text:
DRC Ebola outbreak spreads to neighboring Uganda, activating rapid preparedness response · Global Voices
Amanda Lichtenstein

Several Ebola cases were treated here at Kagadi Hospital in Kibaale District, Uganda, in August 4, 2012. Three new cases have been identified in people who entered Uganda from the DRC border. Photo by CDC via Flickr: CC BY 2.0.
On June 12, Ugandan officials from the Ministry of Health released a press statement confirming two Ebola cases. A 5-year-old boy and his grandmother, 50, tested positive for Ebola on June 10 and died two days later, on June 12. A younger brother, 3, is being kept in isolation, along with a 23-year-old man unrelated to the family, at a hospital in Bwera, on the DRC-Uganda border district of Kasese, western Uganda.
The family of three were traveling to Uganda from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo:
PRESS RELEASE: 5 year old boy who traveled from DRC on 10 June and tested positive for #Ebola died this morning.
2 new confirmed cases of #Ebola- grandmother and a 3y/o sibling to the deceased are currently isolated in Bwera Hospital Ebola Treatment Unit. pic.twitter.com/606n4CBjgi
— Ministry of Health- Uganda (@MinofHealthUG) June 12, 2019
NTV Uganda later confirmed the grandmother's death:
Another Ebola patient has died at Bwera Ebola treatment Unit in Kasese District #NTVNews
Read more ? https://t.co/DPwJ2rP1Vk pic.twitter.com/nFpBAKDiro
— NTV UGANDA (@ntvuganda) June 12, 2019
Ebola is a rare, often fatal virus that spreads through close human contact with fluids like blood, feces, vomit. According to the Center for Disease Control, the disease gets its name from the first case discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, with outbreaks in several African countries as well as England, Italy, Russia and the Philippines. Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, muscle pain and unexplained hemorrhaging.
Neighboring DRC has been battling an Ebola outbreak in North Kivu Province since August 2018, that has been difficult contain due to armed conflict, disinformation and mistrust. The latest figures from DRC's Ministry of Health show that nearly 1,400 people have died in DRC of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) since August 2018, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has hesitated to declare it a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” or “PHEIC” — until now.
Number of Ebola cases in the DRC has increased by 51 in the last 7 days.
Latest figures from Ministry of Health show 1,396 people have died since outbreak began in August 2018 #rdc #drc pic.twitter.com/0vTX9cueip
— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) June 12, 2019
With close proximity to Uganda, these cases have confirmed fears over the likelihood of Ebola cases appearing at some point, due to frequent, informal and porous cross-border migration. In August 2018, when the Ebola virus broke out in North Kivu, Uganda kickstarted Ebola preparedness and surveillance activities in 22 districts bordering DRC to prevent the disease from crossing into Uganda.
The Ministry of Health set up Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) at Bundibugyo General Hospital, Bwera Hospital in Kasese, where the boy and his grandmother were treated and died, and Rwebisengo Health Center in Ntoroko district.
This is not the first time Uganda has confronted Ebola, but these are the first reported cases in Uganda carried into the country via DRC's current Ebola crisis.
Now that Ebola has spread to Uganda and potentially other countries like neighboring Rwanda and South Sudan, WHO is calling an emergency meeting on June 14 in Geneva to discuss the potential designation of the crisis as a PHEIC:
Following the spread of #Ebola to #Uganda from #DRC, I am reconvening the IHR Emergency Committee on 14 June in Geneva to ascertain whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. This will be the 3rd meeting of the committee on this outbreak. pic.twitter.com/tchEuKmu6k
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) June 12, 2019
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, commended the Ugandan health ministry for recognizing the need for nationwide action to prevent the spread of Ebola. He says that Ugandan officials vaccinated nearly 4,700 health workers in 165 health centers, including the hospital where the infected boy and grandmother were treated before they died:
#Uganda has vaccinated nearly 4,700 health workers in 165 health facilities – including the facility where the infected child is being cared for – as part of their preparedness for a possible imported #Ebola case during the current outbreak in #DRC https://t.co/pWiYriVdbk
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) June 12, 2019
According to a WHO report from 2018, Uganda's Ministry of Health began to strengthen its Ebola response system. Activities include “strengthening surveillance, capacity-building in contact tracing, laboratory diagnostics, infection prevention, and control, [and] clinical management of patients including psychosocial care, safe and dignified burials, enhanced risk communication and community engagement.”
According to the report, Mpondwe border point registers over 20,000 people during the market days. Border officials screen for body temperature for those crossing into Uganda from DRC is screened for body temperature, and those with high fevers are further screened for Ebola-like symptoms:
Temperature screening at Mpondwe border point in Kasese district. Mpondwe is a border point between #Uganda and #DRC #Ebola pic.twitter.com/gUfys3j6ZT
— WHO Uganda (@WHOUganda) May 9, 2019
Uganda has called on communities to halt border markets in the wake of its confirmed Ebola cases.
Govt of Uganda Call on communities at DRC-Uganda border to halt all market days & mass gatherings/weddings/burials.
This is after a 5 year old boy died from Ebola in Kasese this morning.
Also confirm 2 more cases- his 3 year old brother &  grandmother. pic.twitter.com/gbVKDpPm3F
— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) June 12, 2019
Since last year, health educators have gone door-to-door to make visits and educate people and Ebola messages also run on TV and radio.
Local phone numbers listed as Ebola hotline in Kagadi Hospital, Kibaale District, 2012, when an Ebola outbreak occurred. Photo by CDC via Flickr: CC BY 2.0.
Ugandan netizens have expressed fear about the new cases but also praise for the Ugandan government's quick response and proven commitment to detection and prevention:
#Uganda has contained several #Ebola outbreaks and communities usually respond well to government instructions regarding prevention.#DRCEbolaOutbreakhttps://t.co/0MnOy0ISTP
— Rosebell Kagumire ♉ (@RosebellK) June 11, 2019
Credit to the #Uganda Ministry of Health and ground teams for their swift #ebola protocol activation; wishing success to all the containment personnel. https://t.co/M9Knwtne8r
— Sylvia (@binti_ilahuka) June 11, 2019
This is not the first time Uganda has faced Ebola and managed to contain it, though the strain is different this time:
Interesting #Ebola factoid: Though #Uganda has had 5 previous Ebola outbreaks, none were caused by Ebola Zaire, the strain responsible for the DRC outbreak. In fact, Uganda had the 3rd largest outbreak on record, at Gulu in 2000-01. They have experience with Ebola. pic.twitter.com/OOQwO8rmfi
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) June 11, 2019
In 2012 alone, Uganda dealt with two Ebola outbreaks that left 21 people dead. Uganda's record in responding to epidemic viral diseases is starkly different from many countries in the region because of its heavy investment in the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and its standing as a “world leader in virus surveillance.”
Uganda now faces a unique threat because the outbreak has spread from neighboring DRC, with its long borderline and an unrelenting Ebola outbreak.
Uganda has banned public gatherings in Kasese district. WHO reassured, however, that movement across the DRC-Uganda borders has not been restricted at this time.

author: Amanda Lichtenstein


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#KuToo: Japan petition against high heels in the workplace gains worldwide support · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

“Shoes + Pain + MeToo = #KuToo. Let's abolish the expectation that heels are a part of business attire.” Image widely shared on social media, author unknown.
A complaint on Twitter by a Japanese writer has snowballed into a globally-recognized hashtag, an online petition and, most recently, a parliamentary debate in Japan, all while shining a light on gender discrimination women must endure in the workplace.
One day in late 2018 while working at a part-time job as an usher at a funeral home, Ishikawa Yumi, a former model and actress who is now a freelance writer, noticed that her male colleague was wearing comfortable flat shoes. As Ishikawa explains in the online petition she would go on to launch, wearing those shoes would make her job a lot easier.
However, like any other company in Japan, Ishikawa's employer was legally entitled to demand she wears uncomfortable high heels or pumps. Women who wear high heels regularly report experiencing significant pain and discomfort, with some even requiring surgery to fix problems caused by inappropriate footwear.
In January, 2019, Ishikawa tweeted how unfair it was that a new hotel job she was applying for required heels as well. Her tweet about the disparity in workplace dress code for men and women was quickly shared tens of thousands of times, sparking an online conversation.
Encouraged by the replies, Ishikawa created the hashtag #KuToo where working women in Japan and then all over the world shared their stories about being forced to wear high heels to work.
#kutoo I can’t wear high heels.
No—hear me out. I can’t. When I was 11, I sprained my right ankle so badly I needed rehab for a month. I started compensating with my left leg, and I ended up having +15 sprains on my left ankle (I literally lost count of how many times).
— Sachiko Ishikawa?? #ProChoice (@Ishikawa_Sachi) June 8, 2019
Although Japan's Equal Employment Opportunity Law prohibits discrimination based on sex in employment, regulations do not prevent employers from dictating differences in work attire for men and women.
In a recent survey of women in Japan, more than 60 per cent of respondents reported being compelled to wear high heels or pumps at work or for job hunting.
As to what the hashtag means and where it came from, Ishikawa says:
「#KuToo」とは、「靴（くつ）」・「苦痛（くつう）」・「#MeToo（みーとぅ）」を合わせて、センスの良い同じ思いを持った方が作ってくださったものです。
Someone (on Twitter) who feels the same way as I do, and with a great sense for words came up with the hashtag “#kuToo”, which is a combination of “shoes” (kutsu), “agony” (kutsuu) and “MeToo”.
Following the success of the #KuToo hashtag at the end of January, in February Ishikawa decided to launch a petition on Change.org, asking Japan's Ministry of Labour to prevent employers from forcing female employees from wearing high heels at work.
By late February, the petition had attracted at least ten thousand signatures.
1万人を超えました！
メールアドレスとお名前だけで署名ができます。
問題点:
①性別によって同じ職場で強制される服装が違うこと
②健康を害してまで強制されるマナーとは？
「厚生労働省宛: #KuToo　職場でのヒール・パンプスの強制をなくしたい！」 https://t.co/q61K5E2TVw @change_jpより
— 石川優実@#KuToo署名中?? (@ishikawa_yumi) February 21, 2019
We've broken 10,000! All you need to do is include your email address and your name.
The problem:
1. It is wrong to have workplace dress codes that differ depending on gender.
2. Why should “business attire” by harmful to one's health?
Caption: Support this campaign! #KuToo: outlaw rules requiring high heels in the workplace!
Another theme of #KuToo discussions and Ishikawa's petition is that requiring women to wear high heels to work constitutes “power harassment,” or workplace bullying.
At the beginning of June, Ishikawa and her supporters presented the petition to Japan's Ministry of Labour, requesting that the country's labour laws be amended to ban employers from forcing footwear on female employees.
Ishikawa's petition was taken up by Otsuji Kanako, an LGBTQ+ rights activist and member of Japan's national House of Representatives for the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
In a Diet committee meeting on June 5 discussing the petition, Otsuji sparred with Labour Minister Nemoto Takumi, in an exchange that made international headlines (the committee discussion has been translated into English).
While the labour minister agreed that high heels were not necessary for every job, he declined to consider banning employers from forcing female employees to wear certain kinds of footwear, stating:
それぞれの業務の特性があるので、社会通念に照らして、業務上必要、かつ相当な範囲でということなんだろうと思う。パワハラにあたるかどうかは、その範囲を超えているかどうかがポイントだ。
Every job has unique requirements, so I think (permitting employers to require high heels) should be kept within the scope (of labour regulations), if (high heels) are necessary and appropriate to do the work.
Whether (requiring female employees wear high heels) constitutes workplace bullying (“power harassment”) depends on whether (wearing high heels) exceeds the scope (of a particular job).
Following the committee meeting on June 5, in an interview with Huffington Post Japan, Ishikawa reported that she has encountered some online abuse, or “bashing” (バッシング) for her past as a pinup model since submitting the petition. However, in an interview with Huffington Post, she feels there many others who support the aims #KuToo:
どうしてもバッシングの方に目がいってしまって、怖かったんですけど、これだけ集まってくれる人もいる。同じ思いの人がたくさんいてくれるということがわかるので、こういう集会を開いてくださってありがたいです。みんなで協力しあってやっていけたら嬉しいです
While I've experienced some online abuse and it's scary, (the petition) has also gained a lot of supporters. I know that there is a lot of people who understand the issue, and it's great that there is now a forum to discuss it. I would be very happy if we could all work together.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nevin Thompson


