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Russia: Nepofigism, Free Crowdsourced Legal Consultation · Global Voices
Teplitsa

The Russian online group “Nepofigism” (a neologism that loosely translates to “giving a damn” or “not being ambivalent”) offers a free legal consulting service. The project's creators designate no particular direction for the consulting. Their aim is to offer real help to people with any type of problem. The site is a space for professionals and ordinary Internet users with various legal and everyday problems (such as violations of consumer rights, labor laws, and family law).
The fact that more than 52,000 users registered on the site in a month speaks to Russian citizens’ interest in protecting their rights. Evgeny Voropai of “Greenhouses of Social Technologies” recently interviewed the creator and head of “Nepofigism,” Vladimir Belyaev, who described operating an online legal consultancy and explained why the project will never become commercial.
Creator of the project “Nepofigism,” Vladimir Belyaev. Photo courtesy of V. Balyaev. CC 1.0.
Evgeny Voropai (E.V.): Legal consultancy has long been seen as a means of solving legal problems in real life. How did the idea to create an online version of this process come about?
Vladimir Belyaev (V.B.): After finishing university, I was looking for a way to realize my professional ambitions. Fortuitously, an announcement about a vacancy at a court appeared at the same time. I started my career at the very bottom of the ladder and in a few months had become an assistant to the judge. While performing their duties, workers in the court are not allowed to offer legal counsel to citizens. But answering the questions that arose was unavoidable. Because of this, I had to waste a certain part of the working day on mini-consultations, before returning to my regular duties. It seemed to me that the flow of people who wanted consultations was never-ending, so the idea came to me to take this activity online.
E.V.: When you were creating “Nepofigism,” did you know exactly what kind of project you wanted to have “at the end,” or were you guided by available resources?
V.B: When I had only just come up with the idea of creating the project, there were already online-consultancies, but they were all fee-based or striving to become so. I was not comfortable with this format. In reality, many legal questions do not require much time to answer, and it is absurd to take money for doing it. I didn't have any real requirements for defining the exact parameters of the project, but I knew exactly what I didn't want. Even after the launch of “Nepofigism,” how the service is formatted is still an open question.
E.V.: You're a practicing lawyer and had no experience creating an Internet project. Was it a difficult decision to launch something like this? What were your expectations of the project?
V.B: Before “Nepofigism,” I had my own blog, where I posted articles on legal issues, and I carried this experience to my new project. I didn't know what I got myself into or how it would work. Indeed, I had a complete lack of experience starting online projects. This project gradually evolved and I had to familiarize myself with certain technical issues. Apart from that, I had to change my content-managing system several times (the project changed, its philosophy changed, and the demands on the system changed) — all in order to allow the site to function. In practice, “Nepofigism” allowed me not only to offer consultations, but also to become more of a universal specialist. First and foremost, this is because the submitted questions varied and involved different facets of the law.
E.V.: Now that “Nepofigism” has existed for three years and become well known on the RuNet, can you say if the activity of Russia's online community differs from what goes on offline?
V.B.: These are two absolutely different forums and, accordingly, two different audiences. As far as I know, it's primarily for this reason that many Internet projects involving legal consultation have not been very successful. You need to remember that most online consultant professionals work with a younger and more active audience, addressing questions that usually don't require terribly active intervention. Because of this, the idea of fee-based online consultancies seems to me to lack perspective. There remains a category of problems that are impossible to solve from a distance, and the elementary technical education of citizens occupies no small part in all this, as well.
E.V.: The ‘forum’ is one of the most popular formats on the RuNet and lends itself well to the concept of legal consultations. But you decided to design “Nepofigism” as a community. Why?
V.B.: At the very start, “Nepofigism” existed as a single-user blog. Afterwards, it transformed into something more akin to a table of questions and answers. Currently, it's more useful for us to structure it as a community of experts. Within the framework of “Nepofigism,” I try to convey to the user a single idea: in order to defend your rights, at a certain level it isn't necessary to be a lawyer. We reach that level when there is no difference between the consultants and the people demanding legal advice. Now, anyone with experience solving various legal problems or disputes can participate in our project and help other users. Such is the relay race of legal awareness.
E.V.: Getting a person with unsolved legal questions interested in a free legal consultation is simple. It's a lot harder to bring experts to the project who can offer this consultation. How does this work on “Nepofigism”?
V.B.: At “Nepofigism,” we try to avoid the labels “expert” and “professional.” At the very beginning of the project, I tried to work with certain firms, but they weren't willing to waste time on free consultations. Yet, our site is frequented by people with formal legal educations (such individuals rarely draw attention to this fact). Projects like “Nepofigism” demonstrate the mechanisms for solving a particular problem, allowing the site's users to act analogously in the future.
E.V.: Online consultations are a quick way to get an answer to a question, but how effective are they? Do you follow the resolution of problems offline?
V.B.: Actually, most users inform us themselves about how their issues were resolved. During the course of the project, we've noted another interesting tendency: there is a rule of silence operating, it seems to me. If a person receives a consultation and goes quiet, then most likely he got a good consultation. Of course, there are consultations that turn out to be unhelpful or downright shoddy, but this only goes to show that real (fallible) people are behind every every question and answer on the site.
E.V.: Some time ago, you tried to implement the idea of crowdsourcing for “Nepofigism.” What happened and why didn't this come about?
V.B.: I never expected to make money from “Nepofigism.” All attempts to raise funds were undertaken in the hope of paying for hosting. But my expectations were not fulfilled. Users complained that ads with money transfer requests were distracting. For this very reason, I had to get rid of them. Moreover, they turned out to be ineffective — the money donated was insignificant.
E.V.: Right now, several online projects have appeared that allow people to discuss various bills and laws. Looking at the interest citizens have expressed in legal information and discussing government legal initiatives, can you talk about how these subjects attract the interest of your site's users?
V.B.: The very idea of subjecting laws to a general discussion is interesting, but due to the specifics of life in our country, initiatives designed to protect the interests of the majority never become laws. For evidence of this, just look at the series of federal laws recently passed. I know for certain that such changes to the law are possible only when the public doesn't participate — and, even if it did, the laws still wouldn't reflect the opinion of the majority: the country's constituents are too passive, and getting them to discuss such specific topics is complicated.
E.V.: Recently the project changed the design of the site and became more functional. What's in store for “Nepofigism” in the future?
V.B: I can't tell you how “Nepofigism” will develop for a single reason: I have absolutely no idea what direction we'll take it. I'm sure that the project will never be monetized, although developing the portal and the creation of certain services requires certain investments. There's a number of ideas on this issue and they all require the active participation of specialists. The problem is that, without teams of paid workers and the corresponding financial backing, all this is practically impossible. I'm increasingly of the opinion that, if we don't arrive at some kind of breakthrough soon, the project may lose relevance. But we're doing all that we can to ensure that this doesn't happen. Our audience is growing and the community is changing. I hope that everything will be okay.
Originally posted [ru] at “Greenhouses of Social Technologies.”

author: Teplitsa


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‘Small’ Georgia Takes on ‘Big’ Russia with New Media · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.
Georgia, located to the south of Russia, is your typical small state: it has a tiny population, a developing economy, and territorial disputes with its largest neighbor Russia. In August 2008 when, Russia briefly invaded the tiny country, no one was particularly surprised that Georgia was unable to counter this show of force.
A small state by definition cannot project sufficient military or economic power to meet a security threat. Since such “hard power” options are unavailable to them, small states are often left with “soft power” as an only means of influencing their adversaries. Soft power, comes in many flavors, not the least of which are public diplomacy and propaganda, traditionally costly endeavors. Fortunately for Georgia, soft power is easier to exercise in this global communication age.
For a politically hostile state (it wants to join NATO and has long opposed Russia's entry into the WTO), Georgia enjoys surpringly good standing among the Russian public. This is partly because of Russia's historical relationship with the country, and Russian affinity for Georgian food and wine. Another reason, however, is Georgian use of online communities to project soft power.
Image uploaded by Flicker user Summersso CC BY-ND 2.0
Even though most Georgians blog in Georgian, there is a sizable contingent of Russian speaking Georgians on Russia's most popular blogging platform LiveJournal (LJ) (a list of 200 such bloggers can be found here [ru]. If ever there is a poster boy of these bloggers, it's cyxymu [ru].) This Abkhazian blogger leaves an average of forty comments per day, which makes him a familiar “face” to followers of the RuNet (Russia's Internet).
cyxymu often engages Russian bloggers in polemics about Russo-Georgian relations. For example, he extensively covered the 2008 conflict, and has apparently made it onto someone's radar as a result. In 2009 his Twitter and blog suffered a DDoS attack,  in a similar vein to what Russian opposition members have recently faced.
Coincidentally, one member of the Russian opposition currently lives and blogs in Georgia, Oleg Panfilov [ru] (olegpanfilov2). His original blog was hacked by the notorious hacker Hell, he now writes seven posts a day, in which he either castigates the Kremlin, or extols the virtues of its Georgian counterpart.
In general, these and other bloggers give Russians an idea of everyday life in Georgia, often with pictures [ru]. Although some of them can be critical of the Saakashvilli government, they often give glowing reviews of the reforms it has initiated. Georgian bloggers are aware of their Russian readers, in fact, as described in a June 14th Tbilisi roundtable [ru], many of them write in Russian precisely to attract this audience.
Meanwhile, the Georgian government takes a different approach. Recently, top rated Russian photo-blogger Rustem Adagamov was invited to visit Georgia by the Ministry of the Economy. The several posts he wrote after his return are a mixture of travel writing and great advertisement copy for the revamped Georgian Justice Department and police force [ru].
Adagamov is just the latest in a steady stream of Russian bloggers invited to Georgia by various government agencies. The apparently corruption-free Georgian police is a particularly popular subject. Last year, another photo-blogger, zyalt, made a very similar post, [ru] which was collated from the posts of previous writers [ru], attracting accusations of blogging-for-hire.
Although the Georgian government seems to be following a conscious strategy of co-opting the Russian public through smart use of new media, it's unclear if it will soon see results. After all, public diplomacy works best under a functioning democracy.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Taiwan: Threat of Media Monopoly and Power Abuse · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

