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Arrest of Indian climate activist Disha Ravi over protest ‘toolkit’ draws backlash · Global Voices
GV South Asia

Disha Ravi in a protest. Screenshot from YouTube Video by Mojo Story.
The arrest of 22-year-old Indian climate activist Disha Ravi in Delhi over her alleged involvement with a “protest toolkit” has drawn widespread criticism in India and worldwide.
A student in Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru, Ravi is the founder of the Indian branch of Fridays For Future, a climate movement started by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
Ravi was arrested on February 13 in connection with a viral online document that lists resources for activists and sympathizers looking to support the months-long farmers’ protests in India. The activist was charged with sedition and criminal conspiracy and was remanded to five-day custody.
Hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers have been protesting against liberalizing agriculture reforms since October 2020, and authorities have cracked down on many perceived to support them. Dozens have been arrested, some of them charged with sedition — including journalists. Earlier this month, Twitter temporarily blocked over 250 accounts that allegedly expressed support to the farmers under a government request.
On February 4, Thunberg, along with other international personalities, tweeted in support of the Indian farmers. Later, the Swedish activist also shared the so-called “protest toolkit” (her original tweet has since been deleted).
The anonymous toolkit is an open text file with information about the protests and tips for organizing or supporting the farmers’ movement. The document briefly explains what the protests are about, lists relevant hashtags and the Twitter handles of Indian politicians, and provides links for petitions. The document's text has no calls for violent action.
Following Thunberg's tweet, Delhi police filed a First Information Report to investigate the document. The next day, crowds in Delhi held banners against an “international interference,” and photos of Thunberg and popstar Rihanna, who had also tweeted about the farmers’ protests, were set alight.
This week, police alleged that Ravi was one of the authors of the document, that the young activist had set up a WhatsApp group for others to collaborate on the text, and that she was the one who shared it with Thunberg. On Wednesday, in court, Ravi denied all accusations but admitted she had edited two lines of text on the document.
A joint statement by over 50 academics, artists and activists have called Ravi's arrest “disturbing,” “illegal in nature” and an “over-reaction of the state.” The #IndiabeingSilenced hashtag has trended on Twitter since the weekend.
Many have taken to social media to criticize the police, such as Siddharth Varadarajan, an editor at The Wire:
The @DelhiPolice chief should hang his head in shame for #DishaRavi‘s arrest, as should @DrSJaishankar & colleagues for contributing to hysteria over the toolkit. If these clever men see sedition in it, they aren't fit to hold public office in a democracy. https://t.co/507BEtzXpt
— Siddharth (@svaradarajan) February 15, 2021
And writer Danish Husain said:
Editing a google doc in support of farmers is an act of sedition in this country now. #LongLiveDemocracy #DishaRavi
— Danish Husain । دانش حُسین । दानिश हुसैन (@DanHusain) February 15, 2021
Indian-Canadian poet Rupi Kaur said:
disha ravi, a 21-year-old climate activist, has been arrested by delhi police for sharing a toolkit @GretaThunberg posted in support of the #farmersprotest.
disha’s arrest is alarming and the world needs to pay attention. #freedisharavihttps://t.co/IYGsLpNjwZ
— rupi kaur (@rupikaur_) February 14, 2021
Opposition politicians have also voiced concern, such as Chief Minister of Delhi and national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal:
Arrest of 21 yr old Disha Ravi is an unprecedented attack on Democracy. Supporting our farmers is not a crime.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 15, 2021
Several pro-government politicians praised the police's action. The BJP MP and Home Minister of Haryana Anil Vij tweeted that “seeds of anti-nationalism… should be destroyed… whether Disha Ravi or anyone else.” Twitter deleted and then restored the tweet after concluding it didn't breach its rules on extreme speech.
Meanwhile, a non-bailable warrant has been issued on February 15 against activist-lawyer Nikita Jacob also alleging her involvement in the creation and sharing of the “toolkit”.

author: GV South Asia


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Galindo: COVID-19 unearths ghosts of Spain’s ‘dirty war’ · Global Voices
Koldo Casla

Enrique Rodríguez Galindo. Screen capture of TV channel LaSexta's video on YouTube.
Enrique Rodríguez Galindo died on February 13, 2021, with COVID-19, at 82 years of age.
The former general of Spain's gendarmerie force, the Guardia Civil, Rodríguez Galindo headed the garrison of Intxaurrondo in the Basque city of Donostia-San Sebastián in the 1980s and 90s. At that time, police officers were frequently targeted by ETA, the Basque pro-independence armed group that extorted and threatened thousands of people, killing 850 over half a century until it was forced to put an end to its violence in 2011. Lack of popular support and effective police action were important factors for why ETA came to an end.
Rodríguez Galindo was in charge of anti-terrorism action in very difficult circumstances. Yet, he was also a kidnapper and a murderer himself.
This is what Spain's High Court concluded in 2000, and it was confirmed a year later by the Supreme Court. Rodríguez Galindo was sentenced to 75 years in prison for ordering the kidnapping and killing of José Antonio Lasa and José Ignacio Zabala. They were tortured and executed in 1983 by death squads known as GAL, the “Antiterrorist Liberation Groups.” They were buried with quicklime in the mistaken expectation that the chemistry would make the remains disappear for good. The bodies were found in 1985, and medical examiners could identify them only in 1995.
Out of 75 years, Rodríguez Galindo only spent five in prison. He was granted a partial release in 2005 and parole in 2013.
In 2021, Rodríguez Galindo’s death awoke Spain’s ghosts of the past.
Secretly funded by the Spanish Government, GAL was responsible for no fewer than 27 extrajudicial executions between 1983 and 1987 in what is known as the “dirty war”. Some victims were alleged ETA members, such as Lasa and Zabala, others simply bystanders in the wrong place at the wrong time. In 1998, Spain’s Home Secretary José Barrionuevo and his deputy Rafael Vera were imprisoned for their responsibility in GAL; Felipe González, Prime Minister at the time, was photographed hugging them goodbye at the jail’s gate. In an interview in 2010, González declared cryptically: “I had to decide whether to blow up the leaders of ETA. I said no. And I don’t know if I made a mistake.” Much has been speculated about González’s involvement in GAL, but so far nothing sufficiently definitive has been proven.
As pointed out by the scholar Omar Encarnación, GAL was “a continuation rather than a departure of the State's counter-terrorism strategies” after Franco’s dictatorship, which ended in 1975. GAL was the result of a less than perfect transition to democracy, where institutions were not cleaned up, resulting in the lack of democratic control over the police, the militarized Guardia Civil, and the military intelligence. GAL’s existence also emboldened ETA, giving them discursive ammunition to dispute the democratic character of Spain, and offering them the chance to present themselves as victims of state-sponsored repression.
Some of the reactions to Rodríguez Galindo’s death are proof that segments of Spanish society have a lot of work to do to face their demons.
In its obituary, the widely sold newspaper El País spoke of the General's “dazzling record of service,” tainted only by the “shadow” of “supposedly being part of the so-called dirty war.” One would think that the word “supposedly” would no longer be necessary considering Galindo's court sentence.
Macarena Olona, Member of Parliament of the far-right Vox, the third-largest party in Spain, wrote on Twitter: “May the earth rest lightly on you, my general.”
Que la tierra te sea leve, mi General. Hoy, más que nunca, Intxaurrondo en nuestro corazón. Descansa en Paz. pic.twitter.com/n81UIUB50B
— Macarena Olona (@Macarena_Olona) February 13, 2021
May the earth rest lightly on you, my General. Today, more than ever, Intxaurrondo is in our hearts. Rest in Peace.
On the same social platform, her fellow party member sitting in the European Parliament, Jorge Buxadé, wished that “perpetual light shine upon him.”
? El fallecimiento del general Rodríguez Galindo es otra oportunidad que nos regalan las redes sociales para bloquear, denunciar e identificar las cuentas de los que viven y promueven odio a España y sus leyes.
Descanse en paz. Y brille para él la luz perpetua. ??
— Jorge Buxadé (@Jorgebuxade) February 13, 2021
The death of General Rodríguez Galindo is another opportunity given to us by social media to block, denounce and identify the accounts of those who live and promote hatred of Spain and its laws.
May he rest in peace. And may the perpetual light shine upon him.
The sister of one of Rodríguez Galindo’s confirmed victims, Pili Zabala said on television on February 14 that she had tried to get in touch with Rodríguez Galindo to urge him to take responsibility for the pain he had caused her family. She wanted him to admit what he did had been wrong, but she never heard back from him. Now, Zabala is seeking full accountability: Galindo “was an army man, he was obeying orders, and it is clear to me that he received orders from his superiors, who were politicians.” Zabala is hoping that former Prime Minister Felipe González will eventually sit in the dock.
In 2000, Provincial Governor in Donostia-San Sebastián, Juan María Jauregi, had given evidence in court about Rodríguez Galindo’s involvement in the killing of Lasa and Zabala. Twenty years later, in light of a Twitterstorm of eulogies for the general hours after the announcement of his death, Jauregi’s daughter, Maria Jauregi, shared:
Aitaren hitz hauek etorri zaizkit, inoiz ahaztuko ez ditudanak:
“Ez dakit nork hilko nauen, edo ETAk edo Galindok berak”.
— Maria Jauregi (@MJauregiLasa) February 13, 2021
These words by my father come to mind, which I will never forget: “I don’t know who will kill me, ETA or Galindo himself”
It was ETA in the end, and it happened in 2000. His widow, Maixabel Lasa, and their daughter, Maria, became two of the most powerful voices against hatred and for justice and reparations for all victims of human rights abuses in the Basque Country.
Today, it is worth recalling these words by Pablo de Greiff, the former UN Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice and Reparations, after his mission to Spain in 2014:
“The strength of democratic institutions must be measured not by their ability to ignore certain issues, especially those that refer to fundamental rights, but rather by their ability to manage them effectively, however complex and awkward they may be”.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Koldo Casla


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Will Burundi’s new government lift restrictions on its once-lively press? · Global Voices
Liam Anderson

