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Mexico: Shots Fired at Transparency Expert on University Campus · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

View of the university campus where the attempted murder took place. Photo courtesy of the author, J. Tadeo (May, 2012).
Mexican jurist Ernesto Villanueva survived an attack on the morning of October 29, 2014, as he drove through the campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), considered by many to be the country's most prestigious institution of higher learning. Several shots were fired at Villanueva just outside the building that houses the Institute for Legal Research.
Ernesto Villanueva (@evillanuevamx) has spent much of his career studying the right to information, freedom of expression, transparency, and accountability. Earlier this year, he was listed among possible candidates to serve as a commissioner for Mexico's Federal Institute for Access to Public Information and Data Protection, the mandate of which is to guarantee access to information.
Ernesto Villanueva. Photo from his Twitter profile.
In a recently published article in the magazine Proceso, Dr. Villanueva denounced the lack of transparency and other alleged irregularities that overshadowed the appointment of the director of the Institute for Legal Research, in which former Institute director Diego Valadés was also involved. Several academics, exercising their right of reply in the same periodical, vigorously refuted the allegations made by Villanueva and accused him of discrediting the institution.
In light of the dispute, according to Proceso, Dr. Villanueva suggested that Valadés could have been involved in the criminal acts:
Villanueva identificó a Diego Valadés, exdirector del Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas, como uno de los que podrían estar detrás del atentado que sufrió cuando manejaba un vehículo Mitsubishi, que recibió por los menos tres balazos calibre 38 de un sujeto desconocido.
Villanueva identified Diego Valadés, former director of the Institute for Legal Research, as one of those who could have been behind the assault on the Mitsubishi vehicle he was driving when it was struck by three 38-caliber shells from an unknown gunman.
Reports indicate that Villanueva was unharmed.
Twitter user Carlos Brito shared his comments about the commission of such a violent act:
¡YA BASTA! El Dr. @evillanuevamx sufrió hoy un ataque DENTRO de CU. Abrazo solidario. Fuerza. http://t.co/pMyAXk7Wki pic.twitter.com/9oh1ccE6sg
— Carlos Brito (@Britovsky) October 29, 2014
Enough is enough! Dr @evillanuevamx was attacked WITHIN the university campus. We stand in solidarity. Strength.
Mexican sociologist Raul Trejo also supported Ernesto Villanueva:
Solidaridad con el Dr.Ernesto Villanueva, @evillanuevamx, que ha denunciado atentado en su contra.El asunto debe ser plenamente esclarecido.
— Raúl Trejo Delarbre (@ciberfan) October 29, 2014
In solidarity with Dr. Ernesto Villanueva, @evillanuevamx, who denounced an attempt on his life. The matter needs to be thoroughly investigated.
Dr. Villanueva has published a variety of articles on current affairs in his Mexico, chief among them are accounts of the explosion of violence in his native Michoacán and the high public transit cost for commuters in Mexico's capital city.


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Pakistan Warns Universities Not to Question Government Following Model UN Controversy Over Israeli Booth · Global Voices
Rai M Azlan

Poster by AccessIsMyRight.pk
Uproar over a booth showcasing Israeli culture as part of a university Model United Nations event in Pakistan has prompted the country's higher education authority to warn universities not to challenge “the perspective of the government.”
The stall appeared at a three-day Women's International Model United Nations event in Islamabad, which began on 24 October and was organized by faculty of Management Sciences at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI). Model United Nations are held around the world and feature committee sessions and debates similar to those of the United Nations, as well as social events like the Global Village, during which participants highlight the culture of the countries they represent. These exercises contribute to students’ knowledge about other people countries, and cultures.
But the photos of the Israel stall at the event, which began to circulate last week, hit a nerve with many. The Pakistani state does not recognize Israel as a country, and the majority of Pakistanis have a mainly negative view of Israel — 60 percent, according to the latest BBC Global Poll. Outraged, many recorded their protest of the booth online and offline.
The protest that gained the most spotlight was the IIUI chapter of right-wing student organization IJT (Islami Jamiat e Tulba). IJT staged a demonstration in front of the National Press Club on 26 October to condemn the stall.
A student of IIUI Tweeted a photo showing IJT activists burning Israeli flag during the protest:
کارکنان جمعیت اسرائیل کا جھنڈا نذر آتش کر رہے ہیں۔#IIUI #IIUIWithPalestine #IIUIWithIsrael pic.twitter.com/3wl4N0sMyf
— Talha Bin Javed (@Mujahid_e_Islam) October 26, 2014
Activists of Jamiat are burning Israeli flag #IIUI #IIUIWithPalestine #IIUIWithIsrael
Model UN participants who were in the hall told English-language daily Dawn that IJT members weren't the first to speak out against the Israel stall. According to them, attaches from the Iranian and Palestinian missions who attended the event were the first to complain. Like Pakistan, Iran does not recognize Israel.
The university proceeded to suspend the dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Dr. Bashir Khan, and student adviser Tasneem Fatima, who were responsible for the Model United Nations event.
In the official statement issued by IIUI’s spokesperson, Mr. Hairan Khattak, said that a few students arranged the stall without the knowledge or permission of university officials. He also, on behalf of IIUI, condemned the incident. “No sooner did they come to know about the matter than the programme was cancelled without any further delay,” he said.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) further fueled the controversy when it issued a letter to all the universities in response to the incident, asking them to:
remain very vigilant and forestall any activity that in any manner challenge(s) the ideology and principles of Pakistan, and/or perspective of the government of Pakistan.
Many Pakistani activists are protesting the HEC's letter. On Facebook, ICT and human rights organization Bytes For All, Pakistan called it an attack on fundamental freedoms:
The directive is a product of a shallow and fascistic mindset that leads to radicalization in the society. It is also an attempt at institutionalizing mass clampdown of fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and assembly. It is unfortunate and condemnable that critical thinking is being banned in universities, instead of being encouraged and inculcated among the youth of Pakistan.
Many IIUI insiders such as students and staff members believed that arranging such stall was a risky move to being with right when Pakistan has in diplomatic ties with Israel and it is one of the most sensitive topic , however, they also say that presenting this whole issue as right vs. left matter by both mainstream and social media is unjust too as almost every one voiced about it perhaps the actions of IJT of closing down the stall and then call for strike gained all the attention in this matter.
Social media was flooded with commentary over the issue. Some Twitter users were aggrieved by the stall in light of Israel's recent offensive against Gaza, which left more than 2,000 Palestinians dead:
While Israelis r busy in killing innocent Palestinians; our shameless IIUI celebrated Israeli cultural day. #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/MyGUsPlqc3
— Fatima Ali (@FatimaAli52) October 29, 2014
for the first time in life feeling ashamed of being an Islamian … IIUI International Islamic University,… http://t.co/057EBu1GYN
— لیٹ لطیف (@WaCaS) October 26, 2014
Recalling this summer's offensive in Gaza, a Twitter user posted this picture using the Hashtag #SaySeBaraJhoot (#TheBiggestLie):
Israel's Culture As I see it versus as @IIUI_OFFICIAL sees it!!! #SabSeBaraJhoot pic.twitter.com/M5LyMOPaK6
— Sara Sultana (@Sara__Sultana) October 25, 2014
Given the outrage, several users tweeted in defense of IIUI and its students, saying that not all the students are responsible so harassing them must end:
Do you have a brain? stop this rubbish, and leave the students #IIUI they are just students dnt do #MUN then http://t.co/DDbq5uBwYX
— by B (@farihabee) October 29, 2014
A few voiced their support of the stall:
#UN recognizes the state of #Israel and it was a Model United Nations! #IIUI #IslamicUniversity
— Saima Saleem (@ssmawani) October 27, 2014
Some shared a photo of the page within the Pakistani passport that says it is not valid for travel to Israel:
A friendly reminder to all those defending #Israeli Stall or find no big deal in setting this one up. PLEASE? #IIUI pic.twitter.com/uORi2qOcGC
— Nouman Khan (@a_guy_nextdoor) October 27, 2014
Others blamed IJT for fanning the flames and condemned the university's response:
@etribune What utter rubbish and lack of intelligence… by the IJT and the IIUI admin that is.
— Arsalan Arshad (@arsalanarshad) October 27, 2014
Height of stupidity. And then we wonder why things don't change in Pakistan. http://t.co/luNeu4FpTu
— Shahrukh Sohail (@shahrukhsohail7) October 27, 2014

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rai M Azlan


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Russia’s Punk Underground on Trial · Global Voices
Lewis May

