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Caribbean: Talking to Giselle Rampaul of ‘The Spaces Between Words’ · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Giselle Rampaul is a literary scholar in the Literatures in English (LIE) section at the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad. Her research interests include the intersections between British and Caribbean literature, representations of childhood in Caribbean literature, and the work of the Trinidadian writer Samuel Selvon. She is currently working on a project on Shakespeare in the Caribbean.
She is also the editor and producer of ‘The Spaces Between Words: Conversations with Writers‘, a podcast series launched in November 2011. Currently hosted by UWI-St. Augustine’s Liberal Arts department website (but with plans to move to its own dedicated site), and drawing on the help of Rampaul’s LIE colleagues, The Spaces Between Words features interviews with writers and readings from their work, released at approximately weekly intervals.
Giselle Rampaul
The series opened with the Jamaican novelist Marlon James, and has included other Caribbean writers like Lorna Goodison, Edward Baugh, Jane King, and Mark McWatt, as well as V.S. Naipaul’s British biographer, Patrick French. All the podcasts thus far were recorded at the inaugural Bocas Lit Fest, a literary festival in Port of Spain.
With the festival’s second edition a few weeks away, and Rampaul’s team gearing up to record a new round of interviews, I asked her some questions via email about her experience editing The Spaces Between Words and how it could be used as a tool for teaching at UWI and elsewhere.
•••
Nicholas Laughlin (NL): Why did you decide to start the Spaces podcast series?
Giselle Rampaul (GR): Last year in March, UWI’s STAN magazine invited me to do an interview with [Canada-based Trinidadian writer] Shani Mootoo when she was writer-in-residence at UWI. While transcribing the audio-recording of the interview, I really enjoyed being able to actually hear Mootoo’s voice as she discussed her writing and her experiences, and thought that other people might find this appealing as well. It was because of this that one of my friends, Ben Braithwaite (who also later designed the logo for the podcast), suggested I begin a podcast series of interviews with writers.
Because I was also then the co-ordinator of Campus Literature Week, which aims to showcase the work of both new and established local writers, I thought that such a series could easily intersect with and develop this thrust in the Literatures in English (LIE) section. It would allow listeners to hear the writers not only read from their work but also discuss issues related to their creative processes and their writing. The interviews would be useful to students of literature and creative writing, giving them a range of perspectives on different issues. The podcasts could also be used as teaching tools or support material for university courses, not just here at UWI, but in other places that teach Caribbean literature.
One of the advantages of producing a podcast series is that it provides free access to knowledge. This, I think, is especially important in the current technological age, when the future of academic publishing is constantly being discussed. At the same time, the podcasts were not meant to be purely of academic interest, but would appeal to anyone with a love for books, or anyone with a general interest in creative writing or issues related to Caribbean identities.
Luckily, the idea for the podcast came just a month or two before the 2011 Bocas Lit Fest, when many writers were going to be in the country. [GV managing director] Georgia Popplewell, who has experience with podcasting for Caribbean Free Radio, gave me some advice. At this time, there was no technological infrastructure at UWI to support podcasts, but our webmaster, Daren Dhoray, very quickly got on the job.
Once I began editing the interviews with my assistant editor, Ryan Durgasingh (who is also now diligently working on our new website at www.spaceswords.com), I approached Satanand Sharma at the Department of Creative and Festival Arts for help with the theme music. He very kindly allowed us to use his composition “Papa Bois’s Song”, which begins and ends every interview.
So it was with the help of many different people that the podcast came into being. The interview that did, in fact, inspire the idea for the podcast is not actually in the series. But perhaps we’ll catch Shani Mootoo another time!
(You can read the interview with Shani Mootoo here.)
NL: How do you choose your interviewers, who seem impressively knowledgeable about the writers they talk to?
GR: Some of the interviewers last year came from staff of the LIE section at UWI —Geraldine Skeete, Jean Antoine-Dunne, and me. I also wanted to get students involved in the project: Rhonda Harrison, a PhD student in literature; Barbara Jenkins, a creative writing MFA student and also a prize-winning writer; Vladimir Lucien, an undergraduate student at the time, whose poetry appears in international journals; Nicha Selvon-Ramkissoon, another PhD student who was keenly interested in the Naipaul biography.
This year, a few more people have been added to our team: Paula Morgan, another member of the LIE staff; Nicole Roberts, lecturer in Spanish literature at UWI; and Ryan Durgasingh, an MPhil student in literature and the assistant editor of the podcasts, who will be adding interviewing to his many podcast-related activities. The interviewers are chosen based on different kinds of expertise, but also because of their keen interest in the writers, their work, and literature in general. They’ve tended to be UWI-based so far, as well.
NL: Of all the writers you’ve included so far, which one (or ones) gave the most surprising interviews?
GR: I am not sure if I’d describe any of the interviews as surprising, but they certainly have all been very enjoyable. The readings at the beginnings of the interviews have all been fascinating introductions to the writers’ work. You can’t help wanting to read The Book of Night Women after hearing Marlon James reading from the first paragraph of his book. The range of Caribbean (and sometimes also non-Caribbean) accents also brings the books to life in a very appealing way and makes every interview unique. In fact, Charlotte Williams points out the performative aspect of readings by Caribbean authors especially in her interview. And Edward Baugh talks about his inspiration for his own oration from church sermons.
Hearing about Patrick French’s experience of Trinidad as he did his research for The World is What It Is is fascinating — not least because he is writing about someone as controversial as V.S. Naipaul. Lorna Goodison’s interview has also been very popular, and shows her range as a creative writer — she reads a poem at the beginning of the interview, but talks about her teaching of short story writing and about her memoir, From Harvey River. And her name keeps coming up as a major source of inspiration for other writers, like Tanya Shirley and Jane Bryce. So there are interesting intersections among the interviews as well. Perhaps one of the most quirky and funny things I’ve heard in the interviews is Charlotte Williams talking about her current project, “The Toilet Papers.”
NL: So do UWI faculty actually use the podcasts as teaching tools?
GR: There have recently been training sessions on how to produce podcasts by the Instructional Development Unit, but I am not sure whether any other department has yet produced their own podcasts. However, UWI faculty do link to podcasts and videos on their course profiles. UWI staff also provide links to podcasts through social media groups. The UWI Linguistics Society Facebook group is very active, for example, and faculty members often post language-related podcasts there for students. Some lecturers in the LIE section, who have been teaching some of our featured writers, have also been posting our podcast interviews on their course profiles.
NL: Are there similar projects based at UWI, combining an archival function with public outreach?
GR: There are a few similar projects in the Department of Liberal Arts. The Modern Languages section takes part in an annual Inter-Campus Foreign Language Theatre Festival that is open to the public, for example. Campus Literature Week is an annual event open to the public and features readings by local creative writers, followed by a gala reading by a distinguished featured writer. All these events are audio- and video-recorded and archived. There are also efforts to make snippets of these readings available online.
International conferences held by the department are usually recorded and archived as well. The first issue of the online journal Tout Moun: Caribbean Journal of Cultural Studies is the result of a past conference. The Linguistics section is also involved in the documentation of endangered heritage languages (such as Patois and Bhojpuri) through interviews with the elderly, and other language custodians. There is also a collaborative project, involving members of the Deaf community, to create a large digital archive of Trinidad and Tobago Sign Language, from which descriptive (grammars and dictionaries) and practical (e.g. smartphone apps and text books) materials will be developed.
Follow The Spaces Between Words on Twitter @SpacesWords

author: Nicholas Laughlin


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Chile: Daniel Zamudio, Victim of a Brutal Hate Crime, Passes Away · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

