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Outspoken ‘Israeli Zionist Arab Muslim’ Teen Emerges from Hiding in the US · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Photo from Muhammad Zoabi's Facebook page.
Seventeen-year-old Muhammad Zoabi, who shot to social media fame this summer as a self-professed “Israeli Zionist Arab Muslim”, disappeared from the blogosphere after receiving death threats during the war between Israel and Gaza. Only in December did he resurface in the United States. His journey to safety was enabled by Kay Wilson, an Israeli woman who survived a violent knife attack in 2010.
The events leading to the fighting were rife with tension. To many, Zoabi emerged as a courageous voice of hope amidst the storm. On June 12, 2014, Jewish teenagers Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Sha'ar, and Naftali Fraenkel went missing, presumed to be kidnapped. Their bodies were located in the Palestinian Authority on June 30, 2014. Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir was kidnapped on July 2, 2014 in what was immediately perceived as a direct act of retribution. His body was found later that day in a Jerusalem forest, showing evidence of a grisly murder.
Muhammad Zoabi's began publishing videos during this period. In one of his earliest videos, young Zoabi verbally attacks Hanin Zoabi, Israel's first Arab woman member of Knesset (parliament) — and a member of his extended family.
Pictured with an Israeli flag in the foreground, Muhammad Zoabi calls Hanin Zoabi a “terrorist supporter,” asserting:
You are a traitor who who has rudely sitten [sic] in our parliament and been anti-Semitic inside our parliament. Hanin Zoabi, you are an abuser of the democratic system of Israel. Hanin Zoabi, you don't belong to Israel… Look, we have one Israeli parliament and the Arab world has 22 parliaments… Hanin Zoabi, get the hell out of Israel. From Muhammad Zoabi. Am Yisrael Chai [Hebrew: May the Nation of Israel live].”
Among many Jewish Israelis, Hanin Zoabi is considered to be virulently “anti-Israel.” She has repeatedly called Israel a “racist” state, labeling members of opposing political parties “fascists,” and participating in the 2010 Gaza flotilla — an action deemed by fellow Knesset members to be a “premeditated act of treason.” She was ousted from the Knesset in 2012, but soon reinstated by a unanimous Supreme Court vote.
On June 17, 2014 in an interview with Radio Tel Aviv, Hanin Zoabi characterized the Palestinian kidnappers of the Israeli teenagers as victims of their circumstances, saying:
They are not terrorists. Even if I do not agree with them, they are people who do not see any way open to change their reality, and they are compelled to use means like these until Israel wakes up and sees the suffering, feels the suffering of the other.
As a result of this statement and her actions in related events, she was banned from the Knesset for six months.
As Muhammad Zoabi's videos gained publicity, his momentum increased and voice became clearer; his trilingual self-translation from Hebrew, Arabic, and English more at ease. Although his personal YouTube account was deleted at the time he went into hiding, making the exact order of the original videos and their page views unknown, views of those reposted are in the tens of thousands. One of his earliest videos, “Muhammad Zoabi's Strong Message to the Terrorist Who Kidnapped Three Jews,” has upward of 150,000 views.
In a video that followed soon after the condemnation of Hanin Zoabi, he proclaims:
My name is Muhammad. And I am a proud Israeli Zionist Arab Muslim. The way I identify myself makes those who are anti-Israeli and anti-justice and anti-hope for democracy in the Middle East angry. It angers them to see Israeli Arabs appreciating the fact that they were born as Israelis. It angers them that the world will soon find out that Israel is the hope for democracy in the Middle East.
I just want everyone to know: me, identifying myself as an Israeli Zionist Arab Muslim doesn't mean that I've forgotten I am an Arab. I have never denied that I am an Arab. I am an Arab, who was born an Arab, to remain an Arab. But I am an Arab who was born in Israel, in the Jewish state of Israel, so that makes me an Israeli Arab. The same way Arabs in Lebanon are born as Arab Lebanese; in Syria, Arab Syrians; in Jordan, Arab Jordanians. I was born in Israel. I'm an Arab and I was born in Israel, and I'm definitely proud about that.
Israel being a Jewish state doesn't stop me from loving my country. And for supporting it. People should stop their hating, their blind hate against Israel only for being a state of the Jewish people.
These videos and their attendant publicity brought young Zoabi threats of violence, including death threats, necessitating that he go into hiding. He disappeared in August as the war still raged. His Facebook and Twitter posts, which had been frequent, fell silent. As a public figure admired for his eloquence and aggressive, straightforward style of communication, Zoabi's welfare has been an ongoing concern amongst the supporters who have followed his travail.
On December 20, 2014, Zoabi's friend Kay Wilson shared his story, stating that she had provided him safe harbor in her home and that he was now safe in the United States. Intertwining his story with hers, she posts a photo of the two embracing before his departure, writing:
Kay Wilson and Muhammad Zoabi embracing before his departure. (Source: Facebook) a photo of the two embracing before his departure, Wilson writes:
This is me and Mohammed Zoabi [sic] – the young Israeli, Arab, Muslim, Zionist who had to leave Israel… I want to use this extraordinary photo and the story behind it in the hope that people will see what a remarkable yet fragmented nation Israel is.
Yip, it was me, me, a terror victim, stabbed 13 times by Palestinians, who hid this Arab teenager in my house for nearly a month while Arabs were threatening his life. In addition to hiding him, I was also able to find Mohammed a wonderful community of Jews and Christians in the USA; a community that financed his schooling, took him into their homes, helped him with his visa and treated him like a son.
I helped Mohammed despite my own long-life trauma caused by Arabs who tried to murder me. I helped Mohammed because I admired his courage and because like me, he is a human being. I helped him because I know from the machete scars on my own back, that death threats should always be taken seriously. It was not one way. Mohammed helped me too. There are many things I am unable to do due to being in constant pain as a result of being beaten and smashed to a pulp by Palestinian terrorists. Mohammed was a not a guest, he was a friend and a great asset.
On January 1, 2015, Muhammad Zoabi returned to Facebook, posting a tribute to Wilson. The first public post since July 17, 2014, it garnered 1,600 likes.
His second post of the year shed light on his disappearance:
Unfortunately, for the last 5 months I had to be outside of Israel, and I had to do my best to keep a low profile. Again, let me remind you, I am only 17 and I have no criminal history! I had to leave Israel only for showing my love and support to my country and its people! For showing sympathy to the families of fellow Israeli teens who have been kidnapped and killed by Arab Palestinian terrorists.
For saying Enough to Anti semitism!
For saying No to Islamic and Arab extremism!
And most important, for trying to show the world the real face of regular Arabs and Muslims who're simply sick of their leaders’ corruption and unlimited hate, but afraid to say it in public!
Muhammad Zoabi, #JeSuisCharlie. (Source: Facebook)
He has since posted multiple times, most recently in solidarity with the Charlie Hebdo attack in France this past week (2,000 likes and 120 shares at time of writing). Sharing a photo with a #JeSuisCharlie sign, he adds in the post's comments:
Freedom of speech should be protected from those who wish to annihilate it!!


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Philippines Evicts Small Vendors Ahead of Pope’s ‘Mercy and Compassion’ Visit · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Street vendors are asking the Catholic Church to stop the government from evicting them in Luneta Park. Photo from Facebook page of Kathy Yamzon
Small vendors have been evicted from Luneta Park in Manila a few days before the arrival of Pope Francis in the Philippines. The pope is scheduled to hold a mass in Luneta, the country’s premier freedom park.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church will be in the Philippines from January 15 to 19. His visit is expected to draw millions of people in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, which is the largest Catholic-dominated nation in Asia.
Luneta has around 350 vendors, many of whom had been in the park for more than 10 years. Most of the street vendors sell food items and drinks.
Last week, the vendors were told to evacuate the park in preparation for the papal visit. The National Parks Development Committee claimed that this was a directive from the police and the presidential palace as part of the security arrangements for the arrival of the pope.
The vendors protested the eviction notice and asserted that they are not a threat to the pope:
We love the Pope. We will not harm him. We are not terrorists.
Luneta vendors hold protest in front of the office of the National Parks Development Committee. Photo from Facebook page of Kathy Yamzon.
Gerry Serue, spokesperson for the Kilusan Para Sa Disenteng Kabuhayan (Movement for Decent Livelihood), criticized authorities for using the pope’s name to destroy the livelihood of the poor:
Pope Francis is known for his affinity with the masses and his being critical on issues of dignity and rights of the underprivileged, but now they are using his name to remove us from the places of our livelihood.
He also invoked the theme of the papal visit, “Mercy and Compassion”, to defend the right of the vendors to remain at the park:
We know that the Pope does not want this to happen. The theme of his visit is Mercy and Compassion, where is the mercy and compassion in what the local government officials are doing?
Luneta vendors hold a placard which reads: “Vendors not a threat to the life of our dear pope.” Photo from Facebook page of Tanggol Kabuhayan (Defend Jobs)
Some vendors also questioned if commercial food stalls will replace them in the park. They noticed that McDonald’s is one of the sponsors of the tarpaulins printed by the Catholic Church. Former legislator Teddy Casino asked if McDonald’s food kiosks will be allowed in the park:
Sa #PopeFrancisPH mass sa Luneta bawal ang street vendors pero pwede ang McDo kiosk?
— Teddy Casiño (@teddycasino) January 9, 2015
During the #PopeFrancisPH mass at Luneta, street vendors are banned but not McDo kiosk?
Vendors are worried that they will lose their livelihood during the pope's visit. Many also fear that the eviction order will be implemented permanently since local authorities have been trying to ban vendors from the park for many years already.
Catholic Church officials acknowledged the petition of the vendors, but they said the issue should be resolved by the local government.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Plastic Waste Documentary Brings China’s Environmental Crisis Home to Netizens · Global Voices
Jack Hu

