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Japanese PM’s ‘Triple Disaster’ Response to ISIS Ransom Demands · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

“Abe completely clueless.” – Nikkan Gendai; video screenshot courtesy of YouTube user Railgunmani.
After efforts to free two hostages captured by ISIS failed, questions are being raised about the Japanese government's approach to the crisis.
One journalist and academic wonders if a speech by Japanese Prime Minister Abe in Cairo on January 18 may have set the crisis in motion.
On January 21, 2014, militant group ISIS gave Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a 72 hour deadline to pay a $200 million ransom for the two hostages.
On the same day, ISIS released a video that showed two kneeling men dressed in orange clothing being threatened by a masked, knife-wielding man. In the video, their captor warned the two they would be killed unless the Japanese government paid a ransom of $200 million within 72 hours.
When the deadline expired on Friday, January 23 with no ransom paid to free Japanese nationals Kenji Goto, 47, and Haruna Yukawa, 42, ISIS then said it would release a statement about its intentions “soon”, according to Japanese state broadcaster NHK. NHK had in fact been in direct contact with ISIS early Friday after the deadline passed.
With the passing of the deadline on Friday and uncertainty whether or not the two hostages would live or die, increasing attention was being paid in the Japanese press about the Abe government's missteps during the crisis.
“Japanese Prime Minister Abe committed a triple fiasco” when responding to the crisis, claimed a widely read article by tabloid daily Nikkan Gendai.
What did Abe do wrong, according to Nikkan Gendai?
1) Abe dispatched a notably pro-Israel Japanese lawmaker to Jordan to deal with the crisis.
Strike 1, according to Nikkan Gendai‘s analysis, was Prime Minister Abe's decision to send Yasuhide Nakayama, a deputy Minister of Foreign affairs, to Jordan to coordinate Japan's response to the crisis.
Nakayama has long been seen as being close to Israel, something problematic when dealing ISIS, which as a nominally Islamic organization, according to Nikkan Gendai, naturally holds antipathy towards Israel.
And sending someone known to be aligned with Israel to coordinate with Arab countries to release the hostages was a misstep as well, Nikkan Gendai asserts.
2) Abe delivered his response to ISIS's demands standing in front of an Israeli flag.
According to Nikkan Gendai's analysis, Strike 2 was Abe's decision to “resolutely condemn” ISIS's ransom demands as “despicable acts of terrorism” while standing in front of an Israeli flag in Jerusalem.
Unfortunately for Prime Minister Abe, ISIS released its video of the hostages and its ransom demands during his state visit to Israel. Presumably, the emergency media briefing was held in the very same space where hours earlier Abe and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had held a joint press conference promising greater collaboration between the two countries.
But that was no excuse for Abe to respond to ISIS in front of an Israeli flag, which Nikkan Gendai calls “clueless”, guaranteeing little support for Japan from the rest of the Arab world.
3) By immediately stating Japan would never pay a ransom, Abe effectively delivered a death sentence to the two men.
On January 21, the day ISIS released its ransom demands, Masahiko Komura, a senior member of Japan's governing party, stated that Japan would never pay. This effectively signed the death sentence for the two hostages, says Nikkan Gendai.
The Nikkan Gendai article's term “triple fiasco” (３大失態) is a reference to the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in March 2011 that devastated Japan. By the end of Friday January 23, the term ３大失態 had already generated dozens of online discussions on the Japanese internet.
More mistakes
Others have identified other strategic blunders made by Prime Minister Abe over the past week as he tried to resolve the crisis.
Several Japanese journalists familiar with the Middle East were critical of Abe's performance when interviewed by the Japan Times.
Besides responding to ISIS in Israel, other errors include deciding to coordinate the negotiation effort from Jordan which practically speaking has no ability to help end the crisis. Abe also chose to reach out to British Prime Minister David Cameron for help, rather than to seek assistance from Turkey.
While Turkey has much better track record negotiating with ISIS and other militant groups, Britain has always refused to meet ransom demands (and thereby ensuring the death of British hostages). There is also the possibility that Britain and its partner the US may pressure Japan to reject meeting ISIS's ransom demands.
Japanese journalist and academic Kimio Haruna speculates about yet another fiasco dating back to January 18 that may have precipitated the entire hostage crisis.
Abe's trip to Israel was part of a longer six-day visit to the several countries in the Middle East, accompanied by more than 100 government officials and presidents of Japanese companies.
On January 18, Abe visited Egypt, where, says Haruna, he made a what in some contexts may have been interpreted as a pugnacious speech that may have prompted ISIS to respond with its demands for a massive ransom of $200 million.
In his January 18 speech in Egypt, Abe pledged $200 million dollars for “those countries contending with ISIL”, the same dollar figure ISIS would demand from Japan three days later.
What's more interesting, Haruna points out (as does Nikkan Gendai), is that the text of the Japanese version of the speech that is posted on the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website differs in several ways from the official English translation, which adopts a softer tone towards ISIS — potentially the blunder that set off the hostage crisis in the first place.
Haruna compares the official Japanese text and English translation of Abe's speech in Cairo, starting with the Japanese version:
「イラク、シリアの難民・避難民支援、トルコ、レバノンへの支援をするのは、ISILがもたらす脅威を少しでも食い止めるためです。地道な人材開発、インフラ整備を含め、ISILと闘う周辺各国に、総額で2億ドル程度、支援をお約束します」
We are also going to support Turkey and Lebanon. All that, we shall do to help curb the threat ISIL poses. I will pledge assistance of a total of about 200 million U.S. dollars for those countries contending with ISIL, to help build their human capacities, infrastructure, and so on.
Haruna then carefully compares and analyzes the statements word by word, noting that the acronym ISIL is short for “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.” He explains that while the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs uses the term ISIL, the Japanese media does not, opting for ISIS instead when referring to the militant group that is threatening to execute two Japanese citizens.
Haruna continues:
まず、援助の提供先は、日本語で「ISILと闘う周辺各国」、英語ではthose countries contending with ISIL としているところが気になる。書面だと「闘う」だが、首相が読むと「戦う」とは区別が付かない。英語はcontending。contendは「闘う」場合も「戦う」場合も「論争する」場合も使う。ボクシングの対戦相手はcontenderという。とすれば、「イスラム国」と闘っている国への援助だから、必ずしも軍事援助か、人道援助か明確にされていないことになる。
援助の目的は、日本語ではイラク、シリアの難民・避難民に向けて「ISILがもたらす脅威を少しでも食い止めるため」、英語ではto help curb the threat ISIL poses となっている。英語の方がやや強く、逐語的には、ISIL がもたらす脅威を抑制するのを助けるため、と訳せる。
いずれにしてもISの「脅威」に対する対応策である。
In the Japanese version of the speech, the $200 million in aid is promised to “those countries combating ISIL.” I noticed this becomes “those countries contending with ISIL” in the English version of the speech. While if you read the actual speech, you would realize Abe is actually saying 闘う (“tatakau”) rather than 戦う (also pronounced “tatakau”), but the two words are homonyms. So if you heard the speech without reading the text, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
In English the verb 闘うcan mean “to contend with”, and it can mean to fight or battle someone or something. It can also mean to have a dispute with someone. One's opponent in a boxing match is called a “contender.” And so, thanks to this ambiguity it's totally unclear if the $200 million in humanitarian aid is being promised to countries that are dealing ISIS, or instead $200 million in military aid is being promised to countries combating ISIS…
…According the Japanese version of the speech, the purpose of the aid is “check” the threat ISIS poses. In the English version, it's to “curb” the threat ISIS poses. The English version is slightly more forceful in tone. Taken verbatim, it could mean the aid will be used to help actively neutralize the threat of ISIS.
In any case. the promised aid is provided with the intention of somehow countering ISIS in the region.
As of Friday, January 23, the fate of the hostages remained unknown, but according to some commentators, the Abe government's response has been a triple disaster of haplessness. And the entire crisis may have been ignited by a speech Abe made in Cairo in the first place.

author: Nevin Thompson


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The Secret Language of Turkey’s LGBT Community · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

A drawing of Sevval Kilic by Mine Bethet. Credit: Courtesy of Mine Bethet. Published with PRI's permission.
This article and a radio report by Dalia Mortada for The World in Words originally appeared on PRI.org on January 14, 2015 and is republished as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Sevval Kilic is a couple of inches shy of six feet. Her hair, various shades of light brown, rests at the middle of her back, and her eyes, outlined by long lashes, look like perfectly drawn almonds.
She has one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen, and it’s infectious. She looks much younger than her 40 years, and she likes to reminisce about the good old days when she made good money.
“In my day,” she reminisces, “I was shopping. I was shopping as hell … my shoes, just my shoes …” she trails off, giggling. That was in the 1990s, when Sevval lived in a neighborhood notorious for its unregistered brothels. She was 19 when she moved in.
Today, the quiet lane in central Istanbul looks much like it did in the 90s. But the sounds that fill the street are completely different.
A lady washing her windows on the third floor takes a break to chat with a neighbor hollering hello from the street. It’s not, as it once was, packed with guys taking their pick of sexual adventures for the night. No catcalls descend from the windows like they did a couple of decades ago, like the kind of catcall Sevval used to attract clients: “Psh psh, psh psh — this is the way,” Sevval explains, “or sfoot sfoot.” Just a small, subtle sound to catch a guy’s attention.
In Turkey, prostitution is legal with a license and state-run brothels have an intense registration process. But Sevval and her colleagues were not eligible: The state did not, and still does not, accept transitioning women or gay men. Sevval had not completed her transition to becoming a woman when she signed up for her brothel.
Ulker St in Istanbul used to be part of a red-light district. The streetwalkers have long since moved on. Credit: Dalia Mortada. Published with PRI's permission
In fact, she arrived with just her boy clothes. One of the more experienced women took her under her wing. “She took care of me like a real mom. She washed me, she fed me, she dressed me, she taught me everything about working, about secrecy,” she says. Secrecy included using a secret slang, or as linguists call it, an argot, called Lubunca.
Lubunca is how Sevval and her colleagues talked to each other about their work in front of clients or the cops. It uses Turkish sentences and grammar, but certain words are replaced. The words Sevval used were related to her work. There are terms for hair and make-up, sex positions and different types of clients. “Let's say there's a rich customer and the girl in the front apartment yells, ‘It's a hundred dollar customer!’ That’s bir but baari, Sevval explains.
Bir is the Turkish word for “one” and “but” means thigh or rump, like a large cut of meat. “Bari” is like saying “at least.” These are all Turkish words, but the way they’re strung together means you wouldn’t understand unless you knew Lubunca.
Other words in the slang come from different languages. “Some of the core elements of Lubunca come from other minority languages that haven't been spoken very much for quite some time,” Nicholas Kontovas explains. Kontovas is a socio-historical linguist who has studied the origins of Lubunca. He explains that most of the words come from Romani — the language of ethnic Roma, or gypsies, who live in Turkey.
There are words from Greek, Kurdish and Bulgarian, too. Kontovas explains that people from these communities have, to a greater or lesser extent, been outcasts in Turkish society, so they tend to live in the same city neighborhoods. That’s how Lubunca picked up its foreign feel.
Kontovas says the words from Lubunca are intimately tied to these neighborhoods and to meeting spots within those neighborhoods. The Turkish word for an Ottoman style bathhouse, for example, is hamam. In Lubunca, it’s tato which comes from the Romani word for warm. “The fact that there's a word for hamam is pretty telling. The queer slang varieties that were used beforehand, at least what is recorded, were predominantly used in hamams,” which is where male sex work took place during the Ottoman empire, Kontovas says.
Of course, Lubunca has evolved. The terms for sex organs and positions get pretty creative — and are not appropriate for publishing. Terms for flirting are pretty crafty, too. “Badem alikmak, which is also to eye up. Badem, meaning almond, obviously in reference to shape of the eye,” Kontovas describes. “There's another thing that's great, which is badem sekeri, which is ‘almond candy,’ which is eye candy,” he adds.
The World in Words podcast is on Facebook and iTunes.
With support from the National Endowment for the Humanities