Este bestial, cruel y despiadado ataque no pasará a la historia como un asalto más, o como una noticia de crónica roja más. Te prometo que lucharemos y combatiremos para que esta práctica nefasta sea extirpada de nuestra sociedad.
This brutal, cruel and ruthless attack will not go down in history as just another assault, or crime news. I promise that we will fight and combat so this harmful practice is removed from our society.
That was the promise Marcos Cárdenas, a Jesuit and philosophy student at the Alberto Hurtado University, made in his open letter [es]. He, as many other Chileans, expressed his grief after a group of men barbarously beat Daniel Zamudio, a young gay man, on March 3, 2012.
Daniel Zamudio Vera. Picture taken from the Internet from various sources.
The Clinic [es] published a summary of the story according to declarations of the men accused of beating and torturing Zamudio:
Todo empezó la madrugada de un sábado, en las cercanías de un cuartel policial y en un parque vigilado por guardias, un grupo de matones masacró a golpes a Daniel Zamudio, un joven homosexual que estaba allí. Lo torturaron seis horas y nadie vio nada. De los cuatro agresores, uno dicen que es claramente neonazi. El resto, una mezcla de lumpen y descarriados. Pero todos hoy están acusados de participar en uno de los ataques más salvajes que se recuerden en Santiago.
[…] Sobre él estaban Fabián Mora, Alejandro Angulo y Pato Core golpeándolo nuevamente. Esta vez con más fuerza, con “patadas, combos en la cabeza, en la cara, en los testículos, en las piernas, por todo el cuerpo”. López reconoce que pegó un par de patadas. A esa altura, cuenta, Zamudio ya sangraba por la nariz y la cara. Estaba tan ido por la borrachera y los golpes -dice-, que ni siquiera tuvieron que afirmarlo cuando Angulo y Pato Core le escarificaron tres esvásticas con el gollete de una botella de pisco sour Campanario, que minutos antes habían quebrado en su cabeza.[…]
It all started on a Saturday early in the morning, close to a police station and a park secured by guards. A group of thugs massacred Daniel Zamudio, a young gay man that was hanging out there. They tortured him for six hours and nobody saw anything. One out of the four aggressors is said to be a neo-Nazi. The rest, a mixture of ill-bred misfits. But today, all of them are accused of participating in one of the most savage assaults ever seen in Santiago.
[…] On top of him were Fabián Mora, Alejandro Angulo and Pato Core hitting him again. This time stronger and with “kicks, punches in the head, face, testicles, legs, and all over the body”. López admits that he kicked him a couple of times. At this point, he said, Zamudio was already bleeding through the nose and face. He was so unconscious because of alcohol and punches – he said – that they didn't even need to hold him when Angulo and Pato Core tattooed three swastikas with the neck of a Campanario pisco sour bottle that they broke minutes before on his head. […]
In this post we show some of the reactions from blogs, online news sites and Twitter since the news broke and until March 27, when Daniel Zamudio's death was announced [es].
Candlelight protest for Daniel Zamudio in Santiago. Photo taken on 03/22/2012 by Flickr user Movilh Chile (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Anti-Discrimination Law
The Anti-Discrimination Law that has been stuck in Congress for seven years has come back as a trending topic after the attack on Zamudio. There has even been a request to call it Zamudio Law [es] and to carry on the discussion at the Parliament's Mixed Commission after the last vote [es] that took place in November 2011.
Marcos Alvo, in a column called “Tolerance for Dummies” [es], published by El Dínamo, sentenced:
[…] Es por eso que necesitamos con urgencia la aprobación de la Ley Antidiscriminación (LAD). Legislar no cumple el único propósito de coaccionar , sino -más importante aun- el de ser un manifiesto social acerca de lo que nosotros como país queremos reflejar, con lo que estamos de acuerdo y con lo que no estamos dispuestos a tranzar.
[…] That is why we urgently need the approval of the Anti-Discrimination Law (LAD). Legislating does not only fulfill the objective of coercing, it is also – and most importantly – a social manifesto of what we as a country want to reflect, what we agree upon and what we are not willing to compromise.
To that respect, the President of the Jewish Community in Chile, Shai Agosin, pointed out [es]:
Por desgracia, la ley antidiscriminación, como está hoy día, no incluye una institucionalidad, no incluye políticas públicas ni un ministerio que esté encargado de llevarla adelante de buena forma.
Candlelight protest for Daniel Zamudio at the Posta Central (Central Hospital). Taken from the J. blog with Javiera Tapia's (author) permission.
Unfortunately, the anti-discrimination law, as it is today, does not include institutions, does not include public policies or a ministry that will be responsible to enforce it in a good way.
Diversity or tolerance?
Lala from the blog Zancada [es] reflected:
Recordé qué poco nos enseñan de diversidad, de lo aislados que estamos geográfica y mentalmente. Sé que en muchos casos no es así, pero si encendemos la tele y vemos cómo se burlan de los homosexuales, de los peruanos, de los “distintos”, no nos están enseñando a integrarlos a todos, sino que nos dicen que es mejor reírnos de ellos o huir. Dicen que la xenofobia se cura viajando, y qué cierto es. Cuando te das cuenta de que ese que tiene otro color de piel u otro acento, o cree en otro dios, no te hará nada, que es en el fondo igual a ti, te haces más persona y pierdes el miedo. Eres un poco más libre.
Y lo mejor es que ni siquiera sería necesario viajar si aquí en nuestras casas nos lo dijeran. Si en los colegios nos contaran. Si la tele y los medios lo mostraran.
I remember how little is taught to us about diversity, how isolated we are geographically and mentally speaking. I know that in many cases this is not true, but if we turn on the TV and watch how they mock gays, Peruvians, the “different one”, we are not being taught to include everyone, we are told that it is better to laugh at them or run from them. They say xenophobia is cured by travelling, and it's very true. When you realize that those who have a different skin color or accent or believes in a different God is not going to harm you, that he or she is like you, you become more human and lose the fear. You are freer.
And the best part is that it wouldn't be necessary to travel if here, in our homes, they told us. If they told us in schools. If the TV and the media showed it.
Beatriz Gimeno shared her thoughts in a column at El Ciudadano (The Citizen) [es]:
No estar activamente posicionado en contra de cualquier tipo de discriminación es dar alas al odio y a la violencia. No hace falta llamar directamente a la violencia legitimar la violencia. No reconocer que las personas lgtb somos merecedores de exactamente los mismos derechos, es no querer reconocer que somos merecedores del mismo respeto, de la misma dignidad; es no querer reconocer que compartimos exactamente la misma humanidad. Y finalmente cuando no se reconoce la misma humanidad ni la misma dignidad, se termina por favorecer que alguien entienda que somos merecedores de algún tipo de castigo.
Not being actively involved against any type of discrimination is to boost hate and violence. You don't need to directly incite violence to legitimize violence. Not recognizing that we, LGBT people, are worthy of respect, of the same dignity; it is about not wanting to recognize that we share exactly the same humanity. And finally, when the same humanity is not recognized nor the same dignity, you end up understanding that someone thinks we deserve some type of punishment.
Marcos Alvo, in the previously quoted column, added:
Si hasta hablar de tolerancia me parece intolerante.  Decir: “te tolero” suena de un egocentrismo absoluto. Quien soy yo para “tolerar”. Es casi como afirmar que a pesar de tu diversidad te permito vivir en mi país. WTF.
Even speaking about tolerance seems intolerant to me.  Saying: “I tolerate you” sounds absolutely selfish. Who am I to “tolerate”. It's like asserting that despite your diversity, I allow you to live in my country. WTF.
Supporting Daniel
Protest in support of Daniel Zamudio and his family in  Curicó, Chile. Picture by Twitter user @JParadaHoyl used with his permission.
Since day one, declarations backing Daniel and disavowing his attackers appeared under the hashtags #FuerzaDanielZamudio [es] and #DanielZamudio [es].
A movement that advocates and defends human rights of lesbian, gays, bisexual and transsexuals, Movilh Chile (@Movilh) [es], constantly kept its followers informed about Daniel's health progress and started a campaign [es] that invited Twitter users to lighten up their avatar with a virtual candle to show their support.
Among the famous who expressed their solidarity was Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) who tweeted:
Last night I won a @Glaad award! I am honored and thankful and would like to dedicate it to #DanielZamudio and his family #Chile
Also, several candlelight protests have been taking place in several parts of the country like Antofagasta [es], Santiago [es] and Curicó demanding justice for Daniel. You can see more pictures of one of the protests at the front of the hospital where Daniel Zamudio was staying at the J. Blog [es]
Daniel's death
On Twitter, Chileans reacted as soon as they found out about Daniel's decease.
Conti (@gcontador) [es] stated:
Antes que lo mataran, lo ningunearon los políticos que tú elegiste, se rieron de el los humoristas que tú premias y lo condenó tu iglesia
Before he was murdered, the politicians you elected looked down on him, the comedians you praise laughed at him, the religion you follow condemned him
From Viña del Mar, user @Festitroll [es] criticized:
Lloran la muerte de #DanielZamudio pero se burlan de Hinzpeter por ser Judio y gritan a Zalaquett por ir a la posta. Rica tu tolerancia
People cry #DanielZamudio's death but they mock Hinzpeter (Chilean Interior Minister) for being Jewish and Zalaquett (Santiago Major) for going to the hospital. Nice tolerance.
The famous Chilean TV host Rafael Araneda (@RafaAraneda) [es] commented:
Q tremendo ! Murió #DanielZamudio no lo puedo creer… Es un hecho q habla muy mal de nuestros tiempos y de lo q nos rodea…
What a shock! #DanielZamudio died, I can't believe it… It's a fact that speaks very ill of our times and surroundings
Similarly, TV host Carolina Urrejola (@CarolaUrrejola) concluded:
Algo edificante en medio del dolor: una sociedad entera está escandalizada. #DanielZamudio.
Something good came out of this pain: an entire society that is outraged. #DanielZamudio.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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China: Netizens Reactions to North Korea Satellite Launch · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

On March 27, 2012, North Korea  announced that it would not abandon its satellite launch in mid April despite United States (U.S.) President Barack Obama's high profile visit to South Korea this week. Strong reactions have come from South Korea and Japan, the latter having prepared its missile defense system in case the satellite rocket entered Japan's airspace.
As North Korea's closest ally, China's President Hu Jintao has been rather prudent in expressing his position. In the social media, the news has caught a lot of attention among netizens but their viewpoints are divided.
In the news discussion thread at Sina Weibo [zh], quite a number of netizens found North Korea courageous in confronting the U.S. hegemony:
superman哥哥：这本来就是，别的国家凭什么就不让人家发射卫星。就你可以吃肉别人就不可以啦！！！
称成：支持朝鲜。有能力有勇气。
肥鸭KidAtCardiacSurgery：一个独立主权的国家为什么没有发射卫星的权利？!搞笑! 别的国家有什么资格管制
LGX9930：发射卫星不仅是主权国家的合法权利，也是促进经济发展的必要条件，所以不会放弃卫星发射计划。大国可以，小国不行吗？
长河落日故乡人：各方为何不呼吁美国和朝鲜共同放弃核？
路殿下：卫星发射需要钱，研究导弹也要钱，有了核武器维护更要钱。可是，如果不这么做，叙利亚伊朗那边就快扛不住了。这三个让美国头疼的铁三角，其实比和中国的关系更休戚相关。其实朝鲜也知道不能再靠大哥了，只有继续发展军事饮鸩止渴。此举符合我国的短期利益，否则金再鲁莽，也没这胆量，同时得罪中美。
子虛烏有-先生：奧巴馬在這件事上歇斯抵里，朝鮮不給面，不為五斗米折腰，全世界人看美國出丑，霸權主義去死吧。
穗海原川：我们58年连稻谷。麦子都放了那么多卫星了，不管是什么样的卫星，是不是卫星，总得给点面子，让人家放放嘛。
At the same time, some argue that the North Korea satellite development will eventually harm China:
Daniel桑：回复@昊孟中月:用点脑好不好，你这样说就等于说为什么警察可以配枪，小偷们就不可以？朝鲜卫星升空意味着什么你知道吗？这颗卫星升空最头疼的就是中国
热气青年3代：这就好像一把利刃握在一个疯子手中。
mjintokyo：朝鲜的导弹最远只能飞到美国的阿拉斯加，不过中国全境都在其射程内。那些支持朝鲜的脑残，你们以为中国不用担心么。
There are also sarcastic comments such as the following:
吉普寨老农：好，朝方一定要坚持到底！届时打一场硬仗，各国争取一个月内消灭独裁政权

author: Oiwan Lam


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Ethiopia: Child Abuse Caught on Mobile Phone Camera · Global Voices
Markos Lemma