A shot from the documentary “Plastic Kingdom”. Screen capture from Youku.
China’s pursuit of high growth at any cost in the past decades has led to serious environmental pollution that the government can’t cover up and the public can’t ignore. Adding to the problem of the smog are garbage and plastic waste.
“Plastic Kingdom“, a documentary outlining how imported plastic waste pollute many parts of the country, has shocked many and sparked discussion after it was broadcast and reported on in various media outlets.
Independent filmmaker Wang Jiuliang spent three years on the film, visiting plastic recycling centers around China to unveil the darker side of the industry, which isn't well known among the public.
The film shows how the sorting process of plastic waste is harmful to those workers involved. Besides the bad smell, much of the waste contains dangerous materials with poisonous or corrosive elements, to which the workers could easily be exposed. The use of water in the recycling process also causes serious local pollution. In many cases, waste water is discharged into rivers without any treatment, making both surface water and groundwater unusable and harmful. Burning plastic waste produces large amounts of exhaust and heavily pollutes the air, while in many locations with plastic recycling centers cancer is common.
China is the world’s largest recycler and imports about 70 percent of the recyclable plastics and e-waste on the global market.
Asides from imported plastic waste, China also produces a huge amount of trash. In fact, Wang gained fame three years ago for “Beijing Besieged by Waste“, another documentary about waste disposal and pollution around the capital.
With a population of about 20 million, the growing city of Beijing produces 30,000 tons of waste each day. Wang traveled around the city and visited 460 legal and illegal landfills from 2008 to 2010 to document the collection of garbage and excrement, the environmental calamity and the people who survive off of these landfills, including scavengers building a precarious livelihood, green spaces forming on top of waste, and livestock being fed trash. The documentary offered an informative and alarming portrait of urban ecology.
The project started with Wang wondering where Beijing's massive amounts of waste ended up. He used Google Earth to plot hundreds of landfill sites over three years, creating a map of dots that formed a huge circle around the capital.
Wang Jiuliang's map on rubbish sites around Beijing city.
The film aroused widespread public concerns and was credited with having prodded the Beijing municipal government into allocating 10 billion RMB ($1.65 billion) to cleaning up waste.
While the Chinese authorities have long been indifferent to the environment as it pursued economic development, combating pollution has become a greater concern among the public as they've learned more about foul air, contaminated produce and polluted water. According to United Nations data from 2013, about 70% of the 20 million to 50 million tons of electronic waste produced globally each year is dumped in China, with most of the rest going to India and African nations. China appears to be the largest e-waste dumping site in the world.
For the past decade, the southeastern town of Guiyu, nestled in China's main manufacturing zone, has been a major hub for the disposal of e-waste. Hundreds of thousands of people here have toiled dismantling the world's electronic junk.
“The numerous economic achievements China has made in the last 30 years are worthless and cheap in comparison to the cost to the environment and people's living standards,” said Wang when he was interviewed by AP last December.
People have expressed their shock and anger on China’s Twitter-like Weibo after watching reports about “Plastics Kingdom” on state television.
A journalism professor Yang Boxu with Peking University slammed the waste recycling industry as “letting Chinese die without descendants”. Weibo user “Living at a temple in mountain” (@兰若山居) exclaimed:
怪不得权贵们都忙着移民，大好河山成垃圾场了。可怜了悲催如我等草民。
No wonder the rich and powerful have been busy emigrating. China has become a big garbage site. And we as grassroots have to remain miserable [live with the garbage site]
Lawyer Xu Zhibiao commented with sarcasm:
因为他们已投奔美帝或者已准备好投奔美帝，这里已不是他们的家。
Because they have immigrated or are ready to immigrate to America. China no longer has their homeland.
“Sisyphus pushing the stone uphill” highlighted a scene from “Plastic Kingdom”:
节目里，《塑料王国》的导演王久良问工人——“王久良：那你这么辛苦赚钱是为了什么？分拣工人：为了孩子，为爸爸妈妈。”接着的镜头是他垃圾堆里目光呆滞脏兮兮的孩子，人是多么矛盾，或者说无知，或者无奈，人为什么可以活得卑微到这种程度。
Asked by the filmmaker why he's struggled to make money by working on waste, the sorting worker said he’s done this for his kid and parents. Then the lens turned to his kid in a waste pile appearing dirty and dull-looking. How could a person become so ignorant and helpless! How can a person live so inferior!
Tecent news portal featured “Plastic Kingdom” on its public goods special section and attracted more than a thousand comments. “Cappuccino” moaned:
看完后很心疼，如此恶劣的环境下工作自己的家庭孩子生活在这样的环境下成长，有关部门的监管去哪里了？那昧著良心的广场老板难道就不知道这个违法以及在破坏自己的家乡吗？畜生
So grieved after seeing this. In such a terrible environment the workers deal with waste and their children grow up. Where are the regulations? Doesn’t the boss know this violates laws and ruins his hometown? Bastard.
“Tolerance” believed the industry survives on contemporary Chinese money philosophy:
中国人赚钱哲学是：钱财不问来路，笑贫不笑娼。
Chinese philosophy of making money: people aren’t concerned how you make money; poverty instead of prostitution is laughed at.
“Summer” exclaimed:
我恶心我越看新闻越火大我怀疑中国在这么下去不用美国和日本来我们国家在过几年十几年基本因为环境问题都死绝了
I’m disgusted and enraged seeing this. I’m wondering whether the Chinese will die out after decades due to the worsening environment, without the Americans and Japanese beating us.
Chinese netizens also commented on the recycling industry and deteriorating environment on another news portal, NetEase.
“shuangziyijia” believed the problem is one of corruption:
为了钱什么都能出卖……反正他们的子女都去国外了……
没有监督的绝对权力是人类史上的最大毒瘤……
The authorities would sell everything for money……their children have immigrated abroad……The absolute power without supervision is the biggest cancer in human history

author: Jack Hu


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A 16-Year-Old’s Death Is Forcing Ethiopia to Confront Its Sexual Violence Problem · Global Voices
Melody Sundberg

Screenshot from Twitter, posted November 19, 2014, by Twitter user @YikunoMulugeta.
Last year, on an October day like any other, Hanna Lalango was in a public mini-bus on her way home from school. Suddenly, one of the other passengers threatened her with a knife. Five men kidnapped the 16-year-old, taking her to a house belonging to one of them. Hanna was gang-raped and held in the house for several days. Afterwards, she was left in the street, severely injured. When she finally received treatment for her gynecological injuries, it was too late. She died on November 1, 2014.
Her tragic story was not mentioned in media until 15 days after her death. In fact, the brutal gang-rape might not have crossed the public's mind at all, if it was not for university lecturer and Yellow Movement AAU women rights activist Bléna Sahilu. Bléna stumbled across a brief report in a newspaper and decided to start the campaign #JusticeForHanna on Twitter. The Facebook page of the campaign states:
Seeking for an adequate punishment to all responsible for this heinous crime so that no other woman has to go through the same tragedy.
Soon after the launch of the campaign, the story went viral and #JusticeForHanna quickly became one of the top 15 trending hashtags in Africa in 2014.
Bléna described her motivation for starting the campaign:
What struck me and outraged me was the details of what happened to Hanna and how it was basically unnoticed by everyone, specially the media. I wanted to know more about her, about what happened and I wanted to see us speaking out against such acts of cruelty as a community. And we did.
The campaign has highlighted the issue of sexual violence and ignited debates on mainstream media and social media. In most cases, it has received a tremendous support from Ethiopians, although some commentators think that there might be other explanations for why women in Ethiopia are being exposed to violence.
For example, a commenter on Facebook wrote in Amharic asking if women expose themselves to violence because of the way they dress:
የሴቶቻችን ነገር
በደቦ ተደፍራ ለሞት የበቃችው ታዳጊ ወጣት መነሻ ሆና በፌስቡክ መንደር ውይይቱ መጦፉ ጥሩ ነገር ነው፡፡ ነገሩን ከረር አድርገውት ሁሉም ወንድ ደፋሪ ለማስመሰል የሚዳዳቸውን እንዳልሰማ አልፈነው፣ እግረመንገድ አለባበስ በራሱ ለጥቃት አያጋልጥምን የሚል ገራገር ጥያቄ ማንሳት ተገቢ ሆኖ አግኝቼዋለሁ፡፡
የአዲስአበባ ጎዳናዎችን ተመልከቱ፡፡ ስስ ቀሚስ አድርገው የውስጥ ሱሪያቸው ቀለም አፍጥጦ ወጪ ወራጁ (በተለይ ወንዶች) እንደጉድ የሚመለከቷቸው፤ እንደታቦት አጅበው የሚሸኟቸው ሴቶችን ማየት እንግዳነቱ ቀርቷል፡፡ ጡትም ተወጥሮ፣ ቅርጽ ተበጅቶለትና ተራቆቶ ማየት እንዲሁ፡፡ አንዳንዶቹ ከመቀመጫ በታች የሆነ ሱሪ አድርገው በተለይ ከታክሲ ሲወርዱ የመቀመጫቸውን ክፋይ ለመሸፈን ያችን ብጣቆ ሱሪ ሲጎትቱ ማየት የእለት ተዕለት ትዕይንት ሆኗል፡፡ ሴቶቹ ወደውና ፈቅደው ያደረጉትን ሱሪ በየታክሲው ላይ እርቃን ገላቸውን ለመሸፈን ትንቅንቅ ሲያደርጉ ስታይ ልብሱን ሽጉጥ ተደቅኖባቸው፣ ተገደው ያደረጉት ሊመስልህም ይችላል፡፡ የታይት ነገርማ አይነሳ!….የእድሜ ድንበር እንኳን ሳይበግረው አንዳንድ እናቶቻችንም ጭምር፣ በዕድሜም በኑሮም የረገበ ገላቸውን ውጥርጥር አድርገው ሽር ብትን ሲሉ ማየት በእጅጉ ያስገርማል፡፡
ሴቶች የፈለጉትን የመልበስ መብታቸውን የማከብር ቢሆንም እንዲህ እርቃን ሆነው ራሳቸውን ለጥቃት ማመቻቸታቸውን አልደግፍም፡፡ እናም ውድ እህቶቻችን አለባበሳችሁ ላይ ከጥቃት የመጠበቅ ጥንቃቄ ብታደርጉ፣ ራሳችሁን ብትጠብቁ?
The thing about our ladies [on our ladies].
The hot discussion on Facebook, taking the gang raped and murdered girl as a pretext, is a good thing, leaving the extremes that try to present all men as rapists aside. I, however, find it proper to raise this simple question: “Can not the way of dressing, in itself, expose one to violence?”
Look at the roads of Addis Ababa. It isn't rare to see ladies wearing see-through skirts, exposing the colors of their underwear, being stared at and followed by people passing by [especially men]. In the same manner it isn't rare to see breasts pushed up and exposed. It is an everyday scene to see some ladies wearing their trousers below their butt, struggling to pull up that small thing in order to cover their butt cracks, especially when they get out of a taxi. When you [a man] see the ladies struggling with their trousers [which they willingly have chosen to wear] trying to cover their naked body, you [a man] may think that they must have been at gunpoint and were forced to dress that way.
We better not raise the issue of tights. It is surprising to see people at all ages [including some of our mothers] tightening up their [due to life and age] stretched-out body.
Even if I accept the rights of ladies to wear whatever they like, I do not support [recommend] the idea of making themselves susceptible to violence by being naked like this. Therefore, our beloved sisters, please take care when you dress up so you do not expose yourself to violence. You can protect yourselves that way!
However, most people discussing the matter agree that the victim should not be blamed. In response to the above comment, Betty Negash wrote:
my friend, rape has nothing to do with how the women/girls dress. Rape is about POWER and the desire to have a complete control over others, which is a psychological problem by itself. you can check papers written by researchers (including male ones if you think the women can be biased on the subject) If you see the statistics in Ethiopia, many of the young girls and children are raped by a family member, a relative, an uncle etc. and most of the victims are literally children. Rape is also a result of pre-meditated , planned plot and not something that happens after a sudden sexual desire ( that supposedly get enticed by seeing a girl with mini-skirt). And finally, women have a right to dress in whatever way they wanted to dress. Trust me in developed countries like Britain, women go around town dressing almost underwear like clothes and rape is not as rampant as here, because people there are civilized and respect the rights of women and girls.
The #JusticeForHanna campaign has also inspired others to come forward with stories of own experiences. Commenters on social media agree that the violence no longer can be tolerated.
Antonio Mulatu pointed out that Hanna's case is a reflection of the experiences of lives of many women:
The case of #Hanna manifests the life of million #women in our community. Let's take a courage to say enough is enough #JusticeForHanna
— Antonio Mulatu (@Mr_Antish) noviembre 19, 2014
Difret called for a swift legal action against the perpetrators:
The abduction, gang rape, and subsequent death of Hanna Lalango in Ethiopia demands a swift legal response. #JusticeforHanna
— Difret (@Difretfilm) noviembre 28, 2014
Sam Rosmarin tweeted against the practice of “reconciliation”:
Offering “reconciliation” to families of victims of sexual violence is itself a form of violence. Demand real #JusticeForHanna
— Sam Rosmarin (@SamRosmarin) noviembre 20, 2014
Blaming of the victim: Causes and effects
Article 35 of the Ethiopian constitution states:
Laws, customs and practices that oppress or cause bodily or mental harm to women are prohibited.
However, Hanna's case is not unique in Ethiopia.  According to a report by Sileshi G. Abeya, Mesganaw F. Afework and Alemayeh W. Yalew, intimate partner violence against women are among the highest in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) interviewed 3,016 women in rural Ethiopia. Fifty-nine percent of women who were at some time partnered (meaning they had been married, lived with a man or had a regular sexual partner) had experienced sexual violence at some point in their life.
Ethiopia has one of the lowest performances in gender equality. The Gender Gap Index measures differences between men and women in the areas of health, education, economy and politics. In the 2014 Gender Gap Index, Ethiopia only ranks 127 out of 142 countries.
Even though rape is common in Ethiopia, it is seldom talked about. According to WHO report, 39 percent of the women had never told anyone about the physical violence they had experienced.
Rediet Yibekal, research intern at the United Nations Development Programme and digital strategist, described the social context of  “rape culture” in Ethiopia:
The society focuses on educating young girls about safety while boys aren’t taught about rape and why it’s wrong. Society blames the rape victim, why and how she plays role in the process, and justifies the rapist’s action.” The perpetrator often go unpunished, and the victim fears not being taken seriously by police.
How the family and the rest of society views rape adds to the problem. Gender-based violence is many times “solved through family arbitration and socially sanctioned compensation for the victim’s family”. There is also the issue of blame shifting.
Ethiopian current affairs magazine Addis Standard noted that that when a story about sexual violence first becomes known, the perpetrator is blamed. However, after a while the blame shifts to the victim. People tries to justify the rape by saying that “the woman must have done or said something that made him rape her”. As a result, women do not go public with their experience.
Today, many women fears meeting the wrong person on the street. Many women fear that they one day will be humiliated by their loved one. They fear that their own family will turn their back against them. Ethiopia is in great need of change, because if change does not come — there will be many more Hannas out there. What happened to Hanna has sparked an outrage, and that is encouraging. People are no longer willing to tolerate what is happening. Rape and the justification of it needs to come to an end – because fear is not freedom.

