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Official Chinese Patriotism: Without Motherland, You Are Nothing! · Global Voices
Jack Hu

A ‘grass-roots’ Internet forum post titled ‘Without the motherland, you are nothing’ has been circulating on the Chinese Internet since November 2013, sparking heated discussions over the old but influential topic of patriotism.
A popular icon used by Chinese netizens as profile pictures to express their patriot feelings.
China’s state media Xinhua published [zh] an article on December 2 praising and summarizing the post and it has since been reposted by numerous Chinese media such as the Beijing Daily and the Global Times.
The post used the “fallen-apart” Arabic Spring countries as examples to call for the Chinese people to stay alert for conspiracies by Western countries. It argued that China cannot afford to descend into chaos, and that the people who suffer most in times of unrest are the common people. The conclusion was that the Chinese people must firmly stand behind the Communist Party and President Xi. “Every Chinese should have a patriotic heart.”
This post has aroused a lot of criticism, from scholars to common netizens, on China’s Twitter-like Weibo, mainly for deliberately distorting the meaning of patriotism.
China’s popular sociologist Yu Jianrong marked the difference between the nation and a power bloc:
的确，祖国对我们来说，很重要，是我们的根。正因为如此，我们才希望她有更多的公平公正，真正走向民主和法治。请不要将我的祖国等同于某一利益集团。正是他们，以我的祖国之名，掠夺着人民的财富，限制着人民的自由，而自己早将儿孩送到了外国！
The motherland is indeed very important to us ordinary people. It’s our roots. That’s the reason why we hope it can grow into a place with more equality, more democracy and more rule of law. Please don’t equate my motherland with a certain interest group, who, in the name of the motherland, have been robbing the people and limiting the people’s freedom while already sending their children aboard!
Yu Jianrong's comment resonated with an article in the New York Times by China’s famous author Yu Hua, which accused the Chinese Communist Party of “the hijacking of Chinese patriotism”. Yu Hua said “over the last 64 years [the CCP] has managed to equate ‘love of country’ with love of the party and the government[…] But when the distinction between country and ruler is erased, patriotism ends up being hijacked, and easily manipulated by a narrow-minded nationalism.”
You thought it is motherland, in fact it is otherland; this country belongs to foreigners and those whose offspring are living overseas. You are the stranger of motherland. @weicombo from Sina Weibo explained the meaning behind his web-poster.
The Chinese government has stepped up control of the internet to maintain its propaganda grip. Critical comments from opinion leaders such as Yu Jianrong's micro-blog have been forcefully removed, but it is not difficult to find criticism from less influential Weibo users and more subtle comments. For example, the property tycoon and social activist Ren Zhiqiang posed a question on the meaning of nation:
没有了幸福与自由要国家干嘛？
Without happiness and freedom, what is left of a nation?
Weibo user, “Empty thought” criticized the disguised political propaganda:
当执政者绑架了国家，爱国主义就是口号。没有谁，地球都照转。苏联解体了，俄罗斯变强大了，请不要忽悠百姓，权贵集团已经绑架了祖国。闭嘴吧北京日报
Patriotism degenerates into a slogan when the rulers hijack a nation. Russia has become stronger since Soviet Union fell apart. Don’t fool people. The privileged and the powerful have hijacked the motherland. Shut up Beijing Daily.
“Alley Uncle”, an other Weibo user believed such propaganda would not be able to fool people anymore:
没有了民心你们什么都不是。现在不是愚民时代，民智已开，祖国永远不会没，没的只是皇帝和政府。首先我们是地球人，哪里有自由人就向往哪里，请垂死者再也不要绑架百姓了，谁对百姓好，百姓心里清楚的很。
You’ll be nothing without winning people's hearts. Now is not the ra of obscurantist, enlightenment has started. The motherland will never disappear, instead what could disappear are emperor and government. First we are human living in this earth. As human being we aspire for freedom and choose to stay where there is freedom. Those who are dying [refers to authoritarian rulers] should not hijack people anymore, and deep down in people's hearts, they know who are good to them.
“Hearsay in cold water” pointed out that many great thinkers were exiles:
马克思一直流亡国外，依然是马克思；爱因斯坦逃出德国，依然是爱因斯坦；索尔尼仁琴离开苏联，依然是索尔尼仁琴；孙中山到处乱窜，依然是孙中山。李政道、丁肇中、杨振宁、高锟离开了中国，都获得了诺贝尔奖——失去了人民，你才什么都不是！
Karl Marx was still himself as an exile; Einstein was still himself after fleeing Germany; Solzhenitsyn was still himself after leaving Soviet Union; Sun Yat-sen was still himself when he travelled around the world [to advocate for revolution]. Tsung-Dao Lee, Samuel Chao Chung Ting, Chen Ning Yang and Charles Kuen Kao won Nobel Prizes after they left China. Without people, you [the rulers] will be nothing!

author: Jack Hu


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Bangla Blogging Community Gears Up For The Fifth Bangla Blog Day · Global Voices
Rezwan

Poster For the Fifth Bangla Blog Day 2013
On December 15, 2005, Bangla Blogging started its journey through the largest Bangla Blogging platform Somewherein.net [bn] and the community grew larger every year. A section of the Bangla bloggers’ community started to observe December 19 as Bangla Blog Day since 2009.
The fifth Bangla Blog day will be celebrated [bn] on 19th of December, 2013. Unlike the previous years, instead of a main program in the capital, there will be decentralized local community based programs in different parts [bn] of the capital Dhaka and in different [bn] cities across the country. The theme of this years events is “From social welfare to national interest, Bangla blog is for the right for freedom of speech”.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rezwan


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China and North Korea: The Inevitable Fate of Jang Song Thaek Under Dictatorship  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kim Jong Il's statue at Pyongyang. Photo by Flickr user Matt Paish (CC: AT-SA)
The purge and execution of Jang Song Thaek, uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has stunned the world, in particular its close neighbor and ally China.
Jang, who was in charge of North Korea's economic reform, worked closely with China fomenting economic cooperation between the two countries. In Jang's indictment, one of the accusations he faced was that he sold off the country's precious resources for cheap.
While the Chinese Foreign Ministry calmly claimed that Jang's execution was “an internal affair” for North Korea, Chinese netizens were outraged and took the change to reflect upon the inhumane nature of dictatorship.
On Twitter-likewebsite Sina Weibo, Lian Pang, a columnist and writer, criticized the Foreign Ministry's lack of backbone:
张成泽被枪毙了，某国外交部发言人说“这是朝鲜的内部事务”。好吧，那发展核武器算不算内部事务？朝鲜发生这样残酷的人道灾难，国际社会其他成员都负有道义责任。[…]如此表态只会给外界一种站在邪恶一边的观感。
Jang Song Thaek was executed and some country's foreign spokesperson said, “This is North Korea's internal affair”. OK, what about nuclear development? Is that internal? What is happening in North Korea is a human disaster and every member of international society should bear responsibility. […] The current gesture gives the world the impression that you are standing on the side of evil.
Christophfer Jing, a writer, reviewed Chinese contemporary history and questioned China and North Korea's alliance:
抗美援朝，无数中华儿女长眠异乡（战斗伤亡36万，非战斗伤亡41万，被俘2.1万），难道就为了传承白头山世袭血统金正恩这个80后暴君？朝鲜对中国的战略价值已成反作用，金家三代深谙中国，玩弄的正是中国，杀张成泽涉及与中国资源合作，一个喜怒无常的君主制，一翻脸就是中国的死敌，一有原子弹，投谁？
So many young Chinese had died in the war to support North Korea against the US (360,000 Chinese soldiers died and 410,000 Chinese civilians died; 21,000 kidnapped). We sacrificed all that to help Kim Jung Un, a post-80s generation dictator, to inherit his throne? The strategic value of North Korea to China is now bringing adverse effects. The three generations of Kim have been fooling China. The execution of Jang Song Thaek is related to his cooperation with China. Once the irrational monarch turns into China's enemy, if he has an atomic bomb, where will he aim it?
Xia Shang, a Chinese novelist, extended the criticism towards the dictatorship system:
三胖杀姑父根本不是国家事件，而是打着党名义的金家私事。张成泽作为独裁政权的捍卫者和帮凶，也不过是入瓮之君，死得其所。专制的游戏规则就是没有规则，一切均以一党一己之私利为纲。也别嘲笑白头山血统的说辞，井冈山血统依然伟大光荣正确。
The fatty's execution of his uncle has nothing to do with national interest. He turns the party into a family business. As a supporter of dictatorship, Jang Song Thaek had entrapped himself. He thus deserved to die. The only rule of dictatorship is no rule. The only consideration is the party's interest. Don't laugh at Paektu Mountain's [North Korea] claim for the legitimacy of Kim's bloodline, we have our own bloodline originating in Jinggang Mountain [the Base of the Chinese Communist Party's Red Army].
Xia Shang's subtle criticism of the Chinese Communist Party's dictatorship has resonated with many web users. Below is a selection of netizens’ comments translated by  ChinaSmack:
“Top Tomb”: Power destroys people’s humanity. Anyone in the face of someone of an even higher power is no better than a dog. In a society of totalitarian dictatorship, no one has a sense of security!
mdjswc: With such bloody purges, your own end may probably lies ahead! When even your own uncle cannot escape being purged, on whom can you depend? As the old saying goes: One cannot afford to incur the wrath of the public! Kim Jong-un’s own end may be even more miserable!
Nicolai: Sigh, how similar! In such a country, even the second-in-command doesn’t know if he’ll survive to tomorrow, where he can be an honorable guest yesterday and suddenly a prisoner in the blink of an eye, let alone the ordinary citizens.
In fact, the execution of Jang has reminded many netizens of the great purge during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Anonymous Weibo user “Reincarnation-back-to-world” drew the connection explicitly:
朝鲜对张成泽反革命集团进行大清洗，是当年文革的翻版；当年文革中，灭老刘、杀贺龙、整老彭、戮林彪，挑动全国武斗；也是当年苏联大清洗的翻版；斯大林杀害苏联高级军官老百姓上千万！清洗、镇压、独裁分子都这么干！
The purge of anti-revolutionary Jang Song Thaek in North Korea is a repetition of the Cultural Revolution. During the Cultural Revolution, old fellows Liu [Shaoqi], He Long, Peng Dehuai, and Lin Biao were all killed and the whole nation were armed against each other. It is also a repetition of the USSR great purge. Stalin had thousands of senior officials and ordinary people killed. All dictators enjoy purge and repression.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: Madiba Was Great, But Not Perfect  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuban blog Without Evasion says the best way in which she can pay tribute to Nelson Mandela is by “imitating him in forgiveness and reconciliation”:
I forgive you…for the friendship with…the vilest dictator my people has ever had…for placing your hand –redemptive for your people- on the bloodied shoulders of the one who excludes and reviles mine.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Cubans’ Daily Concerns Trump Controversial Handshake · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

While the Obama-Raúl thing sent a large part of the exiled Cuban-American community…into an uproar, in Havana [it] was little more than just another bit of news.
Iván García offers insight as to why most Cubans overlooked the exchange.