Aleksei Sutuga, known as Socrates in punk circles. Photo: Vkontakte.
With his tattooed arms and buzzed head, “Socrates” (born Aleksei Sutuga) hardly resembles a greek philosopher. But like his namesake, Socrates’ politics have run him afoul of authorities. For the past few years, Socrates has risen as a vocal leader in the anti-fascist punk (antifa) community in Russia, a response to growing ranks of ultra-nationalist and neo-nazi groups.
Now, following a seemingly staged trial, he’s serving a 3-year prison term. While considered by some to be fringe movements, fascist and antifa punk groups have exerted influence in Russia in certain ways, perhaps reaching even the highest levels of the Russian media and government.
Locked up after a suspicious trial
Socrates’ conviction centered on his role in a late-night scuffle last January. Authorities claim that Socrates and three accomplices attacked a group of young men at Cafe Sbarro, wielding a homemade hammer. Socrates, however, reported only talking to the group of defendants, who recognized him as a leader in antifa circles. Afterwards, the group became ensnared in a brawl in the adjoining room, where Socrates intervened and separated the fighters.
A report by Mediazona, a prison rights watchdog site, found numerous suspicious details in the case. Most notably, the three men claiming to have been attacked by Socrates have participated in neo-nazi rallies and have testified in numerous prior trials against anti-fascists. Court documents bore mismatched dates, some prior to the alleged assault, leading legal experts to believe that the trial may have been fabricated especially for Socrates. More recently, his appeal was denied on the basis of late submission, though Socrates’ defense attorneys allege that the government again changed the date on the document to avoid a retrial.
Socrates’ heightened profile may have attracted unfavorable government attention. His role as a leader within the antifa community, a fiercely anti-Kremlin group, has grown markedly in the last year. Authorities released him on separate charges earlier this year, under the same amnesty act that freed members of Pussy Riot. With the resulting widespread media attention, Socrates earned an interview with Russia's only independent television station, TV Rain, where he campaigned for prisoner rights.
Russia's anti-fascist underground Internet presence
The RuNet has rallied behind Socrates before, establishing an Internet donation fund to support him during a prior prison sentence. In response, he authored a series of letters from prison to the antifa community that the movement's websites recirculated widely. The antifa community has a wide and varied Internet presence, with members using all media forms to broadcast a wide set of political ideologies united by a common opposition to racism, homophobia, and totalitarianism. Many of these groups are derivatives of similar Western groups like SHARP and RASH. Like Western antifa groups, Russia's activists produce and share punk rock, zines, art, and film related to antifa movements.
There is reason to suspect that ultra-nationalists and neo-nazis might actually be working inside the Russian media. Socrates’ conviction was based in large part on photographic evidence found at the scene of the crime, published by the online news agency Ridus. Curiously, the picture was not posted until after the start of the trial in April, several months after the incident, suggesting there may have been collusion between Russian authorities and Ridus.
The deputy editor of Ridus, Andrei Gulutin, has been identified by nazi watchdog sites and Mediazona as having ties to neo-nazi and ultra-nationalist groups. In the past, Gulutin was a drummer for two prominent ultra-nationalist punk groups, Gangs of Moscow and Right Hook. He also maintained close ties with Russian Way, an ultra-nationalist group whose leader later founded the neo-nazi group BORN.
“Socrates, you're free!” “I'm coming! I'm coming!” Political cartoon published at the Russian anarchist website abc38.noblogs.org.
Russia's ‘antifa’ past
Persecuting anti-fascist musicians and activists is nothing new in Russia. The first Western heavy metal groups to become popular in the Soviet Union faced censorship after government accusations of neo-nazism. (Some comically linked the KISS logo’s double S to the Nazi stormtroopers’ insignia.) Botched translations of police documents even prompted a few officers to identify pony-tailed men as “skinheads.” But more recently, Pussy Riot’s arrest and imprisonment drew worldwide attention to serious antifa groups and their efforts against the Putin regime. Police have arrested other antifa activists, most notably Crimean protester Aleksandr Kolchenko and student Aleksei Olesinov. Antifa punk concerts are constantly threatened with being shut down by the Russian police department’s “Department of Fighting Extremism.”
Russia’s official stance against neo-nazis and ultra-nationalists is ostensibly clearcut. Putin has said those who chant “Russia for Russians” are just “fools and provocateurs.” But Moscow's involvement in defending the Yanukovych regime, annexing Crimea, and supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine has escalated nationalist sentiments in Russia, and ultra-nationalist and neo-nazi groups have grown more active.
Ultra-nationalist and antifa punk culture has had a surprising role in shaping the current Russian political and media landscape. Two relative unknowns in 1980s Moscow,  Edward Limonov and Vladislav Surkov, both had their roots in early Russian counterculture and punk rock and would go on to exert sizable influence in Russia. Limonov, among many, many other things, was a prominent avant-garde novelist and, in the 2000s, led the National Bolshevik Party, an ultra-nationalist party composed partly of skinheads. (The political party was ultimately banned.) Limonov still maintains influence in Russia, contributing to prominent magazines and holding political meetings.
Surkov went much deeper into the Kremlin, becoming the president's first deputy chief and later the deputy prime minister. Though many consider him one of the chief architects of Russia’s modern political system, Surkov never left behind his punk rock roots. While working for the Kremlin, he allegedly ghostwrote lyrics for the prominent Russian band Agata Kristi.
An unclear future for the Russian antifa movement
While their influence is hardly insubstantial, ultra-nationalist and antifa groups are still popular with only a small minority of Russians. Many criticize both ultra-nationalist and antifascist groups for their use of violence. The two movements’ symbols and outward appearance, moreover is nearly indistinguishable to the layman.
Foreign punk groups complain that touring Russia without security guards is nearly impossible, as brawls between neo-nazis and antifa groups commonly become deadly. Antifa musical groups have also failed to establish a broad listening base. Even Pussy Riot, perhaps the most widely-known Russian musical group in the world (and certainly the most popular antifa group), have released only seven songs to limited audiences.
If the past belonged to men like Limonov and Surkov, it's not clear what the future holds for people like Socrates. His trial, in the eyes of many, is a blow to both the Russian antifa movement and Socrates’ personal reputation. How the group moves forward will depend on his ability to rally supporters. In this, from behind bars, Socrates presumably will need to rely on Internet-based communication.

author: Lewis May


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VIDEO: How a Laos Dam Project Could Endanger Communities in Cambodia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

EarthRights International has uploaded a video about the threat posed by a mega dam construction in Laos to communities situated along the Mekong River in Cambodia. Laos and Cambodia are neighbors in the Southeast Asian region.

author: Mong Palatino


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Chinese Web Users Are Skeptical as China and Japan Resume Official Dialogue · Global Voices
Owen Guo

Biantailajiao's political cartoon on APEC. Key figures in the power play: Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Barack Obama, and Korean President Park Geun-hye. Non-commercial use.
China and Japan have agreed to improve ties after nearly two years of tense diplomatic standoff over a territorial row, a tentative sign of a thaw in relations between Asia’s two largest economies ahead of a gathering of world leaders in the Chinese capital.
The announcement paves the way for a symbolic handshake to be witnessed at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next week in Beijing, where Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to sit down one-on-one with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe for the first time.
The two nations are at loggerheads over a set of islands in the East China Sea called the Diaoyu in China and the Senkaku in Japan. The islands are claimed by China, but in effect controlled by Japan. Beijing is also angry about what it sees as Tokyo’s unwillingness to fully recognise its atrocities during the Second World War when it occupied China.
Large-scale anti-Japanese protests took place in China in 2012 in reaction to Japan's move to nationalise the disputed islands. The protests turned into riots in a number of cities. Relations between the two nations have hit a historic low since diplomatic ties were resumed more than three decades ago. From state leaders’ public speeches to English op-eds authored by prominent diplomats, Beijing and Tokyo have been engaged in a game of diplomatic brinkmanship that has included fighter jets scrambling and ship collusion at sea.
But a constant trade of accusations towards each other will likely subside after a four-point agreement was reached between senior Chinese and Japanese officials on Friday, with both nations agreeing to establish a crisis management mechanism to put their relations back on track.
The two sides have agreed to “gradually resume political, diplomatic and security dialogue” through various multilateral and bilateral channels and to make efforts to build political mutual trust, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
But the island dispute remains a flash point for stoking nationalism in both nations as well as a major stumbling block in achieving any substantial breakthrough in relations between the two nations.
In response to the bilateral agreement, many Chinese netizens have taken to social media to voice their doubts. Beijing-based journalist Liu Hua pointed out that the agreement has not addressed the territorial dispute:
转发四点共识，中日双方的表态对比着看会很有意思。从遣词造句来看，每一点共识应该都经过了双方的反复讨论。以第三点为例，最后的落脚点是中日双方认识到围绕“紧张局势”存在不同意见，而非围绕“岛屿主权”存在不同意见，这样回避了具体的岛争等问题。
I am now reposting the four-point agreements. It would be very interesting to compare the statements from China and Japan. From how they are worded, each and every point has been deliberated repeatedly. Take point three, the focus is the difference of opinions between China and Japan concerning “the intense situation” rather than focusing on “island territorial dispute” per se. By doing so, it has somehow avoided the island sovereignty issue.
Current affairs commentator Wang Chong, who is known for his nationalistic stand, said on his Weibo account:
中日四点共识，我没看出日本哪里让步了。真看不出来！
Four-point agreement between China and Japan. I don't see any sign of Japan's compromise. I truly don't!
Baiyun Suixing Biji, a resident in northeast China, wasn't content as there haven't been any concrete agreements on the territorial and historical disputes:
把它和已承认争议联系起来是非常牵强附会的做法，这是一个有很大随时反口空间的活话，主权争议没有承认，历史问题又未有任何实际承诺保证，要是因为得到一个这样虚而不实的所谓共识自己都放弃了底线，答应正式会谈不得不说这将是一个严重外交失分，这真是自己打了自己之前说的话的脸，只能说呵呵了
It doesn't make much sense to make any association between it and the already existing disputes. The agreement has created enough room for any disobedience of the rules. If there is no recognition of the territorial dispute, there will be no guarantee to solving the historic problems. It's would be a diplomatic loss to say yes to a formal meeting and give up the bottom line for such a vague and fake agreement. It's no different than slapping its own face. I am speechless.
Xu Xiangyun, a university deputy chair in Jiangxi province, believed that the agreement is meant to fool China:
钓鱼岛岛也购了，靖国神社也参拜了，侵略历史也否定了，集体自卫权也解禁了，满世界也把中国骂遍了，安倍现在为了自己支持率，为了国内经济，又在糊弄中国人了！真有人会上当？
Japan has bought the Diaoyu Islands, their top leaders have visited the Yasukuni Shrine [to mourn the soldiers who died in the Second World War] and denied their invasion in history. They have re-enacted the right to collective self-defense and keep criticizing China around the globe. Now Shinzō Abe wants to increase his popularity and rescue the domestic economy, he is fooling China again. How can people believe that?
JyoShinn said:
感觉中日关系不会突然转好，接下来就看美国老大哥的态度了。
I feel that Sino-Japanese relations will not suddenly become good, we will have to see what kind of attitude that the US, the big boss, holds.

author: Owen Guo


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People in Madagascar Are Fed Up With Power Cuts Leaving Them in the Dark · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

