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Myanmar’s Laws and Societal Attitudes Make Girls Vulnerable to Abuse · Global Voices
Juan Cebu

What do you want to tell girls across Myanmar on International Day of the Girl? “Study hard and work hard to accomplish your dreams. We wish all girls’ dreams can come true.” – Girls living in an IDP camp in Kachin. Photo and post by Plan International in Myanmar. Used with permission.
On October 11, 2016, Plan International in Myanmar celebrated International Day of the Girl in one of the internally displaced person camps in Kachin State, northern Myanmar. The girls who took part in the celebration have been living in the camps near the Myanmar-China border for six years due to the renewed conflict between the Kachin Independence Army and Myanmar military.
During the event, the girls highlighted issues such as the need for protection from violence and improved security in the camps especially at night. One of the camp administrators stressed the issues that young women living in the camps faced:
We are living in a very crowded environment and in some households there are 8-9 people, including older boys. Privacy is a big issue in this camp so we must take responsibility for the safety of girls in our families and communities, as girls are more at risk than boys.
Girls and women are indeed at risk for violence and abuse in Myanmar. Since the coming of the new civilian government in 2011, the fight for equality and against gender-based violence has been an important endeavor in Myanmar's social transformation towards a more democratic society. However, without legal protection, many women in Myanmar today continue to be susceptible to mistreatment. Cultural acceptance and silence over domestic violence has often left women powerless to counter such abuses.
Recently, more public awareness has been raised about cases of domestic abuse against underage girls, thanks to the opening up of the local media. Last month, two girls aged 16 and 17 who were employed as domestic workers in a tailor shop in the city of Yangon came to nationwide attention when a local journalist reported on their five years of physical abuse and confinement.
The public was further angered when the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) failed to protect them in a legal action but instead settled with a compensation from the family who abused the girls. Legal action were eventually filed by the anti-human trafficking unit of the police force against the family. A lawmaker has also called for the replacement of MNHRC members for their mishandling of the case.
A viral post about the remark made by one of the members of MNHRC reflected society's attitudes towards young domestic workers.
“အိမ်ဖော်ကိုရိုက်တာဘာဆန်းလဲ ကျွန်မလည်းကျွန်မအိမ်ဖော်ကိုရိုက်တာပဲ” လို့ မီဒီယာတွေရှေ့မှာ ဝန်ခံသွားသည့် MNHRC commissioner ဒေါ်မြမြအား ဥပဒေနှင့်အညီ အရေးယူပေးရန် ပြည်သူများမှ တောင်းဆိုပါသည်။
#MNHRC #ChildAbuse #ChildLabor
“What's so surprising about hitting a maid? I also hit my maid”. People would like to request lawful action against this MNHRC commissioner Daw Mya Mya, who admitted this in front of the media.
#MNHRC #ChildAbuse #ChildLabor
Furthermore, the recent death of a Myanmar domestic worker in Singapore also raised concerns over violent abuse that young Myanmar girls face while working abroad. Al Jazeera has released an investigative video on the illegal business of sending underage Myanmar girls to work as domestic workers in Singapore. The hardship that these girls face include physical violence, rape and confinement.
On the global scale, the recent report ‘Counting the Invisible’ released by Plan International highlights the discrepancy in government data on children, predominantly girls, facing abuse and inequality. The child rights organization noted that the governments would be unable to end the abuse and inequality facing millions of girls without better statistics on the realities of their lives. The report said:
Currently no credible statistics exist worldwide that show the real life challenges of girls, such as how many drop out of school due to early marriage, pregnancy or sexual violence, or how many girls become mothers under the age of 15.
In conclusion, these cases indicate the absence of data and lack of Government protection on the gender based violence in Myanmar, and a need for public awareness for social reform.

author: Juan Cebu


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Journalists Call on Timor-Leste PM to Drop Defamation Complaint Against Reporters · Global Voices
Dalia

Raimundos Oki at the Dili District Court, Oct 07, 2016. Published and authorized by Raimundos Oki.
Journalists around the world are trying to get the prime minister of Timor-Leste (East Timor) to abandon a criminal complaint against two Timor-Post reporters who say he was involved in government corruption.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has launched an online petition calling on Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo to drop the complaint. If convicted, Raimundos Oki and Lourenco Martins could be sentenced to three years in prison and a high fine.
Earlier this year, Araujo said he wouldn't back down from pursuing the complaint, despite international support for Oki and Martins, whose trial was originally scheduled to begin on October 7, 2016. Due to technicalities, however, the trial has been rescheduled to begin on December 2.
Oki and Martins will face charges of “slanderous denunciation” for a story published nearly a year ago, on November 10, 2015, revealing corruption in state procurement contracts. Prime Minister Araujo, who previously served as a senior advisor in the Finance Ministry, was allegedly involved in one of the contracts in question—a government order for information-technology services.
A week after the article was published, Araujo held a press conference and announced his intention to “present the facts to the Prosecutor's Office of a publicly disseminated false accusation” against him. Two days later, on November 18, the prime minister formally submitted the complaint.
Several international media organizations, including IFJ, Freedom House, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the South East Journalists Union, have called on Araujo to step back.
Araujo published an open letter in April responding to these groups and vowing to stick to his guns and push ahead with the case.
In July, the IFJ-Asia Pacific, the CPJ, and Freedom House again reached out to Araujo, arguing that the charges are “an attack on press freedom and the right to information in Timor-Leste,” saying “criminal prosecutions of journalists cannot be tolerated….as a matter of principle.”
Individual journalists from the Asia-Pacific region have also weighed in on the issue. Petrus Suryadi Sutrisno, a veteran Indonesian journalist with more than 40 years of experience, including working at the Suara Timor Timur Daily, says that Timor-Leste journalists must not follow the example of Indonesia and other countries by not checking and rechecking sources before publishing. He adds that publishing stories without following procedures can cause damage to both the media practitioners and the subject they're writing about:
Timor-Leste should learn either from Indonesia or from other countries by making a systematic observation and studying how media organizations can exist within the frame of “news engineering” and “orchestrated media” for real systematic character assassination to some one. First by publishing the news without ethic and check and recheck mechanism procedures hit the target then the law consequences are followed later. But what's most important is that the target now is the victim of defamation. The lawsuit is really the last straw.
Tempo Semanal Director Jose Antonio Belo commented on the petition:
I'm signing this Petition because the East Timor Prime Minister is still living with the spirit of the former Indonesian General Dictatorship.
Ted McDonnel, an Australian journalist, also writes:
I believe in Freedom of the Press & Freedom of Expression. This case brought by the PM of Timor Leste is all about silencing the media.
The IFJ petition is formally addressed to Prime Minister Araujo, along with Timor-Leste's minister of justice and general prosecutor. Supporters are encouraged to share the petition using the hashtag #FreeTimorJournalists.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Dalia