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Documentary: Mining’s Terrible Consequences for Brazil’s People and Environment · Global Voices
Fernanda Canofre

[All links lead to Portuguese-language pages except when otherwise noted.]
On the eve of Brazil's vote regarding the country's new Mining Code, a documentary produced by the media collective Mídia NINJA in partnership with the National Committee in Defense of Territories Impacted by Mining appeared to bring the life of communities near the mining regions of the country to the discussion.
“Enquanto o trem não passa” (While the train doesn't pass) was shown at the beginning of a public audience that took place on December 5, 2013 in the Brazilian Senate, and the film served as an “instrument of discussion” of the theme. The synopsis of the film on Youtube reads:
O objetivo da produção é alertar quem vive fora das áreas de atuação das mineradoras sobre o enorme impacto dessa atividade e o quanto o novo código proposto pelo Governo não traz salvaguardas sócio-ambientais, garantias ao meio ambiente e nem segurança aos quilombolas e povos indígenas.
The objective of the production is to alert those who live outside the area of the mining operations of the enormous impact of this activity, and how the new code proposed by the government will not bring socio-environmental safeguards, measures to protect the environment, nor safety for the quilombolas and indigenous peoples.
Watch the video below with English and Spanish subtitles:
During the meeting, Senator João Capiberibe announced that the vote on the Code, set for December 10, has been moved to 2014. According to him, the goal is to give more time so that changes – such as the consequences that mining represents for the environment and the communities – can be added to the text. Capiberibe declared:
Queremos uma legislação que contemple a todos. É claro que não vamos impedir a atividade econômica. Mas o que é inaceitável é que, em nome do desenvolvimento, se desrespeite direitos legítimos dessas comunidades.
We want a law that has everyone in mind. It is clear that we are not going to impede economic activity. But what is unacceptable is that, in the name of development, the legitimate rights of these communities are disrespected.
In an open letter published in March, the National Conference of Bishops in Brazil (CNBB) [en], one of the integral movements of the National Committee in Defense of Territories Impacted by Mining, spoke out against the problem:
A mineração em terras indígenas é outra grave preocupação suscitada pelo Projeto de Lei 1.610/96, tramitando no Congresso sem nenhuma interação com o Estatuto dos Povos Indígenas, que espera aprovação desde 1991. O Projeto de Lei 1.610/96 desrespeita totalmente a autonomia dos povos indígenas sobre seus territórios, assegurada pela Constituição Federal e pela Convenção 169 da Organização Internacional do Trabalho, da qual o Brasil é signatário. As mesmas ameaças recaem sobre comunidades quilombolas, populações tradicionais, pequenos agricultores e áreas de proteção ambiental.
Mining in indigenous territories is another grave concern evoked by Bill 1.610/96, and the bill was sent to Congress without any kind of interaction with the Statute of Indigenous Peoples, which has been waiting for approval since 1991. Bill 1.610/96 completely disrespects the autonomy of the indigenous in their own territories, guaranteed by the Federal Constitution and by the 169th Convention of the International Labor Organization, of which Brazil is a signatory.
An inconvenient truth
Brazil emerged on the modern maps of the world as a land of extraction, and since the first years of colonization, has had mining  [en] as one of its primary sources of economy. Currently, 4 percent of the world's ore is extracted from Brazilian soil. In 2012, production was estimated at 55 billion US dollars, 900 percent more than the country produced ten years ago. The National Mining Plan, which reviews projects in the sector for the next 20 years, seeks to triple the country's production.
While the new law makes its way through legislation, mining companies already have a shovel in the dirt. Vale S.A. [en], the second largest mining company in the world and the main active mining company in the country, was elected by the Public Eye Awards [en] last year as the worst business in the world [en] due to the impact of its activities. In addition, some Canadian companies are already in the country as well, one of them working for the reopening of Serra Pelada, in the state of Pará, for the extraction of nearly 40 tons of gold. More than 500 years after the arrival of the Portuguese, mining continues to be an open wound on Tupiniquim soil.

author: Fernanda Canofre


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Dozens Detained on Human Rights Day in Cuba · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

“We salute the party congress.” A 2011 pro-government rally in Havana. Photo by Reno Massola, labeled for reuse.
On Human Rights Day this year, somewhere between a few dozen and a few hundred people — including punk rockers, intellectuals, dissidents, and a pair of Argentine tourists — were detained in Cuba.
Several were taken into police custody outside the home of Antonio Rodiles, the embattled organizer of Estado de SATS, an independent intellectual forum with a strong web presence. Rodiles held a small, two-day human rights conference at his home in Havana that became a hub of activist and police activity on December 10 and 11.
Twitter users reported that throughout Havana opposition activists trying to make their way to Human Rights Day events were stopped and detained by state security officials. Conflicting accounts have made it difficult to confirm precisely how many people were detained. According to friends of Rodiles, state security officers surrounded his home the night before the event began, stopping participants en route to the house.
The next morning, organizers were faced with a new obstacle: teenagers. A group of secondary school students arrived outside Rodiles’ home and remained there throughout the day, playing games, singing songs, and reciting political slogans.
Artist and opposition blogger Lia Villares described an absurd scene of bloggers, activists, friends and family gathered inside Rodiles’ home and attempting to focus on their conversations, while students loudly sang and chanted patriotic slogans outside. Villares suspected the students were brought to the site by State Security, in a deliberate attempt to disrupt the event. She tweeted:
#DDHHCuba2013 Exhiben a un grupo d estudiantes secundaria al frente d la casa, tipica manipulacion, la S.E. no da la cara, usa menores
— Lia Villares (@liavillares) December 10, 2013
They’ve brought a group of secondary school students in front of the house, typical manipulation, the S.E. [state security] doesn’t show its face, it uses minors instead
Some hours later, she continued:
#DDHHCuba2013 los estudiantes de secundaria declaman poesias y hacen dramatizados sobre los derechos del nino, gritan “fidel”, canta un coro
— Lia Villares (@liavillares) December 11, 2013
#DDHHCuba2013 the high school students recite poetry and do skits about children’s rights, shouting “fidel” they sing a chorus
Upon exiting the house, several participants were arrested, including Rodiles. Boris Larramendi, a Cuban musician based in Spain who performed at the event, told Diario de Cuba:
Llevaban rato allá afuera, pensábamos que no iban a hacer nada (las autoridades) delante de todos esos niños, pero de pronto miro y veo que hay una molotera, que les están dando golpes y que los están arrastrando.
They stayed outside for a little while and we thought they weren’t going to do anything in front of all those kids, but then I look and I see there is a whole mess of people, that they’re hitting and dragging people away.
Among others arrested were bloggers Calixto Martinez and Walfrido López and filmmaker Kizzy Macias. Multiple sources reported on the arrest of political punk rock musician Gorki Aguila, who has been detained and imprisoned several times in recent years. Other arrests took place around the city, but it has been difficult to track and verify reports. The Miami Herald estimated that over 150 arrests took place in total, and reported on December 12 that police had freed all of those taken into custody on December 10 and 11.
Arrests were not limited to Cubans — two Argentine tourists, both active PRO (right wing) party supporters who had heard about the event online, were arrested shortly after arriving. A group of college students from the US, traveling the world with the academic tourism program Semester at Sea, somehow found their way to the event but were spared detention.
Yohandry Fontana, a mysterious online figure regarded by many as the digital voice of state security, tweeted that Rodiles was arrested for “attacking children” on the street.
Confirmo detención de Antonio Rodiles x agredir e insultar a niños que jugaban en la vía, como parte de jornada recreativa. #DDHHCuba2013
— Yohandry Fontana (@Yohandry8787) December 11, 2013
I confirm that Antonio Rodiles was detained for attacking and insulting children who were playing in the street, as part of their play time.
Although friends of Rodiles documented the event on camera, the resulting video is somewhat overproduced, making it difficult to determine the veracity of the footage.
Iroel Sanchez, an outspoken pro-government blogger, wrote a long post decrying activists and foreign media who portrayed the circus outside Rodiles’ home as an injustice. He described the organizers of the forum as “those who ask for a stronger blockade, who depict themselves as terrorists and receive technology and money to deliver falsehoods about Cuba.”
In a similar vein, Yohandry Fontana later tweeted:
Antonio Rodiles es un pagado por la Fundación Cubano Americana (terroristas) para provocar violencia en #Cuba #DDHHCuba
— Yohandry Fontana (@Yohandry8787) December 11, 2013
Antonio Rodiles is paid by the Cuban National Foundation (terrorists) to provoke violence in #Cuba #DDHHCuba
Rodiles has been a target of state security for some time and has been arrested in the past. There is some evidence of Rodiles communicating and sharing information with US government agencies that sponsor “democracy development” programs in Cuba, a controversial activity that is forbidden by the Cuban government. Fontana's allegation that he is associated with the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation, a longtime advisor and supporter of conservative federal lawmakers in South Florida, is not a baseless claim. But the character of Rodiles’ advocacy efforts and the tone of the intellectual debates he convenes are not entirely consistent with those of Miami's old-guard exile community. Rodiles’ messages are often rooted in international human rights doctrine – freedom of expression and access to information are hallmarks of his discursive style.
While many of the island's most prominent human rights activists are now known to receive support from the US government, there are those who genuinely want change but do not want to associate with foreign interests. It is this small minority that may prove most interesting in Cuba's near political future.

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Indian Diplomat Devyani Khobragade’s Arrest, Strip Search Earn Apology from US · Global Voices
Rezwan