Ethiopian Facebook users have reacted to a mobile phone recorded YouTube video which shows a little girl constantly being abused by her mother. Shortly after the upload of the video, netizens on Facebook organized an online campaign for justice by starting a Facebook group called “Ethiopians Against Child Abuse”:
About
what happened to this little girl is an eye opening experience to all of us. Let's all stand up for other invisible children, and bring awareness to stop child abuse in ETHIOPIA. We are the next generation that can change our country let's start today
Description
As we closely monitor the case of the little girl, we also want to think about on how we can keep on making such great diffrence by very small gestures as we have just done, in these past two days. This community (Ethiopians Against Child Abuse), is a group dedicated to bringing awareness to child abuse in Ethiopia. We are inviting all and any individuals who already work in charity, people who are interested in charity work, and individuals who are ready to make a difference to join our movement.
The following video contains upsetting content:
This update was posted on the group's wall:
BREAKING NEWS: we just got off the phone with Saifu Fantahun and we have learned that: 1. after the reporters left the house, the child got beat again, there are new marks on her body to prove that :( 2. The woman is not her mother, she is her grandmother. 3. The child is 4 years old now and they claim these happened 3 years ago, which is clearly a lie. Because the child was not 1 years old in the video. 4. both the mother and the girl who was recording the incident are both in custody. 4. The child is staying with her aunt for now. 5. The grandmother is claiming that she get's possessed by the devil sometimes and that is why she commits such act.
Another Facebook group is called “Stop child abuse In Ethiopia”:
This is group is dedicated to those children who have been victims of physical assault,mental torture,sexual harassment,abduction, and early marriage. The immediate cause for its existence is the brutal physical torture committed on a little girl by her parents.
The group bears the responsibility to spread the information as wide as possible so as to make the issue the concern of responsible bodies.
Thus Let us try to change the situation by inviting our friends to this group, at least invite two of your friends. tnx
Tsedi Lemma, one of the most active Ethiopian social media activist wrote on her Facebook page:
Watch this video and weep. I have nothing to say….this has gutted my ability to speak as a mother and a woman. I didn't know this was the limit of my big mouth…i am just speechless!!
Another Ethiopian netizen, Muson Abdo, left a message on the ‘Stop child abuse In Ethiopia’ Facebook page:
Let's do the simplest possible effort to stop the brutal child right abuse in our country by echoing the message so that the issue will become the concern of our leaders. There are so many similar cases taking place in the country which hampers the natural and healthy growth of the coming generation. You are the one who can stop this disaster from the land. So don't overlook it, it is our responsibility too. We have the ability in our hands to halt it right now. Let say enough is enough. We have suffered/they have suffered/ our country suffered a lot from this epidemic. Speared it as wide as you can.
Ethiopians Against Child Abuse logo. Image source: Group's Facebook page.
Dawit Nida [am] said on Facebook:
ለዚህ ምን ይባላል!!! እያንዳንዱ ጥፊ በስለት የተወጋሁ ያህል ነው የተስማኝ:: የቀራጯ ሳቅ ደግሞ…..ውይ ያሰቃያል!!! STOP CHILD ABUSE!!
A woman wearing a t-shirt with the message "በአዲሱ ሚሊኒየም የሕፃናት ደህንነት የሁላችን ኃላፊነት ነው" (In the new millennium, the safety of children is our common responsibility). Photo courtesy of ethiopianreporter.com.
One local radio station has offered a 10,000 Ethiopian Birr (about US$ 600) reward for any one with information leading to the arrest of the abusive “mother”. The girl laughing in the background who recorded the video has finally gave her side of the story.
A local online newsletter [am] reports that the mother has now been identified.
Social media helped Ethiopian netizens discover the video and spread it among themselves. Facebook penetration in Ethiopia is at 111.19%. The country ranks number 93 in the ranking of Facebook statistics by country. According to Internet World Stats, as of 31 December, 2011 there were 622,122 Internet users in Ethiopia.
Recently, mobile phone video footage showing an Ethiopian domestic worker being beaten and dragged by force into a car outside the Ethiopian consulate in Beirut, Lebanon caused angry reactions amongst Ethiopian netizens.

author: Markos Lemma


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Guatemala: Indigenous and Rural Communities March to Defend Their Land · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.
Thousands of Guatemalan indigenous people and campesinos (countrymen) participated in a nine-day march to defend their lands, protest forced relocations, and call attention to other issues affecting rural communities. Cultural Survival explains:
Organized by the Comite de Unidad Campesino, (CUC) [Committee for Campesino Unity] the march demands the attention of the State of Guatemala, as well as local, national, and international media to the issues facing the rural Indigenous and campesino majority of the country.
The report continues:
The movement leaders have issued a press statement, “Declaration of the March for Resistance and Dignity, in Defense of the Earth and Territory”  in which they have made the following demands– reiterations of longstanding grievances of the Indigenous and campesinos in Guatemala:
Photographer and blogger James Rodríguez published a photo essay [es] of the arrival of the marchers to Guatemala City on March 26, 2012:
Después de 9 días y 212 kilómetros, la Marcha Indígena, Campesina y Popular por la defensa de la Madre Tierra, contra los desalojos, la criminalización y por el Desarrollo Rural Integral, llegó al centro de la Ciudad Capital. Según miembros del Comité de Unidad Campesina (CUC), se estima que alrededor de 15,000 personas participaron en esta novena y última jornada.
These are some of James’ photos, published with his permission:
"No to the exploitation of natural resources. No to mining"
Visit James’ blog Mi Mundo [es] to see more photos of the march in Guatemala City.
This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Hong Kong: Citizens Say No to Undemocratic City Mayor Election · Global Voices
Ronald Yick

Among the 1,200 Hong Kong Chief Executive Election Committee members, 689 elected Leung Chun-ying to be the next city mayor on March 25 under the influence and active lobbying of the Liasion Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong. When the election result was released, thousands of demonstrators protested against the Beijing manipulation of the election process outside the temporary election venue.
The mock civil referendum
Before the election, between March 23-24, more than 220,000 Hong Kong citizens had participated in the mock “civil referendum” organized by the Public Opinion Programme of the Hong Kong University to express their discontent towards the small circle election and to assert their right to vote for the city mayor.
Despite the online voting system being attacked by hackers, thousands of legitimate voters (local residents aged over 18) insisted to queue outside polling stations to cast their ballots:
Polling station at Poly University on March 24. From Facebook Page: Civic Referendum
Facebook user Leung Chau Ming was queued outside one of the polling stations on March 23; he described [zh] the touching scene on the Facebook page of the civic referendum event:
當時我身在其中, 寒風中大家也很自律, 有老中青, 更有媽媽在邊排隊邊給小朋友餵飯。
深明今天所為, 從64至71到323 etc., 未會於 有生之年 見証 民主之成果; 但為下一代…下兩代…下下下N代，我們是有責任的, 亦是 每個香港人 此時此刻 應盡的義務！
Thomas Pang was in the same queue with Leung and he explained why he decided to queue up for the mock election:
THAT IS THE PRESENT SITUATION BUT WE LOOK FOR A CHANGE. WE DO NOT WANT “PALACE POLITICS-CHINESE TYPE” ANY MORE. THAT IS WHY WE HAVE COME OUT TO VOTE. WE DO THIS BECAUSE WE DO NOT WANT OUR NEXT GENERATION COME THROUGHT ALL THIS AGAIN. I HOPE LOSO WILL UNDERSTAND.
Eventually, 222,990 people voted in the mock election, in which 54.6% cast blank votes. Leung Chun-ying only got 17.8% of the votes, a huge contrast with the result of small circle election, which was held in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.
Protest outside the city hall on March 25
On March 25, more than 2,000 people protested outside the temporary election venue. Outraged by Leung's victory, they pushed the police barricades. Below are some photos taken by citizen journalists from inmediahk.net on the protest scene:
Protesters pushing the police barricades on March 25. Image by Flickr user inmediahk (CC BY-NC).
Protesters sitting outside the election hall. Image by Flickr user inmediahk (CC BY-NC).
No to the small circle election: the Pig, the Wolf and the Dove. Image by Flickr user inmediahk (CC BY-NC).
Joshua Wong, a young activist, reflected upon the demonstration and expressed his disappointment [zh] with people’s unwillingness to take action:
還記得今天在會展外的馬路坐下時，忽然有人大叫：「梁振英當選！」，群眾們立即站立起哄，面上流露著驚訝的神情。我本身對梁振英當選也有心理準備，但也想不到他可在第一輪投票以689票立即當選。
回家時十分痛心，我痛心的不是梁振英當選，我痛心的是大家的那種犬儒和事不關已的心態，「邊個做特首都唔關我事，平平安安和和諧諧咪算」、「懶衝動只會搞到政局亂哂搞臭香港個名」、「抗爭完都無用架啦」、「呢個世界邊有真正民主」……
我很想告訴大家，梁振英當選並不可怕，可怕的是大家對強勢政治和硬推政策無動於衷，即使將來對遊行集會的打壓會越來越強，但我乃我始終如一地相信群眾運動的力量，特別很想告訴各位同學和朋友，嘗試第一次的社會行動，把握今年的七一遊行，讓大家以一個又一個足印，告訴中共政權，我們不要這個由小圈子選舉產生，只有18%認受性的梁振英特首。
I remembered when I was sitting on the road outside the center, someone suddenly shouted, ‘CY Leung has won!’ People stood up and howled. They felt surprised. I was prepared for his victory, but did not expect he could win in the first round with 689 votes.
I was heartbroken when I was back home, not because of Leung's victory, but the feeling of cynicism and detachment: ‘Whoever will be the Chief Executive is not my concern, as long as [the society is] safe and harmonious’, ‘Impulse will lead to political chaos and destroy Hong Kong's image.’, ‘Useless even after protest’, ‘No real democracy in every part of the world'…
I really want to tell you all that, Leung's victory is not fearful; the fear is people's lack of concern on the threat of the future iron hand politics. Even if the repression of freedom of demonstration and assembly increases, I still believe in the power of people. In particular, I would continue to encourage students and friends to join social action, in particular to grasp the opportunity of the upcoming July 1 rally. Let our footstep tell the Chinese Communist regime that we don't want to have Leung Chun-ying who is “elected” by a small circle and with less than 18% public endorsement, to be our Chief Executive.
Another demonstration against Beijing intervention into local politics will be held the coming weekend on April 1.

author: Ronald Yick


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Senegal and Neighboring Nations Celebrate Peaceful Elections · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