author: Melody Sundberg


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Antarctic Misadventure Sparks Scandal for Russian MPs · Global Voices
Will Wright

Images edited by Kevin Rothrock.
Alexander Sidyakin, a Russian Duma deputy from Tatarstan and member of the ruling United Russia party, boasted last December that he would plant the Russian flag atop the highest mountain in Antartica—if he received 11,000 retweets by the New Year.
Ratcheting up his patriotic tone even more, Sidyakin ended the Twitter proposal with the hashtag #антарктиданаша (Antarctica is ours!), a play on the now famous “Крым наш! [Crimea is ours!]”  slogan.
Решено. Если этот твит наберет 11 тыс.ретвитов до НГ, я уеду в Антарктиду, чтобы водрузить флаг России на высочайшей вершине #антарктиданаша
— Александр Сидякин (@A_Sidyakin) December 25, 2014
It's decided. If this tweet gets 11,000 retweets before New Year's, then I will go to Antartica to raise the Russian flag above the highest peak #антарктиданаша
To this day, Sidyakin's post still has fewer than 2,000 retweets, but that didn't stop him from heading off on a holiday adventure to Antarctica. A fellow member of parliament, United Russia member Oleg Savchenko, even joined him.
Then, on January 14, the pair suddenly made national news, when Sidyakin's press secretary tweeted that he and Savchenko had fallen out of contact and perhaps something had happened to them out in Antartica's wilderness.
Later that day, BBC correspondent Olga Ivshina succeeded in contacting the Duma deputies through their travel company and Sidyakin's spokesperson again took to Twitter to confirm that he and Savchenko are alive and well.
These patriotic Antarctic explorers did not escape the national spotlight unscathed, however. Instead, they found themselves in the middle of an unfolding political scandal.
Graphic from Navalny website post. Translated caption:
On the Modest Life of Deputies: These deputies set off for Antartica to conquer a mountain, aided by the travel company “Seven Summits.” According to calculations by “Moskovsky Komsomolets,” each deputy's trip cost 3.5 million rubles [$53,695]. The Antarctic expedition, which they undertook during working hours, cost almost as much as Sadyakin's entire official annual salary and one-third of Savchenko's official salary. “United Russia”—the Party of Crooks and Thieves. Always Vote and Agitate Against “United Russia.”
Various media outlets in Russia, along with anti-corruption activists such as the team working around Alexey Navalny, quickly seized on two problems with Sidyakin and Savchenko's expedition.
Writing in his blog, Navalny summarized these two issues:
Правда, сразу же выяснились ещё два интересных факта:
1. Депутаты нарушили их собственный закон о порядке посещения Антарктиды гражданами РФ.
2. Поездка осуществляется в рабочие дни, и непонятно какого чёрта вся страна работает, а депутаты с зарплатой в 450 тысяч рублей в месяц шастают по Антарктиде.
In reality, two interesting facts immediately become clear:
1. The deputies have violated their own law on the procedure for visiting Antarctica as Russian citizens.
2. Their trip is taking place on working days, and it's a mystery how the hell the country functions at all when deputies with a monthly salary of 450,000 rubles [$6,903] are running around Antarctica.
As reported by Slon.ru, both deputies supported a 2012 law requiring Russian citizens to obtain permission from the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring for any travel to Antarctica. According to a federal official, Sidyakin and Savchenko failed to follow the correct procedure for their current trip.
Online and in the media, questions about how two deputies could afford such travel have generated even more discussion.
According to calculations by Moskovsky Komsomolets, the total cost of the trip must have equaled at least 3.5 million rubles [$53,695] for each traveler. Navalny's website emphasizes that this amount of money is almost as much as Sadyakin's entire official annual salary and about one-third of Savchenko's official salary.
Based on the most recent Twitter update from Sidyakin's spokesperson, it appears Sidyakin and Savchenko have indeed succeeded in planting Russia's flag atop the highest mountain in Antartica.
П.С.: Александр Сидякин и Олег Савченко покорили пик Винсона и установили флаги на самой высокой горе в Антарктиде! Возвращаются на Родину.
— Александр Сидякин (@A_Sidyakin) January 16, 2015
P.S. [the initials of Sidyakin's spokesperson]: Alexander Sidyakin and Oleg Savchenko have conquered the Vinson peak and raised the [Russian] flag on the highest mountain in Antartica! They are now returning to the Motherland.
It remains to be seen, however, whether they receive a hero's welcome when they return home or simply a lot of questions from their constituents.

author: Will Wright


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Civil Liberties vs. Terrorism: What Are We Willing to Give Up? · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

Border between Germany and Holland within the Schengen area, currently not monitored. Image from Wikipedia Commons, republished under CC BY SA 3.0 license.
On Sunday, January 11, millions of protesters took to the streets throughout Europe to demonstrate their revulsion against the attempt to suppress freedom of expression and the attack against French magazine Charlie Hebdo. That same day, the interior ministers of European Union (EU) member countries met to discuss a common policy on combating terrorism in Europe.
Many think that defending freedom has been short-lived for these leaders, since the measures being considered range from restricting the freedom of movement in the Schengen zone to collecting data on the communications and travel of certain people, as well as closely monitoring the Internet and social networks.
Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz, author of the controversial gag law, advocates for reinstating border controls within the Schengen zone, modifying this treaty if necessary, as well as strengthening Internet surveillance to “counter the propaganda and recruitment of terrorists.” According to him, these measures are justified because:
Nuestro sistema de valores y libertades está amenazado. No podemos permitir que los que amenazan la libertad se aprovechen de ella para atentar contra nosotros.
Our system of values and liberties is threatened. We cannot allow those who threaten freedom to take advantage of it in order to attack us.
The Guardian goes further, stating that the ministers of the European Union intend to secure the cooperation of social networks:
EU ministers prepare to press the social media industry – providers such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter – to cooperate in preventing jihadists and terrorists using the internet as recruiting sergeants and propaganda instruments inciting hatred and violence.
United Kingdom's Prime Minister, David Cameron, has asked that “intelligence agencies should have the legal power to break into the encrypted communications of suspected terrorists,” which warranted these words from the chairman of the Bar Council:
That surveillance can save lives seems undeniable. However, it is one of the objectives of extremists who are willing to commit barbaric crimes in support of purportedly religious or political ends, that the hard-won liberties of the civil population should be curtailed and that a wedge should be driven between those in society with different views about the degree to which personal freedoms should be sacrificed on the altar of public safety.
David Cameron's proposal would not only be questionable in terms of human rights, but also technically very complex. Cory Doctorow explains in BoingBoing,
For David Cameron's proposal to work, he will need to stop Britons from installing software that comes from software creators who are out of his jurisdiction. […] The regime he proposes is already in place in countries like Syria, Russia, and Iran (for the record, none of these countries have had much luck with it). There are two means by which authoritarian governments have attempted to restrict the use of secure technology: by network filtering and by technology mandates.
In Germany, the government is preparing a law that allows for the removal of documentation of potential jihadists for three years to prevent them from joining terrorist groups abroad. The Belgian government has asked that a European register of foreign fighters be created, a difficult idea to carry out due to the differences that exist between different EU countries when defining said fighters, as well as in their investigation procedures and ways of obtaining evidence.
The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, has called on the European Parliament to unblock the creation of passenger name records (PNR). This registry contains passenger data, such as names, form of payment for travel, itinerary, and contact details. This not only creates suspicion among many MEPs, but also of the EU Court of Justice, which raises doubts as to its compatibility with European legislation on the protection of personal data.
Other politicians have gone even further, as in the case of far-right French leader Marine Le Pen, who took to Twitter to raise the issue of reinstating the death penalty in France
“Je veux offrir aux Français un référendum sur la peine de mort. A titre personnel, je pense que cette possibilité doit exister.” #France2
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) January 8, 2015
I want to offer the French a referendum on the death penalty. Personally, I think that this possibility must exist.
All of these measures have alarmed various sectors of European society, which warn of the danger of making “hot” decisions and remind people that on other occasions, similar measures have not brought about good results, but have often become letters of marque for authorities to ignore civil rights. In this post, “Give me a bit of your freedom and I'll give you more security,”, writer Isaac Rosa says:
European leaders at the demonstration on 11-1-2015 in Paris, including Hollande, Merkel, Juncker, and Cameron. Image by cuartopoder under CC BY NC 3.0 license.
…esa moto ya te la han vendido otras veces, y acabó siendo un timo. (…) ¿No llevamos tres lustros aceptando recortes en libertades y, por el mismo precio, guerras, invasiones, torturas, cárceles secretas? ¿Acaso el mundo es hoy un lugar más seguro?”.
… they've sold you this bike several times before and it ended up being a scam. (…) For fifteen years, haven't we been accepting cuts to liberties and, for the same price getting wars, invasions, torture, and secret prisons? Is the world a safer place today?
In his post, “You are not Charlie,“, journalist Javier Gallego harshly criticizes the hypocrisy of these leaders who marched for Paris on Sunday wrapped “in the banner of liberté which they use to wipe their rears the rest of the year,” and concludes:
Me temo que de la matanza de Charlie no saldremos con más libertad sino con menos. Ya estamos viendo cómo los ministros de Interior europeos quieren defender la libertad limitando las libertades. Es justo lo que no hay que hacer. No se puede dar un paso atrás ni ante las pistolas ni ante los chantajes. Eso sería darle la razón a los asesinos. Por eso es tan necesaria la sátira salvaje de Charlie Hebdo. La sátira no hace prisioneros ni tiene aliados. Eso y no otra cosa es la verdadera libertad de expresión.
I fear that we won't come out of Charlie's death with more freedom, but with less. We are already seeing how the European interior ministers want to defend freedom by limited freedoms. It is exactly what not to do. We cannot take a step backwards before guns nor blackmail. That would mean giving reason to the murderers. That is Charlie Hebdo's wild satire is so necessary. Satire takes no prisoners and has no allies. That and nothing else is true freedom of expression.