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Paraguay’s road to democracy is slowed down by its political ghosts · Global Voices
Kurtural

Illustration by Kurtural. Used with permission.
This story by Jazmín Acuña was originally published by Kurtural as part of larger series on Stroessner's dictatorship (1954-1989). It was edited by Global Voices for length and context, and published with permission.
Since the end of Paraguay's dictatorship, only a handful of policemen and civilians have received sentences for the human rights violations that took place during Alfredo Stroessner's regime. A veil of impunity still covers the most notorious figures from that time who, far from going to jail, have continued on in positions of power within the Paraguayan government. Most notable among these are Paraguay's former Defense Minister, Foreign Minister, and Adviser to the Presidency.
In 1954, Stroessner took the presidency in a coup after a period of deep economic instability and conflict within the ruling party. Stroessner took office through a special election in which he was the only candidate; he would go on to be re-elected seven times in the years that followed with questionably high margins. His 35-year rule received heavy support from the United States government and was a participating member of Operation Condor.
Although Paraguay transitioned to a democracy in the years after the dictatorship ended, subsequent elections saw circles close to Stroessner stay in power. This was true during Horacio Cartes’ administration from 2013-2018 and continues to be true for Mario Abdo Benítez’s current administration, as President Benítez’s family remains close to the political elites of the Stroessner-era.
According to Mario Melanio Medina, president of Paraguay's Truth and Justice Commission, the governments that came after the dictatorship are fearful of being linked to or found responsible for human rights violations and have little interest in supporting investigations or trials for the more than 400 people that were forcibly disappeared and the more than 20,000 people that suffered from torture.
“The highest-ranking officials, the main political actors of these mass atrocities, were never prosecuted”, says Hugo Valiente, a lawyer and author of various investigations on human rights. Valiente alludes to the authorities, the heads of State and cronies in these crimes against humanity and says they should be brought to trial regardless of the lapse of time.
However, three such political actors — Diógenes Martinez, Eladio Loizaga, and Dario Filartiga — have had, and continue to have, a strong influence in the government in Paraguay.
The Paraguayan legal system didn’t escape the broadening web of corruption. Judges like Diogenes Martinez sided with oppressors of the Stroessner era, turning a blind eye to rape, forced disappearances, and arbitrary detentions.
“They played a part in false rulings. They validated oaths taken under torture”, says Valiente.
For Rogelio Goiburu, Head of the Direction of Historical Memory and Reparations (in Spanish, DMHR), and whose father disappeared during Stroessner’s regime, there’s no doubt that these people must stand trial.
The practices of the past don't seem completely forgotten for Martínez, and this is precisely what worries human rights defenders. In March 2017, under the previous Cartes administration, Martínez warned demonstrators that the army was ready to go out to the streets to stop protesters who stormed Congress after then-President Cartes tried to change the constitution and seek re-election. He did admit that an internal military intervention would be unlawful but still ensured that the army should move ‘pre-emptively’.
Eladio Loizaga began his career as a diplomat during the Stroessner years. In August 1981, he was appointed Director of the Department of Agencies for Treaties and International Acts of the Foreign Ministry. In 1983, he was promoted to General Director for this department. During his tenure, Operation Condor was in full swing. The operation was a secret plan between Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Paraguay, which was responsible for kidnappings, forced disappearances, and murders of political enemies. The operation was backed by the United States’ government who provided planning, coordination and training, as well as technical, financial and military assistance.
There is no crime without a carefully penned script that justifies the terror. The threat of communism was the narrative that fueled repression in Latin America. These ideas were promoted and defended in meetings and conferences through organizations like the Anti-Communist International League.
Stroessner was a member of this league and Paraguay served as a host country for one of their preparatory conferences towards its world conference. Eladio Loizaga was among those responsible for coordinating it.
“Loizaga was a partner of the State corruption. He masterminded, arranged, and financially backed the plans of vast executions”, said Rogelio Goiburu whose father was kidnapped by Paraguayan and Argentinian authorities. From 2013 to 2018, Loizaga was Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Cartes administration. In Goiburu's opinion, Loizaga should not have been part of a Government cabinet that considers itself a democratic as part of a State. But this is not the case in Paraguay.
Just like they did during the Stroessner era, these men have the privileges of those in power. Filartiga Ruiz Diaz's loyalty to the Stroessner was evidenced when he traveled to Brazil, to pay honor to the dictator in his funeral in 2006. Stroessner died in Brasilia, where he had been forcibly exiled after the coup that removed him from power in 1989.
Under then-President Cartes he emulated this same political scheme of unremitting adulation and support. For example, when Congress was weighing in the need to increase taxes on tobacco, Filartiga Ruiz Diaz erupted as a zealous advocate for Cartes’ interests, who was one of the main players of this industry.
How can a process of accountability be possible when the dictator’s lackeys are still immune from the justice system?
The more towering the post in the hierarchy of the State, the greater the responsibility and thus the punishment for crimes against humanity. Valiente thinks this is very unlikely, however: “The democratic process in Paraguay was built on a pact of impunity.”

author: Kurtural


text:
The Ivan Golunov phenomenon: a brief moment of solidarity and euphoria in Putin’s Russia · Global Voices
Filip Noubel

Ivan Golunov, an investigative reporter for Meduza, was arrested on June 6 and released on June 11 without charges after a public outcry // Evgeny Feldman for Meduza, under CC BY 4.0
Shocked by the arrest of leading investigative journalist Ivan Golunov on June 6, Russian civil society and independent media reacted quickly by launching coordinated campaigns as well as individual acts of solidarity that are unprecedented in the 20 years that Vladimir Putin has dominated Russian politics. Such large-scale demonstration of outrage, combined with concern in the Kremlin about Putin’s low ratings have led to Golunov being freed on June 11. More public actions are planned this week in Moscow to seek punishment for those involved in Golunov’s arrest, and to prevent further cases of trumped-up charges against critics of the Russian government.
One of the earliest and longest shows of public support was an improvised ‘selfie studio’ on Petrovka street 38 in central Moscow, in front of the headquarters of the Moscow city police. For several days between June 7 and 11, people waited for hours to have their picture taken in that spot as a sign of solidarity with Golunov.
Петровка, 38, прямо сейчас pic.twitter.com/9HNvQifX43
— Meduza (@meduzaproject) 10 июня 2019 г.
Petrovka, 38, right now
This twitter user present on June 7 says in this short video she counted more than 110 persons waiting in the queue for their selfie to be taken at Petrovka 38. She uses the term ‘one-person demonstrations’ which is the only form of public demonstration that does not require a permission from local authorities in Russia.
Ровно 100 человек я насчитала в очереди на одиночный пикет до того, как сняла это видео у #Петровка38. Когда закончила, было уже около 110. Люди протестуют против сомнительного ареста журналиста #ИванГолунов pic.twitter.com/otEX7K35cT
— Alexandra (@nickandpolly) 7 июня 2019 г.
I counted exactly 100 people in the queue for the ‘one-person demonstration’, while I was filming this video on #Petrovka38. When I finished, there were about 110 people, People are protesting against the suspicious arrest of journalist #IvanGolunov.
Similar selfies were taken across Russia and posted online as a sign of solidarity. More traditional methods, such as online petitions also gathered over 180,000 signatures as in a petition posted on www.change.org.
Yet the campaign took unexpected and humorous turns, as in the case of a restaurant in the city of Yekaterinburg in Central Russia that offered free beer to any client sporting a T-shirt with the now iconic message “I and we are Ivan Golunov”.
Екатеринбургский ресторан «Огонек» пообещал бесплатное пиво каждому, кто придет в футболке с эмблемой «Я(Мы) Иван Голунов». pic.twitter.com/EQSLqzErnh
— Dmitry Kolezev (@kolezev) 10 июня 2019 г.
The Ogoniok restaurant in Yekaterinburg promised a free beer to anyone coming in a T-shirt with the sign I and we are Ivan Golunov”.
Such solidarity was also echoed by media and some celebrities. On June 6, three leading and more independent newspapers, Vedomosti, RBC and Kommersant, agreed to come out with the same iconic message in the exact same layout, again an unprecedented case of media solidarity in Putin's Russia. Copies were sold out in a few hours and are now on sale online as memorabilia.
On June 9, Kommersant, Vedomosti and RBC, three leading Russian business newspaper, came out with near-identical cover pages in support of Ivan Golunov, the arrested journalist // Evgeny Feldman for Meduza, under CC BY 4.0
Popular singer Andrey Makarevich of the legendary rock band Mashina Vremeni took part in a video campaign (here at 03.21) , along with other celebrities all calling for Golunov's release and a fair investigation. As a result, his concert planned for June 12, marking Russia Day, was suddenly cancelled last minute.
Following Golunov's release, many are calling for more action to punish law enforcement forces that fabricated the case, but also to talk about other similar cases that have not received such coverage and attention and to prevent this from happening to other civic activists and independent journalists.