The Press House in Bujumbura. Photo by Flickr user DW Akademie — Africa. CC BY-NC 2.0
Amid renewed talks with the European Union, the Burundi government has recently made moves to resolve disputes with various media that have been restricted since the 2015 political crisis — giving some cautious optimism for the independent press.
In 2015, then-president Pierre Nkurunziza controversially took a third term which many saw as unconstitutional, sparking large protests and even a failed putsch on May 13. In the fallout, hundreds were killed and several hundred thousand fled as refugees. Media outlets were attacked in the upheaval too, with most forced to shut down, and an exodus of media workers followed in the face of — even fatal — violence.
While the most volatile period passed, the crisis left a shrunk media, meaning that authorities’ narratives face little contradiction today. Reduced access to radio in a country where internet access is low also increased the influence of rumours, even disinformation in recent years.
Before 2015, Burundi’s independent media was considered lively, a post-conflict success. But in RSF’s World Press Freedom ranking, Burundi fell from 142 in 2014 to 160 in 2020.
But the country might be set for a change. Elected last year, President Évariste Ndayishimiye has been seeking to improve diplomatic relations — notably with the European Union (EU), which had imposed aid suspensions and sanctions on government figures over rights violations since 2015.
Revamping Burundi's press seems to be among the new president's priorities as it seeks to restore its international reputation.
In December, four journalists from Iwacu newspaper, one of the few outlets that have remained active since 2015, were pardoned and released from jail. They were arbitrarily detained in 2019 while reporting on an armed group.
And in January, the president called the National Council of Communications (CNC), the media regulator, to resolve disagreements with various outlets.
A major outcome of a subsequent meeting this month was a commitment by the CNC to work on unblocking the website of Iwacu, one of the few newspapers that have remained active after the crisis.
Iwacu has been blocked in Burundi without explanation from internet providers or authorities since October 2017, while being accessible internationally. Netblocks confirmed last year that the site was blocked in Burundi by all providers, noting that such coordination indicated it came from an order.
At the meeting, the CNC also pledged to reverse a 2018 decision obligating Iwacu to close its comments section.
Radio Bonesha’s director Léon Masengo also said he was pleased with the government's gesture, but lamented the tough financial situation they face after this long period of inactivity. He added that the radio's equipment had been destroyed in 2015 and called for financial help.
RSF also welcomed the president’s move and called for the dialogue to continue, as well as for journalists in exile to be able to return safely.
During the 2015 turmoil, and the government’s heavy response, several Burundian radios — the media reaching the most people — were attacked.
Rema FM, seen as close to the government, was reportedly attacked by coup supporters, while independents Isanganiro, Radio Bonesha FM, Radio-Télé Renaissance, and Radio Publique Africaine were attacked by government agents, and left unable to operate.
The last three have not broadcast since, while Isanganiro and Rema reopened sometime after. State-run RTNB and independent Iwacu newspaper continued, while others turned to social media and “underground” reporting, such as SOS Médias Burundi, Inzamba radio, and Yaga-blog. In May 2018, BBC and Voice Of America were also suspended.
CNC president Nestor Bankumukunzi stated that the February 1 meeting was an initial contact to be followed up, while adding that the matter of journalists in exile is not for the CNC to resolve.
The EU's suspension of direct aid to the government caused significant financial difficulties, and some Burundian officials have accused the EU of supporting putschists.
For its part, the EU lost influence in Burundi, while others, notably Russia and China, maintained closer links. With international pressure and criticism divided and ineffective since 2015, the EU and Burundi’s new government appear motivated to renew ties.
While the step forward is significant, Iwacu highlighted that while Burundian authorities hope for rapid change, EU representatives seem to be looking at a gradual rapprochement.
A letter signed earlier this month by 43 Members of the European Parliament calls for the lifting of sanctions to be based on concrete changes, including opening media and releasing journalists and human rights defenders — such as Germain Rukuki, arrested in 2017 and convicted to 32 years in prison on charges of “rebellion” and “threatening state security.”
#Burundi: Les parlementaires européens posent leurs conditions pour lever les sanctions contre le Burundi. Réouverture des medias fermés @radio_rpa, @RTVRenaissance et la radio Bonesha Fm. Ils exigent aussi la réouverture des organisations fermées….1/ pic.twitter.com/MDHkG5KEif
— RPA (@radio_rpa) February 5, 2021
Burundi: European parliamentarians state their conditions for lifting sanctions against Burundi. Reopening medias RPA, Renaissance, and Bonesha FM . They also call for the opening of closed organizations…
Journalist Bob Rugurika signaled support for dialogue with the EU but said more needs to change. He also shared a joint statement by heads of media that are still under sanctions:
Heads of exiled media & the assoc of Burundian journalists respond to Pres Ndayishimiye's ad-libbed call for dialogue btn suspended media & their regulator: They're ready to dialogue but bc press freedom doesn't exist in a vacuum; they insist on a broader interBurundian dialogue. https://t.co/B7SHDrftza
— Thierry Uwamahoro (@ThierryU) February 1, 2021
Bob Rugurika: RPA, TeleRenaissance, and the Union Burundaise des Journalistes spoke on the President’s message. They are ready to put everything in place for the return of the rule of law to Burundi.
Despite such diplomatic successes, recent reports, including by the UN Commission Of Inquiry and the Burundi Human Rights Initiative, described ongoing abuses by security agents, closed political space, and worries that hardline figures were appointed to senior government positions.
Surprisingly, Burundi’s Supreme Court posted publicly on February 2 that 34 figures in exile had received — unannounced — heavy prison sentences seven months earlier, in June 2020. This was criticized as a “parody of justice” in a joint statement by civil society organizations released on the same day.
Beyond formal diplomacy, then, it remains to be seen how much change can be expected for media and other pressing issues.

author: Liam Anderson


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Angolans furious after protesters killed in rally by self-determination movement · Global Voices
Simão Hossi

Up to 16 people could have died during a demonstration that was heavily suppressed by Angolan police in the mining village of Canfunfo on January 30, in an episode that activists and religious leaders have called “a massacre.”
Video of the murdered demonstrators | Record TV Africa (screenshot 1 February)
Attended by about 200 people according to various local media, the demonstration was called by the Movement for the Protectorate of Lunda Tchokwe (MPPLT), an organization founded in 2006 that advocates for the autonomy of the eastern half of Angola's territory, which is rich in diamonds.
To justify the claim, the organization refers to a treaty signed between the local chiefs and Portugal in 1885 which, according to the movement, made the area a protectorate. The movement argues that the treaty was ignored during Angola's independence negotiations in 1975.
The demonstration on January 30 was a commemoration of the 127th anniversary of the “international recognition of the right of the Lunda Tchowke kingdom,” according to a statement posted on the movement's Facebook page.
The authorities dispatched military and police to the village on the day of the rally which, witnesses told the press, took a “war-like atmosphere.” The videos below contain some footage:
MORTES EM CAFUNFODeclarações exclusivas sobre os acontecimentos na Lunda Norte.O que vocês tem a dizer sobre isso❓
Posted by Record TV Africa on Monday, February 1, 2021
REPORTAGEM DA AGÊNCIA LUSA NO CAFUNFO, LUNDA NORTE, SOBRE OS INCIDENTES DO DIA 31 DE JANEIRO DE 2021
Posted by UNITA Bruxelas on Friday, February 5, 2021
Speaking with Global Voices by telephone, MPPLT President José Mateus Zecamutchima denied the police's version of the events which claims the protesters tried to storm a police station. Mutchima said the police fired indiscriminately in the direction of the protest.
He also denies that the protesters were armed, and says that days earlier the police had carried out arrests “with the aim of halting the demonstration,” he added.
Zecamutchima was arrested on February 9, a few days after the conversation with Global Voices.
On February 3, police commander Paulo Gaspar de Almeida told the press that “there is no territory under the sovereignty of another country” and that the movement had committed an “act of banditry.”
The MPPLT has a Facebook page and a blog with posts rejecting recourses to arms or violence.
The movement has long been targeted by the Angolan authorities. In 2017, Zecamutchima and about 80 people were arrested in another demonstration.
Another post by the MPPLT claims that more than 300 of its activists are in jail, “some tried and convicted, others not even that”, according to an excerpt reproduced by Renaissance news website.
According to Público, the opposition party CASA-CE party expressed concern over videos of the demonstration showing police violence.
The Democratic Bloc, another opposition party, called the police crackdown an “act that shocks the national conscience.”
Together with UNITA, the opposition formally demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the incidents.
The Catholic Church also condemned the episode. Bishop Belmiro Chissenguete, of the Diocese of Cabinda, which is another region with separatist movements, said that the events of Canfunf0 took place due to a lack of dialogue, and called for an independent investigation to establish the facts:
Lançamos um apelo a todos que têm responsabilidade no País, que tenham coragem em fazer uma investigação independente, não só aquela que a nossa polícia vai fazer, o próprio parlamento tem que se mexer, organizações não-governamentais e outras instituições. Pelas imagens que recebemos aquilo parecia ser um campo de batalha.
We appeal to all who have responsibility in the country to have the courage to do an independent investigation, not only the one that our police will do, but also Parliament has to get moving, (as well as) non-governmental organizations and other institutions. From the images we've received, it looked like a battlefield.
Using the hashtag #LundaNorte, some Angolans demanded justice from abroad:
?? ?? #LundaNorte  #Angola  #Assassinos            FRANÇA!!✊?A partir da França,manifestação a solo,do nosso mano…
Posted by Gisela Silva on Sunday, January 31, 2021
Accusations against the ruling party also spread on social networks. A citizen named Hamilton posted on his Facebook page:
It is a great shame for Angola that there are still young people who fight for a political party that has caused us so much harm.
What happened in #LUNDANORTE had to be stopped by those who say human life matters. This poor failed government does nothing for the benefit of its citizens.
Journalist Nok Nogueira called for the resignation of the police commander-general:
Demita-se, senhor comandante-geral da Polícia Nacional. O senhor mente com todos os dentes. Não vi nada do que o senhor afirmou nesta conferência de imprensa nos vídeos que chegaram.
E a única pessoa que está a politizar este episódio é o senhor, quando diz que eles quiseram atacar o poder instituído.
Resign, Mr. commander-general of the National Police. You lie through your teeth. I didn't see anything you said at this press conference on the videos that came in.
And the only person who is politicising this episode is you, when you say that [people] wanted to attack the ruling power.
On February 3, the Minister of Justice admitted that violations of human rights happened during the rally.

author: Simão Hossi


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Capturing the mood on both sides of the Ukraine-Russia conflict in Donbas · Global Voices
John O’Loughlin, Gerard Toal, Gwendolyn Sasse, Kristin Bakke