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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World Leaders’ Paris March Participation Provokes Wave of Criticism · Global Voices
Abir Kopty

Je suis Charlie Sheen. One of the many memes which surfaced online after the attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this month.
When criticizing something becomes banal, people turn to sarcasm, and the Internet accelerates this process profoundly. Earlier this month, many Internet users responded to images of world leaders at the Paris march against terrorism with a wave of criticism and memes meant to convey their feelings of anger, frustration, and distrust.
The participation of more than 40 world leaders took place in an area separated from ordinary demonstrators. Many of the dignitaries in attendance came from states with their own human rights and terrorism problems. Add to this the public's rage following attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket, which claimed the lives of 17 people, and it's not hard to understand why the atmosphere online has become tense indeed.
The Simpsons! (Shared anonymously online.)
From Ramallah, Palestine, Ahmad Al-Nimer suggests faces he thinks were missing from the Paris march, such as Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Muammar Al Gaddafi, and North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
Here try to swallow this satire. The missing faces in today #ParisMarch pic.twitter.com/qNyZhoaaDT
— Ⓐhmad (@ANimer) January 11, 2015
Writing on Facebook, Ziad Khilleh shares a bit of Syrian humor, suggesting that the only legitimate marches from a Syrian official perspective are presumably those glorifying Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad. What other marches could even be possible, even in Paris, after all?
Ziad Khilleh shared on Facebook. We love you, Bashar!
Sherif Azer imagines ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak saluting the Paris crowd ahead of the march:
Sherif Azer shared on Facebook. Mubarak says Hello.
The fact that many of these leaders are themselves suspected of committing acts of terror and other various crimes wasn't lost on Internet users.
Terrorists Against Terrorism. (Shared anonymous online.)
“Definition of Hypocrisy” and infographics. Shared by @carlosezln and others on twitter. (Shared anonymously online.)
Muhammad Khalid shared this on Facebook. March against Terror?
In zoomed-out photographs of the Paris march and the world leaders’ procession, the separation between the politicians and the ordinary people was quite prominent:
Democracia real YA! Madrid shared on Facebook. “El Pueblo y los Hipócritas”-“The people and the hypocrites”
Were politicians to catch wind of these memes inspired by their Paris march “participation,” it's anybody's guess what they might think.

author: Abir Kopty


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A Tajik Bazaar Director Accused of Beating an Orphan to Death Faces Public Fury · Global Voices
Abdulfattoh Shafiev

The Nazari Nek bazaar was the scene of an alleged murder of an orphan that turned to thievery. Screenshot from YouTube video uploaded January 20.
Tajik Facebook users are in shock at the behaviour of a bazaar director in the north of the country after he admitted to beating a 17-year-old orphan to death and seriously injuring another. The bazaar director had previously caught the pair stealing money worth roughly $70 and food from a grocery outlet based within the premises of the Nazari Nek bazaar in Bobojon Ghafurov district.
Witnesses have told media that the two teenagers — residents of a local school-orphanage in the region — shouted “we were hungry”, when they were caught by Nazari Nek's owner Rustam Jurayev and his guards January 17 before being escorted to a closed room. One of the two boys died while inside the room. The second boy remains hospitalised. The director and the guards confessed their guilt in front of police in footage broadcasted by a provincial television station January 20.
Speaking in Tajik, the narrator of the January 20 provincial television report condemns the 39-year-old director for participating in the beating, noting that he owned several luxurious houses, a fleet of expensive cars and had made a pilgrimage to Mecca, a feat few in the majority Muslim republic ever manage to achieve. According to Save the Children, there are roughly 8,000 children living in poorly-funded state-run institutions in Tajikistan.
In Tajikistan ‘Money Means More than a Human Life’
In a popular public Facebook group Ya Dushanbinets-2 (I am a Dushanbe Resident), most users railed against the bazaar director. Several calls by users of the group to lynch Jurayev have not been included in this report.
Said Sasha Beorn:
Хотелось бы чтобы в тюрьме ему было не весело.
I hope he will not have a joyful time in a prison.
Samijan Nasirjanov called others in the group not to issue judgement on the crime until all facts were clear:
Не судите,от тюрмы и сумы не зарекаются. Он же не хотел убивать. Он избивал вора, у него не было информации, что вор сирота и кушать хочет, но так вышло, что убил его. Никому не желаю попасть в такую ситуацию.
Do not judge, no one is safe from bad luck. He did not want to kill. He beat a thief, and he did not know that the boy was an orphan and wanted to eat. But it happened that he killed him. I do not wish anyone to be in the same situation.
Olim Abidov responded:
Самиджан, я смотрел сегодня видео, где он и его охраник сказали что ребята говорили им что они сироты с интерната и после того как запинали до смерти мальчишку директор базара хотел с имитировать все так как буто у мальчишки был нож, а директор в целях самообороны переборщил.
Samijan, I watched the video, where he and his guard said they were told by the boys that they are orphans from the orphanage. After beating the boy to death, the director wanted to stage the story like the boy attacked him with a knife and he just defended himself.
Aj Sharipov argued that the bazaar director's actions were not those of a religious man:
Во первых, если этот урод Ходжи, то он был обязан объяснить человеческим языком, что воровать это плохо! И пристроил бы их в какую нибудь точку на своем Харом бозоре, а не руки распускать и заниматься самосудом!  Я надеюсь он будет гнить кусая локти.
Firstly, if this scum is a hoji [person that has completed the pilgrimage to Mecca], he should have explained to the boys that theft is bad! He could have given them a job in his bazaar, rather than beating and lynching them. I hope he will rot in regret.
In general, users of the popular group were simply overwhelmed at how an incident of petty theft had led to such extreme violence:
Мир поменялся… Можно соглашаться с этим или нет, но сегодня, действительно, деньги стоят куда дороже человеческой жизни. И, как видно из этой истории, даже небольшие деньги…
The world has changed. Agree with this or not, but today, money really does mean more than a human life. As we see from this story, this even [applies to] a small amount of money.
Seemingly in response to the public outcry, Tajikistan's long-time President Emomali Rahmon spoke January 23 of the need for an ombudsman focussed on children's rights in the country.