author: Filip Noubel


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Bhutan takes first steps toward decriminalizing homosexuality · Global Voices
Rezwan

Activists in front of the National Assembly after the historic decision to repeal section 213 and 214 of the Bhutanese Penal Code decriminalizing homosexuality. Image via the Facebook page of Namgay Zam/LGBT Bhutan. Used with permission.
In a historic effort, Bhutan’s national assembly, the country's lower house of parliament, took the first step toward decriminalizing what is described in their law books as ‘unnatural sex’, which includes homosexual acts.
On June 7, the National Assembly voted overwhelmingly (43 to 1) in favor of removing Sections 213 and 214 of the country’s penal code, which criminalizes sodomy and ‘unnatural’ sexual conduct. This step by the assembly was widely hailed by activists.
I am happy for many reasons of which one is an act of humanity for such a decision. Happy for all the @LGBT_Bhutan ♥????? Now let’s hope for the best from NC? I’m sure your voices would be heard as NA did? pic.twitter.com/cYvRzQUei4
— yangchen c rinzin (@ycrinzin) June 7, 2019
The news came as a surprise to many activists in the country, according to journalist Nagay Zam, who contributed to this Global Voices story. In 2013 Zam wrote in national and international media about the hidden LGBT community in Bhutan and the challenges they faced. Three-quarters of the Bhutanese population are Buddhist; Buddhism does not condemn homosexuality, instead teacheing values like compassion and tolerance.
The LGBT community in Bhutan, which has a population of about 825,000, is small. According to informal records, the LGBTQ+ community numbers around 92, of which only about 20 are publicly open about their gender identity and sexual orientation. Their main challenge has been the provisions 213 and 214 in the Penal Code of Bhutan which criminalizes homosexual relationship.
This was never much-discussed issues earlier, was never an issue! But this one single decision means a lot for the community that matters. This is why it deserves attention. ?? for the move! Happy for you all @LGBT_Bhutan https://t.co/XqguUEkG5i
— yangchen c rinzin (@ycrinzin) June 12, 2019
The country's penal code was introduced in 2004 and included provisions from British colonial law. Bhutan was historically a monarchy, but in 2007 the country held its first parliamentary elections as it transitioned to democracy. Section 213 of the penal code states:
A defendant shall be guilty of the offence of unnatural sex, if the defendant engages in sodomy or any other sexual conduct that is against the order of nature.
Section 214 states:
The offence of unnatural sex shall be a petty misdemeanor.
However, no charges were laid under these laws since the enactment of the penal code in 2004.
On May 29, 2019, a bill proposing the amendment the penal code of Bhutan was introduced which did not include the removal of these two sections criminalizing ‘unnatural sex’. During the deliberations in parliament, however, finance minister Lyonpo Namgay Tshering proposed that section 213 be amended. The minister emphasised that he was not trying to encourage homosexuality, but that the redundant law was an eyesore in the view the international community and should be removed from the penal code.
The legislative committee presented the new amendment to the National Assembly, and on June 7 members voted overwhelmingly to repeal sections 213 and 214.
The bill will now go to the National Council, the upper house of parliament, for further deliberation.
Tashi Tsheten of Rainbow Bhutan, a group that represents the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, told media that many activists cried on learning of the decision. In a Facebook post, the group announced:
We only advocated to remove the Section from the Penal Code in order to advocate for recognition and inclusion for the LGBT+ community.
It gives us great pleasure to see progressive MPs who understand our issues and are willing to stand for what is right.
It's a great day to be alive!
Journalist Namgay Zam went live on Facebook to celebrate with other activists. She wrote:
Dear Finance Minister, Speaker, legislative commitee members, and MPs: Name Same Kadrinche. We shed tears of joy in parliament, today. ??
Never imagined this would happen in our lifetime, but it did.
Pema from Rainbow Bhutan commented in the video:
After 27 years, I feel fully human. Valid. ❤
Activists hope that the National Council will follow through in validating the repeal of the two sections when the winter session starts in November. After the bill is passed, it will be sent for royal assent.
Namgay Zam wrote in Facebook:
Now we wait. Like my LGBTIQ friends say: We’ve waited all our lives. What difference does a few months make? ?

author: Rezwan


text:
In Hong Kong, authorities arrest the administrator of a Telegram protest group—and force him to hand over a list of its members · Global Voices
The Stand News

The police record of Ivan Ip’s interrogation in the police station, which says: “You are arrested under the charge of ‘conspiring to commit a public nuisance’. Following an investigation, the police believe that you have set up a public group called ‘International waters: help, discussion, intelligence on June 11 second reading’ and conspire to stage a break-in at the Legislative Council as well as blocking of major roads from June 11 to June 12.” Image by The Stand News, used with permission.
This story was originally published in Chinese by the Stand News on June 12, 2019. It was translated to English by Global Voices’ Chinese Lingua team and published under a content-sharing agreement.
Hong Kong's anti-China extradition protests, which took place from June 9 to June 12, were met tear gas, rubber bullets and bean bags, but police crackdown didn't take place just in the streets — social media also came under attack.
On June 11, authorities arrested an administrator of a Telegram group called “International Waters” (公海總谷) and charged him with “conspiring to commit a public nuisance,” the police has confirmed to The Stand News.
The administrator is Ivan Ip, a 22-year-old student who has agreed to speak with The Stand News over the telephone. He said that while he was in custody police forced him to unlock his cellphone and export the list of the group's members — which numbers between 20,000 and 30,000 people.
Mr. Ip was released on bail the following day and is scheduled to report back to the police in early September.
“International Waters: assistance, discussion, intelligence on 611 second reading” was one of the many secure group chats Hong Kongers have used to organize protests against a bill that could potentially make it easier for mainland China to arrest and extradite critics, dissidents, and even journalists from Hong Kong.
The “Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill” was scheduled to be presented at the Legislative Council on June 9, but that has since been deferred until further notice following the mass rallies.
Mr. Ip said that police showed up at his apartment around 8 P.M. on June 11 with a search warrant. He was later taken to the Sheung Shui Police Division, where officials demanded him to hand over the group's member list. He says he was also questioned about the identities of the group's founders and of the other administrators, as well as about protest plans.
Mr. Ip has confirmed that the whole list of the group's members, as well as all the messages exchanged in the secure chat, have been exposed to the police. After his arrest, the administrators of “International Waters” have decided to shut down the group out of security concerns.
The 22-year-old student has told The Stand News that he hasn't attended any of the recent protests and that he was shocked that the police would arrest him for merely sharing information.
Mr. Ip said that all he did was merely summarize and forward information to the group, such as the list of school strikes and of people who have been arrested, and that this is all public information available to anyone on the internet.
The Stand News obtained a copy of Mr. Ip’s oral statement to the police. This document shows that following an investigation by Hong Kong’s Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB), authorities believe that Mr. Ip conspired with other group members to break into Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and block major roads surrounding government headquarters on June 11 and 12.
The Stand News has asked the police to comment on the case, but they have not yet responded.

author: The Stand News


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Indonesia’s post-election riots led to free speech violations · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

