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Africa: Controversy over the Presidency of the Confederation of African Football  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Ouédraogo of Ouagadougou wrote the following on mondoblog.org :
The Confederation of African football adopted a shameful regulation during its general meeting on Monday, September 3, 2012, stipulating that only members of the Executive Committee may run for President of the governing body of African football. A settlement which eliminates, in theory, the main competitor of Issa Kilipytiboe from the next scheduled election in March 2013, Ivorian Jacques Anouma.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Bahrain: A Country for Disgruntled Citizens  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Ali Al Saeed suggests:
@alialsaeed: Perhaps disgruntled citizens from around the world should consider starting their own country? Worth a try.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Brazil: Misogynistic ‘Humor’ in MTV-Sponsored Blog · Global Voices
Yohana de Andrade

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages.]
Eduardo Mendes, also known as EddyTestosterone (EduTestosterona in Portuguese) writes the MTV-sponsored blog Testosterone: The Modern Macho Man's Blog (Testosterona, o blog do macho moderno). In late August 2012, a complaint was filed before the Public Prosecutor's Office regarding a post from May 2010 entitled “How to Get Your Girlfriend to Have Anal Sex” (“Como obter sexo anal com sua namorada”) that included a 3.5-minute video extolling the virtues of rape.
The fictional video, which has since been removed from the blog, shows Billy hitting his girlfriend's head with a brick in order to rape her after her twice refusing anal sex. The video ends with Billy and his girlfriend passed out in bed.
In response, web surfers began calling into question the type of misogynistic content constantly posted on the blog and the blog's sponsorship by MTV. Amanda tweeted:
Image from the online campaign to end the blog Testosterone taken from the Facebook page “We Condemn This” [“Nós Denunciamos].”
Ainda não entendi porque a MTV não retirou o Testosterona do ar. Machismo dá tanto dinheiro assim?
I still do not understand why MTV has not taken Testosterone down. Is machismo such a money maker?
Fátima, in her blog Sub Judice, discusses the post in legal terms. According to the author, the video posted by EddyTestosterone “shows a form of sexual crime… a hideous crime.” She further explains MTV's supportive relationship with Testosterone:
Enquanto patrocinadora, ela [MTV] emite o seu ‘ok’ para o conteúdo veiculado, ou será que uma empresa com esse capital todo patrocinaria um blog com conteúdo com o qual não concordasse? Dífícil.
A lógica extraída poderia ser a seguinte: A MTV brasileira, empresa que notadamente influencia jovens ao criar tendências de comportamento e consumo, PAGA ao proprietário do blog para que ele cometa o crime de APOLOGIA AO CRIME.
As long as it is the sponsor, [MTV] is giving its “ok” to the blog's content, or would a company of such weight sponsor a blog whose content it did not agree with? Unlikely.
The logic goes as follows: MTV Brazil, a company that clearly influences youth in setting behavior and consumption trends, PAYS the blog owner to commit the crime of DEFENDING THE CRIME [of rape].
Humorless Jokes in the Brazilian Media
Despite MTV's having published a piece saying that partner blogs do not reflect the opinions of the broadcasting company, NGOs and individuals continue to question the company's partnership with the blog. Critiques of the blogs claim that the humor expressed by Testosterone stems from content that incites humiliation of those who are not male, heterosexual, white and of a certain economic class.
“Women biting apples, symbol of the forbidden fruit.” Photo by Andre M. Chang, copyright Demotix (04/06/2011), São Paulo, Brazil.
In her blog, Andrea Chagas Cerqueira argues against the justification that the blog is intended as a comedy blog, which Eddy himself has claimed:
O autor do Testosterona acusa seus críticos de não terem senso de humor. O que ele parece não entender é que suas ideias têm consequências muito reais.
Em março, a Polícia Federal prendeu os autores de outro blog que incitava o ódio contra mulheres, gays e diversos grupos – eles eram parceiros do Testosterona e também postavam conteúdo no blog. Durante a investigação, a Polícia descobriu ainda que eles planejavam um massacre na Universidade de Brasília.
Testosterone's author accuses his critics of lacking a sense of humor. What he seems not to understand is that his ideas have very real consequences.
In March, the Federal Police detained authors of another blog inciting hate against women, homosexuals and a number of other social groups; they were partners of Testosterone and also posted content on Testosterone. During the investigation, the Police further discovered that the other blog's authors were planning a massacre at the University of Brasília.
In a post entitled “The Joke That Rapes” (A piada que estupra“) on the blog GGSpot (PontoGG), Abbsaraiva writes:
O que precisa ser dito é que esse tipo de humor é compartilhado socialmente porque exprime a violência intrínseca do grupo a qual pertence. Além disso, essas piadas justificam a discriminação social, estabelecendo a lógica dominante sobre quem precisa ser avacalhado, escrachado. Esse humor nos oferece a possibilidade de compreender historicamente a formação dos estereótipos, bem como compreender o modo perverso como se processa a reafirmação do preconceito. Nesse contexto, a MTV tem responsabilidade sim sobre os portais que ela hospeda.
What needs to be said is that this type of humor is shared socially because it expresses the intrinsic violence of the group to which it pertains. Moreover, these jokes justify social discrimination, establishing the dominant logic as to who should be demoralized or psychologically crushed. This type of humor offers us the ability to historically understand the formation of stereotypes and the perverse manner in which prejudices are reaffirmed. In this context, MTV certainly is responsible for the web pages it hosts.
“Your mouth is the key to countering fundamentalism,” “70% of rapes occur inside the home.” Photo on Flickr by gaviota paseandera (CC BY-NC-ND). Porto Alegre, Brazil (2005)
After the claim filed before the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the blog Irritating Macho-ness Daily (O machismo chato de cada dia) posted the response from the Secretariat of Women's Policies:
Não é incomum encontrar desvalorização e depreciação da imagem da mulher em peças publicitárias, novelas, programas humorísticos, letras de música etc. Isso traz como consequência o reforço à discriminação de gênero.
(…)É fundamental que a sociedade se mobilize e se manifeste em favor de uma mudança de paradigma, podendo sempre contar com o apoio e o desenvolvimento de políticas públicas por parte desta Secretaria.
It is not uncommon that the image of women in ads, soap operas, comedy shows, song lyrics, etc. is undervalued and denigrated. Consequently, this reinforces gender discrimination….
It is critical that society mobilize and take a stand to change this paradigm, and this Secretariat will always provide support and create public policies to this end.
“If You're Man Enough, Respect Women.” Photo by Andre M. Chang copyright Demotix (04/06/2011), São Paulo, Brazil.
At least two petitions against the blog Testosterone have been drafted. One was launched on September 13 by the online community All Out, which fights for sexual freedom. Entitled “MTV: Stop Sponsoring Hate” (“MTV: Deixe de Patrocinar o Ódio“) and aiming for 10,000 signatures, the message is addressed to the president of MTV Networks, Van Toffler, in an attempt to convince the company to end its partnership with the blog Testosterone.
The other was created on September 4 by Lívia de Figueiredo Brasil in Avaaz. This petition is seeking 3,000 signatures to send to the Secretariat of Policies for Women.
At the time of writing this post, the video remains on YouTube, MTV has yet to make any new statements and the blog is still sponsored by the television network.

author: Yohana de Andrade


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China: Divisions among Anti-Japan Protesters  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Yi Lu from Tea Leaf Nation looks into the discussion among micro-bloggers and sees there are more and more divisions along the line of regional and class differences among anti-Japan protesters.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: Political Blog ‘Atrabilioso’ Closes Down · Global Voices
Julián Ortega Martínez

After 7 years and thousands of posts by several contributors, the political blog Atrabilioso, managed by journalist Jaime Restrepo Vásquez, closed last August 31. The blog's contributors were critics of President Juan Manuel Santos‘ administration and staunch supporters of former President Álvaro Uribe.
Restrepo claims that,
redundancy becomes customary and I have reached a point where I have to decide between pointing out the national tragedy imposed on us or focusing on my beliefs so that I may eradicate from my words -spoken or written- the curse which means narrating the daily life of the country.
Atrabilioso's posts have been quoted dozens of times on Global Voices Online.

author: Julián Ortega Martínez


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DR of Congo: Rwanda is Helping the Rebellion, says Human Rights Watch  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Human Rights Watch wrote [fr]:
In addition to deploying reinforcements and recruits to support military operations, Rwandan military officials have been providing important military support to the M23 rebels, including weapons, ammunition, and training, Human Rights Watch said. This makes Rwanda a party to the conflict.”


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Egypt: Sex Education for Youth · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Ahmed Awadalla argues in favour of empowering youth in post-revolution Egypt. He notes:
Sex education can be a great tool to change deeply seated patriarchal values in our society.


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Global: The 2012 edition of ‘Wiki Loves Monuments’  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Julien L. wrote the following on numerama.com:
The Wiki Loves Monuments copyright-free landmarks photo contest is going particularly well. Nearly a week after its launch, more than 50 000 photographs have been sent in by contributors. And this is just the beginning, because there are still 22 days left to participate in the competition. And at this rate, the 100,000 threshold should be crossed very soon.