author: Abdulfattoh Shafiev


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Another Day, Another Violent Police Crackdown Against Protesters in Brazil · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Police shoots stunt grenades, tear gas bombs and rubber bullets in front of the City Hall in São Paulo, January 16. Photo by Felipe Larozza/MPL, usage is free.
A second demonstration against the rise in bus, subway and train fares organized by the Free Pass Movement (MPL) in São Paulo, Brazil on January 16, once again ended in violence.
A total of 20,000 people gathered for the protest, according to the organizers (2,000, according to police). From the very beginning of the demonstration, tension was present with at least 1,000 police officers surrounding the protesters. Independent media collective Mídia Ninja described the scene:
Até as 20h33, a manifestação vinha bem, apesar de a PM ter detido um manifestante pelo “pecado” de carregar uma rodinha de skate na mochila. Jogaram-no no chão como a um saco de lixo, imobilizaram-no. Logo ele foi solto. Também explodiu um artefato de gás lacrimogêneo na frente do Ministério do Trabalho, na rua da Consolação 1272…
Mas a passeata seguiu firme e organizada, apesar de duas agências bancárias (uma da Caixa Econômica Federal e outra do Banco do Brasil) terem sido depredadas não se sabe nem por quem.
Era alta a tensão reinante.
Until 20:33, the demonstration wore on without incident, despite the fact that the military police arrested a protester for the “sin” of carrying a skateboard wheel in his backpack. They threw him to the ground like a bag of garbage, immobilized him. Soon he was released. [Police] [a]lso blew up a tear gas device in front of the Ministry of Labour, on the street of Consolação 1272 …
But the march continued on, resolute and organized, despite two bank agencies (the Caixa Econômica Federal and the Banco do Brasil) being vandalized by unknown people.
It was the reigning high tension.
Website Ponte recorded and posted a video of the moment a protester, Osvaldo Carvalhosa, was arrested at Consolação street. Still, despite the few bombs and the tear gas, the demonstration remained calm and walked towards the City Hall. That was when real clashes began.
Thousands walk at Consolação Street. Photo by MPL, usage is free.
A video of the protest marching at Consolação street was published by YouTube user k4rshh:
Journalist Fausto Salvadori recorded and posted on his Facebook a video of the police throwing stun grenades, tear gas bombs and rubber bullets against those who were gathered in front of the City Hall:
Isso aconteceu a poucos metros de nossa equipe, que quase foi atingida pelas primeiras bombas. A versão da @PMESP, portanto, é falsa. — (@PodemosMaisBR) 17 janeiro 2015
This happened a few meters from our team, which was almost hit by the first bombs. The military police's version is therefore false.
Many videos are coming to light with scenes of violence perpetrated by the police. Collective Território Livre published a photo of a demonstrator who was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.
Journalist Charles Nisz also tweeted:
Alguém jogou uma garrafa plástica no escudo do Choque. A PM respondeu com bombas de gás. Dworkin chamaria de falta de proporcionalidade — (@charlesnisz) 16 janeiro 2015
Someone threw a plastic bottle at the shield of the shock [batallion]. The military police responded with tear gas. Dworkin would call it lack of proportionality
Photo of the alleged molotov cocktail. Photo by Ben Taverner, published with permission
Magazine Carta Capital reported it was actually a beer bottle thrown at a police officer's shield. Police Marshall Victor Fedrizzi stated that a “rojão”, a type of firework, was launched at the police, though some witnesses say that police bombs preceded any fireworks.
Activist Bruno Bonsanti tweeted:
Uma garrafa, bombas. Isso, certinho, totalmente proporcional. — (@brunobonsanti) 16 janeiro 2015
A bottle, bombs. Yes, just right, fully proportional.
Website Ponte recorded a short  video of people running to escape the police and denounced that they were attacked with pepper spray while trying to approach a woman who had passed out from the fumes. On the other hand, journalist Ben Taverner condemned the use of a molotov cocktail by a protester:
Molotov c'tails, fireworks & glass thrown at police who respond with tear gas and stun grenades. Arrests made pic.twitter.com/7EyHG4oNqA — Ben Tavener (@BenTavener) 16 janeiro 2015
He caught on video the moment when what is believed to be a molotov cocktail is thrown at the police. When watched in slow motion, it's possible to see that the police starts shooting (possibly stun grenades and tear gas) before the alleged homemade bomb hits the ground.
Stills of a video (link on the end of the post) showing people running in the streets and being targeted by the police.
He also added on his blog:
The MPL said it believed at least 13 people were arrested, and that police had prevented lawyers and legal observers from carrying out their duties. Police had not yet disclosed final arrest tallies at the time of writing.
The protest movement later accused the police of targeting protesters disproportionately with “gratuitous attacks”, but police released video that purported to show protesters attacked police first.
The military police's official Twitter account stated fireworks were shot against them and their police cars. On the other hand, journalist Jessica Santos argued:
Eu não estava na Prefeitura, mas estava no teatro e só escutamos fogos de artifício depois de pelos menos 4 ou 5 bombas. Então fica difícil considerar que foram os fogos que motivaram a ação.
I wasn't at the City Hall, but was at the theater and [we] only heard fireworks after at least 4 or 5 bombs. So it is difficult to assume that these were the fireworks that led to action.
Journalist Pedro Zambada agrees with Jessica, stating that “The bombs of the Military Police detonated first. Because they didn't want us to get to the Secretariat of Transport”. Other sources agree.
PSTU (Unified Socialist Workers Party) posted a video on its YouTube channel with scenes of the police repression in front of City Hall:
Professor Eduardo Sterzi accused the police of using violence against citizens and asked for the abolition of the military police:
Se vocês pudessem ver o desespero de uma mãe, com sua filha de uns cinco anos, ambas chorando muito, tentando fugir das bombas dessa polícia covarde, entenderiam que não basta desmilitarizar esse bando de assassinos. É preciso extinguir a instituição e punir seus integrantes e mandantes.
If you could see the desperation of a mother with her daughter about five years old, both crying a lot, trying to escape this coward police's bombs, you would understand that demilitarizing his murderous gang is not enough. We must extinguish the institution and punish its members and leaders.
Collective Ocupa Sampa jokingly tweeted:
Muita bomba! Policia ataca novamente a manifestação. É bomba democratica para dispersar a revolta popular. #contraTarifa #passeLivre
— Ocupa Sampa (@OcupaSampa) 16 janeiro 2015
A lot of bombs! Police again attacked the demonstration. It's democratic bomb to disperse the popular uprising. #AgainstFare #FreePass
- Ocupa Sampa (OcupaSampa) January 16, 2015
Both professor Pablo Ortellado and the MPL accused the media, specifically São Paulo's two biggest newspapers Folha de São Paulo and O Estado de São Paulo, of criminalizing demonstrators, just like in 2013, when their own journalists were targeted and wounded:
Folha e Estado: vocês são cúmplices da violência da polícia.
— Pablo Ortellado (@pablo_ortellado) 17 janeiro 2015
Uma parte da responsabilidade pelos ataques gratuitos da PM à manifestação está na conta da Folha e do Estado. #ContraTarifa
— MPL – São Paulo (@mpl_sp) 16 janeiro 2015
Os dois jornais de São Paulo escreveram artigos defendendo e autorizando uso ainda mais “incisivo” pela PM contra manifestantes hoje.
— MPL – São Paulo (@mpl_sp) 16 janeiro 2015
É importante lembrar que fizeram exatamente a mesma coisa em 2013, na véspera da manifestação em que PMs atiraram até mesmo em jornalistas.
— MPL – São Paulo (@mpl_sp) 16 janeiro 2015
Folha and Estado you are accomplices of police violence.
- Pablo Ortellado (pablo_ortellado) January 17, 2015
Part of the responsibility for the free Military Police attacks to the demonstration is in the account of Folha and Estado. #AgainstFare
- MPL – São Paulo (mpl_sp) January 16, 2015
The two newspapers of São Paulo wrote articles advocating and empowering the use of even more “incisive” by the PM against protesters today.
- MPL – São Paulo (mpl_sp) January 16, 2015
It's important to remember that they did exactly the same thing in 2013, on the eve of the demonstration in which the Military Police shot even journalists.
- MPL – São Paulo (mpl_sp) January 16, 2015
However, a video recorded by TV Folha, from the same media group mentioned above, Folha de S. Paulo, showed that since the beginning the intention of the military police was to brutalize those at the demonstration:
Cartoon by @kikodinucci, free to use.
Due to the violence of the military police in the previous demonstration, that ended with the temporary arrests of more than 50 protesters, the civil police will investigate the military police for torture and abuse of power.
Just like after the first demonstration, Fabio Malini, a professor and activist, published on Facebook a graphical analysis of thousands of tweets about the protests. More photos of the demonstration and of the police brutality can be seen at Midia Ninja's web page. Another demonstration, on the 20th, gathered 8 thousand people and ended up peacefully, but the 4th one, on the 24th was again attacked by the Military Police.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Cape Town’s Fancy Galada Sings to Heal Herself and Others · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

This article and a radio report by Jeb Sharp for The World as part of the Across Women's Lives project originally appeared on PRI.org on January 14, 2015 and is republished as part of a content-sharing agreement.
If you stop by Ferryman’s Tavern on the waterfront in Cape Town on a Saturday afternoon, chances are you’ll happen on a local band playing for an overflow crowd. Some of the songs are original, others are covers of old favorites. But they’re all sung with such hopeful, infectious energy — chances are you won’t be able to walk by without stopping.
The racially-mixed band is called Masala, and its vocalist is Fancy Galada. She says singing heals her. “I sometimes go on stage with burdens, but when I get that first note, I sing, I touch someone, and I get healed.”
The crowd seems to pick up on that healing power, and it resonates in a place dealing with so many wounds. Fancy grew up in a township called Langa, just outside Cape Town, during the height of the struggle against apartheid. She remembers soldiers bursting into her house and putting a gun to her chest when she was only 12. They were searching for weapons.
“They terrorized us,” she says. “That memory is still there in my heart.”
Fancy’s mother worked as a maid and nanny for white families and had to leave her own kids at home while she did so. Their father was out of the picture and, as the oldest, Fancy had to take over many family responsibilities.
“I got to cook my first [meal] at 10, because [my mother] taught me how to create a little platform so I could reach the stove and cook,” she says.
Fancy is now a working mother herself. Her daughters are 11 and 19. She makes a living with her music — but she says it’s not an easy balance.
“I am a mother first,” she says. “That’s my first priority, my two daughters. They’ve made me the person I am. They’ve grounded me, made me sensitive as a person, made me work harder. They remind me of how my mother raised me.”
Ask Fancy about women’s rights and status in South Africa today, and she’ll give you an earful.
“We still have that battle of wanting to be heard as women,” she says. “Just yesterday I saw this guy beating up a woman.”
But what she says next surprises me.
“I felt so sorry for him. Sometimes they go to a place where they’re not supposed to go. I felt sorry for him and sorry for that woman. We grew up in a place where a woman’s value was very low. They were not taken as people. We didn’t think women had value. Our society is changing, but the fight goes on.”
And so does Fancy Galada’s song.
Jeb's stories from Cape Town were produced in collaboration with South African journalist Kim Cloete.