author: Lourdes Sada


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Déjà Vu in Brazil as Police Crack Down on Protests Against Public Transportation Fare Hikes  · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Demonstration in the center of São Paulo. Image: Midia Ninja, CC BY-2.0
Brazil was swept into an unprecedented wave of protests in 2013 against a hike in public transportation fares. Millions of people took to the streets in June of that year, and their numbers grew as police reacted with increasing violence.
The police repression, rather than cooling the tempers of the protesters, only fostered an even more radical opposition. The first Black Blocs appeared and protests continued at least up until and during the World Cup the following year. Police were accused of brutally suppressing peaceful demonstrations as a way to reinforce their own strength, and their actions ended up provoking an equally violent response from those in the streets.
The demonstrations, despite their size, won little more than empty promises from the federal government and a freeze on the bus fares — which now seems to have come to an end. After a truce and a lull in protests during the recent elections, in which President Dilma Rousseff was reelected by a small margin, the protests have returned with renewed strength after the announcement of a new hike in bus tickets, trains and subway fares.
Police detain a young black woman in Rio de Janeiro. Image: Collective Olhar Independente, free use.
Ticket prices already increased in Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza and Florianopolis in December. In Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Salvador, they rose in early 2015.
In São Paulo and Rio, tickets increased by 50 and 40 cents respectively. In Belo Horizonte, it was 25 cents, but the increase was later suspended by a state court. In order to calm the protests, São Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad announced a free pass for poor and public school students, a decision criticized by the Free Pass Movement (MPL), who considered the measure insufficient since the free pass would only be for students going home from school and back, and would not change the exclusion other social groups face in regards to public transportation.
Demonstrations were called to 7 January in several cities such as Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro. In Rio, almost 5,000 people gathered for the rally, during which the Collective Olhar Independente says it documented an assault against a protester:
Thamires Fortunato, estudante de filosofia da UFF é arrastada pelos cabelos e detida no QG da PM na Rua Evaristo da Veiga e não é permitido o acesso da advogada ativista Cristiano Oliveira do DDH. PM diz que ela será conduzida para a 17° DP em São Cristóvão.
Thamires Fortunato, a philosophy student at UFF, is dragged by the hair and held at the Military Police (PM) Headquarters on Evaristo da Veiga Street and is not allowed access activist lawyer Cristiano Oliveira from [NGO] Human Rights Advocates. PM says she will be conducted for 17° DP [Police Office] in the neighborhood of São Cristóvão.
According to the movement, 30,000 people attended the protest in São Paulo, while the estimate of the military police was 5,000. Demonstrators reported being beaten by police officers as they walked on the streets.
Video recorded by YouTube user Karashh shows the moment when the police began to attack the demonstrators:
According to a witness, a small group of Black Blocs knocked over some trash cans and hit the iron doors of closed shops. Journalist Eliane Brum reported a bank branch in the region was also vandalized by this small group. It was enough for the police to start throwing tear gas and firing rubber bullets — which in 2013 blinded a photographer and injured a female journalist in the eye – to disperse the protest, which from the beginning was tense given the official statements of the military police command saying they would not allow the march to happen.
Pablo Ortellado, a professor who was at the demonstration, criticized the media coverage and accused the police of starting the violence:
Sou testemunha ocular de que a PM, depois de um incidente isolado na Paulista, atacou gratuitamente uma gigantesca manifestação que transcorria pacifica na Consolação. O MPL foi informado de que haviam acontecido prisões na Paulista, segurou a manifestação na Consolação até a situação se acalmar e a enorme passeata, de dezenas de milhares de pessoas, que estava noutra rua e a cem metros do incidente foi gratuita e covardemente atacada pela polícia. Não obstante, a imprensa, de maneira unânime, relatou o episódio como uma reação da polícia a vandalismo dos manifestantes. Uma narrativa que simplesmente mistura espaços geográficos e inverte a ordem dos fatos.
I am an eyewitness that the military police, after an isolated incident on Paulista [avenue], attacked a massive non-violent protest that peacefully walked down Consolação [street]. The Free Fare Movement was informed of the arrests on Paulista, and so held the demonstration on Consolação until the situation became more calm, and the huge march of tens of thousands of people, who were on another street and a hundred yards away from the incident, were cowardly attacked by police anyway. Nevertheless, the press unanimously reported the episode as a police response to vandalism by the protesters. A narrative that simply mixes up the geographic areas and reverses the order of events.
A demonstrator on the ground is attacked by half a dozen police officers. The activist Bruno Bonsanti (@brunobonsanti) described the photo: “Who started the violence? Demonstrators or the military police? Fuck it: five police officers beating an already subdued man. That's the problem.” Photo: Mídia Ninja, CC-BY 2.0
Some sources report that protesters threw stones at the police. Journalist Leonardo Sakamoto, who was at the rally, wrote on his Facebook page:
Um pequeno grupo provocou os policiais, espalhou lixo e bateu nas portas das lojas. Eles, que teoricamente deveriam ser treinados para reagir de forma controlada nessas situações, responderam com gás lacrimogêneo, bombas de efeito moral e balas de borracha, atingindo e dispersando a manifestação – que seguia pacífica – e assustando pessoas que nem participavam da marcha. Não vou dizer que não mudou nada de 2013 para cá porque, pelo jeito, estão com estoque renovado desses armamentos.
A small group provoked the police, spread garbage and hit the doors of shops. The police, which theoretically should be trained to react in a controlled manner in these situations, responded with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets, hitting and dispersing the demonstrators — who were peaceful — scaring people who weren't even taking part in it. I will not say that nothing has changed since 2013 because it seems that they have a renewed stock of those weapons.
The demonstration began a little after 17h without incident, marching out of the city center towards Paulista Avenue, São Paulo's main thoroughfare. Before reaching the avenue, however, the police attacked, splitting the demonstration in two and charging at both ends.
Protesters run from police. Photo by MPL, free use.
Free Fare Movement's profile on Facebook summarized the violence and added:
Com a brutal repressão policial, os governos deixam sua resposta à justa reivindicação da população que luta contra o aumento do preço da tarifa. Longe de discutir a revogação dos aumentos que decretaram, Alckmin e Haddad respondem só com violência: tiros, bombas e prisões contra quem se manifesta.
Through brutal police repression, the government has given its answer to a fair demand from the population, who fights against the fare increase. Far from discussing the suspension of the increases they have ruled, Alckmin and Haddad only answer with violence: shots, bombs and arrests against those who speak out.
Spanish journalist Bernardo Gutierrez denounced the provocation and subsequent repression of the police on Twitter:
Eu estava no protesto #contratarifa em Sao paulo. (I) a PM ficou provocando durante o protesto todo, com a técnica do envelope e agressivos — Bernardo Gutiérrez (@bernardosampa) 9 janeiro 2015
(II) como jornalista fui desrespeitado pela PM. PM lançou bombas de efeito moral e gás lacrimogêneo sem motivo, contra os manifestantes — Bernardo Gutiérrez (@bernardosampa) 9 janeiro 2015
(III) A PM parecia ter ordens para impedir a chegada do protesto #contratarifa na Av Paulista. Tinha muita gente:entre 10 e 15.000 pessoas — Bernardo Gutiérrez (@bernardosampa) 9 janeiro 2015
I was in the #contratarifa [against the tariff] protest in São Paulo. (I) the military police were provoking a response throughout the protest, by Kettling and [by being] aggressive
(II) as a journalist I was disrespected by the military police. They launched stun grenades and tear gas for no reason against protesters
(III) The military police seemed to have orders to prevent the arrival of the #contratarifa protest on Avenida Paulista. There were a lot of people: from 10 to 15,000 people
Small groups of protesters who were dispersed moved into the surrounding areas and were pursued by police. At least 32 demonstrators were arrested, while Ortellado, the professor, reported that 38 were detained. At the end of the night, the police reported that the number was more than 50.
At least five people were injured and taken to hospitals. Some of the wounded treated on the street can be seen in this video. Some tear gas bombs thrown by the police ended up in a subway station.
Activist and journalist Lucas Moraes wrote on his Facebook page:
51 presos em São Paulo por protestarem contra os aumentos das tarifas de ônibus. Se você acha que já passamos de junho de 2013, feliz ano velho! Que os movimentos sociais se preparem para enfrentar o modus operandi que os governos buscam perpetuar por meio de suas polícias militares. E preparem igualmente os seus pulmões para respirar muito gás lacrimogêneo vencido.
51 arrested in São Paulo for protesting against the increase in bus fares. If you think we've already been through June 2013, happy old year! May social movements prepare themselves to face the modus operandi that governments seek to perpetuate through their military polices. And may they also prepare their lungs to breathe a lot of expired tear gas.
The Homeless Workers Movement (MTST), one of the most powerful social movements in Brazil, made clear their rejection of the police violence commanded by São Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin and announced they will participate in future events:
ALCKMIN NÃO APRENDEU COM 2013! PM do Governo Alckmin reprime brutalmente Ato contra o aumento da tarifa em São Paulo. Em 2013 isso massificou as mobilizações. Alckmin quer repetir a dose? O MTST irá às ruas contra este ataque!
ALCKMIN DIDN'T LEARN WITH 2013! Alckmin's military police brutally repressed a demonstration against the fare hike in São Paulo. In 2013 this only fed the rallies. Alckmin wants to repeat the dose? The MTST will go to the streets against this attack!
Fabio Malini, a professor and activist, published on Facebook a graphical analysis of almost 30,000 tweets about the protests. 2013 seems to be repeating itself: the alliance between Alckmin and Haddad to jointly increase ticket prices in defiance of popular opinion, police violence, and sectors of the media supporting repression, calling protesters “vandals” and underestimating the size of the demonstration. A new protest is called for next Friday, January 16.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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This Newspaper’s Headlines Have Become Too Much for Many Readers in Venezuela · Global Voices
Jessica Carrillo