On July 25, 2012, Taiwan media regulator the National Communications Commission (NCC) finally approved Want Want China Times’ acquisition of 60% of the country's second largest cable television services – previously owned by China Network Systems (CNS).
The acquisition process had been under review for 18 months as the media organization has been involved in a number of scandals regarding ‘self-censorship’ practices that “erase words that are critical of China“, which became an issue in particular after Tsai Eng-Meng, a Taiwanese businessman who has strong ties with mainland China, purchased China Times in 2008.
Concerns over press freedom
Many media and journalism scholars are worried that Want Want China Times’ extension into the cable business will result in further monopoly of media in Taiwan, and a strong influence of the mainland Chinese government into Taiwanese politics.
As a compromise, the NCC introduced three conditions into the agreement: 1. Want Want China Times has to sell one of their television channels, Chung Tien Television; 2. China Television (CTV) has to turn into a non-news channel; and 3. CTV must establish an independent editorial system.
Taiwan's Apple Daily's headline pointed out that once the acquisition of cable service by Want Want China Times is completed, Taiwan media would be monopolized by one voice. Image from lighten-night.
Disappointed by the NCC's decision, a number of scholars protested outside the NCC office on the day the announcement was made. They believe [zh] that Want Want China Times will bring harm to freedom of press in Taiwan, as well as professional and independent journalism:
令我們無法置信的是，在二十一世紀的台灣社會，只要掌握足夠的資本，就可以恣意地控制新聞資訊的傳播，就可以無情地踐踏長久奮鬥好不容易累積的民主自由。痛苦的是，旺中集團蔡衍明用金錢證明了這一切都是真會發生的悲劇。自2008年年底蔡衍明自中國回台入主中時、中視、中天以來，我們看到的是，同時掌握了金錢與媒體，不但可以影響政治、操縱輿論，更可以玩弄體制、踐踏法律！新聞可以大剌剌地當廣告賣，我國的黨政軍必須退出媒體，但中國的黨政軍透過在台灣的買辦，卻可以在我國置入新聞！媒體不僅可以當成私人復仇的工具，更可以拿來幫反民主、反極權[sic]的政體擦脂抹粉。順我者昌、逆我者亡，儘管行徑張狂，但是只要有頻道，不怕買不到願意表演辯護的名嘴；只要有媒體，政客就紛紛被綁架，噤聲不語。
Dramatic withdrawal
Dramatically, whilst NCC was willing to compromise, Tsai withdrew from the conditional terms and claimed that the Want Want China Times Group will not sell Chung Tien Television to anyone [zh].
In addition, as if to retaliate against one of the scholars, Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) – a research fellow at Academia Sinica who has been a major public opinion leader against the acquisition – various Want Want media outlets, including Chung Tien TV and China Times, accused Huang of paying students to protest outside the NCC on July 25. In addition, they claimed that Huang was planning to flee to the United States.
Huang Kuo-chang clarified in a press conference [zh] that he only organized the scholars to read the statement in front of the NCC and was not aware of the student protest which came after the scholar petition. Whilst Jean Liu, Huang's wife, explained [zh] via Facebook that their trip to the US is funded by the Fulbright Senior Scholar's Program, which was approved in early May 2012.
At the same time, Taiwan's Apple Daily reported that some netizens had identified [zh] the deputy editor of the Times Weekly, one of the Want Want media outlets, amongst the student protesters and speculated that the whole incident was a staged scandal to assassinate Huang's character.
Frustrated by Want Want China Times’ abuse of media power, on July 28 the Association of Taiwan Journalists posted a statement [zh] on their Facebook page:
台灣新聞記者協會對旺中媒體集團違背新聞專業與新聞倫理，以惡質的新聞操作手法抹黑學者，感到痛心。
中時記者將兩場完全沒有交集的抗議活動，連結為同一則新聞報導…其次，該報導操弄「平衡報導」原則，將根本沒有關係的對象，刻意以「查證回應」的方式，將黃國昌老師設定為所謂的「幕後黑手」，此種為達媒體目的，無中生有創造新聞的作法，根本就是媒體專業的淪喪。…該媒體卻在毫無證據下，以新聞報導、特稿質疑方式，將黃國昌老師套上莫須有的角色，記協對於台灣存在這樣的媒體，感到極度的痛心。
Renewtwculture [zh] created a news package about the incident and commented:
經過旺旺的示範，我們終於知道如何才可以批鬥、抹黑一個人，運用自己的電視台、新聞台、報紙、雜誌，好像”輿論”就是證據，眾口鑠金，明明沒有任何證據，就可以毫無疑問的批鬥一個人[…]不過這種事情不是眼尖的觀眾恐怕看不出來，這就是媒體巨獸可怕的地方。

author: I-fan Lin


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Angola: Citizens Demand Transparent Electoral Campaign · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Angola's civil society is urging more transparency [pt] on the preparation of the coming general elections scheduled for August 31, 2012. One of the initiatives recently launched is an online petition [pt] demanding the parties leaders to take part of live debates on TV.

author: Sara Moreira


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Argentina: Citizens Mobilize for Guide Dog Law · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

Argentina lacks any law or national policy related to guide dogs. A blind or visually impaired person owning such a dog might face a multitude of difficulties in Argentina and, for many, a national law is needed to gain access to public places without being discriminated for having such an animal.
Forty-year-old Maximiliano Marc [es] is the driving motor for the instigation of a law on guide dogs. The website El Ciudadano Web (The Citizen Web) [es] wrote about the obstacles encountered by Maximiliano when taking a bus in the city of Rosario:
“El chofer no se detuvo en la parada y cuando me estaba subiendo empezó gritarme de una manera desmedida”, recuerda el joven estudiante de Psicología. Con insultos, el colectivero profirió amenazas a Maximiliano para que descendiera del interno 94 de la línea 121 dependiente dela Semtur.“Traté de explicarle que era no vidente, que Bandit era un perro guía y que existe la ordenanza 8.280 (habilita al animal a viajar en el colectivo)”, continúa el relato Marc. Ante la sorpresa, los pasajeros trataron de calmar al colectivero. Cabe destacar que en Santa Fe desde 2009 está regulada la presencia de perros guía en el transporte de pasajeros por el decreto 1.969.
Maximiliano launched a petition in favor of a law in Argentina for Guide Dogs so that access to blind and visually impaired people is guaranteed.
Maximiliano Marc and Bandit in the city of Córdoba – photo courtesy of Maximiliano
A Facebook group entitled “Logremos la Ley Nacional de Perros Guías en Argentina” (Let us have a national law for guide dogs in Argentina) [es] was created to raise awareness and help launch the campaign at a national level:
Es un grupo abierto en facebook, es para sumarse a nuestros esfuerzos para lograr la Ley Nacional de Perros Guías en la Argentina. Queremos por esta via difundir el tema, para que los legisladores nacionales, aprueben dicha Ley Nacional. Solo existe alguna normativa provincial y ordenanzas municipal al respecto. Asimismo, queremos que en Santa Fe se dicte una ley al respecto, para garantizar este derecho.
Todas las personas ciegas que tengan un Perro Guía tenga este presente DERECHO “Toda persona que esté acompañada de perros guías tiene derecho a acceder, pasear y permanecer con su perro en locales comerciales, organismos oficiales, hoteles, centros turísticos, deportivos, culturales, educativos, como así también en transportes públicos y estaciones terminales.
It is an open Facebook group, to add to our efforts to promulgate the national law on guide dogs in Argentina. Through this group we want to spread the word so that national legislators ratify that law. The only texts regarding that matter are some provincial rules and municipal ordinances. We also want a law in this respect in Santa Fe to ensure that right. That all blind persons who possess a guide dog have that RIGHT. “Any person accompanied by guide dogs, have the right to access, walk and stay with its dog in commercial venues, official organisms, hotels, touristic, sports, educational centers, in addition to public transport and bus and train stations.
Maximiliano's experience isn't unique. Ceci Pont [es], another member of the Facebook group and owner of a guide dog, tells the story of when she wanted to enter a shop in the city of Córdoba with her dog:
Entramos, vamos a buscar un lugar, y la empleada me dice:  “Disculpá, no me dejan que entre gente con perros” O sea, a la chica no le dan permiso de que algunos discapacitados entren al local. ¡No gente!
Volunteers are meeting at various parts in the country to gather signatures in favor a national law. Anyone can download [es] the documents related to the campaign and to the petition.

author: Laura Schneider


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China: Bizarre Power Triangle – Sina, the Government and Netizens  · Global Voices
Violeta Camarasa

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.
Before we get into the rather bizarre power triangle that has come to define Internet communications and technology in China, let's introduce you to the three characters in this story:
Sina: China's leading Internet company  which is traded on NASDAQ, owns Sino Weibo, the Chinese social network often described as a Twitter-like microblogging site, though it is more like a hybrid. Sina Weibo claims to have more than 300 million registered users.
Chinese government: since the advent of the Internet in China more than a decade ago, the Communist Party (CCP) has both embraced the new technology and issued a number of policies that show its fear of it. With the CCP's leadership transition [pdf] scheduled for next October, the government has launched special measures to tighten control over social media that highlight this contradiction.
Chinese netizens: love Chinese social networks. Contrary to Western perception, China’s netizens do not appear to miss Facebook, Twitter or YouTube (all three are blocked in China). However, Sina Weibo users get angry when their online activities are disrupted.
Censorship, real name registration, point system, and deleted accounts are some of the problems Chinese netizens often face. Perhaps the most relevant of the recent episodes is the crackdown on social media related to Bo Xilai’s scandal.
In March 2012, six people were arrested and 16 websites closed for “disseminating online rumors” and microblogging sites Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo were “punished”, according to official news agency Xinhua.  As a result, the two sites banned all users from posting comments from March 31 to April 3, 2012. Many saw this measure as a tactic by Sina to satisfy the government without upseting users too much. Ben Chiang, from Technode, had a fun take on the situation:
Sina Weibo: Hey Twitter, how did you keep your government’s hands off you?
Twitter: [Turned Away] No Comment.
Sina Weibo: Gotcha.
Later on, however, Sina launched the new point system to limit users’ posts on “sensitive content”, thus satisfying government requirements.
Some Chinese netizens are not satisfied with this attitude. As early as November 2011, some of them wrote an open letter [zh, en] to Sina’s investors which urged investors to cut their shareholding in SINA, because “the Chinese government’s policy on Weibo has a significant effect on the prospects of Sina”.
“Sometimes a penguin’s scarf is not a fashion accessory”[zh] (The figure on the left depicts Sina Weibo, and the penguin represents another microblogging site Tencent.) Image uploaded by Flickr user Inmediahk, used under CC BY-NC 2.0.
On July 16, 2012, Chinese blogger and capitalist Isaac Mao  – whose Sina Weibo account had been deleted  – used his Twitter account to spread his decision to short SINA‘s share to the international audience, which caused Sina’s shares to drop. He explains his arguments in an online letter, which finishes with a warning:
Apart from user's counting complaints, Sina itself has to face the risks from authority as well. In a leadership transition year,Sina may not be able to keep Weibo service live, most probably. There will be several big inflexions upcoming in China, keep eyes open.
AnnaLisa Kraft writes on The Motley Fool:
Last summer’s hopes for great numbers in Chinese internet stocks have been dashed with a Chinese slowdown, accounting scandals and a perception (justifiably so) of more government intrusion.
Sina is probably aware of this, but the government can eliminate it with just one political decision, so what is Sina’s real power? The new Chinese government may or may not shut Sina down after October, but the recently published draft update of the government's “Methods for Governance of Internet Information Services” [zh] points to harsher policies on weibo services. So it is quite clear who is in charge in this bizarre power triangle.

