text:
Ugandan Police Raid Two Newspapers Over General’s Controversial Letter · Global Voices
James Propa

Ugandan police have shut down two newspapers after they reported on a letter written by the country's  coordinator of intelligence services to the head of the counter intelligence agency asking for an investigation into a plan to groom the eldest son of President Yoweri Museveni to succeed the 27-year leader.
The Red Pepper and the Daily Monitor were shuttered on 20 May, 2013 and armed police agents placed outside the buildings. The closure of the Daily Monitor also affected two radio stations, 90.4 Dembe FM and 93.3 KFM, which are located in the same building in the Namuwonga suburb of Uganda's capital city of Kampala.
The police claim that the closure of these media houses was to search for the letter from General David Sejusa a.k.a Tinyefunza. The letter refers to the plan, known as the Muhoozi Project, to have Brigadier Muhoozi Kainerugaba to take over for his father and calls for an investigation into allegations that opponents of the plan are targeted for assassination.
General David Sejusa is currently in United Kingdom. He has written to Speaker of Ugandan Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, asking for  three months’ leave from Parliament, where he is army representative, to complete his unfinished business in London.
Rep Pepper Offices closed. Photo from Official Red Pepper Facebook Page.
Police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba has also accused the publications of scanning government officials’ signatures to forge documents.
So for these reasons the government has claimed, police have had to search the entire premises including the production plants. The computer servers, radio transmitters, and printing machines were all turned off on the arrival of police.
Both publications continue to occupied by police. A court hearing has been set for 30 May in which the Daily Monitor will argue that the order for them to produce the original letter should be cancelled.
Many Ugandans consider the siege as abuse of the law and misuse of Uganda's police force. Rumors also started circulating on social media sites that the government was planning on closing down Facebook and Twitter in Uganda, but the Minister of Information Mary Karoro Okurut said these were false.
Following the shutdown, Ugandans have taken to social media sites to comment on the action by the government, some supporting the move while others saying the government is interfering with press freedom and freedom of speech.
The Daily Monitor (@DailyMonitor) warned:
@DailyMonitor: State should stop muzzling free press – Monitor Editors #Dailymonitor monitor.co.ug/News/National/… twitter.com/DailyMonitor/s…
Red Pepper (@RedPepper) wrote:
@RedPepper: RED PEPPER SIEGE: apparently, Unless the Controversial tinyefuza [Gen. David Tinyefunza] letter is found, We shall remain closed #OccupyRedPepper #OccupyMonitor
Commenting on a story appearing on the Daily Monitor website, netizen Tommy wanted someone to tell the president that Ugandans are tired of his regime:
Will anyone patriotic remind M7 [President Yoweri Museveni] that Ugadans [sic] are fed up?
Another reader, Alex Kahanga, wrote:
Press Freedom in Uganda, like all other spheres of life have gone to the dogs. Lets just lay, and watch the rot.
Police at Daily Monitor's Production Plant. Photo from Daily Monitor's Official Facebook page.
Godfrey Wanzusi wondered how a letter can cause the government to act in such a manner:
That's the nakedness of M7 [President Yoweri Museveni] and his boys in defence, security organs and government. They're doing more harm than good to M7 by harassing the press before the international image. Just a letter has caused this commotion, this brings people to conclude that the content contained in the letter was true and it has unsettled M7 and his plotters, thus why? he has remained quiet to dispute the content of the letter.
disqus_S7K0rqnCHo supported the police siege:
Really, I dont think there is any cause for alarm. Police anywhere in the world are free to check whatever is suspected of any criminal issues. I think it is a normal process.
kiapi@40KFreddie noted that the siege is in violation of the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the Commonwealth Singapore Declaration:
The gov't is using the State security agencies to gang the press especially those that they deem to be lenient to the opposition all because of a letter written by one of their own is a step back to the dark days of the 1980's of which they people in leadership fought against but now are doing the same, it call us all to condemn such acts and the days of such are long gone. the Monitor publication just like others are just a message and not the author, let them wait for the author and them ask him about the letter. This in violation of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Commonwealth Singapore Declaration of Principles of which the GoU is a signatory too.
Kule J. Warren observed that closing down the media houses is pushing the public to believe that the letter is genuine:
Why is the regime police acting this way? We are now forced to believe that Muhoozi Project is real. Besieging Monitor will not solve the problem. Focus on keeping law and order and not being agents of lawlessness. Monitor, you will live up to the test. You have weathered more of these
Olum S. warned that the siege is a sign of what is to come. He also rephrased the Ugandan Motto, “For God And My Country,” to “For God And Our Stomach”:
And? What is so surprising about that? This is only but a taste of what's to come. Expect much more of the same the longer these thugs hold on to power. With a lot more brutality added in as well, just in case any of you thought you were exempt from all that. For God and Our Stomach
Gaetano Kagwa (@gaetanokagwa), former Big Brother Africa housemate and media personality, joked:
@gaetanokagwa: I wonder how long it will now be before the Government of #Uganda looks for the #Twitter Off switch. #Sejusa #PressFreedom
Kiyonga (@kinyongaismael) asked:
@kinyongaismael: Kfm off air. Shut down on orders from above. Where is the freedom of speech they have always claimed? #Sejusa
Arinaitwe Rugyendo (@RugyendoQuotes), editor at Red Pepper, joked about the situation:
@RugyendoQuotes: The cops who attacked Daily Monitor were looking @kalinaki [Kalinaki is a famous political writer in Uganda and former chief editor at the Daily Monitor]. those who went to Red Pepper were looking for The Hyena [Hyena is a daily sex feature appearing on Red Pepper newspaper]. #OccupyRedPepper
Red Pepper journalist Ambrose (@since_1986) wrote on the initial day of the police raid:
@since_1986: I have not even had a glass of water since morning.cops everywhere. #occupyRedPepper For heavens sake Tinye [the alleged author of the letter] is not in my computer.
GudderGudder (@zanckydenis) warned President Museveni:
@zanckydenis: #SomeoneTellMuseveOfUg that even in Tunisia,Libya and Egypt social media and media were shut down but the revolution went on. #OccupyMonitor
Power at the Daily Monitor premises went off during the siege on May 20, 2013. National Power Supplier UMEME made a statement that they were doing maintenance work, yet this was not true as Jennifer Okech (@ajokech), an editor at Monitor Publications, tweeted:
@ajokech: Power is off at DailyMonitor. umeme [Electricity in Kiswahili] claims they were jst doing maintenanceReally? Media freedom!!#policeatmonitor

author: James Propa


text:
“When a Burglar Enters Your Home”: Debating Serbia’s Self-Defense Law · Global Voices
Tamara Gocmanac

This is the case that has united Serbia: Saško Bogeski [sr], who killed burglar Vlada Manić in his home in Belgrade on Tuesday, was arrested immediately and ordered by a judge yesterday to be held in jail on remand for 30 days. According to the authorities, Bogeski had allegedly crossed the line of what is known as “necessary defense” [sr] in the Serbian law.
Serbian netizens are demanding urgent amendments to the Penal Code of the Republic of Serbia [sr], which defines “necessary defense” in such a way that makes it extremely difficult to prove, while interpretations frequently play against the attacked individuals.
Twitter user @zmiroljub resonated [sr] the opinion of most netizens following this case:
Ovog coveka treba javnost da podrzi. Da je provalnik pobio njegovu porodicu, to bi bila samo vest na naslovnoj Blica…
This man needs public support. If the burglar had murdered his family, it would have just been a news item on the front page of Blic [a Serbian daily]…
Many netizens, such as Twitter user Biljana Lukic, sound overwhelmingly disgruntled and sarcastic [sr]:
Kad vam upadne provalnik u kuću, budite ljubazni, pokažite mu gde držite vrednosti i nadajte se da ćete preživeti. Ako se branite, robijaćete.
When a burglar enters your home, be polite, show him where you keep your valuables and hope that you will survive. If you defend yourself, you will serve prison time.
User @web_neki_tamo writes [sr]:
Ako mi upadne provalnik prvo ću da ga pitam šta ima od oružja, da ne bih slučajno uzeo nešto što je jače od njegovog.
If a burglar drops in, I'll ask him which weapons he has first, so I don't accidentally grab something more powerful than what he has.
Similar laws are in place in most countries of the former Yugoslavia, while most other European countries often interpret “necessary defense” in a wider sense and such cases often proceed without trial and are not viewed as criminal acts.
An online petition in support of Bogeski [sr] has been launched, and over 8,100 people have already signed it. In the petition, Bogeski is described as a well-known philanthropist and a committed activist for the rights of marginalized groups. He is the president of an NGO that stands for the promotion of ethical values in private and public lives of individuals. During the war in Bosnia, he worked in a Bible school and helped displaced individuals and those with special needs. He was also part of the team that brought Nick Vujicic, a Serbian-Australian motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs, to Belgrade. He has had no prior misdemeanors or criminal charges. The killed burglar, on the other hand, was a multiple offender with over 50 prior criminal charges for offenses that included robbery and armed robbery.
In the Serbian society, there is an ongoing debate related to whether or not there was justified cause for “necessary defense” in cases similar to Bogeski's. In the Blic daily, attorney Nebojša Perović explains [sr]:
U ovakvim slučajevima sud se dosta oslanja na nalaz veštaka. Pitanje je u kom stepenu je smanjena moć rasuđivanja i u kom stepenu je prisutan efekat straha i besa. Vrlo je teško proceniti koliko napadnuti može da kontroliše svoj postupak i u kom trenutku on brani sebe i porodicu.
In cases such as these, the court relies heavily on the assessment of court experts. The question is to what extent the power of judgement was diminished and to what extent the effects of fear and rage were present. It is very difficult to assess how much the attacked individual was able to control his acts and at which point he was defending himself and his family.
The signing of the online petition and the activism present on social networks certainly won't solve the issue, but they nevertheless show that citizens are taking a stand when faced with this problem.
Arguments of self-defense are very difficult to uphold in court cases in Serbia, and cases in which the court has acquitted those accused of manslaughter are extremely rare, even when self-defense was obvious to an average person. The best-known example in the former Yugoslavia is that of the famous actor Žarko Laušević, who was tried for the 1993 double murder that he committed while defending his own life, the life of his brother and others present at the scene. Laušević was pardoned after serving some 5 years in prison, the larger part of a longer sentence given by the court.
Many citizens are now appealing [sr] to the Minister of Justice, Nikola Selaković, directly on Twitter with the request that the state protect citizens with amendments to the existing laws:
Poštovani @selakovicnikola može li se ikako inicirati promena u Zakonu koja bi zaštitila privatni posed? […]
Respected @selakovicnikola is there any way of initiating amendments to the law that would protect private property? […]
At the time of writing this post, Minister Selaković has not yet responded to users on Twitter.
The investigation of Bogeski's case is still in progress.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Tamara Gocmanac


text:
A Thin Line Between Democracy and Independence in French Polynesia · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