Roberto Fiadone reading Últimas Noticias. CC 3.0.
A citizen movement in Venezuela this week is showing how social media can respond to censorship. In response to the January 12 front page of the Venezuelan newspaper Últimas Noticas (The Latest News), Twitter users are mocking the publication with the hashtag #TitulaComoUltimasNoticas (“Make headlines like Úlitmas Noticias”), inventing various satirical headlines. The hashtag became a trending topic on Twitter within a few hours.
One of the largest newspapers in Venezuela, Últimas Noticas was among the many media outlets sold to an unknown party in October 2013. Since then, readers have noticed a sharp turn in the newspaper's editorial line, especially when it comes to commentary about the national government. In fact, several journalists resigned in protest, after the paper censored articles that addressed student protests in early 2014 and rising food prices and shortages.
Nevertheless, it was Últimas Noticas’ January 12 front page headline, “Maduro's Tour Was a Success,” that suddenly mobilized Twitter users this week. President Maduro's visit to several OPEC nations was meant to help stabilize oil prices, on which Venezuela's economy desperately relies. Many in the public, who have watched the price of oil continue to plummet, found Últimas Noticas’ headline hard to believe.
… y así es como se pierde credibilidad en un medio. ¿Como creerles otra noticia? #TitulaComoUltimasNoticias pic.twitter.com/WVv80x81kt
— PRETORIANO REGENTE. (@PRETORIANOREGEN) January 12, 2015
…and that's how a media outlet loses credibility. How can you believe anything else they say?
“@millantweet: La Mentira Vs. La Verdad! La Ficción Vs. La Realidad! #TitulaComoUltimasNoticias pic.twitter.com/n6V4VpMstA“
— Freiner Meléndez (@Freiner96) January 12, 2015
Lies vs. Truth! Fiction vs. Reality!
Internet users have tweeted the #TitulaComoUltimasNoticas hashtag and offered their own satirical news headlines. For example, how would a politically biased newspaper report the fact that many Venezuelans now have to wait in long lines in order to buy food?
#TitulaComoUltimasNoticias El pueblo feliz “haciendo cola para cuidar los alimentos”. Pdval de Tía Juana, edo Zulia. pic.twitter.com/rCODuayTCB
— Anthony P. Ovalles (@anthony301992) January 12, 2015
Happy citizens “waiting in line to look after food”. PDVAL in Tía Juana, Zulia state.
#TitulaComoUltimasNoticias Venezuela presenta un Excedente de Anaqueles en Supermercados de Todo el País pic.twitter.com/sg1lEHXTzZ
— Vinicio Parra (@IngVinicioParra) January 12, 2015
Supermarket shelves in Venezuela show signs of surplus across the country.
Others have joked about the falling price of crude oil and its effects on Venezuelan society:
El petróleo cae a 37$ el barril y Venezuela se convierte en el país más feliz del mundo :) #TitulaComoUltimasNoticias
— Mr. Dundas (@ManuelAlejandC) January 12, 2015
Oil dropped to $37 a barrel and Venezuela turns into the happiest country in the world.
Many media outlets in Venezuela have been sold, closed down, or neutered since Hugo Chávez's presidency. Indeed, censorship and pressure have also increased under Nicolas Maduro's Government. The current shake-ups in the the Venezuelan press, says an analyst at the Committee to Protect Journalists, are part of a long campaign to weaken the privately owned news media.

author: Jessica Carrillo


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Why Hasn’t the Baga Massacre Made as Many Headlines as the Charlie Hebdo Attack? · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

Nigerian refugees in Gagamari camp, Diffa region, Niger. They crossed the border to flee Boko Haram insurgents who attacked their town, Damassak, on 24 November 2014. Photo from Flickr user European Commission DG ECHO. CC BY-ND 2.0
Baga, a town in the north-eastern state of Borno, Nigeria, suffered an unimaginable catastrophe recently when Boko Haram, Nigeria’s vampires of death, slaughtered innocent residents of that town. Amnesty International described it as the Islamist militant group’s “deadliest massacre in recent history”. Controversy rages between the official estimates of 150 deaths against the 2,000 reported by other independent sources.
However, this horrid news did not make global headlines as much as the Paris attacks that left 17 people dead. While many reasons abound for the media silence, in this case it appears to be a combination of three factors: the nearness news factor, the numbing callousness of Nigeria’s political elites — both the ruling party and the opposition — and a compromised local press.
#IamCharlie, but #IamBaga too!
Baga is an out-of-the-way town tucked in the impermeable Borno state. Most places within north-eastern Nigeria, which borders Chad, Niger and Cameroon, are now controlled by Boko Haram. Nigeria’s chief of defense staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, stated earlier this month that Boko Haram had seized the headquarters of a multinational military force located on Nigeria's border after Chad and Niger had withdrawn its forces from the base.
This means that neither journalists nor bloggers have full access to Baga and cannot give the exact assessment of the situation on ground. This is a direct opposite of the horror that gripped Paris, an easily accessible city full of netizens wielding smartphones. In an article for The Conversation, Global Voices co-founder Ethan Zukerman expounded further:
Paris is a highly connected global city with thousands of working journalists, while Baga is isolated, difficult and dangerous to reach. The attacks on Charlie Hebdo targeted journalists, and it’s understandable that journalists would cover the death of their comrades. The attacks in Paris were a shock and a surprise, while deaths at the hands of Boko Haram have become distressingly common in an insurgency that has claimed over ten thousand lives since 2009.
Nonetheless this does not totally extricate the complicity of Western mainstream media. Correspondent Simon Allison wrote in a piece for South African news site Daily Maverick that “African lives are still deemed less newsworthy – and, by implication, less valuable – than western lives”.
Hi Twitter, can we please talk about #Baga/North East #Nigeria now?
— Imad Mesdoua (@ImadMesdoua) January 9, 2015
Some Nigerians are of the view that the country deserves more assistance from the global community against Boko Haram's unending murders. For instance, Ignatius Kaigama, the Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Nigeria, thinks that the global solidarity accorded the Paris violence should also be shown to Nigerians. “We need that spirit to be spread around. Not just when it [an attack] happens in Europe, but when it happens in Nigeria, in Niger, in Cameroon,” he told the BBC.
‘The outrage is almost non-existent’
As much as the global media conspiracy of silence seems inviting, it neither does justice to the complex nature of the Baga massacre nor does it exonerate Nigeria's callous political leadership.
Why are we asking for the world to help us talk about what happened in Baga? Why are we not talking about it and taking action ourselves? — Henry Okelue (@4eyedmonk) January 9, 2015
Less than 24 hours after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan issued a statement condemning that “dastardly terrorist attack” but kept mute on a similar but more devastating attack at home.
President Jonathan of #Nigeria has publicly condemned the attack in Paris, but nothing about the massacre of 2000 in his own country. #Baga
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) January 9, 2015
However, about week after the Baga incident, the president visited Borno State. A statement by his spokesman states that President Jonathan told “officers and soldiers of the Division that the nation was very proud of them and grateful for their dedication and commitment to the defence of the civilian population against terrorists and violent extremists”.
President Jonathan & Gov Shettima at the Internally Displaced Persons Camp, Pompomari, Maiduguri today. pic.twitter.com/Q0hyUUtS07
— Reuben Abati (@abati1990) January 15, 2015
Nonetheless, this criticism is not reserved for the government alone, but also extends to opposition politicians who wish to score cheap political points from the Baga catastrophe.
Shout to those using Baga to score political points. We know you care. We can literally taste your empathy.
— Ikenna المتصدع فشل (@FailedRift) January 10, 2015
It's election season in Nigeria, and as such the local media is more concerned with ads from politicians, joining and covering their electoral train than any factual reporting. The Nigerian media is as much complicit in maintaining a silence on Baga as their foreign counterparts.
About 2000lives(not dogs) were lost in #Baga The outrage is almost non-existent. The local media is awash with different political rallies. — I have Shoes (@abubakar47i) January 11, 2015
The complicated mess of the Baga situation was best summed up by this Facebook post by San Francisco-based author and editor Jeremy Adams Smith:
The first thing you'll notice that there is not a lot of coverage of the massacres in Baga and Askira; in many papers, it's totally unmentioned and invisible. Why this crime is not being covered IN NIGERIA, I'll address in a moment. But what you do see in the papers is a lot of finger-pointing and rage against the government of Nigeria; of course, it's election season. It's the job of that government to protect its people, and the government is not doing its job.[…] The government of Nigeria doesn't want you to know, isn't transparent, and isn't helping people who are suffering. In fact, there is widespread denial throughout Nigeria of what is happening–a denial that extends to the press.
#IamBaga will certainly not trend as #JeSuieCharlie has for these reasons. Nonetheless, as much as there exists glaring evidence of a global media blackout on Baga, this does not mean that the Nigerian government is free from blame. At the same time, the local press cannot be canonized. In the end, it a combination of all these that make the injustice of the Baga slaughter bloodcurdling.