A diplomatic row between India and the United States following the arrest of India's deputy consul general in New York on charges of visa fraud is showing its first signs of easing.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has reportedly expressed regret in a phone call to India's National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon over how the arrest of Devyani Khobragade, who was handcuffed in public on 12 December outside of her daughter's Manhattan school, was handled. Khobragade was later put through strip and cavity searches and DNA swabbing, and detained with drug addicts and sex workers before she was released on bail for 250,000 US dollars.
Khobragade faces charges that she allegedly lied on documents about her housekeeper from India, reporting she would pay her 9.75 US dollars an hour when the woman actually received about three dollars. If convicted, she could be sentenced to up to ten years in prison.
The treatment of Khobragade was met with outrage in India. The government responded by downgrading privileges of US diplomats in India and demanding information such as the salaries paid to all Indian staff employed by the consulate and by consular employees, including domestic workers. The government also put a halt to all import clearances, including all liquor for the US embassy.
Members of India's parliament strongly condemned Khobragade's treatment. The leader of the main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party even suggested that the country retaliate by arresting gay US diplomats in India. The Indian Supreme Court reinstated a ban on gay sex last week.
Until Kerry's apology, US authorities had promised to review procedures, but stopped short of expressing regret over the arrest, only fueling the uproar in India.
India orders controversial measures such as removing security barricades in front of the US embassy as a retaliation after an Indian diplomat was arrested in New York. Image by Shweta Bajaj. Copyright Demotix (17/12/2013)
Writer Rajeev Sharma highlighted the lack of logic in US law regarding diplomats in an article for news website First Post:
If the US were to implement its laws to the core with respect to all the 194 countries it has diplomatic ties with then it will have to handcuff and jail hundreds of diplomats, and that too maybe frequently. That is because the minimum wages US laws prescribe for workers hired by foreign missions happens to be more than the wages of the employer himself/herself.
The question is how can Khobragade pay her nanny $ 4500 per month when she is being paid $ 4120 per month, a point that has been stated by her father Uttam Khobragade, a retired IAS officer. It is an important point which Washington needs to take into consideration, because this is not India’s story alone.
He continued:
Khobragade has been charged with visa fraud, an allegation that is yet to be proved. Even if proven, is it a charge grave enough to handcuff a diplomat and put her into jail?
Author S. K. Shah slammed the arrest on his blog:
Disgrace and humiliation to our Diplomat, the way Devyani treated in US. The Govt of India needs to retrieve the dignity of India as a whole.
However, Sandip Roy took a closer look at the charges Khobragade is facing in an article for First Post:
As consular staff member representing India abroad, Ms Khobragade enjoys many rights. The right to a domestic help at cut-rate wages however is not one of them.
The diplomat's arrest sparked reactions on Twitter both supporting and criticizing her. Shubhashish, a journalist in London, wrote:
The US has broken diplomatic rules and Khobargade has abused her position to disregard the US laws. Both at fault. Both must admit.
— Shubhashish (@shubHASHISH) December 17, 2013
Mumbai-based journalist Sudarshan Kumar tweeted:
Impressed with the Indian govt moves in Devyani Khobragade case…takes US head on..
— Sudarshan Kumar (@sudarshankr) December 17, 2013
Counsellor and photographer Smita Barooah saw the arrest as exposing the US's inconsistent rules:
US policy consistent:One set of rules for own people.Another set of rules for the rest of the world.Devyani Khobragade just another example
— Smita Barooah (@smitabarooah) December 17, 2013
Twitter user Anvesha defended Khobragade's housekeeper in light of her alleged low salary:
Devyani's political affiliations or property deals in India does not justify ill-treatment meted out to her in USA. This is the bottom line.
— Anvesha (@anveshaq) December 18, 2013
Twitter user Shyam Srikumar wrote:
When you cannot afford a nanny, you don't. Bending the law is not the solution. Never for a diplomat. http://t.co/RkabU7K8CJ via @ibnlive
— Shyam Srikumar (@shyamsrikumar) December 17, 2013
Meanwhile, Devyani Khobragade has been transferred to the permanent mission in New York, which entitles her to full diplomatic immunity.


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Jamaican Songstress Tessanne Chin Wins “The Voice”  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The finals of Season 5 of NBC's The Voice are in progress – and Caribbean netizens are already glued to their television sets, smart phones close at hand, waiting to see if Jamaican vocal powerhouse #Tessanne Chin will win.  In the final face off on Monday night, social media users were practically live (micro)blogging the show, commenting on everything from song delivery to the stage presence of the three contenders.
Jamaica has naturally been supportive of Tessanne from the outset of the competition; with her constant progression to the finals, the country – like the rest of the regional blogosphere – is in the grip of Tessanne fever:
Night time in Kingston watching #tessannechin on #TheVoice. I can understand now why the whole of #jamaica is rooting for #tessannetowin
— Fiona Anderson (@fionaatweets) December 11, 2013
Her tribute to Whitney Houston on Monday night with a perfect rendition of I Have Nothing marked her attempt “to go out with a bang” – by the next morning, her version of the song was Number 1 on the iTunes singles chart.
Tonight, Tessanne sang a duet with Celine Dion, one of her idols, and Twitter has been going crazy in anticipation of the Jamaican singer's victory…
#thevoice #tessannechin #teamtess #jamaica #jamaican #celinedeon. Tessanne and Celine Deon. Boom.… http://t.co/VrCA9nc38c
— fyah_d (@dameonb1) December 18, 2013
Whoa! Go, @Tessanne! Holding your own with Celine Dion!!! #TeamTessanne
— Kellie Magnus (@kelliemagnus) December 18, 2013
but y'all watching #TheVoice rightnow ?! #TessanneChin just killed it . #jamaica is turnt rightnow
— Kodyann (@kodiikinz_x3) December 18, 2013
Sending good vibes to #TheVoice #TessanneChin What an amazing talent. #Jamaica in the house. Good luck tonight #Tessane.
— VACA (@VACAORG) December 18, 2013
The voice season finale tonight I'm so excited for Tessane I hope she wins #TheVoice #TessanneChin #Jamaica
— Karry F (@iSassy_Karetha) December 18, 2013
wow I jus realize tht #Jamaica has the #fastestman , the #fastestwoman an last but not least #TheVoice best ever performer #TessanneChin
— Venessa Baker (@fluffyvb) December 18, 2013
When tessane win Jamaica Is going to be one big parade. #jamaica #TheVoice #TheVoiceFinale #TessanneChin
— Shinelle (@S_dior) December 18, 2013
Tessanne herself stayed humble and gracious, tweeting just minutes after her performance with Dion:
Absolutely speechless Miss @celinedion thank you for making my dream Come true :) you are even more amazing in person!!! It was an honour:)
— Tessanne Chin (@Tessanne) December 18, 2013
Her natural affability has captivated netizens across the region:
.@Tessanne I love your spirt, your vibe and your humility. <3 #TeamTessanne #TeamAdam @adamlevine
— Robyn (@radrc) December 18, 2013
Many twitter users – including Jimmy Cliff, the internationally lauded Jamaican singer with whom Tessanne honed her skills as his backup singer, reminded #TeamTessanne fans to vote for her:
Please vote for Tessanne Chin! She can get it if you really want! #jamaica #TessanneChin #thevoice #finishline http://t.co/Ny7zxOLUZF
— Jimmy Cliff (@THEJIMMYCLIFF) December 17, 2013
Tamo-J lamented that it took a contest like The Voice to make Jamaicans appreciate their own:
Congrats @Tessanne, but I just wish it didn't take this for Jamaica(ns) to recognize their own talent! #Jamaica #TessanneChin #TheVoice
— Tamo-J (@OfficialTamoJ) December 17, 2013
Even Jamaican politicians were getting in on the action:
Tonight is your night @Tessanne. You are my winner and Jamaica's winner. You've made us all proud. #TeamTessanne AH
— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) December 18, 2013
The online discussion soon got to the point where several Twitter users announced that #TeamTessanne was trending:
#TeamTessanne IS TRENDING #1 WORLDWIDE !! WE DID IT!!!!Follow I am a Jamaican https://t.co/Hixh8aKS9Q http://t.co/JlblS1uxAV
— I AM A JAMAICAN (@IamaJamaican) December 18, 2013
TESSANNE IS NUMBER 1 TRENDING TOPIC #POW #TeamTessanne
— ♛Dj Duff♛ (@Venom_Unit) December 18, 2013
Another Caribbean-born talent who won the hearts and votes of US and Caribbean viewers by winning the last season of Project Runway, Anya Ayoung-Chee, tweeted:
I'm dying that I'm in LA and can't see @Tessanne win live!!!! #TeamTessanne you have won already in all our hearts! Simply AMAZING!!!
— Anya Ayoung-Chee (@AnyadeRogue) December 18, 2013
@outlishmagazine added:
Is anyone in the Caribbean not backing #TeamTessanne?
— Outlish.com (Karel) (@outlishmagazine) December 18, 2013
As the moment for the announcement of the winner drew closer, the tweets became more anticipatory – and humourous:
RT @thecocomag: On the edge of our seats! #TheVoice #TeamTessanne #TeamAdam #TessanneChin #Jamaica #Caribbean #TheCOCOMAG
— Renee Melissa (@COCOLadyNay) December 18, 2013
JA we have this!!!! #TheVoice #Jamaica #TessanneChin
— ♕ CℂℙP ♕ ♥ (@CarlaPolishh) December 18, 2013
Portia a raise tax tomorrow if tessanne lose #TeamTessanne #theVoices
— Trill Nigga Tyrese™ (@Chroniq_DT) December 18, 2013
Some netizens were getting impatient:
RFT "@ShaaDeaanie_: Can they just announce the damn winner already #TeamTessanne #TheVoiceFinale"
— Real Yawdie (@Kisharia_Ja) December 18, 2013
Way too much fluff. Release #TeamTessanne
— Jason McKenzie (@macobee) December 18, 2013
Others – including Tessanne's husband Michael Cuffie – were sidetracked by the car giveaway segment and Tessanne's comment about Jamaica's bad roads:
No… Tessanne never jus loud up we road dem pon international TV lol I love it #TeamTessanne
— Michael A Cuffe (@CuffeStuff) December 18, 2013
Tess just ago mek the world know bout we moon crater pothole #TheVoice #TeamTessanne
— Reneé Johnson (@RenzJ_) December 18, 2013
If dat "we have the worst roads" comment nuh mek dem shame and fix de road dem well I doan know what will #TeamTessanne
— Badshah (@mhowian1972) December 18, 2013
Tessanne won the car and I'm sure she thought "how di hell me gonna clear dat ah wharf inna Jamaica" #teamtessanne
— Garfene Grandison (@GARFENE) December 18, 2013
The energy on Twitter was palpable; Jamaican netizens were itching to celebrate:
Twitter tun right up man #TeamTessanne
— Shellz (@Sheldon2121) December 18, 2013
I hope everyone at half way tree hav dem dutchie ready #TeamTessanne
— Alisa Brooks (@leeyen007) December 18, 2013
Just say tessanne and start d party. #TEAMTESSANNE
— Junior the GREAT!!! (@dukeofhellshire) December 18, 2013
Some felt though, that win, lose or draw, Tessanne was already on another level:
All wa gwan tessane is already a winner!! Her career nuh normal again! #TeamTessanne
— I Am Jordan (@Dalyricist21) December 18, 2013
After Tessanne and her team sang Hold On, I'm Comin’, the comments kept coming:
And Tessanne also had the best 'bring back' performance. Insaneeeee. #TeamTessanne
— Mar (@marjsams) December 18, 2013
Everybody betta hold on… Chinita Goodaz is coming, and she coming large #TeamTessanne #TEAMADAM @NBCTheVoice
— Destiny (@KENZIIREBEL) December 18, 2013
When the announcement of Tessanne's win finally came, mere minutes to 11 p.m. Jamaica time, Twitter exploded:
And the people have spoken! Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! Congrats @Tessanne, #TeamTessanne, we made it happen! Dreams come true!
— Judith Williams (@judith_williams) December 18, 2013
Lawd mi heart a run over wid pride….#ProudJamaican #TeamTessanne
— Samantha Waugh (@waughsam) December 18, 2013
Thank you for an early Christmas gift @Tessanne #TeamTessanne CONGRATS!!!
— D.J. Shaw (@TheMrImage) December 18, 2013
.@Tessanne, you are Jamaica's darling. You have displayed true talent, and you have made us ALL proud! #TeamTessanne #TeamJamaica
— Kevin-Sean Hamilton (@k_seanDjPowa) December 18, 2013
@Kevin2woKrayzee remarked that:
When you have an entire country behind you there is no way you can lose. #TeamTessanne
— Kevin2wokrayzee (@Kevin2woKrayzee) December 18, 2013
Trinidadian diaspora blogger Afrobella noted that it wasn't only Jamaica that supported Tessanne, it was the entire region:
Caribbean people! We do it big. Proud of Tessanne right now like I know her. And I know I'm not the only one feeling that way! #TeamTessanne
— afrobella (@afrobella) December 18, 2013
One Twitter user made the observation that Tessanne's cause drew more people than usual onto social media platforms:
Seeing some people I haven't seen on twitter for years lol #TeamTessanne
— KimmiSomm (@Cassy_Kimz) December 18, 2013
Another went back to Tessanne's coach Adam Levine's prediction when he first heard her sing at the show's blind auditions:
Congratulations Tessanne…like Adam said from the beginning "you can easily win the voice, there's not a doubt in my mind" #TeamTessanne
— Karen R (@kbdimples107) December 18, 2013
@WorldReggaeBlog quipped:
It's pandemonium around the world for @Tessanne #TeamTessanne #ChinWinsIt!
— ReggaeAroundtheWorld (@WorldReggaeBlog) December 18, 2013
The congratulatory tweets kept coming, but @tsahay summed up the feeling quite succinctly:
I am elated. So happy for @Tessanne @Tessanne_Chin. Proud of her and proud to be Jamaican. We small but we Tallowah! #TeamTessanne
— Tsahay (@tsahay) December 18, 2013