[All links lead to French-language pages unless indicated otherwise]
On the heels of French Polynesian anti-independence politician Gaston Flosse‘s [en] victory in the islands’ presidential elections earlier this month, the United Nations has adopted a resolution calling on France to grant its territory of French Polynesia [en] full independence.
The UN General Assembly placed French Polynesia [en] on the list of territories that should be decolonized in a resolution passed on May 17, 2013. The resolution had been presented, among others, by three small Pacific states: The Solomon Islands, Nauru, and Tuvalu, and was adopted without a vote by consensus in the absence of France, which boycotted the session after exhausting all political and diplomatic means to prevent the vote.
The listing was brought up to the UN by pro-independence former president Oscar Temaru [en], who was defeated meanwhile, not without some irony, in local presidential elections by now five-time President Flosse [en], who faces ongoing corruption charges.
Relief map of French Polynesia, by Sardon on Wikimedia Commons, GNU license
The islands of French Polynesia, which have 274,000 inhabitants, are an overseas country of France endowed with rather broad autonomy, but France retains its sovereign powers, such as public security or international relations. Some interesting maps can be found on the blog Histoire-Geo.
The UN resolution affirms “the inalienable right of the population of French Polynesia to self-determination and independence,” in accordance with the UN Charter and article 73 [en] on non-autonomous territories. It requests the French government “to facilitate rapid progress towards a fair and effective self-determination process” [en] in Polynesia.
Similar resolutions in the past have targeted New Zealand as well as the United Kingdom's ownership of Gibraltar and The Falklands without concrete results, the countries regularly disregarding them.
The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a communique through his spokesperson, deplored:
une ingérence flagrante, une absence complète de respect pour les choix démocratiques des Polynésiens, un détournement des objectifs que les Nations unies se sont fixés en matière de décolonisation. (…) Le 21 avril puis le 5 mai, les électeurs polynésiens ont renouvelé, comme tous les cinq ans, leur assemblée territoriale. Ils ont donné une majorité incontestable aux élus favorables à l'actuel statut d'autonomie.
a flagrant interference, a complete lack of respect for the democratic choices of the Polynesians, a diversion from the goals which the United Nations has set in the matter of decolonization. (…) On April 21 and May 5, Polynesian voters re-elected their territorial assembly, as they do every five years. They gave an indisputable majority to those elected who are favorable to the current status of autonomy.
In fact, Flosse's anti-independence party led the second round in the elections for the territorial assembly on May 6, 2013 and won 38 of the 57 seats available.
Flosse, only just settled into the Polynesian presidential chair, hardly minced words when he declared in a broadcast speech:
Nous continuerons à nous élever contre cette décision jusqu’à ce qu’elle soit rapportée. L’ONU a inventé le droit des nations à disposer des peuples contre leur gré. Nous ne voulons pas de dictature chez nous.
We will continue to speak out against this decision until it is reversed. The UN has invented the right of nations to make use of people against their will. We do not want a dictatorship here.
Presidential Office in Papeete by Wikipedia license CC-BY-3.0
On Causeur, a well known french collaborative blogging site, a user stated ironically:
Il semble d’autant plus urgent d’y organiser un « processus équitable et effectif d’autodétermination » que celui-ci a déjà eu lieu en mars dernier. À la question « Souhaitez-vous que les îles Malouines conservent leur statut politique actuel en tant que territoire d’outre-mer du Royaume-Uni ? », les insulaires ont répondu Oui à 99,8%.
Mais peut-être est-ce là une majorité trop faible pour beaucoup d’Etats membres de l’ONU, où un scrutin n’est valide que si le pouvoir en place dépasse la barre des 100% des suffrages exprimés.
It seems all the more urgent to organize a “fair and effective self-determination process” than the one which already took place last March. As to the question ”Would you like the Falkland Islands to keep their current political status as overseas territory of the United Kingdom?” 99.8 percent of the islanders responded Yes. But perhaps that is too narrow a majority for many members of the UN, where a vote is valid only if the government in power receives more than 100 percent of the valid votes.
On social media, the issue was a thorny one, with some Twitter users reminding France that it doesn't always practice what it preaches.
Michel Emka (@EmkaMichel) cited an article from europe-israel.com:
@EmkaMichel: L’arroseur arrosé: La France furieuse après le vote de l’ONU sur la Polynésie française – http://www.europe-israel.org/2013/05/larroseur-arrose-la-france-furieuse-apres-le-vote-de-lonu-sur-la-polynesie-francaise/ …
@EmkaMichel: The hoser hosed: France furious after the UN vote on French Polynesia – http://www.europe-israel.org/2013/05/larroseur-arrose-la-france-furieuse-apres-le-vote-de-lonu-sur-la-polynesie-francaise/ …
Sovereigntist Damien Lempereur (@dlempereur) invoked Palestine:
@dlempereur: La Polynésie française sur la liste des pays à décoloniser selon l'ONU mais bien sûr pas les territoires palestiniens http://www.un.org/fr/decolonization/nonselfgovterritories.shtml …
@dlempereur: French Polynesia on the list of countries to decolonize but of course not the Palestinian territories http://www.un.org/fr/decolonization/nonselfgovterritories.shtml …
The Polynesian triangle, by Kahuroa on Wikimedia Commons – free reproduction. 5 : French Polynesia
The blog Zone Militaire, on opex360.com, described what is strategically at stake for France in Polynesia:
La Polynésie française apporte au domaine maritime français quelques 5.030.000 km2. Elle donne aussi à la France une position stratégique de premier choix dans le Pacifique, région qui tend à prendre de plus en plus d’importance étant donné qu’autour de cet océan vit près de la moitié de la population mondiale et que presque toutes les grandes puissances y sont présentes. (…) Qui plus est, la Zone économique exclusive (ZEE) de la Polynésie française recèlerait, si l’on en croit les résultats d’une exploration menée en 2010 par une équipe de l’Université de Tokyo, des dépôts offshores de terres rares, indispensables pour l’industrie électronique.
French Polynesia brings some 5,030,000 square kilometers to the French maritime domain. It also gives France a prime strategic position in the Pacific, a region which tends to take on more and more importance given that around this ocean lives almost half the world population and almost all the great powers are present. (…) What’s more, if one believes the results of an exploration carried out in 2010 by a team from the University of Tokyo, the Exclusive Economic Zone [en] (EEZ) of French Polynesia conceals offshore deposits of rare earth metals, indispensable to the electronic industry.
But as this editorial published by Rue 89 explains, the decision to add French Polynesia to the list of countries for decolonization “can be examined in light of the very serious economic, social, and cultural crisis throughout this region, and the difficulty of the state to contribute to its resolution”:
(Sous le gouvernement de l'indépendantiste Temaru) la Polynésie a continué de s’enfoncer non dans la récession, mais dans la dépression économique, compte tenu de son étrange modèle totalement inadapté à la donne économique mondiale actuelle. Nous sommes en effet en présence d’une sorte de Janus, monstre à deux têtes, l’une ultralibérale (absence d’impôt sur le revenu et d’allocations chômage), et l’autre ultradirigiste (secteur public hypertrophié et protectionnisme).
L’Etat (…) a fini par prendre conscience de la gravité de la situation. Mais Paris ne dispose guère de leviers de réforme, compte tenu du statut d’autonomie. (…)
Le paradoxe est que c’est le père du modèle en cause qui a été élu, à la satisfaction semble-t-il de certains milieux économiques persuadés que l’on pouvait revenir au bon vieux temps. Gaston Flosse est conscient de la gravité de la situation : la première mesure qu’il a annoncée est la mise en place de l’assurance chômage. Cet homme intelligent saura-t-il être le Gorbatchev de son propre système ? (…)
(Under the government of the independentist Temaru) Polynesia has continued to sink not into a recession, but rather into the economic depression, owing to its strange model totally unsuited to the current world economic order. We are, in effect, in the presence of a type of Janus, a two-headed monster, one ultraliberal (a lack of income tax and unemployment benefits) and the other ultra-interventionalist (overdeveloped public sector and protectionism).
The State (…) finally came to realize the gravity of the situation. But Paris has barely any leverage for reform, owing to its autonomous status. (…)
The paradox is that it is the father of the model in question who was elected, to the satisfaction it seems of certain economic circles persuaded that one can return to the good old times. Gaston Flosse is aware of the gravity of the situation: the first measure he announced was the implementation of unemployment benefits. Will this intelligent man know how to be the Gorbatchev of his own system? (…)

author: Suzanne Lehn


text:
Activists Protest Monsanto Offices in Tokyo · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

Activists in Tokyo demonstrated against agricultural giant Monsanto in front of their local offices, joining 279,723 protesters in 57 other countries around the world for March Against Monsanto day on May 25, 2013. Project 99% [ja], an anti-nuclear power and anti-Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement [so called TPP] coalition of activists and groups in Japan working to create society for the 99 percent, organized the action. Some of the activists performed a short original theatrical play entitled “Keep the Monsanto Police out of Japan! [ja]”.
Activists say no to GMO and TPP in front of the office of Monsanto Japan Limited on May 25, 2013. Image uploaded on twitter by Stop TPP Kantei Action (@TPP_kantei)

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Chinese Social Web Defends US Vice President Biden · Global Voices
Abby Liu