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Threatened With Suspension Over Its Rights Record, Maldives Up and Quits the Commonwealth · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011. The Queen and state leaders. Image from Flickr by The Commonwealth, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
On 13 October, the Maldives government announced that the country will leave the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that were mostly former territories of the British Empire. In 1982 Maldives joined this elite group of countries who share values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
The decision comes as the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, a rotating group of foreign ministers from eight member states, convened a meeting in September and discussed Maldives's lack of progress in resolving a protracted political crisis. The meeting has put Maldives on a watch list and warned that if there is no sign of substantive progress across the priority areas before the next meeting in March 2017, the group would consider suspending the country from the Commonwealth.
The meeting took the decisions based on the report of Commonwealth special envoy Willy Mutunga, the former chief justice of Kenya, who visited Maldives twice and interacted with people at various levels. Matunga said in the report that “a high level of fear and political intimidation prevails in the island nation”.
High level of fear and intimidation prevails in Maldives, says Commonwealth… https://t.co/ND62mH4XG4 by #hashimex via @c0nvey
— Raajjetherey Meehaa™ (@AhmedYaamyn) September 30, 2016
Only last month, an investigative exposé by Al Jazeera accused Maldives President Abdulla Yameen and his government of corruption and money laundering. The Maldives political opposition says the administration is trying use intimidation to cover up the allegations, which the government has denied.
Yameen's rise to the power in a controversial election in 2013 has led to regular political crises and the prosecution of political figures, including former President Mohamed Nasheed, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison on terrorism charges and is currently exiled in the UK.
Some Maldivians were not happy with the pressure from the Commonwealth:
Commonwealth with Maldives opposition pressure gangs; stop threatening us. Live and let live clean your backyard first
— #HealingAParadise (@moh0be) September 30, 2016
Many politicians also accused the Commonwealth of pressuring Maldives on their internal matters.
Maldives ministers accuse Commonwealth of bully tactics, highlight action against the country following president's ouster in 2012
— Zaheena Rasheed (@ZaheenaR) October 13, 2016
On 13 October, Foreign Minister Dr Mohamed Asim said in a press conference that the decision to leave the Commonwealth was “extremely difficult,” but was necessary to “protect the sovereignty” of the archipelago.
Hearing the news, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, expressed his disappointment on Twitter:
As someone who led Maldives into Commonwealth 34 years ago, I am disappointed that we have left. Isolation will not solve our problems.
— Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (@maumoonagayoom) October 13, 2016
Commonwealth support proved vital in overcoming many of Maldives vulnerabilities in the past. Hopefully we will rejoin.@PScotlandCSG
— Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (@maumoonagayoom) October 13, 2016
Others also reacted:
Maldives decision to quit the Commonwealth will unsettle neighbours. Worst foreign policy mistake ever! Troubled times ahead! @DevirupaM
— Ahmed Shaheed (@ahmedshaheed) 17 de octubre de 2016
Don't we as fucking citizens get a say in whether or not we want to be a part of the commonwealth? Or is Maldives just a one man country now
— Raula Ahmed (@raularr) October 13, 2016
Althaf Ali wrote on Facebook:
The decision by the government to leave the Commonwealth is deeply disappointing and irrational. This will however, not put an end to international calls on the government to restore democractic values and adhere to the constitution, but this is a step backwards, a loss of opportunities and isolation in an era of global inclusion and diversity.
The main Maldives opposition party criticised  President Yameen for quitting the Commonwealth in the face of mounting criticism over his rights record.
Many fear that this exit from Commonwealth will cost Maldives dearly, especially in the field of sports, youth scholarships and place the country in international isolation.

author: Rezwan


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Meet Eufrasia Vieira, the ‘Next Angelina Jolie’ From Timor-Leste · Global Voices
Dalia

Eufrasia Vieira painting. Published on Facebook, used with permission.
Timor-Leste’s long struggle to achieve independence from Indonesian rule and move forward as a country is mirrored in its ongoing quest for worldwide recognition in the field of culture and the arts.
One example is the ascent of the multi-talented Eufrasia Vittoria Vieira, a young actress, singer, and novelist who wishes to promote friendship between the two nations.
Image of Eufrasia published on Facebook. Used with permission.
Eufrasia, or EV for short, was born in Dili, Timor-Leste. She has one brother and four sisters from her mother’s side and six brothers and three sisters from her father’s side.
The only class that really spoke to Eufrasia in school was art, especially drawing and painting. She lived in the United Kingdom for over 10 years and got a higher diploma in art and design from the City of Oxford College in Oxford.
One of the few artists from the younger generation of Timor-Leste, Eufrasia has attracted people’s attention for her style, originality, and advocacy work. With her passion, she might well go beyond Timor-Leste’s borders to achieve worldwide stardom.
Some of the personalities who inspired Eufrasia are Catholic saint Mother Teresa, British author Richard Templar, and psychologists Daniel Goleman and Paul Kleiman. In an interview, she told me:
I want to help change the world and impact people’s lives through my words. I wanna be part of the world in a positive way. I have doubts, fears and worries, like everyone else. But I know I was meant to do this, because doing anything else is torture.
CD cover. Used with permission.
In 2009, Eufrasia released her first music album called “What's Her Name” with eleven tracks. About her music, she had this to say:
Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of soul. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is soul. On some nights I still believe that a car low on gas in the middle of traffic jump can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.
In 2015, Eufrasia also premiered her first novel, titled “Vittoria: Helena's Brown Box,” co-written with Les D. Soriapoetra.
The novel is a romance story about an Indonesian journalist and an East Timorese girl in 1999 amidst Timor-Leste’s struggle for independence. Eufrasia explained:
The reason that I wrote the story was to try to communicate help and connect with others families, women, men and children going through the same thing…It has been more than 15 years since East Timor war began but many of those caught up in the conflict are still trying to heal.
A film adaptation of the novel is also in the works, set to star Eufrasia herself and famous Indonesian actor Ari Wibowo.
So ready for our upcoming action movie  after "Vittoria" The Movie
A photo posted by Ari Wibowo (@ariwibowo_official) on
Responding to fanscomparingher to American actor and activist Angelina Jolie, Eufrasia said.
People say anything from what they see on the cover. But yeah it’s pretty funny comparing me to Angelina Jolie. It’s unbelievable. Sometimes, I take those compliments as a joke. Angelina is so beautiful and she’s just wow. I’m just an ordinary woman living a simple life.


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Paraguay, a Country Where Cows Fly While Schools Crumble · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