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


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Colombia’s New Minimum Wage Generates Minimum Enthusiasm · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

“Plata (Pesos Colombianos).” Image by Michele Mariani, Flickr, CC 2.0.
Colombia updates its minimum wage annually at the very end of the year. On December 30, 2014, the government raised it 4.6 percent to 644,350 Colombian pesos ($273). On social media, the disappointment of many has been palpable. With rising inflation, the new year promises little improvement in workers’ purchasing power, though a few extra pesos in hand might cushion the rising prices expected in 2015, according to El Colombiano.
Nevertheless, the real issue for many Colombians remains improving their economic capabilities and the quality of their lives, which the government has promised to do:
Si la economía Colombiana es la q más crece en América Latina según Gbno Nacional,entonces salario decretado es inaceptable @Teleantioquia
— Jorge Ivan Diez. CGT (@JorgeDiezCGT) January 6, 2015
If Colombia has the fastest growing economy in Latin America according to the national government, then the mandated minimum wage is unacceptable. @Teleantioquia
The Zona Jobs blog explains the process for setting the minimum wage:
On December 3, negotiations will begin regarding the legal minimum wage for 2015, and the deliberation committee is ready to start suitable negotiations starting on the established date.
The same committee will be led by the current Minister of Labor, Luis Eduardo Garzón, who has already set the date starting from December 5 (two days after this agreement). Respective hearings will be made for employers and employees to present their various proposals while the National Administrative Department of Statistics (NADS) will present its proposal on December 9.
Stefa Vásquez was decidedly unimpressed with the minimum wage hike:
Y bueno señores.. El salario mínimo sigue siendo así de literal mínimo….
— Stefa Vásquez (@StefaVasquez) January 1, 2015
Well guys…the minimum wage stays at the very minimum…
Álvaro González had a different take on the increase, pointing out the different salaries residents earn across the country. Some receive a lot, relatively speaking, while others get very little for their work:
Si primero fijan el salario máximo será mucho más fácil acordar luego el salario mínimo
— ÁlvaroGonzálezUribe (@alvarogonzalezu) December 17, 2014
If they first fix the maximum wage, then it’ll be easier to agree on a minimum wage later.
Juan Greiffenstein notes that peace begins with better economic policies:
Empresarios digan también: soy capaz de pagar un salario mínimo justo y más equitativo. Por ahí comienza la paz
— juan greiffenstein (@jgreiffenstein) December 3, 2014
Tell us, businessmen: I can pay you a fair and equitable salary. Then there will be peace.
Along those lines, Gustavo Bolívar compared the minimum wages of 2014 and 2015, using the US dollar:
Hace 1 año el Salario Mínimo era de 325 dólares. Hoy está en 262 dólares, como en 2009. El 2do peor de la zona. Solo en Perú pagan peor.
— Gustavo Bolívar (@GustavoBolivar) January 7, 2015
Meanwhile, blogger Giovanny Cardona Montoya asked in a local newspaper: Is the minimum wage fair for Colombian workers? He argued:
The minimum wage is earned by a large percentage of Colombian workers (50 percent), therefore increasing it should be a great national interest.

author: Cati Restrepo


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‘I Am Shuhrat’: Tajiks Come to Jailed Lawyer’s Defence on Facebook  · Global Voices
Abdulfattoh Shafiev

Shuhrat Kudratov. Photo by RFE/RL's Tajik service. Creative Commons.
In Tajikistan, the simple act of defending an opposition politician in a court of law can land you in a lot of trouble.
Shuhrat Qudratov has not been found guilty of being a lawyer for an opposition politician, of course — his nine-year sentence is based on charges of ‘fraud’ and ‘attempted bribery’. But Tajikistan's civil society, despite being under pressure from the government, has found its voice to call the charges convoluted and show solidarity with Qudratov.
Qudratov represented jailed oppositionist Zayd Saidov, a former minister who is facing 26 years in prison on a cocktail of charges that seem connected to his decision to branch out politically and found the party New Tajikistan. A Tajik court sentenced Qudratov to his term in a maximum security prison on January 13, 2015.
An online Facebook page, МАН – Шуҳрат Қудратов, translating as ‘I am Shuhrat Kudratov’ from Tajik, was created shortly afterward.
Qudratov, also a deputy chairman of the marginalised Social-Democratic Party of Tajikistan, is one of two members of Saidov’s legal team to face imprisonment. The other lawyer, sentenced on forgery charges last year, was freed under an amnesty in December 2014 and immediately ceased participating in the Saidov case. Qudratov, 38, has made a name for himself defending famous political and business notables who have attracted the wrath of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon's regime, most notably a man accused of murdering Rahmon’s brother-in-law.
Despite losing every high profile case he has participated in, Qudratov was named the Best Lawyer of Tajikistan in 2011 by the non-profit the Tajik Bureau of Human Rights.
Shuhrat Qudratov behind bars during his court sentencing with his lawyer Rahmatullo Zoyirov. January 13, 2015. Asia Plus, used with permission.
The charges against Qudratov are complicated. The bulk of his sentence is accounted for by his participation in the settlement of a fraud case, in which Qudratov represented the defendant. Qudratov was detained on July 21, 2014, after the defendant accused him of taking $1,500 from him in order to bribe the judge into dropping the charges. Qudratov, who was detained minutes after he received money, says that the judge offered to close the case if the defendant paid damages to the plaintiff. The plaintiff confirmed this, saying that during a three-way meeting between the judge, Qudratov and himself, he agreed to drop the case if the defendant paid him $2,000. The judge — Tajikitan's judiciary is notoriously politically dependent — says that Qudratov offered him favours to drop the case, but did not bribe him.
Tajik activists have held protests in front of the Tajikistan embassies in Moscow and Washington, expressing their concern over Qudratov’s trial, which Human Rights Watch has described as “politically motivated”. Prominent Tajik lawyer and activist Fayzinisso Vohidova has called on the Tajik lawyers community to strike to show support for their imprisoned colleague.
Tajik social media users have also watched Qudratov’s case closely, and most appear to believe the charges and trial are connected to his activities as an advocate.
Zebo Tajibaeva wrote:
Гдееееееееее правосудиееееееееееее! Девять лет за что?????! За убийство меньше дают. Шухрату Кудратову….девять лет строгого режима ЗА ЧТО!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where is justice? Nine years for what? Even for murder a shorter term is given. Nine years of maximum security prison for Shuhrat Qudratov, for what???
Alim Sherzamonov, a member of Qudratov's Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan and the man Global Voices’ Alexander Sodiqov was interviewing when famously arrested in the Tajik town of Khorugh, wrote:
Очередной политзаключенный. Кто следующий?
Another political prisoner. Who is next?
While journalist Ramz Vafo raged:
Не удивлена приговором в отношении Шухрата Кудратова. Никогда не верила с справедливость таджикского суда – не было повода для этого. Но все равно эта новость выбила настроение. Очень хочется пожелать всем, кто имеет отношение к этому приговору такую же участь. Разница будет лишь в том, что в отличие от Шухрата они заслуживают такого наказания. Желаю им такой же разрушенной жизни…
I’m not surprised by the sentencing of Shuhrat Qudratov. I have never trusted the justice of the Tajik court, there was no reason to. But still this news has destroyed my mood. I wish the same fate to everyone who has handed down this sentence. The difference is that they will deserve the punishment. I wish the same destroyed life upon them.
An illustration demanding police to “take their hands off Shuhrat Qudratov” was widely shared.
One Tajik activist wrote:
Призываем всех ответственных граждан не оставаться в стороне от произвола властей! От свободы Шухрата зависит свобода каждого гражданина Таджикистана! Сегодня Шухрат, а завтра на его месте может оказаться любой из нас. Задумайтесь, пока не поздно.
We call on all citizens who feel responsibility, do not act indifferently to the arbitrariness of the authorities! Every Tajik citizen’s freedom depends on the freedom of Shuhrat! Today Shuhrat was [sentenced], but tomorrow any of us can be in his place. Think, while it is not too late.
Rahmatullo Zoyirov, head of the Social-Democratic Party of Tajikistan and Qudratov’s lawyer, told journalists that he will appeal the sentence to the Supreme Court of Tajikistan. But Qudratov's release seems unlikely unless he receives a presidential pardon. On January 12, 2015, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan held its annual press conference. Court officials noted that of the 128 cases the court reviewed in 2014, it had not issued a single acquittal.