United States Vice President Joe Biden has faced a firestorm of criticism from Chinese international students after he referred to China as a nation that cannot “think different” or “breathe freely” during his commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania.
But mainland Chinese Web users have hit back, reproaching the students abroad for their behavior and defending Biden's speech as worthy of reflection.
During Biden's speech on May 13, 2013, the vice president made reference to China:
You cannot think different in a nation where you cannot breathe free; you cannot think different in a nation where you aren't able to challenge orthodoxy, because change only comes from challenging orthodoxy.
Many Chinese international students considered the remark insensitive. A few days later, Zhang Tianpu, a Chinese student at the University of Pennsylvania, and his peers drafted a letter to Biden demanding an apology.
Video of Biden's speech is available on YouTube:
The news soon went viral on Chinese social media. More than 30,000 people participated in an online poll by Tencent news on the question – to the question “should Biden apologize or not”, 70 percent of online users answered that he shouldn't apologize.
When former Google China head Kaifu Lee shared the news together with the video of the speech on Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo on May 24, it attracted more than 6,560 comments within a few hours. Most of Web users thought what Biden said was true, and others even criticized the international students.
Li Lifu, an editor for a publication house in Tianjin, explained [zh] part of the reason why the students are angry:
Video of Biden's speech was widely shared on Sina Weibo. (Image from Sina Weibo)
这些留学生的父辈中不乏现行体制的受益者，他们很爱这个体制，明白了吗
Some of the parents of these students have benifited from the current system, they love this system, understand?
“Yilitang Leyouyou” compared [zh] the lives of college students in China and the lives of those abroad:
人家拜登说的没错，这些留学生哪里知道国内人民生活的囧况，他们不用担心买房买车，自由的享受生活，我们这些穷二代大学生毕业后就要开始牛一样的挣钱生存，还要面临各种不公平的竞争。各种悲剧
Biden was right, how do these overseas students know about the hard lives Chinese people have, they do not worry about buying a car or a house, they just enjoy their free life. We, the poor “second-generation” college students, have to work hard to make money to survive right after graduation, but also have to face a variety of unfair competition and tragedies.
Weibo user “Pretending to be in New York” wrote [zh] sarcastically:
假如张同学在中国的时候不喜欢领导人的讲话而写信抗议，写完信后他还能自由呼吸吗？
If this Zhang student doesn't like the Chinese president's speech and writes letters in protest, can he still breathe freely after finishing the letter?
“Jinshi Qinghuan” echoed [zh] the sentiment:
你们能抗议美国副总统，这是多大的自由啊。来，回来，抗议个村长。
You can protest against the US vice president, how much freedom you've got there! Come back and try to protest the head of a village.
“Zhu Mengxiang” quoted [zh] a Chinese idiom:
忠言逆耳
Faithful words are unpleasant to hear [to the ear].
“Kaopu de Qishi 2011” posed [zh] a rhetorical question about freedom of speech in China:
官场上混的人有几个敢说真话？报纸、电视宣传的有几个是真的？到底是谁该道歉？
How many government officials dare to speak the truth? How many newspapers and television report the truth? In the end, who should apologize?
“Feng aili” [zh] thought that Biden's speech hit the mark:
中国的这种现状，，真的太需要我们深思
China's situation is really worthy of our reflection.
The Weibo account for a school newspaper from China's top Tsinghua University published[zh]:
拜登称中国是不能自由思考的国家，中国学生要求道歉。先别给是否应该道歉下论断，我们更应该反思为什么我们会被人称作不能自由呼吸的国度。我们不能总视己为弱者，带着敏感而又脆弱的爱国情怀去看待一切。道歉不能为我们带来自由的空气，脆弱的爱国也不会成为强国之本，唯有反思才能进步。
Biden says China is a country where one can't think freely, and Chinese students demand for an apology. Let's not make a judgement on whether Biden should apologize or not, we should reflect on why we are called a country where one can't breathe freely. We cannot always consider ourselves weak, looking at everything with sensitive and fragile patriotism. Apology cannot bring us free air, fragile patriotism can't empower our country, only through reflection can we make progress.

author: Abby Liu


text:
Jamaica’s Blog Action Day: What Police Can Do  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