People rush to the bus stop at the border crossing point in Mayorsk, Donetsk area on December 27, 2016. Photo by Anastasia Vlasova for UNDP Ukraine on Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0).
On Valentine’s Day 2021, three Ukrainian soldiers died from an exploding landmine in the Donbas, the region of eastern Ukraine split by fighting between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed rebel forces. The youngest was born in 1994, three years after Ukraine became an independent state following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The year he was born, Ukraine agreed to get rid of all the nuclear weapons on its soil. When he was three, Russia and Ukraine signed a Friendship Treaty, affirming respect for each other’s territorial integrity. Indeed, he grew up in a state whose territory was not plagued by armed disputes over unresolved legacies from Soviet and pre-Soviet times. Moldova and Georgia were not so lucky. Ukraine was a relative success story.
This changed in early 2014 when protesters forced the resignation and flight of President Viktor Yanukovych, a former Donbas political boss and pro-Russian politician. The Kremlin saw the so-called Euromaidan protests—what participants in Ukraine called a “Revolution of Dignity”—as a cynical western plot against its influence in Ukraine. Russia's leadership responded by fomenting revolts in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, and then intervening militarily to annex Crimea to Russia and support two breakaway territories in the Donbas, the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DNR/LNR).
Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France eventually hammered out a series of protocols in Minsk designed to end the fighting, delimit a frontline between combatants, and transition the breakaway regions back to eventual Ukrainian government control. That was six years ago. The fighting has stabilized along a line of control but none of the Minsk II protocols have been implemented. However, stabilization is a relative term. Soldiers continue to die from sporadic incidents along what is now one of the most heavily mined military front lines in the world.
To gauge opinions on both sides of the line of control, we conducted simultaneous computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) in September and October 2020. These surveys with similar texts were fielded by two highly reputable companies: the LMR (Levada Marketing Research) for the self-proclaimed DNR/LNR and the Kyiv Institute of Sociology (KIIS) in the government-controlled Donbas. While conditions in the DNR/LNR prohibit safe and reliable face-to-face survey research at this time, we contend that it remains important to try to capture the views of those directly affected by the war.
Every aspect of daily life in and near a war zone is affected by the war. According to a 2020 Crisis Group report, war has “plunged an economically troubled region into ruin (…) On both sides of the front line, residents have settled into a new normal that drifts between dreary and dire.” Still, the daily routines endure despite the shadow of war. It is in everyday life—people’s ability to put food on the table, to hold a steady job, to see their children grow up safely, to obtain pensions—that trust in a state and its institutions is built or lost. These comparative trust levels on both sides of the line of contact might well decide the future of this divided region.
In this article, our results compare the trust in the national government in the Kyiv-controlled Donbas, on the one hand, and trust in the local authorities in the self-proclaimed DNR/LNR, on the other. In the government-controlled parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, some local authorities have not been able to carry out their civic responsibilities, while others have been replaced with a temporary civil-military administration. Local elections in Donbas have been severely curtailed since the start of the conflict, with the latest round in October 2020 cancelled in many areas along the frontline, disenfranchising over 450,000 citizens. The survey results confirm how distant the Kyiv government appears to the residents in this part of the Donbas. As seen in the first graphic (Figure 1), fewer than 10 per cent of the respondents trust the national government to take care of their needs as citizens, while about 45 per cent recorded their distrust.
Figure 1.
In the DNR/LNR, trust appears to be higher with 26 per cent of the respondents expressing trust in the local authorities (18 per cent distrust). But with nearly half neither trusting nor distrusting the local authorities, political support for the self-proclaimed DNR/LNR authorities appears lukewarm. Indeed, the results suggest that the local population, just like residents in the Kyiv-controlled Donbas, know that they have to manage their lives as best they can without holding out much hope for help from the authorities.
Trust in the very institutions that should be responsive to citizen needs is low in the Donbas as a whole. But the relative gap in trust between the two parts of the Donbas is indicative of how residents in government-controlled regions believe Kyiv has left them behind. The Ukrainian state has significant work to do in those areas of the Donbas it governs.
Another stark indication of this gap across the line of contact are the answers to the question: “Do you think the region [country] is heading in the right or wrong direction?” (Figure 2). A majority of respondents (59 per cent) in the government-controlled Donbas think that things are heading in the wrong direction. In contrast, in the DNR/LNR, a plurality of respondents (44 per cent) think that things are heading in the right direction (23 per cent in the wrong direction), though about a third remain uncertain.
Figure 2.
One of the characteristics of the Donbas conflict, in contrast to the conflicts in Moldova and Georgia, is that it erupted more than two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union. While there was some tension over the fate of the Donbas after Ukrainian independence, it was not a burning issue for most residents. In fact, self-determination for the region was a cause that motivated only a minority. The ouster of the pro-Russian Yanukovych government in Kyiv in early 2014 nurtured and fed that sentiment. It is worth probing just how strongly people feel loyalty to the state and flag (DNR/LNR or Ukrainian) under which they currently live.
In our survey, we asked a question designed to measure what academics term a pure “public goods” vision of the state. It asks respondents to agree or disagree with the following statement: “It does not matter what country I live in; all I want is a good job and a good pension.”
Figure 3.
This graph (Figure 3) might surprise readers, showing that majorities on both sides of the line of contact agree with the statement. Economic and material security thus trumps separatism and nationalism. Importantly, the numbers who disagree (just over one-third of the population) are also nearly identical on both sides of the Donbas dividing line. While this is a minority sentiment among ordinary people, those affirming the greater importance of “country” express the dominant and often the only acceptable view of those in positions of power. Whose flag flies where is the overriding concern.
Examination of the answers to these three questions by age and nationality reveals an important asymmetry. In the government-controlled area, older people and self-identified Russians are less trusting of the authorities and agree more strongly with the statement about material needs being more important than the flag under which they live. In the self-proclaimed DNR/LNR, it is younger people and self-identified Ukrainians who express these sentiments more strongly.
The degree of trust in local authorities on both sides of the territorial divide in the Donbas is a crucial factor shaping the future of the region. In certain fundamental ways, the aspirations of the majority of people on both sides are the same. However, this conflict was never about the Donbas alone: it is also about broader geopolitical struggles. As long as these endure, the conflict in the Donbas is likely to persist and lines on the ground and in residents’ minds are likely to become more entrenched.
The authors acknowledge funding for this work from a joint National Science Foundation/Research Council UK grant (NSF award #1759645; ESRC award #ES/S005919/1) and from ZOiS (Centre for East European and International Studies), Berlin.


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Serbia expels US neo-Nazi after investigative website Bellingcat outed his location · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Fascist graffiti in Serbia defaced by antifascist group was changed from “Put migrants into dustbins” to “Refugees welcome.” Photo by Antifascist Action Novi Sad, used with permission.
Serbia has expelled Robert Rundo, the “American neo-Nazi and founder of the notorious right-wing extremist Rise Above Movement,” the Serbian daily Blic reported on February 11.
According to unofficial information published in the Blic article, Serbian police escorted Rundo to the Trbušnica-Šepak border pass, which connects Serbia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the evening of February 10.
Last November, the investigative reporting platform Bellingcat alerted the public to Rundo's presence in Serbia, drawing attention to the videos he'd been publishing from the country. These included a clip in which the 30-year-old native of Queens, New York, brags about helping local neo-Nazis restore Serbian nationalist graffiti that had been defaced days before by local anti-fascist activists.
In recent years, exponents of extreme right-wing nationalist and populist ideologies from the Balkans, which promote forms of racism compatible with American white supremacy, have been trying to cultivate ties and cooperation with the U.S. alt-right movement.
A screenshot from a November 8, 2020 video from Robert Rundo’s Telegram channel, showing him in front of far-right graffiti in Belgrade, Serbia. The graffiti includes racist imagery (the Confederate Battle Flag, a symbol of the fight to preserve slavery in the US through the Civil War of 1861-1864) and incitement of violence. Image by Bellingcat, used with permission.
Most Serbian media that followed up on the Blic report featured excerpts from the Bellingcat exposé, which quoted Rundo's own video in which he says, “So we’re out here in Belgrade, you know, cleaning up the neighborhood …” as he joins local neo-Nazis in restoring hate speech graffiti that had been previously defaced by anti-fascists.
One of the media outlets, the tabloid website Mondo, interchanged the terms “neo-Nazi and “white supremacist,” and described Rundo as a “Super Nazi.”
Bellingcat's analysis of the videos posted by Rundo indicated that he has been living in Serbia since at least March 2020, while also traveling around Central and Eastern Europe, including participating in a march in Ukraine and speaking at a neo-Nazi rally in Hungary.
Rundo had opened a clothing company called Serbon in Serbia, featuring products with white supremacist symbols and “anti-antifa” slogans. The Serbon YouTube channel features rap videos in Serbian glorifying street fighting. Founding the company allegedly enabled Rundo to acquire an annually renewable permit for temporary stay in the country as a foreign investor.
Rundo is a convicted felon who served time in his home country for a gang attack on a 13-year-old boy, and whose racist exploits have been covered by the Daily Beast, PBS, and the New York Review of Books.
He is not technically a wanted person in the U.S. at this moment. In 2019, a federal judge released Rundo after he dismissed charges against three Rise Above Movement (RAM) gang members indicted for their roles in violent rallies across California in 2017, saying the federal statute used to prosecute them was unconstitutional.
In November 2020, the United States appealed the district court's dismissal of an indictment charging Rundo and three other individuals with conspiracy to violate the Anti-Riot Act in connection with their activities as part of the RAM (19-50189 USA v. Robert Rundo).
RAM is an alt-right gang from Southern California that uses martial arts to recruit young people and has been described as “a loose collective of violent neo-Nazis and fascists,” who are white nationalist, white supremacist, and far-right.
According to a 2020 report on right-wing extremism by Serbia's Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, neo-Nazis in Serbia have been focusing their recruiting efforts on children, drafting their “stormtroopers” from the ranks of boys attending middle and high school.
“Recruitment most often takes place when kids reach high school age. Formerly, the top entry points to fascist ideologies were the subcultures of Nazi skinheads or ultras—hooligan groups presented as fans of major football clubs. Today the recruitment mostly takes place online, even though a minor part of the new fascists still come in touch with fascism through the subculture movements,” explained the sociologist Miloš Perović in a statement for Nova.rs TV.
Perović added that the increased recruitment of young people in these organizations is not an exclusive problem for Serbia, but part of a global movement that espouses a very clear strategy, based on the work of former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon.
The website of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia doesn't provide any information on Rundo's expulsion from the country.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Barbadian pop superstar Rihanna gets flak for wearing pendant of Hindu god in lingerie post · Global Voices
Flora Thomas