author: Violeta Camarasa


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Costa Rica: Video Love Note Gets Vice-Minister Dismissed · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The Costa Rican Vice-Minister of Youth Karina Bolaños was removed from her post by the Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla after a video showing the underwear clad vice minister sending a love note to a lover was made public and spread through the web.  Reactions to this news are quite varied: from censure to the Vice-Minister for making a video and not taking care to erase it, to rejection of all those who continued to spread the video and finally, repudiation to the President for removing the vice-minister from her post as  if she were not the victim of this whole affair. All links go to Spanish language sites unless otherwise stated.
“She should’ve been more careful.”
In online music forum 89decibeles, a user known as larva salvaje posted:
A mi me vale mierda si ella demuestra su amor por medio de vídeos, yo he hecho cartas y poemas. ¿Y qué? El problema aquí es que ella es alta funcionaria pública y su esposo también. Es la vida privada, yo sé, pero nada cuesta tener un poco de auto privacidad y auto seguridad. Lo que pienso es que ella debió cuidarse más.
On the exclusive interview Karina Bolaños gave to CNN in Spanish, she told about how the video was made while she was separated from her husband years ago, and that it was a software engineer who went to their home to service the computers and security equipment who stole the video along with other confidential information from their computers and blackmailed her for years in order to not release the video. According to the CNN report, she suggested that she expected more support from her government, but respects the measure to separate her from her post.
Meme Image from La Erre TV. Above: Dismissed for appearing in underwear. Below: Two years of getting caught with her pants down, still President.
The  comments left on the CNN article show a good sample of the different opinions this situation has generated. alex wrote:
Creo que el problema es que es una persona representante del Gob. de Costa Rica y no puede hacer este tipos de vídeos debió cuidarse y lo peor no dirigido a su esposo sino a su amante dice que estaba separada pero esto indica que no lo quiere y por su honor debió contarle su infidelidad aparte de perder su cargo perderá a su fam. ya que el esposo es politico y defenderá su carrera y no a su esposa
Male Chauvinism?
The fact that President Chinchilla is a woman who has refused to depose other male government employees for what are considered more serious offenses directly related to the job they are supposed to be doing has not failed to catch people’s eyes.Mito, also commenting on the CNN article, was outraged about President Chinchilla’s sexism.
El pueblo está indignado, no con el video, sino con el trato desigual y machista de la Presidenta Chinchilla. En vez de apoyar a esta funcionaria quien ha sido abusada, le da la espalda y la despide. Y en cambio defendió a su Ministro de Hacienda Fernando Herrero cuando se le demostró que estaba pagando menos impuestos por subdeclarar una propiedad, al mismo tiempo que impulsaba una reforma tributaria. Y más recientemente no le hace caso al Tribunal de la Etica que reprocha los actos del Ministro de Educación y de uno de sus Vice presidentes, cuando toda la evidencia señala la mala actuación en sus gestiones. Vaya forma de gobernar Doña Laura. No podría estar más arrepentido de haberle dado el voto.
Spoof T-shirt design from La Erre TV: Don't Look at me! I didn't vote for Laura
From another commenter:
Una desgracia para las mujeres de todo el mundo, cuando una mujer presidente es la primera en discriminar a una funcionaria por el hecho de ser mujer, y por el aún más grande pecado de disfrutar de su sexualidad. Esta mujer, no debe disculparse, debe denunciar la injusticia a la que está siendo sometida por ser mujer. La vida privada no debe influir en su vida laboral. Pero los hombres que si hacen mal su trabajo a ellos los dejan en su cargo, lo hombres que tienen sexo con sus pasantes como Clinton, a ellos si les dejan en su trabajo, ahí si nada tiene que ver su vida sexual son su desempeño en el cargo. Este caso debería ser denunciado publicamente por todas las mujeres y hombres que creemos en la equidad y en los derechos humanos. Se lo hacen a una nos lo hacen a todas!
On Facebook, an editorial written by Lic. Marcos Chinchilla Montes from the University of Costa Rica is making its rounds. In it he writes:
Recuerdo haber visto hace algunos años un graffiti en Colombia que decía “Machismo se escribe con “m” de mamá”. Si, varones y mujeres construimos y reproducimos en muchos sentidos el machismo; pero lo que duele, es reconocer prácticas tan misóginas en la misma presidenta de nuestro país. Yo hubiera esperado un poquito de sororidad en la presidenta; sin embargo, arremete contra un comportamiento que es competencia exclusiva de la vida privada de Bolaños.
La Erre TV; above:  Countless cases of corruption – “these employees have my support”
below: Intimate video – “Fire that slu”%!”
Others are ashamed that the news is that there is a video, and not that she was blackmailed by someone who is now giving interviews about the video. On music forum 89decibeles, Egon_ wrote:
Creo que da más vergüenza que no se le tome principal importancia al hecho de que ella está afirmando que fue extorsionada como por tres años y nadie hace nada al respecto, o al menos eso parece. Me parece que eso es lo importante aquí, el vídeo y la chota pasan a segundo plano.
Unequal treatment
Víctor Fernández G. wrote on his blog, Photocopied Tape about why he thinks Karina Bolaños’ destitution was wrong. While the President has previously shown leniency to high level government employees who have made serious blunders in their work, she now punishes a person for a strictly personal matter which has nothing to do with her work. In his post, he has a long list of the recent cases where she has stood next to corrupt and inept officers:
Doña Laura había sido incapaz de destituir a jerarcas cuestionadísimos, llegando lo más a pedirles la renuncia cuando el pueblo clamaba por castigos firmes y honestos.
The images and memes used above were made by Costa Rican comedians from LaErreTv in support of Karina Bolaños and mocking the government's reaction. They can be found on their Public facebook page. A popular radio station made a PR Faux Pas when they decided to profit from the scandal by publicizing a radio show of theirs using an image from the video, which blogger Cristian Cambronero (@cambronero) denounced on twitter. He also wrote on July 30th:
@cambronero Es ALUCINANTE. Ante denuncias de corrupción, el gobierno cierra filas y protege a Ministros. Ante violación de privacidad, la echan.
Wal, (@Vulturgryphus), also on twitter, commented:
@vulturgryphus “La sexualidad, reprímela. La tolerancia, aplástala. La corrupción, ignórala. El descaro, pásalo.” – Gobierno de Laura Chinchilla 2010-2014

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Democratic Republic of Congo: Rwanda Accused in North Kivu Violence · Global Voices
Passy Mubalama

Since April 2012, North Kivu province in the eastern Congo has been destabilised by the March 23 movement (M23), comprised of fighters from the Tutsi-led National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP). Within the framework of the March 23, 2009 Kinshasa peace treaty after which they take their name, M23 started to include members of the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) in its ranks. Bosco Ntaganda was also promoted to Army General within FARDC, while the CNDP became a political party as a result of this agreement.
Although they have occupied key FARDC posts since the treaty, most soldiers defected from the Congolese National Army in March 2012, unhappy with the lack of respect shown to the agreement by the Congolese government. It is believed that there was more to this defection than met the eye, and that there was also a desire to divide the country. At the time of writing, July 2012, the M23 continues to cause enormous loss of life and massive displacement of people.
M23 Rebels used with permission via blatantworld.com on FlickR
Demands of the M23:
M23 spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Vianney Kazarama stated [fr]:
Nous demandons au gouvernement de la République Démocratique du Congo de fournir des efforts pour l’éradication des forces négatives à l’Est, notamment les FDLR (Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda, une rébellion constituée d’hutu rwandais, ndlr) Nous demandons le retour de tous les Congolais réfugiés, vivant à l’extérieur du pays, en exil ; la reconnaissance des grades formels de tous les officiers des groupes armés et ceux du CNDP en particulier, l’intégration politique des membres du CNDP au sein du gouvernement central.
Serious consequences for the civilian population
The start of this rebellion has unleashed a new war in North Kivu causing loss of life and massive displacement of people. During the past few weeks, the M23 has increased from one thousand to two thousand fighters and taken control of several towns in the province. This increase in violence has displaced more than 200,000 and made more than 30,000 seek refuge in Rwanda and Uganda.
The following video by Amnesty International illustrates the plight of the population in North Kivu [fr] :
The controversial role of Rwanda
Several regional experts think that the Rwandan government will be implicated in supporting the M23. Reports from the United Nations (UN) and Human Rights Watch denounce the country's indirect participation in this conflict. It is believed Rwanda provided arms to the M23 and sent troops to fight alongside the rebels.
An annex of the Annual Report of the UN Sanctions Committee on the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), made public [fr] at the start of July 2012, stated that the Rwandan armed forces:
« fournissent du matériel militaire, des armes, des munitions et des fournitures diverses aux rebelles du M23 » et octroient soutien et protection au général rebelle Bosco Ntaganda, recherché par la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) pour crimes de guerre.
The accusations of the UN experts are based on the anonymous testimonies of eighty rebel deserters, including thirty one Rwandans from the M23.
It is believed that the UN experts have proof [fr] that several high ranking Rwandans, including Defence Minister James Kabarebe, are in permanent contact with the M23:
Aujourd’hui les Nations-Unies disposent de preuves que la guerre à l’Est de la RDC est traitée au Rwanda comme une affaire d’Etat, puisque ce sont les hauts dignitaires du régime de Kigali qui se chargent de ce dossier.
Controversy over rebel deserters
On July 24, at the frontier at Goma, capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Congo, Rwanda refused [fr] to take back twenty four presumed Rwandan rebels from the M23. The rebels were supposed to be handed over to Rwanda by the UN, where they had surrendered after deserting the rebel group:
Les 24 mutins s'étaient rendus en mai à la Mission de l'ONU en RDC (Monusco) après avoir quitté les rangs du M23 dans la province du Nord-Kivu. Ils avaient déclaré à la Monusco être des citoyens rwandais, qu'ils avaient été recrutés au Rwanda avant d'être envoyés en RDC pour rejoindre le M23. La Monusco les a ramenés samedi à la frontière pour les remettre aux autorités rwandaises, mais celles-ci ont refusé de les récupérer en expliquant qu'elles “ne pouvaient pas prendre des gens du M23″, a déclaré à l'AFP un porte-parole de la Monusco à Goma.
While the UN and Human Rights Watch have proof that Rwanda is implicated in the destabilisation of the DRC, the Information Minister of the Congolese government confirmed [fr] these allegations:
C'est avec colère que le ministre des médias, relations avec le parlement, initiation à la nouvelle citoyenneté et porte-parole du gouvernement, Lambert Mende Omalanga s'est adressé aux journalistes à Goma samedi 09 juin. Au cours d'un point presse, Lambert Mende a communiqué le rapport du gouvernement concernant la situation sécuritaire au Kivu. Il n'a pas mâché les mots au sujet des relations entre Kinshasa et Kigali : ” Une chose est indéniable : le territoire rwandais a servi à la préparation d'une conspiration qui, après avoir commencé comme une simple mutinerie, évolue dangereusement vers un schéma de rupture de la paix entre deux pays de la région des Grands Lacs.
Despite significant proof showing Rwanda to be implicated in the support of these rebels, Rwanda continues to deny all the assertions, which they consider baseless.
During a June 19 press conference in the Rwandan capital Kigali, Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda affirmed that:
«le Rwanda n’est pas la cause des problèmes du Congo [..] », indiquant que les problèmes congolais doivent être réglé par les congolais eux même.
The situation in North Kivu province remains extremely tense, as the number of displaced people is constantly growing. Young people of Goma deplore the Rwandan support of the M23 rebels. To show their anger, they demanded arms [fr] to fight the rebels:
La journée du lundi 9 juillet 2012 a été caractérisée par des actes d'une barbarie sans nom. En effet, les jeunes de la ville de Goma, essentiellement les conducteurs des taxis motos communément appelés motards dans cette ville, ont manifesté dans les villes de la région. Certains ont pris le contrôle des ronds-points de la ville (Signers, TMK et Birere, Corniche) ; d'autres ont occupé une partie de la frontière entre le Rwanda et la RDC; d'autres enfin se sont dirigés vers les centres du pouvoir (Gouvernorat et Région militaire).
These young people are frustrated by the setbacks at the front suffered by the FARDC militaries, as well as by the fact that several towns were already in the hands of the M23.