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Internet Activa: A Course on Digital Rights and Civil Liberties · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

The Colombian foundation Karisma [es] has gained Google's sponsorship and the support of the Colombian organization Red Pa Todos [es] (Internet for Everyone) to launch Internet Activa [es] (Active Internet), “an open and digital online course aimed at supporting those who want to actively participate in defending the open, participatory, and free Internet that we know.”
The Karisma foundation, among other things, spreads information and investigates Information and Communication Technologies -ICTs- and new, open and collaborative educational experiences.
But under what circumstances and context did Internet Activa arise? they explain [es]:
…Internet va penetrando las sociedades y evidenciando esa nueva sociedad permitiendo que pensemos en un verdadero acceso libre al conocimiento que potencie el desarrollo, ha facilitado movilizaciones sociales como las de la primavera árabe, ha globalizado movimientos como el de los Indignados y convertido en un reclamo por la libertad de expresión las leyes que con apodos pegajosos van asustando a los habitantes de la red por el mundo (Sinde, Hadopi, Ley Lleras, ACTA, SOPA, PIPA, etc.).
Durante los próximos años diseñaremos el entorno legal de Internet y estará en nuestras manos explicar a los legisladores, al gobierno, a la sociedad por qué nos importa y cuál es la relación que tiene con nuestros derechos, los derechos digitales que defenderemos.
…The Internet continues to penetrate our societies and demonstrates that new society allowing us to think about the possibility of truly free access to knowledge that enhances development. It has facilitated social movements like the Arab Spring, it has globalized movements such as the Indignados (The Outraged) and it has turned laws with catchy nicknames that continue to surprise people on the internet all over the world (Sinde, Hadopi, Ley Lleras, ACTA, SOPA, PIPA, etc.) into a call for freedom of expression.
During the next few years a legal environment for the Internet will be designed and it will be our responsibility to explain to legislators, the government, and to society why this is important and how this is related to our own rights, the digital rights we are defending.
Using the experience of RedPaTodos with the issue of copyright, the people at Karisma have planned an online course to “activate the net” which will strive to:
Internet Activa
- Apoyar a quienes quieren participar actívamente en la defensa del Internet abierto, participativo y libre que conocemos.
– Dar bases conceptuales y herramientas prácticas básicas para entender los temas claves del Internet.
– Apoyar el conocimiento sobre el entorno legal de Internet en su relación con los derechos digitales y civiles
– Conocer experiencias similares, relacionadas con los derechos digitales e Internet, en nuestra región para conectarnos con pares.
– Aprender sobre mecanismos civiles de participación ciudadana para participar en las políticas públicas que diseñan el futuro de la Red en nuestro entorno
- Support those who want to actively take part in the defense of the open, participatory, and free Internet we know.
– Provide conceptual foundations and practical tools to understand key issues on the Internet.
– Support knowledge of the Internet's legal environment in relation to digital and civil rights.
– Share similar experiences, related to digital rights and the Internet, from our region to connect with peers.
– Learn about civil mechanisms for citizen participation to get involved with the public policies that shape the future of the Internet in our environment.
Lastly they add:
Esperamos que el curso tenga una gran receptividad y después de esta primera edición que hemos titulado Derechos digitales y libertades civiles en la red, 12 lecciones básicas activadas desde Internet, continuemos abordando, formándonos y profundizando en temas para mantener el Internet abierto, colaborativo y dinámico que conocemos.
We hope that the course will be met with great receptivity and that after this first edition, which we have titled Digital Rights and Civil Liberties on the Net, 12 Basic Online Lessons [es], we will continue to address, learn about, and delve into issues to keep the Internet an open, collaborative, and dynamic environment for all.
The initiative was announced on September 14, 2012, and September 27 will mark the start of its first module: “Internet, Society of Information and Tools of Participation”, with conferences led by Michel Bauwens and Offray Luna. There will be 17 expert activists in total, the majority from Latin America, who will be in charge of leading the 12 programmed lessons or modules.
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Pilar Sáenz [es], from the Karisma foundation, regarding this subject. She was in Lima because the organization Escuelab [es] will serve as one of the chosen auditoriums [es], in this case for Peru. This is what Pilar had to say about Internet Activa.
The YouTube channel for Colombian website Desde Abajo [es] (From Below) published a video not too long ago with Carolina Botero [es], also from the Karisma foundation, and Beatriz Busaniche [es], from the Argentinian foundation VíaLibre [es]. Both have scheduled talks with Internet Activa, but you can listen to them now in the following video where they discuss the right and value of free expression on the internet, the Llera Laws, and other subjects:
Michel Bauwens, who will kick off the series of conferences, has given a few TED Talks, the first in 2009 in Brussels, and the second in 2011 in Stockholm.
The module schedule [es] is available on Internet Activa's webpage. It is important to emphasize the free nature of the talks: you don't have to sign up in order to participate, you simply connect, and it will be possible to freely access the talks once they are uploaded to the site.
Don't forget to follow Internet Activa on Twitter [es] and Facebook [es].
Other Related Posts:
Latin America: A Conversation With Santiago Hoerth about Open Technology
Latin America: A Conversation with Carolina Botero about Intellectual Property
Spain: Conversation with Ignasi Labastida on Intellectual Property

author: Juan Arellano


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Iran Blocks Access to Google and Gmail · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

The Iranian regime has been an enemy to freedom of speech for decades but on Sunday, September 23, 2012, they still surprised many by announcing that they would begin filtering Google and Gmail in the next hours.
An Iranian official, Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, said this was due [fa] to a request by the public to oppose an anti-Islam film on YouTube that many see as blasphemous (Google owns YouTube). Khoramabadi is a key member of a “Commission to Determine Instances of Criminal Content”.
Meanwhile some speculate that the true reason for blocking Google has more to do with promoting the so called Iranian “national Internet” which was supposed to become operational on 22 September, but has so far not appeared.
Cartoon by Mana Neyestani. Source: Internet Freedom Project on Facebook
Global Voices contacted several Iranians in different cities including Tehran, Shiraz and Qom. Almost all say they have no access to Gmail. A number of them are also unable to access Google search.
Arash Abadpour, a Canada-based Iranian blogger and computer scientist explained the situation to Global Voices as following:
Cutting off access to Google Search essentially pushes a significantly larger population towards looking for ways to be able to get around the filtering regime. A result of this process is not necessarily a “better” or “more free” Internet, but, nevertheless, the current course of action is not going to help the Iranian establishment either. They are pushing people towards a more vigilant approach to the Internet. They are telling people “go learn how to use a VPN”, and I foresee that being exactly what is going to happen.
A Facebook campaign has launched to call for Internet freedom and the right to access Google. Mana Neyestani's cartoon (right) on Google being filtered is eye-catching on this Facebook page.
Several Iranian netizens also tweeted about the filtering with irony. Behran Tajdin tweeted [fa]:
@Behrang: This “public” who requested Google filtering, did they not have gmail accounts? If they had, what do they use them for?
Saye Roshan tweeted [fa]:
@sayeeeeh: We blocked Gmail and Google, we brought up the rate for the dollar, I doubt we can make life harder for the USA with these actions.
In reality the primary victim in this decision is not Google, but the freedom of Iranians. It seems even virtual freedoms are too much for the Islamic regime.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: New Wave of Repression Against Bloggers · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian bloggers are facing a new wave of repression as more of them are being jailed, and in one case a blogger's wife was beaten by security forces. It seems the regime is raising its own standards for brutality.
A life in danger
Several news sites reported [fa] that jailed blogger, Hossein Ronaghi Maleki's life is in danger. His health condition has deteriorated, and he has been moved to an isolation cell. His kidney is hemorrhaging and security forces have prevented appropriate medical care for him.
Hossein was arrested along with several others in the East Azarbaijan province where they were volunteering to help earthquake victims in August 2012. He had been released on US$ 500,000 bail in July 2012.
Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, Blogger
Blogger's wife beaten by police
Mohmmad Esmailzadeh, blogger and political activist. Source: Botimar blog
News sites reported [fa] in early September 2012 that Katayoun Bahrami, the wife of blogger and political activist Mohammad Esmailzadeh, had been beaten by the head of police in the northern city, Babol when she complained about the behavior of security forces.
Esmailzadeh used to write a blog about culture, Botimar, and was a reformist. He was arrested after the controversial presidential election in 2009 and jailed for about 90 days. Security forces still appear to search his house from time to time, and have also confiscated personal items. Katayoun's tooth was broken and she spent several days in hospital.
No regrets
Shiva Nazar Ahari, a blogger and human rights activist was sent to prison to serve a four year sentence in September 2012. She had been charged with “attempts to deface the Islamic government”, “assembly with intention of conspiring against the Islamic government”, and “disrupting the public order” in September 2010.
The irony of Nazar Ahari's story is that she can feel lucky to serve “only” four years prison sentence after being acquitted of the charge of “Waging War Against God” a crime that can carry the death penalty.
Shiva has been jailed several times but has said she never regretted her actions. In this short film she is shown after her release from prison, saying that she is determined to stay in Iran at all costs. She says she feels it is where her activity can have the most impact.
Rumor or reality?
One piece of news from last year, about the safety a blogger, caught the attention of several bloggers. Iran-based Mashreg News reported about one year ago that a blogger named “Shayegan Esfandyari” (probably a pen name) was arrested in the southern city Bandar Abbas.
He had been accused of insulting Islam and the Iranian authorities, and for being in contact with foreign media. This news has not yet been confirmed by Iranian authorities or human rights organizations.
Shayegan used to write in the blog Gameron where the tagline description says that most of the posts are satirical and nothing is too sacred to be criticized.
On the Iranian link-sharing site, Balatarin, several bloggers wrote that at the moment the blogger is not writing but it could also be for technical or personal reasons… A comment was recently published on his Facebook profile that sounds very uncharacteristic for the blogger's opinions. Concerns are that he was arrested one year ago and may have had his personal accounts compromised by security forces.


