) October 17, 2013
Be strong — and never forget that GOD NEVER FORGETS HIS GOOD CHILDREN AND THE CHINO [Chinese man, a nickname for Fujimori] IS ONE OF THEM. KEEP THE FAITH
Todos los que le estan haciendo pasar ese TAN mal momento a #Fujimori son UNOS HIJOS DE MIL PERR*S
— Luna Massiel ♡ (@Luna_Massiel) October 17, 2013
All of you causing such a bad time for Fujimori are SONS OF BITCH*S
@tuteve #Fujimori Opositores q guardan odio y se olvidan donde estaban cuando habia un coche bomba Fuji acabo con l barbarie q ingratitud!!
— MARIA JULIA (@maryju333) October 18, 2013
Opponents who hate and forget where they were when there was a car bomb. Fuji ended the barbarism. What ingratitude!
This is the sixth trial for Fujimori, and he will face a sentence of 8 to 15 years if he is convicted.
In the previous five trials he was convicted on charges of corruption, embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds and abuse of power, among other things. In one of the trials he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for human rights violations.

author: Juan Arellano


text:
“Let Russians Sweep Their Own Streets”: Minorities Ponder Ethnic Violence · Global Voices
Daniel Alan Kennedy

Migrants detained at a raid on a Moscow market. Authorities have been cracking down in what some see as an appeal to Russian nationalism. YouTube screenshot.
Public unrest, rioting, and the destruction of a vegetable warehouse in Moscow's Biryulyovo district has once again forced Russia to confront its “nationality question.” The unrest follows the murder of 25-year-old Egor Shcherbakov, allegedly at the hands of an Azerbaijani national.
“Progressive,” anti-Kremlin nationalists like Alexey Navalny [ru] and Egor Holmogorov [ru] have used the rioting as a springboard to call for the introduction of a restrictive visa regime with the countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Pro-Kremlin bloggers like Stanislav Apetyan [ru], on the other hand, chalk the violence up to religious tension and police incompetence. The one voice that is largely missing from public dialogue, is of the “people of non-Slavic appearance” — a vague term that describes millions of Russia's ethnic minorities, both migrants from the former Soviet Union and the internal enclaves of the North Caucasus. These folks have perhaps the most at stake in the developing dialogue, and some of them have been speaking out online.
For instance, an Azerbaijani blogger based in Baku, lon43, wondered [ru] why Caucasian and Central Asian immigrants in Ukraine and the Baltic states haven't caused the same levels of social tension. His answer is that the unrest had been cynically whipped up to serve a wide variety of domestic and foreign interests: a redrawing of Moscow's criminal spheres of influence and forcing holdouts among the former Soviet states into a Customs Union with Russia.
Other Azerbaijanis were more self-critical. Tair Aliev, a 53-year-old plastic surgeon who moved from Baku to Moscow when he was nine, wrote about how poorly suited some of his compatriots were for life in Russia and claimed that the situation would have come to a head years ago if it hadn't been for the Russian national character of “hospitality, tolerance and laziness.” In a post entitled “Who prevents us from having a normal life?” [ru], Aliev noted how his childhood views of Baku as a cultured and cosmopolitan city had been ruined by the Azerbaijanis he actually met when the Soviet Union disintegrated:
Они плохо воспитаны, плохо говорят по русски, многие неопрятны и имеют вид дикарей. Поэтому ещё тогда, в середине 90-х, я стал опасаться, что по национальному признаку буду ассоциироваться с ними
They are poorly brought up, speak Russian poorly, many of them are slovenly and look like savages. This is why even in the mid-90s I began warrying that because of my national background I'd be associated with them.