author: Passy Mubalama


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Ecuador: Sarayaku.org, Blogging from the Amazon · Global Voices
Gina Yauri

[All links lead to sites in Spanish, unless otherwise stated.]
José Santi, 27, is one of the people in charge of the communication team that administrates the blog Sarayaku: El Pueblo del Medio Día. José spoke to us online from Pastaza [en], in the Ecuadorian Amazon, to explain how information is managed in the blog.
José also tells us about his people's constant struggle against transnational corporations who aim to exploit the oil beneath their territory. In his interview José also refers to the case that Sarayaku brought to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) against the state of Ecuador.
Global Voices: Who came up with the idea of starting a blog?
José Santi: esto nace en una reunión del Consejo de Gobierno de Tayjasaruta, donde se hizo un análisis profundo sobre la importancia del manejo del blog, [con la finalidad de que todos los problemas que aquejan a la comunidad sean conocidos en el país] y de que en el mundo se conozca la realidad de nuestro pueblo. [Así] nace la idea de crear un medio en las redes sociales, el blog de Tayjasaruta.
The Tayjasaruta blog is the predecessor of the current blog, Sarayaku.org. It explains the Quechuan origins of the name Tayjasaruta:
Explicación de la sigla TAYJASARUTA:
TA. TAYAK. Significa “Los primero hombres y mujeres del pueblo Kichwa de Sarayaku”
Y. YUYAYTA. Significa. El conocimiento,  sabiduría y la fuerza espiritual para construir la armonía entre los ayllus (famillias) y la naturaleza. (Sumak Kawsay = Buen Vivir).
JA. JATACHIK. Significa. El que se levanta para construir el camino de la identidad cultural.
SA. SARAYAKU. Nombre de nuestro pueblo, que significa Río de maíz  (pueblo de medio día).
RU. RUNAKUNA. Personas con éticas y principios de la cultura.
TA. TANDANAKUY. Fuerte Unidad por la defensa de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas.
Explanation of the acronym TAYJASARUTA:
TA [TAYAK]. “The first men and women from the Quechuan village of Sarayaku.”
Y [YUYAYTA]. “Knowledge, wisdom and the spiritual strength needed to create harmony between ayllus (families) and nature (Sumak Kawsay= Live Well).”
JA [JATACHIK]. “The person who builds the path to cultural identity.”
SA [SARAYAKU]. “The name of our village, which means River of Corn (midday village).”
RU [RUNAKUNA]. “People with the ethics and principals of our culture.”
TA [TANDANAKUY]. “A strong unity in defending the rights of indigenous people.”
GV: What did you want the Sarayaku blog to achieve?
José Santi participating in Conectándonos Ecuador in Loja, Ecuador. Photo by Silvia Viñas, adapted with permission (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
JS: Nació con el fin de hacer conocer al mundo lo que pasaba en Sarayaku con el tema de violaciones de derechos humanos, pueblos indígenas de Latinoamérica; y lo que defiende Sarayaku es para todo el mundo.
Con el blog se pretende lograr que la sociedad del mundo conozca la vida social, cultural, ambiental, [y] nuestra lucha contra las transnacionales, en defensa de nuestro territorio. Mostrar todas las realidades que pasa en nuestro pueblo.
JS: We wanted the world to know what was happening in Sarayaku in relation to human rights violations and indigenous peoples in Latin America; what Sarayaku stands for is worldwide.
The blog aims to let the world know about the social, cultural and environmental life here, as well as our fight against the transnationals to defend our territory. We want to show the world what is happening in our village.
GV: What does the name Sarayaku mean?
JS: Sara (maíz) yaku (rio), entonces significa rio de maíz.
GV: Who writes the blog?
JS: Las personas responsables somos los técnicos en coordinación con los dirigentes.
GV: What is the blog's mission?
JS: Estar informando la realidad del pueblo Sarayaku desde la amazonía ecuatoriana hacia el mundo.
GV: What issues does the blog deal with?
JS: Los temas más tratados en el blog son el caso que llevamos ante la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, la educación, la cultura, la vida organizacional y otros temas importantes.
In 2003, the Association of the Quechuan People of Sarayaku, who had the support of various national and international organisations, presented a report to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.). The report was based on the state of Ecuador's violations of the rights of the community related to property, freedom of circulation, integrity, religion, health and culture. The court ordered the state to investigate the acts of violence and take the necessary provisional protection measures. However, the measures proposed by the court were not implemented.
The following video explains a little more about the case:
Last Wednesday, 25th July, the court's decision was announced. It was recognised that after a long fight lasting more than a decade, the village's rights had been violated.
GV: Do you think it was necessary to go to the international court in order to be heard?
JS: Si, fue necesario ir a esta corte, para que nos escuchen, para que vean la realidad de lo que hacen las empresas extractivistas en los pueblos, y el mundo está viendo lo que es importante: la amazonía.
The first decision of the court says [en] that the State has to “neutralize, deactivate, and dig up the pentolite (explosives used to search for oil) on the surface and buried within the Sarayaku people's territory.” In addition, it establishes that the state should first consult the Sarayaku people if it wants to conduct activities or projects related to the extraction of natural resources in its territory.
The Sarayaku blog published a letter from José Gualinga, President of Sarayaku, in which he celebrates the result of the sentencing:
Sarayaku manifiesta su satisfacción por esta victoria alcanzada gracias al esfuerzo de su pueblo y al apoyo de personas y organizaciones solidarias y comprometidas con los derechos de los pueblos indígenas y manifiesta que estaremos atentos a que la sentencia sea cumplida y que los territorios de los Pueblos Indígenas sean respetados frente a actividades extractivas dañinas como la explotación petrolera. Viva Sarayaku y los pueblos indígenas del continente.

author: Gina Yauri


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Ethiopia: Messages of Solidarity from Christians for Muslims · Global Voices
Endalkachew Chala

As Ethiopian Muslims pursue their peaceful protest in a bid to end the Ethiopian government’s meddling in their religious affairs, messages of unity from their compatriot Christians have gone viral in the Ethiopian digital space.
Many Ethiopian Christians have changed their Facebook status to announce their allegiance to Ethiopian Muslims.
There is no better summary than Abiye Teklemariam’s message of unity:
I don't like when you trample upon my basic right to worship. I don't like when you shove your version of my religion down my throat. I don't like when you intimidate, arrest and jail my leaders without any legitimate reason or due process. I don't like when you defile my place of worship. I don't like when you stoke the flames of suspicion and fear between Christians and Muslims in this beautiful country of mine. You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. I am Abiye Teklemariam. And today I AM A MUSLIM!
Jawar Mohammed posted:
“Muslims in Ethiopia respect our Christian brothers and sisters and are hopeful that the recent fights and violence will not lead to a larger conflict between Muslims and Christians. We have other more important issues to deal with now in Ethiopia.”
I may add that despite ill wishes by some ‘international’ actors and deliberate provocation by our evil dictators, we, citizens of that country will never allow conflict between our Muslim and Christian communities. Indeed we have better things to do such as getting rid of dictators and pulling our country out of poverty, rather than fight among ourselves.
Obang Metho's message of unity included a verse from the Qur'an:
Meles and his TPLF are trying to steal the real Ethiopia from us and make us to be divided. How can we stop him from breaking up our families and keeping future generations in bondage? We can stop him by loving our neighbor as ourselves. We can do it by refusing to tolerate hate, corruption, injustice, genocide, greed, lies or doing nothing. As it says in the Qur’an, [2:263] “Kind speech and forgiveness is better than charity followed by injury; and Allah is Self-sufficient, Forbearing.”
On Twitter, Welansa Asrat advised her Muslim compatriots to keep up their protest. She tweeted:
@Dr_Asrat: Ethiopia #EthioMuslims Keep up the Protests & Know That Christians around the World Support You – Centuries Of Love & Respect Between Us.
Mohammed Ademo used HashTracking to measure the impact of tweets with Ethio-Muslims hashtag:
@OPride: 323 tweets tagged #EthioMuslims generated 140K + impressions, reaching 50,671 followers in 24 hrs via @hashtracking
Ethiopian Muslims peaceful protest is now well over half a year and still counting.
Islam is the second-most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia after Christianity. In Islamic history and tradition, Ethiopia is known as the “Haven of the First Migration or Hijra.”

author: Endalkachew Chala


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Guatemala: Mining Community Organizes Peoples’ Health Tribunal  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