Staircases leading to the Independence square, Antananarivo, Madagascar by Bernard Gagnon CC BY-SA 3.0
Madagascar is facing a power crisis once again, but this time politics isn't solely to blame.
The country has been enduring prolonged power cuts on a regular basis for several years. This phenomenon, known as load-shedding, is certainly not new, but in recent years it has escalated out of control, fundamentally undermining the country’s economy and infuriating its citizens.
Jirama, the national company responsible for the distribution of electricity throughout the country, is running out of explanations for these shortcomings. The Energy Ministry recently confessed that no fewer than 80 of the country’s towns are without electricity. The minister himself didn't survive these repeated failures for long and was sacked. Mada Tribune, a user-driven online news platform, explains the background to Energy Minister Richard Fienena’s dismissal:
Le délestage continue ses ravages. Dernière victime en date : le ministre de l’énergie Richard Fienena qui vient d’être limogé en conseil des ministres du 22 octobre 2014. L’actuel ministre de l’économie, le général Herilanto Raveloarison, assure l’intérim à la tête du ministère de l’énergie jusqu’à nouvel ordre.
The load-shedding continues to wreak havoc. The latest victim is Energy Minister Richard Fienena, who was dismissed by the Council of Ministers on 22 October 2014. The current Minister of Economy, General Herilanto Raveloarison, is standing in as head of the Energy Ministry until further notice.
Richard Fienena – former Malagasy Energy Minister. Public Domain
The government probably had no choice. Malagasy citizens are demanding an explanation for these repeated failures, and the minister was a convenient scapegoat. But this level of dilapidation of the network is causing many deficiencies at the decision-making level of Jirama, the government and other electricity providers. One thing is sure, residents are sick of it, as collected by Lantoniaina Razafindramiadana for L'express de Madagascar:
«Les coupures d’électricité gênent nos activités, alors que la facture flambe pour des raisons qu’on ignore », s’est exclamée Julienne une mère de famille qui habite à Soamanandrariny sur une radio privée. Quelques minutes plus tard, d’autres usagers dans d’autres quartiers dont Ambohipo et Analamahitsy sont intervenus pour interpeller la Jirama.
“The power cuts are hindering our activities, while energy bills are shooting up for unknown reasons,” exclaimed Julienne, a mother who lives in Soamanandrariny, speaking on a private radio station. A few minutes later, users in other areas, including Ambohipo and Analamahitsy, joined in to question Jirama.
The headquarters of Jirama, Madagascar’s power and water company. Public domain
Internet users are also expressing their anger. Several Facebook pages decrying the failures of Jirama have been created. On the page Jirama Délestage (Jirama Load-Shedding), we find that rebellion is also brewing in the town of Port Berger:
Port berger koa karaha zegny facture mindangagna jiro tsy mandeha
In Port Berger, the electricity bills are enormous, yet we have no power!
“Jirama Load-Shedding – enough is enough!” Poster on Facebook page Jirama Délestage. Used with permission
On the page “Jirama Trop Nul,” which has more than 4,500 likes, another Facebook user described a surreal situation:
Savez-vous chers abonnés (pas d'autre choix) que certaines petites villes et villages à quelques kilometres seulement de Tana subissent des coupures de 20 heures d'affilée depuis qu'il a commencé de pleuvoir!!! Et la, pas de responsables ni de services à contacter. Mais puisque ce ne sont que des petits gens, personne ne s'en préoccupe.
Did you know, dear subscribers, that some small towns and villages just a few kilometres from Tana have been suffering 20-hour-long power cuts since the rain started!!!! And there are no officials or services to contact. But because they’re just little people, nobody cares.
Structural and economic reasons
So what are the reasons for all these hitches? As is often the case, the main reasons are economic. Jarima frequently points out that in order to fulfil the needs of the whole island, the company needs a significant quantity of diesel oil. However, the current price per barrel in Madagascar is reported to be too high for Jirama to fuel all its generators.  Madatsara, a Malagasy community blog, gives the details of this problem and the company’s options:
En effet, le gasoil vaut de plus en plus cher même si la Jirama, en tant que gros  consommateur, peut négocier les prix. Le prix à la vente de l’électricité issue d’une centrale  à gasoil vaut 17 cents d’euros par kWh, contre 13 à 15 cents pour le fuel lourd et  5 cents pour l’hydroélectricité.
Diesel oil is becoming more and more expensive, even though Jirama, as a major consumer, is able to negotiate the price. The selling price of electricity from a diesel oil plant is worth 0,17 euros per kWh, compared to 0,13 to 0,15 euros for heavy fuel oil and 0,5 cents for hydroelectric power.
The price of diesel oil, however, is not the only challenge faced by Jirama. The almost insolvable debt that it has incurred over the past 10 years from many funders remains the main stumbling block. This debt has left Jirama completely at the mercy of numerous financiers, the most important of them being the businessman Hussanein Hiridjee, who is the principal shareholder of two key companies in Madagascar — Telma (telecommunications) and Jovenna (hydrocarbons).
The fact that Hiridjee could influence the future of Jirama worries many Internet users, as Hiridjee also owns the company Electricité de Madagascar (Madagascar Electricity). La Nation, a brand new online news portal for Madagascar, explains:
Hassanein Hiridjee, propriétaire de la société Electricité de Madagascar, se frotte déjà les mains. Les difficultés de la Jirama à satisfaire les usagers seront la meilleure occasion pour lui de mettre la main sur la société nationale d'eau et d'électricité. Tout est juste question de jeu de mots. Le ministre Fienena Richard, un proche collaborateur de Hassanein Hiridjee, a laissé entendre que la Jirama ne sera pas privatisée, mais des syndicalistes ne veulent pas le croire.
Hassanein Hiridjee, owner of the Electricité de Madagascar company, is already rubbing his hands together in glee. Jirama’s problems with satisfying users will be a great opportunity for him to get his hands on the national water and electricity company. It’s all just word play. Energy Minister Fienena Richard, a close associate of Hassanein Hiridjee, has indicated that Jirama will not be privatised, but trade unionists do not believe him.
In fact, contrary to popular opinion in Madagascar, Jirama is no longer the only company producing electricity in the country, as the company points out on its website:
La Jirama est une société anonyme de droit commun détenue entièrement par l'Etat Malagasy. Elle est dirigée par un Conseil d'administration auquel répond le Directeur Général. Il est nommé par le Ministère chargé de l'énergie. Depuis 1999 et la libéralisation du secteur de l'électricité, la Jirama n'est plus seule dans la production électrique. Elle conserve toutefois le monopole du transport et de la distribution
Jirama is a public limited company wholly owned by the Malagasy government. It is managed by a board of directors, to which the chief executive is responsible. He is appointed by the Ministry for Energy. Since 1999 and the liberalisation of the electricity sector, Jirama is no longer the sole producer of electricity. However, it retains the monopoly on transport and distribution.
One of the companies producing electricity is the French public works company Henri Fraise, which has been established in Madagascar for 60 years. The Fraise company uses numerous generators for its installations on the island. When Jirama realised that it could not fulfil the needs of the whole country, an agreement was concluded with the Fraise company for the lease of their generators. It would seem, however, that this agreement is no longer financially viable, as explained in All Africa:
Il reste cependant que ces problèmes dits de pièces sont tous similaires, de district en district, si bien qu'ils accroissent le doute. Le fait est que la société Fraise renâcle à la besogne. Ainsi en va-t-il de certains groupes électrogènes retirés, semble-t-il, pour des défaillances techniques.
However, these structural problems (with Fraise’ s power generators) seem all very similar from district to district leading to increased mistrust between Jirama and Fraise. The fact is that Fraise company is doing the job (of helping Jirama) grudgingly. It seems that this may be the reason why some power generators were deemed out of service due to (apparent) technical failures.
It is clear that finding a solution to the problems of Jirama and load-shedding in Madagascar in general will not be an easy task for the new Energy Minister. Meanwhile, Malagasy citizens will have to be patient and hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is not just wishful thinking.

author: Rakotomalala


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Was the Suicide Bombing on the India-Pakistan Border a Warning to India? · Global Voices
Nikhil Dhingra

Indian soldiers at the India-Pakistan border closing ceremony at Wagah. Image by Bartlomiej Zindulski. Copyright Demotix (29/8/2013)
A suicide bomber took his own life along with around 60 others near the Indo-Pakistani border early Sunday morning, November 2, 2014. The attack came shortly after the conclusion of a daily ceremony where troops from both sides lower their nation’s flags in honor of those who have fallen in recent and past conflicts.
The bomber himself was located in a car about 500 meters from the border on the Pakistani side. No Indian troops were hurt in the incident.
Shortly following its conclusion, the Pakistan-based militant group named Jundallah, a Pakistani Taliban splinter group, took credit for the attack. Attached below is a video of a traditional flag-lowering ceremony on the Wagah border:
The attack comes during a period of escalating tensions between the two rival nations. Following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move in August to cancel planned talks with Pakistan (with the initial hope of renewing dialogue between the two), tensions along the Indo-Pakistan border have dramatically increased. Earlier this month, Pakistani and Indian forces fired over the border, killing nine civilians and injuring dozens more. In the aftermath of the attack, both parties blamed the other for initiating the violence.
However, while the blast did target Pakistanis supporting their country at the Wagah border, some believe that it also sent a message to India in regards to their border security: these militant groups have the ability to attack the country right at their doorstep.
Shivam Vij, a writer for the Scroll News Network, believes this attack (which took place less than a few hundred meters away from the Indian border) drew similarities between the dreadful terrorist attacks that took place in Mumbai a few years ago.
Those attacks, which were carried out in November 2008, occurred when ten Pakistani citizens landed in Mumbai via boat and conducted a series of widespread violent incursions throughout the city over a span of three days. By the conclusion of the attacks, only one gunmen remained alive and the death toll stood at 164 with hundreds injured. Following Pakistan’s failure to bring the perpetrators to justice (after arresting 20 suspects within Pakistan who were related to the aggression), Vij claims that India has been hesitant to buy into Pakistan's continued narrative to other nations that they are the biggest victims of terrorism.
Vij commented on Twitter:
Narendra Modi's short-sighted Pakistan policy has only served to re-internationalise Kashmir http://t.co/B4hebyfMWW
— Shivam Vij (@DilliDurAst) November 4, 2014
As a result, Vij believes that more extremists will begin to look at India as a target and that the Wagah attack exposed fundamental flaws in India’s border security.
In fact, according to the India Times, the bombing was originally meant to hit the Indian side of the border but exploded in Pakistan due to a miscalculation. The bomb had exploded only a day before hundreds of Sikh pilgrims were to cross the border in order to celebrate Guru Nanak’s birthday. According to experts in New Delhi, the bomber may have had this event in mind as a target before he had detonated the explosives in Pakistan.
This “clear message” to India was further materialized a few days after the article’s publication, when a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan tweeted that India was indeed their next target:
This attack is an open message to both governments across the border,” Ehsan Allah Ehsan, a Taliban spokesman, tweeted. “You [Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi] are the killer of hundreds of Muslims. We will take the revenge of innocent people of Kashmir and Gujarat.
While the tweet was removed from Ehsan’s page the following morning, he re-tweeted numerous articles detailing the Taliban’s threats throughout the day.
However, some still believe that the true intentions of militant groups like the Taliban and Jundallah are to ignite tensions between India and Pakistan. Matt Schiavenza, a writer for Defense One (a newspaper that focuses on delivering breaking analysis and ideas on topics that concern US national security and defense), pointed to the fact that the attack incidentally took place on one of the world’s most unstable borders. While he acknowledges that India and Pakistan have attempted to stabilize relations in the past, Schiavenza points towards the 500,000 troops that India reportedly keeps stationed in the Kashmir region in case of an attack.
In light of the recent bombings, Twitter has also gone ablaze with harsh criticism of the increased tensions along the border.
Adnan Rehmat, a political analyst from Pakistan, is appalled by the violent clashes between the two countries and believes that a diplomatic solution must be found:
The ugly, machoistic display of #nationalism at #India, #Pakistan border should be abolished. People should cross borders there, not swords
— Adnan Rehmat (@adnanrehmat1) November 3, 2014
Some, such as Ravi Kumar Jha, simply expressed their sorrows at the atrocity:
My condolences to those who lost there near and dear one in #LahoreBlast . Terrorism has no religion. #india supports #pakistan.
— Ravi Kumar Jha (@rrraaavvviii) November 3, 2014
Latest developments indicate that Indian border security around the area has been tightened and that land trade between the countries has also temporarily halted. While it is unclear what next steps either Pakistan or India will take to secure their borders, their allied nations can only hope that the conflict does not escalate any further.