“Don't let education crumble.” A banner used in one of the many protests that have taken place in Paraguay demanding improvement to education. Image from Kurtural, published with permission.
This article is the first in a series published by the Paraguayan economic and cultural news site Kurtural. An edited version appears below with permission.
Paraguay's education system has been broken for decades, and today is fueling confrontations and dissatisfaction.
Despite threats from Paraguay's minister of education, Enrique Riera, thousands of students took to the streets of the country's capital city, Asunción, in May, demanding improvements to infrastructure in schools that are literally collapsing. Riera had warned students that anyone who attended the protest would be penalized, while teachers would have their salaries cut.
At the same time, over at the National University of Asunción, students participated in protests in order to defend reforms to the education system, in spite of the attorney general's office commanding university leaders to stop. For the first time in history, all of the faculty went on strike. Some of the demands for reform included requests that a state of emergency be declared regarding school infrastructure and for an increase in the quality of university teaching. According to international rankings, Paraguayan education is found to be one of the lowest in terms of quality.
These protests, which were the largest of an ongoing movement in support of educational reform, are symptomatic of a profound education crisis in Paraguay, as well as of a two-part conflict: a powerful minority class that has seized the education system in order to maintain their privileges against the many who want to bring a sense of opportunity back into education. An essay by Camila Vollenweider that was published by the Latin America Strategic Center of Geopolitics illustrates part of this struggle:
Lo han puesto en evidencia los estudiantes paraguayos durante las luchas de estos años: de las 53 Universidades que hay en el país, 45 son privadas, y las 8 públicas son igualmente aranceladas; asimismo, de 32 de las 53 Universidades no han conseguido acreditar ninguna carrera por parte de la Agencia Nacional de Evaluación y Acreditación de la Educación Superior, haciendo que proliferen las llamadas “Universidades de garage”, que han sido denunciadas recientemente por estafar a 6.000 estudiantes […]
Paraguayan students have brought [this problem] to light during the struggles of these last years: out of the 53 universities that exist in the country, 45 are private, and the eight public ones also have tuition costs; likewise, 32 of the 53 universities have not obtained any certifications from the National Agency of Evaluation and Accreditation for Higher Education, something that has contributed to the proliferation of so-called “garage universities”, which have recently been reported for swindling 6,000 students […]
She continues:
[El] presupuesto de 4,1% del PIB que destina el Gobierno a esta materia está muy lejos del 7% que recomienda la UNESCO […] La política educativa vigente data de la dictadura de Stroessner [cabeza de la dictadura paraguaya que duró de 1954 a 1989], y no ha cambiado demasiado hasta Cartes [el Presidente actual]: insuficiente presupuesto educativo -aunque este último lo haya incrementado-, endurecimiento de las condiciones de acceso a la universidad pública, criterios políticos en la designación de rectores y decanos, promoción e incremento de subsidios y becas a centros educativos privados en detrimento de la financiación del sistema público.
[The] budget of 4.1% gross domestic product (GDP) that the government allocates to this matter is very far from the 7% that UNESCO recommends […] The current educational policy dates back to the Stroessner dictatorship [which lasted from 1954 to 1989], and has not changed much until [current President] Cartes’ time in office. The budget devoted to education is not enough — although this last one has increased it — access to public university is harder, the criteria behind the appointment of rectors and deans is political, and the promotion of and increase in subsidies and scholarships are given to private education centers to the detriment of the public system.
The stories of this series, “Cows that fly, schools that crumble,” (“Vacas que vuelan, escuelas que caen“) brings us closer to this conflict. They focus on the heroes who face daily battles so that the majority of Paraguay can access their right to education; battles that should not exist, if education were actually recognized as a right in the country.
The high cost of gaining access to education can be seen in the story of Christian Quiñónez, who says goodbye to his children every day before heading to the university and crossing the Paraguay River in order to study law, without knowing if he will return alive. Or the teachers at Maricevich school, in the northern part of the country, who must withstand harassment from armed groups, military soldiers, police, drug dealers, and hit-men in order to teach in their communities. Or in the account of how, in order to go to school, 46,000 boys and girls must submit themselves to a system of servitude that exploits children.
When the right to education is not guaranteed, it can become either a business or the key to accumulating political power. The education crisis in Paraguay puts into question the very model of current production, which ought to create resources for the well-being of everyone. If we are capable of exporting live cows by plane — the first country in South America to do so — how is it possible that schools collapse while teachers and students are in them?

author: Laura Vidal


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A Social Media About-Face in Trinidad & Tobago Highlights the Complexity of Domestic Violence · Global Voices
Flora Thomas

Young men from the Chaguanas Secondary School in Trinidad & Tobago take part in a 2008 Walk against Domestic Violence to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Photo by CWGL, (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
In February 2016, Facebook user Rachael Sukhdeo posted a series of selfies. One eye was bruised and swollen, the side of one of her breasts was black and blue and there were cuts and scrapes about her body. The photos, which were accompanied by a status update saying that she was a victim of domestic violence, created an immediate stir on social media — especially because she was brazen enough to post everything on the Facebook page of her husband's business. The post has since been taken down.
At the time, Sukhdeo received a wave of online support, with women commending her bravery and encouraging her to be a beacon for others. Fellow domestic abuse survivors shared their stories and assured her that she did the right thing in leaving.
The incident sparked a vibrant national discussion in Trinidad and Tobago about violence towards women and — though Sukhdeo was full of praise for the female police constable who dealt with her case — about the manner in which the police allegedly handle reports of domestic abuse.
The blogosphere was therefore disappointed — if not surprised — when on Monday, October 10, 2016, Sukhdeo told the court that she no longer wanted to pursue the charges laid against her husband.
The case was dismissed, but social media did not let Sukhdeo off the hook so easily. Many netizens could not reconcile the departure from her initial angst, when she said, “I want to encourage EVERYONE that is in an abusive relationship to ask God for the strength and courage to walk away”, with her decision to reconcile with her husband.
Once again, she took to Facebook to explain. When she posted the photos back in February, she said, she was “completely frustrated, hurt, depressed and devastated”, prepared to get out of her situation regardless of the outcome. She hit back at critics who suggested that the whole thing was a publicity stunt, or that she went back to her husband to regain access to her luxury lifestyle. Thanks to counselling, she said, there have been positive changes in his behaviour.
While some of her followers were supportive of her decision to keep her family together, others did not feel as charitable. One women's rights activist, Diana Mahabir-Wyatt, warned that while some men do change, in far too many cases, domestic violence occurs in phases — and the improved behaviour Sukhdeo is seeing could very well just be the honeymoon phase.
In a detailed blog post, activist Brendon O'Brien lamented the lack of understanding about the realities of domestic violence. While he understood people's frustration at Sukhdeo's decision, he said:
The fact that she’s decided to return to that relationship […] has nothing to do with intelligence. […] Rachael is an incredibly smart lady; smart enough to use [her husband] Sheron’s own business page to gather attention to her plight and situate herself in the middle of the national consciousness, at least. That sort of person isn’t dumb. But she is human. That means she can be seduced by affection and scared of retribution, like all human beings.
He went on to talk about battered person syndrome, the need for sympathy rather than cynicism, and the lack of faith many citizens have in the justice system.
In a recent article published in Time magazine, Trinidadian women's rights advocate Sherna Alexander Benjamin called out the local media for sensationalising the violence and desensitising people to its effects. Benjamin cited some disturbing statistics:
According to Margaret Sampson Brown, the head of the Victim and Witness Support Unit of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, ‘Between 2005 and 2015 almost 300 women have been murdered as a result of domestic violence.’ This is an average of 30 women per year. This is already 30 women too many, but many […] on the ground believe this figure underestimates the full extent of this crime.
Between 2009 and 2010, for example, more than 12,000 new domestic violence cases were filed in the magistrate courts.
The problem is pervasive throughout the region as well. At an address that the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, gave in Barbados in July 2015, he noted that “the Caribbean has among the highest rates of sexual assault in the world” and that “three Caribbean countries are in the global top ten for recorded rapes”.
Put that against the backdrop of a system that is ill-equipped to deal with the problem, you will begin to understand the challenges for women who are living the daily horror of domestic abuse in Trinidad and Tobago. Benjamin explained:
The support mechanisms for women and children have serious gaps. And the lack of research and disaggregated data makes it difficult for non-government organizations, as well as government agencies and academic institutions, to make sense of the present challenge.
But there are potential solutions. Benjamin suggested, among other things, that the shelter system needed to improve; that “the government should place gender-based violence advocates in every major hospital in the country and in every police station”; and that universities could play a role by offering “degrees or even certificate courses specifically for combating and preventing gender-based violence”.
Most importantly, she said, “As an entire society, we need to do a better job of supporting victims. We need to shift cultural norms so that the victim isn’t blamed for the violence against her, so she isn’t further victimized by an uncaring public.”
Or, as Brendon O'Brien put it, in Rachael Sukhdeo's case:
So we’ve got no f**king right to vilify her for navigating a broken system in order to protect herself and her children. Of course we can say this is not the ideal, but we need to be honest about the fact that there is no ideal place for her here. And then we’ve got to f**king build that safe place for all those like her, instead of yelling at her for not building it herself.