Rihanna onstage during her Last Girl On Earth Tour in 2011. Photo by Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Mere weeks after Barbadian-born pop star Rihanna faced social media backlash, from the Indian government as well as from supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for drawing attention to the plight of protesting Indian farmers, come accusations of cultural appropriation and religious disrespect. The controversy centres around an image the 32-year-old singer posted of herself wearing nothing but lilac silk boxers from her Savage X Fenty lingerie collection and several pieces of jewellery, one of which was a pendant of the Hindu deity, Lord Ganesh.
when @PopcaanMusic said “me nuh wan ya wear no lingerie tonight fa me girl” @SavageXFenty pic.twitter.com/bnrtCZT7FB
— Rihanna (@rihanna) February 15, 2021
The outcry from Hindu social media users, as well as others who found the move distasteful, was swift:
She wear a pendent. Right!
But why she is topless, and look like it is just a aesthetic of fasion for her
Its not right, we indians have a culture and never do such things!! Shameful!!!!#rihanna #ganesh #rihannatopless
— Amit Sen (@AmitSen44672886) February 16, 2021
rihanna !! stop using my religion as an aesthetic !! that ganesh figurine at the end of the chain :( is a holy and sacred figure for us hindus
— ً kani | H☀BIUARY (@09S00B) February 15, 2021
Not sure whats going on but this aint it…#Ganesh #Rihanna #GaneshaInsulted https://t.co/ZKcZR1rBo0
— BeKush_BeKind (@Kushilions_100) February 16, 2021
The fact that the boxers shown in the post are currently sold out on her lingerie website did not help matters:
Why is @rihanna wearing a #ganesh locket around her neck ? Another ‘hit’ by #Rihanna #RihannaSoldOut #DishaRavi #farmersrprotest #farmers #ToolKitExposed https://t.co/LhuYGDAdP3
— Vineet Malhotra (@malhotravineet7) February 16, 2021
Many who took offense because of the juxtaposition of sexuality and religion wanted Rihanna to apologise:
You disappointed all the #Hindus across the glob
@rihanna
stop using our religion as an aesthetic.lord #ganesh is the first to worship .u can’t do such disrespect to our religion. That’s not our culture. You should apologise immediately. #Rihanna
— Pankaj Chaturvedi (@Pankajonmission) February 16, 2021
A few Twitter users even suggested that the pop star's Twitter account should be terminated—or at least suspended. Others, however, didn't see what all the fuss was about:
I too believe in Ganesha but don't believe it in any pendant or photo, God lives in heart.why people making it issue, Is God so weak that its affected when topless lady wears a pendant or becomes powerful when wore by a saree clad woman?
— RESSHMI (@IamResshmi) February 17, 2021
To all the people who are trolling @rihanna for wearing a Hindu God pendant #Ganesha, what is so offensive about it. Don't Hindus wear Hanuman ji or Ganesha's pendant? Or is everyone saying she cannot follow Hindu religion?? #Rihanna #Pendant #Hinduism #LORDGANESHA
— Nehaa Gupta (@guptanehaa_) February 16, 2021
One Twitter user, however, noted that context was important:
We are so tired & if we raise voice against this cultural appropriation so we are labelled as hindu extremist. For you all hinduphobics it is just necklace but for us he's god. Please stop telling us wht is offensive & whts not. Audacity of these ppl “hinduphobia doesn't exist”?
— vedu?? (@IndicRant) February 16, 2021
Another argued that the crucifix has been used ornamentally by celebrities before, most notably by Madonna, who often employed Christian religious symbolism in her performance art and music videos.
Some social media users were quick to associate the backlash Rihanna received over her tweet about the farmers, and her choice of pendant, suggesting it was done deliberately:
She did it mainly to hurt hindu sentiment though cuz many ppl trolled her for farmers tweet…mainly hindus they were.. She was not knowing anything about new farms law.. And she doesn't know anything about sanatana dharma it was just to hurt..
— Mr debater (@debater_mr) February 16, 2021
One politician, who is a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), felt the photo validated his opinion that Rihanna had no business tweeting about the farmers in the first place because she lacked an understanding of the country's cultural and religious sensibilities.
This is not the first time Rihanna has been accused of cultural appropriation in recent years. Her 2019 cover photo for Harper's Bazaar magazine in China, in which she was dressed in traditional Chinese clothing and accessories, did not hit the right note for many.
This is also not the first time she has displayed the Ganesh pendant. She was first pictured wearing it in 2019, though there was little, if any, backlash at the time.
So far, the post of Rihanna wearing the pendant has received about 34K retweets and close to 289K likes.

author: Flora Thomas


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Flights carrying ‘seafood’ between China and Myanmar fuel speculation about Beijing’s support for the military coup · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Screenshot from HK Citizen News’ video news report on Myanmar protests against military coup.
The term “seafood” went viral on social media this week in connection with the Myanmar military takeover after the Chinese Embassy in Yangon denied daily flights from China were providing assistance to the coup government.
Reports of cargo flights between Kunming and Yangon have raised suspicions among Myanmar pro-democracy activists that China was sending experts and equipment to assist Myanmar's military, which took over the country's civilian government on February 1. A response statement by the Chinese Embassy claimed the planes were simply carrying seafood, which sounded implausible to many.
Unverified claims about China’s backing of the Myanmar coup started circulating in early February, as all Chinese state-affiliated media outlets were using the phrase “a major cabinet reshuffle” to describe the military takeover. Although the Chinese government has so far taken no official stand, the fact that China blocked the UN Security Council's condemnation of the junta has led many to believe that Beijing is backing the coup for geopolitical reasons.
Photos showing “seafood” cargo arriving late at night in Yangon went viral:
Huge seafood arrived from China to Yangon! #ChineseCargoYGN #ShameonyouChina #militarycoupinMyanmar pic.twitter.com/NRPmlEWHli
— Nantigks (@nantigks) February 11, 2021
Kyaw Win of the Burma Human Rights Network highlighted the meaning of the viral usage of “seafood:”
Despite YGN Int’l airport is closed dubious flight from Kunming, China to Yangon have several flights daily. Chinese Ambassador said these flights carrying seafood from China for the embassy. So we change the name of Chinese embassy to a “seafood market”. #Burma @benedictrogers pic.twitter.com/Yovz7nEMwx
— Kyaw Win (@kyawwin78) February 17, 2021
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said he had not heard of any arrangement involving the sending of experts and equipment to Yangon.
Myanmar's citizens began protesting in front of the Chinese Embassy days after the coup took place. Netizens have also been using hashtags such as #ShameOnYouChina and #ChinaHelpMilitaryCoupForOwnBenefit on social media.
Twitter user @Ellen5461 posted a few photos of a protest where some of the placards bear slogans written in Chinese, saying “Stand by Myanmar, do not support dictatorship”:
Myanmar citizen protesting against the military coup in front of China Embassy.
WE DON'T WANT DICTATORSHIP.#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar #Feb12Coup pic.twitter.com/5doii1iGS3
— ??Save Myanmar ?? (@Ellen4561) February 12, 2021
@Alicebrosel posted a photo of another protester dressed in Chinese costume holding a placard saying “Myanmar military dictatorship is made in China”:
Protesters in-front of Chinese Embassy in Yangon today, dressed up as Justice Pao, taiwan famous tv serious, to show Myanmar ppl rejection on how China has been supporting on Myanmar Juntas #ShameOnYouChina #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/Lk852IOmhY
— Yu Mo Win (@Alicebrose1) February 14, 2021
Myanmar citizens are also concerned about the introduction of a Cybersecurity Bill by the military government that empowers authorities to block websites, remove content, and charge individuals for spreading misinformation. As China is the world's top expert in controlling and censoring web traffic, many see the country as playing a key role in the bill's implementation.
Twitter user @ruddy5702 said:
⚠CHINA SUPPORT MILITARY COUP ⚠
The military is about to enact new cyber law to control the people's online usage. Basically, they don't have technologies and tools to initiate that, and so that is where China will take part#ShameonyouChina #Feb16Coup#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/f81wAwXySV
— Ruddy (@ruddy5702) February 16, 2021
Myanmar citizens’ access to the internet has been periodically disrupted since the coup took place. However, starting on February 14, near-total internet shutdowns have been reported by digital rights organization NetBlocks between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m.:
⚠ Confirmed: A near-total internet shutdown is in effect in #Myanmar as of 1 a.m. local time; real-time network data show national connectivity at just 14% of ordinary levels following state-ordered information blackout; incident ongoing ?
?Background: https://t.co/Jgc20OBk27 pic.twitter.com/wWWVzb0c0G
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) February 14, 2021
There is also speculation that the recurring power outages experienced in the country in the past few days are related to the testing and setup of Myanmar's version of The Great Firewall. Language decoding issues faced by some Myanmar netizens have also reinforced this idea, as noted by user @blahbla69235153:
Here Sir, many people are already facing this problem. When we send message to MPT 7979 (Mobile Operators) in Eglish , they reply in Eng but when we send in Burmese they reply in Chinese. pic.twitter.com/KHFpLT1iww
— hninayewai (@blahbla69235153) February 16, 2021
Amidst criticisms from Myanmar and worldwide, Beijing’s ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai denied that China had been “informed in advance of the political change” and said that the current situation was “absolutely not what China wants to see.”

author: Oiwan Lam


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How a social media group is helping to improve railway service in Bangladesh · Global Voices
বিজয়