author: Abdulfattoh Shafiev


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Outrage in Colombia over ‘Little Miss Thong’ Child Beauty Pageant · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Little Miss Thong child beauty pageant, January 2015. Image on Flickr by user remolacha.net. CC 2.0.
The township of Barbosa, in the Andean Colombian department of Santander, was the location of a controvesial beauty pageant known as Little Miss Thong. Participants in the contest, sponsored by the local city hall, were girls whose ages ranged from six to ten years old who paraded in bathing suits.
Internet users have been swift in denouncing the contest. The website Evangelizadoras de los apóstoles (Evangelizers of the Apostles) spoke out against the event:
Resulta que cada año desde hace 25, en el municipio de Barbosa, Santander, niñas entre seis y diez años desfilan en tanga, maquilladas, contoneándose y tirando besos a una audiencia de adultos que ingieren licor.
Miss Tanguita, según la alcaldesa Maryury Rocío Galeano Jiménez, es una tradición de Festi-Río, y nadie en el municipio, ni los padres de familia, ni las empresas privadas que pautan, ni la misma Alcaldía (que invita y promociona), ve nada malo en que las niñas participen en este reinado de belleza. De hecho, la alcaldesa afirma que a las niñas las educan en valores (¿qué valores?) y que se les enseña que su cuerpo es un templo (¿un templo para quién?).
It turns out that every year, for the past 25 years, in the township of Barbosa, Santander, girls aged between six and ten hit the catwalk wearing thongs, with make up, swinging their hips and blowing kisses to an audience of alcohol-consuming adults. Little Miss Thong, according to Mayor Maryury Rocío Galeano Jiménez, is a part of the Festi-Río tradition, and neither the parents nor the private firms that advertise there, or City Hall itself (which invites participants and promotes the event), sees anything wrong with the girls taking part in this beauty contest. In fact, the mayor claims the girls are educated in values (which values?) and they are taught that their bodies are temples (temples for whom?).
Festi-Río is a very important yearly event in Barbosa and Colombia in general, where many local and foreign tourists take part.
Meanwhile, the website PedroVisión posted photos and videos from the pageant, commenting:
Lo que en Barbosa, localidad del departamento de Santander, al noroeste de Colombia, consideran una bonita tradición que se remonta a un cuarto de siglo, en Bogotá lo han tachado de espectáculo bochornoso. Y el ICBF, organismo dedicado a proteger la infancia, ya ha anunciado que investigará el singular certamen para impedir que se repita.
Las voces críticas […] llegan a decir que se podía equiparar a la pornografía infantil. También agregaban que supone fomentar el que las mujeres tengan como aspiración máxima convertirse en modelos y hacer de la belleza, en lugar del estudio, el centro de sus vidas.
What in Barbosa, a town in the department of Santander, in Northwestern Colombia, is considered a nice tradition, more than a quarter-century old, in Bogotá it has been qualified as a shameful show. And the Colombian Institute of Family Well-Being [know as ICBF by its name in Spanish], which is charged with protecting children, has already announced that this unique event will be investigated to prevent its repetition.
Critical voices […] have said [the contest] can be equated with child pornography. They also say the pageant encourages women to pursue becoming a model and being beautiful, instead of getting an education.
Confidencial Colombia (Confidential Colombia) also analyzed the consequences such a contest might have on young girls:
¿Qué niña no sueña con ser princesa o reina?”, se pregunta indignada la madre de la miss tanguita 2015. […] Después de que los aplausos y los flashes les llegan por mostrar su cuerpo, no nos extrañemos de ver adolescentes soñando con una operación de tetas o de culo a los 15 años, o consumiéndose en la anorexia y la bulimia, en permanente contradicción con su cuerpo. Después de sexualizarlas desde los 7 años, no nos quejemos del altísimo índice de embarazos adolescentes, primer factor reproductor de la pobreza y la inequidad.
“What little girl doesn't dream of becoming princess or queen?,” wonders outraged Little Miss Thong 2015's mother. […] After the applause and camera flashes they get for showing their bodies, we should not be surprised when we see teenagers pining for a boob jobs or buttocks surgery at age 15, or consuming themselves in anorexia and bulimia, in permanent contradiction with their bodies. After sexualizing these girls since the age of seven, don't complain later about the high teenage pregnancy rate, the greatest factor in prepetuating poverty and inequality.
Twitter users also expressed their opinions:
el concurso de #MissTanguita no es malo, lo malo es el marco en el q se lleva a cabo, con ron de por medio no se puede hacer nada con niños.
— Will Oliver (@DJWill_Oliver) enero 16, 2015
Little Miss Thong isn't wrong, what's wrong is the setting it takes place in. With rum involved, there's nothing that can be done with children.
#MissTanguita existe no porque falten leyes para prohibirlo sino porque nuestra consciencia social lo tolera y aprueba (@DanielSamperO)
— Fabian Mendez (@efmcuiti) enero 16, 2015
Little Miss Thong doesn't exist because there aren't laws to prohibit it, but because our social conscience tolerates and approves it.
#MissTanguita No podemos seguir enseñándole a las niñas que su valor radica en la belleza de su físico ¿Qué posibilidades les estamos dando?
— Calentana viajera (@paosan1) enero 16, 2015
We can't go on teaching girls their value lies in the beauty of their looks. What chances are we giving them?
Se indignan con lo de #MissTanguita pero son felices con #Diomedizate que participó en violación y asesinato de Doris Niño #asiescolombia
— Héctor Galvis (@galvisoto) enero 16, 2015
You are all outraged with all this Little Miss Thong event, but are happy with #Diomedizate, who participated in the rape and murder of Doris Niño.
(This final tweet refers to a criminal case in 1997, when Diomedes Díaz was accused of the homicide of 22-year-old Doris Niño García.)
Some online noted what they think is a double standard:
Muchos indignados por el concurso tradicional colombiano de niñas en bikini #MissTanguita. Ah, pero con los desfiles de primavera no hay tos
— El Master (@PerroDe3patas) enero 16, 2015
Too many people are outraged about Little Miss Thong, a Colombian traditional event of girls wearing a bikini. But with spring pageants, there is nothing.
It's worth mentioning that little more than a year ago, in France, the French Senate banned beauty pageants for girls younger than 16 years old.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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How the Philippines Hid Social Injustice From Pope Francis · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Human rights groups were blocked by the police from getting near the pope motorcade. Image from Facebook page of Kathy Yamzon
Not everyone in the Philippines was able to see Pope Francis when he began his current visit to the Philippines. A group activists carrying signs for social justice says the police prevented it from staging a demonstration in sight of the Pope's motorcade. There are also reports that law enforcement officers detained several street children during the Pope's public procession.
Pope Francis will tour the Philippines from January 15 to January 19. The visit, themed “mercy and compassion,” takes Pope Francis to the largest Catholic-dominated nation in Asia.
Some 2,000 activists gathered in Manila to greet the Pope by unfurling banners that highlight some of the issues that affect the nation's poor, such as hunger, landlessness, and injustice. Police blocked the march from getting near the motorcade, however.
Activist leader Nato Reyes criticized the government for stopping various groups from trying to tell the Pope about the Philippines’ “real situation”:
From Day 1, there has been a conscious effort to regulate what the Pope can see and hear. It is monumentally ironic since the Pope did not come here to see only ” true, the good and the beautiful”. The Pope came here to hear about the problems of the poor and marginalized.
Police barred a group of activists from marching near the Pope's motorcade. Photo from Facebook page of Southern Tagalog Exposure.
Mudwalk performance artists, who depicted the plight of typhoon Haiyan victims, were barred by the police from handing a letter to church authorities. Photo from Facebook page of the group.
Members of the police confiscate an activist's flag. Police said only “greeting streamers” were permitted. Photo from Facebook page of Southern Tagalog Exposure.
Some political prisoners were able to hang a banner outside their cell. They urged the Pope to look into the worsening human rights situation in the country. Photo from Facebook page of Kathy Yamzon.
In addition to interfering with protesters, the government also reportedly “detained” and “caged” street children a few days before the Pope's arrival. Manila Standard Today, a major daily newspaper, questioned the wisdom of this policy, saying it amounts to a Potemkin-Village approach.
The government has denied detaining street children during the Pope’s visit.
Meanwhile, officials erected a green wall along the Pope's motorcade route, preventing him and other motorists from seeing the urban poor who live beyond the barrier.
Another “barrier” separating the Pope from the people was the heavy security. Many said the deployment of police and placement of metal barriers throughout the city was excessive, making it difficult for people even to glimpse the nation's special guest. Several disgruntled Filipino Internet users pointed to the Pope’s recent visit to Sri Lanka, where he was seen touching and blessing the hands of the faithful along the road.
Overkill police deployment? Aquino is president of the Philippines. Image from Facebook page of labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First Movement).
Pope Francis! Quirino Ave cor Taft Ave on his way to MOA Arena around 5pm @gmanews pic.twitter.com/LKXJYY3NBA
— Bam Alegre (@BamAlegre) January 16, 2015
Pope Francis waving as he passed by Quirino Ave cor. Taft Ave at 1:14pm earlier today. #PopeFrancisPH | @jcansis pic.twitter.com/YPvOVGYqeK
— 9News Philippines (@9newsph) January 16, 2015
The government says the strict security detail is a necessary precaution. Still, many continue to urge authorities to respect the wishes of the faithful and let them closer to the Pope:
Sure it's for security purposes but I think the Pope would really like to reach out to the people hidden by hundreds of security personnel.
— Kat De Castro⭐♎ (@KatDeCastro) January 16, 2015
Nonoy Oplas criticized the “militarized security system” adopted by the government:
Seeing him on the road is the closest thing (the people) can get and see the Pope. And the paranoid security system tried hard to make the public's view of the Pope as short as possible, as far as possible.
Many are hoping the government will rethink its security arrangements in the days ahead, to allow more people to lay eyes on Pope Francis, before he departs on January 19.


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Asian Cup 2015: Iran Advances After Win Against Qatar · Global Voices
Manuel Ribeiro

Iranian fans at Stadium Australia in Sydney during the match Iran vs Qatar. Photo by Mostafa Azizpour used with permission.
Iran's 1-0 win against Qatar secured them a place in the quarterfinals, making the team one of the favourites to reach the Asian Cup 2015 finals.
Team “Melli” (Melli means “national” in Farsi) has not been playing a “beautiful” game but is being effective when it comes to putting the ball in the net. However, Iran created a couple of opportunities and could have scored at least one more goal in the 1 – 0 match against Qatar held at Stadium Australia in Sydney and counting for the 2015 edition of the football Asian Cup tournament.
Portuguese national Carlos Queiroz, Iran`s coach during press conference at Stadium Australia. Photo by Mostafa Azizpour used with permission.
Carlos Queiroz`s squad started this Asian Cup 2015 with a 2-0 victory against Bahrain, taking its first three points. Iran plays in group C alongside with UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar.
Queiroz, a Portuguese national, has had a long career as coach for the Portuguese national team, Manchester United and Real Madrid, to name a few. The Professor, as he often called by the Portuguese media, took the challenge from Iran`s Football Federation leading the Persians to the last World Cup in Brazil where they faced colossal Argentina and didn`t  move on to the knockout stage.
The Asian Cup is an international competition of 16 football teams from Asia, run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The winner of this competition automatically qualifies for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
Stadium Australia in Sydney has a capacity of 85K seats, of which more than 22.5K were taken and the majority by Persian fans including many women – Iranian women are fighting to overturn the ban to attend sports events in Iran:
#AsianCup2015 Sad that those fans who are powering #TeamMelli in Aust are banned from doing so in Iran. @RitaPanahi @JoshFrydenberg
— Vince (@gullibles) January 16, 2015
Josephine Kneipp noted the strong Iranian presence at the stadium:
We are in the centre of Iran tonight and it's fabulous! #AsianCup2015 #AC2015 #QATvIRN #straya @ ANZ… http://t.co/UUmHRRaPD9
— Josephine Kneipp (@kneipping) January 15, 2015
Australian photographer Keith McInnes tweeted a photo of Iranian fans who had come to the stadium to watch their football heroes live:
Iran fans @ANZStadium warming up @Iran_Football @afcasiancup @sydney_sider @theturfau @TweetWhiteLine #AsianCup2015 pic.twitter.com/UoAf9J0TAX
— Keith McInnes (@KeithMcInnes) January 15, 2015
The Iranian fans were a lively bunch, Twitter users said:
Crowd is electric at stadium Australia #Asiancup2015 @afcasiancup #qtrvsirn
— Daniel Wilson (@spudknot) January 15, 2015
It sounds like there is 50k Iranians at anz,what an atmosphere!!#IRNvQTR #goiran #AsianCup2015
— Michael Sgourdas (@mjsgourdas) January 15, 2015
A warm summer night only added to the match, already full of excitement. Final result: Team Melli beat Qatar by one goal. Sardar Azmoun booked Iran's passage into the Asian Cup quarterfinals by scoring the only goal of the match. Iran has now six points and is second on Group C, following UAE also with six points.
Poor defending but wonderful turn & finish by Sardar Azmoun for #Iran v #Qatar https://t.co/5vdqsTbb7Y #TeamMelli #AsianCup2015
— Eoghan mac Suibhne (@buileshuibhne) January 15, 2015
This year´s Asian Cup is hosted by Australia for the first time since they joined the Confederation in 2007. They are also favourites to win, as are Japan, Iran and South Korea.
The 2015 tournament is notable for the debut of the Palestine National Team. Palestine qualified after winning the AFC Challenge Cup, their first major trophy. They are placed in group D, alongside Japan, Jordan and Iraq.

author: Manuel Ribeiro


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Reports of Forced Religious Conversions Grab Headlines in India · Global Voices
Lakshmi Sarah