Riot police shields before the start of the election protest. Photo by Pio Kharisma Yongha. Used with permission.
Riots erupted in Jakarta on 22 May 2019 after the country’s election body announced the victory of incumbent President Joko Widodo. The protesters were supporters of defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto who claimed that there was systematic election rigging.
At least eight died during the scuffle with the police and more than 700 were injured.
Aside from these casualties involving protesters, several journalists were also attacked while covering the riots. The government also restricted access to social media for three days to stop the spread of disinformation.
The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security of Indonesia (Menpolhukam), retired General Wiranto announced on 22 May that social media and mobile messenger apps would be restricted via bandwidth throttling and selective shutdowns of social media accounts to curb the spread of hoaxes. For three days, Indonesian netizens were only able to send videos or images through Virtual Private Networks.
A coalition of human rights groups noted that both supporters of Subianto and Jokowi engaged in online taunting as well as spreading hate speech and misinformation.
Concurring with General Wiranto, the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kemenkominfo) asked netizens not to spread unverified content and fake news about the election protest. It shut down some 2,000 social media accounts and websites for spreading ‘negative content.’
Communication and technology minister Rudiantara defended the government's strategies:
2. Pembatasan akses merupakan salah satu dr alternatif2 terakhir yang ditempuh seiring dg tingkat kegentingan. Pemerintah negara2 lain di dunia telah membuktikan efektivitasnya untuk mencegah meluasnya kerusuhan.
— Rudiantara (@rudiantara_id) May 27, 2019
Limiting access is the last resort to take in an increasingly dire situation. Other nations have proven its efficiency to stop the spread of chaos.
The minister said the agency reached out to messaging platforms like WhatsApp:
5. Cara lain, dg bekerja sama dengan penyedia platform, juga ditempuh. Misalnya, sy telah berkomunikasi dg pimpinan WA, yg hanya dlm seminggu sebelum kerusuhan 22 Mei lalu telah menutup sekitar 61.000 akun aplikasi WA yg melanggar aturan.
— Rudiantara (@rudiantara_id) May 27, 2019
Another way is through a collaboration with platform provider. For example, I've spoken with the chiefs of WA which has closed down 61,000 accounts for conduct violations ahead of the May 22 riot.
But the country's human rights commission said that the government action was an exaggeration.
In its statement, Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) asserted that the Indonesian government “should not implement throttling without well-defined parameters of national emergency”.
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) also doubted the effectivity of enforcing Internet restrictions during crisis situations:
While we understand the government’s intention to stop the distribution of false information and protect the public during violent protests, the decision has also inadvertently restricted public’s access to factual information.
Instead of resorting to social media throttling, AJI has a proposal:
We ask the government to engage with social media providers so they can be actively involved in stopping the spread of false information and hate speeches through transparent mechanism with a stronger legal basis.
Indonesia lifted these restrictions after three days.
AJI reported that an AP correspondent experienced online doxxing while dozens of journalists were physically harassed by protesters and the police. Some blamed Subianto for inciting hate when he called the media the ‘destroyer of democracy’ during his May Day speech. AJI condemned the violence against journalists and has called for a thorough investigation in what many have already described as the worst attack against journalists in the post-Suharto era. Suharto was a strongman who ruled the country for three decades before his fall from power in 1998.
AJI described the intimidation targeting journalists as a blatant act of censorship. Police were accused of using unnecessary force to stop journalists from recording the clashes between state forces and protesters. But there was also violence coming from the side of protesters:
The journalists were also assaulted by protesters. They persecuted the journalists and seized their equipment including their cameras, mobile phones, and recorders. The protesters forced the journalists to delete all photo and video documentation.
Various rights groups are calling the government to probe the attacks against the media by the police and some supporters of Subianto.

author: Juke Carolina


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Netizen Report: Amid demonstrations for democracy, Sudanese civilians face military violence — and internet shutdowns · Global Voices
Netizen Report Team

A protest in Khartoum, April 2019. Photo by M. Saleh via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Advox Netizen Report offers an international snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in technology and human rights around the world. This report covers news and events from June 1-13, 2019.
Uncertainty has dominated Sudan since the military ouster of long-standing president Omar Al-Bashir in April. Although pro-democracy protesters were initially in talks with the Transitional Military Council, negotiations have faltered and protesters have returned to the streets.
Tensions between protesters and authorities have escalated and the Rapid Support Forces, whose members are veterans of the militias responsible for Darfur’s worst massacres, have killed more than 100 protesters and there have been numerous reports of rape and robberies of civilians stopped at military checkpoints. Nevertheless, Sudanese citizens have continued to push for a transition to a civilian government, and launched a mass general strike on June 9.
Since June 3, technical testing by NetBlocks has confirmed that mobile internet connectivity has been shut off, drastically reducing people’s abilities to communicate, share or access information. The shutdown strongly affected Facebook users who were relying on the platform to organize demonstrations and the strike.
While most civilians (who rely on mobile internet connections)  are now cut off from the platform, the Rapid Support Forces are still actively using Facebook, likely through a fixed connection, to promote their own narrative about what is happening in the country. Sudanese activists have organized a petition campaign, demanding Facebook remove these pages in recognition that they promote violence against peaceful protesters in Sudan.
Sudan is not the only African country grappling with internet cuts this June. In Liberia, on June 7, media groups reported that many people were struggling to access major social media services during an anti-government protest in Monrovia, the capital. Technical testing by NetBlocks indicated that major social media and communication services including WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram became inaccessible on the country’s two major telcom networks, owned by Orange and Long Star. Civil society groups are calling on the two telcos to make a public statement explaining what caused the outages.
In Ethiopia, where internet shutdowns are not unusual, NetBlocks observed a total internet shutdown on June 11, believed to have been triggered by education officials seeking to prevent students from cheating on national secondary school exams.
A proposed extradition law in Hong Kong has triggered the largest protests seen since the 2014 Umbrella Movement, bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets. As demonstrations continued this week and turned dangerous, with police arresting at least a dozen protesters, the secure mobile messaging service, Telegram, came under attack. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov tweeted on June 12 that the company’s servers had been temporarily compromised by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, the result of thousands of requests sent to Telegram’s servers, in an effort to overwhelm the system. Durov said the requests came mostly from mainland China.
Meanwhile, the administrator of a massive Telegram messaging group called “International Waters” (公海總谷) was arrested by Hong Kong police for “conspiring to commit a public nuisance.” The group had become an organizing platform for protesters. The police asked the administrator to unlock his cellphone and export the list of the group members, who number in the tens of thousands. The administrator has since been released on bail.
June 4 marked the 30th anniversary of the 1989 massacre of student protesters at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square by the Chinese military. The massacre, which resulted in a still-untold number of deaths of peaceful protesters (evidence-based estimates range between 2,700 and 10,454), has never been publicly acknowledged by the Chinese government.
Terms and images associated with the event have long been closely monitored online — research by the University of Hong Kong and the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab indicates that it is the most censored topic on the Chinese internet.
While plenty of online content linked to the event was censored by Chinese websites and services this year, US-based Twitter also suspended hundreds of accounts critical of the Chinese Communist Party, according to Hong Kong Free Press. Twitter later apologized and reinstated the accounts, saying that they were mistakenly blocked as part of the company’s effort to remove accounts that are promoting spam or engaging in “inauthentic” behavior.
Kazakhstan held snap presidential elections on June 9, a date also marred with a widespread internet shutdown, which was confirmed by technical tests and reported by pro-government news agency Tengri news.
The elections follow the historic resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who maintained an undisputed rule of the autocratic Central Asian state from the 1989 fall of the Soviet Union until March 2019, when he announced his resignation. In accordance with the Kazakhstani constitution, Senate speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, a Nazarbayev loyalist, officially took power on March 20 and was then elected president on June 9.
In rarely seen street demonstrations, activists and citizens have been demanding free elections and pointing to evidence of rigged voting. At least 500 people have been detained, including journalists, and mobile internet is still blocked in the center of Almaty, the country’s former capital.
Ivan Golunov, a leading investigative journalist, was detained on June 6 in Moscow on what appear to be trumped-up charges of drug dealing and possession. A judge initially released Golunov to house arrest, and then dismissed charges against him, following widespread public condemnation of the case.
Golunov works for Meduza, one of the few remaining independent Russian-language online media platforms. He has led and published several investigations pointing at cases of corruption involving high-ranking officials. In an opinion piece for The Guardian, Golunov’s editor, Alexey Kovalev, also an editor at Global Voices, described the systemic nature of media repression in Russia:
“I’m sure Putin would have stopped it if he could, but you can’t arbitrarily free one victim of this system without admitting that many top-ranking officials were involved in a plan to frame an innocent man for his pursuit of truth.”
Iran’s judiciary branch announced its plan to launch a mobile phone app that will enable Iranians to report violations of “crimes against morality and public chastity” that could cover things like women removing their headscarves or anyone posting “immoral” messages on social media. Speaking with The Independent, Iran technology expert Mahsa Alimardani, who is also a Global Voices contributor, said the app “signals a fear that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ‘morality’ norms have indeed failed to entrench themselves in society.” She also noted that the app would likely violate constitutional privacy protections.
Mahsa Alimardani, Ellery Roberts Biddle, Alexey Kovalev, Oiwan Lam, Amanda Lichtenstein, Filip Noubel and Taisa Sganzerla contributed to this report.