author: Nikhil Dhingra


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With Its Headwaters Dry, Brazilians Fear the Death of the ‘Old Frank’ River · Global Voices
Paula Góes

The headwaters of the São Francisco River are located in the National Park Cantareira Mountains, in the city of São Roque de Minas. This is its state in January 2010. Image by Flickr user Thiago Melo (Flickr CC BY 2.0)
The rain that fell on the Serra da Canastra (Canastra Mountains) at the end of October was not enough to feed the hopes that the headwaters of the São Francisco River, which dried out in September for the first time in history, will recover. Climate change, long droughts and increasing destruction of its ecosystem are some of the causes behind the disappearance of the source of one of South America's main rivers. The headwaters were considered, until now, permanent.
The river is so dry that fishermen are abandoning their work in Iguatama, in the west of Minas Gerais state, the first town to be bathed by the São Francisco. Três Marias, the river's first dam, is operating with a volume of 3.5 percent of its normal capacity and has recently seen its flow rate reduced. According to the São Francisco River Basin Committee (Comitê da Bacia Hidrográfica do São Francisco, CBHSF), if it doesn't start to rain, a stretch of 40 kilometers of river after the dam will dry out completely. In Sobradinho, in the state of Bahia, the second dam's volume is at 18 percent.
With 2,863 kilometres, longer than the distance between Madrid and Berlin, the São Francisco River passes through five Brazilian states — Minas Gerais, Bahia, Pernambuco, Alagoas and Sergipe — encompassing 504 cities and forming one of Brazil's main watersheds. Fondly nicknamed “Old Frank” (“Velho Chico”), it is also known to be the “river of national integration” since it unites different climates and regions and connects the Southeast and the Central-West with the Northeast. It is also called “the most Brazilian of all rivers”, as it is the only one among the main rivers that flows exclusively through Brazil, from its headwaters to its delta.
Even though the river is still running due to its many tributaries, the drought at its source is considered one the symptoms of the serious water crisis currently affecting Brazil's Southeast. To sociologist Roberto Malvezzi, it represents a historic bereavement to the São Francisco River and the people who live off it:
Nem o pior dos vaticínios nos anteciparia essa notícia. Agora não é mais previsão dos catastrofistas, dos apocalípticos, de ambientalistas sectários. Estamos diante do fato.
Not even the gloomiest of forecasts could have anticipated this news. Now it is not the word of catastrophists, of apocalyptics, of sectarian environmentalists. We are facing the facts.
The Old Frank has died of thirst, according to journalist Carlos Costa, who said it was “too sad” seeing the dry headwaters:
Ele não perecerá por completo porque também recebe água de outros afluentes, mas sua nascente já morreu e está cercada de pedras como se fosse em volta de uma sepultura. Um quadro triste! O “Velho Chico” morreu de sede em sua nascente, como outros rios poderão morrer também se eles não forem tratados com carinho, respeito e responsabilidade como se fosse mais um ser vivo, como na verdade é.
It won't die out completely because it also receives water flow from other streams, but its headwaters are dead, surrounded by stones as if it was a crypt. A sad picture! The Old Frank has died of thirst at its source, just like other rivers may also die if they are not treated with kindness, respect and responsibility, as a living being, like it actually is.
From Bahia, blogger Edivaldo Braga listed some of the problems that harm the “Old Frank”, which he says is crying out for help:
O Velho Chico está agonizando e prestes a morrer. A ponte que liga algumas cidades encontra-se completamente descoberta e denuncia o sério problema. A morte do rio significa o fim de muitos ribeirinhos.
The Old Frank is agonizing and about to die. It is a bridge that connects some cities, and now that bridge is completely dry, a sign of a serious problem. The death of the river might mean the end of many riverbank peoples.
The São Francisco is the only source of fresh water for many riverbank people — called “ribeirinhos” in Brazil — who also depend on it for agriculture, livestock and transportation through navigation. Markileide Oliveira's blog and photos show how the drought is affecting the mobility of the population of Xique-Xique, a town located in Bahia that depends on a portion of the “Old Frank”:
O Rio São Francisco vem enfrentando uma das maiores secas da sua existência, as várias cidades das suas margens sofrem com a falta de água. São inúmeros os relatos dos ribeirinhos, que contam as dificuldades enfrentadas no seu cotidiano. Muitos caminham a pé pelo leito do rio até chegarem à cidade e fazem o mesmo trajeto de volta para casa. Alunos das redes públicas chegam a usar três transportes para ir à escola, acordam às 5h para poder assistir a segunda aula por que a primeira não é possível. Os ribeirinhos estão aportando os seus barcos nas margens de um rio seco. Sem profundidade, as barcas de médio porte não conseguem navegar e os barqueiros buscam outras formas de sobrevivência, pois o transporte coletivo ficou impossibilitado. Os ribeirinhos estão substituindo os barcos por bicicleta, carroças, carrinhos de mão, entre outras possibilidades de locomoção.
The São Francisco River is facing one of the worst droughts in its history, many towns by its banks are suffering from the water shortage. There are numerous reports of people explaining the difficulties in their daily lives. Many walk by foot along the riverbed until they reach the nearest town, and walk all the way back home too. Children use up to three modes of transportation to go to school, they wake up at 5 a.m. to make it in time for the second class of the day because the first is just not possible. The “ribeirinhos” are mooring their boats by the banks of a dry river. With no depth, the mid-sized boats are unable to sail and boatmen are looking for other ways to survive because collective transportation was made impossible. People are replacing boats for bikes, carts, wheelbarrows and any other possibility of mobility.
Carts replace boats in Xique-Xique in the state of Bahia. Image by Markileide Oliveria, published with authorization.
Devastation around the São Francisco is not a recent problem, and for years it has been documented by both specialists and citizens. In 2009, João Carlos Figueiredo, author of blogs Meu Velho Chico (My Old Frank) and Meu Velho Chico: memórias de uma expedição solitária (My Old Frank: memories of a lonely expedition, also available as an ebook) sailed the entire length of the river in a canoe for 100 days, rowing alone from its headwaters in the Cantareira Mountains to its delta in Piaçabuçu in Alagoas state. Responding to the drought in the mountains, he said:
Estamos chegando, rapidamente, no limite de resiliência (capacidade de recuperação) de nosso Meio Ambiente. Passado esse limite, o Brasil, gradualmente, se transformará em uma gigantesca savana seca e estéril. Regiões desérticas substituirão as florestas e as nossas gigantescas bacias hidrográficas. E até mesmo os ignorantes donos do agronegócio verão seus latifúndios se transformarem em terra seca e inútil para a lavoura. Será esse o nosso destino final?
We are quickly reaching our environment's limits of resilience (capacity to recover). After that, Brazil will gradually become a gigantic savanna, dry and fruitless. Deserts will replace our forests and our enormous watersheds. Even the ignorant agribusiness owners will see their latifundium become dry land and useless to cultivation. Is this our doomed fate?
Released in 2012, the book “Caatinga Flora of the São Francisco River: Natural History and Conservation” is the most complete description of the river's vegetation, and it concluded that its extinction is “inexorable”. A result of four years of research and exploration of more than 340,000 kilometers by more than 100 experts from all over Brazil, the book has warned of the dangers of the “transposition” project, a massive federal government plan that intends to bring the river's waters to the “sertões” — the Brazilian semi-arid regions. Experts say this will bring even more harm to the “Caatinga“, the only exclusively Brazilian biome which is already extremely threatened.
Pumping station at the East Shaft of the Integration Project (transposition) of the São Francisco River, October 2014. Image by Flickr user Moreira Jr. (Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The transposition, which has already cost $3.2 billion to public reserves and is still not ready, has dedicated less than 10 percent of its expenses to the recovery of river headwaters and vegetation. According to some of the its critics, the project will benefit agribusiness rather than the poor population or the environment. Roberto Malvezzi warned that the process could even speed up the death of the São Francisco, already considered to be an intermittent river:
Hoje ainda se fala na transposição, ela continua na mídia, por muitos considerada ainda como a redenção do semiárido. Vamos respeitar a ignorância dessa afirmação, afinal o Nordeste e o semiárido continuam desconhecidos para 90% dos brasileiros, mas vale lembrar que 40% do semiárido brasileiro está em território baiano, portanto, longe dos eixos da transposição.
Quantos ainda falam da revitalização? Alguém tem alguma notícia? O São Francisco continua em processo de extinção rápida e fatal. Mesmo assim fala-se em projetos de 100 mil hectares de cana irrigada em Pernambuco, 800 mil hectares de cana irrigada na Bahia, transposição para outros estados e assim por diante.
Certamente voltará a chover, o rio vai recuperar volume, mas as secas serão cada vez maiores e mais constantes. A NASA, anos atrás, projetava que o São Francisco seria um rio intermitente em 2060. Realizamos a façanha de antecipar a projeção em mais de 40 anos.
Today people still talk about the transposition, it's still in the news headlines, for many it's considered the redemption of the semi-arid lands. Let's respect the ignorance of this statement, since the Northeast and the semi-arid areas remain unknown for 90 percent of Brazilians, but let's remember that 40 percent of the semi-arid areas are in the state of Bahia, therefore far away from the main shafts of the transposition.
How many still speak of recovery? Does anyone have any news on that? The San Francisco keeps heading toward extinction, quickly and fatally. Still, they're talking about projects of 100,000 hectares of sugar cane irrigated in Pernambuco, 800,000 hectares of sugarcane irrigated in Bahia, transposition to other states and so on.
It will certainly rain again, the river will recover some of its volume, but the droughts will become increasingly stronger and frequent. Years ago, NASA forecast that the São Francisco would become an intermittent river by 2060. We have beat that projection by more than 40 years.
About that prognosis, historian Carlos Bittencourt asks: “What are we transposing then?”
Transpõe-se a seca, transpõe-se a água que acaba aqui para lá. Transpõe-se a barbárie do Sudeste ao Nordeste, aponta-se a proa do navio para o buraco. Soluciona-se a causa aprofundando as consequências. Círculo vicioso da acumulação de capital, da coisificação da vida e dos meios da vida. A transposição do Rio São Francisco bebe da mesma água de sua extinção.
We transpose the drought, we transpose the lack of water from here to there. We transpose barbarism from the Southeast to the Northeast, we point the ship's bow to the hole. We solve the causes by aggravating the consequences. A vicious cycle of the accumulation of capital, of the objectification of life and its means. The transposition of the São Francisco River drinks from the same water of its extinction.
Historically, the northeastern region has always dealt with prolonged droughts. The news now is that the Southeast, where the São Francisco headwaters are located, also faces a serious rain shortage. Geographer and São Paulo-based blogger Martina Sanchez concluded that Brazilians need to understand that nature follows its course, its cycles and phases, and the only alternative left for humans is to adapt:
Algo está confundindo os climatólogos que não acertam com as causas da seca prolongada no Sudeste neste ano (2014). Até as nascentes do Rio São Francisco na serra da Canastra (MG) secaram. O nível dos reservatórios da Cantareira, na cidade de São Paulo, está baixo e começa a comprometer o abastecimento. É o aquecimento global! Dizem uns. Outros acusam sobre o mau uso dos recursos hídricos, a falta de planejamento, o  excesso de consumo e desperdício. Todos têm razão e nenhum tem o direito de apontar o dedo para o outro. Os cidadãos terão que aprender a conviver com os extremos climáticos que não obedecem a decretos nem leis humanas.
Something has been confounding climatologists who can't agree on the causes of the long drought that has hit the Southeast this year (2014). Even the headwaters of the São Francisco River have dried out. The levels of the reservoirs of Cantareira in São Paulo are low and start to compromise the city's water supply. It's global warming! some say. Others blame bad management of water resources, lack of planning, excess of consuming and wasting. Everyone is correct and no one has the right to point the finger at the other. People must learn to live with climate extremes that do not obey decrees or human laws.
View of the São Francisco River from a height of 8,000 meters. “Just so you might grasp the sheer size of the Old Frank” in October 2012. Image by Flickr user George Vale (Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