This post is part one of a two-part series.
“The town of San Miguel Ixtahuacán is no longer the same since the miners arrived,” wrote reporter Jeovany Ibañez for Prensa Libre's magazine Mundo&Motor [es] back in 2008. His piece still resonates today, as the community of San Miguel Ixtahuacán continues its struggle to bring Goldcorp to justice for the Marlin mine‘s negative impact on the community.
Photojournalist James Rodriguez of MiMundo.org translated parts of the article written by Ibañez in 2008:
Experts often consider open-pit mining to be the most destructive industrial activity in terms of environmental depletion, social and cultural impact… In San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipakapa, San Marcos, intensive mineral exploitation has already left its mark. Local residents from Agel, Nueva Esperanza and San Jose Ixcaniche remember fondly a gorgeous mountain, famed for its diversity, where one could find various species of birds and butterflies. Today, the only thing left of that place is an enormous crater with contaminated rubble.
Earlier this year, a peaceful demonstration in support of these communities affected by mining was held in Toronto. YouTube user RachelBlumeSmall shares a video:
On April 26 2012, the day of Canadian mining company Goldcorp's Annual General Meeting, a group of folks gathered in Toronto in solidarity with Guatemalan communities who have been negatively impacted by a Goldcorp mine. We brought Goldcorp's human rights and environmental record to the streets of Toronto's financial district, and the front page of Toronto newspapers!
This long struggle against Goldcorp saw a significant victory this month. On July 14 and 15, 2012, members of the San Miguel Ixtahuacán community joined M4 (The MesoAmerican Movement against extractive Mining Model) [es] and the Toronto-based Mining Injustice Solidarity Network to organize ‘The Peoples’ International Health Tribunal’. The Tribunal's website explains:
Preliminary findings of this research indicate that community members’ health has been threatened by the local Marlin Mine, a subsidiary operation of Canadian company Goldcorp.
This in-progress study is one of many studies that has indicated that the the majority Mam Mayan population of San Miguel Ixtahuacan’s health and wellbeing has been threatened by local mining operations through its impact on water quality, contaminant exposure, safety, human rights violations and indigenous sovereignty. Human rights groups and journalists also report that violence against women, political persecution and criminalization of resistance leaders, social division and economic inequity have also increased since the Marlin Mine has been established in the region.
The site adds:
Community members want an opportunity to voice their concerns and to share their knowledge about how Goldcorp mining industry has impacted their community. At both the national and international level, they ask that their concerns be taken seriously and that policy leaders, health advocates and political authorities take action to put an end to corporate recklessness and impunity.
Leading up to the Tribunal, the group created a series of videos based on the work of photojournalist James Rodriguez. The Health Tribunal's blog explains:
These videos profile some of the local struggles in San Migual Ixtahuacán that we will be hearing about first hand during the community testimonials.
The Tribunal also filmed individual testimonies by members of the San Miguel Ixtahuacán community. These testimonies are available on the MiningInjustice YouTube channel.
In the next post of this two-part series, we will closely examine the reports from the Health Tribunal. We will also share the Tribunal's verdict. Keep watching this space.
Photo used as thumbnail image was taken by James Rodriguez. Used with permission.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Guinea: The Plight of Guineans Students in Syria  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Kante Taliby writes on Guinée News about the plight of Guinean students in Syria [fr] : “I am a Guinean student on scholarship in Syria and I am married with one child. My wife, my child and I have not had a proper meal for almost a week now, and other Guineans are in the same predicaments. No one can leave the house and nobody can come  in as bullets fly from all sides. Last Saturday, we were able to place a call to the Embassy of Guinea in Egypt asking for help to obtain asylum in Lebanon or Turkey.”

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Guyana: Linden Protests · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

Imran Khan explores the roots of the Linden Protests and concludes that the recent electricity rate hike is merely the latest in a long series of “economic and social hardships” meted out to the citizen of that mining community.

author: Matthew Hunte


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Guyana: Olympic Dreams · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal explains how the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London “remind[ed] [her] to stay true to [her] dreams, no matter how mad they might sound to them people here.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Iran: Pro-Ahmadinejad Blogger Jailed · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Islamist bloggers divided on an Ahmadinejad-Khamenei rift one year ago. Today, several pro-Ahmadinejad bloggers found themselves in the same situation that reformist bloggers did years ago: prison, filtering and court.
According to Reporters Without Borders, since the start of the Iranian year (on 21 March), a number of bloggers who support President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been hounded by the Tehran prosecutor’s office for criticizing associates of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the current supreme leader.
One such blogger is Ahmad Shariat, the supervisor of a blog called Nedai az Daron (Internal Way). He was arrested on 22 July after responding to a summons to report to the Tehran prosecutor’s office. He was detained because he was unable to arrange a bond of 100 million tomans (75,000 euros).
Several Islamist bloggers have published posts to support him. In most of them, Ahmad Shariat's photo appeared with an Imad Mughniyeh figure on his t-shirt. These bloggers mainly criticized the Iranian judiciary and wrote about a conspiracy to turn back Iranian society to before Ahmadinejad's victory in 2005.
Ahmad Shariat supported Ahmadinejad in his posts and attacked ultra conservatives (Oosoolgaras). He  writes in a post that Oosoolgaras tried to eliminate Ahmadinejad and revert the country's situation to seven years ago (before Ahmadinejad's presidential victory)…but they failed, as people understood their accusations against Ahmadinejad are just nonsense…Ahmadinejad [‘s supporters] after announcing their independence regarding conservatives, lost their media presence.
Seyast Nevesht says [fa]:
Our brother Ahmad Shariat was arrested. We do not know why? but as Bakeri (an Iran-Iraq war martyr) said if only one survived from a 300 battalion, he should continue to resist. This battalion is the one from 2005 (Ahmadinejad's victory in presidential election) and Ahmad is like steel.
Ummat Hezbollah writes  [fa]:
What a world and judiciary we have, Ahmad was arrested just for writing and supporting his country's president. They [the ones who arrest Sharyat] say your small blog is a threat to national security, why you do not understand? …I do not defend the content of a his posts or a person but a blogger.
Zamirkhodagah writes [fa]:
Mr.Sharyat our hearts and pens are with you. The blogger says what creats such situation for Shariat and Shariats is defending the oppressed. The so called revolutionary media attacked Ahmadinejad and Mashai with lies for a year and judiciary was silent.Will future forgive such silence?
Mohammad Fatemipour, a cleric in his own site writes [fa]:
Ahmad Shariat is a thinker and an extraordinary analyst. His arrest has a clear message: increasing pressure for Ahamdinejad's supporters and the ones who believe Masahi [Ahmadinejad's controversial Chief of Staff] can win the next presidential election.But with the help of God, revolutionary youth will change this situation in this year. The bond of 100 million tomans meant that seeking justice discourse is like committing a murder without premeditation.
For years, these bloggers were at best silent when pro-democracy bloggers faced jail and courts. Maybe nothing can explain the situation of pro-Ahmadinejad's bloggers better than this statement often attributed to Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Latin America: Is 2012 the ‘Year of the Woman” at the Olympics? · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The Americas Quarterly blog points out that although there is still a lot to do to end gender discrimination at the Olympics, “for the first time in history, every country competing in the London 2012 Olympics will have at least one female athlete, with many – notably in Latin America – achieving  gender parity among their delegations. […] Argentina, Bolivia, El Salvador, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Peru have selected female athletes to represent their teams. “


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Lebanon: ‘AlloFail’ Campaign Lobbies for Better Mobile Services · Global Voices
Thalia Rahme

Mobile telephone rates and services in Lebanon are amongst the highest in the world. And the quality of these services leaves much to be desired, say netizens.
The mobile telecommunications sector in Lebanon has been run by two operators – Alfa and Touch – since 1994. With both companies monopolizing the market, it is the Lebanese consumer whose paying the heavy bill.
You can read more about the situation in these blog posts (click here, here, here and here).
This June, a campaign under the slogan of “AlloFail” was launched by young people like Hussein Dajani, who decided not just to sit and complain but rather make some tangible changes.
AlloFail logo
AlloFail started with a survey. The result show that 88 per cent of the people complained from the network coverage, 75% were not happy with prices, 61% found that there was no innovation in products or services, 59% pointed out their dissatisfaction with data consumption and 47% denounced the lack of transparency of the two operators.
AlloFail also runs a Facebook group  and a Twitter account, where netizens share their problems, which the initiative founders try to voice to concerned parties.
On Twitter, the hashtag #allofail has also been trending. Some of the complaints include:
@michakhoury: I was having a phone conversation with my friend..then a 3rd line interfered with sm1 telling me sry did u cal me 5min ago walaw #allofail
@ZiadChebel: Mtc touch changed its name to @touchLebanon only since all subscribers are now TOUCHING their cell phones 24/7 to get a signal.. #AlloFail
@Cupcake_Box: Free wifi on London's underground is faster than Beirut's crappy overpriced ADSL connections #alloFAIL
According to AlloFail's mission statement (available on the Facebook page), the initiative aims to:
Foster a Mobile Telecommunication market environment that respects the basic Human Rights in terms of freedom of expression, information and information technology access,development and dissemination in Lebanon as stated in Article 19 of the World Human Rights Declaration.
Screenshot of AlloFail Facebook Group
They aim to achieve their goal through:
AlloFAIL TVC has also posted the following video on YouTube, where users complain about the various mobile telecom services on offer:
And they have recently met with Nicolas Sehanoui, Lebanon's Telecommunication Minister. The outcome of the meeting is to be revealed soon.
Commenting the initiative,  Giovanni, from Ginos blog, said:
Join the AlloFail cause, go to their Facebook group and complain. Telecom providers are answering and acting upon people’s complaints, so change is actually happening (I know, hard to believe right?). Best part is, if it’s not up to the pace we want, AlloFail’s lawyers are gonna sue them for their wrongdoing and that’s gonna be a lot of fun!
Najib from Blog Baladi notes :
I am not sure how much of a difference this initiative will make but it’s worth giving it a try for sure.
On Twitter, Mohammad Jouni points:
@mojouni: Rally behind @alloFAIL. Could be the only way to trigger a bit of change in our Telecom industry.