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Japan: Citizens Respond to New Nuclear Power Policies · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

This post is part of our special coverage Japan Earthquake 2011.
Individuals with vested interests in nuclear power have been named to lead a regulatory commission of the Japanese government that will play crucial role in determining whether to phase out nuclear power during the 2030s and how.
While environmental groups welcome the government's statement of intent to end nuclear power in Japan before 2040, the proposal has yet to become an actual policy. Citizens are calling for commission members with a conflict of interest (including the chairman of the commission) to be declared ineligible, since business and industry lobbyists have been pushing for the deadline to be dropped.
Protestors call for the halting of all nuclear power generation in Tokyo, Japan. Image by Damon Coulter, copyright Demotix (14/09/12).
Japanese energy related ministers compiled the proposal to phase out nuclear power during the 2030s last week. Greenpeace Japan welcomed news of the suggested strategy. In a press release on September 14, 2012, they wrote:
“The government’s strategy involves a nuclear phase-out nearly two decades later than needed. It also provides clarity for the business community that renewable power, not nuclear, is the future,” said Kazue Suzuki, Greenpeace Japan nuclear campaigner.
“The government must use its new energy strategy as a starting point for a far more ambitious renewable policy, greater energy efficiency measures, and increasingly bold strides towards the sustainable green economy that will secure Japan’s future prosperity.”
The new independent nuclear regulatory commission that will help set the policy is called Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA). It was launched on September 19, and is headed by Shunichi Tanaka. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations, released a statement [ja] on August 3, saying that the proposed members for the commission included two candidates who represented interests that ran counter to the spirit of their task and should therefore be declared ineligible.
The international organization, Friends of the Earth Japan (FoE), also called for the replacement of those members who have vested interests in promoting nuclear power. In a press release [ja] on July 27, they offered a list of reasons why the head of the commission, Shunichi Tanaka should be dismissed:
【委員長候補】
×田中俊一（たなか　しゅんいち）氏：【原子力ムラ・不適格】
(独)日本原子力研究開発機構（旧動燃）副理事長、原子力委員長代理、原子力学会会長を歴任。
※長年にわたって「原子力ムラ」の中心で活動。
※「原子力委員会」は国の原子力推進機関。原子力事業者と秘密会合を重ねて原子力を推進するなど公正さに疑惑がもたれており、原子力委員長代理としての田中氏の行動に対する第三者による検証が必要。
※副理事長である「（独）日本原子力研究開発機構」は、政府の原発推進、核燃料サイクル推進の研究開発機関。高速増殖炉「もんじゅ」の設置主体であり、「原子力ムラ」の関係者ではなく、「当事者」。
※さらに田中氏は、原子力損害賠償紛争審査会において、「政府が避難の基準としている20mSVをゆるがすべきではない」として、最後まで自主的避難者に対しての賠償方針を策定しようとする能見会長に抵抗。審査会で決まったあとも、抗議文を読み上げ、福島の被害住民や傍聴者の怒りをかった。住民の帰還基準を20mSVと主張し、原研機構に除染利権をもたらし、自身は福島県除染アドバイザーに｡”
[His] experience includes being vice president at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, deputy chairperson for the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan, and president of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan.
* He has been involved in the nuclear energy community for a long time.
* The Atomic Energy Commission is Japan's nuclear propulsion facility that works closely with nuclear operators, which arouses suspicion as to its fairness. Third-party inspection of Tanaka as a deputy chairperson with the Atomic Energy Commission is needed.
* The Japan Atomic Energy Agency is the research and development of government's nuclear propulsion and nuclear fuel cycle propulsion. The Fast Breeder Reactor Monju was established by JAEA.
* Tanaka insisted at the Dispute Reconciliation Committee for Nuclear Damage Compensation that no changes should be made to 20mSV standard of evacuation by the government, and resisted the chairperson Noumi Kimikazu who was formulating compensation guidelines for voluntary evacuees. After the guidelines were made, Tanaka read his protest note out loud, making victims and the audience angry. He insisted on the standard for inhabitants to return as being 20mSV. He brought decontamination interests to JAEA, and made himself an adviser for decontamination effort in Fukushima.
Supported by 116 citizen groups, FOE released an urgent statement [ja] on September 19:
私たちは、この決定は、国民の声を無視し、法の精神を踏みにじり、福島原発事故の教訓から何も学ばないものとして、強く抗議します。
私たちは、多くの市民や弁護士、国会議員のみなさまとともに、今回の人事案について下記の問題点を訴えてきました。また、のべ５万筆を超える一般市民の署名を政府に５回にわたり届けました。政府からは何ら納得のいくお答えを頂いていません。
① 「利用と規制の分離」「国民の信頼の回復」「原子力ムラの影響力の排除」の原子力規制委員会設置法の趣旨を踏みにじるもの。それどころか、原子力事業者の委員への任命は、設置法法第７条第７項、７月３日付政府ガイドライン違反
② 無責任な原子力推進行政に加担してきた田中俊一氏などを抜擢
③ 田中俊一氏は、自主的避難への賠償に反対し、低線量被ばくのリスクを過小評価してきた。
We protest against the decision of the NRA and its member appointments which completely ignore the voice of citizens, runs contrary to the spirit of law, and shows no lessons have been learnt from the Fukushima nuclear accident.
We have pointed out the issues with proposed members through citizens, attorneys and members. We have handed 50,000 signatures from citizens to the government five times, but no reasonable response has been made by the government.
Many are looking to the NRA with outrage and disbelief.
Shuya Nomura (@NomuraShuya) tweeted [ja]:
今日発足した原子力規制委員会の委員は、口々に、地に落ちた原子力行政の信頼を回復したいと言うが、だったら国会の同意を得てもらわなければ委員には就任できないと言って頑張るべきだったのではないか。それすらできない人がいくら信頼回復を唱えても、それを信じて期待する国民は誰もいないだろう。
Members of the commission unanimously speak of hopes to recover the entirely lost trust of nuclear energy administration, but what they should have done is ensure commission members be inaugurated only after consent. No one will trust these members without it.
User Ryuichi Kino (@kinoryuichi) tweeted [ja]:
幹部７人のうち、長官の池田氏と地域安全統括官の黒木氏の２人が警察官僚。なんか多い。誰を取り締まるのか・・・→幹部名簿｜原子力規制委員会について｜原子力規制委員会 http://ow.ly/dQ6PY #genpatsu #fukushima
Of seven board members, Director General Ikeda and Regional Safty Manager Kuroki are both former police bureaucrats. Quite a few. Are they going to police some people? Executive Members List about RNA http://ow.ly/dQ6PY #genpatsu #fukushima
The new website for NRA states:
The Nuclear Regulation Authority has started in the situation where public trust on the nuclear regulation has been completely lost. It is our primary responsibility to conduct stricter regulations while readily admitting stern eyes from the public. […] We will always bear in mind that accidents beyond our expectations may occur, and tirelessly improve all the regulations so that Japan’s nuclear regulation is to be the highest standard in the world.
This post is part of our special coverage Japan Earthquake 2011.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Japan: Misreporting on “1,000 Chinese Boats” Headed for Disputed Islands · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

The disputed Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands. Photo from Wikipedia.
The watchdog for accuracy in news reporting in Japan reports [ja] in its website gohoo.org that several major Japanese newspapers have recently written posts on the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands, which are currently part of an ownership dispute with China (for example), based on false information.
A tweet from @watchdog_japan [ja] warns:
【注意報】｢中国漁船1千隻 尖閣海域へ｣　引用元記事に注意　http://gohoo.org/alerts/120920/ 　→中国漁船1000隻が尖閣に出港したとの報道は、引用された中国メディアの元記事が既に削除されています。別の引用元記事も「不完全な統計」と断り書きがありました。
[alert] watch out for the sources of a quote for “1,000 Chinese boats headed for Senkakus” http://gohoo.org/alerts/120920/ → the original source for 1000 Chinese boats headed for Senkakus in Chinese media has been deleted. Other sources of quote said in its explanatory note that “statistics are faulty”
According to Jiji press [en, ja], Hiroshi Majima, who heads the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Naha told Okinawa's Lieutenant Governor Yoshiyuki Uehara that information that a large number of Chinese fishing boats were heading for the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture was false.


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Kyrgyzstan: Court Bans Anti-Islam Film · Global Voices
Saikal Nogoibaeva