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Made in Togo: A 3D Printer Built from Recycled E-Waste  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Afaté GNIKOU is an IT engineer in Togo who wanted to tackle two important goals:
Here is a presentation of the 3D printer project, called W.AFATE :
The W.Afate 3D Printer made in Togo via ulule.com
A. Gnikou is a member of the Woe lab, a maker collaborative space based in Lomé, capital city of Togo. Sénamé Koffi Agbodjinou, founder of Woe Lab, explains Afate's thought process for the project [fr]:
L’imprimante W.AFATE est inspirée de la Prusa Mendel [..] Afate ayant cerné le problème que posait la disponibilité d’un kit dans la concrétisation de ce projet, a initié la démarche de fabrication d’une machine autonomisante, facile à reproduire, 100% à base de recyclage et autres matériaux disponibles.
The W.AFATE printer is inspired by the Prusa Mendel [..] Afate identified a clear problem : the absence of a basic toolkit to achieve his project so he opted to create a machine that is 100% based on recycled materials and easy to replicate.
E-Waste is growing issue in Togo and the nearby countries. The following infography illustrates the increased proportion of E-Waste in the region :
E waste in africa – Infography by Woe Lab with their permission

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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New Version of Brazil’s Marco Civil Submitted to the House of Representatives · Global Voices
Nathalie Gazzaneo

Despite the request of urgency, the Marco Civil – a one-of-a-kind law aimed at protecting key rights of internet users in Brazil – has not been finally voted by the Brazilian National Congress yet. President Dilma Rousseff requested urgency in the examination of that draft bill on September 12, 2013. Thus, under article 64 of the Brazilian Constitution, it was expected to be finally voted by the end of October, 2013. Nevertheless, due to the fact that the draft bill raised a number of opposing interests, it was not yet possible to reach a final deliberation upon it.
On December 11, 2013, congressman Alessandro Molon (PT-RJ), the reporter of the draft bill, submitted to the Brazilian House of Representatives a new version of the Marco Civil. Some of the changes incorporated in this new document were meant to accommodate telecommunications companies’ interests. For instance, although without compromising the so-called “net neutrality” principle, the new version of the draft bill expressly allows for the “freedom of business models carried out in the Internet”. As a consequence, telecom companies are free to offer to consumers data packets with different speeds. They must not, however, in each of the different packets offered, discriminate the information accessed in respect to its content, origin or destination. That is to say, they must treat equally [pt] the information accessed by internet users.
Check out the new version of the Marco Civil (changes to the original text are highlighted in yellow) [pt].
This post is part of our special coverage Marco Civil da Internet [pt, es].

author: Nathalie Gazzaneo


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Refuse to Pay Pension Premium? Japan Could Seize Your Assets · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

The Japan Pension Service has announced that people who refuse to pay the national pension premium could have their assets seized if they still refuse to pay. Japan's young population have been reluctant to pay for national pensions mostly because they believe the system will be broken by the time they are old, and fear they won't receive the benefits. JapanCrush translated the reaction of netizens’ comments to this move.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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“We Are More Alive Than Ever:” Coral Herrera and the Struggle for Gender Equality · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Coral Herrera's “Diverse Weddings and Queer Love” book cover
This post is part of our series on gender and sexuality in Latin America and the Caribbean, in collaboration with NACLA (North American Congress on Latin America). This is the continuation of a conversation with Coral Herrera Gómez, published in two parts, the first of which can be read here.
In the first part of our dialog about the work of artist, blogger, and scholar Coral Herrera, we discussed the opportunities presented by new technology for gender equality and the social struggle for the rights of women and LGBT persons. This time we will enter into a discussion about the struggle for gender equality in Latin America.
We asked Coral to give us her impressions of the evolution of these struggles, both online and off, and we also talked about the road we have traveled and the one that remains before us.
Coral Herrera: I am amazed by social networks because they have opened doors and windows for me to the entire world, they have broaden my horizons on all levels of my life: at the intellectual, personal, and professional levels. Before connecting to the world, I felt very alone with my books and my research, but now I sense that there are a lot of people who are also writing and sharing, with whom I can debate, build up, and deconstruct collectively.
When I got connected to these networks, I entered into contact with a diverse group of women who fascinated me because they allowed me to meet other realities beyond what I had known in Spain. I'm amazed at the struggle of peasant women, Afro-descendant woman, indigenous women, migrant women, victims of trafficking, factory workers, domestic workers, disabled women, and being able to come into contact with them has allowed me to grow beyond the Euro-centric feminism in which I was living.
Besides meeting with activists, it was fascinating to connect with feminist writers who were not only still living, but were also very active on social networks. Being able to follow them on a daily basis and to get to know them so “up close” allowed me to connect with feminist organizations and online publications from all over Latin America, and that was how I began to expand my networks and make contact with the groups of egalitarian men and LGBT activists, and with the queer groups that are slowly emerging.
CH: Above all, I think it's necessary to continue to highlight the struggles of women for access to land and water, and the work being carried out in fighting against genetically modified crops and for obtaining food sovereignty.
We also have to open up the debate within the feminisms in order to engage in self-criticism; it worries me that young people aren't identifying with feminist values and that our struggles are stereotyped in such a negative way.
I believe it's a problem in communication: we feminists are the object of ridicule, jokes, insults, and pejorative comments; we are called ugly, witches, man-haters, sexually frustrated, etc. This is what's going on in Europe; in other parts of the world you can be murdered for being a feminist, as has happened in Mexico with human rights activists, for example.
Within the feminisms, I think we have to create networks that are more horizontal and more inclusive. As in all social and political movements, within the feminisms there are still hierarchies, relationships of power, patriarchal power structures that we have to eliminate in order to be able to transform the world we live in. It's necessary to expand our sisterhood not only to those who are our equals, but also to humanity as a whole. […] Diversity is an asset we have to take advantage of in order for, say, post-modern women to identify with the struggles of indigenous women, cissexual women with the demands of transexual women, women entrepreneurs with working-class women, Catholic women who struggle to depatriarchalize their religion with Islamic feminist women, etc.
CH: I don't feel as though we're stagnating; I believe we're more alive then ever.
But from what I see on the Internet, as the number of collaborating organizations and collectives increases, so the feminist networks become more extensive, they're multiplying every day. I believe we're capitalizing on the potential these networks offer for sharing information and for creating solidarity teams and mutual support.
I think that within the feminisms we cannot fight only for equality between men and women, but we must also open up to the struggles of our trans and lesbian sisters, of our environmentalist or Islamic sisters, of our egalitarian partners, or to the struggles of pacifist groups, social movements, etc. We must embrace diversity to incorporate our struggle against any hierarchy or label that oppresses us, because in partial struggles we are minorities.
It's true that we have many ideological differences, but without a doubt we all want a world that is more balanced, more just, more equitable and peaceful. I believe that without solidarity, improving our reality will be slow and difficult; that's why I liked the “Somos el 99%” [“We are the 99%“] campaign so much, because it created a sense of unity against the privileged castes of the world, which represent only a very small group of people.
CH: This year we can celebrate, for example, the approval of marriage equality in several countries, but without losing sight of what is happening in Russia. We can celebrate the decriminalization of abortion in Uruguay and the zero death rate of women due to abortion in that country, but without forgetting that in countries like Spain, a woman's right to decide has been done away with in the face of the power of the most ultraconservative sectors of the Catholic church. We can celebrate the growth of male feminist groups who are working to eliminate the trafficking of sex slaves and femicide, and we can celebrate the existence of female leaders governing countries in Latin America, but without ceasing to object to the way in which they exercise power or whether their governance is truly contributing to the improvement of living conditions for women.
CH: The main challenges we have before us continue to be the same: eliminating networks of sexual slavery, eliminating femicide and gender violence, promoting equality in the workplace for female wage-earners, supporting the fight of women to own the land they work on, and the fight all women share for the right to make decisions about our own bodies and our own lives, and to report and put and end to the homophobic and transphobic killings that are taking place on a daily basis across the continent….
To continue the dialog on these topics, we recommend Coral's conferences on the Sociocultural Construct of Desire and Eroticism [es] and her participation in the 5th Annual Feminist Meeting in Paraguay [es]. Correa will also teach an online workshop called ‘Women who stop suffering for love’ [es], which starts on January 15, 2014.