[All links forward to French articles unless stated otherwise]
An historical ending to  a tense electoral period took place in Senegal [en] on March 25, 2012. As he appeared to have been defeated soundly [en] by ex-prime minister and challenger, Macky Sall [en], acting President Wade [en] telephoned his adversary to congratulate him on his victory, even before the publication of the official final results. Such a move has previously been unheard of in the region.
The Senegalese are celebrating these peaceful elections, which have allowed the political alternative to express itself. Indeed, there were reasons to fear further clashes in light of the pre-election violence [en]. Celebrities and citizens alike have expressed their relief.
Place de l'obélisque by Nd1mbee on Flickr with his permission
This taxi driver started to dance spontaneously in the streets of Dakar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch9UoFdL5ak&feature=related
Singer Youssou N'Dour, who campaigned for Macky Sall, also reacted positively to the result as seen in this video:
As did fashion designer Diouma Diakhaté:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlWePG_uEu8&feature=related
The flood of media and Internet reactions have not stopped since news of this phone call was made public. Many of the commentators in the neighboring nations had been dreaming of such a change in their own country.
Gabon
Blogger Steve Beko wrote an article entitled ‘Election of Macky Sall in Senegal: The First Lessons of a Victory’ on the website Gabon Libre (Free Gabon). Maboundou Mounbamba left the following comment after the article:
Bravo aux Sénégalais , sa c'est un vrai exemple de démocratie pas celle qu'on a de nom au Gabon , honnêtement suis jaloux des sénégalais et les encourage sur cette voie, pour vu que ça nous serve d'exemple
Côte d'Ivoire
Regime change has also come to Côte d'Ivoire, but at the cost of many human lives. The Ivorian website Ivorian.net posted an article which attracted many comments from the Ivory Coast community and brought back some old grudges between the supporters of President Alassane Ouattara [en] and those of his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo [en].
Satchmo makes a philosophical comment on Macky Sall's victory:
Belle leçon de démocratie que cette victoire du peuple sénégalais. Bien entendu Wade aurait pu s’entêter comme Gbagbo mais, il a eu l’élégance et surtout la courtoisie d’appeler son challenger. La est tout ce qui grandi et anobli.
 On peut polémiquer à vau l’eau sur les causes et les motivations profondes du geste mais c’est au crédit de Wade. La démocratie est un bébé qui grandit et qui a besoin d’être entretenu par la clairvoyance des différents leaders qui défilent a la tête de l’Etat.
Alain Monier adds:
Qu’une alternance démocratique ait eu lieu rien ne pouvait s’y opposer si ce n’était les derniers soubresauts d’un vieil homme perdu dans des songes sans consistance aucune. Le bon droit a prévalu et c’est heureux.
Guinea
In Guinea [en], reactions reflect the difficulties that arose from the deep social divisions within the country that the election of President Alpha Condé [en] has not been able to eliminate. Alluding to the custom of Guineans to add “democratically elected” each time Alpha Condé has been mentioned, Camara Boubacar wrote in a comment after an article posted on the Guinea News website:
Macky Sall est le Président élu du Sénégal. Ni lui, ni ses laudateurs, ni la presse sénégalaise n'ajoutera à la fonction du Président de la République le titre ” Démocratiquement élu ” comme pour justifier ce qui lui aurait maqué pour être le légitime représentant du peuple sénégalais.
On the same website, blogger Dielta finds that the results of the Senegalese elections are:
Une victoire et un honneur pour le peuple sénégalais et ça doit être une leçon de morale pour les guinéens. Car il est temps que les guinéens sachent aussi que seule une élection objective peut être bénéfique pour tous. Il est temps que nous changions le changement en Guinée.
Demonstrators show their joy by Nd1mbee on Flickr, used with his permission
Togo
Sylvio Combey wrote an article on his blog saying:
Ce qui importe, c’est l’alternance. Wade a fait deux mandats et est bouté dehors. Au Togo, on maintient la même famille au pouvoir depuis bientôt 50 ans.
Mali
There are many observations from Mali bloggers on the site Maliweb. An article informs us that when the time came to put his ballot paper in the box, Abdoulaye Wade turned up empty handed because he had left it in the booth. Thinking of the elections that should have taken place in his country, Liqui wrote:
Wade a suivi ce qui s’est passé au Mali, voila une des raisons pour lesquelles il félicite Macky, sans qu’on ne finisse avec le dépouillement!
 donc leçon bien reçue!!!
Coulibaly  also expressed his point of view:
Démontrons au monde entier que l’apparence trompe et que le peuple malien est mûr, et non naïf de mème que l’armée malienne. Ce sont les epreuves qui donnent les meilleures leçons,pour qui veut bien apprendre.Rappellons aussi avec respect les morts de la campagne senegalaise ainsi que les degats!
Burkina-Faso
Citizens of Burkina-Faso [en] also rejoiced after the Senegalese elections. Among the many people who commented about them on website lefaso.net, was Sylvie who  wrote:
Moi je serai plus direct. Malgré les achats de conscience et les menaces, tout pouvoir a necessairement une fin. Nos dirigeants doivent se mettre cette idée dans la tête. Le peuple vous jugera.
Ms Kaboré gave her opinion on the same point:
Les senegalais ont montré qu ils savent ce qu est la vraie democratie, et tout pouvoir fini par s’ éfriter [sic] et se perdre avec le temps. le Burkina doit prendre l’exemple sur le Senegal.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Slovenia: Family Code Referendum (and Other “Election Season” Updates)  · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sleeping With Pengovsky has been covering Slovenia's referendum on the Family Code (here and here), the mayoral by-elections, and the upcoming presidential election.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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South Korea: Youtube Video on Saving Jeju Village from Naval Base Construction · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

A video with English subtitle explaining why protesters are against constructing a naval based in the Jeju island was posted on the Youtube site. The opposition accused the construction of destroying a rare ecosystem and disrupting local livelihood, while the other side argues it is necessary for national defense.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Spain: General Strike After Only 100 Days of Government  · Global Voices
Chris Moya

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
Following cuts in social services, education, research and development, health, renewable energy, and above all, the targeting of workers by the new Labour Reform [es], which facilitates worker's dismissal and weakens their rights while helping employers, the main Spanish unions have called for a general strike today, March 29, 2012, (29M), with the aim of paralyzing the country and forcing the government to back down on implementing these measures.
Faced with high levels of unemployment, with more than 5,000,000 Spaniards currently out of work, the government is introducing deregularising measures, which, as has already been seen in Ireland, are not giving the promised results.
Groups linked to the #15M, the most prominent Spanish social movement [es] in recent times, are also supporting the general strike, giving it a more inclusive [es] appearance and thus mitigating the “poor image” [es] which the unions have acquired in recent years. These collectives are calling for the 99% to strike [es], and are appealing for citizens to self-organize.
All of these calls to action can be viewed on the following interactive map [es]:
It is possible to track the general strike using data on the demand for electricity across the country [es], the theory is that if demand falls, the strike will have attracted a greater number of participants.  A consumption strike has also been called in which citizens are urged not to consume on the day of the strike, a proposal whose success and participation will become evident throughout the coming days. Here is a video on the call for consumers to strike [es]:
In the first few hours of the strike on March 29, there have already been several confrontations between piquetes (groups of people who make sure that nobody enters the workplace) and workers and riot police, who as usual, wear no visible signs of identification. Here we can see how the representative of the Andalucian parliament, José Antonio Castro, condemns this practice [es]:
This afternoon and evening, massive demonstrations have been called all over the country, and we will continue to provide information on the day's events. You can also follow the general strike on Twitter using the hashtag #enhuelga [es].
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Chris Moya