On September 21, 2012, a court in Kyrgyzstan ordered [ru] to block access to the infamous video “The Innocence of Muslims,” which had sparked protests and demonstrations around the world and led to the killing of four American diplomats in Libya.
In the small Central Asian republic, which is predominantly Muslim but has a strong secular heritage from the Soviet Union, the decision triggered lively debates on the country's online news portals.
The YouTube video which many Muslims around the world criticized as “anti-Islamic” and “offensive” had already been banned in several countries, including Egypt, Libya, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Philippines. Access to the film had also been blocked in Afghanistan.
Screenshot of an error message that many Kyrgyzstanis trying to access the infamous video on YouTube get.
“Extremist material”
The court ban came after the General Prosecutor's Office filed [ru] a claim on September 19 to declare the video as representing “extremist material” and to ban its distribution in Kyrgyzstan. Prior to the court ruling, the country's parliament also decreed [ru] to block access to the video.
Quoted in Kyrgyzstan's largest newspaper, Vecherniy Bishkek, Tursunbai Bakir uulu, a conservative MP in parliament's Ar-Namys faction stated [ru]:
Возможно, если мы как-то отреагируем, примем решение, то люди успокоятся и не станут устраивать акции протеста.
Perhaps, if we react somehow and make a decision, people will calm down and will not organize protests.
But a lack of any form of protest seems unlikely given that the same MP later announced [ru] via Twitter his intention to lead a demonstration against the video in front of the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan on September 25:
Пусть посол США не перживает.Все пройдет спокойно и законно! Согласно закону мы уведомили мэрию о мирной акции протеста 25 сентября в 11-00
The US ambassador has nothing to worry about. Everything will go peacefully and lawfully! As required by the law, we have notified the [Bishkek] Mayor's Office about the holding of a peaceful protest on September 25 at 11:00.
(N.B. Bakir Uulu was the subject of an earlier Global Voices article about the banning of short skirts in the national legislature. Underneath the article, a user called Tbakiruulu accused [ru] the author of not being objective and of “only providing reactions from idiots and clowns.”
The lawmaker also made headlines at the end of last year when he swore his lawmaker's oath on the Qur'an instead of the constitution, and when he urged the country's president-elect not to turn into a dragon).
Ban as a shortcut to popularity?
Another MP, Daniyar Terbishaliyev of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, speculated [ru] that restricting access to the video will trigger even more attention from Internet users:
Все, кто хотел посмотреть, посмотрел. Если мы введем запрет, то желающих посмотреть фильм будет больше.
All of those who wanted to watch the video have already watched it. If we ban it, more people would want to see it.
Many netizens appeared to share this concern. Underneath an article on the Kloop.kg news website, Aibek Baratashvili commented [ru]:
Чем больше запрещают, тем сильнее желание посмотреть! Дайте линк!
The more they ban something, the stronger the desire to watch it! Give me a link [to the video]!
Journalist Zarema Sultanbekov was [ru] even more forceful:
Что за бред, такой дешевый тупой фильм. Не думаю, что он здравомыслящего человека может спровоцировать… На Ютюбе вообще 15 минутный ролик, а не весь фильм… Эхх, Кыргызстан
What kind of nonsense is that? [This is] such a cheap and stupid film. I don't think that it could provoke areasonable person… There is only a 15 minute video on YouTube, not even the whole movie. Ugh, Kyrgyzstan.
But another Kloop commenter, Tim Ele, weighed in [ru] on the side of security:
И правильно сделали… А то у нас тоже беспорядки начнутся..
They've done a right thing… Otherwise riots will start here as well.
A chief concern among netizens was that people who were not aware of the ban could be detained by the State Committee for National Security (SCNS, successor to the Soviet-era KGB security agency) for sharing the film, regardless of their motivations for doing so. Kloop.kg Editor Eldiyar Arkybayev thus called for [ru] an information campaign about the ban:
Извините за выражение, но это пиздец. Ребята, прошу расшерить, потому что теперь людей могут осудить за ссылки на фильм. Нужно предупредить пока не начались задержания, аресты. Ментами дали повод для перевыполнения плана по задержанию. Поделитесь!
Excuse my language but this is bullshit. Guys, I ask you to reshare [this information], because now people might be penalized for sharing links to the movie. People should get notified before the arrests and detentions have started. The cops have been given grounds to execute arrests. Share!
“Freedom has died”
Well-known Kyrgyzstani blogger Ilya Karimdganov, labelled [ru] the day the court decision was announced a “historic day”:
Сегодня исторический день в Кыргызстане – свобода умерла…
Today is a historic day in Kyrgyzstan – freedom has died…
But not everyone shares Karimdjanov's vision of freedom. Journalist Aidai Irgebaeva responded [ru]:
о чем ты? при всей моей не религиозности, видео – говнянное. пропускать такое – нельзя. какая нах свобода?.. нельзя издеваться над святым…
What are you talking about? Although I am not religious, I find the video crappy. It should not be allowed. What kind of freedom are you talking about?.. Making fun of the sacred is inappropriate…
Debates about the censorship of videos and websites has been a key feature of Kyrgyzstan's young parliamentary-style democracy ever since inter-ethnic conflict occurred in the country's south in June 2010. For many, the authorities now have a responsibility to screen any material that might fuel antagonism between different ethnic and religious groups.
Nevertheless, online, a growing lobby of young Internet freedom advocates continue to raise their voices and oppose internet restrictions instigated by the state. So far they have not been heard by the country's main political institutions.

author: Saikal Nogoibaeva


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Mauritania: March to Commemorate the Passing of Rights Activist   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Civil rights organisation Touche pas à ma nationalité TPMN (Do not interfere with my citizenship) has called for a large march on September 27, 2012, in the capital Nouakchott, to commemorate the passing of anti-racism activist Lamine Mangane.
Mangane was killed a year ago by authorities in the town of Maghama during protests against a census that marginalized black citizens of Mauritania.
In memory of Lamine Mangane
Who was Lamine Mangane? His father Moussa Abdoul Mangane recalls the memory of his son [fr] on the blog Mauritanides:
Lamine, âgé de 19 ans a été tué par balle pendants les manifestations contre l’enrôlement à Maghama. Nous avons déposé une plainte au tribunal de Kaédi afin que justice soit faite. Malheureusement, nous n’avons, jusqu’à maintenant, pas eu aucune réponse en retour. L’assassin de mon fils circule librement et ce, avec la complicité de nos appareils judiciaires. Il a même pour toute sanction, une affectation [..] A travers la mort de mon fils et les blessés à Maghama, suite aux manifestations contre l’enrôlement raciste, c’est une fois de plus la communauté négro-mauritanienne qui est brutalisée, blessée, meurtrie
Lamien was 19 when he was shot to death during the protests against the census in Maghama. We have filed a complaint at the Tribunal of Kaedi for justice to be served. Yet we are still waiting for a response from our inquiry. My son's killer is still at large with the implicit approval of our judicial system. His only sanction was to be re-assigned to a different location [..] With my son's death and all those wounded in Maghama following this racist census, it is once again the black Mauritanian community that is brutalized, wounded and hurt
A video by Siteflere [fr] gives more background on Lamine Mangane and shows people marching a year ago after learning about his death:
The association l’Initiative pour la Résurgence du Mouvement Abolitionniste en Mauritanie IRA- Mauritanie (in English:  the Promotion of the Abolitionist Movement Initiative in Mauritania) gave the following statement [fr] in the blog Info de la Rue:
La mort de Lamine Mangane ne peut en aucune manière rester impunie. Si l’autorité perçoit cet assassinat comme un acte de dissuasion, elle se trompe lourdement, il risque au contraire d’envenimer la situation et de semer le chaos
The death of Lamine Mangane cannot remain unpunished. If the authorities believe that this assassination would dissuade us, it is highly mistaken. To the contrary, it might make matters worse and bring chaos.
A history of racial tension
Lamine Mangane is not the lone victim in the continuing racial tension between blacks and arabs in Mauritania. The Movement for Justice and Equality in Mauritania (M.J.E.M) states that 25 year-old Bakary Bathily, a rights activist and a student at the University of Nouakchott’s School of Law and Economics, has been missing since February 22:
The authorities initiated a massive manhunt to arrest the young activist and prevent him from advancing the cause of the oppressed Black Africans in Mauritania. In Nouakchott alone, dozens of black students have been arrested this year. Others have been harassed and tortured by the Police [..] Bakary’s family has not seen him or spoken with him since February 2, 2012. Numerous Human Rights organizations in Mauritania have been demanding the government to call off the manhunt…
The blog Flere reminds us of the long history of clashes [fr] between arabs and blacks in Mauritania:
Arrestations de militaires en octobre 1987 à la suite d'un prétendu coup d'Etat militaire : trois exécutions, 23 condamnés entre 5 ans et la perpétuité, près d'un millier de militaires noirs chassés de l'armée après avoir subi toutes formes de tortures et d'humiliations. Des tortures et mauvais traitements qui allaient entraîner la mort de 4 prisonniers politiques à Waalata. Au mois d'avril 1989, des centaines de Noirs (700 au moins) sont massacrés á Nouakchott, à Nouadhibou et dans plusieurs autres localités mauritaniennes, avec la complicité des plus hautes autorités de l'Etat.
Soldiers were arrested in October 1987 after an alleged coup: 3 were executed, 23 sentenced to years in prison (from 5 to life sentence). About a thousand black soldiers were thrown out of the army, some of them after being tortured and humiliated. Some of those tortures led to the death of 4 political prisoners in Waalata. In April 1989, at least 700 hundred blacks were killed in Nouakchott, Nouadhibou and others cities, with the implicit support of the hightest state authorities.
Abdoulaye Yero DIA argues that this situation cannot last any longer [fr]:
une chose est claire et confirmée tout le long de l’Histoire : la durée de vie de l’oppression est très réduite à l’échelle de l’Histoire. Cette injustice doit s’arrêter. Que les dirigeants sachent une chose : en continuant à se comporter comme ils le font, ils sont entrain de nourrir la haine envers leurs propres enfants et de donner aux opprimés d’aujourd’hui des arguments pour justifier un désir de revanche
One thing is certain as history has shown throughout its course: oppression is always on borrowed time. This injustice must stop. The authorities must know that with their behavior, they are planting the seeds of hatred towards their own descendants and give the oppressed the arguments for a yearning for vengeance.
Abdoul Birane Wane gives the details of the events [fr] scheduled prior to the march:
Mercredi 26 septembre, un grand concert au 5eme arrondissement à partir de 18heures.
– Jeudi 27 septembre à 11heures , sitin devant le ministère de la justice pour exiger le jugement des coupables.
– 17heures, meeting au 6eme arrondissement.
- On Wednesday, September 26, a large concert will take place in the 5th district from 6 PM.
– Thursday, September 27 at 11 am, a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Justice to demand that the culprits be sentenced.
– At 5 PM, a general meeting in the 6th district.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Myanmar: Cheers and Jeers for Peace Day Rally · Global Voices
Chan Myae Khine