author: Laura Vidal


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3 Initiatives Working to Make Niger a Better Place · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Power grid in Niger via the Mapping for Niger Project
Positive stories from Niger are a few and far between these days. Economic hardship combined with threats of terrorism paint a gloomy outlook for much of the country. Yet, if you take a closer look, you'll find initiatives trying to turn the tide. Learn more about three projects working to make things better in Niger:
Safe Cooking Energy Programme
Chidimma C. Okeke in Niamey explains that the Niger government has launched the Safe Cooking Energy Programme in order to extend the benefits of safe cooking energy to half a million households:
The newly launched programme would replace traditional use of firewood in the rest of public institutions with efficient wood-burning technologies. It would build a stove production plant in the state and create over 1,500 new jobs. The programme will empower women by training them to produce and sell stoves. It will also reduce deforestation.
The new stoves are designed to reduce the risk of mortality attributable to indoor smoke from solid fuel, sometimes referred to as indoor air pollution and domestic fire. The international NGO Sentinelles reports that domestic fires are an under-covered issue [fr] in Zinder, Niger:
Les enfants gravement brûlés sont malheureusement nombreux. Les «cuisines» des familles se composent généralement d’un simple feu de bois, où est posé le chaudron qui va servir de récipient pour préparer le repas familial. Souvent les enfants jouent autour du feu sans surveillance. Un coup de vent, un enfant trop près du feu, le pagne qui s'enflamme
The severely burned children are unfortunately numerous. The family “kitchen” usually consist of a simple wood fire, on which is placed the pot that will serve as a container for preparing the family meal. Children often play around the fire unattended. A gust of wind or a child too close to the fire and his or her clothes can catch fire.
Here is a video of the Burn Unit at Zinder Hospital in Niger by Christian Lajoumard. The video tells the story of Rachida, 12 and Hindatou, 5 both burn victims:
Rachida, 12 ans, est hospitalisée depuis 10 mois, les fesses et les deux jambes gravement brûlées. Pour tous soins médicaux, de la bétadine pour badigeonner ses plaies qui ne cicatrisent pas. Rachida, qui ne peut plus s’asseoir ni se coucher sur le dos, passe ses longues journées à plat ventre sur son lit d’hôpital sans pouvoir se mouvoir, sans jeux ni télévision pour se distraire.
Rachida, 12, was hospitalized for 10 months, her buttocks and both legs severely burned. The only medical care she received was some betadine [skin ointment] to brush her wounds that cannot seem to heal. Rachida, who cannot sit or lie on her back, spends all day long flat on her belly on her hospital bed; unable to move, without any games or television set to taker her mind off of her wounds.
Birth Registration Initiative
Across all regions of Niger, a birth registration initiative led by the Nigerien administration with the logistic help of UNICEF, has enabled a more secure future for the country's youngest citizens. Registration allows young people to be eligible to take exams, go to university, or get a national identity card or a driving license. This video shows how the initiative works to reach out to all Nigerien communities:
In Akoubounou, a village of 47,000 inhabitants in an area of 5,300 square kilometres in northwestern Niger, 600 children recently received their birth certificates delivered from the villages’ primary schools. On the UNICEF blog, Khamed Attayoub, the mayor of Akoubounou, reported:
With the ongoing decentralization process, communes have a strong interest in civil registration. We have a major role to play, notably with sensitization at village level. It’s also important to be involved with the follow-up, to make sure that we are not excluding anyone.
The mobile courts provided free hearings for unregistered youth. Between 2009 and 2011, more than 600,000 judgments were delivered to children under 18.
Mapping the Niger Territory
Tackling the challenges that come with a managing a vast territory is the Mapping for Niger project, a Rising Voices grantee. The initiative is a partnership between the Department of Geography at the Abdou Moumouni University and students from the campus Geography Club who have together formed a Volunteer Technical Community (VTC) to discover the needs and the stories of their surrounding community.
Additionally, team members use OpenStreetMap tools, to map key landmarks such as schools, streets, and hospitals in cities and rural villages, listening to what people have to say along the way. One of the recurring needs of communities, access to electricity, is described in Adama Salou's blog post [fr]:
A l’instar des autres villages du canton de Gorouol, le village de Kolmane, un village ou je passais mes vacances, souffre d’une précarité électrique notoire. Le réseau électrique est quasis absent en dehors de quelques panneaux solaires et de générateurs des batteries. Quant à l’électrification des routes, le constat est amer et inquiétant. Cela occasionne souvent des attaques des bandits armés notamment sur l’axe Kolmane – Ayorou, long de 30 km.
All the villages in the canton of Gorouol, including Kolmane where I spent my off time, suffer from a lack of electrical access. The electricity grid is quasi-absent except for a few solar panels and battery generators. As for the electrification of national roads, the situation is alarming and disturbing. This often leads to armed attacks from road bandits on the 30 km long road from Kolmane to Ayorou.


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Bangladesh-Pakistan Relations Sour Over Islamist Leader’s War Crimes Execution · Global Voices
Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman

Bangladeshi people protest against Pakistan's condemnation of the execution of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah near the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka. Photo by Kazi Sudipto. Copyright Demotix (19/12/2013)
Bangladesh's execution last week of Abdul Quader Mollah, the assistant secretary general of right-wing Islamist party Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, for crimes against humanity committed during its 1971 war for independence from Pakistan has caused a serious rift in the two South Asian countries’ relationship.
Pakistan's lower house, the National Assembly, adopted a resolution on 16 December 2013 expressing concern over the hanging of Quader Mollah five days earlier, with some members claiming that the real reason behind his execution was his “loyalty to Pakistan”.
A special war crimes tribunal had convicted Quader Mollah earlier this year of 344 counts of murder, rape and torture during Bangladesh's bloody liberation war from Pakistan in 1971 and sentenced him to life in prison, but hundreds of thousands of people converged in a central intersection of capital city Dhaka to demand capital punishment in what became known as the Shahbag protests. The government eventually appealed Quader Mollah's sentence, and he was condemned to death.
Every political party including the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), except the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP), present in the house supported the resolution moved by the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan.
Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami has commented that Quader Mollah was hanged because “he was loyal to Pakistan and supported the Pakistan army during the 1971 war”. Interestingly, Quader Mollah claimed during his defense that he did not take part in the killing of at least 381 unarmed people in Dhaka's Mirpur and Keraniganj areas in 1971, but rather he trained to participate in the liberation war and was awaiting his turn in Faridpur to join the battle against Pakistan (he joined Jamaat-e-Islami in 1979). The statement that “he was loyal to Pakistan” seems to contradict his defense.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party Chairman Imran Khan also claimed that Quader Molla was innocent and charges against him were “false”.
Bangladesh protested immediately, requesting that Pakistan refrain from such “interference” in its domestic affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Mian Afrasiab Mehdi Hashmi Qureshi on the evening of 17 December to inform him of the government's unhappiness with Pakistan's “completely untrue, biased and absolutely inappropriate” remarks.
The war of words spilled over onto the Internet, where the truth gave way at times to propaganda. After the execution of Qadir Mollah, his alleged last letter circulated on the Pakistani blogosphere and social media. The source of this letter could not be confirmed. The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami website doesn't have any Urdu letter or any content similar to this one available.
The likely fake last letter of Abdul Qadir Mollah
“The Last Letter of Abdul Qadir”.
I am given new clothes. The water for bathing is in the bucket. The officer on duty orders me to take a bath quickly. Every sepoy peeps in. Some are sad and some are happy. Their continuous movement disturbs my recitation of the Quran. I have Tafheem e Quran of Sayeed Modidi in front of me, here is the translation:
“Don’t be sad, you will overcome them if you are a Momin”
Subhan Allah! There is satisfaction in these words…I have a request to you all that stay firm… I can see this path leads to heaven.
Your Muslim brother
Abdul Qadir Mollah
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan organize a protest rally in Islamabad against the hanging of Abdul Quader Mollah Jamaat, leader in Bangladesh. They offered prayers in memory of the executed opposition leader and lambasted the Bangladeshi government. Photo by Taseen Farooq. Copyright Demotix (13/12/2013)
Hundreds of members of Jamaat-e-Islami held protests in Pakistan against the execution in Lahore, the capital Islamabad and Peshawar. Jamaat-e-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hassan said the governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh were under the influence of India. The protesters offered funeral prayers in absentia for Qader Mollah.
Senior journalists in Pakistan also participated in the “Gayabana Namaz e Janaza” (last prayers in absentia) in Islamabad. Twitter account Save Bangladesh tweeted a photo in which Hamid Mir and Mushtaq Minhas, seasoned journalists, appear in the first row:
#Pakistan: Senior Journalists offering funeral in Absentia for #MartyrAbdulQuaderMollah in #Islamabad – #Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/FqO7jcwdXp
— #SaveBangladesh (@SaveBangla_Desh) December 15, 2013
Hamid Mir blasted the execution:
Govt of Bangladesh should not take revenge from JI through unfair means they should demand apology they should not hang old politicians
— Hamid Mir (@HamidMirGEO) December 14, 2013
Online journalist Khalid Khan reported that the hashtag #WeAreQuaderMollah was trending on Pakistan's Twitter on 12 December as users expressed their solidarity with the convicted war criminal:
#WeAreQuaderMollah trending at No.1 in Twitter Pakistan in response to killing of Quader Mollah by Bangladesh for siding with Pakistan
— Khalid Khan™ (@khalidkhan787) December 12, 2013
Several Urdu-language newspapers and right-wing English newspapers also condemned the execution of Quader Mollah.
This fake picture was also circulated by Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf. One of PTI supporters, Muhammad Ali Lashari, tweeted:
Pic of Mollah Abdul Qadir During Arrest. #WeAreQuaderMollah #ShameOnHasina #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/sdFqjsZ0Nd
— Muhammad Ali Lashari (@AliLashariPTI) December 13, 2013
But there were those who offered more measured reactions, such as Faizan Lakhani:
Politicians can cry over hanging of Abdul Qadir Mollah & death of Hakimullah but they can't demonstrate solidarity with polio workers.
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) December 13, 2013
Meanwhile, the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group threatened to attack the Bangladesh embassy in Islamabad.
Bangladeshis were no less vocal in protesting pushback from Pakistan. The country's prime minister strongly condemned Pakistan for its reaction to the execution.  Newspaper articles criticized the Pakistani resolution. Some bloggers called for severing diplomatic ties [bn] with Pakistan in protest.
People from all walks of life staged angry protests around the country on the 18 December. The next day, police wielding batons forced back a group of young people on their way to lay siege to the Pakistan High Commission in the capital’s Gulshan area. Six activists were arrested and dozens were injured.
Blogger Dangabaz [bn] analyzed the reason why Pakistan is irked by the execution on Sachalayatan Bangla blogging platform:
ওরা ১৯৭৪ সালের ২৪শে মার্চ (পশ্চিম পাকিস্তানের) সব বাঙ্গালী পরিবার বাংলাদেশে পাঠানোর কাজ সম্পন্ন করে এবং (বিনিময়ে) বাংলাদেশ সরকার ১৯৫ জন পাকিস্তানী যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিরুদ্ধে সব অভিযোগ এবং তথ্যপ্রমান ওদের সাথে দিয়ে দেয় যেন পাকিস্তানে এইসব যুদ্ধাপরাধীর বিচার করা সম্ভব হয়। তাদের সঙ্গে বোঝাপড়া হয় এভাবে যে এইসব পাকিস্তানী সৈন্যদের পাকিস্তান নিজে শাস্তি দেবে। [..]
কিন্তু গত ৪২ বছরেও পাকিস্তান তাদের কথা রাখেনি। ওদের কোন বিচারিক প্রক্রিয়া তো দুরে থাক বরং মুক্তি পাওয়া সৈন্যদের সংবর্ধনা দিয়েছে বলেও শোনা গেছে।
They had repatriated all Bengali families residing in West Pakistan to Bangladesh by 24 March 1974, and (in return) the Bangladesh government handed over the 195 war criminal soldiers to Pakistan along with all the charges and evidence for easy trial. The understanding was that Pakistan will take the responsibility of punishing these soldiers. [..]
But Pakistan did not keep its word. They did not face any trial. Rather celebrations were undertaken for their release.
Protesters march towards the Pakistan High Commission in Bangladesh. Image by Khurshed Alam Rinku. Copyright Demotix (18/12/2013)
Bangladeshis further reacted to the execution:
No @amnesty for #WarCriminals in #Bangladesh – an example for the world. @hrw rights served for victims. http://t.co/H4m3wpr7wI #shahbag
— Mamur Hossain (@smgmamur) December 12, 2013
Evidence of Mollah working for taliban, thank you #shahbag Pak Taliban threaten to attack Bangladesh high commission: http://t.co/2g4yOhSYzo
— Shahbag Movement (@shahbag1971) December 19, 2013
Ordinary #Pakistanis term resolution on Mollah ‘act of shame’. Imran, PTI severely criticized for supporting Jamaat http://t.co/dzSI8vl2hg
— Shah Ali Farhad (@shah_farhad) December 18, 2013

author: Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman


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China: Hot Mom Contest · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo is holding a “hot mom” contest. While most of the photos are not real mom, the images do tell you a lot about gender relation in China. More from Offbeat China.