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Tajikistan’s President Talks About Problems, Parliament Applauds?  · Global Voices
Abdulfattoh Shafiev

Tajik parliament applauds during the presidential message. Photo from President of Tajikistan's page on Flickr.
On January 23, 2015, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon addressed his country's parliament for the last time before elections in the country scheduled for March 2015.
Over its term this session the Tajik parliament — which consists mostly of representatives of Rahmon's People’s Democratic Party — was criticised sharply by civil society and users of social networks for its perceived passiveness.
These perceptions are embodied in a Facebook comment posted during the address by a local lawyer known for her oppositional views, Fayzinisso Vohidova:
Ачоиб. Президент бо як хуни чигар аз зиед шудани вайроншавии оилахо назар ба соли гузашта сухан карда, омилхои чудо шудани чавононро тахлил мекунад, вакилон карсак мезананд. Президент аз кудакони маъюби модарзод ва беморихои онхо сухан мекунад, вакилон карсак мезананд. Карсакзании вакилонро хатто набераам дарк карда гуфт, ки чаро ин кадар онхо карсак мезананд. Ман мачбур шудам бигуям, ки президент мотам дорад, вакилон ид!
Interesting. The president talks about increased numbers of divorce in comparison to last year and analyses the reasons young families fall apart; MPs clap. The president talks about disabled children and their diseases; MPs applaud. Even my grandchildren asked me why these parliamentarians applaud all the time. I had to tell him that the president is mourning, but parliamentarians are celebrating.
Tajikistan's current parliament has 63 members, only a handful of whom have shown an interest in defending voters’ rights, civic activists complain.
There are currently eight registered political parties in Tajikistan, only two of whom can be considered as real opposition — the Islamic Revival Party (IRPT) and the Social-Democratic Party of Tajikistan (SDPT). The SDPT, which has never been in the national parliament has threatened to boycott the upcoming elections as a protest at the sentencing of its deputy chairman Shuhrat Qudratov by a local court. Both parties have complained of increased pressure from government in the run up to the March vote.
Experts believe that the next parliament will also be dominated by Rahmon's party. Since Tajikistan's independence, OSCE observers have never recognized elections there as either transparent or fair.


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Thailand’s Military-Appointed Legislature Impeaches Ousted Prime Minister · Global Voices
Zashnain Zainal

Image from the Facebook page of Yingluck Shinawatra.
Thai politics became even more chaotic today when the country's former prime minister was impeached by a legislative body, which was appointed by a military-backed government.
The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) went through the motions of a secret ballot to impeach former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra over corruption related to a rice pledging scheme intended for small farmers that she supervised.
The program involved the government buying the rice output of local farmers at high a price before reselling the rice to the global market. But critics saw the rice subsidy program as a disastrous populist policy that was implemented to benefit the support base of Yingluck's party in the north part of the country.
Yingluck is the first female prime minister of the kingdom, and whose Pheu Thai party-led coalition won the election in 2011. However the military has ruled Thailand since May 2014. The military has drafted a new constitution and appointed several bodies to rule the country and implement electoral and political reforms as part of the normalization process. The NLA is one of the institutions created by the military to oversee the country's transition.
The impeachment reflected the desire of the military to block Yingluck's return to politics.
Total count from the counted secret ballots in @PouYingluck impeachment vote: 190 to 18. #ThaiJunta #Thailand
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) January 23, 2015
Security forces were on a state of alert around the parliament during the assembly.
8am in front of parliament heavy military-police to stop YL supporters. Protest ban. RT @ArmUpdate: คุมเข้มห้ามชุมนุม pic.twitter.com/WTa7lUWYvA
— แก้วมาลา Kaewmala (@Thai_Talk) January 22, 2015
Yingluck has denounced the decision of the legislature, which also banned her from holding public office for five years. She faces several criminal charges (also related to the corruption case) which could see her imprisoned for up to ten years.
Yingluck released a statement on her Facebook, after cancelling a press conference in Bangkok as requested by the authorities.
RECAP: After being barred from talking to the press by the #ThaiJunta, Yingluck issues statement on Facebook https://t.co/3Dv3g7DPF4 — Saksith Saiyasombut (@Saksith) January 23, 2015
NCPO & police at SC Park Hotel. Said they come to ask YL nicely not to hold a presser. “@capital_lism: pic.twitter.com/isiN5Lh2x5 — Ryn C. (@Ryn_writes) January 23, 2015
A translated copy of her statement, as reported on by the Pheu Thai party website, highlights:
I would like to reaffirm that I am innocent. I would like to thank the minority that voted against the impeachment. I praise you for your strength in upholding the principle of justice. Despite the fact that the process to impeach me was rushed and due process was ignored to the extent it stripped me my basic rights which every Thai citizen is entitled to, I believed that I did my best to present my case.
I insist that the Rice Pledging Scheme is beneficial for the farmers and the country, and the scheme did not incur losses as alleged. Any figures on the losses from the scheme have all been manipulated with bias towards me and with a hidden agenda used to eliminate a political opponent. Worst of all, the rice farmers’ lives have become a political tool.
In the matter of the charges filed by the Attorney General, the former prime minister also said,
It is regrettable that the many so called coincidences that I spoke of yesterday happened once again today. Just an hour before the NLA vote on impeachment, the Office of the Attorney General decided to file criminal charges against me for negligence of duty. This is in conflict with the comments made by the head of prosecuting team that there is not yet enough probable cause. The Office of the Attorney General is an institution that has long played a key role in ensuring justice. Yet their actions on this issue are deemed to be questionable.
In her statement, she decried what she called the absence of democracy and the rule of law, particularly for the farmers.
While the impeachment did not come as a surprise, some provided their analysis of the situation.
The more illegitimacy & conflict of interest are made apparent, the more awaken the people will be. #Thailand — Pravit Rojanaphruk (@PravitR) January 23, 2015
Yingluck's impeachment `more a kind of theater to give legitimacy and a sense of due process’ http://t.co/GGuqxGq9qE pic.twitter.com/LhklkbIMe4 — Tony Jordan (@tonygjordan) January 23, 2015
How would U feel if U woke up 1 day, realized U were living in Banana Republic ruled by MilitaryJunta w/o Rule of Law/civil liberties/rights — Kris Koles (@KrisKoles) January 23, 2015
#Thailand-is-#Bangkok and Bangkok-is-Thailand – Impeachment At What Cost http://t.co/HTVJu3HdmM
— John Le Fevre (@photo_journ) January 23, 2015
Troubled times are brewing, and as long as the country is under martial law, without public participation in governance and accountability, the purge of political opponents will continue.

author: Zashnain Zainal


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10 Ways Mexicans Can Reclaim Their Troubled Country, According to Denisse Dresser · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Denisse Dresser. Photo by Pablo H. Originally published in Flickr under Creative Commons License.
During the presentation of her book “Mexico, el país de uno” (the country of one's own), political commentator and author Denisse Dresser shared with attendees of her talk as well as YouTube viewers 10 ways she thinks that citizens can “regain Mexico”, a country that according to the author “has been rented to its inhabitants for far too long”. For Dresser, Mexico has for far too long “belonged to its religious leaders […] to its conquerors, to its liberals, to its dictators, to its PRI partisans, to its imperial presidents, to its monopolists, to its political parties and to its elites”.
Dresser makes reference to the ills that have made Mexico's recent history full of difficult challenges. From corruption in politics to social inequalities, Mexico's path has not been free of hardship, specially for the poor. The most recent troubles are deeply connected with drug-related violence, and the war on drugs. This has also resulted in what Dresser sees as a certain indifference that needs to surpassed, so Mexico can get back to its real owners: its citizens.
Dresser’s words are addressed to a society in difficult times; her ideas are based on facts that very difficult to be ignored. However, the challenges she listed and the hardships she reflected on can easily be those of many other countries both in the region and the world:
México vive obsesionado con el fracaso, con lo que pudo ser, pero no fue… con lo perdido, lo olvidado, lo maltratado […] Estos son tiempos nublados de muertos y heridos, de poderes fácticos y reformas que realmente no los confrontan del todo.
Mexico is obsessed with failure. With what could have been, but wasn’t. With what was lost, forgotten, mistreated […] These are foggy times of the dead and the wounded, of factual powers and reforms that don’t really deal with them completely…
Thus, to “regain Mexico”, Dresser proposed 10 simple steps, summarized here:
The full speech, in Spanish, can be seen here:
Throughout her speech, Dresser reflected on what it means to be a citizen nowadays, and what the challenges for Mexico’s new generation of citizens are. She mentioned examples, recommended authors, films, readings, and online newspapers that could encourage this change in people’s mentalities.
Another important point of the talk were the vices that have come from Mexico’s political history. Dresser laments the comeback of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI, in Spanish), the political party that ruled the country for over 70 years and which returned to power with Enrique Peña Nieto’s presidency:
Vivimos de paliativo en paliativo, del “Laberinto de la soledad” al yugo de las bajas expectativas. Y aunque es cierto que algunas de las prácticas del pasado han sido enterradas, numerosos vicios institucionales asociados con el autoritarismo y el viejo PRI siguen ahí, coartando la representación ciudadana, y la gobernabilidad democrática.
We go from palliative to palliative, from “The Labyrinth of Solitude” to the oppression of having low expectations. And even when it’s true that some of the practices of the past have been buried, numerous institutional vices associated with authoritarianism and the old PRI are still there, restricting citizen participation and democratic governability.
Mexicans have more in common with Frodo, the hobbit burdened with saving all of Middle-earth in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, than they might think, according to Dresser. She underlined how most Mexicans, like Frodo, are called to be a hero in spite of themselves:
El hobbit Frodo es un héroe renuente. Frodo no quiere asumir la tarea que le ha sido encomendada. Frodo preferiría quedarse en el Shire y vivir en paz ahí. Y en México muchos Frodos actúan así, piensan así, viven así. Prefieren criticar a los que gobiernan en lugar de involucrarse para que lo hagan mejor. Eligen la pasividad complaciente en lugar de la participación comprometida. Pero Frodo no tiene otra opción. Y ustedes, los ciudadanos mexicanos, tampoco.
Frodo, the hobbit, is a reluctant hero. Frodo doesn’t want to assume the task that has been given to him. Frodo would rather stay in The Shire and live there in peace. And in Mexico, lots of Frodos act like this, think like this, live like this. They prefer to criticize those in power instead of engaging so they can do it better. They choose obliging passivity over engaged participation. But Frodo has no choice. And you, Mexican citizens, have no choice either.
At the conclusion of her talk, Dresser summed up in a hopeful tone, reminding what is most important:
Creo que es muy emocionante ser mexicano en esta época, aunque uno tenga que coexistir con el regreso del PRI. Yo agradezco esa dádiva. No siento que seamos incambiables, no siento que seamos inamovibles, no creo que seamos inferiores a otros ni que nos merezcamos menos. Somos de la región más transparente del aire, venturosamente, somos de México.
I think it’s very exciting to be Mexican in these times, even if one has to coexist with the return of the PRI. I’m thankful for that gift. I don’t feel we’re unchangeable, I don’t feel we’re immovable, I don’t think we’re inferior or deserve less. We’re the most transparent region of the air. We’re, providentially, from Mexico.
The video of the speech has 79,000 views on YouTube and has attracted interesting comments from concerned netizens and viewers. Most of them welcomed Dresser’s ideas and shared the 10 ways that could make a good Mexican citizen, according to her.
Nevertheless, other comments were still doubtful and pessimistic, given the difficulty of the circumstances. ThousandYoung wrote:
Toda la historia ha demostrado que sólo ha habido cambios a través de una revolución a causa de un gobierno inútil o fallido. Todos los gobiernos se corrompen después de determinado tiempo. Entonces lo que se necesita es un sacrificio y otra renovación.
History has shown that change has only come through a revolution after a useless or failed government. All governments become corrupt after a certain time. Then what is needed is sacrifice, and a renewal.
But in the end, most opinions were like Alberto Escobar's, supportive of Dresser's ideas:
Me inspira esta mujer a exigir lo que merecemos
This woman inspires me to demand what we deserve.