A peace demonstration was organized in Yangon, Myanmar on September 21, 2012, during the International Day of Peace with the common slogan of “STOP Civil War”. The Kachin Peace Network, which initiated [my] the movement, intended to hold the event in Nay Pyi Taw. However, authorities warned [my] them not to hold the event in the area. As an alternative, the group organized a peaceful rally in well-known public spots – People's Square and Inya Lake.
Hundreds of youth groups, volunteer organisations and individuals joined the rally by shouting and holding slogans such as “STOP War right now” [my], “A bullet = A meal” [my], “Stay together, Peace forever“, “Stop civil war for children's future” [my] and “We believe we can stop war“.
The activity was actively discussed online after Yangon police force told the media [my] that those who were involved in the rally would be detained because it was organized without a permit.  Some supported the peace day movement as a timely activity while others seem to believe that such demonstration would be of no use for the war victims.
Khon Ja, a Kachin ethnic, called others to support the peace day movement:
Today… International Day of Peace 2012..
Without official permission…
All the Peace Lovers from Myanmar will be walking, marching, dancing, singing, performing, showing and sharing Peace Messages, and Calling to STOP CIVIL WAR FOREVER!!!!!!
Yangon… Nay Pyi Daw… Mandalay… Mawlamyaing ….
All my friends, please keep an eye on the safety of the peace makers.. Please support your friends in Myanmar.
Meanwhile, Yangon-based Youth Voluntary Network reported [my] that they received 432,500 kyats (about US$ 500) which would be contributed to support the war victims in northern Myanmar. They explained [my] their activities on that day which generated funds for their advocacies:
On International Day of Peace, we earned funding for education of the children in Kachin by singing peace songs across Yangon. At 4 o'clock, we prayed (for war victims) together with other groups at Kan Baung (Inya Lake's bank) and erected the stone pillar of peace.
A number of netizens criticized the decision of Yangon police by defending the peace makers. Ye Htet commented [my] that the movement was not a protest.
Blue balloons were released as the symbol of peace on International Day of Peace. Photo – CJ Myanmar Facebook Page
It's not a protest. It's marching for International Day of Peace. Haven't you heard something called World Peace Day? (They are) not shouting “Our rights!”. That day has been celebrated since 1982. It's only for peace and they want to detain (them). Hmm…. terrible.. terrible.
Sy Bio asserted [my] a similar view.
(They are) making effort for peace. Please try to understand, I want to say it to police officers. Myanmar people want peace already. The law has to see the people's faces. What are you doing? Your actions are for whom?
On the other hand, a lot of netizens believe that the war which is a conflict between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and government army is not the fault of government alone. Some of them dismissed the rally as an unproductive exercise.
Arkar Joe reminded [my] the participants that joining rallies, wearing fashionable clothes, and shouting peace slogans won't work:
Everybody would have known before they went onto the road that it would not be possible not to see the gun smoke just by walking on the roads with fashionable clothes under the name of peace.
Kyaw Kyaw Han suggested [my] how the peace day should actually be celebrated:
I do not deny the fact that there is no absolute freedom of speech and rights to protest which are the essence of democracy in Myanmar. But it's impossible to have complete freedom today after we just emerged from the rule of the military junta. It's like asking an infant to stand up immediately. We have to wait for a period of time. If (they) really love International Day of Peace, they should do a celebration at a hall by giving speeches and reading papers. Now, I had to face the traffic jam from Mingalar Market to Kyaut Myaung traffic light. I'm against this demonstration as part of the public.
Peace advocates are also urged to condemn not only the atrocities committed by government soldiers but also the excesses of rebels. Tin Latt questioned [my] the purpose of the groups which were involved in the peace day movement:
I do not see urging both sides to stop (the war). What's the purpose? Ceasefire can happen only when both parties stop. At least, the bombing and mining of railways and bridges by KIA should be condemned.
Some think that there are too many protests across the country organized for different reasons. Sar Bu Dee posted [my] a short satire about the peace day rally:
Because of today's (peace day) rally, there was traffic jam and bus drivers, taxi drivers and bus conductors who couldn't drive full shift marched against the peace day rally.
Because of the marching of bus drivers, conductors and taxi drivers, the public did not have buses/cars to take and they marched against drivers and conductors by condemning their actions.
Because the public were marching on the road, they couldn't go to their work and the employers marched against the employees for unproductivity.
Because … marched against…
Because … marched against…
Citizen journalists and some of the initiators of the movement posted the latest situation of some participants who were detained for joining the rally. Nay Myo Zin shared on his Facebook that he had to go to five different police offices to sign papers that he would come to court once he is called regarding the marching that took place without an approved license. Similar events were held in Mandalay, Pyinmana and other towns as well.

author: Chan Myae Khine


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Peru: Hydrocarbons Exploration Threatens Iquitos’ Water · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

This is part one of a series of three post about water-related problems in the city of Iquitos, Peru.
The Amazonian city of Iquitos is strategically located on the banks of three rivers: the Nanay, the Itaya, and the mighty Amazon. The city is also blessed with a tropical weather with copious rainfall. Although one might think that a city like Iquitos shouldn't have problems with the drinking water supply, the reality is quite different.
Sedaloreto [es], the municipal company responsible of the water management for the city, has not always done well. Although in recent years several reservoirs and a new plant for treatment and distribution have been built among other maintenance and expansion works, these efforts have not been enough to ensure an adequate water supply to the city. In addition, some of the contracts for these works have been embroiled [es] in corruption [es] allegations.
Nanay river close to the city of Iquitos. Photo by Pierre Pouliquin on Flickr published under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic  non-commercial license.
It is in the Nanay River where Sedaloreto has located its main water intakes, which sometimes during the dry season are not capable of catching the volume of water required by Iquitos. However, this is not the only problem.
In 2010 the researcher José Alvarez Alonso explained [es] the source of the water that the city drinks:
Iquitos es particularmente vulnerable a la sequía, porque el Nanay, de donde se abastece la ciudad, tiene sus nacientes en el llano amazónico, donde no existen fuentes subterráneas, sino la fuente de agua es la lluvia. Si el bosque es degradado o destruido, Iquitos sufrirá cada vez más crisis de este vital elemento.
Alvarez also explained in more detail how the Amazon forest acts over the river's water:
El bosque amazónico actúa como una fábrica de lluvia -hasta el 50% de las lluvias se originan en la evapotranspiración del bosque- y un 25% restante, originado en nubes de origen atlántico, no se condensaría si no hubiese bosques. El bosque también actúa como una esponja: favorece que el agua de la lluvia se filtre y empape el suelo, y también su follaje, y luego el agua escurre gradualmente. Donde el bosque ha sido destruido, las lluvias arrastran todo a su paso provocando huaycos e inundaciones, y contaminando los cursos de agua; unos días sin lluvia, sin embargo, bastan para dejar seco el cauce de un río.
In April 2012, several citizens and civil society organizations, gathered in Iquitos under a Committee for the Defense of Water, issued the Declaration of Iquitos [es] which demands from authorities the compliance of the law and the disclosure of the documents and contracts related to the current exploration of hydrocarbons. The statement also summoned the people of Loreto to keep informed about this matter and to distribute and spread the information.
Among the statement, it also mentioned specific threats to the Nanay River's basin:
desde los años 90’ se identificó una de las amenazas principales al abastecimiento de agua de la ciudad de Iquitos, advirtiéndose las operaciones de las dragas para la exploración y explotación de oro en la Cuenca del Nanay. Actualmente esta situación se agrava, con la concesión hidrocarburífera a la Conoco Phillips en la cabecera de cuenca del río Nanay, para la explotación petrolera,
Then, the statement noted that the oil company ConocoPhillips had already cleared out 180.74 hectares of vegetation and has made 15,560 dynamite detonations (one every 50 meters of each other) in 22 seismic lines to get data by means of the seismic prospecting method.
Nanay river in the Mishana reserve, Loreto, Peru. Photo by Howard G. Charing on Flickr published under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic non-commercial license.
In May, Amazon Watch reported these claims by the Iquitos people to the ConocoPhillips's board of shareholders at Houston, Texas. Among other things, the Amazon Watch report cites the bio-geochemist Bob Stallard stating that “spills of formation waters and wastes associated with drilling could damage the Nanay as a drinking-water supply.”
This past August, ConocoPhillips disclosed its withdrawal plan from the 123 and 129 lots, which does not mean that the exploration has concluded, but that it goes to another level. As Professor Joseph Manuyama of the Committee for the Defense of Water explains [es] in an interview for the website Indigenous Rights Advocacy Program (PDDI),
a la fecha, de acuerdo a los planes de abandono que ha presentado la propia ConocoPhillips al Ministerio de Energía y Minas, ya se impactó de forma considerable la zona de captación y la cabecera de cuenca, siendo una zona de alta sensibilidad ambiental, tras casi dos años de exploración sísmica, la menos negativa según algunos entendidos. Hablamos de campamentos, helipuertos, deforestación, detonaciones en las líneas sísmicas cada 50 m. bajo 15 m. de la superficie por centenares de kilómetros.
Manuyama says it stands to reason that if Conoco itself mentions this degree of ecological impact in the jungle, it is likely the impact is actually even greater. Among other concerns, he adds:
En el instrumento en mención no se menciona la cantidad, ni el volumen de los residuos sólidos peligrosos y no peligrosos, ni cómo se ha desarrollado la disposición de los mismos.
Teniendo en cuenta la que las líneas sísmicas han intersectado a varios cuerpos de agua, no se mencionan la existencia de impactos por incremento de erosión, sedimentación o desestabilización de orillas que haya podido afectar las zonas de desove de los peces y quelonios.
De las áreas deforestadas (33.1 ha), no se menciona qué áreas y/o volúmenes se ha reforestado, teniendo en cuenta que cualquier alteración considerable en la cobertura vegetal pone en riesgo la calidad y cantidad del recurso hídrico.
The instrument in question does not declare the amount, neither the volume of hazardous and safe solid wastes, nor how the disposal process of the same has been carried out.
Considering that the seismic lines have intersected several water bodies, the report does not mention the impacts due to the increment of erosion, sedimentation or destabilization on the river's banks, that may have affected the spawning grounds for fish and turtles.
As for deforested zones (33.1 ha), it is not mentioned which area and/or volume has been reforested, considering that any significant alteration in vegetation threatens the quality and quantity of water resources.
Having analyzed this document and upon the understanding that ConocoPhillips is requesting permission for exploratory drilling for 48 oil wells, the Committee for the Defense of Water issued a statement [es] that among other points demands that an independent international audit be conducted, and that the regional government should “issue a new ordinance declaring the inviolability of the zone, in order to have a legal tool to defend the Nanay's basin”.
In recent months there have been crowded protest marches in Iquitos. In addition, the Committee for the Defense of Water is summoning more local organizations to achieve a higher awareness of this problem.
The Ombudsman's Office has taken note of these facts and has included [es] in its environmental conflicts list [es] the protests triggered by the “negative environmental impacts likely to occur at a watershed area considered the header of the river's basin, of high biodiversity, and the water supply for Iquitos”.
The Ombudsman has described the status of the conflict as “no dialogue” and defined as players the “Regional Government of Loreto, the Committee for the Defense of Water, Perupetro, the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the ConocoPhillips Company, and the NGOs Arcane Alliance and Amazon Watch “.