author: Thalia Rahme


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Philippines: New Mining Policy Stirs Debate · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino's new Executive Order 79 on mining has drawn criticism from environmentalists, church people, peasant groups, and various other sectors.
Social news network Rappler summarizes the key points of the new EO as follows: a new revenue sharing scheme, the limiting of small mining activities, the addition of more no-go zones for mining, the creation of a Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC), and the reiteration of the primacy of national law over local legislation, among others.
Here are some views on how EO 79 only further opens up the country's mineral resources to more plunder by foreign multinational corporations as posted online:
Mr. Cheap Justice's Blog describes the mining EO as “a policy that favors the big boys club and Gina Lopez.” Lopez is a popular advocate of eco-tourism; her family owns the country's biggest TV network
Local governments who are most active in the fight against mining will find themselves powerless if the national government say that its local policies are not in sync with national government’s directions. As such, local banning of mining or moratorium will be no good against a national policy to open mining in particular locality.
On the other hand, look at the bright side. The EO has also protected tourism areas like Palawan. This only means that environmentalists like Gina Lopez of the Bantay Kalikasan are grinning from ear to ear. Lopez who has long fought for zero-mining in Palawan. She may be who Pnoy had in mind all the time.
Protesters criticize the government's mining policy as pro-foreign and anti-poor. Photo from Kalikasan Network.
Mindanao-based journalist and photographer Karlos Manlupig writes about the grievances of small-scale miners, whose operations are limited under Aquino's new EO on mining.
“The government wanted our operations limited to the minahang bayan, which is just a small piece of land compared to the thousands of hectares given to foreign corporations. Why is the government taking side with these foreigners and big corporations while turning a blind eye on its constituents who are poor and hungry?” remarked Simbajon.
Taborasj comments that under EO 79, “No go” means “Maybe.”
Let us consider in the law how “no go” “no go” is.
E0 79 refers to areas enumerated under RA 7942. These are:
“In military and other government reservations, except upon prior written clearance by the government agency concerned;
“Near or under public or private buildings, cemeteries, archeological and historical sites, bridges, highways, waterways, railroads, reservoirs, dams or other infrastructures projects, public or private works including plantations or valuable crops, except upon written consent of the government agency or private entity concerned;
“In areas covered by valid or existing mining rights;
“In areas prohibited by law;
“In areas covered by small-scale miners as defined by law unless with prior consent of the small-scale miners, …
Except for areas under NIPAS [National Integrated Protected Areas System], “No go zones” can be undermined at the discretion of government official or private persons. If these were obstacles to the intentions of mining, with enough determination and logistics, they could be overcome.
Eastwind Journals explains why the mining EO is pro-foreigner and anti-Filipino.
Simple, it gives preferences to mining multinationals, which we all know have dozens of dirty tricks up their sleeves, whose bad reputation worldwide is known. Recently, a high school teacher was caught using signatures of students as evidence of support for the Xstrata-SMI project. What a pathetic desperate move. Noynoy gives rogue corporations a red carpet, thinking he would quadruple government revenue. But this is an illusion.
Citing the report by New York-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW) Fr. Jun Mercado OMI notes how the mining EO was silent on human rights violations resulting from the entry of mining operations.
“While mining and other environmentally sensitive projects promise economic benefits for Filipinos, they should not come at the expense of basic rights, particularly the lives of environmental advocates,” HRW Asia Deputy Driector Elaine Pearson said.
The HRW report cites three cases. They are the following: Margarito J. Cabal, 47, an organizer of a group opposing a hydroelectric dam in Bukidnon province, was gunned down on May 9; Jimmy Liguyon, a village chief at Dao in San Fernando, also in Bukidnon, was shot dead by a leader of a paramilitary group on March 5; and Fr. Fausto Tentorio, a longtime advocate of tribal rights and a critic of mining activities, was shot dead on Oct. 17 in Arakan, North Cotabato province.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Russia: Anti-Church Activist Flees Under Psychiatric Incarceration Threat · Global Voices
Ashley Cleek

Maksim Yefimov, a blogger and leader of the Youth Human Rights Group in Russia’s northwest Republic of Karelia, has fled Russia to Poland after months of interrogations by prosecutors that included threats of detention in a psychiatric clinic in retaliation for statements made online against the Russian Orthodox Church. He explains [ru]:
Из-за произвола спецслужб, возбудивших незаконное уголовное дело в отношении меня, и желающих всеми правдами и неправдами поквитаться со мной за мою правозащитную деятельность, я был вынужден уехать из мафиозной Карелии за границу.
Yefimov has been on the run for more than a month, after “disappearing” at the end of May, around the same time that a court order required him to be confined to a psychiatric hospital. Back in December 2011, Yefimov, an active blogger, authored a short article for the Youth Human Rights Group, titled “Karelia Is Tired of the Pope” [ru], which included the following language:
В столице Карелии наблюдается рост антицерковных настроений. Ничего удивительного в этом нет. Мыслящая часть общества понимает, что церковь – это тоже партия власти. РПЦ так же, как и ЕР дурачит народ сказками о том, как хорошо мы живём, при этом гребя под себя деньги. Тотальная коррупция, олигархия и всевластие спецслужб напрямую связаны с возрождением русской православной церкви (РПЦ). За бюджетные деньги, которых нет на самое необходимое, в Карелии строятся храмы, РПЦ получает в пользование помещения детских садов, которых катастрофически не хватает.
[…]
Всё это вызывает рвотный рефлекс у нормальных людей, которые, не будучи способны повлиять на это засилье «попографии», выражают своё отношение к провинциальным чиновникам РПЦ через надписи на стенах зданий, где кучкуется православное отродье. «Payandpray» (Плати и молись), «Christisdead» (Бог умер) – на стенах Православного центра в Петрозаводске.
In the capital of Karelia, we see anti-Church sentiments growing. There is nothing shocking about this. The thinking part of society understands that the Church is another wing of the Party of Power [United Russia]. The Russian Orthodox Church, just like United Russia, cons the public with fairytales about how well we are living, all while scooping up money for itself. Total corruption, the oligarchy, and the all-powerful intelligence agencies are directly linked to the rise of the Russian Orthodox Church. Using money from the state budget, which isn’t even necessary to fund the Orthodox Church's operations, churches are being built in Karelia. The Church is also being granted the use of land that now hosts several nursery schools (which are currently in catastrophically short supply).
[…]
All this triggers a gag reflex in decent people, who, being incapable of impacting the stranglehold of the “papalnography,” express their feelings about the Church's provincial bureaucrats by writing on the walls of the buildings where the Orthodox spawn gather together. “Pay-n-pray” and “Christ is dead” can be found on the walls of the Orthodox center in Petrozavodsk.
Petrozavodsk, Khizi (Russia), 13 October 2006, photo by Claude Springer, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Following this post in December 2011, Yefimov was quickly placed under investigation and charged with “extremism.” Yefimov’s trial began in April, and by May the prosecution was petitioning to have him committed to a psychiatric hospital. Though the local authorities’ reasons are unclear, it is true that Yefimov blogged several times in April about the stress of being investigated for extremism. On April 12, he wrote that he had to telephone paramedics [ru] to rescue him from what appears to have been a panic attack. (Yefimov claims to have suffered from an intense headache and “sand in the eyes.”) That same day, he reported that a psychologist [ru] would be working with him to manage the pressure of police investigation. On April 16, Yefimov posted a plea on his LiveJournal, asking readers to write letters to the state investigator and prosecutor. In the comments section, LJ user Mikhail Pakhnutov expressed [ru] his disbelief in Yefimov's situation and offered his encouragement:
Максим у меня есть совет – для начала станьте пофигистом и успокойтесь….ничего они Вам не сделают…а на все их вопросы посылайте их на хер…извините за грубость…Кто там может психологически воздействовать??? Эти щенки – ублюдки??? Вы же морально сильнее их….вот и чувствуйте себя соответственно. Не верьте не единому слову ….не верьте их страшилкам…все это блеф и бред!
Despite Pakhnutov's confidence, the prosecution’s petition was granted in May, and Yefimov was required to appear in court on May 23. On May 24, Yefimov disappeared [ru], and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest, two days later.
Lyudmila Alexeyeva, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, has protested, saying that sending people to psychiatric clinics “is an old Soviet practice: people undesirable to the authorities are pronounced mad. It is absolutely illegal.”
Yefimov’s blog posts stop suddenly on May 20, but pick up again by May 25. One day after he disappeared from Karelia, he posted hand-written notes from psychiatrists, affirming his sanity.
Mikhail Pakhnutov commented again, this time in a state of shock [ru]:
Да Максим….от такого количества экспертов сам с ума сойдешь…слов нет…цирк сгорел – клоуны остались…
After a late-June decision by Karelia's Supreme Court and a mid-July reconsideration by prosecutors, the state order to place Yefimov in a mental hospital has been withdrawn [ru]. He is still charged with violating Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code for inciting religious hatred, however. If convicted, Yefimov could face up to two years in prison. For this reason, he states that he has no intention of returning to Russia, and does not rule out [ru] applying for political asylum in Poland.