Aliev's views are largely atypical for Russian minorities. Nazim Kalcha, an ethnic Kyrgyz living in Moscow, noted the irony [ru] of how Central Asians seem to always be targeted in response to murders of ethnic Russians by South and North Caucasians. Writing on the Central Asian online news portal Fergana News, Kalcha claims that Russian hostility is simply projection:
Раздраженному, обманутому и обозленному народу нужен четкий и конкретный враг, с резкими контурами, чтобы выделялся, контрастировал с основной массой. Может, нос побольше, или глаза поуже, для верности еще, чтобы по-русски ни бельмеса, а если и бельмеса, то самую малость.
An irritated, bamboozled and angry people need a clear and concrete enemy, with sharp contours, one that is in stark contrast with the general populace. Perhaps the noses are slightly bigger, or the eyes slightly narrower, and to round off the picture, someone that doesn't speak any Russian, and if he does, then just a bit.
The Biryulyovo riots were also discussed at length [ru] in the comments section of the independent Uzbek News site UZNews.net, where many were incensed at the treatment of migrants in Russia. One user, “hank,” writing in transliterated Russian, placed the blame on the Soviet Union's failure to implement a working nationalities policy, somewhat confusingly using the United States as a counter example:
Posmotrite na Ameriku – kakie tam nacionalnosti?? pravilno – vse amerikanci. tak oni reshali razom vse nacionalnie voprosi.Uchites! A v SSSR vsyu dorogu -70 let mi imeli russkiy nacionalniy imperializm.
Take a look at America – what nationalities do they have there?? That's right – they're all Americans. That's how the solved all their nationality problems at once. Learn from it! But in the USSR for the entire 70 years we had Russian ethnic imperialism.
Another user, who posted under the name “Non-Russian”, sarcastically flipped the tables on the proposed visa regime:
Был бы я главой Средней Азии, с Россией отменил бы без визовый режим. Раз народ без работы, пусть лучше едут в ту же Турцию или Корею (там сотни тысяч узбеков трудятся мирно и спокойно, на порядок лучше России и никто никого не гонит не то что бы убивать). Пусть Россияне сами свои улицы подметают, посмотрим смогут ли ваши алкоголики нормально работать.
If I were in charge of Central Asia I'd cancel the visa-free regime with Russia. The unemployed are better off in Turkey or Korea (there are hundreds of thousands of Uzbeks there working peacefully, exponentially better than in Russian, and no one persecutes them, let alone kills them). Let the Russians sweep their own streets, lets see if your alcoholics can work properly.
“Let the Russians sweep their own streets” – despite populist nationalism, Russia is heavily dependent on migrant labor. Photo CC2.0 Cea
Regardless of such sentiments, Central Asia and the Caucasus are extremely dependent on Russia for jobs and remittances. Almost half of Tajikistan's entire GDP is based on remittances from Russia. At the same time, Russia's economy is dependent upon a pool of cheap migrant labor. While economics and history still bind Russians, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Dagestanis and Azerbaijanis together, government inaction in the face of rising nationalism means inter-ethnic relations will continue to deteriorate.

author: Daniel Alan Kennedy


text:
Madagascar Presidential Elections: The Home Stretch · Global Voices
avylavitra

On Friday October 25,  presidential elections will take place in Madagascar.  This is a very long anticipated moment for the much of the country's population who hope it will bring change, progress and above all the prospect of an end to the crisis.
It is not only the population who await a positive outcome but also the presidential candidates who have each done their best during the electoral campaign period.  This period has proved useful for getting to know each of the candidates, especially those who are not very well known to the wider audience.
Some, like  Olivier Fridolin M have been asking who to choose on Facebook [mg]:
Dia iza izany no fidiana? Sarotra koa miverina @ naloha eh!
Who to choose?… challenging to see the same political parties as frontrunners again
Or even Diamondra Hajanirina R :
D iz zan no ho fidina e?????
Who to vote for?
Campaign posters in Madagascar from the author of the post with his permission
33 candidates should be accessible and visible to everyone, whether on television and radio a well as on social networking sites like Facebook.  Only half of then (16) have exposure across the whole country (in rural regions and towns).  Some of the candidates appear calm and moderate, while others’ campaigns are vocal and frenetic (posters, t-shirts and other campaign materials).