author: Laura Vidal


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36 Killed, Internet Shut Down Briefly in DR Congo as Protests Flare Against President Kabila  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

On January 19, Congolese police in Kinshasa violently dispersed protesters opposed to the revision of the electoral law that would allow Joseph Kabila to remain in power.  35 protesters, most of them students, and 1 policeman were killed. The city of Goma was also affected by clashes that saw the arrest of many among the thousands of protesters. Kabila seeks to indirectly extend his term, which is coming to an end next year, by organizing a census that would take 3 years to complete. Kabila is barred by the constitution from seeking a third term, however his term would be automatically prolonged until the census is completed. Shortly after the protests, mobile internet and texting were shut down briefly as well as most schools in the city. Some dormitories were set ablaze during the clashes.
The Kabila administration argues that a census is necessary prior to issuing the electoral lists for the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2016. The very influential Catholic Church has backed the opposition request to forego any revision to the planned electoral calendar. The proposed revision is currently under review at the Senate.
The following citizen video taken by Kininfos on January 19 depicts a chaotic scene in the capital city as protesters try to block the streets:
Paul Nsapu, secretary general for Africa of the International Federation for Human Rights in Kinshasa, is appalled by the excessive measures taken by the government:
For the most part these people were killed while they were advancing to protest. We didn't expect the government to act in the same way as a rebel group.
The following video provides a recap of the events over the past week :
Ida Sawyer, DR Congo Researcher for Human Rights Watch, adds that the repression is in contradiction with the rights of citizens to express themselves:
Congolese security forces have fired into crowds of demonstrators with deadly results. People should be allowed to express their views and peacefully protest without the fear of being killed or arrested
CPJ's Africa Program Coordinator, Sue Valentine argues that shutting down internet and SMS communication in the country is an infringement on basic Congolese rights:
By shutting down internet and messaging services and blocking websites, Congolese authorities are denying citizens their fundamental right to communicate and to receive and impart information
Jason Stearns explains why these protests have a different feel on his Congo Siasa blog:
Students are now playing a much more important role than in 2011. The epicenter of the protests has been at the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), which has been stormed by presidential guards and police. There are over 30,000 students at the university, and hundreds of thousands of students across the country. In Bukavu, too, university students were at the forefront of demonstrations organized yesterday. In the past, the political fervor of university campuses has often been tempered when student bodies have been co-opted by political elites. This time that seems to be different.
Joseph Kabila took power in 2001 following the assassination of his father Laurent Kabila. Under Congolese law, the Congolese National Police are responsible for providing security and ensuring public order during demonstrations. The national police chief can call on the regular Congolese army to provide assistance if police forces are overwhelmed.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Yemen, a Country Without a President and Government · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

A telling cartoon about Yemen by Amjad Rasmi where the traditional Yemeni dagger (Janbiyah) worn by Yemenis is an inverted question mark instead.
Yemen, often described as a “failed state” or “on the brink“, has become a country without a president and a government. In addition to observers, Yemenis living inside the country are also perplexed by the latest dramatic developments unfolding in Yemen, which resulted in the swift takeover of its capital city, Sanaa, by the Houthi militia. The Houthi militia also took over the state media, the Presidential Palace and residence, and the Prime Minister's residence, blockading government buildings and taking over a military installation, ultimately resulting in the resignation of the Prime Minister, cabinet and president on Thursday, January 20th.
Yemeni journalist and head of Yemen Polling Center, Hafez Albukari tweeted:
Yemenis are witnessing one of the most mysterious times in the contemporary history. We r n Sanaa but don’t know what is happening! #Yemen
— Hafez Albukari (@hafezbukari) January 21, 2015
After capturing Amran mid-summer, the Houthis, a rebel group reportedly backed by Iran and who claim their movement is against corruption and embezzlement, took over Sana'a and the rest of the country last September and eventually became the de facto power in Yemen. With the signing of the Peace and National Partnership Agreement (PNPA), a power sharing deal which aimed to bring the Houthis and Southern separatists into a more inclusive government, the president was required to appoint a Prime Minister who was “neutral, without any party affiliations” within 3 days and to form a new cabinet within 30 days. However, finding a Prime Minister who would fit that criteria and be approved by all factions was a challenge.
Hisham Al-Omeisy sarcastically tweeted:
Disturbingly, this is no longer reason for delay in selecting #Yemen PM..new PM now just needs be agreeable to all! pic.twitter.com/4xkz4YPVAc
— Hisham Al-Omeisy (@omeisy) October 6, 2014
The President initially nominated Ahmed Awad Ben Mubarak, who was the Secretary General of the National Dialogue Conference (NDCYE). However, ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh and his Party, the General People's Congress (GPC), along with the Houthis, objected. Ben Mubarak who was President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi's chief of staff was kidnapped by the Houthis last Saturday, January, 17th and remains so until the writing of this post. Khaled Mahfoudh Bahah, who was at that time Yemen's envoy to the United Nations and served as oil minister, was appointed instead as Prime Minster on October 13th, 2014 and was welcomed by the Houthis. After nominations and rejections, the newly appointed cabinet which included young names and four ministerial posts assigned to women, was a promising mixture which brought optimism and hope nevertheless.
Yet the PNPA, and the best cabinet formed since 2011, did not survive for long. The Houthis militancy and never ending demands drove away initial sympathisers as the vision of a civil and less corrupt Yemen faded away. Instead of honouring their part of the agreement by withdrawing, the Houthis spread more militias and road blocks across Sana'a and kidnapped the president's chief of staff demanding changes in the draft constitution and more power, which led to the complete takeover of Sanaa in last week's events.
Waddah Othman tweeted what the distorted meaning of partnership was according to the Houthis:
فرض الشراكة هو انك تنفذ لي كل الحاجات اللي اشتيها وبالنسبة للحاجات اللي تشتيها انت ممكن نجلس لاحقاً ونناقشها
— وضاح اليمن (@WaddahOthman) January 19, 2015
A partnership is you implementing for me all the needs I want but regarding your needs we you can sit and discuss them later
Despite the international and Gulf media hyped fear that AQAP (Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula) or Iran might take over Yemen, Yemenis main concern is who will fill the power vacuum in their country.
Haykal Bafana, dismissed that threat with his tweet:
Manic Western press : Lay off all these Tehran Terror stories on Yemen. I don't hear no one speaking Farsi on the streets of Sanaa yet.
— Haykal Bafana (@BaFana3) January 23, 2015
Gregory Johnson, author of “The Last Refuge: Yemen, al-Qaeda, and America's War in Arabia” supported that by saying:
Either AQAP is about to take over Yemen, or Iran is about to take over Yemen. (Neither is true.)
— GregorydJohnsen (@gregorydjohnsen) January 23, 2015
He added:
Badr al-Din al-Huthi- the father of ‘Abd al-Malik – spent time in Iran, but that didn't make him either a 12'er Shia or Iranian client.
— GregorydJohnsen (@gregorydjohnsen) January 23, 2015
Many in Yemen question the Houthis’ intentions and their sudden rise to power – their being a minority group yet being able to swiftly gain control over cities across Yemen, raid state institutions, sack public officials, eventually bringing the government to its knees. What appears undisputed is that the Houthis are not acting alone.
Osamah Al-Rawhani wonders:
#Yemen Before sleep Q: what is the Houthi legitimacy to do all this bulls**t? He speaks on behalf of a minority group but still controlling
— Osama Abdullah (@AlrawhaniOsama) January 19, 2015
Abubakr Al-Shami hints at Saleh's involvement:
Sometimes you just have to stand back and applaud. Well done Ali Abdullah Saleh.
— Abubakr Al-Shamahi (@abubakrabdullah) January 22, 2015
Afrah Nasser, a Yemeni Journalist and blogger living in Sweden, points it out clearily:
W/ Houthis taking over forcefully,it's not tht Yemen is a failed state,it's that Saleh remains a highly influential man backing the Houthis.
— Afrah Nasser (@Afrahnasser) January 19, 2015
Many cannot answer the question of who will lead the country, and there is a fear of a possible scenario where the former regime returns through a younger facade, especially after ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh called for early elections, perhaps paving the way for his elder son. He was seen as the mastermind pulling the strings in last week's dramatic events.
According to the Yemen Times (quoting Nadia Al-Sakkaf), Yemen's Minister of Information in Bahah's government, courageously tweeted updates during the Houthi take-over:
Under the current constitution — the draft constitution remains under debate — if the president is harmed and unable to continue, or if he steps down, the head of Parliament is to ascend to the position. The current head of Parliament, Yahya Al-Rayi, is a high-ranking member of the GPC and was injured in a 2011 attack on the Presidential Palace.
However, the mandate of the current Parliament, which was elected in 2003, was due to expire after six years, in 2009. Under an agreement, the elections were postponed two years. Elections were due in 2011, but were postponed again following the 2011 uprising. The GPC holds 238 out of 301 seats in Parliament.
With Hadi’s resignation the initiative would no longer be in effect, according to Al-Sakkaf, and Parliament’s extended mandate would be dissolved, removing the possibility of Al-Rayi ascending to the presidency.
Jeb Boone, an American journalist who was living in Yemen during the 2011 uprising which ousted Saleh, commented:
If international community had allowed #Yemen‘s youth to oust the old systems of government in 2011 none of this would have ever happened
— Jeb Boone (@JebBoone) January 22, 2015
If you are still confused about what is happening in Yemen, you can read satirical blogger Karl Sharo's simplified explanation
I don my western pundit hat on once again and write The Confused Person's Guide to Understanding #Yemen http://t.co/qRPOhlip0h
— Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) January 23, 2015
Over the weekend there were demonstrations refusing Hadi's resignation and against the Houthis in Sanaa, Taiz, Ibb, Hodeidah, and Al-Baydha, while there were other demonstrations demanding secession in the southern provinces and calling for severing ties with Sana'a. Yet Yemen is not only facing a political vacuum, but also a looming humanitarian disaster which is currently being overlooked as pointed out by Oxfam.
Infographic by IRIN showing the Humanitarian challenges facing Yemen.
Yemen's parliament was scheduled to hold an emergency session on Sunday to discuss Hadi's resignation or form a presidential council to run the country until the elections take place. However, the session was cancelled without setting a new date.
Despite the uncertainty looming ahead, Yemenis are resilient people always looking at the bright side, as Abubakr Al-Shamahi tweeted:
“We don't have a president, a government, an army, security, money, or a state. Yet we're alive. Long live the Yemeni people!”
— Abubakr Al-Shamahi (@abubakrabdullah) January 21, 2015
Mohammed Al-Assadi also added:
Despite serious challenges on ground, people of #Yemen were building hope everyday that a solution may emerge at the end of the dark tunnel.
— Mohammed Al-Asaadi (@alasaadim) January 22, 2015