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The Cuba the Pope Leaves Behind  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Pope Benedict XVI‘s trip to Cuba has come to an end, a visit bookended by the Castro brothers: President Raul Castro greeting the pontiff at the airport and Fidel Castro meeting with him before his departure yesterday. But bloggers are suggesting that despite the Pope's message of change and hope for the future, it looks like business as usual on the island.
Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense posted an extensive list of people who have reportedly been arrested, saying:
The Castro dictatorship is using Pope Benedict XVI's visit as an opportunity to settle accounts with some of its fervent opposition, unleashing a wave of arrests surely to generate the condemnation of the world — if the world bothered to notice.
The numbers are uncertain, in the hundreds, if not more.
More impressive are the names, each one an example of courage and faith that remain strong despite the odds against them. Each one a patriot.
Laritza Diversent, who lives in Cuba, admitted that she hadn't intended to write about the papal visit, but changed her mind to blog about “the wave of repression that has preceded [his] arrival and that accompanies it”:
I would like to feel myself blessed by your arrival, but it is not the case. Thousands of arrests, cleansing the streets of indigents, police operations, house arrests, telephones cut off, only because of your visit to Cuba.
In my prayers to God, I ask…that we of the resistance may have sufficient strength to withstand the fear and repression, and to strengthen our voices in favor of Freedom.
Despite our faith, our reality is different: arrest and silence, repression and fear, simple hypocrisy; and your arrival, Your Holiness has come to remind us of it.
Havana-bsed Without Evasion said that “at the moment that [she was] uploading this post”:
There are operatives around the houses of many opponents, dissidents and civil society activists in Cuba. Such is the case with Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo. Many cell phones have been cut off and fixed telephone lines interrupted.
Her compatriot, Iván García, noted that “not all Cubans are happy about the visit of the Pope”. He went on to blog about an elderly man who was targeted in the clean-up operation preceding the papal visit:
Eladio was picked up by a joint operation of the public health authorities and police, and driven to an unknown location. In this ’cleansing operation’ also loaded up with homeless beggars, the insane, hustlers and alcoholics spread like an arrow across the city.
It is typical of the Cuban government to create an artificial environment for VIPs. From painting walls to repairing streets and planting trees where visitors will pass by.
The government fears that dissident groups will shout slogans or deploy banners in the course of two Masses that the Pope will officiate on the island on March 26 in Santiago de Cuba and March 28 in Havana.
The Ladies in White and dissidence have requested a minute of his attention. The Cuban Church’s response is that his agenda is very full. But there will always be room to chat with Fidel Castro.
If there is anything the beggars and dissidents “of the barricade” agree on, it is that this papal visit has brought more harm than good.
The fact that the pontiff left Cuba without giving a hearing to members of the opposition has disappointed many. At Translating Cuba, Ciro Javier Díaz Penedo said:
Benedict XVI should speak at the morning Mass of the arrests of citizens in Cuba, of the beating received yesterday by a person who, during his Mass, of the abuses the Cuban government inflicts on its population, and if he does not he is, in some way, an accomplice to this tyranny, he would be visiting a country where people in power once proscribed his religion and ordered the murder of its priests and the faithful.
These are the same people with whom the Pope is conversing fraternally now. I am not saying not to do it, diplomacy has its uses, but they should be in the service of goodness and justice, and as he meets with these assassins he should at least do the same with those of us who struggle against them in a peaceful manner.
Nicolas Jimenez, writing at babalu, said that his disappointment extended to the attitude of the Church as a whole when it comes to Cuba:
As a Catholic of Cuban descent, the way the Church deals with Cuba is painful to watch.
It's in large part because of my Catholic faith that I understand freedom as being just as important to our fulfillment of God's will (and our ability to become closer to Him) as any of our physical needs—and neither should be sought at the expense of the other.
It's also why I believe that faith without works is dead…where there [is] less tumultuous state tyranny (which is just as damaging to the spirit), the Church sometimes seems to err on the side of subtlety and stability. If we… can't turn to the Church for clear leadership on these less tangible (but no less important) moral imperatives… if the Church can't stand up directly (peacefully, of course) to a tyrant who not only banned religious celebrations, but replaced them with celebrations of himself…
Well… then to whom are we supposed to turn for that leadership?
Pope Benedict XVI could do all this with a simple meeting. That doesn't seem too much to ask. Just him… and some of the most devout in his flock… in the same room. I've been racking my brain for a (good) reason a Pope wouldn't do this tiny thing… and I've come up with nothing.
Fellow babalu contributor Alberto de la Cruz added:
While several opposition groups in Cuba along with journalists and activists throughout the world have raised concerns about the fate of the unknown Cuban dissident who yelled “down with communism” during a mass by Pope Benedict XVI on Monday, the Catholic Church in Cuba as well as the Vatican have been eerily silent. The same can be said for the hundreds of dissidents and human rights activists that were rounded up like cattle by the Castro dictatorship in the days preceding and during the papal visit to the island. Neither the pope, the Church, nor the Vatican have expressed a public and specific concern, let alone outrage for their Cuban host's latest victims of repression.
Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter, meanwhile, recognised that:
The Pope's message is in sharp contrast to both the militaristic image and message projected by Raul Castro and the dictatorship. A low point captured on video by international media was the detention of a man who shouted “down with communism” who was taken away and beaten by men dressed in Red Cross uniforms prior to the Pope's mass in Santiago de Cuba. His whereabouts remain unknown.
His Holiness has stated that Marxist ideology does not correspond to reality and Cuba needs a different model…that the dialogue initiated by Blessed John Paul II in 1998 with the Cuban dictatorship must include the Cuban democratic opposition if the Church is to play a role as mediator. In the short run this may not serve the Church's own interests due to the regime's violent anti-christian history but it would serve the common good. This is the underlying reason as to the importance of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI recognizing and meeting with the democratic Cuban opposition.
That meeting did not happen. But the one with Fidel Castro did. Up until the last moment, babalu was hoping “that the pope would stand up for Cuba's oppressed people and stand up to the Castro dictatorship”:
Instead, with only hours remaining in the pope's visit, all we have received is much disappointment and disillusionment. This is not to say we expected anything different, but it is to say that we hoped, we prayed, we pleaded with the pope for something much more substantial.
The pope is scheduled to meet with retired dictator Fidel Castro…we do not know what they will talk about. However, we can be quite certain there will be no meetings with the Ladies in White or other dissidents since the pope has outright refused to meet with them.
Unfortunately, I am afraid that the pope's last hours in Cuba will be no different than his last two days in Cuba. We prayed for hope and all the pope delivered was disillusionment.
So what is the Cuba that the Pope has left behind? Both babalu and Capitol Hill Cubans, citing a report from the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, suggest that it could be a country of even greater repression than before:
Former Cuban political prisoner Iván Hernández Carrillo has revealed the following text being sent by Castro's secret police to pro-democracy activists:
‘As soon as the #PapaCuba leaves, we are going to disappear all of you.’
Blogger Miriam Celaya summed it up this way:
It is possible that the maximum leader of the Catholic Church doesn’t know that when he officiates at the public mass in Civic Plaza* in Havana on March 28, he will not only be offering his blessing to the people of Cuba, but also sealing the first act of Revolutionary Reaffirmation called by the Cuban government under umbrella of a religious celebration, with the consent and approval of the Catholic hierarchy of the Island.
Some Cubans have waited in vain for a note of protest from the Archbishop at such a politicization of what is supposed to be a pastoral visit to reaffirm faith in God, and which, by the work and the grace of the Castro-Catholic romance, has turned out to be — at least in appearance — another march in support to the government.
Surely, when Benedict XVI lifts off from Cuban soil and returns to the peace and meditation of his Vatican, he will leave behind a people even less Catholic than his predecessor, John Paul II, left behind 14 years ago.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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This Week in the Caribbean Blogosphere · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Again this week, the regional blogosphere was dominated by talk of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba. With reports of repression at an all-time high, Cuban bloggers were dismayed by the outcome of the trip.
Cuba
Uncommon Sense, who is part of the Cuban diaspora, thought the papal visit was summed up by a photograph of the pontiff meeting Fidel Castro, which he republished on his blog, saying:
I read a transcript of Pope Benedict XVI's homily in Havana today, hoping to find something to convince me that His Holiness and the church he leads are on the right side of history, and on the right side in the struggle for freedom, in Cuba.
Unfortunately, there was little there to make me forget the message, intended and otherwise, in this photograph…
The photograph also offended others. In a guest post at babalu, Asombra said:
I’m sorry, but this grotesque travesty is deeply offensive, and if the Vatican cannot understand that, then it understands nothing, and nothing can be expected from it. Alas, I cannot believe this is a case of cluelessness.
This is a choice made by this pope to put Nero or Caligula before his victims, before the persecuted and the oppressed, before the millions that have suffered and lost so much at his filthy, bloody, evil hands—the same hands taken warmly in his own by Benedict. This has nothing to do with ministering to the marginalized, the outcast, the stigmatized and the socially undesirable. This is smiling at, catering to and fraternizing with the devil. If there was no way to avoid this abomination, Benedict should not have visited Cuba.
When Uncommon Sense posted a video of members of the crowd at the Papal Mass in Havana “[crying] out for ‘Libertad’, he was firm in his opinion that:
The faithful have the final word.
The fact that the Pope was said to have discussed the issue of the country's dissidents with President Raul Castro was hardly salve to the wound of many bloggers – especially in light of reports like this one from Capitol Hill Cubans:
Just prior to this evening's Mass in Santiago de Cuba by Pope Benedict XVI, a courageous young Cuban screamed ‘freedom’ and ‘down with Communism.’
He was immediately detained by Castro's secret police and brutally beaten.
The blog also posted its view on the ability of the Pope to effect change in a post titled “Pope Speaks, Regime Answers”:
Pope Benedict XVI said today after praying at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity:
‘I have prayed to the Virgin for the needs of those who suffer, of those who are deprived of freedom, those who are separated from their loved ones or who are undergoing times of difficulty.’
And the Castro regime answered, through the Vice President of the Council of State, Manuel Murillo:
‘In Cuba, there will not be political reform.’
Any questions?
There were other items of note in the Caribbean blogosphere this week, though…
Jamaica
Girl With a Purpose had her finger on the pulse of the country's local government elections, regularly posting updates and then final results: The governing People's National Party enjoyed a comfortable win, winning 147 of 228 divisions.
Jamaica Woman Tongue, meanwhile, dealt with the issue of language (“proper” versus “corrupted”) and cultural heritage in these two interesting posts.
Curacao
Over in Curacao, TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA took issue with what he called the disrespect being shown to Liberty Battle Park:
The organizational forces have done a good job at not maintaining the Lucha pa Libertat park.
Maybe after 14 years they will receive an ancestral enlightenment to plant 4/5 trees for the visitors. Or just maybe they would shine up the statue every 4 months, lick up the benches with paint. Put trashcans, clean up once a week?
Put some historical info placards for tourists and indigenous folks unfamiliar with the 1795 revolt. You know what I mean. Show respect. Honor. Make us feel you serious about your cultural consciousness business.
Trinidad & Tobago
In the twin island republic this week, the two political bloggers who questioned whether the political entity “Congress of the People” was still relevant continued their examination of the issues, here and here.
Barbados
Barbados Free Press, meanwhile, continued lobbying for the cause of illegally held Cuban prisoner Raul Garcia:
43 days ago, Raul Garcia discontinued his ‘fast unto death’ on the word of Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart that he would be moved from his illegal imprisonment at H.M. Dodds Prison to a non-punitive facility. Garcia, naive fool that he is, took the bait and remains at Dodds… having lost his credibility and media interest. Worldwide interest in his case went to zero overnight. Only little old BFP keeps Mr. Garcia close to our hearts.
Listen folks: Raul Garcia has been held illegally according to Barbados’ own laws for over two years.
Is there not a shred of decency, of justice, left in our justice system, in our Parliament?
Apparently not.
Finally, the case of Trayvon Martin continued to move regional bloggers from Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidadian diaspora fashion and beauty blogger Afrobella expressed her sadness by saying:
Every time I sit and try to write about Trayvon Martin, the words get stuck inside me. I have started and stopped this blog post so many times over the last week. It’s been so hard to know what to say because this case makes me feel so hopeless and so sad, and so afraid for the future of this country. I hate the comments I’m seeing online. I’m hating the slant of some of the coverage I’ve been reading. I hate that people are finding ways to say that Trayvon’s sartorial choices made him a deserving victim.
It’s all so heavy and ugly and upsetting. Not the kind of thing I like to write about on a blog that’s about beauty and positivity. So I will end this post with my hopes, regarding the outcome of this ongoing situation.
I hope that the murder of Trayvon Martin doesn’t lead to any additional violence.
I hope there is some form of justice and I hope it doesn’t take forever. The wheels of justice are already turning too slowly here.