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China: Online Annihilation of Dissent · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Media Project translated veteran journalist and former Southern Weekly commentator Xiao Shu's comment on the Chinese authorities’ online annihilation tactics against Chinese liberal opinion leaders:
In early August this year I was abducted by state security police. Under orders to bring me in for questioning, state security from Guangzhou detained me in Beijing. They said in no uncertain terms: There’s no sense in arguing — we fully intend to marginalize you all.[…] Today, more and more of my friends suffer the same fate, having their internet lives entirely annihilated. Even the most moderate voices, like that of Zhang Qianfan, are not spared.


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China: Soft Landing Foreign Policy · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

South Sea Conversation summarized China foreign policy scholar Professor Wang Yizhou's podcast comment on China’s emerging foreign policy, regional strategy, territorial disputes, global role, and bilateral relations with the US.


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Coffee Blight in El Salvador Leads to Dramatic Drop in Exports · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Coffee export revenues fell 40% in October and November of 2013 in El Salvador. Tim's El Salvador Blog reports on the blight affecting coffee farms throughout the country:
Last week El Salvador's National Assembly finally established a fund for combating the coffee blight known as “la roya” and the ministry of agriculture declared an agricultural emergency.
Annually coffee accounts for tens of thousands of jobs in El Salvador.    With job losses in the coffee growing areas, rural poverty will increase and there will be migration into the cities or out of the country.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Glimpses Into São Tomé and Príncipe’s Art and Culture Biennial · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages]
Giving a voice to the seventh edition of the Art & Culture Biennial of São Tomé and Principe, which started on November 28, artists, journalists and visitors have been commenting on the event that is scheduled to run until February 28, 2014. Some of the ideas behind this biennial are featured together with images and music in a video produced by the organization.
In the video, artist Olavo Amado talks about his work “(Re)vestir monumentos” (a play with words around dressing and covering monuments), in which he reflects on the past colonization of the country by coating old and historical sculptures with new clothes and local patterns.
Kwame Sousa, also a Santomean artist who has around 65 works to be exhibited in the Biennial, introduces his 12 “colonial widows”, making connections between “today's society and the colonization of yesterday” as well as the mixing of cultures.
For Hernane Ferreira, a visitor from Cape Verde, the Biennial “contributes a lot by introducing pieces of São Tomé to the world” as well as by introducing new ways of being and thinking to the country.
The video starts with the following quote from Santomean journalist São de Deus Lima:
Let us dare to dismiss the stigma of fear and prejudices that threaten to hinder our wings.
Let us dare to instill a fair, sufficient dose of impatience in our ways, in our pace of making.
We want to relearn how to celebrate our splendor and exorcise our horrors.
To rethink the way we look and see ourselves, without ever abnegating ourselves, because we are.
Sao de Deus Lima for the Biennal of São Tomé and Príncipe
Watch the video:
Photos, updates and the program are being shared on the Facebook pages of the Biennial of São Tomé and Príncipe and CACAU (an acronym for House of the Arts, Creation, Environment, Utopias – Casa das Artes Criação Ambiente Utopias – which also means cocoa), where most of the activities take place.

author: Sara Moreira


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“Good Tsar” Putin Pardons Khodorkovsky · Global Voices
Daniel Alan Kennedy

Journalists jockey for Putin's attention during a four-hour press conference. Kremlin.ru.
Over the years President Putin's press conferences have become infamous among Russia's political junkies for their extreme length. His most recent end of the year press conference on December 19, 2013 clocked in at a respectable four hours and five minutes. Putin fielded questions on Edward Snowden (whom he called a “curious person”), on international relations (he named Iran a “priority partner”) and on how Russians should relate to the past (Stalin was no worse a “bloody dictator” than Oliver Cromwell, he explained, and there are many statues to him in the UK). As is also traditional at such conferences, Putin listened to a seemingly endless series of pleas and complaints from regional journalists about infrastructure, corruption and unemployment, which he traditionally promised to ameliorate.
At one point, Putin was asked by Diana Khachatryan of Novaya Gazeta [ru] on the possibility of a rumored “third YUKOS trial.” Another court case involving directors of the defunct oil company has been rumored to be in the works as a means of keeping its former director Mikhail Khodorkovsky, formerly Russia's richest man and political rival to Vladimir Putin, behind bars. Khodorkovsky, whose sentence has already been extended once, has been in prison since 2003 and is set to be freed in 2014. Putin was non-committal, remarking [ru] that though he personally didn't see such a trial as likely, the responsibility ultimately lies with the prosecutors office.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky – Russia's most famous prisoner. Photo CC2.0 Wikimedia Commons.
Strangely, Putin did not take this opportunity to announce what would turn out to be the biggest news of the day — his claim that Khodorkovsky had personally written to him asking for a pardon and that Putin planned to sign it. Instead, Putin waited until the conference was over and mentioned it in passing to a group of journalists. The news that Khodorkovsky had potentially admitted guilt (he has always maintained he is innocent and his detention is politically motivated) and would be imminently released sent the RuNet into a fit of speculation.
Putin explains to journalists that Khodorkovsky has signed a letter asking for a pardon and that he plans to grant it.
Perhaps even stranger than the offhand nature of the announcement was the fact that it even caught Khodorkovsky's lawyers off guard. Russian-American journalist Julia Ioffe tweeted that she had been sitting next to Khodorkovsky's lawyer, Vadim Klyuvgant, when the announcement was made:
Я была рядом с Клювгантом, когда он получил эту новость о своем клиенте. Для него это был таким же сюрпризом, как и для меня.
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) December 19, 2013
I was next to Klyuvgant, when he got the news about his client. It was as big a surprise to him as it was to me.
However, after the lawyers made public statements saying that they were not aware of any appeal for pardon, the following statement [ru] appeared on Khodorkovsky's official Facebook page:
До встречи Михаила Ходорковского с его адвокатами все ранее данные ими комментарии, касающиеся прошения о помиловании, недействительны.
Until Mikhail Khodorkovsky meets with his lawyers, all of their prior statements concerning his pardon appeal are null and void.
Russian oligarch and former presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov, who has lobbied for Khodorkovsky's release for some time, was understandably pleased [ru]:
Главная новость – помилование Ходорковского. Случилось то, что должно было случиться еще несколько лет назад. Я рад за Михаила и его семью
— Михаил Прохоров (@MD_Prokhorov) December 19, 2013
The main news is the pardon of Khodorkovsky. What should have happened years ago has happened. I'm glad for Mikhail and his family.
Sergei Zheleznyak [ru], a Duma Deputy from the ruling United Russia party, was quick to use the pardon as evidence of Putin's clemency, announcing in a self-congratulatory Facebook [ru] post that:
Готовность Президента удовлетворить прошение о помиловании, также, как и широкая амнистия к 20-летию Конституции России, […] подтверждение того, что Россия все больше становится цивилизованным, правовым и социальным государством.
The willingness of the President to fulfill the request for padron, much like the wide amnesty for the 20th anniversary of the Constitution, […] is a confirmation of the fact that Russia is becoming a more and more civilised, law-based and social state.
On the other hand, Vadim Sukhodolsky [ru], a member of the opposition party PARNAS, claimed [ru] the move, much like other amnesties, was purely about PR:
Помилование Ходорковского, как и амнистия активистов Гринпис и части узников Болотной это игра Путина перед Олимпиадой в Сочи для Запада.
— Вадим Суходольский (@sukhodolsky) December 19, 2013
Khodorkovsky's pardon, like the amnesties for the Greenpeace activists and for some of the Bolotnaya prisoners is simply an act Putin is putting on for the West before the Sochi Olympics.
Sergei Korolev [ru], a Moscow-based writer and philosopher, was similarly cynical [ru] about Putin's motives:
Помилование МБХ м.б. связано с пониманием того, что его мать может уйти из жизни, пока сын в тюрьме. Для имиджа ВВП это было бы катастрофой.
— sergei korolev (@s_korolev) December 19, 2013
Khodorkovsky's pardon may be tied to the understanding that his mother may die while her son is still in prison. For Putin's image this would be a catastrophe.
Others were more interested in Khodorkovsky's motives for asking for a pardon than Putin's motives for granting one. Tuva-based journalist and musician Valery Otstavnyk tweeted [ru]:
Вот совершенно глупый вопрос. Если МБХ вправду попросил ВВП о помиловании, чего было ждать 10 лет?
— Валерий Отставных (@otstavnyh) December 19, 2013
OK, here's a really dumb question. If Khodorkovsky really asked Putin for a pardon, then why did he wait for 10 years?
Not everyone was pleased to see Khodorkovsky released. Though public support for Khodorkovsky's release has increased [ru] over his long imprisonment, some still regard him as a member of the widely despised oligarch class, that plunged the country into chaos in the 1990s. One user, who tweets under the name of Human Zoo [ru], was clearly unimpressed [ru] by news of his imminent release:
Считаю, что МБХ и ему подобные, должны гнить на урановых рудниках вместе с Путиным.
— Human Zoo (@IgitDash) December 19, 2013
I think Khodorkovsky and his ilk should rot in the uranium mines along with Putin.

author: Daniel Alan Kennedy


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#Kality Tweet Chat on Ethiopian Imprisoned Journalists · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Join Tweet chat on Ethiopian imprisoned journalist using the hashtag #Kality:
Ethiopian journalists Reeyot Alemu and Eskinder Nega have been locked up in Ethiopia’s Kality prison since 2011 – simply for being journalists trying to hold their government accountable for its actions. Although they have been honored with numerous prestigious journalism awards, the Ethiopian authorities continue to insist that Reeyot Alemu and Eskinder Nega are terrorists. There is no doubt that their arrests and convictions were politically motivated and that their rights as journalists, who are constitutionally protected by freedom of the press, have been violated.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Mapping the ‘Urban Commons’ of Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul and Athens · Global Voices
Luciane Salles