author: Noon Arabia


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Nepal’s #SmashChairChallenge Pressures the Constituent Assembly to Draft the Constitution · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

Screenshot from Twitter.
The Nepali Twitter-sphere is filled with images of people throwing chairs. Thanks to the infamous incident in the Nepal’s Constituent Assembly where Maoist lawmakers threw chairs, the Twitter users in Nepal have started #SmashChairChallenge, an online satire to press the Constituent Assembly members to draft the constitution on time.
Nepal is governed under the Interim Constitution of Nepal, which was promulgated in January 2007. The new constitution was to be formally declared by May 2010, but the Constituent Assembly changed the deadline several times because of many points of disagreement between the political parties.
In May 2012, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai dissolved the elected Constituent Assembly after it failed to finish the constitution, ending four years of constitution drafting and leaving the country in a legal vacuum. Elections to a second Constituent Assembly were held on November 19, 2013 and political leaders have pledged to draft a new constitution within a year. The latest deadline was on January 22 – but on January 20, 2015, a fight broke out in the Nepali Assembly, where Maoist and Madhesi lawmakers scuffled with ruling party politicians.
The Nepali Twitter users had seen enough of the brawl and decided to do something about it. Brazesh Khanal, an author, columnist and screenplay writer tweeted:
कुर्सी उचालेर #SmashChairChallange ह्यास्ट्याग राखेर १०:४५ देखि फोटो अपलोड गर्ने योजना छ। सबैलाई सहभागी हुन अनुरोध, तयार गर्नुस् फोटो
— braZesh khanal (@brazeshk) January 23, 2015
There’s a plan to upload photos from 10:45 AM with hashtag #SmashChairChallenge. All are requested to participate, get your photo ready.
He challenged his followers to do the same, after he uploaded a picture of himself throwing a chair.
#SmashChairChallange #DraftConstitution. I challange @YunaBaral @smadixit @bhaskargyawali @SomeshVerma @aakarpost pic.twitter.com/RWXHU1dpB7
— braZesh khanal (@brazeshk) January 23, 2015
People have been accepting the challenge, to the point where it has become viral on Twitter.
Navin Khatiwada, a journalist with the English daily Republica, tweeted:
#SmashChairChallange I have accepted it. Now your turn @yopeshp @niraj_1974 @iBshnu @sigdelumesh pic.twitter.com/6jRFjzYwmc
— Navin Khatiwada (@NavinKhatiwada) January 23, 2015
Narayan Wagle, a noted author and journalist, showed solidarity with the social media campaign. Journalist Girish Giri tweeted:
@narayanwagle को ‘कुर्सी तोड आन्दोलन’ मा ऐक्यवद्धता #SmashChairChallenge pic.twitter.com/QSJjci30Tr
— Girish Giri (@Birgunj) January 23, 2015
Narayan Wagle’s solidarity to #SmashChairChallenge
While social media followers have been busy posting pictures of themselves throwing chairs, some think it’s the leaders who should be smashed, rather than smashing the chairs symbolically.
Umesh Upadhayaya, a software developer, tweeted:
#SmashChairChallange Is an option 2 invoke some minds but until we don't #SmashNetas ,there won't be any #DraftConstitution or prosperity.
— Umesh Upadhayaya (@UmeshUpadhayaya) January 23, 2015
Some, like Rudra Pangeni, a journalist with Republica, were even in favour of smashing people protesting on the roads:
I am not for #SmashChairChallange, but for #SmashPeopleChallange who are protesting in the road and blocking road even today ‘tinka baje’
— Rudra Pangeni (@rudrapangeni) January 23, 2015
The vandalism and attacks in the assembly smashing the furniture were highly publicised by both national and foreign media; netizens agreed that their behaviour caused the country great embarrassment.
Shankar Dahal tweeted:
These are our lawmakers, who vandalized CA this morning. #nepal pic.twitter.com/ytid9xUiW6
— Shankar Dahal (@Dahal_Shankar) January 20, 2015
Kinar Timilsina, a music enthusiast, tweeted:
World Famous in short period of time… #canepal #Nepal #smashchairchallenge pic.twitter.com/SBvYAWBpYY
— Kinar Timilsina (@Kinar2049) January 24, 2015
The Constituent Assembly Secretariat has issued a press release stating the vandalism amounted to NRs three million (1 USD = NRs 98.46). While it is yet to be decided whether the assembly members will be suspended or made to pay for the damage, Nepali social media users are busy supporting the #SmashChairChallenge.
One social media follower tweeted:
#SmashChairChallange लेखेर एउटा कुर्सी उचालेको फुटो नराखे सम्म सोसाइटिमै नपरेला झै पो भो त!!
— मौन (@laconic77) January 24, 2015
Seems [I] won’t be included in the society until I lift a chair and post the photo with #SmashChairChallange

author: Sanjib Chaudhary


text:
A Website Fine Rekindles a Controversy About the Use of Personal Data in Perú · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Screenshot taken from the site Datosperu when it was online.
The website datosperu.org, which publishes information about people and businesses, was fined with S/.228,000.00 (approximately US $78,620.00) for breaking the law of personal data protection, or Law 29733, created in Perú in 2011.
Datosperu.org has different sources of information, most commonly public entities such as the Perú-based SUNAT, as well as legal regulations that are published daily at the official newspaper El Peruano. These sources generate income from the owners of the website through Google Adsense and other services.
The penalty was issued by the National Authority of Personal Information Protection (APDP) due to complaints against the site for publishing information that affects the applicants. The website has documents of sanctions of these two people, but not the documents that cancel those administrative acts which obviously cause trouble for these users.
One of the points of the specific penalty (Page 6) is that “the published resolution is still hosted on the website ‘http://www.datosperu.org/'—according to the claims of Internet users—without previously making their personal data anonymous, which constitutes an infringement of the fundamental right to protection of personal data.”
On the website Iriarte y Asociados, laywer Cinthya Téllez analyzes:
How did datosperu.org obtain that information? Because first that was published in the newspaper El Peruano […] and it is argued that this penalty is given to datosperu.org for using data without the owner´s agreement. The public information previously published in El Peruano does not constitute information about information publicly relevant or with general interest, because the claimants do not participate in public activities. So, there is no justification which affects privacy of the claiming citizens and the web site had to anonymize it.
Although the APDP could not find the website responsible because the address does not belong to them and there is no corporate owner of datosperu.org, the business responded after the penalty was imposed and it argues, among other things, that in the sanction against them there is “abuse of power” from the State or a public employee. It also indicates that publishing public information is not a crime. Nevertheless, it will delete that information and probably close the site. This generated a debate about datosperu's refusal to address the complaints at the time, and the validity of some of the arguments made by the APDP in applying the fine.
The discussion about datosperu.org in the Peruvian blogosphere is not new; in March of 2012, some entities from civil society were alerted by the site's lack of transparency,  demanded to know from the APDP the name of the domain owner or those responsible for the site, because a list from an American official website stated that they were a “Peruvian government initiative to promote open data from public administration”, which was obviously wrong. It is worth mentioning that the claim had a negative response because it did not contain “important data within the jurisdiction of the National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data”.
Arturo Díaz commented in a personal way on his blog:
When I visited  I got the unpleasant surprise of finding some of my personal information posted there without my permission. Not even on Facebook do I do I have to post my information in such a precise way and now a site with dubious origin has posted it as if I asked them to. With regard to this, it is insulting that when you intend to try to find those responsible for this page through Facebook, they give us a little “special window” to which if we agree, could well capture your username and password.
In 2012, the lawyer Miguel Morachimo gave some legals clarifications about the privacy of some published data. He thought that:
At first, DatosPerú does not contain secret or prohibited information. In fact, It contains information with free access. It only has information which was already available in SUNAT as well as on some other websites of public institutions, that is to say, public information […] Our Law of Personal Data Protection (.pdf) defines  personal data as any information that identifies a natural person or that it makes him identifiable, distinguishing from sensitive data as biometric data that can identify the owner.
Additionally, the engineer Dámaso Fonseca talked this year in his blog about the anonymity of the site datosperu.org, through  dissection and data tracking which could reveal those responsible. In the process, he found connections with Peruvian and Spanish sites that work or worked “publishing information related to personal data and obtaining profits from the visits of Google AdSense”, being that some of these Spanish sites were also sanctioned for various reasons.
As regards this last penalty, Miguel Morachimo wrote again about emphasizing if the APDP's resolution was really appropriate now, since the APDP determines that the legal standards reported in El Peruano can only be published after being anonymized.
Apart from multiple execution problems that tried to enforce a decision from a ghost company, it is problematic to orient it against publicity of normal standards. First, because there are many situations in which the violation of personal data information is unquestionable and it constitutes generalized practice in the market. But also because the criteria that says public information of the State can only be replicated when it is anonymous seems excessive from a point of view which values transparency and access to public information.
In another article he comments, referring to datosperu.org, that “it is still disappointing that a project that promotes transparency is so little transparency regarding its administration,” concluding:
both sides were fundamentalists. On one side, the two or three people who tried to defend the APDP decision caricatured the critical voices as insensitive to privacy and/or law of State. On the other side, Datos Perú and the administrators tried to make this into a personal fight between the State and them being a sort of transparency example.
Finally, we talked with Casas, Director of Suma Ciudadana, an organization that in 2012 claimed to know the names of the administrators, and he said this:
Datosperu.org did nothing wrong, but because there is a law about personal data (with its pros and cons), that is why at Suma Ciudadana we were worried that because of the anonymity of this site and having nothing that links it back to Peru beyond the origin of the published data, the right to informative auto-determination could be damaged without any chance of claiming. It is important to remember that when we went to the Authority who protects the personal information to examine this case, it was impossible to talk to the administrator to complain damaging personal information. After we made our complaint public, the administrator included a complaint space, but it did not work out. We were surprised at the authority position against Datosperu.org, since they initially refused to address the problem and then it was discussed, although we are in disagreement about the weighting of rights from his decision.
The site datosperu.org is no longer providing access to data and instead, it shows a farewell message.