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Azerbaijan: Novruz comes to an end · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Novruz, the Persian New Year which is also celebrated in Azerbaijan, has come to an end and, using the example of the oil-rich country, Eastbook says that during the holiday it can often be difficult to conduct business or arrange meetings. Nevertheless, it notes that Azerbaijan's Embassy in Georgia was an exception.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Brazil: Irregularities Denounced in the Council of Representatives of Emigrants · Global Voices
Richard de Araújo

[All links lead to sites in Portuguese unless otherwise stated.]
The Conselho de Representantes de Brasileiros no Exterior (CRBE) [Council of Representatives of Brazilians Abroad] is an organisation whose aim is to monitor Brazilians who live abroad. They aid the formation of the public policies that benefit these people through the improvement of the consular service and of the communication with the societies within these expatriate communities. This organisation, however, has provoked the indignation of those it represents owing to complaints of irregularities in the elections of their representatives.
The bylaws of this council were approved by the Ministry of External Relations (MRE) at the end of October 2010 by the then minister Celso Amorim [en]. The MRE estimated the size of the Brazilian expatriate community to be around 3 million people, but now, because of Brazil's recent economic boost, the figure has been revised to 2.5 million.
Elected representatives of the CRBE (03.12.10). Photo by Liliam Chagas/MRE on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Even if data is still unknown, these communities are significant both when referring to their size and to the value of what is sent to their families in Brazil.
Allegations of Fraud
Signs that something was wrong with the way in which the body was elected were already apparent during the elections in the U.S. in early November 2010 as Rui Martins, journalist and elected member of the CRBE, points out:
[Algumas pessoas] desejosas de votar para um candidato ao CRBE, descobriram com surpresa que alguém já votara por elas, utilizando o número de seu passaporte, CPF [Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas], RG [Registro Geral] e outros tipos de identificação que os emigrantes deixam ao se inscrever numa associação, fazer um requerimento, abrir um crédito ou enviar dinheiro para a família.
The latest complaint was made by Antônio José Cândido, a former illegal immigrant in the U.S. who now lives in Goiás, Brazil. Cândido had witnessed the sale of a pack of approximately 1,500 names, including registration information, left with the company Pão de Queijo Brasileiro, in Marlboro, Massachusetts. Cândido's complaint was published by the blog “Beto Moraes”:
Já não aguentava mais ver tanta coisa errada. Mas como era ilegal nos EUA tinha que me calar. […] Eu me lembro que na ocasião do resultado da eleição alguém comentou sobre uma fraude. Eu sabia que era verdade e fui obrigado a ficar calado.
Luoghi Comuni (Common Places) – Small stories of migration: Gislaine D.M., a Brazilian in Italy. Photo by lettera27 on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
It could have been internet voting that allowed for this problem. The current Brazilian electoral legislation only allows expatriates to vote in the consulates for presidential elections, and to allow them and the members of the CRBE to vote in person in the embassies would not only require changing the current legislation but would also create a greater workload for the unprepared consulates.
But the current electoral format for the CRBE election is facing resistance; one issue is the distribution of directors’ vacancies. According to the establishing organisation, the CRBE will be made up of sixteen permanent members, plus their deputies, elected as follows: four for Central and South America; four for North America and the Caribbean; four for Europe; and four for Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Oceania. Thus, for example, a candidate who lives in Syria can be voted for by Brazilians living in Australia, which is completely out of rhythm with the main objective of the CRBE: to identify these communities and formulate policies that meet their needs.
The author of the blog BrasilBest is not very optimistic about the CRBE, and remembers the words of French President Charles de Gaulle in the post title, “Will Brazil one day be a great country?”, establishing a comparison between the works to be completed in preparation for the major sporting events planned in Brazil in 2014 and 2016, saying:
Ao tomar conhecimento dos inúmeros problemas que afetam o recém-criado “Brasileiros no Mundo”, confesso que não fiquei surpreso. Para mim ficou bem claro que a “fórmula brasileira do fracasso” que provavelmente irá destruir o CRBE, é a mesma que já ameaça a realização da Copa 2014 e as Olimpíadas –uma combinação de incompetência, má-fé, corrupção e vaidade.
Luciano Sodré, from A voz do Imigrante, wonders: “At the end of the day, what is the CRBE for?” He points out the media portrayal of “a constant battle between the deputies and the permanent members that is both shameful and futile”, and he adds:
O CRBE até agora, no meu ponto de vista, não mostrou claramente para que veio. Se é para ficar realizando reuniões e um “disse-me-disse”, não era necessário criar o tal conselho, pois há anos acontecem os encontros e discussões sobre o futuro dos brasileiros que moram fora do Brasil. (…) Posso estar enganado, mas minha posição é que o verdadeiro CRBE somos nós e nós é que devemos agir para decidir o nosso futuro.
New elections are planned for a further two-year term in the CRBE for late 2012.

author: Richard de Araújo


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Bulgaria: “You will win, Captain!” · Global Voices
Rayna St.

After the announcement that the famous Bulgarian football player Stiliyan Petrov (Aston Villa F.C., England, and current captain of the Bulgarian national team) was diagnosed with acute leukaemia, netizens created a Facebook group [bg] to show their moral support: “You will win, Captain, the whole country is with you!” reads the banner. The group has gathered more than 14,000 “like”‘s in a few hours as well as numerous messages of encouragement.

author: Rayna St.


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Ghana: Social Media Use in 2012 General Eelections · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

As Ghanaians are getting ready for presidential and parliamentary elections that will be held on 7 December 2012, BloggingGhana community has lauched a social media initiative that seeks to train stakeholders to use social media tools for election monitoring and reporting.
GhanaBlogging is a group of bloggers in/outside Ghana who blog about Ghana.
Ghanaian radio broadcast journalist, writer and blogger Nana Sarpong writes about the launching of the initiative:
The logo of Ghana Decides project. Image source: Ghana Decides Facebook page.
The Ghana Decides-A BloGh Election 2012 Project been launched today at Windy Lodge, Winneba. Ghana Decides is a BloggingGhana initiative meant to introduce NGOs, Civil Society Organisations, students (especially first time voters), political groups and the general Ghanaian public to the importance and benefit of use of social media tools in elections in Ghana. The projects seeks to engage these bodies and individuals, train them to use these tools as well as provide a reliable platform for elections monitoring in the country.
Young voters showing their voting cards. Image source: Ghana Decides Flickr account.
Nana continues:
As most innovative projects such as Ghana Decides are typically based in the nation's capital, the project team thought it best to launch outside of Accra. The launch which was under the theme Encouraging Informed Youth Participation in the 2012 Elections saw participants from Senior High Schools within Winneba, the local union for the physically challenged in Winneba as well as other physically challenged people, students from University of Education, Winneba, NGOs such as Plan Ghana and the general public.
The launch marks the official outdooring of a series of Ghana Decides online and offline activities including the iRegistered campaign meant to propel young voters to go out in numbers, register and take videos or pictures of themselves doing so or after registering. Currently, the hashtag #iRegistered is trending on Twitter.
The video below from Ghana Decides YouTube channel displays scenes from the ongoing voter registration exercise in Ghana.
Ghana Decides explains more about #iRegistered initiative:
Among Ghana Decides’ activities, is the ‘#iRegistered’  campaign to get Ghanaians to register as the Electoral Commission (EC) has begun the biometric voter registration.
#iRegistered in 4 simple steps;
1. Ghana Decides has provided information on the biometric registration its website (http://ghanadecides.com). The Government of Ghana website (http://ghana.gov.gh) also has an information leaflet for the biometric registration exercise. Every Ghanaian is being urged to read, be informed and share this information with family, friends and people in their communities.
2. Tweet or post a Facebook or Google+ update telling your friends and the world about the registration exercise and the need to register with the hashtags #iRegistered and #GhanaDecides.
Ghana Decides initiative is on YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook.
The main competition in the December 2012 elections will involve the two main Ghana's political parties, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Guinea-Bissau: Constitutional Limits on the Presidential Elections · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