Street protest of teachers in Rio de Janeiro (Oct 7, 2013). Photo shared on the Facebook page Mapeando o bem comum do Rio de Janeiro (Mapping the commons in Rio de Janeiro, in Portuguese)
A group of activists, artists, social scientists and students of various studies are working to map the urban commons of Athens, Istanbul and Rio de Janeiro. Urban commons refer to non-private or institutional resources which are shared by all and generated as a result of collective participation. The “commons” include natural resources, urban public spaces, creative works and even cultural traditions and knowledge which are exempt from copyrights.
The project Mapping the Commons is part of a survey carried out by Pablo de Soto (@pablodesoto), a doctorate student of the Communication School of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. The hypothesis raised by de Soto is whether it is possible to map out the commons through collective creativity as a form of debating the control governments have over society's commons:
Which is the commonwealth of the contemporary metropolis and how can it be located? How are the commons being protected from enclosure by totalitarian neoliberalism’s public-private enterprises? Which new practices of commoning are emerging in the cycle of struggles that began in 2010-11? What are the advantages and the risks of such a cartography in times of crisis and rebellions?
In practice, the research method proposed by the project is based on nomadic and temporary workshops where the urban commons are discussed, parametrized, charted and represented in short videos.
Mapping Rio's commons
In October 2013, the researcher brought [es] the project to Rio de Janeiro, thus starting the mapping of the “practices of common doing” in Brazil, as explained [pt] in the Portuguese language page of Rio's project:
O Brasil, como América Latina toda, é um país especial nas práticas dos commons. O comum bebe de tradições ibéricas (faixanais, rossios, propriedades comunais), da cultura afro (quilombos, criação cultural coletiva, propriedades conjuntas) e indígenas (propriedade coletiva, malokas). Do mutirão ao conceito de ‘comunidade’ que substitui a palavra ‘favela’, o Brasil é uma celeiro de práticas do comum. Porém, o mercado e o capitalismo estão castigando o comum sem piedade.
Brazil, as the whole of Latin America, is a special country regarding practices of the commons. The “common” derives from the Iberian traditions (faixanais, rossios, communal properties), from the African culture (quilombos, collective cultural creation, joint properties) and from the indigenous cultures (collective property, malokas). From the mutirão (crowdsourcing) to the concept of “community” which replaces the word “favela” (slum), Brazil is a storehouse of common practices. However, both the market and capitalism are punishing the common without mercy.
Taking on the concept of “rebellious cities”, coined by social theorist David Harvey, de Soto adds that recent protests in Rio de Janeiro – “the demonstrations, the popular assemblies, the urban interventions” – point to a new demand for the right to the city, “a new common and participative space of coexistence”. He also explained to the English-language audience of the website that:
Rio de Janeiro, a city branded as “the marvellous city” has probably one of the most exuberant assets for natural and cultural commons in world. Those commons are disputed in a metropolis of enormous inequality and historically under state of exception.
Present days where the city is going to host mega events as the World Cup and the Olympic Games, where conflicts of housing evictions flourish in many areas, where protests that began last June have pointed to the mobility as a common and the right to the city, have opened an excellent opportunity for a political discussion on the urban commons.
#MapeandoOComum (#MappingTheCommons). A mapping workshop on “The struggle for the shared commons” took place in Rio de Janeiro from November 21-23.
The Mapping the Commons activities, which took place in Rio last October, included the seminars Metrópoles globais e Cidadania Insurgentes (Global metropolis and emergent citizenships) [pt] and O que pode a cidade? (What can the city?) [pt]. Working groups were created to take care of the parametrization and the mapping of the commons in Rio. The process has been disseminated through Facebook on the page Mapeando o bem comum do Rio de Janeiro (Mapping the commons in Rio de Janeiro) [pt]. The final presentation of the results of the project took place on December 14.
Athens, Istanbul and the commons
Before being introduced in Brazil, the Mapping the Commons research project had already been discussed in workshops in Athens (2010) and in Istanbul (2012). The videos which resulted from these workshops were also presented in Rio.
The rescue of Gezi Park, for instance, and the popular turmoil which took hold in the central area of Beyoglu, Istanbul in 2013, when the population camped on site against the demolition of the park as part of a urban renewal project, were the subject of the research.
The video below shows how the rescue of the commons in Istanbul turned into political strife after the police reacted with brutality against the demonstrators:
The video produced in the Greek capital, Athens, focuses on language issues, taking as a starting point the literature by Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt in their book Commonwealth:
Language like affects and gestures, is for the most part common, and indeed if language were made either private or public — that is, if large portions of our words, phrases, or parts of speech were subject to private ownership or public authority — then language would lose its powers of expression, creativity, and communication.
A philosophical elucidation about the commons, as suggested [pt] by de Soto on the project's Facebook page, can be found on Iohannes Maurus's blog [es], which links the theme with Marx's perspective.

author: Luciane Salles


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Pashto Singer Ghazala Javed’s Ex-Husband Sentenced to Death for Her Murder · Global Voices
Muhammad Farhan

The ex-husband of Pashto singer and anti-Taliban activist Ghazala Javed has been sentenced to death by a court in Pakistan's northwestern Swat district, for murdering the singer and her father in 2012.
During her lifetime, Ghazala Javed bravely defied Taliban pressure to stop singing and spoke up against creeping Talibanization in her hometown Swat. The Taliban were briefly in control of Swat and were cleared from the area after a massive military operation by the Pakistan army in 2009.
Ghazala Javed (1988-2012). Image courtesy Wikipedia
Ghazala's ex-husband Jehangir Khan was awarded a double death sentence along with a Rs 70 million (0.7 million USD) fine. He has announced plans to appeal the decision.
A number of Pakistanis reacted to the court's decision and remembered the enigmatic singer on Twitter.
Following the news of the sentence, SAbaseen expresses relief:
So good to know that our dearest late #GhazalaJaved is finally recieving justice — a little late…but better late than never, eh.
— SAbaseen (@SesapZai) December 16, 2013
Ghazala was an ethnic-Pashtun and sang in Pakistan's north-western region's language Pashto. One of her fans, a Pashtun Twitter user Schazad Bangash, praised the sentence:
I wud really want to see this guy hung in bloody intersection for killing #GhazalaJaved. Good decision. http://t.co/fZd1eaZufp
— Schazad Bangash (@schazad) December 16, 2013
Commenting on the judgement another Pashtun Twitter user Nazrana Yousufzai said:
#RIP GhazalaJaved- Your murderer has given what he deserved – http://t.co/nmGtukImUj
— Nazrana Yousufzai (@NazranaYusufzai) December 16, 2013
Expressing his disbelief on the legal and judicial system, Royal Pashtoon responded:
@NazranaYusufzai You know this sentence will be reduced to 6 years till the proceudre of Supreme Court.
— Royal Pashtoon (@samzmer) December 16, 2013
Journalist Javed Aziz Khan posts a portrait of the singer:
Singer #GhazalaJaved ,killed in #Peshawar in 2012. Court awarded death sentence to her ex-spouse in her murder case pic.twitter.com/pKoCTsQgtq
— The Commoner (@JavedAzizKhan) December 16, 2013
Ghazala's Pashto songs were also popular in Afghanistan. Pashto is one of Afghanistan's official languages.  Hyprgee posted a clip from Ghazala's last concert in Kabul:
Ghazala javed Last Concert Pashto song 2013 in kabal Part 5 YouTube: http://t.co/YrFMCSVMF1 via @YouTube
— Hyprgee (@hyprgee) December 18, 2013

author: Muhammad Farhan


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Ousmane Sow Becomes First Black African Member of France Academy of Fine Arts  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Senegalese sculptor Ousmane Sow was admitted on December 11 into L'Académie des Beaux-Arts de Paris [Academy of Fine Arts of Paris].  Africa-top-talents.com reports:
Une belle consécration pour ce sculpteur sénégalais connu pour ses séries de sculptures monumentales consacrées aux ethnies africaines (noubas, peuls, masaï, Zoulou). « Mon élection a d’autant plus de valeur à mes yeux que vous avez toujours eu la sagesse de ne pas instaurer de quota racial, ethnique ou religieux pour être admis parmi vous (…)  Comme mon confrère et compatriote sénégalais Léopold Sédar Senghor, élu à l’Académie française il y a trente ans, je suis africaniste. Dans cet esprit, je dédie cette cérémonie à l’Afrique toute entière, à sa diaspora, et aussi au grand homme qui vient de nous quitter, Nelson Mandela. »
This is a wonderful consecration for the Senegalese sculptor known for his series of monumental sculptures devoted to African tribes (Nuba, Fulani, Masai, Zulu). He states: “My election feels even greater to me because you [the academy] had the wisdom to never introduce a racial, ethnic or religious quota for admission  (…) As my colleague and fellow Senegalese Leopold Sédar Senghor, elected to the French Academy thirty years ago, I am Africanist. In this spirit, I dedicate this ceremony to Africa as a whole, to its diaspora and to the great man who has just left us, Nelson Mandela.”