author: Paula Góes


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A Network of Indigenous Language Digital Activists in Mexico · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Participants of the 1st Gathering of Indigenous Language Digital Activists. Photo by Biblioteca Juan de Córdova.
With 68 indigenous languages and more than 300 variants spoken across the country, Mexico holds the distinction as one of the most linguistically diverse countries in Latin America. Concerns remain because many of these languages are considered endangered and continue to face ongoing challenges, such as the pressure from the dominant language of Spanish and societal discrimination. Unless measures are taken, many of these languages could face an uncertain future.
However, there is good news that the Internet has emerged as a space where many in Mexico can communicate online using indigenous languages, as well as to create new digital content instead of being just consumers of content. More importantly many are becoming more active advocates by encouraging and supporting others to be part of this movement. Their digital activism is part of an overall strategy along with academic research, documentation, and the introduction of language learning in schools, which can help build a foundation for a new generation revitalizing indigenous languages.
Gathering
In this context, 25 participants across Mexico gathered to connect with others in an event for indigenous language digital activists. The main idea of the three-day event was to provide a space for digital activists to meet face-to-face with others that share their commitment to preserving and revitalizing indigenous languages through the use of participatory digital media.
From October 3-5, 2014, the diverse group met in the city of Oaxaca where they organized peer-led hands-on workshops, led discussions, and spent time networking where they shared their successes, challenges, and strategies to promote the use of native languages to contribute towards a more linguistically diverse Internet. When more people can communicate and connect in more languages, the Internet becomes a more inclusive space providing more opportunities for the sharing of knowledge.
Workshop host was the San Pablo Cultural Center and the gathering was co-organized by Rising Voices, the Juan de Córdova Research Library, and SURCO AC. Local partners, such as Wikimedia Mexico, Mozilla Mexico, OjoVoz, and Rancho Electrónico also came onboard to share their knowledge and support digital activists with specific skills and strategies in the use of digital media.
Participants
Following a nationwide open call for participation, the organizing team selected 28 participants hailing from 10 Mexican states and speaking 20 languages and variants between them. Three participants were unable to attend. The selected group was comprised of a diverse mix of digital activists, each already working in his or her own individual revitalization projects. Some were heavily involved in free software localization projects, others were producing audio podcasts in indigenous languages, and other were using blogs to create news and stories. What they all had in common was the desire to share their knowledge with others. The complete list of participants can be found here.
Plenary Sessions, Workshops, and Public Events
The gathering was designed to facilitate conversations among the participants through 90-minute plenary sessions led by facilitators and participants. Following a short presentation, the floor was opened so that participants could share their local perspectives based on personal experience. These sessions were directly related to linguistic, technical, organizational, and socio-cultural challenges faced by the digital activists.
For example, most of the participants are involved in these language revitalization initiatives without any expectation of compensation, but being able to build alliances with public, private, and community-based groups can help strengthen their work and increase the chances for impact. Another plenary session focused on the linguistic challenges for writing in indigenous languages. These range from a lack of an available keyboard to strategies for creating neologisms, which especially comes in handy for localization projects. Other sessions included sustainability and the topic of sharing community-owned content on the web.
In addition to the plenary discussions, six blocks of three simultaneous peer-led workshops offered an opportunity to learn a new skill during a BarCamp-style format. The workshops were designed to produce content using digital tools. Among the workshops included topics such as creating an audio podcast using Audacity, telling a photo/audio story using the mobile app OjoVoz, how to start a free software localization project, creating a WordPress blog, subtitling videos using Amara, and how to edit a Wikipedia article, among others.
Because of high demand, many workshops were repeated throughout the three days so participants could attend more than one, while many new workshops were proposed based on interest. Many groups took advantage of the time to produce content during the workshop. For example, during the Audacity podcasting workshop, participants learned how to record, edit, and upload an audio podcast such this one of greetings in the Mixteco and Mazahua languages:
Other outputs included a blog created to share news in the Tsotsil language, memes in the Triqui language, subtitling videos in the Mixe language using Amara, and tweets using the #activismolenguasMX hashtag (Language Activism MX). Others became inspired from the workshops, strengthening their commitment to starting localization projects of the Firefox browser or operating system. There was also a desire by participants to move the Wikipedia in Maya Yucateco project out of the incubator by making it an official version of the online encyclopedia.
Two panels — “Internet in My Language” and “Sharing Content Online – Legal and Community Implications” — were also free and open to the public. Following the presentations and question-and-answer session, participants and guests networked on the patio of the Cultural Center San Pablo over a taste of mezcal, a typical beverage from the region.
Public panel – “Internet in My Language”  Photo by Eddie Avila
Building a Network
Participants have returned home with the knowledge of many more digital tools at their disposal to work towards their goal of revitalizing their language, but more importantly with many new friends and contacts interested in mutually supporting each other's work. The task remains how to best sustain this community as it moves to a virtual space.
However, this new network will explore ways to replicate this gathering on a more local level and to inspire other communities throughout the region about what is possible using relatively easy-to-use digital tools. The network will also serve to share digital content, success stories, and opportunities that can help advance the work of these digital activists so that the network can begin to grow.
A blog is being developed to better highlight the work of these digital activists, not only in Mexico, but across Latin America. By featuring their work and introducing them to others, we can better understand how to better support their work. We'll also be introducing the participants and their activities through video interviews taken during the gathering, which will be published on Global Voices.
It has been inspiring to see so many digital activists committed to their cause because they believe that it is their responsibility to ensure that the next generation can not only find, but also create their own digital content in all of Mexico's indigenous languages.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Balkan Nationalists Bring Back Personality Cults in Tattoos of Ruling Politicians · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