author: Juan Arellano


text:
Citizens Refuse to See India’s Garden City Reduced to Waste  · Global Voices
Tejasvini Prasad

A truck dumps solid waste at Okhla Landfill in New Delhi, India. Photo by Anil kumar Shakya. Copyright Demotix (5/6/2014)
The Garden City of India, Bangalore, is experiencing a trash management crisis vivid enough to warrant a “Trash Trail” tour of the city. The city generates about 4000 tons of waste per day, all of which is landfill bound, since most of the waste sent to garbage processing centers is unsegregated.
The BBMP (Bangalore's municipal corporation) has dealt with the problem by transporting and dumping waste outside the city. However, villages near the landfills suffer when waste is deposited, with water, air and soil quality compromised by toxins in the trash. The problem reached a head last year with Mandur, a once verdant village blocking trucks carrying trash and demanding closure of a nearby dump.
Screenshot from the 2bin1bag Facebook page
One solution to the problem is to segregate waste at source so that appropriate portions may be transported for composting, recycling and landfill. To this end, a citizens advocacy group has started a an initiative called 2Bin1Bag, where households are educated on waste segregation at source.
As per Bellandur Buzz:
All it requires is two different colored bins- a red one for reject waste and a green one for compostable waste, and reusable plastic bag for recyclable waste.
Guide to 3-way segregation of source:http://t.co/7NTkWOM6Hs . The model is replicable in all cities of India! #BengaluruLeads
— Bangalore/Thej (@WeAreBangalore) December 31, 2014
A short video explains the concept:
A group of students in collaboration with Fields of View, a game design company, created a board game to discuss and understand the intricacies of waste management.
The waste management problem in Bangalore is large and hairy, but with citizens acting to deal with the problem, it may be solved before long.

author: Tejasvini Prasad


text:
Trinidad & Tobago Journalist Marcia Henville’s Murder Shocks the Nation  · Global Voices
Flora Thomas

The late journalist and television personality, Marcia Henville. Photo by Mark Lyndersay, used with permission.
Trinidad and Tobago netizens woke up to the disconcerting news last Saturday morning that veteran journalist and television presenter Marcia Henville died in a fire at her home in east Trinidad. Speculation that there had been foul play took root early on, thanks to reports of “loud arguments […] coming from her third floor apartment” shortly before an explosion that supposedly started the blaze.
Late yesterday, the autopsy results confirmed that Henville was murdered – the cause of death was determined to be  blunt force trauma and multiple stab wounds. As the nation transitioned from shock to anger, public attention has been focusing on the police investigation. The main person of interest appears to be Henville's husband, who escaped from the fire with first degree burns and is now warded at hospital. Some news reports said that her husband has insisted there were no domestic issues, while others claimed that the relationship was “difficult”.
On Facebook, many netizens expressed sadness over the violent way in which Henville died. They thought it particularly tragic considering that she dedicated much of her professional life to helping the downtrodden and disenfranchised, boldly venturing into “hotspot areas” rife with drugs and gang warfare in order to give voice to the voiceless. Point Blank, the social issues show Henville produced and presented on a local television station, was known for its relentless pursuit of justice for the downtrodden.
On Twitter, distressed netizens paid tribute to her life and work:
R I P to a lady i always love talkin to #MarciaHenville you will be missed pic.twitter.com/ppghjTbXfU
— Danna (@dannanekeisha) January 24, 2015
Oh my goodness !!! She was always so encouraging to me,passionate about her work and really had to heart to help others#RIP #MarciaHenville.
— Achsah Gulston (@AGulstonTV6) January 24, 2015
The CCN television network, which broadcasted Henville's show, tweeted this statement from the country's Prime Minister:
PM: #MarciaHenville was known for her fearless pursuit of the truth, and the nation has lost a talented and dedicated journalist
— CCN TV6 (@tv6tnt) January 24, 2015
Twitter user Edward Charles agreed:
Always respected her brutal honesty and her approach when addressing issues in Trinidad & Tobago #MarciaHenville #RIP #FEARLESS
— Edward Charles (@Edd_Boi) January 24, 2015
Others mourned the loss of a friend, colleague and journalist:
#marciahenville @expressupdates #heartbroken Met Marcia on her first day at the Express back in the early 90s. What a terrible waste. Bye xx
— Carlene de Bourg (@TriniBoogie) January 26, 2015
#Rip #MarciaHenville,#TrinidadAndTobago trinidad journalist. Enjoyed the breath of fresh air you brought to journalism in #t&t
— Nahshon Jaffier (@NahshonJaffier) January 26, 2015
Even before the autopsy results were made public, some social media users wondered whether Henville's determination to highlight tough issues was somehow connected to her death:
Once you try to show up the bad in this country is like you set a death trap for yourself. Smh. #RIP #marciahenville
— YourCaribbeanGirl ♕ (@_Sach92) January 24, 2015
@AnselmGibbs @tv6tnt The thing about the voiceless is that as soon as one falls another one always rises. RIP #MarciaHenville. So so sad.
— Mauricia Ann Atkins (@MauriciaAnn) January 24, 2015
Once it was confirmed that Henville was indeed murdered, the tone in the blogosphere began to change, particularly among people who knew Henville personally and for whom the murder hit close to home. On Facebook, Dion Boucaud said:
Although I suspected this, it does not dampen the shock. What hurts me the most is that someone like Marcia who puts themselves out there to fight for the less fortunate, puts others before themselves, deserves to die with a degree of dignity. Marcia was denied that opportunity. WE the country have been robbed of a selfless spirit who, although not born here, made this country her home and vigarously [sic] fought for the right of those less fortunate to be heard. She sought justice for all and to have her life end in this way was never how it should have been. I am beyond angered by this and my pain is magnified beyond the news that Saturday brought. I have no more words, only tears and hate.
Artist Darren Cheewah created this illustration in honour of Henville, based on an original photograph by Damian Luk Pat, which is being widely circulated on social media:
A former colleague at Gayelle TV, a community television station that sought to highlight all things Trinbagonian – from art and culture to social ills – posted on Facebook that the station would be honouring Henville on air last night:
If you liked, loved, respected, knew, were close to…Marcia Henville – We welcome you.
Come to our studio…and share your story.
This sharing of memories of the inimitable Marcia Henville is what has been comforting her friends, fans and colleagues in their grief. As a film producer, Henville had been working on a film called Trafficked, about the drug trade in Trinidad and Tobago. She had a good working relationship with the film's writer and director, Sean Hodgkinson, starring as Meredith James in Hodgkinson's two previous films, A Story About Wendy, and its sequel. The cast and crew posted their condolences on the film's Facebook page:
Team Wendy is shocked and saddened by the devastating news of Marcia Henville's passing.
There are no words to describe the irreparable loss of one of our family members,
We wish to remember Marcia's kindness, empathy, talent, spunk, professionalism, enthusiasm and love.
She will forever be in our hearts.
Catherine Emmanuel, who acted opposite Henville in the Wendy films, remembered her for her natural acting ability and genuine interest in people. “She was such a strong woman,” Emmanuel said, “always concerned about others, colourful and lively. She was a great listener. Marcia didn't deserve to die like that; she cared too much about other people – whether you were black, white, rich, poor, it didn't matter to her. I'll miss her wonderful voice. I always thought she was a woman for everyone. She loved life, but more than that, she was life.”
Funeral arrangements for Marcia Henville are still to be announced.