Part of history: The first narrow-gauge train was launched on February 14, 1896, on the Rupsha-Bagerhat route. Image by Rajib Hossain via Bangladesh Railway Fan Page. Used with Permission.
Rail transport is the most important means of mass travel in Bangladesh. Often referred to as the “transport of commoners,” it is a cost-saving, environment-friendly, comfortable and safe transport system for people and goods. However, despite increased investment in this sector, railway services are not up to mark and Bangladesh Railway has incurred huge losses in the past five years.
Some railway lovers are using a Facebook Group to share information, respond to queries, and give their suggestions to improve the service.
An isolated station in Sundarpur, Kaliganj, Jhenaidah. Image by Shahajada Farhan Odhi on the Bangladesh Railway Fan Group on Facebook. Used with permission.
The state-owned Bangladesh Railway is the successor to the Eastern Bengal Railway Company, which was started in 1857, during the British colonial era. There are three types of railways in Bangladesh, namely Broad Gauge, Meter Gauge and Narrow Gauge. The total length of the railway tracks as per 2018 data is 2955.53 km and the transport agency employs over 25,000 people across the country.
The Government of Bangladesh has undertaken several initiatives to update the railways, including installing modern railway infrastructure, buying locomotives, digitizing information for customers and online ticketing. Apart from the losses, the priority is to address the problems that plague the railway: passengers travelling without tickets, fuel pilferage, lack of maintenance, occupying of railway lands, graft and mismanagement, all of which have affected the quality of service and caused delays.
The railway ‘fans’ stepped in to make a difference. Roknuzzaman Rokon, a former employee of the railway, founded the Bangladesh Railway Fan Group in 2008 and it is now managed by a number of admins. Global Voices spoke to Rokon via webchat and he said that initially, the focus of the group was for trainspotting and to share stories, pictures and history of rail travel. As membership grew, it became a hub for information about the railway and its history, service and public welfare. Currently, this private Facebook group has more than 150k active members. There is also a public page with over 56k likes where non-members can post and interact.
Screenshot from the Bangladesh Railway Fan group on Facebook.
Although the group is not affiliated with Bangladesh Railway, it has become a reliable source of information for passengers. There you can find information about delays in scheduled services, complaints about service disruptions and irregularities, tips, and images. There are also odd questions like, “Which train is stopping now?” or “How to find the correct rail car according to ticket information?”
The Bangladesh government has launched an app called Bangladesh Train Tracker which also has a Facebook page where some official information is shared. However, many users feel more comfortable asking questions in the Fan group. The admin of the group Shahabuddin Ahmed says that members are always keen to respond quickly and provide as much real-time information as possible.
The Bangladesh Railway website does not always have updated information. Here is an example of one important piece of information shared by Ahmed on the fan group:
ক্যান্সার রোগী রেলওয়ে তে ভ্রমণের সময় বিশেষ রেয়াতী ভাড়ায় টিকেট পেতে পারেন। শুধু তিনি নন, তার সঙ্গে একজন এ্যাটেন্ডেন্ট ও নিতে পারবেন বিশেষ রেয়াতী ভাড়ায়। প্রয়োজনে আপনার নিকটস্থ স্টেশন মাস্টার এর সাথে যোগাযোগ করতে হবে।
তথ্যসূত্র সহায়তা: Maksudul Alam ভাই।
Cancer patients can get special discounted fares while travelling on Bangladesh Railways. Not only this, with the help of this you can hire an attendant for the patient at special discounted rates. Please contact your nearest station master for details.
Information via Maksudul Alam.
Some of the group's information has even helped prevent serious accidents as they highlight current issues. A notable example is addressing the incidents of stoning moving trains that have plagued Bangladesh Railway in the past decade. According to a recent report, there are 20 spots in different railway zones of the country where an average of over 150 such incidents occur each year, causing injuries to passengers and train staff—and have even led to deaths. Every year the railway must spend a lot of money to repair the damaged doors and windows of railway cars.
“This is not child's play. This is murder.” A poster shared by the Bangladesh Railway Fan Group in a campaign to stop the stoning of moving trains. Image by Mohammad Ragib Zaman via Bangladesh Railway Fan Group. Used with permission.
According to a Railway spokesman, it's hard to say why, but trains are stoned for various reasons, by teenager vandals or even disgruntled bus staff, as the revenue of bus services is falling because many people are choosing to travel on the more affordable trains.
Shahajada Farhan Odhi posted on February 13, 2021, about one such incident and included photos:
ট্রেনের ছাদ থেকে পাথর। নিক্ষেপ অল্পের জন্য রক্ষা পেলো ড্রাইভার
আজ দুপুর ১২:০৬ ছয় মিনিটে কিশোরগঞ্জ এক্সপ্রেস এর ছাদ থেকে পাথর নিক্ষেপ করে দুইটি ছেলে,
স্থান নিমতলী রেলগেট টঙ্গী।
[..]
রেলপুলিশ চাইলে ইমিডিয়েড তাদের এখন কিশোরগঞ্জ স্টেশন থেকে আটক করতে পারেন।
Stone-throwing from the roof of another train. The driver escaped marginally.
Two boys threw stones from the roof of Kishoreganj Express at 12:06 pm today.
Location Nimtali Railgate Tongi. [..]
The railway police can detain them from Kishoreganj station if they respond quickly.
A campaign by members of the group to educate children and teenagers on the perils of throwing stones at moving trains. Image by Shovon Hossain via Bangladesh Railway Fan Group. Used with permission.
The Fan group is also leading a campaign against stone-pelting. Shovon Hossain, a member, posted about it and shared an album showing their activities.
সামাজিক দায়বদ্ধতা হতে আমরা গিয়েছি গতকাল ব্রাহ্মণবাড়িয়া জেলায়, দুপুর হতে সন্ধ্যা পর্যন্ত পাথর নিক্ষেপের কুফল সম্পর্কে প্রচারণা চালাই,আমরা ২টি আলাদা টিমে বিভক্ত হয়ে প্রচারণা শুরু করি।
এই প্রথমবারের মত আমরা শিশু বাচ্চা, উঠতি বয়সী ছেলে মেয়েদের সাথে খুব ই বন্ধুত্বপূর্ণ আচরণে কথা বলে তাদের মোটিভেট করি,তারাও আমাদের কথা দেয় কখনো ই ট্রেনে পাথর নিক্ষেপ করবে না এবং তাদের বন্ধুবান্ধব সহ যাকেই দেখবে তাকেই তারা বিরত করবে এই খারাপ কাজ হতে।
Out of social responsibility, we went to Brahmanbaria district yesterday to campaign about the evils of stone-throwing at trains. From noon to evening we carried out the campaign divided into two separate teams.
This is the first time we talked to children, young boys and girls in a very friendly manner and explained the perils. They also promise us never to throw stones at moving trains and they will stop anyone, including their friends, from doing this evil deed.
Here are examples of photos found in the above-mentioned group:
Students painted graffiti on a shuttle train in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Image by Zaman Muhammad via Bangladesh Railway Fan Group. Used with permission.
This unique Khanabari station near Narshingdi is renowned for hosting street music shows every evening. Image by Md. Kamruzzaman Sohel via Bangladesh Railway Fan Group. Used with permission.
Bangladesh Railway has its own rail ferry fleet. As more and more railway bridges are being built in this riverine country, passengers do not need to use these ferries. Photo by Akibul Hasan Nizam via Bangladesh Railway Fan Group. Used with permission.
This shuttle train to Chittagong University has no place to sit, even on the roof. So the engine has been occupied. Image by Mainul Islam Shimul via Bangladesh Railway Fan Group. Used with permission.

author: বিজয়


text:
In unrecognized Transnistria, a retiree faces criminal charges for ‘anti-Russian’ rhetoric · Global Voices
RuNet Echo

Screenshot from video interview with the defendant, published on “Zona de Securitate” human rights monitoring website.
A 70-year-old retiree from Tiraspol stands accused of offending the president of Transnistria and “denying the positive role of Russian peacekeepers” in the unrecognized republic, according to public records revealed recently.
The charges against Mikhail Yermuraki were brought in February 2020 after he had a disagreement with the director of a secondary school in Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria, about the rationale for installing a memorial plaque in the school's premises to honor a Russian soldier killed in Syria.
Yermuraki was also charged with “inciting interethnic hatred,” though this charge was later retracted. His is the first case in the unrecognized republic to be prosecuted under a 2016 law that forbids citizens of Transnistria from publicly criticizing the Russian peacekeeping mission. The defendant is currently under a travel ban.
The case was first brought to public attention in December 2020 by Nikolay Kuzmin, a Russian-speaking blogger living in Transnistria, who wrote a note about it on his Telegram channel.
Earlier this month, “Zona de Securitate,” a Romanian-language Moldovan website monitoring human rights violations in Transnistria, published an interview with Yermuraki, in which he detailed what happened.
Transnistria (or Pridnestrovie) is a breakaway state on the border of Moldova and Ukraine that separated from Moldova in the early 1990s amid an armed conflict. The global community and Moldova do not recognize the de facto state of Transnistria, but consider it an autonomous territorial unit within Moldova with special legal status. In September 2016, the authorities of self-proclaimed Transnistria held a referendum, as a result of which they began preparations for joining the Russian Federation. Russian peacekeeping forces have had a long-standing presence in the republic, and the situation around Transnistria is often characterized as a “frozen conflict.”
He says the criminal case was launched against him at the end of 2019 after he had a debate with Tamara Gaydarly, the principal of a local secondary school, about a memorial plaque commemorating the death of a Russian soldier who was an alumnus of the school.
During the private discussion, Yermuraki says, the principal asked him provocative questions such as, “What existed earlier — Moldova or Romania?” and “Which language do you speak — Moldovan or Romanian?”
In response, Yermuraki, who was already known in the community for his critical views of Transnistrian authorities, offered the principal to peruse a text he previously wrote which outlined his stance.
The school principal secretly recorded the debate and passed the recording on to the Ministry of State Security of Transnistria. Soon after, the criminal case was opened against Yermuraki.
In the interview, the defendant said that it was his critical views on the status of Transnistria and the role of Russian peacekeeping forces that led to his prosecution:
Меня обвиняют в трех преступлениях: оскорбление президента ПМР, что категорически запрещено на оккупированной территории России; второе — оскорбление российских миротворцев, которых я называю оккупантами, и третье, наиболее абсурдное из них, — разжигание межнациональной расовой и религиозной ненависти на территории ПМР.
I stand accused of three crimes: offending the president of PMR (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Transnistria's official name), which is expressly forbidden on Russia-occupied territory; second, offending Russian peacekeepers, who I call occupants; and third, and the most absurd, is inciting inter-ethnic racial and religious hatred on the territory of PMR.
On February 5, legal information center “Apriori,” one of the few remaining rights groups in Transnistria, published a detailed analysis of the criminal indictment in Mikhail Yermuraki's case.
According to the prosecution, Yermuraki wrote an article in 2006 titled “Thoughts about the obvious in ‘PMR'” in which he lays out critical views of the self-proclaimed Pridnestrovian government and Russia’s involvement in the peacekeeping process.
During his debate with the school principal, according to the prosecution's statement, Yermuraki allegedly used “a number of offensive terms” to refer to the president of Transnistria, including “hired hand,” “puppet,” as well as other “demonstrably false statements about his activities.” This prompted the charge according to article 316-1 of the Transnistrian criminal code, “offending the president of Transnistria.”
The criminal indictment also alleges that the official representative of the president of Transnistria in the state administration, T. Kharakhalup, “showed that the president reviewed the public statements made by Yermuraki and found them to be offensive, both as a private citizen and as a representative of the authorities, undermining his authority in the eyes of the public, and as such found these actions to be criminal.”
During his questioning in February 2020, the document says, Yermuraki did not plead guilty and “explained that the charges against him were brought by an illegal authority [and that they are] false.”
The subscribers of Kuzmin's Telegram blog were quick to react to the news. Alex, one of the subscribers, aimed their criticism directly at Russian President Vladimir Putin and rebuked him for tacitly supporting the efforts of Transnistrian authorities who launch “such cases without any apparent criminal substance, which are aimed at clearing the information space” (original spelling and punctuation preserved):
И вообще надо быть идиотом, чтоб стать на такой шаткий стульчик, как нелигитимное президентство в ПМР, да ещё размахивать пером, подписывая людоедские законы. Это публицистика. Идиотские мысли в публицистике должны осуждаться читателем и союзом журналистов, а не судом, да еще до пяти лет заключения. Иногда через резкие и радикальные высказывания автор пытается передать градус своего отношения к чему-либо, прекрасно осознавая, что никто и никогда не последует его строкам.
One has to be an idiot to climb on the shaky stool of the illegitimate presidency of the PMR and to wave your pen around signing such draconian laws. This is just current affairs essay-writing. Silly thoughts in current affairs essays should be ostracized by readers and the union of journalists, not sanctioned by the court with up to five years behind bars. Sometimes an author might strive to communicate the degree of their views on something through sharp or radical statements, fully mindful of the fact that no one will ever follow their call.
The court proceedings in Yermuraki's case are ongoing. The defendant faces a sentence of up to five years in prison. Stepan Popovskiy, a lawyer with legal information center “Apriori,” says that the case may go as far as the European Court of Human Rights:
У меня не вызывает сомнений, что это дело, если будет вынесен обвинительный приговор, окажется в Европейском суде по правам человека  с жалобой на нарушение ряда статей Европейской конвенции о защите прав человека и основных свобод, среди которых обязательно будет статья 10 Конвенции.
I have no doubt that, should a guilty verdict be pronounced, the case will reach the European Court of Human Rights with an appeal based on the violation of a number of articles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, including Article 10 of the Convention. [Article 10 of the Convention provides for freedom of expression as “necessary in a democratic society” — ed.]