author: Flora Thomas


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Chinese Netizens See Human Rights Violations in Child Protection Bill · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China released the draft of cyber security law on 6 July. Image mixed by Oiwan Lam.
China's Cyberspace Administration is launching new draft regulations that would require hardware companies to pre-install surveillance software on communication devices and legalize specific approaches to treating internet addiction, all in the interest of protecting children.
The regulations encourage industrial and social sectors to become more engaged in issues of child protection online, through content warning and take down systems, pre-installed censorship and surveillance softwares, legalization and promotion of Internet addiction treatments, and age verification systems for online games. Published on September 30, the Regulations on the Protection of Minors Online are open for public comment until October 31 2016.
Many are worried that the surveillance capabilities built into hardware or pre-installed on communication devices could be used for other purposes. According to Articles 11 and 12 of the regulations:
第十条 国家鼓励并支持研发、生产和推广未成年人上网保护软件。
国家网信部门会同国务院工信等部门组织制定未成年人上网保护软件研发、生产和推广的政策并组织实施。
第十一条 学校、图书馆、文化馆、青少年宫等公益性场所为未成年人提供上网设施的，应当安装未成年人上网保护软件，避免未成年人接触违法信息和不适宜未成年人接触的信息。
第十二条 智能终端产品制造商在产品出厂时、智能终端产品进口商在产品销售前应当在产品上安装未成年人上网保护软件，或者为安装未成年人上网保护软件提供便利并采用显著方式告知用户安装渠道和方法。
Article 11. All internet facilities in schools, libraries, cultural and youth centers should install softwares to protect minors and prevent them from accessing illegal and inappropriate information.
Article 12. Manufacturers and Importers of all computing devices should make sure that the products be pre-installed with minor protection softwares or have clear instructions on how to install minor protection softwares before the products are sold on the market.
A blogger based in Guangzhou, who chose to have their identity withheld, expressed concern that after the legislation, all cell phones and computers made in China would be pre-installed with surveillance technology that could not be uninstalled.
This surveillance software could be used to spy on all activities, online or offline, of the device's owner. They could also be used to disrupt the functioning of circumvention tools. The blogger also pointed out that in the past, surveillance technologies found on Chinese-made hardware have had technical backdoors, leaving them vulnerable to malicious hackers.
In 2009, the Chinese government had attempted to force both domestic and international PC makers to pre-install a filtering software known as “Green Dam-Youth Escort,” which blocked banned websites by linking between each user's device and an online database of banned sites. As Chinese netizens kept finding the flaws in the software, the plan was halted.
The current regulations do not specify which types of software would be installed in all communication devices, to be able to effectively prevent the minors from accessing “illegal and inappropriate information” as defined by Chinese law. But they do say that all software eventually would be linked to a central database controlled by the government or party authorities. Article 10 clearly states that the Cyber Administration and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will be responsible for the development, manufacturing and implementation of the software policy. This is why many Chinese netizens exclaimed that “the Green Dam” has returned. All online discussions about this have been removed by Chinese web censors.
Online conversations about legalizing Internet addiction treatments have been less censored. While the international psychiatric community continues to debate whether Internet addiction is a real problem, the Chinese government appears ready to develop a domestic evaluation system and subject minors to a so-called “conversion” treatment. According to the drafted regulation:
第二十条 教育、卫生计生等部门依据各自职责，组织开展预防未成年人沉迷网络的教育，对未成年人网络成瘾实施干预和矫治。
县级以上人民政府及其教育行政部门应当为中小学校配备专门教师或提高教师专业水平，增强对未成年人沉迷网络的早期识别和干预能力，并可以通过购买服务等方式提供预防和干预未成年人沉迷网络的教育或服务。
国务院卫生计生部门会同有关部门推动出台网络成瘾的本土化预测和诊断测评系统，制定诊断、治疗规范。
Article 20: Education and health departments should organize and implement education programs and medical treatments to prevent minors from falling into Internet addiction and to convert minors who are addicted.
People’s government and education authorities of and above county level should equip primary and secondary schools with teachers specialing in this field or improve teachers’ professional skills to detect and intervene into the problem of internet addiction among minors at an early stage. Schools could also buy services from organizations specializing in prevention and intervention in internet addiction among minors.
The Ministry of Health and Family Planning will work with other authorities to develop a detection and evaluation system on internet addiction and develop a code for the diagnosis and treatment of internet addiction.
In China, some clinical psychologists have become very active in promoting the treatment of Internet addiction. An iconic figure is Yang Yongxin, who has promoted a test to evaluate Internet addiction and using electroshock to cure his patients. In 2006, Yang established the country’s first Internet Addition Treatment Center at the Linyi City Mental Health Hospital in Shandong province.
Since China officially recognized Internet addiction as a clinical disorder in 2008, hundreds of boot camps have been set up to treat the addiction problem. The majority of these camps force to kids to go through very heavy physical exercises. There have been a few reports of children suddenly dying while in these camps. In 2014, a 19-year-old girl was tortured to death during an internet addiction boot-camp organized by her school in Henan province.
Though the legislation can be interpreted as an effort to “standardize” addiction treatment and prevent deaths during treatment, most Chinese netizens anticipate that it will cause more harm to the minors.
On Twitter, @acgtyrant said:
研究了下《未成年人网络保护条例（草案征求意见稿）》，它没强调治疗机构有不得威胁未成年人人身安全的义务，于是若这条例通过，死在这个法下的未成年人恐怕会变得更多，真是莫大的讽刺。
— 御宅暴君 (@acgtyrant) October 3, 2016
I look into the drafted Regulations on the Protection of Minors Online, it does not stress the duty of medical facilities to safeguard the minors’ personal safety. If the regulations are passed, it is likely that more minors will die [during treatment], this is so ironic.
On Twitter-like Sina Weibo, many netizens are speaking out against the Internet addiction treatment on the comment section of a news thread, with some referring to the electroshock treatments performed by Yang Yongxin:
杨永信要合法了？领导是不是有山东临沂人？
Yang Yongxin will be legalized? I wonder if the leaders are from Shandong Linyi city?
网瘾是关乎青少年精神的问题，但是如此粗暴草率的议案还不知道会引发什么样其他的重大问题。当然了这样一个对杨永信这么久视而不见的政府能做出来什么样的事情我们也不知道，让我们拭目以待。
Internet addiction is a problem concerning minors’ psychological health, but such crude legislation will probably lead to other big problems. We have no idea what a government which has been keeping a blind eye to Yang Yongxin for so long is capable of doing. We'll have to wait and see.
谁起的草案让杨永信电一年我就同意￼你们谁敢？
If the drafters let Yang Yongxin electroshock them for one year, I would give a pass.
我小学就开始玩电脑，现在才成年了，所谓的网瘾还是没见识过，出去一个月不碰电脑一点事都没有，什么叫瘾？烟瘾算吗？怎么治？电击啊
I have been playing computer games since primary school. Now I am an adult and I don’t have an addiction problem. I can go without access to a computer for a month. How do you define addiction? What about addiction to cigarettes? How do you treat it? Electroshock!
In another news thread, netizens brought up the issue of human rights:
干预、限制人的自由，其法律依据是什么？认定为疾病、需要戒瘾的依据是什么？
What is the legal ground for such restrictions of personal freedom? What is the [medical] ground in defining [Internet addiction] as a disease that requires treatment?
所以说网瘾怎么治，电击？打？ 这是想怎么地阿，人权还有吗？为了保护下一代，真的，还是不要生了
How to treat Internet addiction, electroshock? Beating? Do we still have human rights? To protect our next generation, we should not give birth anymore.
最重要的是，你怎么证明你没有网瘾？我可不想以后走路上莫名其妙被以有“网瘾”的名义被拉去进行所谓的“治疗”！
The point is how to prove that you are addicted? I wonder if someday I would be labelled as an Internet addict and forcibly detained for “treatment”.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Macedonia’s Lake Ohrid Awaits You · Global Voices
Marie Bohner