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Saudi Arabia: Families of Uncharged Prisoners Protest on National Day · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

Imprisonment without charges is the top human rights issue in Saudi Arabia. Independent human rights organization Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association's estimate of the number of uncharged prisoners is over 30,000, while the government-sponsored estimate is 4,396. Many were arrested in the massive, post-9/11 “war on terrorism”.
On September 23, 2012, which marked Saudi national day, families of uncharged prisoners took the chance to raise awareness about their case, with a sit-in outside the al-Turfiya prison, near Buraidah. According to Reuters, 60 men, 45 women and 16 children participated in the sit in.
At first, riot police buses surrounded the protesters, and prevented food and water. Co-founder of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association Mohammad al-Qahtani tweeted [ar]:
Protesters decided to spend the night, via @abosaud3331
باصات الطوارئ تحاصر المعتصمين في #تجمع_الطرفية ولا يسمحون لأحد الدخول أو الخروج إلى المنطقة، مع أخذ أرقام السيارات، ومنعم من الماء! #حسم
MFQahtani: Riot police buses are surrounding the al-Turfiya sit-in and they do not allow anyone to enter or leave. They also collected the numbers on the registration plates of their cars and prevented water!
One protester threatened to set himself on fire, following the Bouazizi example, if they didn't allow food and water [ar]:
لتشهد وزارة الداخلية والحكومة ،، إمّا أن يتم إدخال الطعام والماء ،، وإلّا سأكون أبو عزيزي آخر ،، فقد أعددت عدتي ،، رتويت
@abosaud3331: Let the government and the Interior Ministry know that I will be another Bouazizi if they didn't allowed food and water. I am ready for this. Retweet.
However, one protester managed to break the blockade and bring some food to the sit-in [ar]:
الماﺀ والطعام وصل من أحد الإخوة بطريقة غير نظامية..!
@abo_otman: Water and food just arrived by someone, illegally!
Al-Qahtani reported that members of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, so-called “religious police”, had joined the riot police. The families spent the night in front of the prison, insisting that the prison administration must meet them.
Riot policemen tried to threaten the protesters [ar]:
أبواب المسئولين مفتوحة ولا تعرضوا أنفسكم وعوائلكم للخطر
The doors of the officials are open [for you]. Do not put yourselves and your families in danger.
When a settlement was reached, the protesters dispersed, but when they reached a police check point where supporters were waiting for them to provide food and water, the riot police quickly surrounded and started beating them. Activist Reema al-Joresh was among those who were beaten. They also followed the cars that had left.
Over 50 young men, who participated in the sit-in, are still detained.

author: Anas Soliman


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Singapore: Charity Group Targets Poor Children in Laos and Vietnam · Global Voices
Ika Forssell

A group of seven professional Swedish women in Singapore have formed the charity organization Together for Charity. As expat wives, they realized that their life situation in affluent Singapore is extremely privileged compared to that of most people in the neighboring countries, and they want to make a difference where they can.
I got a chance to talk to two of the founders of Together for Charity, Stina Hotine and Elisabeth Lewenhaupt, and they told me, with great passion and energy, how their one-year old charity organization has already made a huge impact in the lives of others.
The group has a simple but noble objective:
We wanted to change the lives of children who are less fortunate, by changing our own behaviors in our daily lives. We also wanted to show others how fun and easy it can be to give a little or a lot to those with less. We wanted to find simple ways to contribute and then make them a part of our and many other people’s lives.
Gift card to present a donation to a party host or friend
“People want to know what their donations do and how effective they are”, says Elisabeth, and shows me the printed gift card where the donor can specify what the amount they donate will achieve for the needy children.
At the moment the organization concentrates their aid to two different projects. One is Deak Kum Pa Orphanage in Luang Prabang, Laos, and the other is The English School of Mui Ne in Vietnam.
Children at the Deak Kum Pa Orphanage
Deak Kum Pa Orphanage is run by the Lao government, and to a great extent managed by Australian Andrew Brown. Andrew relies on donations and makes singlehandedly sure that every penny that is directed towards the children is put to the best use.
Children are rescued from the streets and a life in severe poverty. They are given a chance to go to school and live their lives in a safe and relatively comfortable way. More information about the orphanage:
Deak Kum Pa is now home to over 500 children and this number is increasing.
The orphanage also operates as a school; positioned on the edge of the town, the very basic brick and concrete dormitories and school classrooms are set in grounds reached by dirt road and a wooden bridge.
With the inclusion of the very basic school services at Deak Kum Pa, these children can in some small way be considered fortunate; however the school is severely in need of additional staffing, resources and equipment.
Through the efforts of the charity group, the orphanage was able to enroll more children in the facility:
Nutrition was one of the first concerns for the orphanage, with only one meal a day with rice and soup the children had limited ability to grow and learn. Today the children enjoy meat, fruit, egg and bread on a regular basis.
Together for charity has through its generous donors raised enough money to provide for 30 additional children to come to the orphanage during 2012.
The English School of Mui Ne in Vietnam has come a step further in the development. They are inviting children among the poorest in the village to learn English in order to be able to make a living in the future in the growing tourism industry. As they expect these children to be able to support their poor families in the future, they carefully choose the neediest candidates to admit – and always just one sibling from each family.
At the school, which is in addition to the regular school during the weeks, the kids are not only taught English, but also valuable lessons of friendship and sharing as well as computer skills. Many students have through their interaction over the internet discovered possibilities for themselves for the future and have dreams that they could never have imagined before.
Five of the school’s students have posted a video on Youtube speaking in English about the opportunities that have opened up for them:
The English school reports important events and activities on their Facebook page. From the group's status page on September 4 this year:
…is proud to announce that we recently have taken a big step forward in our development, as we are now able to support our students through higher education. Thanks to our generous donors and hard work from everyone involved in the organization, English School of Mui Ne now has a second location, a student home in Phan Thiet (a city next to Mui Ne Village).
As the result of rigorous work and many hours of preparation, the 31 students who took their entrance examination earlier this summer all got accepted and started their semester of High School a few weeks ago.
As a response to continued support from their sponsors, they write:
“A warm thank you to our sponsors for making it possible for us to start this new chapter in our development as an organization in order to help our students continue their education.”
The English School of Mui Ne sends a warm THANK YOU to Together for Charity for all the books they sent! All the students are busy reading and filling up the library with new literature on varies topics.
Elisabeth and Stina make sure to emphasize that Together for Charity is a lifelong project that they have taken on. They keep it very simple and personal, focusing on only two projects at the moment. They keep close contact with the two entities and target 100% of the funds they collect towards them.

author: Ika Forssell


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Spain: Catalans Continue to Push for Independence · Global Voices
Daniel Bogre Udell

This a follow-up to last week's article, Spain: Storming the Streets (and Web) on Catalonia's National Day.
It's been a big week in Catalan politics. Last Tuesday, September 11, 2012, well over a million protesters took to the streets to demand Catalonia's secession from Spain, the largest pro-independence rally in the region's history. (A striking aerial photo shows a sea of orange splashed across Barcelona's center, thanks to the abundance of red-and-yellow senyeres, the Catalan national flag.)
In response, Catalan President Artur Mas publicly endorsed the protest [ca], challenging Spanish leaders to respond, a surprising move after a long career of ambiguity on Catalonia's political status. Mas's declaration marks the first time since 1936 that a Catalan president has officially endorsed independence from Spain.
Responses from Spanish officials have ranged from lukewarm to outright denial. Spanish Socialist leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba admitted that political concessions should be made regarding Catalonia's autonomy, while right-wing leaders argued that the massive protest indicated Spain's need for a stronger central government. Spanish Primer Minister Mariano Rajoy has largely avoided the issue.
Meanwhile, pro-independence activists have continued to pressure politicians to match rhetoric with swift action. Online, Catalan netizens have continued to surge the blogosphere to articulate their position. Here follows a review of the past week.
“This is the cry of my people”
Col·lectiu Emma and Help Catalonia, two of the region's most widely circulated English-language blogs, have published substantially, preemptively countering any attempts by foreign media or Spanish politicians to downplay last Tuesday's rally. Aside from documenting smaller protests by the Catalan diaspora in cities like London and New York City, both have posted essays responding to the centralist discourse among Spanish politicians.
Col·lectiu Emma released an article called “The Pursuit of Happiness,” in which the author, Catalan economist Xavier Sala-i-Martin of Columbia University, used an unsettling metaphor to describe the centralist discourse emanating from Madrid:
Possessive husbands tend to react predictably when their wives ask for a divorce: first they act surprised, then they deny the facts, quickly followed by refusing to sign the papers, and finally, they try to make her believe that the separation will leave her destitute and that without him, she is nothing.
Help Catalonia published an English translation of Liz Castro‘s closing remarks last Tuesday, a speech called Escolta Espanya! or “Listen up, Spain!”
No people deserves the treatment that we have received from you. And for that reason, and in cases like ours, the international community recognizes the right to self-determination. It's up to us to exercise it. And it is for that reason that we are meeting here today. Our people witnessed the birth of most of the countries in the modern world while you usurped our sovereignty and dissolved our constitutions. We saw how you created artificial identities while you insisted on denying ours. And what is more. No one can deny the fact that we have been as decisive as we have been constructive, as patient as we have been pragmatic… For the first time in generations, the Catalan nation walks decidedly, harmoniously, and in step toward a new future. This is the cry of my people. Goodbye, Spain.
Smaller English-language blogs based out of Catalonia have also contributed to the past week's impact, such as Catalonia Direct, which described Tuesday's demonstration as an event meant to “put Catalonia's independence on the horizon.”
“I am a Catalan”
On Twitter, pro-independence users have maintained a high level of activity even amid the noise of other relavant issues, such as the recent death of Spanish Communist leader Santiago Carrillo or Madrilenian President Esperanza Aguirre's resignation. #FreedomForCatalonia, #SpainIsPain and #CataloniaIsNotSpain continue to be in common use, as well as #11s2012 and a myriad of Catalan-language hashtags that we described in last week's article.
In response to the high level activity, Al Jazeera launched a live stream episode which included realtime monitoring of Twitter and a moderated debate between public intellectuals Carla Ponsati and Carles Muntaner, as well the activist-turned-politician Alfred Bosch of Catalonia's Republican Left (ERC).
Moreover, #PauCasals has surfaced as a trending topic in Catalonia, referencing the famous cellist who is more commonly remembered by the Spanish translation of his name, Pablo. Two years before he died, Casals gave a short speech before The United Nations, “I am a Catalan” (full text), seeking to explain his national identity to the world — an event that had a major impact in Catalonia during the final years of the Franco dictatorship and continues to resonate with advocates for Catalonia's independence.
Offline action
The high level activity of bloggers and Twitter users has been a parallel trend to offline movement, as activists and politicians have also not rested since last Tuesday's momentous rally.
Motivated but still somewhat unimpressed by the new separatist rhetoric among Catalonia's political elite, local governments have taken matters into their own hands. In order to put pressure on Barcelona to pick up the pace, a handful of municipalities have declared themselves [ca] territoris catalans lliures or “free Catalan territories” outside the reach of the Spanish Constitution.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Assemblea Nacional Catalana (Catalan National Assembly or ANC), the activist group who organized last week's rally, are scheduled to convene [ca] with Artur Mas in the coming days to push for a concrete political strategy towards independence, and it is likely that he will be receptive.
“Catalonia will not be subjugated or silenced,” the Catalan president said on Wednesday, after an unproductive meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister in Madrid.