author: RuNet Echo


text:
Research firm uncovers a pro-Huawei influence campaign · Global Voices
The Stand News

Fake account cluster with AI-generated profile photos shared pro-Huawei content. Screen capture from Graphika's report.
The following report was initially published in Chinese on the Stand News on January 31, 2021. It's reproduced on Global Voices under a content partnership agreement.
Research by network analysis firm Graphika discovered that a cluster of fake Twitter accounts attempted to influence Belgium's 5G policy in favor of Chinese tech giant Huawei.
Released on January 28, Graphika’s 33-page report found at least 14 Twitter accounts impersonating telecommunication experts, writers, and scholars that shared posts criticizing Belgium’s 5G policy from different perspectives, such as free market, security, and transparency. These fake accounts had profile pictures generated by an AI tool known as Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) and were followed mostly by bots.
Belgium's National Security Council decided in June 2020 to impose restrictions on high-risk vendors in the country’s 5G infrastructure, which could block Huawei from investing in it.
Although there is no evidence that Huawei was behind the influence campaign, posts by these fake accounts were shared by the company's representatives and official accounts. Graphika reported that Kevin Liu, Huawei’s president for public affairs and communications in Western Europe, who has a verified Twitter account with 1.1 million followers, shared 60 posts from the fake accounts in December; Huawei’s official account in Europe, with more than 5 million followers, shared 47 posts from the fake-account cluster.
The report says:
Each of these fake accounts had very similar behavior. They were created in the second half of 2017, but only started tweeting in late 2020. Despite the late date at which they started tweeting, their first posts were all retweets of tech-related content that originated on November 10, 2017, or November 10, 2018. (…) On each account, most of the retweeted posts used the same keyword or hashtag, such as “VR” (virtual reality), “AR” (augmented reality) or “5G”. The tweets were not always relevant to the tech world, suggesting that they may have been automated and not manually checked.
The research has attracted attention from Western media, including Financial Times and The New York Times. Upon receiving the report, Twitter has suspended the cluster of fake accounts.
Ben Nimmo, a member of the research team, tweeted about one of the fake accounts (now suspended):
Alexandre's had a bit of an obsession with Belgium and #5G recently.
Especially, Belgium's security limitations on 5G providers, which are reportedly mainly about Huawei and ZTE.
Alexandre didn't like the Belgian approach much. pic.twitter.com/rbO0ZboEiJ
— Ben Nimmo (@benimmo) January 29, 2021
The posts shared by the cluster came from a range of sources, including U.S.-based Politico, German business paper Handelsblatt, and websites such as eureporter.co and dwire.eu.
In a few cases, the same posts were published on multiple sites. For example, an article headlined, “5G: If the Belgian government exclude specific suppliers, who will pay for it?” was published on london-globe.com, newyorkglobe.co, toplinenews.eu, and eureporter.co with different bylines. Two of the posts shared by the cluster were flagged as “sponsored contents” on Politico and itdaily.be.
Michiel van Hulten, director of Transparency International in Europe, spotted the pro-Huawei campaign in December 2020 by digging into a promoted Tweet written by Mike Bai, Huawei’s president of strategy marketing in Western Europe who joined Twitter in March 2020 and currently has more than 885,000 followers.
So here's the thread on Huawei I promised yesterday. It seems Huawei is using social media black ops tactics to try to convince policy-makers in Belgium that it can be trusted to build 5G networks. ? pic.twitter.com/noZKM13RuD
— Michiel van Hulten (@mvanhulten) December 22, 2020
Van Hulten's initial investigation is in alignment with Graphika's research findings as the pro-Huawei posts shared by Bai were also connected to the fake account cluster.
Financial Times later found out that at least six employees from Huawei had obtained more than 10,000 followers within several weeks after opening their Twitter accounts at the beginning of 2020.
While Graphika's research points out that their findings are insufficient to suggest that Huawei was behind the operation, the company's employees were key amplifiers of the comments produced by the fake cluster:
The Huawei officials were by far the most significant amplifiers of the fake accounts’ output: they had the highest followings, and they typically mentioned the fake accounts dozens of times each.
In response to the research, Huawei said it had started an internal investigation to see “if there has been any inappropriate behavior.”

author: The Stand News


text:
Saudi women’s activist Loujain al-Hathloul released and tweeting · Global Voices
Dahlia Kholaif

Image shared by Loujain al-Hathloul in her first tweet since her release from prison.
Loujain al-Hathloul, the prominent Saudi activist and campaigner who had been detained since 2018 for demanding an end to the male guardianship system and to the ban on women's driving, was released last week and posted her first tweet since on Wednesday.
Returning with a heart full of gratitude, but bruised from 1001 disappointments. pic.twitter.com/CsM79OLDzb
— لجين هذلول الهذلول (@LoujainHathloul) February 17, 2021
Loujain, who was abducted from the United Arab Emirates in May 2018, tortured, denied access to family, and kept in solitary confinement for periods of her incarceration, was sentenced to nearly six years in prison on December 28, 2020, by the kingdom’s notorious terrorism court. The six-year term, nearly half of which was suspended by the verdict, is down from the maximum jail term of up to 20 years which the public prosecutor demanded on December 17.
Local press citing the court's ruling said that the 31-year-old Loujain was found guilty of “committing acts criminalized under Article 43 of the Law on Combating Terrorism Crimes“, including engaging with foreign, hostile entities, and using the internet to serve and support an external agenda inside the kingdom, with the aim of harming public order.
Based on the ruling, Loujain's family predicted her release in March, as she had served the majority of her sentence in pre-trial detention.
Her release on February 10 was a development welcomed by politicians and sympathizers worldwide, with her family noting that Loujain remains restrained by a travel ban and limits on public appearances.
Thank you @POTUS! My sister is not free, she’s on a travel ban, and the whole family as well. Her trial is still ongoing.
Thank you again for the support ??❤ https://t.co/R56nrvur03
— Lina Alhathloul لينا الهذلول (@LinaAlhathloul) February 10, 2021
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted:
Je me réjouis de la libération de Loujain al-Hathloul et partage le soulagement de sa famille. https://t.co/MEELVy3TVg
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 10, 2021
CNN host Christiane Amanpour wrote:
Released but not yet free. https://t.co/SxB8WOYido
— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) February 17, 2021
The celebrated release of Loujain is one of several positive legal developments concerning activists and political prisoners in Saudi Arabia, with some being released and others having their sentences commuted.
This shift is attributed to the changes in the White House. The departure of Donald Trump's administration, which overlooked human rights violations in the region, encouraging authoritarian regimes, and its replacement with an administration perceived to be keen on pressing allies to respect human rights, could have accelerated overdue trials and reduce sentences.
The prominent activist's release also encouraged calls for the freeing of other detained prisoners of conscience who are still languishing in Saudi prisons.
ALQST, a human rights independent group that focuses on Saudi cases, wrote:
الإفراج المشروط عن مدافعتين عن حقوق الإنسان #لجين_الهذلول و #نوف_عبدالعزيز
إلا أن محاكمات أخريات لم تنته بعد، وفي تطوّرٍ مقلق طالب الادعاء العام بالاستئناف في قضية #نسيمة_السادة كمحاولةٍ لإنزال حكم أقسى
تدعو #القسط للإفراج غير المشروط عن جميع المعتقلاتhttps://t.co/nfJdPmrzEy pic.twitter.com/gDvf6dH3hn
— القسط لحقوق الإنسان (@ALQST_ORG) February 15, 2021
The conditional release of two human rights defenders, #Lujain_Hathloul and #Nouf_Abdulaziz.
However, other trials have not ended yet, and in a disturbing development, the Public Prosecution requested an appeal in the case of Nassima Al-Sada as an attempt to bring about a harsher ruling.
#ALQST calls for the unconditional release of all detainees https://t.co/nfJdPmrzEy pic.twitter.com/gDvf6dH3hn
Adam Coogle, deputy director with the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch, tweeted:
Ok MBS, time for Abdulrahman to go home too, enough is enough @AreejASadhan https://t.co/m045NSCPWo
— Adam Coogle (@cooglea) February 10, 2021

author: Dahlia Kholaif


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After grisly murder, women hold protest in Baku · Global Voices
OC Media