Ohrid – the place to be. Photo by Marie Bohner, CC BY.
This year Macedonia made headlines with its political crisis and the resulting ‘Colorful Revolution’. As the most of the turmoil takes place in the capital Skopje, however, a trip through Southern Macedonia provides far more serene impressions. It also allows the traveler to discover one of the jewels of the Balkans—Lake Ohrid.
Macedonia is snuggled up against Greece, Albania, Kosovo, Bulgaria and Serbia, a cradle of European, Slavic and Ottoman history. The Cyrillic alphabet was created in Macedonia by Clement of Ohrid, and both Alexander the Great and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk made the country their home for a time.
Since Macedonia became independent 25 years ago, the process of constructing an official national identity has been riddled with controversy, especially around the dispute with its Greek neighbors over the country's name (this video tries to explain the issue), and the erecting of colossal statues as part of the Skopje 2014 Project. While also a source of some of its challenges, however, Macedonia's cultural diversity is also what makes the country so beautiful.
The blog Adventure Travel offers an interesting take on this cultural diversity: “The Balkans are so diverse that every town and every region has its own unique flavor and distinctive architecture. After virtually spotless Slovenia, Macedonia seemed a bit chaotic and messy. But Lake Ohrid enchanted me so much I didn't want to leave.”
Do you fancy a boat ride? Photo by Marie Bohner, CC BY.
It is quite easy to get to Ohrid from other parts of Europe, be it by plane, bus or car. From Alsace in France there is a direct flight—slightly bumpy flight as it goes mainly over the Alps that got us there in under two hours. The flight allows passengers a striking view of the lake from the air, as the plane makes a u-turn over the lake before landing.
Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest and deepest lakes in Europe. It also has an incredible and specific fauna and flora. An article by Daniel Kelly on Lake Scientist explains that “in Ohrid’s depths alone, there are twenty species of algae, two plant species, five species of zooplankton and ten species of fish. But its bottom fauna are the most diverse, making up 176 of the species native to the lake. So prevalent are these native lifeforms that exotic species don’t seem to be a major issue for Lake Ohrid.”
The lake is surrounded by beautiful green mountains that are sometimes snow-capped. A tour on the lake with the local boatmen is mandatory for discovering the beauty of both the lake and the city and some of its 365 churches—one for every day of the year. And there are mosques, too!
Ohrid was declared World Heritage site by the UNESCO back in 1979, and was cited by National Geographic in 2016 as one of the “100 places that will change your life.”
From Ohrid, visitors have easy access two other cities in the area, which give a very different perspective on the region. Nearby Struga is also on the shores of the lake, but the the city is quieter than Ohrid because it receives fewer international visitors, except for a small spike in the summer. The city has a large ethnic Albanian population, and seems like a gateway to Albania itself.
Struga, on the shore of Lake Ohrid. Photo by Marie Bohner, CC BY.
Struga is bisected by the Black Drim river, resulting in a number of atmospheric alleys bordered with bars and restaurants where it's pleasant to wander around in the evening. For excellent Macedonian food, you should not miss the St Nicholas restaurant in Struga, which serves a variety of traditional, home-style dishes which you can never have enough of, including fresh or fried cheeses, vegetables, grilled or pureed, grilled meat and fish and local mushrooms. Even if you stay in Ohrid, an evening visit to Struga to get a taste of these specialties is highly recommended.
Homemade baked beans, mushrooms, cheese and nut & honey crepes. Yummy! PHOTO: Marie Bohner
Ohrid's market offers even more tasty surprises. “Leblebidžilnica” is a store selling chickpeas (leblebija in Macedonia, leblebi in Turkish and Albanian) as well as nuts and condiments.
Visiting the market in Ohrid. Photo by Marie Bohner, CC BY.
It is easy to travel by bus or shared or private taxis between cities, which is why you should not hesitate to pay a visit from Ohrid to Bitola, Macedonia's second-largest city, located a little higher up in the mountains. Known in antiquity as Heraclea Lyncestis—the City of Hercules in the Land of the Lynx—and as the “City of Consuls” during the Ottoman period and one of the battlefields during World War I, Bitola has long been a crossroads and a city of travelers. Even more than Ohrid and Struga, the city is a cultural melting pot. Along the main thoroughfares you encounter Roma people, as well as many Turkish, French and German tourists. Well endowned with restaurants, bars, parks and cultural attractions, Bitola is alive day and night, and if you want a change from your daily Skopsko beer, try a Bitolsko!
Bitola from above. Photo by Marie Bohner, CC BY.
Things I did not have time to do, and the reason I need to rush back to the region, include scuba diving in Lake Ohrid to see the submerged ruins; hike in the mountains around Lake Ohrid and Bitola; and have another incredible meal at St Nicholas’ restaurant in Struga.
I loved Macedonia. I am sure you will too.

author: Marie Bohner


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One of the Richest Political Parties in Europe Rules One of the Poorest European Countries · Global Voices
Marko Angelov