author: Ashley Cleek


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Russia: The ‘Mating Rituals’ of Bloggers and Governors · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Earlier this month, Russia's Penza Governor Vasily Bochkarev announced [ru] that he wants to “reject formal appointment procedures” in restaffing his ombudsman on investors’ and entrepreneurs’ rights. His Chief of Staff, Viktor Rubtsov, soon introduced [ru] a “pilot program” to use an online election to nominate a candidate for the vacancy. (The winner would not automatically gain the position, but be considered for the job.)
The Governor's office designated local web portal Penzenskaia Pravda as the virtual platform for the election, scheduling the vote to end on August 9. Though it is no longer the case [ru], local entrepreneur and blogger Anton Kupriushin led the race for over a week, surprising some and worrying others about the prospects for online voting.
Vasily Bochkarev, 4 August 2009, photo by the Russia President's Press Service, CC BY-SA 3.0; Wikimedia Commons.
Bochkarev's state experiment with online methods complements recent parallel attempts by the opposition to exploit the growing but still poorly utilized powers of virtual primaries. To date, one of the most prominent online primaries was held in Omsk, where Ilya Varlamov won an online vote and later withdrew from the mayoral race, without ever actually registering as an official candidate.
Despite this failure, there is an enduring interest in harnessing the direct democracy potential of online voting, and Penza's government is apparently hoping to make some progress in this field.
Penza officials’ interest in its netizens predates the political turmoil that has permeated Russia since last December's parliamentary elections. Indeed, more than a year earlier, in November 2010, Governor Bochkarev responded to President Medvedev's blogging initiative and ordered [ru] Penza bureaucrats to start their own blogs. (This order apparently went largely unheeded.)
In April 2011, the Governor then met with a dozen of the region's best known bloggers for an open discussion about various local issues that ranged from stray dogs (Bochkarev wants to create an NGO to manage the issue) to replacing Penza's mayor, Roman Chernov (which the Governor claimed was beyond his authority).
Since that first meeting more than a year ago, Penza's netizens and state officials have cautiously courted one another. The Governor has met with bloggers several more times, leading some to distrust the government's heightened interest in them, though the benefits of improved access to power are not lost on everyone.
Kupriushin, the blogger who initially led the online vote, is a case in point. After his latest sit-down with the Governor earlier this month, he swore [ru] never to attend another such meeting, criticizing the fact that members of “Stal” (an offshoot of the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi) were also invited:
Да и встречаться больше не будем, так решили. Пусть теперь сладенькие встречаются, нашисты, стальевцы, а мы не станем.
Local blogger Evgeny Makeenko has also employed the “Nashist” slur, complaining [ru] that Penzenskaia Pravda is a “Nashist newspaper.” (Makeenko's issues with the publication seem to stem [ru] from it having deleted his comments attacking Penza businessman Oleg Totskii, whose bodyguard died and family was hospitalized after carbon monoxide [ru] accidentally poisoned his home last February.)
Also fearing manipulation, Kupriushin worried [ru] that the meetings were designed to tame Penza's bloggers:
Не пойду я на эту встречу и на последующие тоже не пойду. Никому они особо не нужны. Кроме рейтингов. Информациооной открытости.
In comments to the newspaper Kommersant, Kupriushin also expressed [ru] pessimism about the virtual election for the investment/entrepreneurs ombudsman, arguing that an open online election overlooks the specific interests of the business community, and is vulnerable to meddling by the authorities:
Такой отбор совершенно не отражает мнения предпринимателей [….] Видимо, сказывается веяние федерального центра, когда федеральный инвестиционный омбудсмен заявил о том, что в регионах на такие должности людей надо выбирать, а не назначать. Но, я думаю, что в итоге все равно накрутят голосов нужному кандидату.
Screenshot of Blogger Against Trash, 30 July 2012.
Kupriushin, however, is not always so gloomy about the Governor's engagement with local bloggers. Whatever his issues with “federal trends” and possible disservice to the business community, he has actively promoted his ombudsman candidacy on his blog. Kupriushin has also paused to celebrate Bochkarev's interest in online citizen initiatives.
On July 23, for instance, he commented [ru] on the Governor's LiveJournal page in order to promote [ru] a nationwide trash cleanup on September 8, organized by the group “Blogger Against Trash” [ru] (founded [ru] in 2011 by photographer and ultra-popular blogger Sergei Dolya). Kupriushin led the group's trash collection effort last year in Penza, and this year he asked Bochkarev to participate and bring along the local media. To Kupriushin's surprise, the Governor agreed.
While both Bochkarev's administration and Penza's bloggers remain suspicious about each other, the rewards of cooperation (or even, at the very least, purely symbolic contact) keep the two in dialogue. According [ru] to Vladimir Volkov (the region's agriculture minister), the experiment with online voting is an effort to ‘stay ahead of the curve,’ anticipating the expansion of elections for such positions, as federal initiatives impose new rules on regional politics.
Volkov was rationalizing only the state's behavior, but these survival instincts clearly are not limited to the government. Bloggers, too, are trying to play it safe, without limiting their options in a country with an uncertain future.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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South Africa: Celebrating First Gold Medal in 8 Years · Global Voices
Ismail Dhorat

This is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.
Congratulations have been pouring in for South African swimmer Cameron van der Burgh who picked up South Africa's first gold Medal after the country's dismal failures at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He won the gold medal on Sunday after winning the 100m breaststroke with a world-record time of 58.46 seconds. He is also South Africa's first male swimming Olympic gold medalist. This has resulted in him being nicknamed ‘Golden Boy’ and trending on Twitter.
Voice of the Cape FM covers his victory:
There was joy around South Africa on Sunday evening when swimmer Cameron van der Burgh won the country's first medal at the 2012 London Olympics, taking not only the final of the 100m breaststroke, but also set a new world record.
Cameron took to Twitter to express his joy:
@Cameronvdburgh: I am an Olympic Champion! :) humbled by your tweets. Overwhelmed Emotions! As I'd all my life had been but http://instagr.am/p/Nsg12grbC3/
I am an Olympic Champion! Image courtesy of @Cameronvdburgh
Most newspapers in South Africa led with this story as the headline:
Reactions from South African blogosphere:
Jason Von Berg describes the time he worked with him:
I’ve had the privilege of meeting Cameron and working with him on a few projects in his capacity as an Audi ambassador and let me tell you he is one of the nicest guys around. So seeing him take Olympic glory last night just makes this all the better. WELL DONE Cammy the Fish!
HURRICANEVANESSA felt posts a picture of Cameron:
We talent spotted Mr Cameron van der Burgh, early. Here, he is Gold Medal Naked for Marie Claire's Naked Issue 2011.
It was in aid of helping poor little stray dogs, peeps.
Reactions from South Africa Twittersphere:
@PebblesProject: @Cameronvdburgh You are our hero. The whole country is proud of you.
@swanniem: @Cameronvdburgh u made us so proud last night and gold is your colour
@verashni: I'd just like to point out that Cameron van der Burgh is from Pretoria. That's right, my home city. The one other SAcans always laugh at…
@Abramjee: Well done Cameron Van Der Burgh. You have done SA proud. First medal for us! We win Gold. @Team_SA_2012 @OlympicsSA @lead_sa @rykneethling
@djcleo1: SOUTH AFRICA has scored a gold medal at the OLYMPICS CAMERON VAN DER BURGH and set a new World record #ProudSouthAfrican
This is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.

author: Ismail Dhorat


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Spain: Fighting Catalonia’s Wild Fires · Global Voices
Esteve Mata

The terrifying fires that continue to devastate the Catalan comarca of Alt Empordà  (you can watch a video [cat] here),  have given way to the citizens’ initiative #1Català1Arbre, launched on Twitter by Oriol Puig (@Pumocat). [Note: #1català1abre, translates to #1catalan1tree.]
The  goal [cat] is to “create coordination, cooperation and a strong collective consciousness until the fires are extinguished.” The flames, caused by poorly crushed cigarette butts, have already killed four people and ravaged 90% of the municipal territories of Biure, Boadella and Capmany.
Addressing the frustration and helplessness that many Catalan citizens have felt, #1Català1Arbre has created a space for collective action and organization to effectively deal with the fires. As of 25 July, 2012 the initiative already boasted 4,585 followers on Facebook and 2,113 on Twitter.
Logo of the #1català1arbre campaign. Source: http://uncatalaunarbre.wordpress.com/
To get the project going, the organizers launched a blog named after Puig's hashtag, where volunteers can write. The manifesto is as follows:
Catalunya es crema, l’Empordà es crema. El context és dramàtic i la sensació d’impotència i solidaritat enorme. Per això ha nascut la iniciativa #1català1arbre.
#1català1arbre pretén crear una massa de voluntariat organitzada, gestionant tècnicament el que calgui.
#1català1arbre ha de ser un portal d’informació per entendre la problemàtica concreta de l’incendi, i poder actuar a posteriori amb totes les garanties.
La lluita activa contra les flames dels herois i heroïnes en l’anonimat, siguin Bombers, ADFs o voluntaris; l’empatia dels membres de la Creu Roja i de la gent de peu de carrer, que han condicionat pavellons arreu de la comarca per als afectats i desplaçats; la ràbia continguda per la destrucció dels nostres paratges més estimats; són el que ens ha d’empènyer a pensar i a actuar amb seny davant del què vindrà després, cal mentalitzar-se i actuar en conseqüència.
Que quedi molt clar: més enllà de l’eslògan, aquesta iniciativa vol crear coordinació, cooperació i una sòlida conscienciació col·lectiva posterior a l’extinció del foc.
Davant la tragèdia que ens ha tocat viure, #1català1arbre vol transmetre la nostra solidaritat amb el territori.
Vol reunir el major nombre de col·laboradors, amb la única finalitat d’actuar en base els consells de gent experta.
No vol anar a plantar pins on hi creixien alzines.
Vol ser una eina útil per tal de minimitzar la desgracia viscuda.
La intenció és que qualsevol acció a favor de recuperar el nostre territori, compti amb un suport massiu.
Catalonia is burning, the Empordà is burning. A lingering sense of helplessness is eminent, but so is a pervasive feeling of solidarity. This is why #1català1arbre has launched.
#1català1arbre is to create a masse of organized volunteers who can manage whatever is technically necessary.
#1català1arbre is an information portal to facilitate understanding about the specific problems of the fire and the ability to act swiftly and effectively.
The active fight against the fire by the heroes named here, be they firefighters or volunteers, the empathy of Red Cross members and concerned civilians who have set up pavilions throughout the comarca for displaced and affected individuals, the anger and frustration produced by the destruction of our beloved countryside, are all facts pushing us to think clearly in the wake of what will come, so that we may prepare ourselves mentally to act effectively.
Let it be clear: this movement is more than a slogan. It is an initiative to create coordination, cooperation and a strong collective consciousness until the fired is extinguished.
In the wake of the tragedy that has touched all our lives, #1català1arbre is to encourage solidarity throughout the territory.
We seek to organize the greatest possible number of collaborators, with the ultimate goal of acting under the supervision of experts.
This initiative isn't frivolous; we seek to be useful tool to minimize distress experienced in the wake of these fires, so that any action in favor of the recovery of our territory gets the massive support it needs and deserves.
The project immediately echoed through networks [cat], generating a wide range of tweets of interest and support:
However, the fire in the Alt Empordà and #1català1arbre have also been easy targets for netizens with anti-Catalan sentiments.
@Betelgeuse86 [es]: Lo de -un catalán, un arbol- se refiere a un catalán ahorcado de cada árbol, ¿no?. #1català1arbre

author: Esteve Mata


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St. Lucia: The Power of Words  · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

David Cave writes a tribute to his mentor, the Saint Lucia poet Kendel Hippolyte: “Indeed, Kendel showed me first hand that there is real power in words.  Words evoke emotions, conjure images, analyse, interrogate, bring back memories, experiences and transport and even return a student to his mentor and friend.”