A group of women holding signs “Femicide is political.” Photo from Gulnara Mehdiyeva's Facebook page, via OC Media and used with permission.
This article originally appeared in English on OC Media. An edited version is republished here via a content partnership agreement.
Police report that after killing the woman, Maharramov dismembered her body, stuffed the parts into cellophane bags, and threw them in trash bins in the nearby district. According to neighbors, Banu Maharramova lived with her two young children as well as her in-laws, while her husband lives abroad.
After the incident, Idris Maharramov was detained by police. He remains in custody, suspected of committing premeditated murder. The investigation is ongoing.
News of the killing sparked a wave of anger on social media under the hashtag #banuüçünsusma (don’t be silent for Banu).
Aghazadeh said that they initially planned the rally as a response to two recent suicides by young women in January. Their deaths, she said, were a “symptom of the endemic violence and lack of social support that women face in Azerbaijan.”
“Women feel trapped,” Aghazadeh says, “there are too few domestic violence shelters and they hesitate to appeal to the police as officers often make attempts at family reconciliation, while actually just returning victims into the clutches of their abuser.”
“The aim of our protest in front of the Government House was to attract the attention of the Ombudsman as well as the State Committee for Family, Women and Children's Affairs whose offices are in this building, and are directly responsible for combatting this issue in the country,” Aghazadeh said.

author: OC Media


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Algerian activist Rachid Nekkaz’s failing health raises calls for his release · Global Voices
رضا حربي

Image showing Rachid Nekkaz in one of the protests. Permission to use by Mouvement de Jeune et Changement (MJC), founded by Nekkaz.
The health of detained Algerian political activist Rachid Nekkaz has deteriorated to life-threatening status since his transfer last month to an isolated prison, over 750 kilometres from the capital—adding momentum to voices calling for his release.
Nekkaz, a 49-year-old businessman, is one of the prominent figures opposing the Algerian political regime. He was a key player in the February 2019 movement that overthrew the rule of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and which is approaching its second anniversary on February 22. Now there are calls to revive the movement's demands and return to mass demonstrations in light of the country's ailing social, political and economic conditions, and the slow pace of tangible change that was demanded by millions of Algerians two years ago.
Commenting on what is happening to Rachid Nekkaz and many other prisoners of conscience in Algeria, blogger and journalist Abdelmoundji Khelladi wrote:
إرهابيين يعيشون كالسلاطين أمثال مداني مزراق و شاكلته التي إستفادات من الأموال مكافئة لهم لقتلهم مئات الآلاف من الأبرياء و كذلك عبد الرزاق البارا أما السجن و القتل البطيئ كان من نصيب رشيد نكاز، خالد درارني و إبراهيم لعلامي.
— عبد المنجي خلادي – Abdelmoundji Khelladi (@KAbdelmoundji) February 7, 2021
Terrorists live like sultans, such as Madani Mezrag and his ilk, who were rewarded in sums for killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people, as well as Abdul Razzaq Al-Bara. But prison and slow killing, these were allocated for Rashid Nekaz, Khaled Dararni and Ibrahim Lamati.
Nekkaz was arrested on December 4, 2019 at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers, upon arriving from Spain. He was brought before the Casablanca Court, where the investigating judge ordered his temporary imprisonment on several charges, including inciting residents to carry weapons, harming National Assembly members, and preventing citizens from exercising the right to vote, as well as inciting people to demonstrate.
According to a statement published on January 28 on the political activist's official Facebook page and quoting Khelifi Yassin, a member of his defense committee, “Rachid Nekkaz is ill with a prostate disease and a liver disease and his transfer to another prison is a clear violation of the law.” The same page stated that Nekkaz was transferred from the penal institution in Al-Qulaiaa to Sidi Sheikh Prison in the state of Al-Bayadh on January 26, after the Capital Judiciary Council endorsed the April 4, 2020 decision to place the political activist in temporary imprisonment, and refused his release. A defense commission representing Nekkaz made a complaint on January 11, 2021, to the National Council for Human Rights about the arbitrary detention of its client, in which it said that Nekkaz had been in prison since December 2019 without trial, which is a violation of the political activist's rights.
A January 29 press release by the Movement for Youth and Change (MJC), headed by Nekkaz, said:
شيء واحد مؤكد، رشيد نكاز لا يستفيد من الإشراف الطبي والعلاج لشفائه، والأكثر إثارة للدهشة أن أقرب مستشفى يبلغ 125 كيلومتر عن السجن.
One thing is certain, Rachid Nekkaz does not receive medical supervision and treatment to cure him, and what is more surprising is that the closest hospital is 125 kilometers from the prison.
The statement also added: “We have the right to ask if this prison of El-Obeid, Sidi Sheikh, will not turn into the death of Rachid Nekkaz,” noting that Nekkaz’s illness was confirmed by seven doctors at the Al-Qulaia prison in Algeria and that his father, Hajj al-Arabi Nekkaz, had died of the same disease in 2011.
MJC's press release added that Nekkaz was in a critical condition, and despite that, he was transferred from Al-Qulaia prison to El Obeid Sidi Sheikh prison in the state of El Bayadh, which is 756 kilometers southwest of Algiers, at the entrance to the Algerian Sahara, and that was done in order to make contact between Rachid Nekkaz and his lawyer difficult.
In a message which he sent from his cell in Sidi Sheikh Prison and was posted on his Facebook page on January 31, Nekkaz described how he was handcuffed throughout the nine-hour trip to Sidi Sheikh Prison, in bitter cold because of the lack of heating. He was then immediately placed in isolated detention in a cramped room which he described as similar to the infamous Tazmamart prison in Morocco. Attacking the Algerian minister of justice, Belkacem Zeghmati, Nekkaz's message said:
كان الرجل الذي يُدعى بلقاسم زغماتي قد سجن 8 من إرهابيي داعش في سجن قليعة مثل سجن غوانتانامو. في حين أنني لم أقتل أو أسرق أي شخص في حياتي وأنني قدت منذ عدة سنوات معركة من أجل التغيير السلمي في الجزائر وضد الفساد من أجل جزائر جديدة ، أجد نفسي في وضع أقل ملاءمة من هؤلاء الإرهابيين.
The man called Belkacem Zeghmati had imprisoned 8 Islamic State terrorists in Al-Qulaia prison like Guantanamo detention centre. While I have not killed or robbed anyone in my life and that for several years I led a battle for peaceful change in Algeria and against corruption for a new Algeria, I find myself in a less favorable position than these terrorists.
Nekkaz added:
Despite my very poor health which is deteriorating day by day due to the emergence of prostate cancer and a 19 mm cyst in the liver with the possibility of cancer. Despite everything, I am going ahead with my 29-day hunger strike to save and change Algeria, which will begin on Friday February 19, 2021, the anniversary of the outbreak of the Khenchela movement. I am not afraid of death: Free people with convictions do not fear death in order to save and change Algeria.
In a campaign of solidarity with the captive politician, some users of social media platforms launched a campaign #Save_Rasid_Nekkaz or #save_rachid_nekaz in late January to condemn his imprisonment and demand his release along with that of other political detainees, and calls have increased to organize stands in his support.
Twitter blogger Houyem Menager wrote:
#Rachid_Nekkez avait abandonné son CONFORT de vie en #France & parti défendre l’#Algérie contre ce colonialisme mafieux qui s'était accéléré depuis la venue de #Bouteflika
En prison, pour avoir dénoncé ce régime, il est très malade & privé de soin, sa santé se dégrade de jr en jr pic.twitter.com/2M4w3hD7cq
— Houyem MENAGER هيام (@HouyemMe) January 26, 2021
Rachid Nekaz left behind the comfort in which he was living in France and went to defend Algeria against the colonial mafia that had multiplied since Bouteflika came. Imprisoned for denouncing the regime, he is very ill and his health is deteriorating day by day.
In a video clip published on February 7, Nekkaz's wife Cecile Roux said she was obliged by Nekkaz's deteriorating health and upon his request, to end her years-long silence, and the distancing of herself and her son from the political sphere. She appealed to the Algerian government to activate articles of the law regulating prison and the reintegration of prisoners’ social welfare, which allows for the temporary release of a prisoner for health reasons.
Nekkaz is one of the strongest opponents of the shale gas project in the Algerian desert, and he has used his Facebook account as a platform to expose former officials involved in corruption cases. On the international level, Nekkaz showed solidarity with several issues, including the Muslim minority in Myanmar and the violence it is subjected to, and he was called “Niqab Defender” in Europe after he paid huge fines on behalf of Muslim women wearing the niqab in the continent.
Nekkaz, who held the French nationality, tried to run in the 2006 French presidential race but failed to collect the votes required for candidacy; he also ran in the presidential elections in Algeria against Bouteflika after renouncing his French citizenship.

author: رضا حربي


text:
Downtown Kingston’s new murals brighten Jamaica’s COVID-19 gloom · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