The first round of the presidential elections in Guinea Bissau, brought forward to 18 March following the death of the previous president, Malam Bacai Sanhá, earlier this year, may have featured a number of irregularities [pt] that would undermine the second round of voting, planned for 22 April.
Those contesting the result include Kumba Ialá, former president and leader of the main opposition party, the PRS (Partido da Renovação Social, Social Renewal Party), who received 23.36% of the votes. Ialá is calling [pt] for the ballot to be declared invalid and for voters to be registered afresh, and refusing to participate in the run-off with Carlos Gomes Junior, Prime Minister and candidate for the renowned PAIGC (Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde, African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde), which received 48.97% of the vote.
A polling station. Photo by Helena Ferro de Gouveia, on Facebook (used with permission)
A statement delivered by five of the candidates denounces ‘hidden electoral registers, fake voting cards, double voting, fake polling stations and the illegal movement of voters and election material’, as reported [pt] by the Público newspaper.
Sónia Ferreira, from the Forte Apache blog, adds [pt]:
Serifo Nhamadjo [15,75%], Henrique Rosa [5,4%], Serifo Baldé [0,46%] , Afonso Té [1,38%] e Kumba Ialá, alegam ter ocorrido fraude generalizada e actos de corrupção durante as eleições.
Cerca de metade dos guineenses inscritos nos cadernos eleitorais não votaram nas eleições presidenciais, no que constitui a mais alta taxa de abstenção, cerca de 45 por cento,  alguma vez vista nas eleições na Guiné-Bissau.
Serifo Nhamadjo [15.75% of the vote], Henrique Rosa [5.4%], Serifo Baldé [0.46%], Afonso Té [1.38%] and Kuma Ialá claim that there has been widespread fraud and corruption during the elections.
Approximately half of Bissau-Guineans on the electoral roll did not vote in the presidential elections, making this the highest rate of abstention ever seen in elections in Guinea-Bissau, at around 45%.
In spite of the apparently unrelated assassination [pt] of the former head of the intelligence service, Colonel Samba Djaló, only a few hours after the polls closed, the presidential elections were praised by Bissau-Guineans and the international community alike for having taken place ‘in an orderly and peaceful manner’.
That is how the Portuguese journalist Helena Ferro de Gouveia, born in Guinea-Bissau and back there to cover the elections for Deutsche Welle, describes [pt] the elections on her blog, Domadora de Camaleões. She also depicts the ‘mess’ that followed, surrounding the vote-counting and announcement of the election results:
À medida que iam sendo contados os votos, contagem manual note-se, a informação ia sendo transmitida de forma informal, quer a candidatos, quer a jornalistas, quer a observadores. Na véspera do anúncio dos resultados preliminares, Carlos Gomes Júnior liderava com maioria absoluta, segundo o “boca a boca”. Isto explica a tomada de posição de Kumba Ialá (e de outros quatro candidatos, Henrique Rosa, Serifo Nhamadjo, Serifo Balde e Afonso Té), que acabaria por passar à segunda volta, de “recusar todos os resultados” e pedir a anulação das eleições.
Só que na quarta-feira de manhã [21 de Março], com o apuramento dos votos em falta, Gomes Júnior falharia por uma margem escassa (obteve 49 por cento de votos) a vitória à primeira volta e o controverso Kumba Ialá (23 por cento) como segundo candidato mais votado deveria disputar uma segunda volta. Acontece que Kumba não quer, alegando fraude na primeira volta do escrutínio, e agora procura-se uma solução para o imbróglio.
Candidates, journalists and onlookers were being given unofficial updates as the votes were being counted by hand. On the eve of the announcement of the preliminary results, Carlos Gomes Junior was leading with an absolute majority, according to the word on the street. This explains why Kumba Ialá and the four other candidates, Henrique Rosa, Serifo Nhamadjo, Serifo Balde and Afonso Té, took the stance that they did, urging a new round of voting, rejecting all results and calling for the outcome to be declared invalid.
However, on the morning of Wednesday 21 March, when the missing votes were counted, it was found that Gomes Junior had fallen just short of victory in the first round, with 49% of the vote. As the second-place candidate, the controversial Kumba Ialá, with 23%, might have contested a second round. He chose not to do so, alleging instead that the first ballot was fraudulent, and is now looking for a way out of this muddle.
A constitutional “muddle”
Article 64 of the Constitution of the Republic [pt] of Guinea-Bissau states that the President should be elected by an absolute majority, and that if no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first round, a new ballot should take place within 21 days, in which only the two candidates with the greatest number of votes should stand.
Early presidential elections, 2012. In the second round Carlos Gomes Junior will stand against Kumba Ialá. Images from the blog Ditadura do Consenso (used with permission).
Ialá’s refusal to participate in the second round of the presidential elections allows for the possibility that the April ballot will take place with a single candidate – Carlos Gomes Junior. Quoting the Guinean lawyer Juliano Fernandes, former Attorney General of Guinea-Bissau and current professor at the Bissau Law Faculty, Helena Ferro de Gouveia says:
Neste caso, o candidato terá de se sujeitar à votação para confirmar ou não a eleição, salientou.”Sendo essa a interpretação, no caso de desistência do outro candidato, o outro (o mais votado) concorre sozinho, ainda que se possa questionar a legitimidade democrática por se ter concorrido sozinho”.
Fernando Casimiro has conducted a lengthy analysis [pt] on his blog, Didinho, on the constitution and electoral law, calling attention to ‘some matters of paramount importance to be taken into consideration before seeking to terminate a process which may be slow in yielding an outcome’:
O primeiro aspecto a considerar será necessariamente a resposta às reivindicações de um grupo constituído por cinco candidatos (incluindo o segundo mais votado) formalmente apresentadas à Comissão Nacional de Eleições.
O segundo aspecto é, por via do primeiro, o pronunciamento da Comissão Nacional de Eleições sobre as reivindicações apresentadas pelos cinco candidatos contestatários.
Satisfeita ou não as reivindicações, pode haver publicação ou não dos resultados oficiais finais, com a marcação ou adiamento da data da realização da segunda volta.
O adiamento deve ser considerado porque em caso de insatisfação quanto às suas reivindicações e por direito, o grupo de candidatos contestatários pode avançar com a reivindicação para o Supremo Tribunal de Justiça que deverá pronunciar-se sobre o assunto. Tempo a correr, tempo a passar…
Só depois do pronunciamento do Supremo Tribunal de Justiça quanto às reivindicações apresentadas pelo grupo dos cinco candidatos contestatários é que a Comissão Nacional de Eleições poderá anunciar os resultados finais oficiais.
Se depois disso, esgotando-se o processo reivindicativo, com o pedido de anulação do escrutínio feito pelos contestatários, o segundo candidato mais votado decidir formalmente pela desistência ou pela recusa em participar na segunda volta, deve ter-se em atenção a interpretação em relação a desistência e recusa ou rejeição… em função dos motivos, das razões evocadas pelo candidato em questão.
Consideration needs to be given in the first place to providing a response to the demands of the group of five candidates, including the one who received the second highest number of votes, which were formally submitted to the National Electoral Committee.
In conjunction with this, the National Electoral Committee also needs to issue a statement on the demands of the five candidates who have contested the outcome.Whether or not these demands are met, there is also the question of whether the final official results should be made public, along with setting or postponing the date for the second round of voting to be carried out.
Postponement should be considered, as, under law, if their demands have not been met, the group of candidates who are contesting the result may present them to the Supreme Court of Justice, who will rule on the matter. And that all takes time…
Only after the pronouncement by the Supreme Court of Justice on the demands submitted by the group of five candidates contesting the result can the National Electoral Committee announce the official results.
If, after this process has been carried out, and the call for the ballot to be deemed invalid has been made by those contesting the result, the candidate with the second highest number of votes formally decides to withdraw from or refuse to participate in the second round, the interpretation of the law as regards withdrawal or refusal should be applied, in the light of the motives and reasons given by the candidate in question.

author: Sara Moreira


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Kuwait: Call to Kill the “Infidel” Twitter User · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

It seems like Twitter really decides a lot for Kuwaitis; one case after another goes to court because of certain tweets. Months ago, a columnist was jailed for his anti-Shia tweets and last year there were two similar cases for Shiite Nasser Abul and Sunni Mubarak Al-Bathali, who each spent months in prison for tweets they published.
This week, after interrogating a Twitter user for a hashtag, Twitter was stormed by the tweets of Hamad Al-Naqi, a young Shiite Kuwaiti man who is known for his support to the Bahraini revolution. Al-Naqi was accused of insulting Prophet Mohammed and one of his wives, Ayesha.
He denied the accusations but was arrested and an investigation is being conducted as he serves a pre-trial detention, a law that has been under criticism as it allows the public prosecution to keep one in detention for weeks without access to trial. He said that his account has been hacked and that he is a religious person who would never insult the Prophet.
Although the tweet can be seen as an attack on Islam, the Sunnis dealt with it as a Shia attack on Sunni Islam. On Wednesday, Kuwaitis protested in Erada Square by the parliament against Al-Naqi and called for his death while burning the Iranian flag [video] to indicate that Shia are only loyal to Iran religiously and politically.
Kuwait's interior ministry said those who burned the flag will be questioned as the country cares for its relationship with the Iranian Islamic Republic. The tweets were deleted from Al-Naqi's timeline but this is a screenshot of the major controversial tweet circulating on Twitter and other websites. It reads:
Never seen a prophet who doesn't feel ashamed of God but of the stinky Othman [companion of the Prophet] and doing porn movies with Ayesha.
Posted by @sharekdossary
Thousands of tweets from all over the Gulf countries cursed, insulted, and asked for the death of Al-Naqi. Many of those offenders did not care about the tweet made by a hacker through Al-Naqi's account that says: “Thanks to Allah we have controlled this account and this will be the beginning of the end for Shia.. your brother: the defeater of Shia @Al5aTab”:
Tweeted by Kuwaiti blogger @freejsaud
The following tweet was one of the most retweeted. Until the time of writing this post, it was retweeted more than 800 times:
However, the whole story does not make sense. When following news and tweets, some claim that another account was made with the same bio and picture to tweet the insults and others say it was hacked. When looking at his account, both the insults and the hacker's message do not exist. Al-Naqi tweeted two days ago:
In this video (uploaded by zoominalwatan), Kuwaiti protesters scream “we want no law, we want him killed”:
So far, many members of parliament made statements against Al-Naqi and asked for a ‘heavy punishment’ for anyone offending God and the Prophet. More than 30 (out of the sum of 50) MPs spoke against Al-Naqi, and in this video, Islamist MP and former professor of Kuwait University Dr Faisal Al-Musalam announces in a Press conference that a law will be proposed in Kuwait to punish anyone insulting the Prophet with a death sentence or life imprisonment:

author: Mona Kareem


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Macedonia: Video Streaming for the Civil Society · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Vo živo.mk (“Going Live” in Macedonian) is a new service dedicated to providing video streaming and recordings of civil society events in Macedonia. The first event to be covered is a public debate on “What kinds of scientific research and teaching are enabled through the new Law on Higher Education?” scheduled to take place on Friday, March 30, at the GEM Club [mk].

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Madagascar: Details of the 1947 Massacre Still Unknown    · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

TanaNews reports that prime minister Beriziky requested that France returns to Madagascar the archives [fr] regarding the massacre of about 100 000  people in 1947 to repress the movement for the independence of  Madagascar. Olivier Herviaux provides some context [fr] to the massacre. French Amabassador Châtaigner states on twitter that the archives have been made available to all researchers.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Moldova: 917-Day Marathon to Elect the President is Over · Global Voices
Diana Lungu