His killing did something to me; it tore me apart, for I was a part of this unwarranted and brutal abuse. I represented the group the soldier came from and I felt shame, anger and confusion all in one. The victim was mentally challenged, he was ill, he was helpless and he was murdered for it. I felt sick to the pit of my stomach.
These are the words of a former policeman who has penned a tell-all book, soon to be published, which tells the inside story of police brutality in Jamaica. Extra judicial killings like these are the topic that Jamaican bloggers chose to discuss on their installment of this year's Blog Action Day, dubbed JA Blog Day.  The date they chose to mark the occasion was, quite fittingly, the third anniversary of the invasion of Tivoli Gardens, which has the reputation of being “the mother of all garrisons”.  Security forces were in search of Christopher “Dudus” Coke, who was wanted for extradition by the United States on ammunition and drug trafficking charges, but by the end of the state of emergency in Kingston, the death toll was steep, Coke was not in custody until nearly a month later and the loss of life helped turn public opinion against state forces.
In an announcement post for the event, Cucumber Juice referred to several such incidents, saying:
It’s fair to say that ‘police’ here means ‘security forces.’ This is a touchy topic. Many people may be resistant to speaking up and out about this issue because they’re afraid but the plain fact is that in Jamaica there are far too many and frequent questionable incidents involving the security forces and civilians…the DPP doesn’t seem interested or committed to addressing this problem…or even willing to acknowledge that there is a problem. These incidents are now so frequent. Troubling. Scary for some, angering for others. Worrisome for most.
The killing described in the opening quotation, which Active Voice called “a measure of the problem we now face”, was put into context in this post:
From Bob Marley’s famous line about waking up in a curfew, surrounded by police all ‘dressed in uniforms of brutality’ to Lovindeer’s comical Babylon Boops…the police (often referred to as ‘Babylon’ in Jamaica) have been a popular subject for commentary and satire in Jamaica.
The official Jamaica Blog Day banner; image courtesy JA Blog Day.
On May 23, the commentary kept coming. Cucumber Juice wrote:
Those of us who are content…for too many in the JCF [Jamaica Constabulary Force] and JDF [Jamaica Defense Force] to get away with extrajudicial behaviour that often amounts to murder…we too are guilty; we are complicit in the murders of our fellow citizens. Another way of putting it: it is as if you had your finger on the trigger too.
Several bloggers referred to the case of Matthew Lee. Active Voice described him as:
A generous young middle class boy, who gave two less fortunate friends a ride one day. The police descended on them as they drove through an affluent community…and after the usual controversial ‘encounter’ all three were shot dead in broad daylight.
She continued:
I deliberately cite the case of Matthew Lee because he was not a ghetto youth, the perennial victims of encounters with the police. He was a young middle class youth, a former junior hockey champion, a citizen in good standing, yet the police didn’t bat an eyelid in killing him. This suggests that a new frontier has been reached and those of us who think our elite status will give us immunity from the violence that stalks the land please take note. They came for Keith Clarke in the wee hours of the morning, they came for Matthew Lee in broad daylight and they will come for you and me whenever they please. Welcome to a reality the poor in Jamaica have always known–the Police/Armed forces are not in control–they are completely OUT of control. ‘Wi a pay uuno fi murder wi,’ as one such hapless citizen remarked.
Cucumber Juice said that she “watched an interesting thing unfold on [her] Twitter timeline”:
Initially quite a few people tweeted their agreement with the police officer’s actions; the police had, in their eyes, succeeded in getting rid of yet another criminal (it is ironic that Mr. Dyer — the one who was wanted — was apparently on his way to a police station for his daily check in) and the other two who were caught in the crossfire simply should not have been there; too bad, so sad. Funny thing was that initial news reports were uniform that Matthew Lee was simply caught up, wrong place wrong time. Then some tweeters realized that Matthew Lee was the brother of someone they knew. O! Matthew Lee was that Matthew Lee; he was no longer an unknown. Suddenly the tweets of police support ceased or the views changed. Suddenly there was a personal connection to a killing caused by the police…and suddenly it wasn’t OK.
She went on to explain:
To my mind police officers pulled the trigger and should be held accountable but I am convinced that they are not the only ones to be blamed for Matthew’s and others’ deaths. The police and army only continue to act this way because they are allowed; their actions are buoyed by the continuing approval that they get from too many Jamaican citizens. The persistence of police and security force abuses is possible because too many in society do not see it as a problem. That is, of course, until it affects them…
When Ian Lloyd was killed by a police officer – who was later acquitted of murder — a haunting part of the video that captured his death was the cheers of support for the police from the crowd. That ardent support was echoed when the police officer was acquitted; residents of Mr. Lloyd’s community thought him guilty of many things and of terrorizing the community so his death was seen as his justice. I wonder if residents will feel the same when a police officer comes for them, thinking them guilty of many things and a pariah to the community.
The post also addressed the “massacre” that inspired the blog action day in the first place:
As many struggle to come to terms with the 73+ who were killed in Tivoli in May 2010, I am increasingly troubled by those who hold the view that those who died in Tivoli in May 2010 deserved to die; after all they had barricaded themselves in their community, they didn’t leave when urged to do so, they had supported Mr. Coke and his misdeeds, they had acted against the State. I cannot stress enough how dangerous this position is, to think that it’s OK for the police or army to mete out justice as either entity sees fit. Is that really justice? I’m not naive enough to think that when the police and army went into Tivoli in May 2010 that they met no resistance…but I cannot accept that the loss of 73+ lives should so easily be dismissed as mere inevitable consequence or collateral damage. Seventy-three lives wiped from our consciousness so easily? It cannot be. It cannot be we are so willing to thoughtlessly cede our freedom and the health of our society.
Here’s the thing: the problem of police and security force abuse did not begin with either the police or the army. The problem began with US. We have created and continue to nurture a society in which it is OK to devalue human life because of home address, community or other associations, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We have created and continue to nurture a society of gross and glaring but ignored inequity. That there are so many police and security force abuses is but a manifestation of how little we regard our fellow citizens, of — unknowingly it seems — how little regard we have for our own lives.
The day was filled with lots of other interesting posts: this one, which gave a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force to speak anonymously about the issue; this one, which reminded Jamaicans about “what led us to this state of affairs” and this plea, which called for balance, saying:
I submit that most of our security officers are not the evil beasts some would want us to believe. Likewise, majority of the persons in the inner-city communities are not criminals as some would have us believe. I can talk because I have benefited from personal experiences of both sides.
The deviant behaviour of some of our security personnel must be looked on more holistically. I humbly offer that each of us as law abiding citizens need to start with ourselves. Let’s begin by respecting the rule of law, by being disciplined, by stop supporting wrong doing when it suits us. Note I said us because I am as guilty as well.
Some used the opportunity to applaud the “excessive dedication and courage…in our police officers”, while this video blog examined why abuses by armed forces was such a problem in Jamaican society.  Another stirring post was this one by Charmaine, who is fearful, even though she knows good police officers exist – her uncle was one of them:
When I think of the police I think of my uncle who served for over 30 years and was by all accounts a good and true officer. The second thing that comes to my mind is Matthew Lee. A young man that does the same foolish things as me – is willing to help people whether they are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ people.
While the Jamaican police & army are so busy echoing the NYPD’s code of silence, I dont think that they are aware that without the messages and highlighting of good cops all that is highlighted are the actions of the rogues.
And so hard working voters like myself are as afraid of the police as the bad men.
You can take a look at all the contributions to JA Blog Day here; the event's Twitter feed is here.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Copyright Amendment Could Bring Web Filter System to Taiwan · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (IPO) [zh] recently proposed [zh] to amend the Copyright Act and provide legal justification of IP and DNS blocking at the Internet Service Provider (ISP) level through a black list system. The government claims that the amendment would stop the illegal sharing of movies and music protected by copyright law.
Although IPO has stressed that the Internet service providers will only block overseas online platforms which are “specifically designed for copyright infringement activities” or websites which have “obviously violated copyrights,” such as Megaupload, the authorities will target online platforms that enhance peer-to-peer transmission including Bit Torrent, Foxy, and FTP sharing.
Image from Roger Pielke Jr.'s Blog.
The Taiwanese government proposal is similar to the United States bill, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which was suspended last year following criticism from companies and civil society groups asserting that the legislation would threaten online freedom of expression and information flow. If the Taiwanese copyright amendment is implemented, the Island will have a mechanism that blocks and filters away “illegal websites” that host material that infringes copyright laws. This could be detrimental to sites like YouTube, where users regularly upload videos that may violate copyright laws. Although the company has a system for removing these videos, a law like this could lead to the site being blocked altogether.
Many Taiwanese find the proposal backward and contrary to the principle of an open society. Blogger I-Chen Tsai explained [zh] in Q&A format how the amendment has violated citizen's rights:
問：你是不是想看盜版？
答：不，我從不看盜版院線片，每個月平均進電影院兩次。我想捍衛的是一種價值。
如果今天政府找個理由，不經由法律程序，就能立即封掉任何境外網站。那麼，安個「言論影響國家安全」，就能立刻封掉「想想論壇」(hosted byAcquia)；安個「影響我國傳統市場秩序」，就能封掉「好魚網」(hosted byAmazon)；安個「錯誤引導年輕人就業觀念」，就能封掉「Mr. Jamie」(hosted by Media Temple)。
不管你做平台或電子商務，隨時暴露在歸零的危險裡，脖子上永遠架著經濟部的這把刀。你能接受嗎？
安個「侵權影片過多無法管理」，就能封掉 facebook (hosted by facebook)；安個「常被使用於傳送非法軟體」，就能封掉 Dropbox (hosted by Dropbox)。你能接受嗎？
這不是「盜不盜版」的問題，這是「侵害人民權益」的問題。
Q: Do you want to see pirated movies?
A: No, I never watch pirated movies and I go to the cinema at least twice a month to see movies. I want to defend a principle.
If today the government finds a reason to get around legal procedures for blocking foreign websites, some day, it could block Thinking Taiwan [a blog hosting platform] (hosted by Acquia) because it has threatened national security, or block fish.123 [an online shopping platform for fish lovers] (hosted by Amazon) because it has affected our conventional market order; or block Mr. Jamie [a platform for start-ups] (hosted by Media Temple) because it has misled our young people's attitude in their career development.
No matter if you are the operator of a platform or commercial business, you will be exposed to the threat of being blocked. The knife of the IPO is against your throat. Can you accept that?
Can you accept the blocking of Facebook (hosted by Facebook) because there are too many infringed movies or the blocking of Dropbox (hosted by dropbox) because it is frequently used for the transmission of illegal software? This is not a copyright infringement issue, it is an issue of the violation of people's rights.
Ching Chiao, the CEO of DotAsia, an operator of a top-level domain registry, believes [zh] that the amendment is a setback for democracy and offered an alternative solution:
但是, 封網站就是不對, 就是開民主倒車, 勞民傷財的豬頭政策. 有執行封網站政策的國家聯上的是Intranet, 而不是Internet. 封網站是現代國家邁入鎖國的第一步.
智財局若想以行政命令的方式, 用”管好ISP業者就能防堵侵權內容散佈”的思維, 無非是自亂陣腳, 落入了開民主倒車的困境中. […] 要求ISP以黑名單的方式封堵網站, 短期間可能有效, 長期下來必定會造成用戶體驗不佳, 或是用戶繞過ISP既定的路由模式, 自行訪問被封鎖的站點, 情況就如同大陸的網友進行所謂的”翻牆”來訪問Youtube, Facebook等政治敏感的網站.
智財局其實可以積極地對付侵權網站, 尤其是侵犯到我國著作權人經濟利益的網站. 網站的宿主可能是在台灣境內, 可能是境外. 網站使用的網域名稱可能是.tw, 可能是其他如 .com / .net的國際域名, 這些管理單位都有通報機制, 智財局建立起良好的通報和聯繫機制, 讓國內外業者來配合執法, 每年定期出國開會吸取新知新做法, 遠比替自己要到一個封網站落後國家的臭名來的強.
Blocking websites is wrong, it is a setback for democracy, and a stupid policy that wastes people's money. Countries which have implemented ISP-level blocking are turning the Internet into an Intranet, the first step for turning a modern country into a self-enclosed country.
If the intellectual property bureau wants to implement the policy with an administrative order under the rationale of “blocking copyright infringement by pressuring the ISPs,” it will fall into a trap. […] To request ISPs to block websites according to a blacklist may have some effects in the short run. In the long run, the users will be dissatisfied with their online experience and use circumvention technology to get around ISPs to visit the blocked sites, like what has happened in mainland China, they “jump the Great Firewall” to visit politically sensitive websites such as YouTube and Facebook.
There are other measures that could be utilized by the bureau to fight copyright infringement, in particular if the infringement has harmed Taiwanese copyright holders. Every website has to register under a top level domain, the domains can be .tw (local) or .com / .net (international); all of the top level domain registry has a notice system to communicate with government authorities for law enforcement. The IPO should spend more time communicating with the international communities rather than pushing through a notorious policy for ISP-level blocking.
CK Hung, a writer from collective science blog PanSci.tw, pointed out [zh] that most of the copyright-related legislation in Taiwan is serving US-based copyright holders’ interests and that the side product of the blacklist system is the favorite tool of a dictator for censorship:
臺灣的智財法律/檢警體系/教育系統所發生的智財保護政策或重大案件， 從來就是由美國的利益團體在主導的， 從來就不是在服務國內的著作權人。 還記得 Now.in 抄臺事件 嗎？ 主導者是 國際著作權權利組織 IFPI。 傷害無辜的獨立創作者不說， 就連正在談權利金的 國內著作權權利組織 MUST 的利益都受到傷害。 請告訴我這個行動保護了國內哪一位創作者的權利？
Most of the policies or incidents related with IP protection in Taiwan have been dominated by US-related interest groups. You still remember the police shutting down music platform Now.in (an online radio and podcast platform) last year? IFPI is behind the incident. The collateral damage has harmed many independent writers and the Music Copyright Society of Chinese Taipei (MUST) [as Now.in has secured initial consensus with MUST for uploading their music online]. Please tell me who in Taiwan can benefit from this kind of incident?
「以 IP 位址或 DNS」 的方式封鎖侵權網站， 這個封鎖黑名單不能公開， 因為一公開就更加替這些網站廣告。 這個清單會一直改變， 因為被封鎖的網站會搬來搬去。 具有這種特性的黑箱作業封鎖清單， 正是獨裁政府最喜歡的言論管制工具。
The blacklist for blocking websites at the IP and DNS level cannot be disclosed or else the list would make them more popular. The list will keep updating as the blocked sites will keep changing their DNS. Authoritarian states love these kinds of blacklists which operate in a black box to help them censor the Internet.
Briian argued [zh] that the policy goes against the emerging business model that is based on online sharing:
早就有研究指出盜版的存在對於正版的銷售有相當大的幫助，連台灣一堆唱片公司 […] 都搶著把自家歌手的 MV 搬上 YouTube 讓大家免費欣賞、免費收聽（以前都是網友私自分享的「侵權」行為啊）。而去年紅透全球的 PSY 江南大叔的騎馬舞也都是免費放上網路上讓大家看、讓大家聽，儘管在唱片的銷售方面可能無法 100% 賺到錢，實際上演唱會、商演與其他周邊的銷售，卻讓該公司賺到了以前的模式賺不到的更多的錢。更別說藉由分享的方式可能讓商品擴及到以前接觸不到的族群或國家、地區。
There is research pointing out that the distribution of pirated copy can enhance the sale of original copy. Even music companies in Taiwan […] now upload their singers MV to YouTube for free consumption (in the past, such kind of sharing was defined as infringement). Last year, PSY's Gangnam Style horse dance became a global hit because of free distribution and consumption online. Although the music company can't take 100 percent of the profit from record sales, it makes a huge amount of profit from PSY's global performance contract and other side products. The free distribution has help the company to extend the market to those countries and regions that cannot be reached before.
Concerned citizens have created an event page [zh] on Facebook to gather information and mobilize against the amendment.

author: Oiwan Lam


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President of Mozambique’s Medical Association Under Arrest · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

After a week-long strike by medical professionals in Mozambique, Dr. Jorge Arroz, the President of Associação Médica de Moçambique, was arrested on Sunday night, May 26, 2013, under accusation of “sedition” (incitement of discontent or rebellion against a government). On Twitter and Facebook, @verdademz, @canal_moz and other netizens report.
“Many many health professionals here in the 6th Police Station of Maputo. Dr. Jorge Arroz is under arrest. Photo by @Verdade (used with permission)

author: Sara Moreira


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South Koreans Petition to Throw out Active X  · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Over 6,200 South Koreans have joined a online petition calling [ko] on the government to stop employing Active X control. A long-term monopoly of Active X and digital certificate-based authentication system have been accused for meddling with the user's privacy setting and making the entire nation vulnerable to hacking attacks.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Amnesty Publishes 2013 Report on Angola · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

Amnesty International annual report on Angola is available online. The NGO highlights cases such as the problem of police repression against the opposition parties during the presidential election last year, the abduction of the activists who organized protests demanding the payment of salaries and pensions to former war veterans in May 2012, Antonio Alves Kamulingue and Isaiah Sebastian Cassule, as well as the lack of freedom of expression in the country.

author: Thiana Biondo


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Brazilian Amazon Struggles to Keep Up with Power Plant Population Growth · Global Voices
Pública - Agência de jornalismo investigativo