author: Netizen Report Team


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Why are Hong Kong authorities labelling the anti-extradition demonstrations as “riots”? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Clashes between protesters and police on June 12, 2019. Photo from inmediahk.net. Used with permission.
On June 12, thousands of protesters blocked major roads in central Hong Kong around government headquarters to stop officials from presenting a controversial extradition bill to the lawmakers in the Legislative Council.
After the police labelled the protests as a “riot” at around 4 p.m. on the same day, they deployed around 150 rounds of tear gas, and fired 20 bean bags and several rubber bullets. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor slammed the protest as “a blatant and organized riot” in an evening video address on the same day.
By 5 p.m. on the next day, the Hospital Authority stated that a local hospital received about 81 injured reports. Among the injured, there were 57 males and 24 females, aged between 15 and 66. Two of them are in serious condition. Hong Kong Police Commissioner Stephen Lo later stated that the police had arrested 11 people, and stressed that the police officers were “very restrained” when carrying out their duty.
A large number of civic groups slammed the “riot” label as “ludicrous”, claiming that the majority of the protesters were peaceful and had not engaged in violent acts.
Two doctor organizations were among the first to condemn the police measures. In an open statement, Hong Kong Public Doctors’ Association and Frontline Doctors’ Union condemned the police’s excessive violence:
We express our grave concern and condemn the use of excessive violence in the handling of the protests, including unrestrained use of tear gas against protestors in the early stage. We denounce the inordinate employment of weapons against unarmed protestors, such as bean bag rounds and rubber bullets, aimed at the heads of protestors and journalists. These reckless actions are not aimed at dispersing or controlling crowds. Many citizens, medical workers, and journalists have been injured by the police’s excessive use of violence.
Other abusive cases involved a teacher shot by a rubber bullet in his right eye and a Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) driver whose heart stopped beating after he was hit by tear gas round.
Below is a compilation of police violence on June 12:
During the clashes, several journalists were injured by pepper spray and tear gas. Journalist watchdog organizations Hong Kong Journalists Association and Reporters Without Borders condemned the police for harassing and attacking reporters.
Twitter user @sethchiu posted a video clip showing how a number of riot police officers beat up an unarmed citizen and chased the reporters away.
#612strike #extraditionbill #黑警
Fully armed HK police use excessive force towards unarmed citizen pic.twitter.com/YF7doU85q9
— Seth Chiu (@sethchiu) June 12, 2019
According to various reports from local media outlets, the June 12 roadblock protests had been non-violent until around 3:30 p.m, when a few dozen protesters, a few armed with bricks and iron sticks, attempted to break in the Legislative Council protest area.
In response, police officers retreated to a corner of the protest area, while other peaceful protesters moved in and occupied the space.
At around 3:45 p.m., the police started firing tear gas and rubber bullets at them, later claiming that they had been cornered by protesters.
Below is a news report from Now TV showing the clashes outside the Legislative Council protest area that triggered the “riot”:
However, the clashes were confined to a small area. Twenty Christian pastors who witnessed the events stressed that the majority of the protesters were peaceful in a press conference on June 13.
Pastor Wong Sui Yong told the press that he had been staying with other Christians at the civic square outside the government building near the Legislative Council since 7:30 a.m. on June 12, and that he saw no violent protesters. According to the story by Citizen News:
當日下午3時，警方施放催淚彈，年輕人惶恐走避，更有人哭泣，但警方進一步向多個方向推進。他反駁警方稱示威者是「暴徒」：「我親眼看見速龍小隊在天橋上手持警棍，追逐手無寸鐵的示威者。」
At around 3 p.m., the police deployed tear gas, young people were dispersed, some were crying on their ways. But the police kept pushing forward. He stressed the protesters were not rioters, “what I saw was that the riot police was waving their batons at unarmed protesters on the pedestrian crossover.”
Another Christian pastor, Wu Chi Wai, criticized mainstream media for their bias in the way they reported the news. Citizen News says:
「報道經過剪輯後，不合理地放大某些衝突場面。」他重申，前線的示威者只有雨傘作防衛工具，只有在混亂間有鐵馬被推倒，令人意外受傷。他反駁，若警方要作個人保護，武力亦應適可而止，但警方卻手持警棍追打手無寸鐵的示威者，不能接受。
“Edited reports exaggerated the clashes,” [the pastor said]. He stressed the protesters in the front line only used umbrellas to defend themselves. People got injured when the iron barricade was pushed down. If the police officers had to protect themselves, they could use appropriate forces. But they used batons to beat up unarmed protesters. This is unacceptable.
Wu said the retreat of the police to the corner of the Legco protest area had created more chaos, “it was like inviting the protesters to occupy the space and create a pretext for deploying tear gas,” he said in the press conference.
Similar police strategies of “retreat” and “attack” was seen at other protest sites. Another example was recorded by reporters from initium.net at the conjunction of Tin Wa Avenue and Harcourt Road:
15點42分，前線的速龍小隊突然被後方指令退至添華道較後位置，放棄了原本阻隔警察和示威者之間、各自擺放的鐵馬，這時候示威者一片歡呼，部分示威者跨過鐵馬，進入添華道。
At 3:42 p.m., the riot police in the front line received order and retreated from the buffer area of Tin Wa Avenue where there were iron barricades set by both the police officers and the protesters for preventing clashes. The protesters cheered at the retreat of the riot police, crossed the barricades and moved into Tin Wa Avenue.
Five minutes later, the riot police at the Avenue deployed tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters. At around 4:00 p.m. the police authority labelled the protests as “riot” in a press conference.
@newbloommag reported on the clashes from Harcourt road:
BREAKING: Riot police advance on demonstrators pushing them further west on Harcourt Road, while setting off tear gas. Demonstrators periodically throw things at police pic.twitter.com/ABHou37uDw
— New Bloom Magazine (@newbloommag) June 12, 2019
Thousands of dispersed protesters had taken refuge at the Pacific Place, a high-end shopping mall at Admiralty in the evening of June 12. Facebook user Pak Chai shared the following photo he took outside Pacific Place, which made the audience wonder who in fact were the rioters:
Photo taken by Pak Chai outside the Pacific Place at Admiralty. Used with permission.
The secretary of the Legislative Council announced on June 13 that the scheduled second reading of the extradition bill will not take place this week.
The road block protests on June 12 were triggered by the Hong Kong government's decision to proceed with the reading of a controversial extradition bill. The bill consists of a set of amendments to the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation.
On June 9, more than a million Hong Kong people rallied against the government's proposal. The majority of the protesters believe that the amendments, which empower the Chief Executive and local courts to handle case-by-case extradition requests from authorities in mainland China, Taiwan and Macau, would make it easier for mainland China to arrest critics, dissidents, and even journalists in Hong Kong.

author: Oiwan Lam


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#JBF2019: Japan’s Lego Brick Festival 2019 takes to Twitter · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Lego Figurines. Image by Nevin Thompson.
Billed as the country's largest international fan-led Lego event, Japan Brickfest 2019 was held in Kobe on June 8 and June 9. More than 270 Lego fans displayed their creations, and the thousands of people who attended Brickfest over the weekend shared photos on Twitter using the hashtag #JBF2019.
#JBF2019
行ってきたまとめです。 pic.twitter.com/14rF10h2zW
— kattho (@katthogunner) June 10, 2019
I went and took some photos.
名前分からなかったけどとても良かったもの。新幹線の奴発想が凄すぎる、、、 pic.twitter.com/h7XQV12UIg
— kattho (@katthogunner) June 10, 2019
I'm not sure who made this, but it's really cool. Using the bullet train Lego in this way is totally awesome.
JBF2019で展示したマイクロスケールの街です。
パリの衛星写真を参考にヨーロッパをイメージして、16×16ポッチを1区画として構成しました。
路面電車や架線、樹木がいいアクセントになったので、小さなスケールながら街の伊吹を感じてもらえたら嬉しいです。#jbf2019 pic.twitter.com/5bWkZ4tY73
— とにー@ (@tm96008) June 9, 2019
A micro-scale town on display at JBF 2019. Using satellite photos, everything has been recreated on a 16X16 Lego building sheet.
アタッシュケースは何かなぁと思ったら、開くとこうなる。持ち運び便利〜w #JBF2019 pic.twitter.com/gsPUHJeqra
— くぼっち (@tttkbk) June 9, 2019
I was wondering what was in the attache case. I opened it up, and this is what I saw. Very convenient for transporting Lego!
These lego figures are getting bigger and more realistic every year! #lego #kobe #JBF2019 #kansai #Japan pic.twitter.com/cXCX2MahKQ
— Being Kansai (@BeingKansai) June 9, 2019
Put on each year since 2016 by Canadian Academy, a private school in Kobe, and KLUG, (the Kansai Lego User Group), Japan Brickfest is a charity event, whereby a portion of the entry fee is donated to various worthy causes.
See many more amazing Lego creations in Kobe at the Twitter hashtag #JBF2019.