Tattoos of former political leaders have to become so popular in the Balkans in recent years that it has has launched these leaders into worship-level status.
A previous tattoo tradition, mostly from the 1950s until the late 1980s in former Yugoslav states, was that of emblems and symbols of the Yugoslav People's Army. Conscripts who had to endure one to two years of mandatory military service often came back with almost prison-like tattoos as mementos. These included state symbols, images of weapons, or the face of then Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito, while his personality cult was still going strong.
After the dissolution of Yugoslavia, images of other historical figures began to appear in tattoo form, in particular on the bodies of young males with a nationalist flare, such as images of 20th century Croatian fascist leader Ante Pavelić among Croats and of Chetnik Serb leader Draža Mihailović among Serbs. New color techniques began being used for new versions of Tito tattoos as well, among those who remained nostalgic.
Tattoos of Tito (earlier and newer versions), Pavelić, and Mihajlović.
In 2009, Croatian daily Slobodna Dalmacija reported that a man from Banja Luka tattooed the image of contemporary Bosnian-Serb politician Milorad Dodik. The phenomenon of tattooing the faces of contemporary Balkan leaders seemed only to grown stronger after that.
Bosnian Serb politician Dodik's face as tattoo and model photograph.
Current Macedonian right-wing Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has been in this seat since 2006. Over the years, some Macedonian social network users have shown their apparent devotion to the leader of Macedonia's ruling VMRO-DPMNE party by posting photos of their tattoos of Gruevski. One such man had tattooed the Prime Minister's name and surname, along with the letters VMRO and a cross. Another had Gruevski's face tattooed with an inscription that reads: “Loyal to the grave”.
Tattoos showing loyalty to Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.
The most recent example of this phenomenon ended on the front page of the Macedonian newspaper Vest. A man from Shtip tattooed the faces of the prime minister's cousin and Secret Service chief Sasho Mijalkov, and his son. The tattooed man claimed he's grateful for the help provided by the powerful and wealthy VMRO-DPMNE offical throughout his life.
Front page of Macedonian daily Vest from August 7, 2014, with photo of a man with Mijalkov tattoos.
This revived tradition has been subject to ridicule by humorists in several Balkan countries. Croatian satirical site News Bar published a fake news piece about Croatian right-wing politician Tomislav Karamarko who, in this piece, asks a tattoo artist to put the image of the “greatest Croatian statesman of the 20th century” on his chest. Instead of his late party boss and Croatian leader Franjo Tuđman, as expected, he gets a Josip Broz Tito tattoo from the artist.
Macedonian independent political magazine Fokus also posted a a satirical piece recently, poking fun at two trends: the tattoos and the appointment of surprisingly young government ministers with very little prior experience to their name.
Откако неколку големи фанови на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ ги истетовираа ликот на Груевски и на Сашо Мијалков на своите рамења, владејачката партија реши да им излезе во пресрет и на најмалите и тие да ги украсат рацете со некој од вмровските функционери.
Па така, освен Сунгерот Боб, Дора, Диего и Том и Џери децата ќе може на своите раце да аплицираат уште еден нивен херој. За таа цел пуштена е во продажба посебна серија на мастики со кои доаѓа и привремена тетоважа со ликот на Диме Спасов.
Тетоважата се вади сама за неколку дена или веднаш со „бекутан“ сапун.
After several big fans of VMRO-DPMNE tattooed the images of Gruevski and Sasho Mijalkov on their shoulders, the ruling party decided to meet the needs of the youngest generation for decorating their arms with some of their functionaries.
Therefore, the kids will be able to apply wider range of heroes besides Sponge Bob, Dora the Explorer, Diego, and Tom and Jerry. A special series of chewing gums with temporary tattoos with the image of [Dime Spasov] is on sale.
The tattoo peels off in several days or can be removed by Bekutan soap [a popular local brand of baby cosmetics].

author: Danica Radisic


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Outrage as Mexico’s Attorney General Says Missing Ayotzinapa Students Are Dead · Global Voices
Mary Aviles

The hashtag #YaMeCanse – I'm tired – was trending on Twitter and inspired street demonstrations in Mexico. Photo from Flickr by Somos El Medio/ Carlo Echegoyen. CC BY-SA 2.0
Shot, burned in a garbage dump and thrown into a muddy river in black plastic bags. That was the fate of the 43 missing student teachers, known as normalistas in Spanish, who vanished on September 26, 2014, according to Mexico's federal attorney general on November 7.
Jesus Murillo Karam‘s words were met with disbelief, anger and indignation not only by the students’ families, but also by people throughout Mexico and the world because they rely on the confessions of three drug cartel hit men, not conclusive evidence — human remains discovered near a landfill based on their information haven't been identified yet.
The parents of the missing Ayotzinapa students still hold out hope of finding them alive, and have stated that they do not believe the version given by Mexican authorities.
“We want to say that, as the families, we do not accept the declaration, because there is no certainty that it is true … We want information. Until then we hope that they are alive. We are going to continue looking for the youths and we demand the government intensify the search for the youths,” said one mother.
The lack of concrete evidence hasn't gone unnoticed by media outlets and Internet users, who have criticized the government's actions. J. Hernández Barros, who is an attorney and member of the independent Executive Commission for Victims’ Assistance, tweeted:
En caso Ayotzinapa si no existe certeza de muerte, la búsqueda de los jóvenes debe realizarse con presunción de vida http://t.co/W7QTOAyyqU
— J. Hernández Barros (@juliohbarros) November 8, 2014
In the Ayotzinapa case, if death is not certain, the search for the young people must continue under the assumption that they are alive
According to Murillo Karam, the confessions of the three hit men working for the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel appear to prove that the 43 missing Mexican students were killed on the night of September 26 in a municipal garbage dump in Cocula, in the southern state of Guerrero, after being taken there by police officers acting under the orders of Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca. Abarca had ordered that the students, who were traveling in four vehicles, be stopped from coming into the town and disrupting a speech by his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, authorities said.
Students from the Center for Economic Teaching and Research (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas) took aim at Murillo Karam's statement, news and analysis website Animal Politico reported:
“Preocupante, que declaraciones de Karam sobre Ayotzinapa estén basadas en confesiones”: @NotiCIDE http://t.co/4Eio3HYs3c
— AnimalPolitico.com (@Pajaropolitico) November 8, 2014
“It's worrying that Karam's statement about Ayotzinapa is based on confessions”
Murillo Karam ended his hour-long press conference on Friday with the phrase, “No more questions. I'm tired of this.” His comments were seized upon by critics of the government's handling of the tragedy, with the hashtag #YaMeCanse (I'm tired), which trended on Twitter. Comments included “I'm tired of fear,” “I'm tired of living in a murderous country,” and “I'm tired of corruption and impunity.”
Yo #YaMeCansé del mal gobierno. Es hora de demostrar que la sociedad aspira a una transformación. #FueElEstado pic.twitter.com/yKz36kJ7fS
Algunos ejemplos en Twitter
— Juan Yves Palomar (@JuanYvesPalomar) November 8, 2014
I am tired of a bad government. It's time to demonstrate that society aspires to a transformation #ItWasTheState
Mexican actor Hector Suarez Gomis also joined the online protest:
#YaMeCansé de que ese “Extraño Enemigo” del que habla nuestro himno, es la clase política que se ha dedicado a pisar y a sangrar el país. — Héctor Suárez Gomís (@PelonGomis) November 7, 2014
I am tired of this “strange enemy” who our National Anthem talks about, it's the political class who have devoted themselves to treading on and bleeding the country.
The hashtag had also inspired demonstrations in the street on November 8 in Mexico City's main plaza Zócalo.
A minutos de empezar el #flashmob en el Zócalo de #MexicoCity #YaMeCansé pic.twitter.com/NRjdO6UCgL
— 132Global (@Global132) November 8, 2014
Just minutes before the start of the flashmob in el Zocalo #MexicoCity #IAmTired
The intense destruction of the remains in the fire makes it difficult to extract DNA that would allow for identification, so authorities are putting their last hopes in a specialized laboratory in Austria. It is not known how long the process could take.
Follow our in-depth coverage: Bring Back Mexico's Missing #Ayotzinapa Students

author: Mary Aviles


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Thai Student Activist Says Military Junta Is Monitoring Her Actions · Global Voices
Khun Somchai

Screenshot of Nattanan Warinarawet during her interview with the author.
As the military junta ruling Thailand places greater restrictions on free assembly and expression and threatens more punitive measures, student activists are increasingly speaking out — using social media tools to communicate with the world.
The junta has imposed a new set of rules on the country's education system. Dissent is prohibited on campus. Memorization of the “12 Values” — a core group of statements that focus on deference to authority and “correct democracy” — is mandatory. The junta has also required removing references to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in all history text books.
Nattanan Warinarawet is the 17-year old secretary-general of a group called Education for Liberation of Siam. Since speaking out against the mandatory implementation of “12 Values” into Thai education curricula, Warintarawet has been informed that the military junta tracks her movements and actions through her teachers. Despite the risk involved, Warintarawet spoke with Global Voices Online contributors about her experience.
“I couldn't believe that the thing that I did, just stating my opinions, just sharing my voice about the 12 values, would cause the military junta to monitor my actions,” she said.
Right now in the junta regime, anything could happen, but I still have hope and I think it has a positive effect on my life. I feel empowered by this. I feel like even a girl like me can make a huge change. I am motivated to fight for freedom of expression even more because right now I am aware of how important this is.
Watch the rest of her interview below:

author: Khun Somchai


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After 25 Years, Have Hungarians Finally Realized They Live in a Democracy? · Global Voices
Marietta Le