This story by Ana Aranha was originally titled Vidas em Trânsito (Lives in Transit) and is part of Brazilian investigative journalism agency Pública's special coverage #AmazôniaPública, which reports on the impact of mega-construction projects in the Amazon along the Madeira river in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. The story will be published in a series of five posts on Global Voices Online.
Previous post: Displaced Residents Accuse Brazilian Power Plant of False Promises
Next post: Uprooted by Brazilian Power Plant, River Residents Try to Rebuild
In the first post of this series delved into how the Brazilian fishing village of Jaci Paraná has been affected by the construction of the Jirau hydroelectric power station in Madeira, Rondônia. Social chaos affecting the area is directly linked to the population explosion in the region.
To carry out a project of such magnitude like the Jirau hydroelectric station – which is valued in 15 billion Brazilian reais (nearly 7,5 billions US dollars)  – companies must invest in social services. The idea is that they build public service infrastructure such as schools, health service units, and police stations in order to meet increasing demands. Those are called “social compensation deeds”.
Like the Jirau dam, the Santo Antonio hydroelectric station [en], a dam also constructed by the Madeira River, has similar obligations. The difference is that Santo Antônio dam attracted more people to the capital of the federal state, Porto Velho, and its region. In the Jaci Paraná village, the Santo Antônio dam forced the eviction of river dwellers who lived in the wetland neighbourhoods. In this case, the hydroelectric station either built houses in other neighborhoods or gave compensation to the residents.
To absorb the population growth in the area of the Jirau dam, the Jaci Paraná village should have received at least 20 million reais (nearly 10 million US dollars) from the Energia Sustentável do Brasil [en]  – a company in charge of Jirau dam, which has the French multinational GDP Suez as its greatest shareholder. With that amount of money, the promise was to build schools, a health service unit, an environmental police unit, a water collection treatment, and supply system as well as basic services such as street pavement.
Fishing families in Jaci Paraná live without infraestructure between the old Madeira-Mamoré railway. Photo: Marcelo Min
Those services should have been ready before the arrival thousand of workers. But, while they work extra hours in order to speed up the dam construction which might go online in early 2013, the “social compensation deeds” have rarely been completed. All that the company has delivered to the people of Jaci Paraná were two miles of paved roads, gullies, and repairs to two schools. They also financed temporary campaigns to prevent malaria and fight child sexual exploitation.
Angela Fortes, child service advisor for Porto Velho, the municipality in charge of Jaci Paraná village management, asserts that these actions are far from meeting the demand created:
Quando as usinas foram anunciadas, prometeram novas escolas e hospitais. Criaram aquela expectativa no povo. Depois que as usinas chegaram, temos escolas com salas lotadas e centenas de crianças sem matrícula.
When the construction of the dams was announced, they promised new schools and hospitals. They built up the expectations of people. Now that the dam projects are here, we have schools with overcrowded classrooms and hundreds of unregistered students.
Between 2007 and 2008, the demand for new school enrollments in the city of Porto Velho increased from 1,500 to 4,000. Angela estimates that nowadays there are nearly 100 unregistered students in Jaci and some other villages.
The government of the federal state of Rondônia and the city hall of Porto Velho are partly responsible for the late use of the money. According to the plan signed with the company, they are responsible for indicating how investments on public services should be carried out. The city hall of Porto Velho managed 65 million reais (32 million US dollars) for Santo Antônio and 91 million reais (45 million US dollars) for Jirau. The state government had 75 million reais (37 million US dollars) for Santo Antônio and 67 million reais (33 million US dollars) for Jirau.
However, the current city hall of Porto Velho did not prioritize meeting the demands created by the construction of the dam. “I always opposed building new schools in Jaci. They always wanted them and I never allowed them,” asserted city hall secretary Pedro Beber, head of the Extraordinary Secretary of Special Programs, which is in charge of managing those funds:
Os trabalhadores estão indo embora, e ficaríamos com um elefante branco.
Workers are leaving (the village) and we would be with a white elephant.
Beber asserts the best for Jaci village is to wait for the dust to settle and focus on building for the people who are going to stay in the village after the dam construction is over. He minimizes the fact related to unregistered students this year and in 2011:
Em um ou dois anos, tudo vai se acomodar
Everything is going back to normal in one or two years
The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewal Natural Resources (IBAMA) is the organization in charge of monitoring the plan as whole. In theory, if the agreed investment plan with the company is not followed, the organization can put environmental permits on hold for the new stage of the construction work. However, in practice, these environmental permits are approved even when technicians detect serious problems, mostly problems with benefits for the local population.
It was what happened with a basic health service unit (called ‘Unidade de Pronto Atendimento’ in the country) that should be created to meet emergency demands in Jaci. Locals hoped for this project the most, since 15,000 inhabitants only have one health unit. This construction should be built with Jirau's resources in an agreement with city government. In November 2011 during an inspection of the “social compensation deeds” completed by the Santo Antônio project, IBAMA technicians found that the construction of the unit were abandoned. This fact was communicated to Brasília in a report (pt) recommending a notice of infraction against the company Energia Sustentável.
Nearly a year later in October 2012, the company received permission to start operating its turbines. Although the basic health service unit construction has started again, there is no date set for its expected completion.


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Alphabets Bring Joy and Sadness to Bulgaria  · Global Voices
Nevena Borisova

[…] One of the purest and most sacred holidays in Bulgaria! It's a celebration that makes us proud to have given something to the world! It's a holiday which is not related to any rebels, battles or violence, although it fills us with patriotism and joy. […] When you walk on the streets, foreign signs and directions, they far exceed our domestic ones. […]
Noting with sadness about the ever-increasing use of the Latin script in Bulgaria, blogger Stranniche writes [bg] about The Day of the Bulgarian Education, Culture and Alphabet, a national holiday commemorating Saints Cyril and Methodius, to whom the creation of the oldest known Slavic alphabet – the Glagolitic alphabet – is attributed. On this day, too, the third International Bulgarian Studies Congress began, bringing nearly 500 scholars from 34 countries to the University of Sofia.

author: Nevena Borisova


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Attacking China’s “Dishonest Americans” Newspaper Series  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

State-controlled media outlet, the People's Daily, has recently published a series of editorials on Dishonest Americans. Like many other propaganda pieces, social media users attack its hypocrisy with questions like “Why do our officials keep sending their wives and sons to this immoral and dishonest country?” More from Beijing Cream.


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China: Constitutionalism is for Capitalists · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The use of constitutionalism is but a new way to force China to adopt Western political systems.
A number of pro-Communist Party's media outlets have published editorials justifying the one-party regime saying that “Western political concepts like separation of powers are alien and unsuited to China.” Many of the country's intellectuals who have been openly advocating for constitutionalism and political reform. Off-beat China translates their reactions.


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Demanding Transparency is Not a Crime · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A number of citizen right advocates issued a public statement demanding the release of 10 citizens who were arrested for demanding officials to publicly disclose their personal assets. Seeing Red in China has translated the joint statement into English.


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From Guinea to Italy to France and Back: An Interview with Blogger Abdoulaye Bah · Global Voices
Davide Galati