Also on Facebook, one journalist, Domoina Rasamoelson, asks:
Lojika manao ahoana ary izany no hiheverana kandidà fa ho lany izy. Ny isan'ny olona nanatrika ve ? Ny isan'ny t-shirt sy ny zavatra nozaraina ve ? Ny horakoraka azony ve ? Ny vola natsipitsipy teny rehetra teny ve ? Ny zava-misy mantsy, rehefa zahana toa ny lalambe ihany no nahita endrika ny kandidà izay nanana fahefana nanao propagandy fa ireo izay tsy nanana kosa nampiasa ny TVM no nataony fa ny tsy fantatr'izy ireto dia izao : zara raha manana jiro 4 ora ny mponina any amin'ny faritra maro, zara raha todin'ny fiara any aminy ary ny mampalahelo indrindra dia mbola eo koa ny hoe sady tsy mahay mamaky teny ny be no sady tsy mahay manoratra…
By what logic do the candidates believe they will be elected?  The number of t-shirts and gifts?  Clamour and applause?  Cash hand-outs here and there?  In fact, when you take a closer look, only the faces of those in power are seen on the main arteries of any town while images of those who do not have money are only broadcast by Malagasy national TV.  What these candidate are not aware of is that electricity is only available for 4 hours a day in many isolated regions; and what is worse still, many are illiterates who can neither read nor write.
The 16 candidates with the most exposure across the whole country are:
 Hajo Herivelona Andrianainarivelo
 Edgard Marie Noé Razafindravahy
 Hery MArtial Rakotoarimanana Rajaonarimampianina
 Jean Louis Robinson Richard
 Rolland Iarovana Ratsiraka
 Camille Vital Albert
 Rabeharisoa Sarah Georget
 Rabemanantsoa Brigitte Ihantanirina
 Willy Sylvain Rabetsaroana
 Tabera Randriamanantsoa
 Fetison Rakoto Andrianirina
 Laza Razafiarison
 Ratrema William
 Julien Razafimanazato
 Venance Patrick Raharimanana
 Randriamampionona Joseph Martin (Dadafara)
Rakotokely Lydia remains doubtful about the means by which this campaign has been carried out [mg]:
“Samy manana ny fomba handresen’ny lahatra ireo vahoaka mpifidy avokoa ireo Kandidà ireo ka zary lasa fijerena ny fahafaha-manaon’ireo Kandidà ilay fampielezan-kevitra.
“Each candidate has their own method of convincing the voters, to the extent that this electoral campaign actually boils down to a demonstration of media and communications tools
The question many are asking is therefore: what has happened to the other candidates?  Have their already thrown in the towel?
Some say that these candidates do not have any means of distribution or their distribution is limited to their villages (going door to door), or they are actually preparing for legislative elections.  Some may have even withdrawn their presidential candidacy altogether in order to support a different candidate.
Another reason will be the refusal of the “single ballot”, a concept which has provoked much debate within the country around the fact that rural populations living away from urban centres will not understand how the ballot works, leaving the door open for electoral fraud.  Lastly, some politicians think the duration of the campaign should have been longer than just a few months.  As a consequence dysfunction is widespread, the worst of it being that many of those eligible to vote are not on the electoral roll.
The candidates who are still in the running – as posted by Madagate  here
Here is what Nadia Raonimanalina thinks [mg]:
Izao no soso-kevitro aminareo rehetra milaza fa tsy nahazo karatra sy tsy anaty lisitra. Nanao recensement ny Cenit nisy fotoana dia nisy reçu nomena anareo. Tehirizo tsara raha tena tsy afaka mifidy ianareo. Iny avy eo no entina hanaovana réclamation… Tandremo pièce mitambatambatra ilaina ireny ho an'ny Ces…
je suggère à tous ceux qui n’ont pas eu de cartes d’électeurs et qui ne sont pas sur les listes :le CENIT a fait un recensement et on vous a attribué un reçu, GARDEZ bien ce récépissé, et si vous n’êtes pas autorisé à voter,  ce récépissé vous permettra de déposer une réclamation. Attention, il faudra un ensemble de pièces pour le CES !!!!