A street view perspective of the murals by Kingston Creative. Photo by Stuart Reeves, courtesy Kingston Creative, used with permission.
On March 10, 2020, Jamaica confirmed its first case of COVID-19. Since that day, Jamaica’s economy, in common with the rest of the world, has been reeling. The creative sector, which had begun to show many “green shoots” prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, has been particularly hard hit, but it is forging ahead thanks to novel ideas, financial support and the brave spirit of entrepreneurship.
Andrea Dempster-Chung, executive director of the non-profit Kingston Creative, who has been speaking up for the sector, told Global Voices:
It is hard to reflect on 2020 without acknowledging the severity of the blow that creative people in Jamaica have been dealt. Only the creative or entrepreneur that makes their living from events, performances, creative products or cultural tours and heritage can really understand the impact of this year financially, and even psychologically. Creatives, already societally undervalued and often working gig to gig were brought to an absolute halt.
Nevertheless, Jamaica’s ever-resilient creatives are fighting back. After the initial “shock” of the country's first lockdown, Dempster-Chung says, Kingston Creative decided to proceed with its Artisan Collective Store and its Creative Hub. Both opened in June 2020, these two new creative spaces in downtown Kingston offer everything from retail and co-working locations to digital/podcasting studios and other creative-based resources:
We […] capitalised on the quieter streets to erect scaffolding and complete larger scale murals and street art, expanding the placemaking project […] that is defining the Downtown Kingston Art District.
In the latest phase of its “Paint the City” project, Kingston Creative contracted 10 Jamaican artists for a series of murals in the Water Lane area of the city.
The Tourism Enhancement Fund and Sherwin-Williams paint company helped sponsor the artwork for the initiative, which is supported by the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporations and the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, a First 50 Founder of UNESCO's Creative City of Music.
The non-profit’s efforts to keep Jamaica’s artists, dancers, musicians and writers afloat and producing new work received a major boost through a partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Dempster-Chung says this has gone a long way to helping 2021 look much brighter:
The United Nations declared 2021 the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development and the Inter-American Development Bank approved a multi-million dollar three-year partnership with Kingston Creative, called CREATECH.
This partnership with IDB Lab will deliver immersive technologies, new digital platforms and enhance global market access for [Jamaican] creatives. The programme will be delivered through the Creative Hub […] introducing new commercial and capacity-building projects to grow the ecosystem, develop creative entrepreneurs and ready them to take advantage of new opportunities.
For a country like Jamaica, she believes, “with so much raw talent, culture and heritage,” this investment signals a great sense of hope. The murals have brought greater energy and vibrancy to downtown Kingston during the challenging times of the pandemic, and point the way to a brighter future. Check them out, along with the artists’ statements, below.
Mural by Jamaica-based artist Rebecca Levy. Image by Stuart Reeves, courtesy Kingston Creative, used with permission.
“The artwork represents a masked person—the mask has been covered as a bouquet—the straps are still missing, but they can be soft and ribbon-like. I was thinking this would both bring light to the current COVID safety issues, but also introduce more beauty and floral elements that break up and refresh [the] concrete space surrounding.” – Rebecca Levy
Mural by Jamaica-based artist Richard Smith. Image courtesy Kingston Creative, used with permission.
“A realist artist, my works emulate and dominate cultural heritage and how our ancestors overcome hardships to make independent Jamaica. This mural, through a series of bold colours, will give energy, inspiration and strength to the community of Water Lane and its environs as an expression of freedom. This woman sacrificed all her life and can now embrace happiness. The story of resilience, determination and freedom.” – Richard Smith
Mural by Jamaica-based artist Joshua Solas. Image courtesy Kingston Creative, used with permission.
“Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert was not only a pioneer of reggae but a cultural icon. He was known to be a warm person and one that took care of his people. He had a lifelong career of cultural influence that transcends [his] music. In my practice, I like to use current articles and imagery from newspapers to reflect time and its relation to the subject matter; using these articles could be a great way to highlight Toots’ legacy. Though he is no longer with us, his music and legacy will live on forever.” – Joshua Solas
Mural by Jamaica-based artist Zohria Allen. Image courtesy Kingston Creative, used with permission.
“My design stems from my personal experience and observation as an educator. The drawing depicts children in inner-city communities who face challenging circumstances and are […] struggling with social issues such as poverty, crime, single parenting, and shrunken ability to make positive choices. It is my intent that the mural serves as a voice in request of protection and maintaining of the children’s rights and wellbeing.” – Zohria Allen
With this level of beauty and creativity imbuing Jamaica's capital, the pandemic may prove just a little easier to bear.

author: Emma Lewis


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English soccer authorities suspend foreign star for a ‘racist’ remark, but it was nothing of the kind · Global Voices
Dariela Sosa

Edinson Cavani, Uruguay and Manchester United striker. Photo by Ben Sutherland/Flickr under CC BY 2.0
This article was originally published on Persuasion and is edited by Global Voices.
Edinson Cavani was ecstatic. Manchester United’s star Uruguayan striker had scored two cinematic goals in a dramatic, come-from-behind 3-2 win against Southampton in England’s Premier League. His friend from back home, Pablo Fernández, sent congratulations on Instagram, to which Cavani answered, using Fernández’s lifelong nickname: “Gracias negrito.”
There, his troubles began. Some in the British media seized upon Cavani’s reply of last November as being racially offensive, so the player hurriedly apologized, and took down the Instagram post. But it was too late. The English Football Association—while finding “no intent on the part of the player to be discriminatory or offensive in any way”—still fined him £100,000 (around US$135,000), and suspended him for three games.
To us Latin Americans, the story was just short of incomprehensible. “Negrito”—the diminutive of the word for “black”—sounds aggressive in English. But, as Uruguay’s National Academy of Letters noted, in Spanish it’s not offensive; it’s a term of endearment. It’s not even particularly racialized: Plenty of white people are nicknamed negrito, including, as it happens, Cavani’s friend. (His hair is black.)
“Unfortunately,” a statement from the Uruguayan Players’ Union read, “through its sanction, the English Football Association expresses absolute ignorance and disdain for a multicultural vision of the world.” The South American Football Confederation, CONMEBOL, also expressed its support for Cavani. One Uruguayan winery began marketing a new “Gracias Negrito” vintage.
It’s easy to see this as the latest case of Context Collapse—the inevitable misunderstanding that arises on social media when content produced for one audience reaches a separate audience primed to take offense. But it goes further than that. The Cavani case shows how the U.S.A.’s racial debates are being globalized via the export of a radical form of antiracist ideology that sees appeals to context or cross-cultural understanding as excuse-making for bigots.
Let’s be clear: Afro-descendants in Latin America face definite disadvantages. According to a 2018 World Bank report, Afro-descendants in the region are 2.5 times more likely to live in chronic poverty than whites or mestizos (people of mixed ancestry). They also have fewer years of schooling on average, higher unemployment rates and less representation in decision-making positions, both public and private.
However, the situation is more complex than the simplistic black/white paradigm that pervades American debates over race. For example, the indigenous population of Latin America is around 50 million people, who belong to almost 500 different ethnic groups. Material poverty affects 43 per cent of indigenous households in the region, and extreme poverty is 2.7 times greater than in the rest of the population. Above all, racial identification and dynamics in Latin America are far more fluid than in the United States or Britain.
What’s hardest for my Anglo friends to grasp is that race in Latin America is context dependent: People with the same skin tone and physical appearance may choose to identify differently depending on where they are, what they’re doing, who they’re with. Race isn’t fixed for us—which is one reason that racialized terms in Spanish don’t carry anything like the sting they do in English.
I should know. My last name is Sosa because the grandmother of my paternal grandfather adopted the surname of her “owners.” Her parents had been kidnapped in what is now Angola and ended up working at a ranch in Choroni, Venezuela. Growing up in Caracas, my race would switch back and forth seamlessly, depending on whom I was hanging out with. Back in high school, when I did a Spice Girls choreography with a group of girlfriends, I was Mel B, “Scary Spice”—my hair is curly and my nose is wide, and my friends were all lighter-skinned than I, so in that context I was Black. Later, when I volunteered in a community with darker-skinned kids, they all called me “catira” (“blondie”) because of my lighter-than-Caribbean-average skin color. Ask me what my race is, and the only honest answer I can give is … it depends.
In our region, where race-mixing (mestizaje or mestiçagem) was often the norm starting in the 19th century, we have a far more complex color system than just black or white: Brazilians, for example, use more than 130 terms to describe shades of skin color. Trying to make sense of these categories using Anglo-American racial categories is hopeless—that’s just not how we think about these things.
Paula Salerno—a linguist who founded Discursopolis, the online Spanish-language text analysis tool—told me that banning a given word regardless of the context in which it is used assumes that words exist in isolation from how we use them. To a linguist, that is nonsense.
In Spanish-language media, there was near universal astonishment at the sanction Cavani received. “Unfair” and “disproportionate” were the words that came up most often. Try as I might, I could not find one antiracism organization unequivocally and officially supporting the punishment.
However, some activists in the region did think the fine and the three-match ban were justified. Sandra Chagas, an Afro-Uruguayan antiracism activist, supported it—but only when I pressed her to take a stand. “It has racist connotations with reminiscences of slavery,” she told me by phone. His punishment “is like a ticket for parking your vehicle in the wrong place: It doesn’t matter that you did it with good intentions or without knowing that it was banned.”
But Alejandro Mamani, who speaks for Identidad Marrón (Brown Identity), an online collective for brown-skinned Latin Americans, rejected the sanction. He argued that we should distinguish between expressions like “negrito” that have positive connotations and expressions that use “negro” as a pejorative term, like “mercado negro” (“black market”) or “magia negra” (“black magic”).
The English Football Association has in recent years supported a zero-tolerance policy toward racism. Considering the lamentable history of aggressive racism against players and among fans, this initiative is long overdue. Racism and hooliganism plagued stadiums, most notoriously during the 1980s, with Black players tormented with abuse and expected to play even as thugs in the stands threw bananas at them. Belatedly, the authorities cracked down, and English soccer stadiums are very different places today. Even so, players are still subjected to racism, especially via social media. So the Football Association is eager to support antiracist initiatives, and what could be wrong about that?
Ask Cavani. Applied without regard for social, cultural and linguistic context, antiracism efforts risk becoming a caricature of themselves, driving a wedge between people of different cultures rather than bringing them together, as soccer does so impressively around the globe, engaging people of all origins and colors in team efforts. The English Football Association, with its over-the-top sanction of Cavani, managed instead to show only mindless adherence to a brand of maximalist Anglo-American antiracism ideology that does little to combat racism itself.
Rather than exporting its hair-trigger racial neuroses, the Anglosphere should consider whether there is something positive to import from Latin Americans in how we reckon with the vast complexity of identity rather than seeking binary opposition—and, in the best cases, how we acknowledge superficial differences with affection in a way that takes the sting out of racial terms.

author: Dariela Sosa