Global Voices author and translator Abdoulaye Bah, originally from Guinea, is a retired Italian citizen who has worked for the United Nations. He splits his time between Rome and Nice and has collaborated [fr] with GV since December 2008, having contributed to thousands of written posts and translation in French as well as a considerable number of posts [it] for the Italian group and some more in English.
Bah also runs his own blog, the Konakry Express, where he writes about Italian and African politics. His latest post unfortunately details [fr] his recent encounter with racism in an Italian restaurant in Nice in which a man roughly shoved him out the door of a restaurant, an incident he is speaking to anti-racist NGO SOS Racisme for help.
Before that terrible incident, we had the opportunity to speak with Bah about his life, from his experience hiding in a bathroom to enter Italy without the proper papers, to his marriage in the Vatican, from his foray into cinema to his multi-belief family.
Global Voices (GV): You are originally from Guinea Conakry. When did you arrive in Italy? How would you describe your experience of arriving clandestinely in the country?
Abdoulaye Bah (AB): Precisely last April it was 50 years since I first arrived in Italy, in Florence, to study. However, it wasn't then that I arrived clandestinely in the country. Nevertheless, shortly after my arrival, my documents expired and I was faced with the experience of being “sans-papier”. The life of a student without a scholarship is difficult, however the Italian police didn't employ all the xenophobic measures that they use today.
Despite the help I received from many friends, I experienced hunger to the point where I sat my first university exam in a state of dizziness. Luckily, the Archbishop of Florence, H.E. Ermenegildo Florit, under the recommendation of Mayor Giorgio La Pira, offered me the possibility to eat at the charity Caritas’ canteen and sleep at the homeless shelter [it].
GV: So when did you illegally enter Italy?
AB: It happened after the end of my studies in Florence, in 1967, just after obtaining my diploma in statistics. I continued with a specialisation course, then I went to Paris where I wanted to work and save up to buy a ticket to return to my country. When my father found out, he came to find me and advise me against returning to Guinea because the dictatorship had become more merciless, with tens of thousands of arrests and massacres of innocent people, particularly among the academics of our ethnicity.
Not having any documents, it was not easy to obtain a visa to return to Italy. I took the train from Paris to Rome the day after Che Guevara's death, 9 October, 1967. Arriving on the border at Ventimiglia, I instantly felt the police controls, I went into the bathroom leaving the door open and clung to the partition above the toilet cubicle. When the police agents entered they looked around without noticing me and closed the door. And that's how I managed to re-enter Italy.
A priest who had just founded UCSEI [it, Ufficio centrale studenti esteri Central Office for Foreign Students] took me on as a writer for 20,000 lire a month, with which I could pay the rent. I also managed to find extra activities to earn a little more. I summarised and translated scientists’ biographies, in particular for the Pontificia Accademia delle Scienze [Papal Academy of Science], and later I worked for the IRI [Institute for Industrial Reconstruction] as a public relations consultant in their office for international co-operation.
Today's clandestines, “I'm in Italy, I'll become rich!!”, by Gianluca Costantini (2005) under licence CC 3.0
AB: In Guinea, religion is practised in a tolerant manner. From a young age I experienced a lot through contact with my grandfather, who was an important religious leader and died at Mecca. I followed many of his sermons, full of compassion. After secondary school my father paid for my studies at a school run by priests, the best in Guinea. Given the environment in which my personality developed, different religions have never been a problem for me.
In 1969, when I met my soulmate and we decided to marry, I couldn't obtain any documentation from my country. I was living illegally in Italy. I couldn't supply complete documentation to ask for a civil marriage. Father Remigio Musaragno [it], the director of UCSEI, made the proposal of marrying in the Vatican. The instruction on mixed marriages issued on the 18th March 1966 [it] solicited a few guarantees from me – relevant also in my country -, the respect of my wife's religion, the commitment to not obstruct the religious education of our children, and the understanding of the indissoluble nature of marriage contracted in church.
By and large I've kept to my commitments, we are still married and I have not obstructed the Catholic education of our children. Our eldest has even become a Franciscan Tertiary, on this past 7 April, while our second-born is agnostic. I've become a member of the Radical Party.
GV: Would you like to tell us something about your son's experience who became a Franciscan Tertiary?
AB: In all the countries I have visited, my wife and my three children have always practised the Catholic religion. Furthermore, in our house we have always received priests as much as in Addis Abeba, my first place of work for the United Nations, and in Vienna, where we lived for a longer time.
In Vienna we tried to teach our children about the Muslim religion as well, in order to allow them to choose between Islam and Catholicism. However, teaching Islam is difficult in a European environment because one should learn to read and write Arabic. So we asked some North African students who studied in Vienna to explain the foundations to them.
When our children decided to be baptised, Ahmed, the eldest, didn't want to do it and leave me being the only Muslim follower in the family. We had already explained to him that it wasn't the case because I didn't practise any religion. Only then did he too get baptised. Returning to Rome, to carry out work, he started to attend a Franciscan community and work voluntarily for Caritas, discovering his vocation.
GV: Your relationship with the Catholic Church also includes a small role in Nanni Moretti's film “Habemus Papam“: How did that come about and what role did you have?
AB: That participation was pure coincidence. When the director set about making the film, he needed immigrants of a certain age from all over the world. Unfortunately when filming started I was ill and I only took part in a few scenes. I was close to Michel Piccoli, to his left. I was the Cardinal of Zambia. I've never dreamed of working in film even though I had the fortune of participating in films by famous directors such as Federico Fellini and Gillo Pontecorvo in the 1960's in the Cinecittà and De Laurentiis studios.
Abdoulaye Bah
GV: How did you get involved with Global Voices? And the blog Konakry Express [fr]?
AB: One evening in December 2008, by then I had retired, to avoid arguing with my wife about what to watch on TV, I started to search on the Internet for a voluntary activity I could undertake. Among the sites I came across was Global Voices. I read a few posts and liked them. Immediately, I contacted Claire Ulrich, the person in charge of the French group and I started to partake.
I didn't have any blogging experience beforehand. I didn't even know what Facebook, Twitter, netizen, citizen media, blogs or posts were. My only previous activity had been the creation of a forum for the victims of the dictatorship in my country. I became a blogger thanks to the patience of Claire Ulrich, who helped me create Konakry Express [fr], a blog designed to broadcast information of the grave violations of human rights that occurred in Guinea  on the 28th September 2009.
GV: What relationship is there between your activity as a blogger and your involvement in politics with the Radical Party?
AB: I experienced the 1968 protests in Italy, I followed or took part in many of the youth protests for the decolonisation in Africa, the fight against Apartheid, condemnation of the Vietnam War, the fight against segregation in the USA. The topics which were at the forefront for the Radical Party in Italy could not but engage me: the fight for the rights for abortion and divorce and against world hunger. It is also thanks to the radical initiatives which arose in the 1990's with the creation of the International Criminal Court, with the discussions about suspension of capitol punishment worldwide or the successes against female genital mutilation.
My sensitivity towards human rights is the fruit of the experience faced in my country and during the peace missions in which I participated, in places where these rights were being violated, such as Cambodia, Haiti and Rwanda. In my blogs, I try to write or translate posts on these topics which are in my heart.
GV: Speaking of which, what is your opinion of the situation in Guinea Conakry today?
AB: In 2010, Alpha Condé, a former academic professor of rights at Sorbona, was elected as president. Many citizens expected improvements but, unfortunately, he is the worst president the country could have had so far due to the rifts his politics are creating among ethnic groups. In his government, there are people accused of crimes against humanity, not only by international NGO's or the UN, but also by Guinean justice, and yet they maintain the same positions of responsibility which they occupied when they committed these acts or they have even been promoted. They should have been able to have elections a few months after the presidential elections but there is no common ground of understanding between the government and the opposition. The future doesn't look promising. [Read this previous interview [it] with Abdoulaye for more on this topic.]

author: Davide Galati


text:
Hackers in Arab Cities: Slow Internet and Girl Power in Algeria · Global Voices
Blogueurs invités

[All link lead to French-language pages unless otherwise indicated]
Sabine is a journalist. Ophelia is a photographer and a filmmaker. Both are contributors to the former digital culture and data journalism outfit OWNI, which was a Global Voices media partner in France, and are currently shooting a Web documentary entitled ”Les hackers dans la cité arabe (Hackers in Arab Cities) about technology, applications, hacklabs and makerspaces that are blossoming nowadays in the Maghreb and the Middle East.
In this post, the second of our mini-series detailing their adventures, we feature excerpts of their interviews with young Algerian computer specialists whom they met at the Ecole Supérieure d'Informatique d'Alger (ESI, the IT Graduate School of Algiers).
Text by Sabine Blanc; Photos by Ophélia Noor; Excerpts chosen and edited by Claire Ulrich.
Yazid : A start-up in 54 hours only?
Yazid is 20 years old. Behind his shy voice, there is an adamant desire to establish his own start-up. Along with four other students in their final years of school, he has started working on creating a platform to connect between service providers and prospective clients. Yazid explains his entrepreneurial frenzy:
Internet est un terrain vierge, j’ai 5 à 10 ans pour monter ma start-up.
Internet is a blank state here, I have 5 to 10 years to establish my start-up.
To demonstrate his point and give us an example of the challenges ahead, he points out that his parents are paying 12 euros per month (about 16 US dollars) for a 256 KB Internet connection. A standard connection of 10 MB would therefore cost 30 euros per month (about 39 US dollars). Algeria infamously has the slowest Internet speed in the world, ranked last out of 176 countries last year. To get online in his dorm room in Algiers, he is secretly using his neighbour's connection.
A wall of the ESI scientific local club in Algiers. Photo by Ophelia Noor. Used with permission.
Aside from his project, Yazid tells us about another oddity of the Algerian Internet — there is no e-commerce. To be remunerated, there is a user account system through money-order with a point system: to get a contact, one has to purchase points. Needless to say, this obsolete system is angering many:
Il y a une grosse pression des chefs d’entreprise pour déréguler.
Business leaders are pushing hard to change this system
While waiting for the proverbial Godot, Yazid relies among other things on the support of the public cyberparc (National Agency for the Promotion and Development of Tech Parks) [fr]. Located in the new town of Sidi-Abdellah, 30 kilometers south of Algiers, that public organism is proof that the administration here has a real interest in information technology.
The location also host events such as Algeria 2.0. The first edition took place last year and a second one is scheduled this year. Similarly, a ‘start-up weekend’ was organized for this coming summer by the government. Among the sponsors for the events are the usual industry heavyweights Google and Microsoft.
But listening to youth complain about the administrative obstacles faced when attempting to establish a company, we can't help but wonder whether the pitch for the start up week-end “créer une start-up en 54 heures” (create a start-up in 54 hours) might be a silly joke by the schizophrenic government. Let's wait and see if it will stick to its promise of making life easier for entrepreneurs or as they usually do, keep it in the back burner.
Yasmine Bouchène : “It's the era of girl power!”
Even though she is just 22 years old, Yasmine Bouchène has already created two webzines — Jam Mag [fr] on ”geek culture and new technologies” and Vinyculture, ”a cultural webzine”. Now she wants to establish a company dedicated to marketing and communications. For Yasmine, black irony has become a daily sport.
Yasmine Bouchène, Algiers, December 2012. Photo by Ophelia Noor. Used with permission
The current digital situation in Algeria drives her to despair — the mere idea of beginning the process of starting up her agency makes her sweat:
e-Algeria 2013, un programme de numérisation du pays lancé voilà cinq ans, a été un échec. Le dossier de la 3G, c’est 5 ans d’effet d’annonce. Et le web n’existe pas dans la nomenclature administrative !
e-Algeria 2013, a digitisation programme launched in the country 5 years ago, turned out to be a fiasco. 3G was heralded 5 years ago. Not to mention that public administration lacks any web presence !
A few days after our discussion, she wrote a short piece [fr] on the launching of 3G in Somalia, while slamming the Algerian government:
En proie à une guerre civile depuis dix ans, la Somalie n’a pour autant pas ignoré le développement de son secteur économique, à commencer par les télécommunications, secteur qui compte des millions d’abonnés.
Marred by an ongoing civil war for ten years, Somalia didn't overlook the development of its economy, starting with telecommunications, a sector with millions of subscribers.
A participant in the JerryCan workshop at the ESI in Algier. Photo by Ophelia Noor. Used with permission
The Algerian state seems to be winning the power struggle between the private and public sector via national provider Algeria Telecom. But things weren't always like this. The country also has its free tablet, the Eepad. The first and sole private access provider in Algeria entered the market in 1999, when competition was officially allowed. In 2003, it started offering ADSL followed by Assilabox, its Freebox.
Yasmine calls for caution when reading and analyzing the official number of Internet subscribers as claimed by the government. ”One should consider the figures of the IUT (Telecom International Union),” she says. According to them, only 14 percent of Algerians are using Internet in 2011.
Her spirits are lifted, however, when she speaks about women. Laughing at our astonishment in seeing so many girls at ESI, she brags:
C’est le girl power, on s’amuse bien ! Les années 90 nous ont beaucoup aidées : les féministes sont montées au combat et un socle d’idées est resté. La ministre de la Culture Khalida Toumi est une féministe, en poste depuis dix ans.
It's girl power, we are having a lot of fun. The 90's helped us a lot: feminists lead the struggle and some core ideas have persisted. Culture Minister Khalida Toumi is a feminist, she has been in office for ten years.
Recently, some concessions were made by the government. ”They don't have a choice”, she points out. After 19 years serving in the government, ten of which as education minister, Boubekeur Benbouzid resigned from his post. A campaign entitled #BenBouzidDégage (Benbouzid clear off!) was launched on Twitter and Yasmina wants to believe that it was efficient.
The liberalization of media is apparently on its way and a new text is expected by mid-2013, Yasmine rejoices. […] Yasmine recalls the difficulties in holding reunions in the past. After the state of emergency law n° 91-19 of 1991 was lifted, this law that rules over the right to hold peaceful meetings was enforced yet again later. It is a very strict law as Franck La Rue (United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Promotion and Protection of the Freedom of Expression & Opinion) assessed in a mission report issued last June. But Yasmine explains:
La vraie censure, c’est la lenteur de la connexion Internet. Il y a eu des tentatives de censure lors des émeutes : ils n’avaient pas grand chose à censurer. Le gars qui est à 512 ko… Mais ça montrait qu’ils avaient peur.
The real censure is the slow speed of the Internet connection. During the riots, some attempts at censure were made. But there wasn't much to censure. The guy was using 512 kilo octets/sec internet speed … but this showed that they (the authorities) were afraid.
Original article published on 28 January, 2013 [fr] by Sabine and Ophelia on their blog “Hackers in Arab Cities”. Read the first post in this mini-series by clicking here.