To everyone who does not have a polling card and is not on the rolls, I suggest:  The CENIT carried out a census and assigned you a receipt.  KEEP HOLD of this receipt and if you are not permitted to vote, this receipt will allow you to lodge a complaint.  Beware, you will need a set of papers for the CES!!!!
DOT.mg sarcastically states :
Raha izaho no lany Dada tsy avelako mody, Neny sy Boaikely roahiko tsy mahazo miditra eto tsony, tsinjoviko ny vahoaka fa ny bois de rose hanamboarako cure dents amin'izay mba samy manana bois de rose ny Gasy. Vazivazy fa raha izay aza no drafi-panarenam-pirenena hatolotro tsy ho mena mitahy amin'ny an'ireo 33 ireo.
If I am elected, I will not let Dada (former president Ravalomanana) back into the country, I will expel Neny (wife of president Ravalomananna and Boy Kely (current president Rajoelina), so that they couldn't come back here, but I will use rose wood for toothpicks, meaning every Malagasy would have their ‘rose wood'!  I'm just kidding, but if that's my recovery programme, it wont be any worse that those of the 33 candidates
It is not only at home but also abroad that questions are being asked, but this time about Andry Rajoelina, for example French Radio, Radio France International (RFI) says :
A quelques jours du scrutin présidentiel dont le premier tour est fixé au vendredi 25 octobre, le chef de la transition malgache cultive toujours le mystère sur son propre avenir. Va-t-il faire ses adieux à la politique ? Renaître de ses cendres aux côtés du prochain président ? Prendre les chemins de l’exil ou se mettre en réserve de la République et préparer son éventuel retour aux affaires dans cinq ans ?
Only a few days away from the presidential elections, whose first round is set for Friday 25th October, the head of Malagasy transition was still cultivating an air of mystery surrounding his own future.  Will he say his political goodbyes?  Rise from the ashes to the side of the next president?  Go into exile or put himself in reserve for the Republic and prepare his eventual return to business in five years?
In conclusion, what all the Malagasy people hope for is total transparency so that what is expressed is the choice of the people. Electoral observers will be on the ground as well as international observers and it is hoped that each one will fulfil their responsibilities.
Les observateurs de la mission européenne, de leur page Facebook MOE avec leurs permissions.
Some web commentators are already particularly worked up about pre-election dysfunction.
Jean Luce Randriamihotra, amongst others, published an open letter to Atallah Beatrice, head of the Independent National Election Commission for Transition (CENIT):
The more we hear you on the TV the more deeply sad we feel.  We do not know whether it is you who is to be most pitied, or the Malagasy people who listen to you.  You say that is it not really anyone's fault if there are 1 400 000 duplicate voting card, because there is as yet no better programme:  either you are cheating on someone's behalf, or you do not understand technology!!!  The programme was created by IT experts, so if there are faults or errors, the individuals in charge are the guilty ones!  You who have primary responsibility are also all guilty (the cheaters and the beneficiaries of cheating are equally guilty!).
To us, it's all very simple, the guilty must be punished because the life of the Nation is not a child's toy and we believe that Mr Hery Rakotomanana and the technicians must not be allowed to evade responsibility.  You are not going to get yourselves of the hook because they could make errors, whether by act or incompetence.  You are not going to get away with it because they could make so called errors, whether by act or incompetence.  Doubt is not allowed and wont be tolerated.
Lova Rakotomalala wrote the following after having distributed photos of Andrimaso:
Les mesures de masse pour fraude systématique lors des élections ont commencé: 1) on hacke les sites d'observations citoyens malgaches 2) on envoie des observateurs de pays “amis” ( ex: Maurice) contrôlés les PV 3) Pour soi disant formés les électeurs dans le fokontany, on les fait remplir des bulletins sans la mention spécimen dessus. Du coup, ces bulletins pourront être utilisés pour bourrer les urnes plus tard. Sil vous plait, prenez toutes actions suspectes en photo, c'est le seul moyen de se battre. Bon courage à tous.