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Visas now required for Venezuelans as Trinidad and Tobago concludes migrant registration process · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Guardian, one of Trinidad and Tobago's daily newspapers, launched a Spanish supplement this week targeted at the local Venezuelan community. Photo by Georgia Popplewell (CC BY SA)
Venezuelan migrants in Trinidad and Tobago had until 5pm today, June 14, to register to regularise their status in the country. The two-week exercise, which began on May 31, is the latest move by the Trinidad and Tobago government to manage the influx of people fleeing strife and hardship in Venezuela and settling in the small Caribbean nation.
The government said the registration exercise went smoothly, reporting that 13,993 migrants had been processed by the end the day on June 13, and issuing assurances that all who appeared at the centres by the deadline would be processed. One local TV station, however, reported that some migrants who attempted to register in Tobago on June 14 were not accommodated. As the registration period ended on June 14, Minister of National Security Stuart Young announced that from June 17, Venezuelans will require a visa to enter Trinidad and Tobago.
Young: I have signed an order that says we now require Visas for Venezuelans to enter Trinidad and Tobago from this coming Monday.
— CCN TV6 (@tv6tnt) June 14, 2019
For some citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, however, the spectacle of people from the beleaguered neighbouring country receiving what some perceive as special treatment has been too much to bear.
On the evening of June 13, protestors gathered in front of the registration centre at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Keith Rowley and the “closure” of the country’s borders. One of the protest organisers, a social media personality called Kia “Rankin Boss” Hosein, told the Trinidad Express that the protest was motivated not by anti-immigrant sentiment but by what she alleges are illegal actions on the part of both Venezuelan migrants and the government of Trinidad and Tobago. “Hosein said Venezuelans had broken the law by entering the country illegally,” the Express reported, “and the government has broken the law by allowing them to stay.”
I can't help but feel a deep sense of sadness tonight, as a group of our people stage a protest calling for government to close the borders between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. Where is your humanity?
— melissa mathura (@mellyMM) June 14, 2019
The Express reported that other protestors shouted anti-immigrant slurs and “motorists passing by honked their horns in support and shouted ‘send them back Venezuela'”. Riot police were called in to secure the area.
I live in a terminally ill country. Shameless and primitive. If you support tonight's taunting of refugee seekers at the anti-immigration protests, you are a sick fuck.
— Wesley Gibbings (@wgibbings) June 14, 2019
Hosein also told the Express that “. . . charity starts at home. We are already sinking in Trinidad and Tobago so how can you take in more people?”—a common theme among social media commentators on the Venezuela migrants issue.
Prime Minister Rowley expressed similar sentiments back in April 2018, after 82 Venezuelans were deported from the country. Responding to criticism of the deportation and of the country’s slowness to accord refugee status to Venezuelans, Rowley said that: “Bearing in mind we are not China, Russia or America, we are a little island. We have limited space. 1.3 million people. Therefore we cannot and will not allow UN spokespersons to convert us into a refugee camp.”
On the afternoon of June 14, members of the June 13 protest greeted opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar as she arrived at parliament with cries of “Rowley must go!” In an interview with media, Persad-Bissessar, who, along with other members of the opposition, has been critical of the Rowley administration's response to Venezuela, said that the government has “no fixed policy and seems to be taking it on the fly, one minute at a time. . . they seem to be very unaware of the anger and the pain and suffering in the country.”
Local businesses have nevertheless been quick to seize the economic opportunities presented by the Venezuelan presence in the country.
One manufacturing company was reportedly handing out information on employment opportunities and job application forms to Venezuelans waiting in line at the registration centre in southern Trinidad, and some employers are said to be including Spanish text on employment forms. Over the last few years, Venezuelans in Trinidad and Tobago have increasingly been occupying minimum wage jobs that some business owners say locals are either reluctant to do or don't perform as reliably.
This week the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, one of the country’s three daily newspapers, began publishing a Spanish-language supplement targeted at the local Venezuelan community.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Australia’s digital rights advocates and tech sector push back against law undermining encryption · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet presents the Human Rights ‘Hero Award’ to Lizzie O'Shea – Courtesy Access Now Twitter account
Imagine a law that gives a country’s intelligence and law enforcement bodies the power to access encrypted communications. Despite the misgivings of Australia’s Labor opposition, it supported the passage of the Liberal National Coalition’s Access and Assistance Bill (#AAbill), making such legislation law on December 6, 2018. Its target is supposed to be terrorists and paedophiles, but there are broad implications for digital rights.
There have been 75 sets of national security laws in Australia since September 2001. Nevertheless, the government claimed that the legislation was needed before Christmas as the holiday period poses heightened security risks.
The outrage from privacy and digital rights advocates and members of the technology industry has not subsided — especially as the opportunity to amend the legislation after Australia’s federal election on May 18, 2019 was left open and subject to a review by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
Global Voices presented written questions to Lyndsey Jackson, chair of the digital rights organisation Electronic Frontiers Australia, about the legislation and its ramifications. Lyndsey provided the following responses from EFA.
Kevin Rennie (KR): What are the main provisions of the new legislation?
Lyndsey Jackson (LJ): It deals with encryption, which is a way of transmitting data that can only be read by the sender and receiver — that means that no one else can look at it unless they choose to give access. Encryption is used for lots of things, like secure messaging, files, emails, drives or even verify[ing] software. It’s used by lots of people and organisations and governments.
The new legislation directly targets encryption and basically coerces developers, device manufacturers and service providers to allow the government to spy on people’s encrypted data.
KR: The government claimed the new powers were needed urgently: before the 2018 Christmas season. What have been the consequences of their haste?
LJ: The consequences of rushing through this legislation before Christmas have been immense.
The legislation as passed was very poorly drafted. There were a large number of major amendments planned to improve the drafting and they didn’t even make it into the final text due to the haste. We now have operating legislation that parliament has acknowledged is badly written instead of well considered legislation that actually does what is needed.
The coercion of the tech sector is an immediate consequence — people report a drop in foreign work and it’s expected this will increase, with further reductions in investment and work.
The other notable consequence has been [that] Australians’ digital rights are currently vulnerable both from their government and the potential of this surveillance capacity to be misused by others.
KR: Why have these laws created such strong opposition in Australia?
LJ: Digital rights campaigning is growing in Australia as more people become aware of the huge ramifications of surveillance and how it is misused. But the government has also completely overlooked the tireless explanations and advocacy of the local tech sector, [which has] shown how the legislation is excessive, unworkable and places us at extreme financial, business and personal risk. [It] also fundamentally misunderstands both technology and privacy — that is why these laws have created such strong opposition.
We have a right to privacy. That privacy exists in our everyday physical life, including when we pick up a phone or use our computer. This legislation removes our right to privacy by giving the government unprecedented access to our private lives for potential crimes that could well be investigated in other, more responsible, ways. This legislation gives the government the password to every account in the country without pausing to consider if they should, let alone if they need it.
KR: What are the specific concerns of the local information and technology industry?
LJ: This legislation will definitely have a financial impact on the local information and technology industry. The government will already reject dealing with companies like Huawei for fear of security flaws that can lead to foreign surveillance, so why would they expect any other country to treat us differently? Because that’s effectively what the government has told the world: every service, hardware and software created in Australia will have a security flaw allowing surveillance. This legislation hampers the Australian information and technology industry’s ability to create strong products and services.
KR: Why do some members of the cyber security sector believe that the law will be counterproductive?
LJ: In order to make this legislation work, software and hardware will have to almost weaken their overall security. This means it’s even more vulnerable to intrusion from other sources.
KR: What changes should the incoming government make now that the May federal election has been held and the government returned for another three years?
LJ: The digital rights of Australians and the health of our tech industry need to be taken more seriously. One way they can do that is [to] roll back this legislation and go back to the drawing board — but this time with Australia’s tech experts.
Meanwhile, Australian lawyer and board member of Australia's Digital Rights Watch, Lizzie O'Shea, has been honoured by the international advocacy group Access Now for her advocacy against the encryption laws. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, presented O'Shea with a Human Rights Hero award at the RightsCon summit, held in Tunisia on June 12, 2019.
Access Now put out this statement:
Frequently working in coalition, O’Shea has led the campaign against the Assistance and Access Bill and other threats to secure communications in Australia. This has included building an alliance across technology companies, civil society organizations, academics, and activists, and fronting media, public events, and parliamentary inquiries. Despite the laws being passed, the campaign had a huge mobilizing impact, with a strong coalition committed to working together and thousands of Australian citizens sparked to take action.
In contrast, the federal government's Department of Home Affairs has a detailed explanation of the legislation and its responses to the so-called ‘myths’ surrounding the Assistance and Access Act.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Social media goes blue for Sudan · Global Voices
Amanda Lichtenstein

#BlueForSudan artwork by Roiya Khaled Abu Zied, used with her permission.
Since April's military ouster of President Omar Al-Bashir after 30 years in power, pro-democracy protesters’ attempts to negotiate a transition to civilian rule with Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) have faltered, stalled and then broken down.
On June 3, Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a brutal attack on peaceful protesters in Khartoum, the capital. The RSF is made up of veteran militia members of the notorious “Janjaweed,” a paramilitary group operated by the government under Bashir that carried out genocide in Darfur.
The two-day crackdown in front of military headquarters in Khartoum left 112 people dead and more than 700 injured. Among them were 12 children. Doctors say up to 70 people were raped during the attack. The dead were thrown into the Nile from the Blue Nile Bridge during the night, according to multiple reports. Exact numbers are difficult to verify due to a lack of cohesive cooperation with authorities.
Mohammad Mattar, 26, is just one of many protesters shot and killed by the RSF during the sit-in. He had traveled home to Khartoum from London, where he had graduated as an engineer. He was shot while protecting two women during the protests, according to various reports circulating on social media.
To cope with their grief, Mattar's friends began a social media campaign asking people to change their profile pictures to shades of blue in solidarity with protesters’ pro-democracy struggle. They say Mattar's favorite color was blue and it was the color he had on his profile pictures the day he died.
And a “blue wave” has washed over social media platforms. The color blue has come to symbolizes all who have lost their lives during the uprising.
“Mattar was kind, caring … he had a white heart,” said one friend in a BBC video on Mattar and the social media campaign. Abdullah Al Fazh said Mattar was “the kind of person you only meet once in life.”
Mattar's friends changed their profile pictures blue simply to remember him, but over the last few days, #BlueforSudan has become a globally trending hashtag. Celebrities like Trevor Jackson and Rihanna helped the hashtag trend worldwide.
Thousands have turned their profile pictures blue on social media in honor of Mattar and Sudan's pro-democracy struggle:
Those who are taking part in spreading #BlueForSudan. The color blue came from a warm hearted, martyrs known as, Mohammed Hashim Mattar, my cousin who has passed away on the 3rd of June, as he was standing proud. Blue was his fav color, which now presents unity.??
Mattar’s Blue pic.twitter.com/MdZ7f2sLwS
— OmerYousiff (@OmerYousifff) June 12, 2019
Why #BlueForSudan? The movement was started by grieving friends of Mohamed Mattar, who had travelled from London to Khartoum, reportedly shot by military forces while protecting two women in the crackdown. Blue was his favourite colour.
(You should be paying attention to Sudan)
— aiza ?? (@curious_aiza) June 16, 2019
The United Nations Youth Envoy tweeted:
In solidarity with my sisters & brothers of #Sudan.
Accounting for more than 2/3 of the population, young ppl are Sudan’s biggest hope.
I join activists from all over the word to call for the end of violence & demand the protection of the rights of Sudanese youth! #BlueForSudan pic.twitter.com/9xSG6biSYN
— UN Youth Envoy (@UNYouthEnvoy) June 16, 2019
The Twitter account of Bob Marley spread a message of peace for Sudan:
#BlueForSudan ?? “Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and good-will… the African continent will not know peace.”
– HIM Haile Selassie I addresses @UN, 1963.#Sudan#AfricaUnite#GetUpStandUp pic.twitter.com/QTkrqUzdVM
— Bob Marley (@bobmarley) June 15, 2019
One Twitter netizen recognizes that campaigns like these “won't save the world” but that it will raise awareness and let the protesters in Sudan know they're not alone:
My #NewProfilePic
Maybe #BlueForSudan won't save the world, but it will raise awareness about a terrible issue that would otherwise go unspoken and *hopefully* let the people of Sudan know they are not alone.
Be their voice when they don't have one. pic.twitter.com/hRBKworUpQ
— ?????? #BlueForSudan ?????? (@BalqisSidiqia) June 16, 2019
This netizen urged people to go beyond a profile pic color change and take further action:
#BlueForSudan
This time we must all act. There are so many ways to do something. Engage on social media, ask the official you know in your country what they are doing. Write to media folk. Whatever you do, don’t do nothing else you will one day ask yourself ‘what was I doing? 2/3 pic.twitter.com/YVVN6zplux
— Lucy Quist (@LucyQuist) June 15, 2019
Meanwhile, Mattar's family has created its own Twitter account called “MattarBlueMovement” to keep the legacy of his spirit alive:
This page is created by the family and friends of Mohamed Hashim Mattar to keep the martyrs alive and honor their memory. This is only the beginning. This is the movement. #MattarBlue #BlueForSudan
— MattarBlueMovement (@MattarBlue) June 15, 2019
In the aftermath of the RSF attack, several military officers were arrested and the TMC launched an investigation, admitting wrong-doing, according to The Guardian:
Sudan’s military rulers admitted that security forces had committed abuses during the attack on the camp. They appear to have been spontaneous as frustration grows after opposition leaders called off a general strike intended to force the generals to agree a transition to civilian rule.
But protesters are wary of the TMC's gestures of reconciliation to resume talks, saying that trust with the TMC is broken after they abused their power in the June 3 dispersal. Instead, protesters have demanded an independent investigation into the massacre.
Award-winning Sudanese filmmaker, Hajooj Kuka (“Beats of the Antonov”), took part in the sit-in and was also wounded. He says “the reports of mass rapes are true and consistent with what we have been seeing on the ground,” to City Press.
The TMC continues to hold onto power, with financial aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the amount of $3 billion.
A 12-day internet shutdown has made it difficult for the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) and other protest coalition members to continue to organize protests on social media, but protests in Khartoum and the city of Port Sudan continued as of Friday, June 14, through word-of-mouth and SMS messages. These, too, have been met with ammunition and brute force.
The hashtag #IAmTheSudanRevolution, endorsed by the SPA — a leading voice in the protests whose members have stood at the frontlines of negotiations — is also trending:
#IAmTheSudanRevolution because my people cannot die in vain, cannot die in silence under an internet blackout. because peaceful protest was met with a massacre. because my people deserve dignity, deserve freedom, deserve for the world to know us and our fight
— Safia Elhillo (@mafiasafia) June 6, 2019
BBC's Africa editor, Fergal Keane, interviewed eyewitnesses who describe how the massacre had one aim: “to break the revolution by traumatizing.”
The RSF's violence exhausted and nearly broke the spirit of protesters — which makes the impact of social media campaigns such as #BlueForSudan particularly important for building bridges between protesters and the rest of the world.