author: Blogueurs invités


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‘Illegal” Libraries in Myanmar · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Irrawaddy interviews Ye Htet Oo who has launched four mobile libraries in Myanmar. To avoid censorship and acquire license during the military regime, library owners pretended to operate bookstores. Aside from sharing his experience, Ye Htet Oo also discussed the reading culture in Myanmar.

author: Mong Palatino


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Indonesia: Gamelan DJ Musical App · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

Developed by Yogyakarta-based Kowplink Studio, the Gamelan DJ mobile application “mix and mash tight beats, harmonies and melodies of saron.” In addition, “by touching beats pad mix with acapella & making lead with saron gamelan.” The app is listed one of the best start-ups in Indonesia. Gamelan is Indonesian musical ensemble native to Java and Bali.

author: Juke Carolina


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PHOTO: It’s Getting Hot in Pakistan · Global Voices
Rezwan

Lahore city is experiencing its worst heat wave in 30 years.  Government-enforced power outages, in place since 2008 leave people without electricity for up to twenty hours a day. Image by Geoffrey Hiller. Used with permission.
American photographer Geoffrey Hiller is currently on a Fulbright scholarship teaching photography in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore. He is documenting his experiences in a photo-journal titled Inside Pakistan. On the blog's about page he writes:
This is my first visit to Pakistan and as is often the case the reality on the ground is very different from what I expected. Islamabad is a planned city that was built in the early sixties with houses and parks that would fit right into an affluent suburb in southern California. It’s cleaner then most American cities. There are no public buses or cinema’s but several really good book stores. In between classes I plan to explore the “other” Pakistan with my students. The one that isn’t reported on.

author: Rezwan


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YouTube Blocked in Tajikistan After Video of President Dancing Goes Viral · Global Voices
Chris Rickleton

As tensions surrounding elections slated for November continue to poison the political mood in Tajikistan, a video of President Emomali Rahmon singing and dancing at his son's wedding has gone viral, giving opposition figures yet another reason to criticize the excesses of the ruling family and the Tajik authorities yet another reason to block the video-sharing platform YouTube. The wedding took place in 2007, but the video was uploaded to YouTube on May 18, 2013.
Considering some of the things that have been happening to journalists and opposition figures in Tajikistan in recent months (see Global Voices coverage here, here and here) Rahmon's tone-deaf vocal performance was hardly a heinous crime. But after a well-known Tajik exile Dodojon Atavulloev released “Tajik Disco Dancer”, a clip showing extended footage of the wedding accompanied by political commentary, lively debates ensued among the country's online community. Tajik authorities cut access to both YouTube and the independent Central Asian media channel K+ between May 18 and May 27.
Rahmon (left) at his son's wedding. Screenshot from video uploaded by PolitikTJ
Footage of the wedding was originally shown on K+ prior to being published on YouTube. Currently, a YouTube video titled “Drunk President of Tajikistan Sings a Song”, uploaded by the user politiktj, has close to 200,000 views, despite the temporary block on the platform inside the republic.
The most popular comment under the clip read [ru]:
Вот настоящий диктатор которого надо повесить на виселице – народ в нищенствует – а он пляшет на костях
That's a real dictator who should be hanged in the gallows – the people suffer – and he dances on their bones
Atavulloev heralded [ru] the arrival of the footage onto the internet with a typically mischievous post in the public Facebook group Platforma:
ВСЕМ! ВСЕМ! ВСЕМ! Прямо сейчас и еще сутки идет репортаж со свадьбы, на которой красиво поет и мощно танцует сам президент Рахмон. Комментирует телодвиждения и голос вождя нации – заслуженный балетмейсттер БОЛЬШОГО ТЕАТРА провинции ДАНГАРА – Дододжон Атовуллоев
To all! all! all!
Right now and for all time, is the reportage of a wedding, where President Rahmon himself sings beautifully and dances vigorously. The movements and the voice of the chief of nation are accompanied by the commentary of your most distinguished choreographer of the Grand Theatre of Danghara province – Dodojon Atavulloev
Now based in Hamburg, Atavulloev's eccentric criticisms of Tajikistan's president has left him with a contested reputation among his fellow citizens. His long standing rivalry with Rahmon dates back to the 1990s and as head of the political movement “Vatandor” (Patriot) he has been [ru] a target of several assassination attempts.
Besides comparing the president to the lead actor in the Indian movie “Disco Dancer”, he also points out the lavish nature of the wedding itself, which contradicts a national law restricting numbers of guests at weddings and the duration of nuptial celebrations.
Online observers of the Rahmon family's happy day were thus divided into two camps: those who consider Rahmon as showing normal human emotions by expressing joy at his son`s wedding, and those who find the dancing, singing and presumed intoxication of the president inappropriate for a Head of State and leader of a predominantly Muslim country.
On Platforma, Mirzo Bek commented [ru] under Atavulloev's announcement:
Нормальный мужик, танцует на свадьбе сына как и все остальные… Те кто были хоть раз на таджикских свадьбах знают, что это нормально, все мужики танцуют наравне с женщинами. Молодец Эмомали Шарипович – не разучился еще веселиться.
He [Rahmon] is a normal man, dances during his son's wedding like all others… Those who have been to a Tajik wedding at least once know, that this is normal, all men dance on a level with women. Well done, Emomali Sharipovich – he has not yet forgotten how to have fun.
Muhammad Abdulloh, another Facebook user, disagreed [Taj]:
точикон дар русия мурда истодиянд ин мисли занхо мераксад !
Tajiks are dying in Russia, and they are dancing like women!
The YouTube user TheFreirMann also voiced [ru] his upset with the behavior of the president:
Позор такому правительству, народ скитается по другим странам, а они жируют. Дорога им только в ад.
Shame on such a government, the people are strewn across other countries, but [the government] are fattening themselves. Their only road is the one to hell.
However, many other reactions were forgiving. On the ferghananews web site, Otlichno comments [ru]:
Правильно, что тут такого?! Он тоже такой же человек как и мы все! И не плохо танцует!!!
Right, what's wrong with it?! He is also a human being like all of us! And his dancing is not bad!!
Twitter users were also impressed with Rahmon's moves, although several made the argument that they were best enjoyed without audio.
@nateschenkkan:
Since it's #Tajikistan day, here's President Rahmon murdering some poor song at his son's wedding (& getting down!)
@eTajikistan gave thanks for small mercies:
Well, at least the emperor had his clothes on … (thank god!)
But as political tensions continue to brew in Tajikistan, a sense of humor can be a dangerous thing. At the end of his commentary, Dodojon Atavulloev seemed to be inviting another attempt on his life by suggesting [Taj] tongue-in-cheek that he had bribed a highly-placed presidential relative in order to obtain the video:
Мехоҳам ки миннатдории худро ба раиси радио-телевизиони Тоҷикистон Асадулло Рахмонов байом кунам, зеро маҳс Асадулло Рахмонов, гарчанде бо нархи гарон бошад ҳам, ин наворро ба ихтиёри ҳамсафони мо дод ва мо тавонистем ,ки ин наворро ба диққати шумо расонем.
I want to express my gratitude to the TV and Radio Committee chairman of Tajikistan, Asadulloh Rahmonov. Although the price was quite high, he provided this video to our companions so that we could share it with you.

author: Chris Rickleton


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Trinidad Startup Weekend · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Left & Right: “It was so clear, at that moment, that I had joined a community in a way that can only be described as becoming part of a family.”

author: Georgia Popplewell


text:
Yemen: Two Men Killed for Overtaking a Sheikh’s Wedding Convoy · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