Mass measures for systemic electoral fraud have begun:  1) the Malagasy citizens monitoring sites are being hacked 2) observers from ‘friendly’ countries (e.g. Mauritius) are being sent to control the PV 3) Under the guise of training voters in the fokontanys, voters are made to fill in ballot papers which are not clearly labelled as specimen.  Thus, the ballot papers could later be used to stuff the ballot boxes.  Please, photograph any suspicious activity, it is the only way of combatting it.  Good luck to everyone.
It is the home stretch for many candidates and during this period every candidate has attempted to attract voters by any means.  Here are a few examples:
Posters on wall
newly decorated taxis
The hills of Ampamarihana
On buses commuting around towns
even trash bins are used for pasting campaign posters
Jentilisa expresses his anxiety in this Facebook post:
La période de campagne se termine aujourd'hui mais nous allons vers une période encore plus trouble.
All photos in these posts were either taken by the author or used with permission from the facebook profile of the photographers.

author: avylavitra


text:
Mozambique’s 20-Year Peace at Great Risk · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Morning mist in Gorongosa. Photo by Bart Wursten on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Yesterday, Mozambican armed forces launched a raid against the year-long headquarters of opposition leader and ex-guerrilla leader Afonso Dhlakama in Gorongosa, in the center of the country. After a number of raids on security forces attributed to Renamo, Dhkakama's rebel group-turned-political party, some even on the National Highway, and a series of failed negotiations in the country's capital Maputo between Renamo and the government, Mozambican armed forces had essentially surrounded the Renamo base in recent weeks.
Following the attack, on October 21, 2013, a Renamo spokesperson declared it constituted an assassination attempt against Dhlakama, marking the end of a 20 year peace deal, signed in 1992 in Rome. Renamo announced that Dhlakama had fled into the bush. He was reported to have said he “could not control” the response of his supporters to the government attack.
Renamo and the state of Mozambique (led from independence by governing party Frelimo) fought over the country during a bloody period of civil war, fueled by Cold War politics and longstanding rivalries. When Renamo came in from the bush, it agreed to become an opposition party as a part of a “multi-party” democracy. The group never had a harmonious relationship with the government, trying to play the spoiler in a number of elections, but remained in parliament acting as Mozambique's main opposition party.
An important context of this year's increasing conflict are upcoming municipal elections (which Renamo was boycotting) and the continued discovery of major hydrocarbon deposits off Mozambique's Indian Ocean coast (see our coverage).
Comment about the escalation of hostilities was quick to pour in, much of it from a generation which grew up after the country's bloody civil war. On Twitter, many joined in a chorus of “no” to war.
Não aos “antigos combatentes” no “poder”. #NÃO.
— ★ Dr. Faz-Tudo ★ (@K9_MOZ) October 21, 2013
NO to the “ex-combatants” in “power” #NO
Nao Queremos Guerra aqui.
— Blakiinho Paraíba ™ (@BlakeBruce) October 21, 2013
We don't want war here.
Pray for my country #Mozambique. Whoever wants war, you better know that WE SAY NO to war. #Peace #Hope
— Sandra Gaveta (@sandragaveta) October 21, 2013
Commenters on the Facebook wall of @Verdade newspaper observed that the common people pay the price in conflicts, or “carry the can” while leaders seem “quite relaxed”.
A number of young people jokingly referred to Dhlakama as a “Bin Laden”.
The unconfirmed and seemingly fake twitter account of Afonso Dhlakama tweeted “I am alive and in a safe place” provoking a number of sarcastic and disrespectful responses.