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Tanzania: ‘Don’t Drown’ SMS-Based Maritime Early Warning System · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Usizame is a free SMS-based ferry check-in and alert system designed to help prevent marine accidents in Tanzania. The system will also include an early warning system about bad weather conditions so that people can choose whether they want to travel on a particular boat or day.
Tanzania has witnessed one of the worst maritime accidents over the last couple of decades. In 1996, MV Bukoba sank killing over 1000 people. MV Spice Islander sank in 2011 killing 200 people followed MV Skagit this month that left over 70 passengers dead and others missing.
Rachel Hamada, the founder of Usizame, spoke to Global Voices Online about Usizame initiative.
Ndesanjo Macha (NM): Can you briefly tell us about yourself?
Rachel Hamada (RH): I am an experienced journalist and the founder of Mambo magazine, the online magazine for Zanzibar. I moved to Zanzibar in 2008 with my husband, who is from the island of Unguja (the larger island of the Zanzibar archipelago) and our daughter – though I have been coming and going from the island since about 2001. Originally, I am from the UK and have worked in the fields of travel, politics, culture, business and technology journalism.
Founder of Usizame – Rachel Hamada. Photo courtesy of Rachel Hamada.
NM: What is Usizame?
RH: Usizame is Kiswahili for ‘don't drown’. The system is a prototype that allows ferry passengers traveling between Zanzibar (including Pemba) and Dar Es Salaam to check onto their boat via free SMS. The idea is to relate passenger counts to boat capacities so that an alert can be triggered in the case of a boat being overloaded. The system will also establish a digital passenger manifest for each boat, warn passengers about severe weather conditions or that they are traveling on a deregistered boat, and will also include an early warning system in the case of an actual disaster.
NM: How did the idea come up?
RH: My husband's mother and niece, Bi Tatu and Asha, were on the MV Skagit, which capsized on Wednesday 18 July. They were traveling back from Morogoro on the mainland via Dar Es Salaam. They were supposed to travel the week before, but were delayed in Zanzibar by a family funeral. So as it happened, they had the bad luck to be on the wrong boat at the wrong time. The MV Skagit was over its capacity, was anyway not designed to travel in open ocean over such a distance and sailed in rough seas despite a warning from the Tanzanian Meteorological Agency. The boat capsized and rescue efforts were thwarted by bad weather and petty problems such as lack of fuel at the port for rescue boats.
As a result, not many bodies were recovered and those such as us have to deal with the fact that our loved ones cannot even be buried. This tragedy followed on from the MV Spice Islander disaster last September, in which some 200 people were confirmed dead but over 1,300 missing – making this, I believe, one of the worst maritime disasters of this century globally.
I was trying to think of a practical way to stop these disasters from ever happening again – and was coming up with the tired old chestnut of lobbying government, when a friend of mine with a tech background, Mbwana Alliy, suggested a different angle of approach. This was to look at the issue from the bottom up and find a way to protect passengers without, at least in the early stages, involving any authorities and bureaucracy that might slow things down.
We want to harness the momentum of the tragedy positively to engage passengers and ensure take-up of the system early on is high. So we are working on a rough pilot system that we will test and hone over time, but that can be launched quickly. Down the line it may well be that we work more closely with mobile operators and Tanzanian authorities.
Usizame logo. Image courtesy of usizame.org
NM: Can you give our readers a bit of background to boat accidents in Tanzania in recent years?
RH: As I mentioned, within the last year, there have been two major marine disasters near Zanzibar (and a good number of small ones also). This is against a background of other tragedies on Zanzibar and the mainland, such as the Gongo La Mboto bomb blasts, with a feeling that life is cheap, despite the cost of living being very high now in Tanzania. The Citizen newspaper today led on a story headlined “Disasters are killing TZ minds and souls,” which highlights the psychological damage that such recurring disasters can incur.
In terms of boat disasters specifically, Tanzania also saw the horrendous sinking of MV Bukoba on Lake Victoria – with some 1000 passengers reported as having drowned. Tanzania has few if any rivals for numbers of boat deaths over the last couple of decades.
NM: What do you expect to achieve from this initiative?
RH: This is a ‘suck it and see’ project – it's new, it's experimental and we are going to learn through trial and error. So ‘expect’ might be too strong a word. But certainly what we hope to achieve is to design a system that will be effective in terms of protecting all boat passengers (almost everybody in Tanzania has at least a basic mobile phone) or at least in helping them to make much more informed choices and putting mismanagement of boats, such as regular overloading, on the record. It's civic action, and the idea is that passengers take on their own ‘duty of care’.
Friends, relatives and concerned citizens in Zanzibar standing in shock after MV Spice capsized. Photo courtesy of @Tanganyikan.
NM: What would be the role of social media in Usizame initiative?
RH: Social media is important to some extent. It will help with making Usizame known to some tourists and expat ferry passengers and to a limited segment of the Tanzanian population. However, we are also putting a heavy emphasis on offline marketing. We will distribute flyers at local ports during the trial runs to inform passengers about what Usizame is, how it works, and the fact that it is free. If the trial is successful, we aim to scale up the scheme to all ferries running between the mainland and the archipelago, and at that stage we will look at much greater media saturation, with more interviews and radio and TV campaigns to raise public awareness. But we are clear that we have to concentrate first and foremost on making the prototype work on a small scale.
NM: How would you describe the state of social media and mobile phone penetration in Tanzania?
RH: Mobile phone penetration is high in Tanzania – most people have at least a basic phone. That's why few Zanzibari fishermen were out when the tail end of the tsunami hit the island's shores. They had all been forewarned by family or friends, and returned to shore to be safe. Social media penetration is much more in its infancy. Twitter is still relatively unused here.
Facebook, however, is seeing exponential growth. It only has penetration still of some 1.3 per cent of the population but in the last six months Facebook use increased by more than 28 per cent – and this trend looks likely to continue.
NM: Who else is involved with Usizame?
RH: Myself and Mbwana Alliy, who is from Dar Es Salaam, has Silicon Valley experience and is currently running East African tech investment firm Savannah Fund, conceived the idea on the day after the MV Skagit tragedy. The main other core members of our team thus far have been IT systems engineer Jones Mrusha and coder Allen Machary. Danish blogger Pernille Baerendtsen has been helping to build social media around the new brand.
Zanzibari graphic designer Tahir Othman designed a great logo for us at short notice. Umayra al-Nabhany at the State University of Zanzibar is helping us out with translation of all relevant literature into Kiswahili – we aim to have two parallel Usizame websites – one in Kiswahili and one in English. Multi-Color Printers in Zanzibar have offered to print flyers for us for the pilot run. We are all working on Usizame on a voluntary basis.
You can find out more about Usizame on Facebook and Twitter.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Tanzania: Newspaper Shut Down by Government · Global Voices
Mosi Simba

The media industry in Tanzania has received with great astonishment news of the closure of MwanaHalisi newspaper. A government report posted on Wavuti blog explained in brief that:
The government has decided to close down the production of Mwanahalisi for an unknown period of according to the Newspaper Act of 1976,clause(25)(i). The clause will be in effect from July 30th, 2012 based on the government notice 258 published on the government newspaper produced in Dar es Salaam on 27th July, 2012.
The edition that led to the closure of the paper. Photo courtesy of Mabadiliko Forums.
The notice adds:
The government requires the owners, editors and journalists to abide by the law, patriotism, follow the guidelines and ethics of journalism in their aim to spread news, inform and entertain people.
Through this notice, the government explains that the reasons for closing down the publication include the presence of articles and news that incite violence, enmity and give citizens a reason to doubt the authorities.
Professor Joseph Mbele, the blogger behind hapa kwetu, commented on the closure of Mwanahalisi, saying:
If the government was wiser, it would have thought about the issues raised by Dr.Ulimboka [the spokesman for Tanzanan doctors who was abducted and tortured by unidentified people during their strike] as reported in the Mwanahalisi. Closing down this paper will increase people's fear that the government is involved in the attack on Dr.Ulimboka
It is probable that the government is not involved, but this actions may be detrimental to the government itself.
He concludes by saying:
I am not pleased with the interference of my right to read whatever I please. I am an adult with my own brains. I can discern what I read. When the government closes a paper or bans a book, it is an insult on the people as it translates to mean that they can't read and interpret on their own.
Geophrey Mlewa through Facebook asks:
Where, are we heading to with such dictatorship? They claim that the law was not followed, but had it been stories praising the government would they have closed it down?
Tumaini Anthony responds to Geophrey's post:
…the stones will talk.Amen!
Facebook user Hilda M. Mbangati writes on the opinion section of Geophrey's page:
Duuh, this is the government! CCM hurrah…
Simon Mkina was tagged in a Facebook picture that had Mwanahalisi with the caption:
R.I.P MwanaHalisi, now let us read the rumuors.
On his Facebook page, Ismail Mbuyu writes:
The closure of Mwanahalisi has hurt me.I hope that president Kikwete will open it. Why? It will reveal weaknesses of his leaders.How will Kubenea [the Acting Editor of the paper] get innermost details when he is not at the source? Let the journal continue giving us the facts. It is upon the government to check its house not Kubenea
The notice of the paper's closure was announced on JamiiForums, which generated the following comments:
The government wants to seal our lips so that we do not know of their evils and continue being in darkness.
Ndahani wrote:
Haaahaa! Kubenea [Mwanahalisi Acting Editor] exposed this people.
JF Senior Expert Member Osokoni asks:
Why is Radio Imani that preaches religious hatred still not closed? Are there double standards in the media?
Ritz adds:
That was a clean move to close the paper as it spread violence and hate amongst the people. However, this move is a little too late.
This is not the first time the paper has been banned – it was withdrawn for three months in 2008. The history of banning newspapers in Tanzania began a long time ago.  In Kulikoni Ughaibuni blog by Chahali, there is an article that questions freedom of information in Tanzania: ‘Is the problem the state, fear or self-protection?’
There are still many questions about media freedom in Tanzania: What will happen to other media outlets? What does the Opposition have to say about this issue? Let's wait and see.

author: Mosi Simba


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Togo: Preacher Transports 4.2 kg of Cocaine Hidden in Lollipops to Build Church  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Togolese Preacher Woegna Yao Koufoualesse was caught at the Accra International Airport with  4.2 kg of Cocaine in a flight from Sao Paulo,  Afrique Infos reports [fr]. The drugs were hidden inside caramel lollipops; Koufoualesse argued that he did not know about the cocaine and that the lollipops were to be sold to help build a church.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Trinidad & Tobago: Hoping for Medals  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The MEP Blog takes a look at the country's past Olympic greats and 2012 medal hopefuls.


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Tunisia: The Plight of Palestinians in Iraq  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Tunisian blogger Nawel Abdullah posts an interview [ar] she conducted with the founder of The Australian Society for the Palestinian-Iraqi Refugee Emergency Yousef Alreemawi, who speaks to her about the plight of Palestinian refugees living in Iraq and efforts to resettle some of them in Australia.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Ukraine: Forest Fires in Yalta, Crimea · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On Facebook, Andrey Klimenko of BlackSeaNews.net posted night photos (here and here; ru) of the fire raging in the mountainous forest reserve near Yalta, Crimea. On July 31 [ru], there is smog, ashes in the air and strong northeast wind in Yalta: “Early in the morning it seemed it would rain, but now the clouds are going away. It'll be a tough day :((“

author: Veronica Khokhlova