author: Flora Thomas


text:
The Khabarovsk Airport Logo Is a Viral Sensation. It’s Also a Flying Bear. · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Images mixed by Kevin Rothrock.
A new logo designed for Khabarovsk Airport in Russia is creating a stir among the RuNet social media users. This might be because it features a flying bear.
Internet users discovered the new logo for Khabarovsk Airport (an international hub in the Russian Far East) by accident. While the airport's official website has no signs of redesign or logo updates, a few people spied the new logo in the sponsors row of a hockey championship website. Once you spotted it, it was hard to miss: the centerpiece of the logo is a white bear, soaring in the blue sky.
Официальный логотип аэропорта в Хабаровске. Не шутка. pic.twitter.com/XSdFtRn1E5
— Рустем Адагамов (@adagamov) January 28, 2015
The official logo of the airport in Khabarovsk. Not a joke.
The RuNet reacted as it usually does—with Photoshop.
Obviously. pic.twitter.com/jmslegE944
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) January 28, 2015
The bear is an iconic image for Russians, as the animal is often associated with the country itself. No wonder, then, that the variations on the new logo were endless.
“Watch out!”
Predictably, the first ‘shops’ of the logo included other stereotypical items often attributed to Russian culture, such as the ushanka winter hat, the balalaika, and, well, the vodka.
The vodka theme seemed especially popular.
“The Khabarovsk Duty Free.”
A few of the images played on athletic themes, suggesting a figure skating variation and a logo for the Khabarovsk circus.
“Khabarovsk Circus.”
Of course, some meme classics were revisited as well.
A variant in green below features a logo for the Makhachkala airport in Dagestan, with two bears dancing lezginka, a national dance. Russian ire for North Caucasians is often expressed in resentment for their public dances as crystallizations of their cultural differences and what Russians see as noisy public disturbances (somewhat ironic, as Russians are also quite fond of public singing and occasional dancing.)
pic.twitter.com/ZpgcjTTbps
— эчпочмак и комбикорм (@kocizum) January 28, 2015
Although mockery of the new logo was the prevailing tune on Russian social networks, some users actually found the new design appealing, so we're guessing it will probably bear the public relations fruit the airport had hoped for.
I don't care what anyone says, I LOVE the Khabarovsk Airport logo. He's adorable. He can fly. HANDS OFF THE BEAR. pic.twitter.com/cGU9xTA7lz
— Natalia Antonova (@NataliaAntonova) January 28, 2015

author: Tanya Lokot


text:
The Parallels Between France’s Charlie Hebdo and Ecuador’s Bonil · Global Voices
Belén Quezada

The killing of the Charlie Hebdo staff triggered a discussion over cartoonists’ freedom of expression and marked a time to evaluate the circumstances and censorship that cartoonists suffer in various countries.
The popular Twitter tag #JeSuisCharlie condemning the Charlie Hedbo tragedy proposes putting an end to all kinds of oppression to cartoonists across the globe. In Ecuador a series of tweets have risen in support of cartoonist Xavier Bonilla (known as Bonil), who uses his sketches to reflect his serious opinion and has become an example for satirical cartoonists in his country.
One of Bonil's cartoons: “We've got everything…accused of spying…”
A few tweets recall the sanctions placed on Bonil in Ecuador paralleling his situation to the one in France.
Last year Bonil was sanctioned and had to change one of his creations because his caricature wasn't based on facts, according to Ecuador's Superintendency of Communications (Supercom).
Bonil drew a group of police officers entering the home of an opposition member carrying computers. The text reads, “Corruption complaints.”
President Rafael Correa groaned about the raid drawing and challenged Bonil to prove that assertion.
A tweet from Andrea R. mentions one of the descriptions Correa had for Bonil and some of his other “controversial” cartoons.
#Mashi calificó a #Bonil de “sicario de tinta” y le ha hecho pagar por sus caricaturas En #Ecuador tbm tenemos problemas #CharlieHebdo
— andrea r. (@andre_monita) enero 8, 2015
#Mashi called #Bonil an “ink assassin” and made him pay for his cartoons. We have problems in #Ecuador too #CharlieHedbo
Some even speculate what would happen if there happened to be a Charlie Hebdo in Ecuador.
Imaginen un semanario satírico como @Charlie_Hebdo_ en Ecuador, con LeyMordaza, SuperCan8A, el rompediarios, Alvarados y una justicia servil — David Rosero (@davidroserow) enero 8, 2015
Creo que si #Bonil hiciera caricaturas del “calibre” de #CharlieHebdo hace rato estuviera en rejas.
— Josué Intriago (@JintriagoL) enero 9, 2015
Imagine a weekly comic like @Charlie_Hebdo_ in Ecuador with LeyMordaza, SuperCan8A, el rompediaris, Alvarados and menial justice.
I think if #Bonil drew cartoons like #CharlieHebdo he'd spend some time behind bars.
Meanwhile Boris Mantilla assesses the impact of Charlie Hedbo in Ecuador and links to a CNN interview with Xavier Bonilla.
Represalia política genera fama en contra golpe, casos #Bonil #CharlieHebdo @patriciajaniot a @bonilcaricatura aquí: http://t.co/TQDJJ1iEeM — Boris Mantilla (@BorisMantilla) enero 8, 2015
Political revenge leads to backlash, such cases #Bonil #CharlieHebdo @patriciajaniot to @bonilcaricatura here:
Users also took time to defend freedom of expression in Ecuador.
Pero cuando sancionaron a #Bonil ahí si era justificado! Defensa de la Libertad de Expresión se da frente a cualquier arma así sea jurídica!
— Dani Pazmiño (@danipazmino) enero 9, 2015
Estos ataques miserables solo dan más fuerza a sus plumas creativas://Querido @bonilcaricatura, un GRAN abrazo!! — basol (@B3scobar) enero 8, 2015
But it was truly justified when #Bonil was sanctioned! Defense of Freedom of Expression is given against any weapon even legal.
These miserable attacks only strengthen their creative pens://Dear @bonilcaricatura, a BIG hug!!
Many also strongly condemned statements made by Correa just like the cartoon Bonil had to fix for the president's dislike.
.@ahorapodemos @Pablo_Iglesias_ Cinismo #Correa q admira,persigue y condena caricaturistas #Bonil http://t.co/fwJGn6tCnp @Charlie_Hebdo_ — borisvian1 (@shababaty) enero 7, 2015
@ahorapodemos @Pablo_Iglesias_ The cynical #Correa who admires, goes after and condemns cartoons #Bonil
And the answers came quickly, Roman Maspóns and Santi Serrano had the following comments:
No, como pana, no empiecen a comparar las caricaturas de #Bonil y las reacciones de #Correa con lo de #CharlieHebdo, no hay por dónde.
— Roman Maspóns (@badpons) enero 7, 2015
@ceppdi la comparación es poco adecuada a #bonil se lo critica x su mal gusto su pluma mentirosa calumnias y alto grado de parcialidad polit — Santi Serrano (@santi_adelante) enero 7, 2015
No, as a pal, don't start comparing #Bonil's cartoons and #Correa's reactions to #CharlieHebdo because there's nothing.
@ceppdi there's little comparison to #bonil he's criticized for his bad taste, his deceitful pen, lies and high degree of political partiality.
The Superintendency of Information (Supercom) postponed Bonil's hearing, originally set for January 16th,  to February 9th.
The cartoonist announced the change on his Twitter:
SUPERCOM me había citado para el 16 de enero. Pero 2 días después de CharlieHebdo pospuso la Audiencia para el 9 d febrero. ¿Xq será?
— Xavier Bonilla (@bonilcaricatura) January 12, 2015
SUPERCOM booked me for January 16 but 2 days after CharlieHebdo the Court changed it to February 9. What gives?
Last November Supercom accepted the complaint from Afro-Ecuatorian organizations against Bonil for alleged discrimination against Agustin Delgado.

author: Belén Quezada


text:
Our Voices: Juan Tadeo in México · Global Voices
Mary Aviles

Our Contributor in México, Juan Tadeo.
Born in Mexico City in the 1980s, Juan Tadeo graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) in 2009 with a law degree. On his blog, launched in August 2009, Juan exercises his right to freedom of expression, writing about topics ranging fromjustice, politics, and transparency to music and football.
A contributor to Global Voices since 2011, Juan's recent reporting has focused on the missing students from Ayotzinapa.
How did you get involved with Global Voices?
Juan Tadeo (JT): It was almost four years ago, in early 2011, when I came looking for the former regional editor, Silvia Viñas. I learned a lot from her.
I learned about the existence of Global Voices few months before that, because one of the authors at the time cited my blog in a story about the violence, racism, and discrimination that exists at Mexico’s northern border, that is, the border with the United States. I was pleased to be quoted, and I was thrilled to see a fragment of my post translated into several languages within a few weeks.
GV: What do you like most about volunteering for GV?
JT: I find it fascinating to have the opportunity to collaborate with a platform that brings local stories to all corners of the world. At Global Voices, people can read about my country’s events in their own language (English, French, Italian, Esperanto, and many others). However, I like to create content in Spanish before it is translated. I do it because, in my opinion, it's not easy to find places outside the mainstream media that are impartial, reliable, and regularly updated, written in Spanish.
GV: What is the story that has impressed you the most and why?
JT: All stories of unpunished violence afflicting Mexico offend, move, and sadden me. Every time I write about missing people, or about the discovery of secret graves, or some other dire issue, I feel that [Mexico] slips further from the peace and justice that characterize much of the rest of the world. The history of the Cadereyta massacre and the grim facts of Ayotzinapa are particularly strong examples of this phenomenon.
Other stories of a completely different nature have also be hard for me, like writing in September 2014 about the death of Gustavo Cerati, a talented musician whom I admired for many years.
: What have you learned about citizen journalism?
JT: It's helped me to be more critical of mainstream journalism—to notice when such work is done poorly and to understand why.
In Mexico, this issue is particularly salient because the companies controlling the media offer the public a particularly shoddy product, evidently in order to favor the powerful, whom they ultimately represent.
Consequently, I have learned that many times (not always, unfortunately) the work done by citizen media is special and extremely valuable, even though most people, at least in Mexico, are yet to appreciate it.
GV: What should traditional media do in this new era of mass citizen participation and online social networks?
JT: I think they should pay attention to individuals who have become aware and demand quality and topical content. Some global media have begun to do so because they know the number of people demanding respect for their rights as viewers and consumers is increasing at a slow but steady pace.
In my country, that pace is slower than in most. A large section of the population is happy with the media's status quo, where the “news” focus is on rumors in the entertainment world, and broadcasting favors vulgar comedies and unsuccessful American films from the 1990s—a formula that has worked quite well for the big networks. There is a gradually growing number of people who turn off the TV, however. When consuming news, they check various sources—both local and global—before making their own judgments. It's these people who satisfy their thirst for information by turning to the interesting, alternative voices found in citizen journalism.

author: Mary Aviles