Long-time blogger on Mozambique JPT wrote
Olho o telefone, deixado em silêncio, e está cheio de mensagens, alarmadas, o temor da escalada… E a paz, esse bem supremo, está em perigo
I look at my phone, left on silence, and it's full of messages, alarmed, fear of an escalation… And peace, this supreme good, is at risk
Most were extremely worried about the uncertainty that lies ahead. Fransisco Moises commented on Moçambique para Todos blog
Pelos vistos, o acordo de Roma morreu. Tudo é agora possivel. Tomar e quebrar uma base nao é ganhar a guerra. Os que se encontram nas matas poderao agora lançar a guerrilha, principalmente sem o controlo do Dhlakama que era impedimento para muitos homens que queriam actuar.
The Rome accords are dead, it appears. Now all is possible. Taking and busting up the base is not winning a war. Those now in the bush can launch guerrilla attacks, without the control of Dhlakama who was actually preventing many men from taking action.
Not all were so critical of the government's attack. Commenter Antonio Vasco wrote on Moçambique para Todos blog
Era a hora!
Bases militares ou pro-militares da Renamo em Moçambique?
Mas,a Renamo nao é ela um Partido Politico?
Se o desaparecimento do Lider da Renamo for permanente,talvez,talvez a Renamo como Partido Politico poderá ela transformar-se num verdadeiro partido politco.
Boa Noticia! Se for necessario,que as forças de Seguarança e militares de Moçambicanas que destruam todas palhotas dessa base.Boa,boa e boa noticia!
It was about time!
Military or militaristic bases of Renamo in Mozambique? But, isn't Renamo a political party? If the disappearance of the leader of Renamo is to be permanent, perhaps, perhaps Renamo as a political party can actually become just that.
Good news! if necessary, the armed forces should destroy all of the huts of that base. Good, good, and good news!
Meanwhile, President Armando Guebuza carries on his “Open Presidency” tour, curiously in the same province as the attacks and on the eve of municipal elections slated for November 20.

author: Janet Gunter


text:
Nicolás Maduro’s First Six Months as President of Venezuela · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Venezuela is sitting on top of the largest oil reserves in the world and has a continual flow of dollars coming in. So they are not on the brink of a collapse. But they are progressively sliding into the swamp of serious economic dysfunction that will make sustained growth difficult and that could undermine Chavismo as a viable democratic political project.
David Smilde writes about Nicolás Maduro‘s first six months in office in the blog Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights.


text:
Opposition Wins Trinidad’s Local Government Elections, but Everybody Celebrates  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Update [October 25, 7:00 p.m.] regarding the “low voter turnout” referred to in this post: The Elections and Boundaries Commission has since released official figures which prove that contrary to what was first reported, the voter turnout level was actually the complete opposite – the highest ever for a Local Government Election.
The results are in for Trinidad's local government elections.  The opposition People's National Movement won with an eight seat majority.  The United National Congress (the Prime Minister‘s party, which is a member of the ruling People's Partnership coalition) secured five seats and the other two contenders, Jack Warner's Independent Liberal Party and the Congress of the People (also part of the coalition government) failed to get elected to a single regional corporation.  Chaguanas, the borough that saw a major upset in a recent by-election, is still hung.
On Facebook, many of the netizens who were quoted in yesterday's post saw their predictions come true.  For Rhoda Bharath, it was easy to explain the PNM's win:
For an entire month, the PNM delivered speeches on personal responsibility and reform of the LG Corporations.
UNC ILP and COP voters were busy dressing up goats and attacking women and bussing mark.
To come this morning and say PNM won because of tribal voting and split votes is to say that the Party didn't offer a superior message on its platform.
Compare Rowley ‘s campaign with Kamla, Prakash and Jack’ s and get back to me.
It was nowhere as depraved or mindless.
Still, several media personalities and political commentators were describing yesterday's voting as “tribal”.  Bharath responded:
Here is what baffles…
Less than 70% of the population voted.
PNM and UNC have equal number of seats in Chaguanas and PNM polled more votes.
In Siparia and Penal/Debe, alleged UNC heartland, the PNM won seats….