Police stop VHP and BJP activists who protested against renowned evangelist Peter Youngren's presence in India, accusing him of converting thousands to Christianity. Image by Prabhat Kumar Verma. Copyright Demotix (22/10/2013)
Following the landslide victory of Narendra Modi and his BJP party during the last elections in India, reports of forced religious conversions seem to be on the rise, and international media is taking notice.
On Christmas day 2014, The Times of India reported that 59 Christians in the Kottayam district of Kerala were “converted” to Hinduism by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), two right-wing Hindu nationalist organizations with ties to the leading BJP political party.
The alleged conversions in Kerala came less than a day after the district’s chief Minister Oommen Chandy claimed that there were no such conversions happening in the region. These allegations also surfaced shortly after reports just days earlier of forced conversion to Christianity in other states. In Uttar Pradesh, Ramvati Devi said she converted to Christianity after being promised a government job for her husband and free education for her children in missionary schools. According to the VHP, there is a list of more than 20 villages where these forced Christian conversions are reportedly taking place.
As the birthplace of four of the world's major religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism), India is now home to a majority Hindu population (80 percent) and a significant Muslim population (15 percent) as well as Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis, among others. Despite generally peaceful coexistence, religious tensions have spilled over on many occasions in the past.
Screenshot courtesy of joegoaukextra2 on Flickr
A representative from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) general secretary V Mohanan said what happened in Kerala was “not conversion, but re-conversion.”
On Christmas Eve, speaking in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, senior VHP member Pravin Togadia announced the creation of two 24/7 Hindu helplines and said:
The VHP will go all out to promote the Hindu cause even if it means going against the BJP government in the state.
The helplines are dedicated to helping the cause of Hindus including issues such as health, education, legal aid, religion and culture.
US newspapers the Washington Post and the New York Times published stories on the issue of forced religious conversions in India in December 2014. The Post reported that more than 50 impoverished Muslim families converted to Hinduism with the promise of government benefits (such as welfare checks) following the conclusion of the ceremony, while the Times detailed the political motives behind forced conversions.
Many governmental officials weren’t happy at the widespread news coverage of such a controversial and sensitive topic. With the recently elected BJP party facing major political backlash for the alleged incidents, the discontent reached the office of the prime minister.
Following a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and the chief of the RSS, Modi reportedly threatened to resign from his post “if the image of the government is hampered by the leaders who keep making controversial remarks.”
Immediately after the meeting, the RSS gave the green light to take action against leaders who made such claims to separate themselves from these “loose” statements.
Despite the government’s best efforts to censor the discussion on the topic, Indians have actively responded. According to NDTV, a protest took place in parliament. The upper house of parliament was eventually forced to adjourn early after proceedings were unable to continue as a result of the shouting from outside.
Upset Indians have also taken to social media to express their current discontent with the government’s handling of the issue. Newsflicks, a social media-based news website based in India, reminded the Indian government of the laws which they had already set in place:
Didn't the #BJP know? #Conversion is already banned in #India-read the story at http://t.co/NdcRFNaS3z pic.twitter.com/drm7vTiRvX
— Newsflicks (@newsflicks) December 23, 2014
Others, such as engineer Dushyant Patel, pointed towards the vast differences between Pakistan and India’s response to forced conversions:
Hindus in #Pakistan protest forced #conversion of minor girls… *Crickets chirping* in #India, http://t.co/CCg9cIhpOg via @timesofindia
— Dushyant Patel (@Dushy4nt) December 11, 2014
Twitter account Christian Persecution reminded its followers of an older story from August 2014 by Headlines Today of the religious conversion of Christians in Asroi, India, and the transformation of their 19-year-old church into a Hindu temple:
Report covering the #conversion of a #Church in #India into a #HinduTemple. 72 #Christians #reconverted to #Hinduism. http://t.co/741hvLfZkI
— christianpersecution (@persecutionind) August 28, 2014
How central and local governments will respond to continued forced conversions remains to be seen.

author: Lakshmi Sarah


text:
Eight Years After His Death, Turkish-Armenian Hrant Dink Still Cannot Rest in Peace · Global Voices
Ece Basay

Tens of thousands gather in Istanbul for Hrant Dink
19 January 2014 by Bulent Selcuk. Demotix.
On January 19, 2007, Hrant Dink, an Armenian journalist, was murdered by 17-year-old Ogün Samast, an ultra-nationalist from the Turkish city of Trabzon. After a trial spanning half a decade, Samast was sentenced to nearly 23 years in jail in 2011.
Dink was viewed by many as a leader of the Armenian community in Turkey, that pressed for a recognition of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, while also being a proud citizen of Turkey.
Supporters of Dink, who edited the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, believe that the murder was an organized act, which included officials in the upper echelons of the government. In order to answer these claims, another trial was held in Istanbul lasting five years. Despite all the evidence compiled by Dink's legal team,  only one other man faced an aggravated life sentence for soliciting the murder, while 19 suspects were acquitted of being members of a terrorist organization. The verdict was met by public outcry as the Turkish state was once again shown incapable of shining a light on political murders.
In May 2013, the Istanbul court's verdict was found to be unsatisfactory by Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals in Ankara. This court argued that the government had bungled and eliminated evidence that could lead to the arrest of officials, and ordered a retrial.
Nationalism's Nest in the Turkish State
The idea that nationalism is welcome in Turkey is nothing new, but, the initial arrest of Ogün Samast was a particularly ugly sort of confirmation of its pervasiveness: when taken back to the station after being detained Samast posed for photos with police officers and a Turkish flag.
Ogün Samast, assasin of Hrant Dink, and police taking a picture in front of the Turkish flag after his arrest in Samsun, 2007. Widely shared.
The five years following this arrest witnessed false statements from different state officials, disappeared evidence, and a reluctance on the part of officials to question and punish highly ranked officials.
Writing in 2012, just as a separate investigation into an ultranationalist group — Ergenekon — believed to be plotting the overthrow of the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) party was being carried out very thoroughly, one blogger, Gün Zileli, railed against the seeming hypocrisy of the situation:
Ogün Samast ve birkaç arkadaşı beş yıl boyunca yargılandılar. Hrant Dink’in arkadaşları ve avukatları, katillerin devlet içindeki azmettiricilerini, ilişkilerini, cinayeti örgütleyen devlet ve polis görevlilerini ortaya çıkartmak için beş yıl boyunca büyük çaba gösterdiler. Buna karşılık, Hrant Dink davasının savcıları ve mahkeme de, cinayeti sadece yargılananlarla kısıtlı tutmak için büyük çaba gösterdi. Örneğin, “Ergenekon” davası, “çeşitli bağlantıları bulmak” adına azami ölçüde genişletilir ve bu davaya, hükümete muhalif herkes sokulurken, Hrant Dink davası, çok bilinçli bir çabayla, sadece yargılananlarla kısıtlı tutuldu, ayan beyan ortaya çıkan bağlantılara gidilmesi bizzat mahkemenin kararlarıyla engellendi.
Ogün Samast and couple of his friends were on trial for five years. Hrant Dink's friends and lawyers made an enormous effort to reveal the instigators of the murder inside the state, their relationship [to the killing], and the identities of the state and police officials who organized the murder. Yet, both public prosecutors and the court itself tried very hard to limit the case to people that had already stood trial. For example, while the ‘Ergenekon case’ was widened to the maximum in the name of ‘finding various connections’ and [targeting] everyone opposed to the government, the Hrant Dink case, was, with a conscious effort, limited only to the already prosecuted, and the court decision itself obstructed anyone wanting to follow the obvious connections.
Nationalist sentiment surrounding the Hrant Dink case has been visible on the street as well as in the courtroom. The day after his commemoration last year, the website of Dink's Agos newspaper was hacked by nationalists who superimposed Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a powerful symbol of Turkish homogeneity. Police officiating the 2014 commemoration ceremony wore white berets, similar to the one Ogün Samast had worn the day he murdered Hrant Dink. This year hateful tweets appeared glorifying the murder and congratulating Samast.
January 19, 2014, Hrant Dink's commemoration. Police wearing white berets. Widely shared.
Hopes for justice, or just more political retributions?
The retrial has offered hope that important state officials might face prosecution. So far Istanbul city's then-commissioner Celalettin Cerrah, deputy governor Erol Güngör, and the intelligence chief of Istanbul's police intelligence unit at the time of Dink's murder, Ahmet İlhan Güler, have all been summoned to court to testify.
On the day of Dink's commemoration this year, Commisioner of Cizre Ercan Demir, also turned himself in in Ankara.
But many fear the government is now using the retrial to prosecute members of the so-called ‘parallel state‘ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan believes is being supported by US-based scholar and acrimonious political rival Fethullah Gülen, and support a purge of the government.
Using the ‘cemaat’ term that refers to followers of Gülen, one tweep despaired:
#HrantDink katil`in “cemaat” demeye getiriyorlar 12 yillik AKP zulmu “cemaat” ile yikanmaya calisiliyor yersen.
— isiktaskemal (@pancuniyoldas) December 14, 2014
They are trying to say that #HrantDink's murderer is “cemaat”. They are trying to wash away 12 years long AKP tyranny with “cemaat”. If you buy it.
Agos'un yarınki manşeti. İtirazı olan? #HrantDink pic.twitter.com/BDZZA2JLPO
— Burcu Karakaş (@burcuas) December 11, 2014
Agos's headline for tomorrow [“This Case Does Not Fit with ‘Parallel’-2″) Anyone disagrees?
Indeed, Hrant Dink's case does not quite fit in with the ‘parallel state’ narrative, since Gülen and Erdoğan were seen as political allies during this time. As Ümit Kıvanç writes on the Riya Tabirleri blog:
Başta cumhurbaşkanı, bu hükümetin özellikle unutturmaya çalıştığı bir hakikati hatırlamanın tam da yeri burası: Cemaat'in silahlı bürokratları bu işleri yaparken, şimdiki gibi, hükümetle kavga halindeki bir “paralel yapı”nın elemanları saymıyorlardı kendilerini. Hükümet de onlara kendi adamları gözüyle bakıyordu.
It is time for me to remind the whole government, especially the president, of a truth they are trying to make us forget: While [Gülen's] armed bureaucrats were acting at the time, unlike today, they did not consider themselves as members of a ‘parallel organization’ in conflict with the government. Government [at the time] perceived them as its own men as well.
January 19, 2015 is the eighth year since Hrant Dink's death, while 2015 marks the 100th year of Armenian genocide.
Like the previous years, the walk started from Taksim and ended in front of Agos, where he was murdered. Thousands have gathered at his commemoration and demanded justice for his murder and recognition of the Armenian genocide.
8 years after the murder of #HrantDink, Armenian journo, banner at Agos reads: “Face Hrant, face the genocide” pic.twitter.com/7tuuvudofw
— Στράτος Μωραΐτης  (@oemoral) January 19, 2015
As was the case last year, people have come together under the hashtags #HrantIcinAdaletIcın (For Hrant, for Justice), #FasizmeInatKardesimsinHrant (You are my brother in spite of fascism), #BuradayızAhparig (We are here my brother) and #HrantDink.
One of the most poignant tweets ahead of Dink's commemoration focussed on the journalist's popular appeal to people of all creeds and cultures living in Turkey:
Hepimizin anlamlı ve gerçek bir bağ kurduğu nadir şeylerdendi : “Hepimiz Hrant'ız” #BuradayızAhparig #HrantİcinAdaletİcin
— Büşra Bulut (@busra_bulut) January 18, 2015
He was one of the very rare ones that we all found meaningful and created a real bond with. “We are all Hrant”
#Buradayızahparig
#HrantIcinAdaletIcin
Hrant Dink. Widely shared.

author: Ece Basay