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As battle for Istanbul reaches fever pitch, Turkey’s ruling party regrets its pop culture problem · Global Voices
Sevgi Yagmur Bulut

Famous faces queued up to support an AKP rival who was stripped of Istanbul's mayorship. Mashup image taken from Indigodergis.com.
On June 23, Turkey's largest city Istanbul is set for a re-run of a municipal vote initially won by the opposition for the first time in 15 years. As the battle for a city with special significance to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AKP party rages, the political loyalty of Turkish pop stars has become an intriguing subplot
Turkey’s opposition party CHP won mayoral elections in Turkey’s three biggest cities — İstanbul, Ankara, and İzmir — at the 31 March local elections.
Growing disaffection towards AKP in the three cities with a combined population of 25 million had been visible in other votes in recent years.
On May 6, however, the YSK (Supreme Electoral Council) moved to annul the results of the Istanbul election and strip winner Ekrem İmamoglu of his mandate. The council called for a new election scheduled for June 23.
The build up to the vote has been incredibly tense. On June 16, Imamoglu of CHP and the AKP candidate Binali Yildirim even faced off in a televised pre-election debate — something that has not been seen at elections of any level in over a decade.
Imamoglu has criticized the YSK ruling fiercely and accused the committee of bias towards AKP. In his speech after losing his mandate, he also decried deteriorating freedoms in Turkey and called for greater freedom for self-expression for media, business, and popular culture.
This was a rallying call and some of Turkeys’ most popular musicians, who have millions of followers on social media, responded to it.
Stars including world-famous singer Tarkan, Comic Book Author Neil Gaiman and pornography actor Stoya gave strong backing to Imamoglu, using the #Herşeyçokgüzelolacak’ (Everything Will Be Wonderful) hashtag he used in his campaign.
Dün gece gözüme uyku girmedi.
Gel gör ki sabah ufuktan doğan ışık her zamankinden daha parlaktı.
Anladım ki #HerŞeyÇokGüzelOlacak
— Tarkan (@tarkan) May 7, 2019
I didn't sleep last night.
Come on, the light from the horizon in the morning was brighter than ever.
I understand #EverythingWillBeWonderful
“#herşeyçokgüzelolacak” Good luck, Turkey.
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) May 8, 2019
#Herşeyçokgüzelolacak
— Şebnem Ferah (@sebnemferah) May 6, 2019
#Herşeyçokgüzelolacak
— Mehmet Günsür (@iamMehmetGunsur) May 6, 2019
YSK nın hukuksuz iptal kararından sonra sanat camiasının zemberekleri boşaldı.Cesaret Bulaşıcıymış hakikaten. ?? #herşeyçokgüzelolacak
— Gani Müjde (@GaniMujde) May 6, 2019
After the decision of the YSK to cancel without law, the art community poured its heart out. Courage is really contagious.
Her şey çok güzel olacak.
— Stoya (@stoya) May 8, 2019
The AKP leadership understood the importance of this shift. Its electoral successes since 2002 were built on broad coalitions of support which included strong backing from business and popular celebrities in addition to its traditional base among social conservatives.
Just days after the stars came out in support of Imamogulu, a senior bureaucrat in the presidential administration, Muhammet Safi, tweeted a handwritten list of all the musicians and actors who had shared the #herşeyçokgüzelolacak hashtag, with the caption “for the record.”
The list was quickly criticized as a “blacklist” and viewed as yet another shot across the bows of free speech in Turkey.
Screenshot/Twitter
President Erdogan has lent his political weight to the campaign to elect Yildirim as mayor for the city where he himself once served as city chief from 1994 to 1998.
Speaking to journalists at Taksim square on May 12, he decried the decision of famous artists to come out in support for Imamoglu.
How can we explain that? The artist speaks with his art, (should) not toady to people like (Imamoglu). On June 23, we will pleased to be once again the governors…We have great dreams and projects for Istanbul.
One annual event that Erdogan has repeatedly used to demonstrate celebrity support for his rule is the Iftar dinner on the 20th day of Ramadan.
In previous years he has been criticized for harnessing the star power of transvestite singer Bülent Ersoy at the dinner, putting to one side for the evening his government's multi-year crackdown on LGBT groups.
This year Erdogan and his wife once again dined with pop stars who support him.
Cumhurbaşkanı #RecepTayyipErdoğan, eşi Emine Erdoğan ile #DolmabahçeSarayı‘nda sanatçı ve sporcular ile iftar programına katıldı. pic.twitter.com/pqIbi6WlIN
— Haber 7 (@Haber7) May 26, 2019
During his speech at the May 25 dinner, he described artists as “the ones that everyone should treat with honor” and returned to his not-so-veiled criticism of the stars who had backed Imamoglu.
“The situation wherein our artists and sportsmen/women are (involved in) political debates, makes us very sad,” Erdogan said. “Artists should talk with their art, sports stars should talk with their sport.”

author: Sevgi Yagmur Bulut


text:
Demolition of a 150-year-old building highlights government neglect of Bangladesh’s heritage sites · Global Voices
পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)