917 days without a president might bring Moldova a Guinness record. After two and a half years of repeated failures to elect the head of state, the Moldovan politicians finally managed on March 16 to give the country its new President, Nicolae Timofti. But will this former judge become a true leader of the nation? The opinions of the citizens are as diverse as the nation itself.
The unknown public persona of the new Moldovan president has raised many doubts in the society. Nicolae Timofti, former chairman of the Supreme Council of Magistrates, was elected president in the country's legislative forum after a long-sought compromise vote between the ruling Alliance for European Integration (AIE) and three former communist parliamentarians.
After 917 days without a president, the parliament elects a compromise figure, Nicolae Timofti, as the chief of state. Photo by Andrian.gavrilita, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Journalist and blogger Vitalie Cojocari voices some of the society's doubts [ro] regarding Timofti:
Who is this Mr. Nicolae Timofti? How honest and how good of a professional is he, considering that he comes from the most corrupted system in Moldova, the judiciary system? How much real power will the current president have? Will he be able to say anything against the ones who placed him in this position? These are the questions to which we do not have an answer. Not yet.
The president's professional background in the judiciary branch is clearly perceived as very negative by the netizens. Alex Cozer writes [ro]:
I do not understand how it is possible to take a judge who has held important positions in the Moldovan judicial system in the recent years and make him the chief of state. I do not understand, because the justice system is by far the most corrupted domain in the Republic of Moldova. In particular, it is because of the mega-corrupted justice that we are in this misery today. […] According to the last opinion poll conducted by IPP [Institute for Public Policy], only 1 percent of Moldovans trust the judiciary, and that is because of this Nicolae Timofti as well.
Ion Marandici mentions on Facebook that the new president is merely a result of a political game:
After three years of failures, the Moldovan parliament finally elected a president. The fact that an informed observer like me does not know anything about the new president's policy preferences is the best illustration of how politics works in a parliamentary republic.
Victor Druţă reflects [ro] the thoughts of the citizens who have positive expectations from the new president:
… at the helm of the state I wanted a well-known and highly appreciated public personality. An intellectual to whose speech I would not be ashamed to listen to. I wanted a president with integrity, who will not let himself be humiliated and who could lend dignity to all those many and deprived. A person of justice, who could be a moral standard to the nation. A person who will not divide, but unite, unite all citizens in a nation, regardless of their languages and political orientation. I want to believe with all my heart that Nicolae Timofti will be just the president this country desires.
On the other hand, the disillusion with the ruling political elite of the country seems to be a strong argument for the voiced concerns towards the long-awaited president.
Vitalie Cojocaru writes [ro]:
No, Mr. President, I do not feel that you are my president. I did not elect you. You were elected by the clique of politicians who realized that they have to put aside for a moment the hatred that keeps them going.
In a similar line of thought, Sorin Hadârcă gives the benefit of the doubt to the new president, but also draws attention [ro] to the fact that the neutral president could be lured by the discredited political class:
Not being a political figure well-known to the mass audience, I was afraid that the convenience for those in power would be the only atribute of the new president. […] This fear has faded away from the moment during the inauguration speech when I caught new notions, non-specific to the vocabulary of the Moldovan political elite. President Timofti speaks of truth, happiness, fulfilled dreams. […] I am not a politician by character, the president admits honestly, unaware of the fact that at the moment “not being a politician” is by far the best PR strategy in the conditions of a compromised political situation. I am wondering what will happen once Mr. President realizes the success of this message. Will he eventually become a politician? We will live and see.
Despite the rally organized by the Communist Party on the day of the elections to protest the legitimacy of the electoral act, more than anything, citizens are happy that the 917-day marathon to elect the president has come to an end.
Bogdan Țîrdea declares [ro] that the election of the president is a wake-up call for the political class and a reminder that they have no more excuses for not moving ahead with the reforms:
The two-year show of electing the president is over. That's it. The Alliance for European Integration has lost the last argument that allowed them to justify themselves for the poverty, unemployment, growing inflation and increasing external debt, etc. Now they have all the strings and supreme power. Consequently, also the responsibility. Now they can no longer organize hundreds of TV shows on the same topic, thousands of articles on the one and only problem, hundres of declarations and theatre plays. In short, they can no longer set a fake public agenda to manipulate the electorate.
Andrei Fornea believes [ro] the election of the president gives the politicians and the country one more chance:
Moldova has a president and the Alliance for European Integration has caught in the last moment the chance to not compromise the Moldovan political class forever. AIE has long ago lost my trust and every day of stagnation, uncertainty and groundless fights has meant new disappointments. Moldova has one more chance, perhaps the last one, and now it is important to see how the ruling leaders will use it. I believe there is no more room for mistakes, or for petty, narrow party interests, or for the search for new sponsors for an upcoming elections. Having in their hands all the state institutions and three more years ahead of them, there are no more excuses possible.

author: Diana Lungu


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Nepal: Call for Submissions for Nepal International Indigenous Film Festival · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The 2012 Nepal Indigenous Film Festival is calling out for submissions of any type of film related to Indigenous youth produced after 1 January, 2008. Submitted films should be made by indigenous youth or should focus on positive efforts indigenous youth are doing to honor their heritage. More details about the festival including submission forms on their site.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Nicaragua: Blogs Tell What the Press Ignore About Sexual Diversity · Global Voices
Carlos Fonseca

[All links lead to Spanish language pages except when otherwise noted]
Recently, the Strategic Group for Sexual Diversity Rights (GEDDS), a network of organisations that fight for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, transgender, transvestite and intersexual community (LGBTTTI), launched a study into the ways in which the country's major media outlets deal with issues of sexual diversity.
The study, which is available from Conexiones.com.ni , affirms that :
Hemos encontrado grandes características similares en el abordaje de la noticia en los dos periódicos de mayor circulación en el país (El Nuevo Diario y La Prensa) siendo estas:
However, in Nicaragua's case, blogs offer alternative spaces where the issue of sexual diversity rights can be discussed and expressed with different perspectives.
Image from Flickr user Aayesha Siddiqui, used under Creative Commons Attribution-NonComercial-ShareAlike License 2.0 Generic. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Sometimes, the issue is discussed through personal anecdotes, as is the case with the blogger Waldir Ruiz. In a recent blog-post, also published at www.elnuevodiario.com.ni, he tells readers that:
Como era de esperarse, no me sorprendió que su madre fuera lesbiana; no, fue la historia de su familia. Me dijo que sus dos madres tenían 22 años viviendo juntas, que ella no llevaba el nombre de su madre biológica, si no, el de su otra madre. Me confesó lo duro que fue para ella cuando tomó conciencia del rechazo que la sociedad sentía ante este tipo de relaciones…
Ruiz later expresses:
En mi monólogo interior, durante la conversación, me decía a mi mismo: “¡Opa!, pensé que en Nicaragua no habían relaciones de unión libre (tipo matrimonio heterosexual) entre parejas homosexuales, menos, de generaciones de antaño y nunca imaginé ser, de algún modo, testigo… ¡Ni en mis sueños más locos!”.
Blogger Maycols Lovo, motivated by a conversation that he saw on Twitter about a video which features two homosexuals, writes:
Sin ahondar mucho en los trabajos que desarrollan las ONG’s y Gobierno, que son positivos, es notable que aún entre las generaciones de este siglo hay personas que se burlan de situaciones que enmarcan asuntos de género y sexualidad.
Later he offers his opinion about the Twitter discussion:
En cuanto a si soy merecedor de burla, admiración o ninguna de las anteriores, prefiero que lo hagan midiendo mi inteligencia y no mi opción sexual.
Other bloggers use avenues like video-blogs for telling their personal stories to offer information and advice. Mario S. Vásquez is one example. He has shared this video:
More examples of blogs as alternatives to the mainstream media agenda regarding sexual diversity can be found at  “Nicaragua: Sexual Diversity in the National Blogosphere” [en], a post for Global Voices by Rodrigo Peñalba.
A registry of Nicaraguan blogs can also be visited at Festival de Blogs de Nicaragua (Nicaragua Blog Carnival), which was held for the first time in September 2011 with the support of Global Voices.

author: Carlos Fonseca


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Peru: Focusing on Technology for Social and Economic Development · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

What if Peru were more committed to supporting and developing technology? This is what Oscar Montezuma asks in the blog Blawyer [es]. He looks at the current cabinet of ministries and suggests changes to give technology a leading role in the government's strategy for social and economic development.

author: Silvia Viñas


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South Korea: Politician Ridiculed for Twitter Account “Explosion” Accusation  · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

In South Korea, tentions and conflicts have intensified as the major election draws near. One politician's ridiculous comment that his Twitter account was “exploded” by the opposition to stymie his campaign has come under fire.
As Twitter confirmed on March 29, 2012, that “account explosion” – which is the exact word the politician used – is technically impossible, the politician's remark and the governing conservative party's rhetoric have drawn numerous jokes and sneers online.
Twitter “explosion”?
The phrase “Twitter account explosion” is a strange term that even many South Koreans feel unfamiliar with. Its English equivalent and a proper universal term would be “account suspension”, but the language was adopted by the ruling Saenuri partyand its member Kim Jong-hoon to define Kim's Twitter malfunction.
Twitter Blue Bird, Image created by Csaba Nagy 2009, Credit to http://www.detrans.com.ve site, Copyrights Free for Non-commercial Purposes
They claimed such an “explosion” was caused by organized terror attacks [ko] and Kim even re-tweeted some highly offensive messages calling progressive sides “pro-North Korea red commies [Communists]” [ko]. Amid growing controversy over whether a mass attack could halt and shut down one's Twitter account or not, the official Korean Twitter account (@twitter_kr) settled this matter [ko] once for all:
정상적으로 활동중인 계정에 대해 다른 사용자들이 집단 차단을 한다고 해당 계정이 정지되지는 않습니다. 먼저 공격적인 팔로잉을 하는 과정에서 많은 사용자들이 차단하거나, 자신을 팔로우하지 않는 사용자들에게 반복 글을 보내는 경우가 대표 정지 원인입니다.
Susie Lee (@susielee) who works in Twitter main office added [ko]:
트위터 계정폭파란게 존재한다면 안티에 시달리는 연예인들 계정은 항상 폭파될것입니다. 누군가를 집중 스팸신고한다고 계정이 정지되진않습니다. 먼저 규정을 위반해 정지된후 피해자임을 주장하는 분들께 속지마시길 바랍니다.
Influential tech blogger, Barry Lee, posted an analysis on this fiasco [ko] referencing the official Twitter help center's warnings on aggressive following:
If some accounts are aggressively or indiscriminately following hundreds of accounts just to garner attention […] when an account repeatedly follows and un-follows large numbers of users, this may be done to get lots of people to notice them, to circumvent a Twitter limit, or to change their follower-to-following ratio.[…] These behaviors negatively impact the Twitter experience for other users, are common spam tactics, and may lead to account suspension.
Lee added that the Saenuri party has adopted a new evaluation system on candidate's social networking abilities, which measures their networking by the number of Twitter followers.
For South Korean net users who have seen enough of these repetitive accusations, which blame anything unsolved and dubious on North Korea or pro-North Korean elements, it just provided another thing to ridicule and lampoon on Twitter and blogsphere.
A comment by 푸른하늘 은하수님(BlueSkyMilkyWay) posted right below a related news article summarized the fiasco [ko] in just a single sentence:
결국 트위터로 멘션 마구 뿌리다가 차단당했다는 거네..?
Twitter user @mettayoon tweeted  [ko]:
김종훈의 트위터 계정이 종북좌파들에 의한 계정 폭파라고 분개했던 새누리당, 알고보니 무리하게 맞팔 늘리려다 계정폭파. 자폭도 참 다양하게 해요. 심심하지가 않다니까.
Influential Twitterer, Baek Chan-hong (@mindgood) tweeted [ko]:
김종훈의 종북세력에 의한 계정폭파 주장은 트윗 본사가 규정위반에 의한 계정정지라고 밝힘에 따라 김종훈측은 맛팔용 마구잡이 팔로잉을 시도하다 스팸처리된 셈. 결과적으로 무지한 자들이 색깔론으로 판을 흔들려다 국제적 망신을 당한 것.
There is a Korean site ‘TWT119‘, which claims to save older tweets prior to account suspension and provide a backup service. TWT119 submitted  an open letter to Twitter office asking to investigate further this case. However, blogger Berry Lee  revealed [ko] what this site does is to merely translate users’ complaints from Korean to English language. He added that users don't need this separate service since the official Twitter would have their own servers storing tweets.