Back part of the seat of political party VMRO-DPMNE in Skopje, Macedonia. Photo: GV, CC BY.
Macedonia is one of the poorest countries in Europe. However, a recent documentary reveals that its ruling party VMRO-DPMNE amassed more wealth than its counterparts in the richest countries on the continent.
The Center for Investigative Journalism SCOOP Macedonia published online an English version of its documentary that compares the amount of properties owned by political parties in Macedonia with those in Western Europe. Macedonia's ruling political party has 93 title deeds among its party offices around the country with 33,238 square meters in buildings, agricultural lands and pastures. The estimated market value of all that property is around 60 million euros (66 million US dollars).
The documentary compares the real-estate owned by other political parties, including some from the richest countries in Europe:
After VMRO-DPMNE, one of the parties with largest assets is the Centre Party of Sweden, whose property is valued at around 53 million euros (58.3 million dollars). Angela Merkel's CDU in Germany owns a property worth 50 million euros (55 million dollars). The Labor Party in the UK has real estate worth 9 million pounds (11 million dollars), while the Conservative Party, 11 million pounds (13.4 million dollars).
According to World Bank data, Macedonia's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is about ten times smaller than Sweden, Germany and the UK. With two million citizens, its annual total GDP is around 10 billion dollars. To compare, Sweden's GDP is 579.7 billion dollars, Germany's is 3.73 trillion dollars, and UK's 2.68 trillion dollars.
Macedonia also has highest income inequality in Europe, with a higher geni coefficient (43.6) than Russia's (42).
SCOOP has documented their findings about the properties of Macedonian political parties in a multimedia-rich investigative piece, which is also available in English. It contains an interactive map (not in English) of the officially owned real-estate.
According to the the documentary, one of the highest valued properties of VMRO-DPMNE is their eight-story party headquarters, estimated to be worth 40 million euros (43.9 million dollars). The party claimed it had not paid a cent for it, as it was built by a contractor who ‘donated’ construction services in exchange for future use of a portion of the complex for a hotel.
The contractor, Mincho Jordanov, is one of the richest men in the country, and his company D.G. Beton A.D. Skopje had been building parts of the controversial Skopje 2014 urban beautification project, receiving over 215 million euros (236 million dollars) of taxpayers’ money.
Headquarters of VMRO-DPMNE, the ruling right-wing party in Macedonia. Photo by GV, CC BY.
No independent journalist has entered the building since its inauguration in 2015. Named “Palace Dr. Hristo Tatarchev” after a turn-of-the-20th-century revolutionary, it is allegedly adorned with 50 giant oil paintings in the style of socialist realism with alleged cost of several million euros.
Painting depicting Macedonia ruling party chief Nikola Gruevski, his cousin Sasho Mijalkov and associates at VMRO-DPMNE party rally. Photo by Nova, used with permission.
The information about the number of people working in the numerous offices within the VMRO-DPMNE headquarters is not available to the public. According to public auditor reports, in 2013 VMRO-DPMNE had no registered employees, in 2014 it had one employee, and in 2015 it had two employees, with average salaries of up to 1,500 euros per month.
Belgian expert Peter Vanhoutte, who facilitated the negotiations of the Przino Agreement (a deal that was overseen by the European Union and the United States in 2015 to end political crisis in Macedonia and ensure fair elections), was declared ‘persona non grata’ by party president Nikola Gruevski after he revealed that the total amount paid for personal income tax by the party in 2014 was about 3,200 euros. The income tax amounts to 10% of net salaries, so it's easy to extrapolate the above monthly amount. Vanhoutte explained:
According to my calculations, with this amount of money you can hire one person. So the biggest party in the country formally employs only one person? I see this as a problem and it may imply that the people working in the party are paid by the Government. I told them that this is a problem and that if they do not investigate the issue, I would do it. This theme, raises a red flag. It was the same with the Agency for Electronic Communications. We know that they gave money for the Ferris wheel in Vardar and the tower on Vodno, but when I read the bill, I did not think it is part of their job. Is this abuse of state funding? Obviously the auditor did not like what I was saying, and called someone in the party. That evening Gruevski in an interview said that I should be declared a ‘persona non grata’.
VMRO-DPMNE is a member of the European People's Party, “the centre-right, pro-European political party which gathers over 70 national parties from 40 countries.” According to SCOOP, the party's properties significantly increased after it gained power in 2006.

author: Marko Angelov


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A Lack of Open Space Forces Kids in One Mumbai Suburb to Play in a Dirty Field · Global Voices
VideoVolunteers

Due to shortage of open space, young people resort to playing cricket on the streets of Mumbai. Image from Flickr by Mohamed Nanabhay. CC BY 2.0
The post originally appeared on Video Volunteers, an award-winning international community media organization based in India. An edited version is published below as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Mumbai is the most populous city in India with an estimated population of 18.4 million. The area originally was a set of seven islands, but the city came into its current continuous shape thanks to a land reclamation project during the mid-18th century. Being the financial, commercial and entertainment capital of India, it attracted a lot of people over the years — and its open spaces started filling up. Even its reserved parks are being encroached or leased out.
The shrinking open spaces in the suburbs of Mumbai is affecting children, who yearn to run, play and have fun. There are sports facilities that rent out space and equipment for a fee, but it's only for the handful of people who can afford it, leaving a majority still in need. This lack of open space is forcing young Indians to find places to play that may not be the best for them, like the streets.
Amol Lalzare, a Mumbai community correspondent with Video Volunteers, has been an advocate for creating spaces for children in the suburban slums of Mumbai for almost 10 years. He brings us a video report on how children in the cramped suburbs of Mankhurd, Mumbai are struggling to play.
Dinesh, 10, and his friends play cricket in an area surrounded by defecating neighbours, drunk teenagers, shards of glass, and other filth. They hide the condition of their “playground” from their parents. “We don’t tell our parents that we play here. They think we go to a proper ground to play. If they know we play here, they will not let us out to play,” Dinesh told Amol.
Playing where they do opens the children up to bullying, physical harm or in the worst case scenario, sexual harassment. The lack of open space especially creates barriers for girls since their security is the primary concern for parents, as Amol’s video here showcases. Recent research by Pukar, a Mumbai-based NGO, states that lack of space forces girls to quit playing at the age of 12. Compare that to boys, who play up to the age of 20.
“Whatever be the games, playing is an important part of our lives,” Amol says in the video report. “The children of my neighbourhood face many difficulties looking for a safe place to play, and I intend to change it for their sake.”
With open spaces shrinking in urban areas, especially play facilities, it is not uncommon to see children playing on busy roads and in similar places.
“Various figures portray Mumbai’s per capita open space ratio as ranking among the lowest of all the world’s major metropolitan areas, and especially more so if the national park and mangrove creeks are not included as open spaces,” says naturalist and nature writer Sunjoy Monga.
Compared to its fellow megacities such as New York and Singapore, Mumbai has an abysmal paucity of gardens and playgrounds. A 2012 analysis by initiative Open Mumbai reveals the appalling ratio of 0.03 acres of open space for every 1,000 people — a far cry from London’s 12 acres, New York’s four acres and Singapore’s six acres per 1,000 people.
The Mumbai High Court, in a judgment on a mill land in 2005, noted that children in the city may be born with mental and physical infirmities if the oxygen levels reduce gradually due to lack of open spaces and recreational facilities.
Amol, for his part, wants the children of Makhurd to have a safe haven to run, play and be free like children should be and has made a request to the local councillor.