The dilapidated state of “Jahaj Bari” before being demolished. It was the first commercial house in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, built in 1870. Image by Shakil Ahmed. Used with permission.
In Dhaka, a century-old heritage building was demolished clandestinely on the night of Eid-ul-Fitr on June 5, 2019. The ship-like structure, known locally as “Jahaj Bari”, was built around 1870 and considered to be the first commercial building in Bangladesh's capital. Its demolition has caused many to speak out against the neglect of Dhaka's architectural treasures.
Media reports alleged that supporters of the ruling Awami League (AL) party brought three bulldozers to the location and demolished the building. The supporters claim that their leader, local member of parliament (Dhaka-7) Haji Md. Salim, bought the property to build a multi-story building on the site. The AL supporters also claimed that the building was not included on any heritage list.
A statement from the Member of Parliament HAJI SELIM's office claiming that he has bought the property and that he has the right to decide whether to keep the building get rid of it . what about High Court Judgement ?…it seems he… https://t.co/afLCbu0pWh
— usg.dhaka (@USG_Dhaka) June 15, 2019
On August 13, 2018, the Dhaka High Court issued a directive to the government agency responsible for coordinating urban development in Dhaka to not approve or allow the demolition or modification of 2,200 archaeologically significant buildings around the capital city. Jahaj Bari is also part of a Waqf (mortmain) estate that, as part of a charitable donation, could not be sold. According to the administrator of Bangladesh's Waqf Administration, it is mandatory to have permission in order to hand over, sell or develop any Waqf property. Contrary to the claims of the AL activists, no such permission was requested for the sale or demolition of the building in question.
In March 2019, an attempt was made to demolish the building. Urban Study Group, a volunteer-run nonprofit group dedicated to protecting the historical urban fabric of Old Dhaka, filed a complaint to stop the demolition, citing the above mentioned High Court order.
However, according to newspaper reports, some locals are happy that the building was demolished. They felt that it was in a dilapidated state and feared that it would fall down on them—an indication of the lack of awareness of historical preservation and support for the restoration of heritage buildings in Bangladesh.
Many expressed their anger on hearing about the destruction of the building. Shuvra Kar wrote on Facebook:
ঐতিহ্য, ইতিহাস, কৃষ্টি এসব এদেশে গাল ভরা কথা!!
Heritage, history, culture these are just empty words in this country!
Writer Tania Kamrun Nahar explained why this heritage building needed to be saved:
তিনতলা ‘জাহাজ বাড়ি’র দোতলায় ছিলো নকশা করা রেলিং, ছাদওয়ালা টানা বারান্দা। আর পুরো অবয়বজুড়ে নানা রকম কারুকাজ। কোণাকৃতির আর্চের সারি, কারুকাজ করা কার্নিশ। কলামে ব্যবহার করা হয়েছিল আয়নিক ও করিন্থিয়ান ক্যাপিটাল। পশ্চিম প্রান্তে আর্চ ও কলামের সাথেও নানারকম অলঙ্করণের ব্যবহার দেখা যায়। সব মিলিয়ে এই ভবনটিতে যে ধরনের অলঙ্করণের ব্যবহার, তা একে এক অনন্য মাত্রা দিয়েছিল। এ ধরনের অলঙ্করণ পুরান ঢাকায় আর কোনো ভবনে দেখা যায় না। সেদিক থেকে এর নান্দনিক গুরুত্বের জন্যই ভবনটি সংরক্ষণ করা প্রয়োজন।
The three-storied “Jahaj Bari” had beautiful motifs on the railings. The long verandah had designed roofs. The whole building had many beautiful designs — pointed arches, decorated cornices. The columns had ionic and Corinthian capital designs. The building had such remarkable designs which were rare to find in other buildings in the old parts of Dhaka. So the building needed to be saved.
Dhaka was established as the capital of Bengal in 1610, more than four centuries ago. During the years of Mughal rule and British colonial rule, many buildings were built that form part of the history and heritage of the city.
But most of these buildings are long gone. The ones that remain are in a dilapidated state and are destined to be grabbed by occupants claiming ownership of the buildings (often by forging documents). One example is Bara Katra, a historical and architectural monument built between 1644 and 1646 AD by Mir Abul Qasim, the Diwan (chief revenue official) of the Mughal prince Shah Shuja. The building is on the verge of collapsee due to the lack of maintenance, preservation efforts, and damage caused by illegal occupants.
Bara Katra. The structure was built according to the traditional pattern of Central Asian caravanserais and is embellished in the style of Mughal architecture. Image by Ragib Hassan via Wikipedia. CC BY 2.5
Muntasir Mamun has written many books on the history and heritage of Dhaka city. He wrote in a local newspaper Bhorer Kagoj:
গত চার দশক বড়কাটরা ছোটকাটরা সংরক্ষণ করার জন্য কতো আবেদন-নিবেদন করলাম, কেউ শুনল না। আজ সেগুলো ধ্বংস করে ফেলা হয়েছে। প্রতœতত্ত্ব দপ্তর যেখানে লালবাগ কেল্লার দেয়াল ভেঙে ফেলে গাড়ি পার্কিংয়ের জন্য তখন আর কী বলা যায়! মূর্খতার বিরুদ্ধে আর কতো লড়াই করা যায়?
I have pleaded to the authorities in the past four decades to save the heritage buildings like Bara Katra and Choto Katra. But nobody listened. When the philatelic department demolished part of the old walls of the famous Lalbagh Fort to make a car park, what can you say? How can you fight against stupidity?
An online news portal has published an in-depth report about government negligence of these heritage buildings and the influential people trying to demolish existing buildings:
ইতিমধ্যেই শাঁখারী বাজারের হেরিটেজভুক্ত ১৪ নম্বর বাড়িটি ভেঙ্গে ফেলা হয়েছে। সুত্রাপুরের বড় বাড়িটির সিংহভাগই ধ্বংস করা হয়েছে। মোগল আমলের স্মৃতিবাহী বংশাল মুকিম বাজার জামে মসজিদ, সিদ্দিক বাজার জামে মসজিদ সংস্কারের নামে ধ্বংস করা হয়েছে। [..] এসব স্থাপনা রক্ষায় সরকারের সুস্পষ্ট নির্দেশনা থাকলেও রাজউক ও ডিসিসির কর্মকর্তারা রহস্যজনক ভূমিকা পালন করেছে। অনেকক্ষেত্রে এদের নীরবতা ঐতিহ্য ধ্বংস সহায়ক শক্তি হিসাবে কাজ করছে।
The no. 14 house in the heritage list has already been taken down. Most parts of the famous big house in Sutrapur has been destroyed. The relics of the Mughal era in Bangshal Mukim Bazar Jam-e Mosque and Siddique Bazar Jam-e Mosque are gone with a new structure in place in the name of renovation. [..] Although there is a government directive to protect heritage buildings, the officials of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha and Dhaka City Corporation are not doing anything. Their inaction is encouraging greedy parties to grab the old properties and destroy them.
The Urban Study Group has organized rallies and human chains to protest these demolitions. They are also keen to create awareness to protect other endangered heritage buildings.
Here are some more images of Bangladeshi heritage buildings in peril:
An old Zamindar house in Nazira Bazar of Old Dhaka is being demolished. Image by Shakil Ahmed. Used with permission.
Nimtali Palace. It was the residence of the Deputy Governor of Dhaka during the Mughal rule. Only the west gate of the palace still survives. Image by Shakil Ahmed. Used with permission.
ShankhaNidhi House। This is another century-old building in Dhaka. Without preservation, this building is barely surviving. Image by Shakil Ahmed. Used with permission.
Northbrook Hall or Lal Kuthi – photographed in 1904 by Fritz Kapp. This building is barely surviving now. Image via Wikipedia. Public Domain

author: পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)


text:
On displacement · Global Voices
Shivanee Ramlochan

Photo by elizabeth lies on Unsplash. Public domain.
The following is an edited version of a short essay posted on Facebook by Trinidadian poet Shivanee Ramlochan, responding to the reception of Venezuelan migrants in Trinidad and Tobago.
I have been thinking about the physical and psychogeographic architecture of displacement. The reasons are obvious and immediate ones, and they preoccupy me every day, in thoughts of what I have said about the global Venezuelan migrant crisis, and what I have failed to say. I confess to a certain paralysis of sorrow in the face of so much daily reported. . . xenophobia on its own barely, scarcely, feels like the right word.
A sidestream discussion, on that topic: if I am to say anyone is xenophobic, I'm more interested in thinking about the roots of that disavowing of the foreign: what causes it, from country to country, from village to village, from citizen to citizen? And how, truly, are the tendrillings of Trinidadian xenophobia rooted in the rhetoric and action of postcolonial trauma, and its attendant paranoia, its attendant and inherent suspicion, its sense that, having worked so hard through the inheritance of forefathers, what is ours *is ours*, by God and the laws of *this land*?
And how, specifically, the systematic generations of enforced denial at the hands of empire, and the inheritance of our own unfair, corrupt hands taught to work against our own interests — in the defense of propriety, and a rigidly taught respectability politics — has made us, all of us, xenophobe and humanitarian alike, more open to this fear, lying on the other side of rage? It is a fear that promises bitter reprisals if what we've worked for (whether or not we have ourselves worked for it) could so easily, so encroachingly, be taken away.
There is a sidestream of worry to the thing I'm here to think out loud about, which is displacement. But it needs to be said, because we displace ourselves, we are in perpetual danger of displacing ourselves, from the people we could or should be, because of it. We can, and do, throw rocks instead of bread, without realizing we're being swept up in the same stream of unpredictable national danger. That it has taken longer to ravage our entirety of life does not mean that it won't, or couldn't, or some day in this anthropocene, will.
When I think of displacement, I think of people sleeping on foldout cardboard boxes in dirty streets. I think of people who have periods, bleeding indiscriminately and staunching the sight of their own indifferent redness with dirty linens. I think of dirty, unwashed children, slapping at the irritated mosquito-riddled patchwork of their feverish infant skin. I mention dirtiness repeatedly because it occurs to me that this is one of the things mass displacement steals from you first: a chance to be clean by your own standards.
I think, too, of what many of us come to expect from the displaced people we help, either publicly or far from the scope of an Instagram lens: that we expect or demand a milky-mannered subservience of attitude, a garment of perpetual gratitude thrown around shivering shoulders, a litany of ‘gracias, gracias, mil gracias’ as pads are distributed, as mattresses and Milo and maybe even money exchange hands. We often, myself very much included, reflect more on the nature of our own charity when elbow-deep in the act of giving anything, and the contracts we enforce usually demand a certain pageantry of munificence for meek and tearstruck adoration. And an adoration for what? Common, baseline decency? Stars in the eyes of migrants, for bread and cheese and jam? Genuflections for tampons and teabags in styrofoam cups?
Of course, people are grateful for acts of love. I wonder what kinds of love many of us, myself included, carry out, hoping to receive from those who have less than nothing. And if that sounds baleful, I mean it to sound baleful. I've seen the ways certain men have been looking at certain girls. I've seen the ways certain men have been looking at certain boys. I've heard, and read, and witnessed enough to know that when mass discontent meets a mob, what once seemed indecent to ponder becomes almost expected. A number of flesh taxes, exacted.
Displacement has no particular citizenship, requires no special visa for entry. It comes on a slow, malarial boat, or dropped from the sky on small islands buffeted by storms in the Caribbean, our common sea. I think, with no clear answers except tidal dread and heartache, of what we will do, collectively, when it displaces us. Whether it falls on my head, or the braided, ribboned hair of my great-great-great granddaughter, when the island is sinking, and all the signs leading everywhere else say No.
Shivanee Ramlochan's 2017 poetry collection, Everyone Knows I Am a Haunting, was shortlisted for the 2018 Felix Dennis Award for best first collection.

author: Shivanee Ramlochan