So, where the Tribal conclusion coming from?
Enough people vote to even determine that the country vote tribe?
To prove her point that she voted based on issues and not race, Bharath also sent a message to Keith Rowley, the current Leader of the Opposition:
Good Morning to Opposition Leader.
I want to take this opportunity to say congratulations.
I also wish to say the work now start.
8 Corps, means a large mandate.
We expect to see the words of the campaign trail convert into action.
And, as is my custom, if you doing crap, I will be offering constructive criticism.
We Believed.
Now you must deliver!
Victory aside, some Facebook users defended their right to not vote. Franz Gillezeau posted:
Reasons people I know voted yesterday:
1) Their friend was running.
2) They felt like they had to.
3) They voted against a party, not for a party.
None of them voted because they thought that particular individual or party could do them any good.
To me, that is a waste of time.
I will not vote just because my friend is running. I will not vote just because people in other countries do not have the right. I will not vote to spite a party.
I WILL vote when I have someone to vote for whom I believe will do my area or my country good.
AND, despite my not voting, I will CONTINUE to have an opinion and will continue to express it freely and who vex, loss.
Ian Ramjohn had a different take on the elections results, which spoke to the low voter turnout:
Looks like people did what they said they would – stay home. ‘Not voting’ clearly won the local government elections in Trinidad, with the PNM a distant second. Even in the famous no-vote campaign of 1972 the PNM still picked up 27% (or so) of the registered electorate. In this election they picked up what – 11 or 12%? Clearly none of the parties should be celebrating anything.
The outcome certainly didn't stop the other parties from celebrating; the Prime Minister covered all her bases by saying that with the proportional representation model, “everyone will win”.  Of the battle for Chaguanas, where UNC party loyalists were concerned that the ILP would split the vote, the Prime Minister maintained that her party did not lose.  Even Jack Warner was claiming some measure of victory – on his official Facebook page, he posted:
#JackWarner @ ILP headquarters (election night): based on the results tonight the ILP is the 3rd political force in this country and for a party that is not even 4 months old, this is a reason to celebrate.
Not all netizens anticipated festivities, however.  Vernon O'Reilly Ramesar posted late last night:
That was a long night. I guess all analyst eyes will be on the COP tomorrow.
They certainly were, with some suggesting that the Local Government Elections were the death knell for the party.  There was even this meme circulating on Facebook:
Meme about the COP's performance in Local Government Elections, created by Hayden Margerum
Kathryn Stollmeyer-Wight, a former COP member, had this to say:
500 million spent on the elections.
Lets not endorse this vulgar display of noise & ugly behavior again.
Hear what, from now on, let every dollar given to a political party's election campaign be matched by the same amount given to charity.
And Jack, who says ‘My love knows no boundaries’ I suggest you file tax returns, pay taxes & vat, (you would also have to register all your companies) & show this love by obeying our laws.
And Manning, ride out. ‘When I have finished this term of office…’
You have finished, thanks, but no thanks. You gave 30 million of our $ to the church in Guanapo, give us a break now.
COP time to ‘Turn the negative into a positive’ your leader said. Well its a huge amount of negative you dealing with. ZERO seats.
No thanks for going along with tale of Resmi Ramnarine, Section 34, Jack's Firetruck that you believed was worth 56 million etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.
We thought you were there to work, not to fall prey.
Rowley, you are back. Learn from the past mistakes, don't get lost in Cleaver Woods again.
Congratulations PNM, try try try to keep it clean & to be clean.
And then to the UNC. You planassed on every platform, on every corner & from every truck. The level of your campaigning was in direct contrast to the level of the Canadian bank accounts etc we know exist. Hide behind the garish stain glass windows & tone down the travel. You will be riding out soon anyway.
And Ian? Robin? Om? Volney has a new business, why not ask him for a work? Birds of a feather an’ all that. You could all talk @ the same time, though no one will listen.
And this my FB friends, is indeed, my last political post.
All Facebook status updates quoted in this post have been used with permission.