author: VideoVolunteers


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A Philippine Police Van Brutally Runs Over Indigenous and Minority Protesters Calling for Their Rights · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Screenshot of video showing the police van ramming protesters.
Caught on now viral video footage, a police van repeatedly attempted to ram and run over indigenous peoples and national minority groups gathered in protest on the morning of October 19 in front of the United States Embassy in Manila.
The protest was part of the ongoing Pambansang Lakbayan ng mga Pambansang Minorya (National Caravan of National Minorities) that saw 3,000 indigenous peoples come to the Philippines’ capital to draw attention to human rights abuses and the militarization of their ancestral lands. The national minorities are demanding the pull-out of military troops from their communities and the dismantling of state-sponsored paramilitary groups.
The demonstration was also partly meant to express support for President Rodrigo Roa Duterte moving the Philippines away from its decades-old unequal relationship with the US, which indigenous groups say has led to foreign mining companies and agro-corporations laying waste to their ancestral lands.
But instead of finding sanctuary from violence in the national capital, their peaceful march to the US Embassy was met with brutality as police violently dispersed the protest with tear gas and truncheons just as it was about to end.
A police vehicle driven by Police Officer 3 Franklin Kho then repeatedly drove his police van into the mass of protesters and ran over several indigenous people and activists.
Here are three raw videos taken by the International League of People's Struggle, Barry Dacanay, and Mayday Media showing the same incident from different vantage points:
Protesters alleged that the ruthless dispersal was carried out on the orders of Senior Superintendent Marcelino Pedrozo Jr. of the Manila Police District, although Pedrozo has publicly denied ordering the action. Another police spokesman also denied that any police vehicle ran over the protesters.
However, Pedrozo was caught on camera telling his men to disperse the protesters and cause mayhem if necessary, saying it was a shame that protesters made it near the US embassy:
Wala man lang kayong hinuli, ang dami-dami niyan… Magkagulo na kung magkagulo, pulis tayo rito e. Pwede ba tayong patalo sa mga yan? Anong mukhang ihaharap natin sa embassy? Kaya i-disperse mo ‘yan! Lumaban kasi kayo! Mga pulis kayo hindi kayo lumalaban!
You didn’t even arrest anyone, they are so many there… Let there be mayhem if necessary, we are the police here. Will we allow ourselves to be beaten by those protesters? What face will we show to the embassy? So just disperse them now! You are police why don’t you fight!
Police personnel also brutalized a luckless driver of a jeepney vehicle used by the protesters, leaving him bloodied on the street from the repetitive blows to his head:
An attempt by national minorities to bring their cause to the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in neighboring Quezon City on October 18 — a day before the Manila protest — was met with water cannons and violent dispersal attempts.
A newly formed alliance of national minorities called Sandugo, which led the Quezon City protest, condemned the police brutality and extreme prejudice against indigenous peoples. They also called on the government to make the police officials accountable for the carnage.
Back in Manila, the violent dispersal left 50 people injured, with at least 10 being treated in nearby hospitals for serious wounds. At least 29 protesters were also arrested, including some of those wounded. They were eventually released after the rally participants staged protests in front of the police headquarters.
Here is a video of indigenous leader and Sandugo spokesperson Piya Macliing Malayao, one of those hit by the police van, from independent video group Tudla Productions:
We were about to end and disperse by ourselves. We were only waiting for the last speaker to finish talking. But the police moved forward and one of their vehicles even drove back and forth. That is the reason for my wounds. And now that I should be given first aid by our colleagues from the medical team… they were forcibly arrested by the police. All of us were to be charged, the police said. What charge? Defending the sovereignty of the Philippines. We are here to protest for a foreign independent policy and end to the domination of US imperialism over the Philippines. The Filipino people have a long experience of being subjected to violence and plunder because of the rule of US imperialism and the neoliberal policies they impose on the country, the US bases and the US troops that are here. This is what we are protesting about when we were violently attacked by the police.
Dulping Ogan, secretary general of the Mindanao-based indigenous alliance Kalumaran, said the brutal dispersal shows the continuing powerful influence of the US in the country with police willing to inflict harm on national minorities to keep protesters away from the embassy:
Here in Manila, our calls are met with water cannons, and now teargas and brute force. In our ancestral communities, the attacks are far worse: we all know of the repeated cases of murders against our kin. Everywhere we turn, we Lumads and other national minorities are brutalized. Yet we will remain defiant.
President Duterte, who is now on an official trip in China as part of his moves to forge a more independent foreign policy, has promised to investigate the incident and make an official pronouncement upon his return on October 21. Nine police officials involved in the bloody dispersal have been dismissed from service.
The mistreatment of disenfranchised populations in the Philippines is, unfortunately, nothing new. Earlier this year, farmers asking for rice in Kidapawan, Mindanao were violently dispersed by police. And the Tumandok indigenous peoples in Panay Island will be displaced with the construction of a mega dam.
Last year, Lumad indigenous peoples from Mindanao also organized a caravan to Manila to speak out against abuses. Video of their journey can be seen below:
This year, the indigenous peoples and national minority groups who are part of the Lakbayan of National Minorities are currently being hosted in the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Ghana’s Opposition Party Is Running Wild With an Internet Challenge Surrounding a Juice Box · Global Voices
Kofi Yeboah

Image: YouTube
Ghana is a relatively peaceful African country, especially when it comes to election season. Politicians here have found a way to transfer power peacefully. Ghanaians are also known for their light hand with tough socio-political issues, finding fun in matters most others might not.
Most recently, critics of leading opposition presidential candidate Nana Akuffo Addo ridiculed him by spreading a photo of him sipping juice from a box of Kalyppo—a beverage popular among schoolchildren.
Twitter user Chris Vincent shared the photo online, trying to mock Addo for his choice of drink:
Want To Join The #KalypoChallenge? – Photo Of Nana Addo Sipping Drink Has Sparked The Latest Social Media Fad https://t.co/M42zylmsiB pic.twitter.com/Y0l0AeAd8V
— ChrisVincent (@chrisvincentgh) October 5, 2016
The mudslinging effort would backfire, however, with Addo's supporters turning it into a viral challenge: the #KalypoChallenge (spelled with one less “p” than the actual brand name), wherein Internet users must photograph themselves with boxes of Kalyppo juice and other locally made products.
Umaru Sanda, a journalist with the local radio station CitiFM, recently marveled at how Addo's supporters have managed to exploit the juice-box photo:
Always love it when people turn their “misfortune” into a great success. That's what the #NPP has done with this #KalypoChallenge. Maturity
— Umaru Sanda Amadu (@UmaruSanda) October 6, 2016
The online challenge is inspiring some especially creative adaptations, too. Mainprince Essuman shared the following spin on the juice-box selfie:
The online challenge has attracted a lot of people including one of Ghana's famous musicians, A Plus. He posted a picture of him holding the Kalyppo fruit juice while chewing meat:
One of the most popular responses to the KalypoChallenge features a young man performing a local gospel song using the word Kalyppo in the lyrics:
The makers of Kalyppo juice thanked Ghanaians for their support on their Facebook page:
Some bloggers used the occasion to educate social media managers on how to create social media campaigns like the #KalypoChallenge. In his blog post, JB Klutse noted:
Therefore as social media marketers/strategists, we must strive to find and support major cause behind the campaigns we run. Finding a good cause to support with your product will go a long way to compel your audience to engage with it. E.g. A cause to help small businesses with your products, cause to promote peace as election approaches.
Blogger Ameyaw Debrah noted how Addo's supporters managed to flip this meme on its head:
Kalypo fruit drink must be the hottest commodity on the market right about now! Ghana’s Social media landscape was swamped with photos of people sharing photos of their Kalypo moments after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Nana Akufo Addo was pictured sipping his Kalypo. Even though many believe that the photo was initially released to mock the NPP leader, his followers have succeeded in pushing the argument that the former Attorney Generalwas promoting local products with that simple sip.
Jemila Abdulai, one Ghana's leading women bloggers, underscored the need to promote products made in Ghana using social media:
If all this excitement can be created around the #KalypoChallenge – imagine what we can do with #MadeInGhana; one item every month. #GHLivin
— Jemila Abdulai (@jabdulai) October 7, 2016
Gavivina Okudzeto, meanwhile, warned the opposition leader to focus on campaigning instead of the #KalypoChallenge:
Your colleagues are campaigning day and night and you sit in Accra and do #Kalypochallenge. Will it bring votes? https://t.co/Rz5NiYjBkN
— Gavivina Okudzeto (@ian_okus) October 7, 2016
The buzz surrounding the #KalypoChallenge is still growing, with local celebrities like former President John Kufour joining in on the fun.