Two young Yemeni men, originally from the southern city of Aden, were killed last week for overtaking a wedding procession of a sheikh (tribal leader) in Yemen's capital Sanaa. On Wednesday May 15,2013, Khalid Al-Khateeb and his friend Hassan Aman were driving in their car when they came across a tribal wedding procession and were shot to death for overtaking the convoy. The wedding convoy belonged to Sheikh Ali Abd Rabo Al-Awadhi, a member in Yemen's Islah party and a member of the National Dialogue, which is ironically participating in the southern issue working group. What was more disturbing is that the procession was escorted by a police car assigned for the sheikh's protection. According to reports, while the sheikh's guards shot in cold blood the two youth, the policemen did nothing to stop them. Moreover, instead of fulfilling their lawful duties and arresting the assailants, they took off with them leaving the corpses of Khalid and Hasan behind.
Alaa Isam, an activist and blogger from Aden, tweeted about the crime:
@AlaaIsam: Escorts to #tribal sheikh from Islah Party kill 2 young people from #Aden in one of the streets of #Sanaa #SouthYemen @hrw #NDCYE #YF #Yemen
Naji Alkadi tweeted:
@NajiAlkaladi: #pic of the two #Aden-is who were killed in #Sanaa city by a tribal sheikh escorts #Yemen @hrw pic.twitter.com/RQDdAb225M
He sarcastically tweeted a warning image [ar]:
@NajiAlkaladi
Be careful !
a tribal sheikh
! beside you
نطالب وزارة الداخلية في #اليمن
بوضع التحذيرات على سيارات المشايخ
#Yemen pic.twitter.com/THzbYwOwoK
We request the ministry of Interior in Yemen to put this warning on cars belonging to sheikhs
A sign waring other drivers, reads in Arabic “Beware, an armed sheikh on board” (Photo shared by @NajiAlkaladi)
Mohammed Fadhl a Yemeni who lives in Malaysia, tweeted [ar]:
@M_aljaal: #الشعب_في_مواجهة_المشائخ #اليمن #Yemen
من اجل هولاء وغيرهم الكثيرون
نعم ليمن بلا همجية وعنجهية pic.twitter.com/XnJg1jgZcX
The people facing tribal sheikhs, Yemen, for these and more others, yes to a Yemen without barbarism and arrogance
A poster demanding justice for the two killed youth. It reads in Arabic” nobody is above the law.” (photo shared by @M_aljaal
The National Dialogue Conference members hung their meeting for two consecutive days to protest the cold blooded murder of the youth caused by one of their participating members.
Adam Baron, a correspondent for several news firms, based in Yemen, tweeted:
@adammbaron:
Today, @ndcye was shut down early in protest of the deaths of 2 youths allegedly killed by the son of sheikh ali abdo rabbu al-awadhi #yemen
Journalist Nasser Arrabyee also tweeted:
@narrabyee: For the 2nd day, Yemen dialogue members not working to demand arrest & trial of Islamist leader's guards who killed 2 southerners n Sanaa.
Lawyer Haykal Bafana shared a cartoon by Yemeni cartoonist Rashad Alsamey, who sarcastically depicted the police's reaction to the murder of the two youth:
@BaFana3: Welcome to the “same old” #Yemen : Sanaa wedding convoy murders -“No, no. Thank God, the sheikh is safe.” v @albkyty pic.twitter.com/clvtmZXxUk
Cartoon by Rashad Alsamei reads in Arabic “There is nothing sir, these are just some youth the sheikh killed…no, no thank God, the sheikh is fine” (Photo shared by Ali Albikhyti
The cold blooded murder caused an outcry throughout Yemen, especially among activists who organized several protests in Sanaa and Aden to condemn the crime and demand justice for the families of the victims and put an end to sheikhs literally getting away with murder. Yemen is a tribal society and tribal sheikhs have a special social status and have been given rights and protection by the government. Many have exploited this privilege. Carrying weapons and being escorted by guards is also part of the tribal trait. Both are privileges which the youth are strongly fighting against and trying hard to to stir Yemen away from these practices in their aspiration for a civil state where everyone is safe and equal under the law.
Rasha Jarhum, a Yemeni human rights activist, who is based in Lebanon, said:
@rrj_934: We wanted a civil state, the revolution 2 yrs later z a joke, our youth r being killed by savages entourage of idiot sheikhs #yemen
She urged [ar]:
@rrj_934: اصمت اليوم ستكون الضحية غداً.. من اجل العدالة لقضية الشهيدين حسن وخالد.. نطالب بالقبض عن المجرمين #اليمن pic.twitter.com/YnaxmubXfE
Be silent today and you will be the victim tomorrow .. justice for the case of martyrs Hassan and Khalid.. we demand arresting the criminals
Yemen's Human Rights minister, Hooria Mashhour tweeted demanding the rule of law over tribal authority:
@Hooria_Mashhour: Tribes should not replace and/or function like the State Authorities to fulfill our dreams of building #CivilizedYemen
An organized protest march called the “Justice march for Hassan and Khalid” was held in the capital Sanaa, last Thursday, May 23rd, to condemn the brutal murder and demand justice for the families of the slain youth. Hana Alshowafi, a young activist who participated in the protest, tweeted a photo:
@Hanaalshowafi: #صورة من المسيرة الاحتجاجية المطالبة بتسليم قتلة #حسن_أمان و #خالد_الخطيب. #ٍصنعاء #اليمن
ذنبهما أن تجاوزا موكب #شيخ pic.twitter.com/7nqeM5nGtf
A photo from the protest march demanding handing in the murderers of #Hassan_Amman and #Khaled_Alkhateeb, their fault is that they over-took a convoy
A protest in Sanaa against the murder of the two youth, demanding the arrest of their murderers and handing them to justice. (photo shared by: @Hanaalshowafi)
Among the chants in the protest as tweeted by Hanan were:”hey civility where are you, where are you .. the Sheikhdom is between me and you” and “tailor make the constitution to be fitting for.. the son of the sheikh, and the son of the official”
Activist and photographer Hamza's Shiban (@7amzoh) uploaded photos he took of the protest in an album called “Justice march for Hassan and Khaled” on his Facebook page.
Blogger and researcher Atiaf Alwazir wrote a post in her blog in which she demanded that,”No one should be above the law!“
She wrote:
The main issue here is the ease at which corrupt powerful men, tribesman or others, can kill and steal, and get away with it. No one should be above the law, not a powerful tribesman, nor a rich businessman, nor a government official. Sooner or later justice will prevail.
“We will not respond arms for arms, or blood for blood …our weapon is the power of words” said Mohammed Aman on Facebook in response to the murder of his cousin.
So lets spread his words by demanding Justice and equality, after all isn't that what the revolution and the calls for a civic state were all about?
Sheikh Alwadi suggested to settle this the tribal way by offering blood money, but the families of the victims demand justice and rightly so.
Until writing of this post the culprits have not been captured nor presented to justice.

author: Noon Arabia


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Botswana: Stealing of the ‘Bushman’s Secrets’ · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

MyWeku reviews a documentary about stealing of the San “Bushman's secrets”:
This dcoumentary [sic] paints a sad picture of how Unilever, a company that markets itself as “ the world’s largest ice cream manufacturer,” is now ironically stripping bare the Bushman’s secrets to market as a weight loss product.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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British Actor Russell Brand on Woolwich · Global Voices
Sahar Habib Ghazi

That bloke is a nut. A nut who happens to be Muslim. Blaming Muslims for this is like blaming Hitler’s moustache for the Holocaust.
British actor and comedian Russel Brand has written a blog post on reactions following the horrifying murder of British soldier Lee Rigby during broad daylight in South London neighborhood Woolwich. One of Rigby's attackers claimed an Islamist motive in a video shot minutes after the crime, which has set off a string of far-right protests against Muslims and revenge attacks on mosques in the UK. Brand writes:
The murderers want angry patriots to desecrate mosques and perpetuate violence. How futile their actions seem if we instead leave flowers at each other’s places of worship.

author: Sahar Habib Ghazi


text:
Shock Over Chinese Teen’s Graffiti in Egypt · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Chinese netizen “Kongyou Wuyi” who took a trip to Egypt recently, posted on his Weibo a picture of a fraction of a wall at Egypt’s Luxor Temple. On the wall, there goes “Ding Jinhao was here.” (Check the picture below) The post soon went viral. Many Chinese netizens felt shocked and ashamed. Offbeat China has translated some online comments into English.

author: Abby Liu


text:
Coffee Art Goes 3D in Japan · Global Voices
Ayako Yokota

In the land where green tea remains the hot beverage of choice, 3D coffee art is winning hearts one foamy cup at a time.
More and more cafe goers in Japan, inspired by popular photos on social media that show steamed milk creations rising out of a coffee drink, are asking that their latte be topped with a similar work of lofty art.
Japan is no stranger to coffee. The All Japan Coffee Association has reported that Japan is third in terms of total consumption among importing countries.
In 2010, Haruna Murayama of Japan won the World Latte Art Championship.
Flat latte art is already popular around the island nation. A search of “latte art” [ja] on Twitter returns many photos of special lattes bearing the shapes of hearts, leaves, teddy bears, popular anime characters, and even Internet icons.
A vending machine in Haneda Airport, Tokyo's international airport, even serves cappuccino [ja] with the face of a classic Japanese female, designed and produced by Kyoto's well-known cosmetic company Yojiya.
YouTube user Nowtoo Sugi uploaded the following video explaining how he drew character onto a coffee latte with chocolate syrup:
Reaching new heights
But baristas have pushed this creative coffee phenomena to a new level with foamy 3D sculptures.
3D latte art by Twitter user @george_10g: “A cat is looking at golden fish.”
Kazuki Yamamoto (@george_10g), the latte art master who uploads his latte art on Twitter, wrote in his blog that he works at a Belgian beer house in Osaka. He calls his latte art “spare time cappuccino” [暇カプチーノ], a creation out of boredom or spare time, of course with great efforts and labor of love. He once posted to Twitter recalling numerous works of latte art that he had drawn:
@george_10g:最近気づいた怖いこと。去年から始めて1000杯くらい描いているけど作品も描いた時期も飲んだ人も覚えてる。
@george_10g: I started drawing on lattes in 2011 and I've drawn and served roughly about 1,000 cups by 2012 but somehow I still remember when and what I've drawn and who I served it for. It's kind of creepy.
Twitter user @petakopetako responded [ja] to his comment praising his specialty:
@petakopetako: じょーじさんこんにちは。私は人物写真を撮るのが好きですが人の顔を覚えるのは超苦手です。が、写真を撮らせてもらうと場所や会話がすぐに思い出せます。思い入れがあるからでしょうかね。
@petakopetako: I like taking photos. Normally I am bad at remembering people's faces, but once I take photos of them, I can remember where it was and what they were talking about. Maybe people remember things better when doing something they are passionate about.
Cafe owners and baristas in Japan have uploaded photos of their secret, off-the-menu 3D latte art to social media. These images were circulated widely and later gained the attention of local broadcasters and magazines.
The publicity has attracted so many new clients to some coffee houses that owners are struggling to keep up. The owner of Cafe Bar Jihan in Shizuoka prefecture wrote about Facebook effect in his blog [ja]:
お客様のリクエストがきっかけで始めた3Dラテアート。 お遊びのつもりでfecebookにアップしたその日、物凄い数の『いいね！』とシェアにビックリしました。
その拡散がきっかけで取材の問い合わせが幾つかありました。 中でも東京のTVメディアからの出演依頼には戸惑いました。(*^_^*)
I started serving 3D latte art after my long-time customer asked me to do it. I uploaded the picture on Facebook page just for fun, then I was astonished to see the enormous number of people who liked the photo. With the image widely amplified, several media outlets asked me that they wanted to cover our coffeehouse. I was a bit confused by being asked to appear on television in Tokyo!
Facebook photo by caffe.bar.jihan. A cat is taking a bath in espresso coffee.
He also wrote [ja]:
このニャン子は、作るのにとっても時間が掛かりますので混雑時はお受け出来ないのが目下の悩みです。
平日の18時からでしたら比較的にお時間が取れると思いますので、どうしても3Dラテアートを…というお客様はこの時間帯のリクエストをお願いいたします。
This kitty cat latte art requires so much time that I can't take orders when things are busy in our cafe. I've been struggling with what to do about this situation. At least the cafe is relatively slow after 6 p.m. on weekdays, so if you are visiting for 3D latte art, please come around these times.

author: Ayako Yokota