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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“Tajikistan is not the Center of the World”: Rewriting of Country’s History Spurs Ridicule · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Ever since Tajikistan's independence 22 years ago, historians in the Central Asian nation have been busy rewriting its history books. Searching for the “more ancient roots” [pdf] of the Tajik people and fitting ancient history to the current political agenda were key to this process. However, as the country's historians seem to be in a race to move the origins of the nation as far back in time as possible, netizens are increasingly distrustful of the updated history.
Fake “discoveries”?
On November 2, 2013, one of the leading newspapers in the country published an article titled “Rewriting History?” [ru]. Based on interviews with foreign historians, the article alleged that a number of recent “discoveries” which made several regions in Tajikistan appear much more ancient than had been previously thought were fake. For instance, the country celebrated the 2,700th anniversary of Kulob in 2006 and is preparing to mark the 3,000th anniversary of Hisor in 2015, although historians outside the country argue that the available evidence suggests that these towns are significantly younger.
Commenting under the article, Joseph suggested [ru] that some historians claim they made significant “discoveries” to boost their careers and earn material benefits:
Не стоит забывать и о том, что за описание и дальнейшее документальное оформление таких псевдо исторических памятников вполне возможно претендовать на получение каких-то академических бонусов или степеней.
We shouldn't forget that by describing and documenting these pseudo-historical [discoveries], one can seek to earn academic degrees and bonuses.
Meanwhile, Farid opined [ru] that given the conditions in present-day Tajikistan, it made little sense for its people to portray themselves as an ancient nation:
Очень сильно завышать возраст нашей цивилизации вредно, так как могут спросить, почему за эти тысячи лет у нас нет никакого прогресса, почему мы живем как в каменном веке, и свет у нас горит только 9 часов в сутки и почему каждый 4-й житель работает в России? Наоборот будут смеяться, что прошло тысячи лет, весь мир ушел вперед, а у нас ничего не изменилось.
Arguing that our civilization is much older than it actually is makes little sense because one can, then, ask us, why we haven't made any progress in the past thousands of years, why we still live in what looks like the stone age, why we have electricity for only 9 hours a day, and why every fourth resident [of Tajikistan] works in Russia. [If we do make such claims], they would laugh at us, saying that the rest of the world has mover forward over the last thousand years, while we still remain where we were then.
History writing and Freud
LiveJournal user Icekandar proposed [ru] a Freudian explanation for Tajikistan's search for the “more ancient roots:
Историю своей страны знать необходимо…
Но одно дело заниматься написанием реальной истории, основанной на фактах и археологических открытиях, и совсем другое это придумывать историю в угоду каким-то политическим проектам. К сожалению, в последнее время историки в Таджикистане занимаются последним. Единственное, в чем они преуспевают, так это в фальсификации истории нашего народа, в представлении его более древним и более значимым, чем он есть на самом деле. Постоянно обновляется возраст городов. Оказывается, каждый город еа территории нашей республики в разы древнее Самарканда и Бухары. Вот только историки и археологи из других стран крутят пальцами у виска и спрашивают: “Что они там в Таджикистане курят?”.
It is necessary to know the history of your country…
However, writing a real history which is based on facts and archaeological discoveries is one thing, while making up a history to serve political objectives is a different thing altogether. Unfortunately, it is the latter that historians in Tajikistan have recently been busy with. The only practice in which they succeed is the falsification of the history of our people, and its portrayal as more ancient and more significant than it really is. The age of our cities is constantly revised. It turns out that any town in [Tajikistan] is several times more ancient than Samarkand and Bukhara [important centers of Tajik culture, now in Uzbekistan]. However, historians and archaeologists from other countries [think we are insane] and ask, “What do they smoke there in Tajikistan?”.
He continued [ru]:
У меня есть всего одно объяснение тому, что происходит – . Психологи давно доказали, что мужчины, наиболее усердно рекламирующие свои огромные *пардон* пенисы, на самом деле жутко комплексуют, считая их очень короткими.
Вот так и у нас с историей. “Историки” и те, от кого они получают директивы, похоже жутко комплексуют по поводу того, что мы малюсенькая страна, не преуспевшая ни в чем, кроме объемов коррупции, трафика афганского героина и уровня нищеты в обществе. Поэтому и сочиняются эти сказки про “древнейшие” центры мировой цивилизации на территории Таджикистана.
I see only one explanation for what is happening – a severe inferiority complex. Psychologists have proven that men who tirelessly praise their large *pardon me* penises have a severe complex, considering [their penises] to be too short.
We have the same thing with history. “Historians” and those who give them orders seem to have a complex about us being a tiny country which has not succeeded in anything except the scale of corruption, volumes of Afghan heroin trafficking, and poverty levels. This is why all these fairy tales are created about the “most ancient” centers of world civilization found on the territory of Tajikistan.
4,000 years
Another recent story [tj] that social media users in the country have found hard to believe claimed that Farkhor, a small town in southwestern Tajikistan, had a 4,000-year-long history. The story was based on an interview with Rahim Masov, a controversial Tajik historian, serving as Director of the Institute of History, Archaeology, and Ethnography in the Academy of Sciences.
Commenting under the article, Mavzuna R. refused [ru] to believe Masov:
Какая глупость! Мы уже праздновали 2,700 лет Куляба, насмешили весь мир. Может хватить выдавать желаемое за действительное? Таджикистан не пуп земли, и совсем не здесь зародилась человеческая цивилизация. Хотя я уверена, что Масов скоро “найдет” доказательства тому, что это произошло именно здесь.
This is really stupid. We have already made the entire world laugh by celebrating Kulob's 2,700th anniversary. Maybe we should stop engaging in wishful thinking? Tajikistan is not the center of the world, and it is not here that the human civilization was born. Although I am confident that Masov will soon “find” evidence suggesting that that occurred [in Tajikistan].
On Twitter, several Tajikistani users ridiculed Masov and his new “discovery”:
Фархору больше 4,000 лет? Масов похоже забыл что он ученый, а ученые не должны нести ерунду http://t.co/T8aohKcpBS
— Бачаи Сако (@BachaiSako) November 13, 2013
Farhor is older than 4,000 years? Looks like Masov has forgotten than he is a scholar, and scholars are not supposed to bullshit http://t.co/T8aohKcpBS
Так мы скоро договоримся до того, что РТ существовал еще при динозаврах. А Куляб был их столицей http://t.co/T8aohKcpBS
— Бачаи Сако (@BachaiSako) November 13, 2013
If we continue this way, we will soon claim that [Tajikistan] dates back to the dinosaurs. And Kulob [a town and region in southern Tajikistan from where most of the country's political elite comes] was their capital.
@BachaiSako Я даже уже придумала название для новой книги Масова: “Куляб – священный город динозавров” (:
— Томирис (@tomiristj) November 13, 2013
@BachaiSako I have devised a title for Masov's new book: “Kulob, the Holy City of the Dinosaurs” (:
@BachaiSako @tomiristj Только приехал из Фархора. Кишлак кишлаком. А оказывается – древнейший город :-D http://t.co/qSXwxvYoCR Жжет Масов — Джура Охотник (@jurathehunter) November 13, 2013
I have just returned from Farkhor. [It looks] no different than any other village. But it turns out that it is a very ancient town :-D http://t.co/qSXwxvYoCR. Masov kicks ass.
Some netizens believe in these “discoveries”, however. Under the both articles, and in comments to Icekandar's blog, they defend Tajik historians and the process of rewriting the country's history. These debates are part of a broader discussion within society about the proper place of the people of Tajikistan in the region's political and cultural history.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Ukrainian Netizens Draft A Digital #Euromaidan Manifesto  · Global Voices
Tetyana Bohdanova

As Euromaidan protests in Ukraine enter their second month, Ukrainian social media users have started circulating a Digital Euromaidan Manifesto [uk] drafted by their fellow netizens.
Below is the English translation of the full original statement:
Digital Euromaidan Manifesto
We, the Ukrainian Internet users united by Euromaidan principles of non-violent resistance state:
In the digital age, when Internet becomes the main source of information for millions of Ukrainian citizens and no one is able to limit the users with physical borders, the attempts of Ukrainian government to prevent the development of the society and force us to live in the age of television are bound to fail. The development of our society outruns the burnout of current government with its derogatory treatment of citizens. In a digital age it is impossible to hide one’s incompetence, fraud and corruption. In a digital age using brutal physical force becomes one’s condemnation. We will keep reminding about it. We will remember.
Our goals:
– To encourage citizens to participate in the protests demanding the prosecution of those responsible for the brutal crackdown on Nov. 30 rally and the resignation of the government;
– To continue providing comprehensive coverage of protests and acts of civil disobedience in Ukraine;
– To counter information attacks by the Ukrainian Presidential Administration and the Kremlin against the participants and ideas of Euromaidan done through media outlets controlled by the government;
– To stick to ethical principles and avoid publicizing unconfirmed, provocative and sensational information.
We are convinced that:
– The future of Ukraine depends on the efforts of every one of us;
– Our strength lies in unity and openness to the world and innovations;
– Significant portion of Ukrainian Internet is in solidarity with the values of Euromaidan.
We condemn:
– The attempts of the government to turn people’s attention away from Euromaidan’s demands to prosecute those guilty of using force on Euromaidan;
– Any attempts to manipulate public opinion;
– Biased coverage of Euromaidan by some Ukrainian and Russian media outlets.
We respect different opinions and are ready to engage with our opponents by the way of facts and reason. We will continue taking part in the acts of civil disobedience both on Euromaidan itself and in the informational space.
Together till victory! Glory to Ukraine! #євромайдан
Kyiv. December 19, 2013

author: Tetyana Bohdanova


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7 Amazing Vintage Photos of 19th-Century Japan · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

This week, the Public Domain Review (PDR) posted a series of hand-colored albumen prints that date back to 19th-century Japan. Albumen is a process that used egg whites to bind the photographic chemicals to the paper.
The prints, uploaded by the Dutch National Archieff, offer a glimpse of life in Japan some 150 years ago. Take a look:
Samurai with bow and arrow, helmets, swords, spears and coats of mail. Public Domain
Three Japanese women styling hair, taken around 1880. Public Domain
Fishermen on a boat. Japan, around 1870-1890. Public Domain
Two women sleeping under a padded coat / blanket in a room with painted screen, scrolled painting and paper lantern. The cushion is a small wooden box. Public Domain
Messenger or postman delivering the mail clasped in the end of a split bamboo pole. Japan, around 1868-1895. Public Domain
Garden view from the open porch of a Japanese tearoom. Public Domain
Mendicant with staff, begging bowl and pointed hat. Public Domain
View more images from the series of 42 hand-coloured albumine prints from Spaarnestad Photo by Felice Beato, Kusakabe Kimbei or Raimund baron von Stillfried.


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Bahrain Preacher: “Celebrating National Day is a Sin”  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Google marked Bahrain's National Day with this Doodle. Photo credit: @JustJa3far
Bahraini blogger Manaf Al Muhandis tweets from a sermon before Friday prayers in Bahrain, in which the preacher declares that celebrating National Day is a sin.
He says:
في خطبة الجمعة لعادل الحمد، يقول لك أن العيد الوطني حرام كحرمة الخمر. #البحرين
— Redbelt (@Redbelt) December 13, 2013
During the Friday prayers sermon, the clergyman Adel Al Hamad, said that celebrating national day is a sin (haram)- as serious as drinking alcohol.
He adds:
عادل الحمد يقول أن الوطنية وهم، وما يصير تجتمع الناس على حب وطن لأن الله لا يجمع قلوب المؤمنين بالكفار على شيء واحد. #البحرين#من_صجه
— Redbelt (@Redbelt) December 13, 2013
Adel Al Hamad says that nationalism is an illusion and that people cannot be united on the love of the nation because Allah (God) doesn't unite the beleivers and the infidels under one cause
During the sermon, Al Hamad also touches on Bahrain's relationship with Iran. Al Muhandis tweets:
عادل الحمد يقول في "حكم العلاقة مع إيران" أنها دولة تسب الصحابة. وأن أي شخص غير سني فاقد العقل ومجنون. #البحرين
— Redbelt (@Redbelt) December 13, 2013
Adel Al Hamad says regarding the rule on the relationship with Iran is that it is a country which curses Prophet Muhammed's companions. And that any person who doesn't follow the Sunni sect of Islam, is a person who is crazy
Al Muhandis adds:
ويقولون لي ليش تصلي في النصف. ستاند أب كوميدي شو ببلاش يا ناس والله.
— Redbelt (@Redbelt) December 13, 2013
Many ask me why I pray at Al Nusuf (mosque). It's a free stand-up comedy show
He shares this video on Instagram, where the preacher says that dancing and drumming to mark National Day is haram.
Bahrain marks its National Day on December 16.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Chinese Film Director Feng Xiaogang on Censorship · Global Voices
Abby Liu

When asked about his dream during an interview at China's top Tsinghua University, Chinese film director Feng Xiaogang said[zh] to the students:
I have realized all my dreams, if there is any, that is one day, I wish there's no film censorship in China.
His words inspired thunderous applause. He went on to say that a single film in China has to go through over 30 different departments of the censorship bureaucracy before it can be released. Feng noted that he does not believe his dream will be fulfilled in his lifetime.

author: Abby Liu