author: Daniel Bogre Udell


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Trinidad & Tobago: Continuing Fallout from Section 34 · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

The fallout from Section 34 and the firing of Justice Minister Hubert Volney continues to be discussed via social media, with netizens weighing in on the (in)adequacy of the Prime Minister's actions, the scope of responsibility for the legislation, Volney's fitness to sit in Parliament and the long-term political implications of the situation.
While Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar cited Volney's failure to consult with the Chief Justice and the the Director of Public Prosecutions (as he claimed to have done) as the basis for his dismissal, Philip Edward Alexander didn't think this was proper procedure:
For all the civic lessons Kamla tried to give the nation she erred on procedure as neither the DPP not the Chief Justice can collude with the government, vet or even proof read developing legislation as that flies in the face of the separation of powers.
Until the bill becomes law you may not seek the input of either gentleman in case they have to sit on a review panel for the same legislation and you ought to have known that.
Alexander also highlighted what he saw as another problem with the legislation:
Schedule 6 of the act deals with the types of crimes that can NOT be covered by or vacated using this legislation and the country and the people have to be asking, why was white collar crime and corruption deliberately not included alongside all of the other serious crimes listed in Schedule 6?
A message calling for the firing of Attorney General Anand Ramlogan was posted on what is purportedly the official Facebook page of Herbert Volney (one of five attributed to him, several of which contain pictures of his family):
I want to thank the hundreds of people from all walks of life for your support for me and my family. We are people of faith and we are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.  We need now to pray to God for strength for our Prime Minister who is now overcome by Anand Ramlogan that she may purge herself of the influence of one who is unelected by the people.
Volney has neither confirmed nor denied that the message came from him, merely stating that the “integrity of the page needs to be investigated.”
Nevertheless, Philip Edward Alexander responded to the message and is displeased that these concerns are only being voiced now:
Herbert Volney warns the nation about Anand Ramlogan and the power he exerts over the Prime Minister and that we as a nation should be concerned.
I have one question to you MP Herbert Volney, should we have been concerned if you were not fired?
Not to discount what you said though, we have been concerned about Ramlogan from day one, but I am just fed up of the lot of you blowing whistles after the fact.
Wired868 referenced a recent interview where Volney downplayed the Section 34 controversy:
Clevon Raphael (in a Trinidad Guardian interview): (…) Do you think the PP administration could survive Section 34?
Herbert Volney: Of course… It is a ten-day wonder, if as long.
Wired868 also offered wry commentary, using a pun referencing the colloquial name for a local short-term employment program:
That’s the thing about 10-days; there is no guarantee of employment in the immediate aftermath.
Mr Live Wire wishes the self-proclaimed sacrificial lamb well on his job hunt. Without wishing to be unkind, Volney probably won’t cut it as a fortune teller.
Opposition Leader Keith Rowley posted a timeline of the Section 34 issue on the official Facebook page of the Opposition Leader of Trinidad and Tobago. On the basis of the timeline he reached two possible conclusions:
1. Based on the above Ramlogan knew that Ish and Steve had an escape route locally but corruptly decided not to appeal on the basis that there would be a local trial.
2. Even if he did not have the impact of section 34 in his mind, he is guilty of gross negligence in the discharge of his duties in not checking to see if section 34 would affect the local trials. He cannot claim ignorance or forgetfulness because the Act was passed only a couple weeks before. And at least in the House the impact of section 34 was given prominence.
Errol Fabien calls for Volney to leave Parliament
On Facebook, Margaret Rose suggested that the Trinidad and Tobago Constitution provides an avenue for removing Volney not only from the Cabinet, but also from the Parliament:
Section 49(2) (e) of the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago states as follows: 49. (2) A member of the House of Representatives shall also vacate his seat in the House where-
(e) having been a candidate of a party and elected to the House, he resigns from or is expelled by that party.
Rose called on Volney's party to invoke the constitutional procedure to remove him from Parliament:
Right, so he is not fit to serve you in the Cabinet, but he is fit to serve the people of Trinidad and Tobago in the St.,Joseph constituency?? Calling on his party to invoke section 49(2)(e) of the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago.
However, it was drawn to her attention that the party may not be in a position to discipline Volney:
…someone on my thread just indicated to me that UNC does not have a functioning disciplinary arm. Really? So they cannot discipline rogue members in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago? And this is the party which leads our coalition government?
Commenter Rennie Mohan indicated that the party is going through a period of dysfunction:
the party organs are not functioning under this new natex that won in 2010-no quarterly congress, no yearly assembly (which appoints the disciplinary committee) no annual constituency congress for elections of officers, so far there was only one women and youth congress which is suppose[d] to be a yearly event to elect the women affairs and youth affairs officer
Clarence Rambharat added that these issues have long been problems within the UNC:
It's been a longstanding issue with the party – was a big thing when the Ramesh expulsion went to the membership. Was one of those Panday things…but I think Volney will walk.
Jumbie's Watch called for not only Volney, but also for the Prime Minister, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs to be dismissed:
In the interim, public outcry and the call for a scapegoat was answered when the Prime Minister gave the nation the head of Hubert Volney. I suppose this is another instance where he ‘acted on his own accord’ and hoodwinked Parliament, Cabinet and several ‘Silks’, including the Prime Minister, the Minister of Legal Affairs and the Attorney General. Thus he is the easiest and most sacrificial ‘goat’.
What is unanswered is how 4 legal minds of the ‘calibre’ of Volney, Ramadhar, Ramlogan and Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who were awarded ‘Silk’, can be so obtuse as to fail to foresee the repercussions of the Act, including the section 34. Can we say they deserve ‘Silk’ for failure to recognise the legal backlash of this legislation? Or was it seen, planned and hoped that it would not be noticed for what it was?
In a followup post, Jumbie's Watch lamented what he deemed the basic incompetence shown in the Section 34 affair and reiterated his call for all of those in charge to be dismissed:
We have different stories on how Volney came to be dismissed. First the PM announced she fired hiim. Then he claimed he resigned, and said Warner knew he resigned. This morning Warner says he knew no such thing.
What this series of disjointed and uncoordinated presentations show me is a Government that hasn’t the cooperation (with each other) needed to run a party, far less a country. It is amateurish, and downright worrisome, that these people cannot support each other, nor present a united front! If there is any indicator that the PP is unsuitable of governance, it is this. if they cannot present a united front to the citizens they represent, how can we expect them to provide a united front in international relations?
Needless to say, this is a failure of monumental proportions, a ‘pile’ up the backside so big, sitting still is impossible. The ONLY answer is the resignation of the 4, or the unequivocal firing of the 4 by the President.

author: Matthew Hunte


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Tunisia: Civil Society and the Sharia State  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Tunisian blogger Lina Ben Mhenni argues that belonging to any religion or culture is a “product of chance.” She says:
And when, together with bloggers from my country, we attempted to participate in one manner or another in the awakening of our people and the uprising against the dictatorship, it was-very far even-from my mind that we would find ourselves confronted with this difficult duality: civil society/ religious state!


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Twitter Manifesto Against Violence Targeting Mexican Netizens · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

After Aleph Jiménez [es] -a member of the #YoSoy132 movement- disappeared in Ensenada, Mexico on September 21, 2012, the website Pulso Ciudadano (Citizen Pulse) republished a Twitter Manifesto [es] against violence targeting netizens to remind us of the danger citizen journalists face in the country.