Demonstrators in Budapest, October 2014. Photo by Marietta Le.
Marietta Le is Global Voices’ Hungarian editor and a staff member of Atlatszo, a leading transparency NGO in Budapest.
With a New York Times front page story and two minutes of laughter with John Oliver, Hungary rose to fleeting mass media fame, thanks to the Hungarian government's plan to introduce a special tax on Internet traffic.
Hungarians are always proud of international coverage on their insignificant country, no matter how it makes them look. From the shady meadows of marketing, they seem to embrace the terrible idea that bad coverage is better than none. This describes perfectly their expectations about what people around the world might know, or might want to know, of the country.
To some people, the notion that Hungary, a Central European country that joined the democratic Western hemisphere in 1989 (and the Berlin Wall fell exactly 25 years ago), is aiming to become an ‘illiberal state’, and that its Prime Minister is setting more or less authoritarian countries as examples to follow for his people, is nothing new. But if you are not a liberal lunatic fighting for civil liberties in whatever country is threatening freedom according to your point of view, then you probably didn’t know that the fall of this newborn democracy began long before these last few weeks.
When the current government came into office in 2010, one of their first orders of business was to change the constitution and the Media Act. In Hungary, if your party receives two thirds majority at national elections, you will never have to worry about convincing opposition party members to vote for your proposals in Parliament. You can just pass any bill you want.
Citizens gave the government the mandate to change the laws — that’s what a member of the governing Fidesz party would argue now, and true dat, as my developer friends say, people didn’t say a word when it came to a new constitution, a new Media Act, or transferring money from private pension funds to state pension funds. They weren’t even bothered by the fact that at some point, tens of thousands gathered on the streets and cried over the tomb of democracy under the name “One million for the Freedom of Press in Hungary.”
No one knew in 2010 or in 2012 that the government would amend the election law to facilitate its own way back to a two-thirds majority in 2014. No one knew that it would crack down on NGOs running projects funded by the Norway Grant, a program designed to assist underdeveloped EU countries.
Do you live in a country where activists are terrified when they see a police car in front of their offices? Hungarians do.
As soon as the governing Fidesz was elected to its second term, the Government Control Office (a state auditing body) started investigating the spending of NGOs that had received Norway Grants. Police raided the office of Ökotárs, a donor organization, looking for evidence of an alleged embezzlement and unofficial granting of loans to NGOs. Lists of problematic organizations were drafted. Thirteen NGOs, mainly focused on fighting corruption and promoting democracy, were put under special scrutiny because of their activities.
The Ökotárs raid happened on a Monday morning. Days later, former European Commission president José Manuel Barroso visited Hungary to receive an honorary doctorate from Corvinus University. One of the “listed” NGOs, which had offices just behind the university, was surrounded by law enforcement forces sent there to protect the special guest. Emails started flying around about a new crackdown, now at a grantee organization. Hours later we received an email from a frightened NGO worker. She cried when she got home after spending hours fearing a police raid at her office. Her daughter drew her a heart and wrote “Happiness never leaves” inside the shape.
As an NGO worker I often worry that citizens are worn out by us constantly sounding the alarm over the grave of Hungarian democracy. But the Internet traffic tax, “netadó” in Hungarian, changed people’s stance towards what the government has been doing for many years. For the first time, it wasn’t only lunatic activists who protested. Young and old were on the streets of Budapest, with memes drawn by hand. People belted out chants about servers, Twitter and Facebook. They wore Guy Fawkes masks, despite this being forbidden by law. Finally, it looked like a whole new generation understood that they have to stand up for their rights. It not longer seemed like a question anymore — people finally could see that all the measures taken by the government were aimed at a certain goal: state capture.
Still, many think the Internet tax proposal was just “disinformation” — false information spread in order to distract the public from important events. This is a concept we remember from the times before 1989. It’s spooky to think that the Berlin Wall fell just 25 years ago. We have entered a period of Hungary’s history when the government is aiming to limit citizens’ rights to the same extent as then, and now almost explicitly and exclusively to their own benefit.
The Prime Minister decided to freeze the Internet tax proposal after the second protest, when tens of thousands gathered on the streets of Budapest shouting not only “Free Country, Free Internet” and that he should resign, but also that they were not going to pay taxes to a corrupt tax authority. The PM explained that the Internet tax is not new, merely an extension of the already existing special taxes on the telecommunication industry. Although discussions about the Internet tax have died down recently, we're still expecting a “National Consultation” about it in January.
People might be worn out by living in a badly managed young democracy, but they can’t be misled for ever. I hope Hungarians always knew what was going on, but that they just had a lot on their minds, had to focus on making ends meet. Maybe the Internet tax really has converted citizens’ disappointment with almost everything in the country into action, forcing them finally to stand up against corruption.
On Sunday Hungarians held a rally, demanding that the Tax Authority president resign. Among the speakers was András Horváth, the “Hungarian Snowden”, who just a year ago leaked documents proving that the Tax Authority constantly excuses networks of companies involved in tax fraud, and that corruption is “embedded in the system.” The leaks ignited only a few protests, with only hundreds showing up.
But with the US government now banning certain Hungarian officials from travel to the US, we learn that even they had information on high-profile corruption in our country. Zsolt Várady, the founder of Hungary’s first social network which was once larger than Facebook, announced that he would launch a new social network for people who want to make a difference in Hungary. He said Hungarian citizens’ mindset will need to change in order to change the mindset of the political elite.
And it is not just high-profile corruption that is on the table. Speakers at the Sunday event raised the idea of a systemic change in Hungary’s taxation. Tax evasion has been talked about as a “national game” but now even citizens seem to demand a change in course. Speakers called on the crowd to start talking to their neighbors about problems with petty corruption. They told them to visit the local Tax Authority branch and ask office workers there if the president of the Authority has resigned yet.
As a conclusion, I can only repeat the words of Zoltan Békési, a Hungarian artist and entrepreneur. It's been 25 years that we've been playing the game of democracy. It's about time we started taking it seriously.
Marietta Le is Global Voices’ Hungarian editor and a staff member of Atlatszo, a leading transparency NGO in Budapest.

author: Marietta Le


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An American Muslim Reflects on Religion and Politics at the Temple Mount, Jerusalem · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Screenshot of Rabbi Yehuda Glick praying with Muslims (video below). Sourced from YouTube.
Last week, Rabbi Yehuda Glick was shot and critically injured in a targeted assassination attempt. The characterizations of Rabbi Glick alternately painted him as a “right wing activist” or pacifist promoting coexistence amongst the peoples of Jerusalem.
This raised the ire of Israeli citizen media, who deemed the dichotomy unbecoming. In the midst of the brouhaha, Gibran Malik, a man who identified himself as an American Muslim, posted a YouTube video, reflecting on a chance meeting he had with Rabbi Glick last year on the Temple Mount. The video, which was shared widely, gave weight to the view of Glick as a peacemaker despite the tenuous politics of the holy city.
With a soft-spoken eloquence, Malik recounts the Rabbi addressing him with the Islamic greeting (0:24):
“I actually met Rabbi Yehuda Glick last year at Temple Mount when I first visited Jerusalem. And I saw him and he smiled, and he came up to me and said, “Assalamu aleikum [have a good day].” And I was surprised about that and I said to him, “Wa aleikumu salam.”
Malik recalls Glick reciting a Muslim prayer in Arabic, saying (2:50):
Seeing him reciting that with Muslims, you could see on his face that it was like: this is what we connect on. Like, he had no problem in saying it. Because just as strongly as Muslims believe God is one, Jews believe God is one. And we're one of the few people[s] who think that way…
There are so many things about us that should make us close to each other, regardless of the differences, but somehow we're the most distant. We have the most turmoil between each other.
Here is the full video (8 minutes):
Research on Gibran Malik reveals that he is a hip hop artist and actor, facts not belied by the straightforward, personal style of communication in his videos, which explore interfaith issues and current events, such as “Differences between the [Jewish] Torah and [Muslim] Quran,” “The Truth about ISIS and Extremism,” and “The Cure for Terrorism (September 11, 2012),” in which he states (1:30):
Now I'm not going to get into a whole religious debate with everyone who says, “No, but your books says this, your book says that.” Everyone's [holy] book out of context sounds like they want to kill everybody… It's all because we are living two thousand or a thousand or so years later and don't understand the time these texts were revealed in and the people that they were talking to. And that's why reading it today, it looks so odd and, you know, it looks so jumpy, because we don't understand them that well. But I'm not going to get into that whole debate.
Malik's YouTube channel and this profile, sheds light on his background as a performer and his musical persona, known as King Sage.
Access to the Temple Mount has been and continues to be an area of heated controversy in the conjoined realms of religion and politics in Jerusalem. The area is under control of the Waqf, or Islamic religious committee (that you hear Malik mention in the first video), yet the Israeli authorities maintain strict control over who can enter.
The Jewish Virtual Library explains:
For Jews, visiting the Temple Mount is a very controversial subject- both in terms of religious allowance and because non-Muslim prayer is prohibited at the site. Although freedom of access to the site is enshrined as law, Israel does not allow non-Muslim prayer on the Mount so as not to offend Muslim worshippers.
At time of writing, only men over the age of 35 (as well as all women) are able to enter the mosque.
Al Arabiya, which calls itself “the leading 24-hour news station in the Arab world,” reports:
The [Thursday, October 30th, one day] closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque was the first for decades and prompted a spokesman for [Palestinian] President Mahmoud Abbas to condemn the move as an Israeli “declaration of war.”
The resident imam [religious leader] at Abbas's headquarters in Ramallah echoed the president's words, saying the closure had been a “declaration of war … to Muslims across the world” and calling for people to “defend” Al-Aqsa.
The hashtag #HandsOffAlAqsa is currently trending on Twitter. In a best practice model for citizen media and digital activism, Friends of Al Aqsa, a UK nonprofit, organized the Twitterstorm, providing users with over 100 possible tweets to post with the hashtag.
Regarding Rabbi Glick's portrayal in pro-Palestinian news sources, Maan News’ depiction is typical of its peer publications, calling him: “hardline… an advocate for the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its replacement with a Jewish temple.”
Glick's father is Prof. Shimon Glick, who has been described as a “left-leaning religious Zionist.” In an interview with the Times of Israel, he remarks:
I agree with the principle that Jews should not be harassed, cursed or stoned for going up to the Temple Mount… I believe that all violence should be suppressed vigorously.
With regard to the question of whether Jews, like his son, should be allowed to enter the area, the senior Glick states:
It’s a personal decision. Four of my children go, and two of my children don’t… There is a sign at the entrance to the Temple Mount from the chief rabbi saying that Jews should not go up, and I choose to not violate that ruling.
Meanwhile, in response to the assassination attempt and the controversy surrounding Rabbi Glick's political and religious intentions regarding the Temple Mount, Israel Unseen posted footage of Glick praying with Muslims in Arabic. In this one minute video, you will see them interacting with friendship and good humor, followed by a short exchange in Hebrew, praising God.
The video is captioned, “Yehudah Glick, who was recently shot by a terrorist in Jerusalem, favored co-existence between Jews and Arabs on the Temple Mount.”
The video caused strong reactions amongst its viewers.
Nancy Evans responds:
That's the kind of man he was. His speech right prior to him being shot did not have one unkind word against them, but the opposite! I am so angry and I'm not even Jewish!
YouTube user Ecuaruby reacts:
Wow, he is always described as a right wing activist or extremist. I thought he would be some religious nutcase.All the articles I have read claim he is fighting for the right of religious Jews to pray at the site…That is considered extremist? It seems the media is no longer even bothering to hide their disdain for Israel.
I assumed Jews would be able to pray there since Israel controls that area, but found out they can't! Doesn't make sense…
While Beni Habibi observes:
And people accuse this guy of being a radical because he wants Jews to have access to Jewish holy sites. This man survived an assassination attempt recently. pray for his full recovery, and pray that his noble goals will be met as well.
There is an extended back-and-forth with Israeli viewer Uri Kurlianchik, who writes:
Both Israeli and international media describes this man as a “right wing extremist.” This is true. He had the radical notion that Israeli Jews should be allowed to move and pray freely in their capital… as should Muslims and Christians and anyone else who so desires. “Dangerous extremist” indeed.
Aaron McLin of Seattle, Washington (USA) questions Kurlianchik, asking:
Well, isn't there a Mosque there now? Would the country's Arabs expect that they would be allowed to continue to pray there if a new [Jewish] Temple were to be built there? I mean, I see what you're saying, but isn't this at the heart of the conflict in the first place? Two mutually antagonistic groups, each convinced that the other wants them out (or worse), contesting the same resources?
Charles Griswold of Humboldt County, California (USA) comments on Kurlianchik's explanations of the situation in Jerusalem:
I would invite you to come live in the U.S., but I'm not sure the situation here is really that much different.
Eran Shlomi of Israel summed up the situation succinctly in a conversation. Sharing his observation with permission:
“It's sad that some people decide to demonize others only because they don't share the same belief or perspective on life. Yehuda Glick suffered from two assassination trials, once in real life and second on the media.”
For a comprehensive overview of the unfolding situation, refer to Henriette Chacar's article in +972 Magazine, “What the Palestinian Media is Saying About the Jerusalem Violence.”