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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United States: Occupy Wall Street, One Year Later · Global Voices
Robert Valencia

This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.
September 15-17, 2012, marked the first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Many similar scenes that transpired at the start of the movement last year recurred this time around: hundreds of arrests were reported on Saturday 15 during the demonstrations that culminated on Monday 17 in the area surrounding the stock exchange. Occupy created three hashtags on Twitter—#S15, #S16 y #S17—alluding to the three days that marches, concerts and religious ceremonies took place throughout southern Manhattan.
The movement that began in 2011 led to much discussion among members of the public, the media and political experts, and the repercussions of this conversation were seen on social network sites. The impact of the Occupy movement especially on the internet prompted Global Voices to include the panel #occupyeverywhere at the most recent summit held in Nairobi, Kenya.
Despite an awakening of an activist sentiment throughout the United States, Occupy Wall Street has confronted a series of obstacles that have made a dent in its progress on a local level: the sudden eviction ordered by Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration and the low temperatures at the end of the year.  The protests took on a new spirit under the name “99% Spring” in the second quarter of this year, although its media presence did not match that of the last months of 2011.
Today Occupy faces another challenge, this time with the New York district attorney's office after the city's Attorney General subpoenaed Twitter on September 14 for information about protester Malcolm Harris–who was arrested during a protest on the Brooklyn Bridge last year–and the publication of his tweets over a period of three months. Although the effect that this legal request will have in the future remains to be seen, organizations like Electronic Frontier Foundation and ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) voiced their protest, and maintained that allowing the government access to social media accounts without a warrant can have grave consequences for freedom of expression.
And although Twitter has become a legal battlefield, those who want to express their opinions on the Occupy Movement, such as the OWSTactical (@OWSTactical), are doing so on the site:
@OWSTactical: #S16 we celebrate. #S17 we rise
The official account for Occupy Wall Street (@OccupyWallSt) provides statistics:
@OccupyWallSt: There's 1500 newspapers, 1100 magazines, 9000 radio stations, 1500 TVstations, & 2400 publishers all owned by 3 corporations @InjusticeFacts
Lacy MacAuley (@lacymacauley) shares her thoughts:
@lacymacauley: I was arrested by NYPD for nothing, charged with obstructing sidewalk. Now out of jail, ready to get back to streets! :) #S17 #OWS
David Seaman (@d_seaman) criticizes the actions of security forces during this past week's protests.
@d_seaman: A republic shows its strength by tolerating and addressing the grievances of protesters. 51 arrests before #S17 even starts? Not good.
Pablo Solon (@pablosolon) argues that the fight is not limited to Occupy Wall Street
@pablosolon: The fight of Occupy Wall Street is the struggle of all movements in the world. http://focusweb.org/node/1922 #S17 #OWS
Adbusters Magazine (@Adbusters), one of the precursors to the movement, asserts that the anniversary of Occupy wall acts as a catalyst for future projects:
@Adbusters: After a year of struggling against an unrepentant corporatocracy, our goals are now deeper, our dreams wilder… http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/s17-one-year-anniversary.html …#S17
Next a series of images from September 17, 2012 (all shot by the author):
This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.

author: Robert Valencia


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Africa: Mountain Gorilla Conservation Data · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Over 5,000 days of Mountain Gorilla conservation data in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo:
Fifteen years ago, ranger-based monitoring (or RBM for short) was initiated as a tool in the conservation of mountain gorillas. Whether patrolling the park for law enforcement or tracking mountain gorillas for health assessments or to facilitate visits by tourists or researchers, data is being collected and recorded on data sheets. Every day. That’s over 5,000 days of valuable data collected.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Bahrain: Can Democracy and Islam Co-Exist?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Can democracy exist in Islamic societies? This was the topic of conversation between Bahraini bloggers today.
Bahraini artist Al Shaikh raised the issue when he tweeted [ar]:
في المجتمعات الاسلامية من الصعوبةالفصل بين ماهو سياسي وديني ولذا لن تنجح الديمقراطيةحتى لو كتبنا افضل الدساتير وقبلنا بالتناوب السلمي للسلطة
@Anas_Al_Shaikh: It is difficult to separate between what is political and what is religious in Islamic societies and this is why democracy will never succeed even if we write the best constitutions and accept the peaceful rotation of power
Fearless Ba7rainia replies:
الديمقراطيةهي الحل و العلاج لمثل هذه المشاكل إذا تطورت القوانين سيتطور الناس بشكل طبيعي الدولة المدنية هي الخلاص لهذا الشعب
@fearlessbahrain: Democracy is the solution and the remedy for such problems. If laws are developed, people will improve too in a natural way. A civil society is our people's savior
Bahraini journalist Abbas Busafwan has another take. He responds to Al Shaikh's original tweet saying:
والله هالاستنتاج مؤلم، لكنه قد يكون تعميميا، ربما نجحت تجربة تركيا
@abbasbusafwan: This conclusion is really painful. It could be a generalisation. Perhaps Turkey's example is a success
Al Shaikh answers:
تركيا لم توازن بين الشأن السياسي والديني والدليل ان هناك حقوق للشواذ وانا شفتهم بنفسي يتظاهرون في شارع “تقسيم” الشهير هههه
@Anas_Al_Shaikh: Turkey did not balance between religious and political issues. For instance, Turkey has rights for gays, and I saw them myself protesting on the famous Taksim street
And Ahmed Al-haddad adds:
تـركيا ليست في عهد اليوم بل في زمان أتاترك // وتركيا اليوم وأردوغان الشهير أعادوها لما قبل أتتارك
@DiabloHaddad: Turkey isn't today what it was during the rule of Ataturk. The famous Erdogan took Turkey to the pre-Ataturk era
In reply, Busafwan jokes:
اعتقد ان السعودية احسن نموذج للديمقراطية والشورى وحقوق الانسان والاعلام المقتوح والتوازن بين السياسي والديني!
@abbasbusafwan: I think that Saudi Arabia is the best example of democracy, Shura, Human rights, free Press, and balancing between religion and politics
Abu Yousif agrees that politics and religion don't mix:
انا معك،يجب ان لا نخلط الدين والسياسة فهم لا يتفقان،فنصبح نظام قمعراطي مثل ايران،
@xronos2: I agree. We shouldn't mix religion with politics for they don't agree and then we would become a repressive regime like Iran
And Abu Karim says we should improve what we already have instead of importing a Western-style democracy:
مشكلتنا اننا نريد تطبيق النظريات الغربية على مجتمعاتنا بدل البحث عن ما يوجد لدينا وتحديثه
@AbuKarim1: Our problem is that we want to implement Western theories on our societies instead of searching in what we have and modernising it

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Brazil: Media, Citizenship, and Public Policies Under Debate · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

All links lead to Portuguese language pages.
To explore topics on “Media, Citizenship, and Public Policies” is the invitation launched by the VIII Brazilian Citizen Media Conference to media professionals, investigators in this area, scholars, social movements members, civil society representatives, professors and students, who are gathered on September 24th and 25th, 2012 at Brasilia University to
debater temas relacionados ao direito à comunicação, a produção de conteúdo pela população, ao protagonismo da sociedade no processo comunicacional e a todos os elementos que compõem a mídia cidadã. Além do debate, o encontro busca promover o diálogo e o intercâmbio entre as pesquisas acadêmicas e as experiências inovadoras da sociedade civil de produção de mídia que enfatizem uma prática cidadã.
VIII Brazilian Citizen Media Conference. Media, Citizenship, and Public Policies. Twitter: @midiacidada2012
Searching to understand “how the media helps to construct and deconstruct social mobilization”, questions will be addressed regarding communication, health, education, and human rights, with a more general scope of this session of the conference – Media, Citizenship, and Public Policies – and with special emphasis on research, media and citizenship practices in Latin America.
The extensive debate program, round tables and workshops, especially rich in work groups, also include the participation of Global Voices contributors, Elisa Thiago and João Miguel Lima [en].
On the first day, September 24th, João Miguel spoke on the “construction of online citizen media coverage” through the case study of the special page launched in 2011 by Global Voices in Portuguese, the Belo Monte Dossier. The presentation was held in a work group dedicated to the theme “Journalistic practice and the (des)respect towards the citizen,” where more was talked about Belo Monte and its “social invisibility in media discourse,” by Josiele Souza, as well as “local telejournalism” and TV Guairacá, in Brazilian state Paraná, by Ariana Pereira and Luciana Grande, and radio community projects.
On 25th, Elisa Thiago is addressing “Digital Activism and Citizen Media” under the transnational perspective of Global Voices, in a session dedicated to “Considerations about communication and citizenship in the Latin American context.” The list of speakers includes Tabita Strassburger, on “the Latin American context and the media experience of TeleSUR website,” Rodrigo Braz and “the conception of communication public service in Venezuela,” that also brings a proposal from Mariana Holando to a “Broadcasting Service in Brazil and Accountability.” Rayza Sarmento will speak about “conflict discourse in the media as political opportunity for social movements.”
All the sessions can be followed on Facebook and Twitter (@midiacidada2012) through the hashtag #MidiaCidada2012.
Video and experiences in parallel
In parallel, there will be a Citizen Video Exhibition with different formats and narrative approaches about citizen media experiences, produced by the Citizen Media Brazilian Network.
“Enxergando o Invisível” (Seeing the invisible), by Patricia Banuth, is a documentary project about visually impaired and an audio description on how to use accessibility and digital inclusion. Marconi Araújo wrote about the film in his blog:
Filmes para cegos ou deficientes visuais? Tal expressão pode causar, no mínimo, estranheza a quem nunca ouviu falar da audiodescrição em cinema, recurso que permite a tradução verbal de cenários e aspectos visuais dos filmes, o que propicia levar a experiência da sétima arte a todo um segmento da população portadora daquela deficiência.
Also to be screened are”Entre Vãos“, by Luiza Caetano, about the remaining quilombola community Kalunga Vão das Almas, “Por longos dias“, by Mauro Giuntini, with texto from the Nobel laureate of lusophone litrature José Saramago about the Movimento Sem Terra in Brazil, and “Dom Helder, o Santo rebelde,” by Erika Bauer.
The Innovative Experiences in Citizen Media Fair also illustrates current and different practices of media and citizenship in Brazil.
The Rádio Dissonante project will organize a workshop on the creation and maintenance of online radio collective. Dissonante.org
There will be presentations of the Informativo Fábrica de Imagens (@FabricaImagens), from Fortaleza, dedicated to genre issues, sexual diversity and youth, and the independent communication project Vírus Planetário Magazine (@VirusPlanetario), comprising graduates, students and academics to discuss politics, culture and media, created in Rio de Janeiro.
The Vila Embratel TV (@TVVilaEmbratel) also will be present with its project of social inclusion that connects Universidade Federal do Maranhão with teenagers from the community to produce content for an online TV channel that “shows positive aspects of neighborhood, usually portrayed in traditional media in a negative way.”

author: Sara Moreira


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Burundi: A Political Will to Provide Universal Education   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

The proportion of children in school increased from 59 per cent in 2005 to 96 per cent in 2011. The fact that Burundi is just emerging from war and that its schools were then often targeted makes the progress even more remarkable.
Africa Renewal Online reports that government in Burundi has put the emphasis on access to education for all children. Concerns remain about the dropout rates.