author: Maya Norton


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Burkina Faso Activists Confront a Potential Coup After President’s Departure · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

Saran Serémé Séré, president of the CDP opposition party, via Manya Riche on Twitter. (With permission.)
[All links lead to French-language pages unless otherwise indicated.]
Following Blaise Compaoré's departure and exile to Yamoussoukro, some uncertainty remains about the transitional presidency that's supposed to administer Burkina Faso until the next election.
Worryingly, in the space of just a few days, several public figures have already declared themselves leaders of the transitional government. On October 30, General Honoré Traoré announced himself president, only to be shoved aside by Lieutenant-Colonel Zida, the former second-in-command of the Presidential Guard. For some time, many have also speculated about retired General Kouamé Lougué's presidential potential. A fourth, civil-society candidate also seems to stand out: Saran Sérémé Séré, president of the CPD party [ed's note: ‘Congrès pour la démocratie et le progrès’, which means ‘Congress for Democracy and Progress’] and lead organiser of the anti-government protests that came to be known as the ‘Spatula Revolution’.
During this time of political uncertainty, civil society leaders have been especially wary of the military trying to seize power. Sérémé Séré, for example, writes on her Facebook page:
Ne laissons pas prendre en otage notre révolution populaire. pourquoi des militaires, en l’occurrence le chef d’état major général des armées par ci et le chef d’état major adjoint de la sécurité présidentielle par là, se bagarreraient ils pour une présidence durant une période éphémère, transitoire et surtout pour la récupération d'une lutte menée par le digne peuple burkinabé?
We should not let our grass-roots revolution get hijacked. Why is the military, namely the chief of the armed forces and the deputy chief of the Presidential Guard, jostling for the presidency in a time that is transient, transitory and, — above all — capitalising on the outcome of a dignified struggle by the people of Burkina Faso?
When Sérémé Séré and her supporters tried to broadcast a statement on national radio announcing their decision to steer the transition, security forces resorted to violence:
Burkina Faso: Tirs de sommation à la RTB, débandade de la foule Saran Sereme y était pour un déclaration. Article… http://t.co/oer0uuB2Gu
— koaci.com (@Koaci) November 2, 2014
Burkina Faso: Warning shots outside the RTB [‘Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina’, the national media outlet], crowd stampedes Saran Sereme was there to make a declaration. Read the full article… http://t.co/oer0uuB2Gu
— koaci.com (@Koaci) November 2, 2014
The tension between the army and activists isn't likely to subside any time soon, as there are already calls to protest Lieutenant-Colonel Zida's purported seizure of power [link in english]. Zida, nevertheless, has sought to reassure the country's youth about his good intentions. Appealing to young persons is no accident, moreover; the youth played an instrumental role in the demonstrations that brought down Compaoré's regime.
Despite Zida's outreach efforts, the opposition has remained largely skeptical about the army's plans. Indeed, Burkina Faso's constitution is clear on this point: the President of the National Assembly (the legislature) is supposed to take over, when there is a power “vacancy”. Salif Ouedraogo in Ouagadougou writes:
Nous sommes totalement contre la prise de pouvoir par les militaires. Nous réclamons un civil à la tête de l'État et demain nous allons nous regrouper place de la Révolution pour dire non au pouvoir militaire, même s'il faut que le peuple saigne davantage
We are totally opposed to the takeover of power by the military. We demand a civilian head of state and tomorrow we gather at Revolution Square to say ‘no’ to military power, even if this means more bloodshed.
Protesters clean of the city of Ouagadougou. (With permission from Oeil d'Afrique.)
Before these latest, fatal clashes outside the RTB national radio station, activists were by example, cleaning the streets of Ouagadougou after protests that brought together millions of civilians. Appealing to a sense of civic duty, the ‘Balai Citoyen’ [literally ‘citizen broom’] civil society group called on people to restore order in the capital. A young protester explains the importance of this gesture:
Hier on a balayé un président et aujourd’hui, on balaie les rues. Il fallait casser aussi, pour montrer qu'on n'a peur de rien [..]. Mais après tout ce qu'on a fait, il fallait rendre la ville propre. Maintenant, les étrangers vont venir, c'est comme si de rien n'était.
Yesterday we swept out a president and today we are sweeping the streets. We had to break things to show that we were not afraid of anything […]. But after everything we had done, we had to clean up the city. Now, foreigners will start coming again, as though nothing has happened.
While Burkina Faso's immediate future is still uncertain, the actions of its youth have already ended the 27-year reign of an African president. The video below shows the actions of the ‘balai’ [‘broom’] citizen movement, demanding greater democracy for Burkina Faso:
There is no doubt that other African leaders who want to change the law to extend their presidential terms (the leaders of Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Congo Brazzaville, and Benin come to mind) will be closely monitoring what happens next in Burkina Faso. The obvious lesson so far is that no one can hold power ‘for life’. Compoaré learned this the hard way.


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Fighting Malnutrition in Rwanda With Music · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Rwanda’s top musicians King James, Miss Jojo, Riderman, Tom Close, and Urban Boyz join the fight against malnutrition in Rwanda with a YouTube music video. The video is also available with Swahili subtitles.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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First Global Voices Meetup in Accra, Ghana · Global Voices
Kofi Yeboah

Following a successful round of gatherings in six cities around the world in 2013 and other gatherings in 2014, members of the Global Voices community in Ghana are pleased to announce that the first Global Voices Meetup in Ghana is scheduled for Saturday, November 15, in Accra.
The meetup will be hosted by Global Voices community member Kofi Yeboah (@Kofiemeritus), with the support of two other GVers: Mac-Jordan Degadjor (@MacJordan) and Abena Annan (@MsAbenaAnnan), in connection with iSpace at Anumansa, Lokko Streets, 146 East X’Borg Estates, OSU. The event will begin at 5:00pm GMT. Registration is required (see below for more information).
The Meetup will be an opportunity for students, bloggers, and others working in the field of citizen media to share experiences and learn about each other's work. In addition, the event will focus on:
If you are interested in taking part, please fill out the following registration form. You will receive a confirmation email regarding your participation. The event is free to attend, but space is limited. You can also send an email to: rising [at] globalvoicesonline [dot] org for more information.
Please follow the hashtag #GVMeetup for this and other meetups from around the world.

author: Kofi Yeboah


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Georgian Social Media Users Make Light of Political Power Struggle · Global Voices
Joseph A. Smith

Sacked Defence Minister, Irakli Alasania in October this year. Image: Georgian Ministry of Defence.
In the wake of a power struggle which has split the country's ruling coalition, Georgian social media users have been seeing the lighter side of the political situation, churning out satire in real time as events develop.
With higher popularity ratings than Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili (right), sacked Defence Minister Irakli Alasania (left) really is the “fairest of them all”. Image: Beqa Adamashvili
The crisis began on November 4, when the Minister of Defence, Irakli Alasania was sacked by Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili. Alasania’s ministry, which has cooperated closely with NATO and EU allies and has sent troops to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Central African Republic, had been under investigation for its role in a supposedly suspect procurement contract. When Alasania labelled the investigation “politically motivated” and “an attack on Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic choice”, the PM criticized him for being “irresponsible” and promptly fired him.
In the wake of Alasania’s dismissal, two ministers resigned from cabinet and Alasania’s Free Democrat (FD) Party left the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) coalition, depriving GD of its majority in parliament. The defecting ministers echoed Alasania’s line that the government is placing Georgia’s pro-Western orientation and potential membership of the European Union in peril, and several of Georgia’s EU and NATO partners expressed their concerns, including former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who tweeted:
Grave political crisis in Georgia. Attacks on and sacking of DefMin Alasania. Path of the country under treath. http://t.co/eU2gdsPbmp
— Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) November 5, 2014
The crisis is widely seen as a stand-off between political dab-hander Alasania and petulant newbie Gharibashvili. Alasania served as Georgia’s Ambassador to the UN during the 2008 conflict with Russia before going into opposition to then-President Mikheil Saakashvili. He is a well-known face among Western partners and, according to a recent poll, the most popular politician in Georgia. By contrast, Georgia’s 32-year-old Prime Minister Gharibashvili is believed to act in compliance with the wishes of billionaire business man and GD founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose coalition unseated Saakashvili’s party in elections held two years ago. Ivanishvili has close ties to Russia and is perceived by some as tacitly pro-Russian, despite his coalition’s avowed commitment to Euro-Atlantic Integration.
While the process of Euro-Atlantic integration is likely to be disrupted in the very short term, at least on the level of working relationships, it is clear that no one within the coalition is seen as indispensable. Alasania’s departure also means a more depersonalized institutional environment and an end to ‘public recrimination between high office holders’ – something the coalition member Republican Party has recently been calling for.
The coalition split will also mean more choice for pro-Western voters. A strong third party could reverse the slide towards a bi-polar legislature – torn between a mutually hostile UNM and GD – reminding both that they’re not the only pro-West outfit in town.
Shunning a slightly stale geopolitical analysis of the unfolding events, Georgian social networks have been buzzing with humourous depictions of the rivalry between the Gharibashvili and Alasania, including this reference to popular TV show Game of Thrones:
Game of Thrones – #Tbilisi Edition, feat. King #Gharibashvili and #Alasania the Exile (Liberali Weekly cover) pic.twitter.com/BCGxfKau2k
— Max Fras (@fullofeels) November 6, 2014
One photo produced by Facebook satirist Nugzar Metreveli shows Alasania swimming for his life while members of the Georgian Dream coalition look on.
Irakli Alasania is shown swimming for his life while politicians from the ruling Georgian Dream coalition spectate (Nugzar Metreveli)
Another picture, playing on the disparity between the two politicians’ popularity ratings, depicts PM Gharibashvili as the evil witch from Disney’s ‘Sleepy Beauty’, obviously disgruntled as Alasania is declared ‘fairest of them all’. The caption reads:
Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who has higher ratings than me?

author: Joseph A. Smith