author: Kofi Yeboah


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How the Women of a Conflict-Affected Village in Georgia Waged a Battle Against Gender Stereotyping · Global Voices
Chaikhana.media

Women in Tirdznisi, Georgia. Screenshot from vide uploaded onto YouTube by Chai-Khana.org.
The following is a version of a partner post that first appeared on the website Chai-Khana.org.
Tirznisi (also spelled Tirdznisi) is a village on the border separating the former Soviet republic of Georgia from its breakaway territory of South Ossetia.
During a conflict in 2008 that pitted military forces on either side of the border against each other and saw Russia intervene with excessive force on the side of South Ossetia, people from the village fled to escape the conflict.
After returning back to the village, local resident Mariam Buchukuri encountered a community beset by social and economic problems but with few solutions to hand. Neighbouring settlements lived similar realities
She decided to gather like-minded people and find answers to the pressing challenges faced by local people, particularly women who suffer disproportionately from conflict situations. They held meetings at each other’s houses. Later they established an organisation and rented an office.
The office of Shida Kartli Community Fund for Peace and Development is on the road between Tirdznisi and Ditsi, another town on the fraught border that became a conflict zone in the early years of Georgia's independence from Moscow. Mariam and other women members of the organisation meet here everyday.
At first, locals called the office “the office of unmarried women”, because most of the women working at the Community Fund are not married, and many villagers believed a woman who is not married could not be useful for anything.
But now villagers have become more willing to acknowledge the help Mariam and her office provides to the community, both in terms of its own projects and its work with local government on women's issues.
Below is their story, with English and Russian subtitles available:


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Indigenous, Student and Afro Communities in Colombia Are Not Taking ‘No’ for an Answer · Global Voices
Ana González

Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities went to Bogota to support the protests in favor of the peace treaty rejected by the referendum that took place in early October. Photo taken by the author and used with permission.
The winning “No” vote in Colombia's referendum to ratify a peace agreement with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army) has meant anything but the end of the discussion. The referendum took place early in October after intense campaigns promoting the peace process (“Yes”) or rejecting the treaty (“No”) divided the country, and the results that are still being analyzed and contested.
The treaty aimed to mark the end of the long armed conflict between the government of Colombia and the FARC that has endured for over 50 years. The negotiations took place in Havana and gave way to a deal that was signed by both parties, but was ultimately shot down in the referendum in which the “No” won by a margin of less than 1%.
In spite of this, indigenous groups and other communities that defended the peace treaty took to the streets of the capital, Bogota, on October 12 to ask for the deal to be respected. Many of them came from different regions, some of the which have been severely affected by the armed conflict.
Photo: Ana Luisa González, used with permission.
Among those groups were the women of the Embera Katío indigenous group wearing yellow necklaces, colorful shirts and carrying white flowers.
Maribel Domicó was one of those indigenous people who came from the Caribbean region to march for peace:
Let there be peace and no more violence, no more displacement and no more orphan kids and no more widows because those who suffer most are women and children
This hasn't been the only protest in Colombia in favor of the peace deal. Others have popped up in different cities throughout the country such Cali, Cartagena and Medellín. The goal is to put pressure on politicians to sustain the army’s ceasefire with the guerrillas and ink a new peace deal soon.
But the October 12 march in Bogota, called the “March of the Flowers,” was massive. About 7,000 indigenous people and Afro-Colombians from different regions of the country protested alongside students, calling on the political establishment to work together toward a prompt resolution.
In the sign: “Each letter in the [peace] agreement represents years of struggle.” Photo by Ana Luisa González, used with permission.
Elizabeth Andrade belongs to the Chocó branch of the organization “Afroindígena mi Colombia” (My Afro-Indigenous Colombia). Chocó is a region that has been heavily hit by FARC. She said:
I’m marching today for my siblings, for the young people and for everyone. I’m and I claim to the Government that peace deal signed, is a deal that has to be respected
The protest in Bogota. Image by Ana Luisa González, used with permission.
Thousands of people wearing white shirts, holding flowers and chanting “You are not alone” were waiting to meet the march as it arrived in downtown Bogota close to the Plaza de Bolivar. Student activist Daniel Ortega, from the National University of Colombia, is part of the organization Rebeldía Estudiantil (Student Rebellion), which brought together students from different schools to join the march:
In these troubled days in the country, we have tried to make a call to the students and [other groups] to build peace out of different popular sectors to join this clamor and build a transition [in order to] to build a democratic society
A protester climbing the statue of Simon Bolivar, national hero of Colombia. Photo by Ana Luisa González, used with permission.
Journalists and international media have been reporting on these mobilizations, and President Juan Manuel Santos is aware of this pressure. The day after the protest, the president tweeted:
No renunciaré a hacer realidad el anhelo y clamor de todos los colombianos. No voy a traicionar la esperanza de paz #ElPresidenteEscucha pic.twitter.com/ePwGjSFeQb
— Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) 13 de octubre de 2016
I won’t give up to make happen the wish and clamor of all Colombians. I won’t betray to hope of peace.

author: Ana González


text:
Peace Activist Khurram Parvez’s Illegal Detention in Kashmir Valley May Be Proof He’s “Doing Something Right” · Global Voices
Guest Contributor

Khurram Parvez shows a victory sign as he is taken to Kot Balawal Jail, Jammu Kashmir. Photo by: Sameena Mir
By Ather Zia
“Peace!” – a word (of salutation) from a Lord Most Merciful!
This Quranic phrase, from Surah Yasin, 36:58, was the first of many bonding discussions that I have had with Khurram Parvez, my long-time friend. The word “peace” as mentioned in this verse, and  by implication, about what occupation, truth, justice, law, rights, activism and freedom meant under the chronic militarization in the Indian-controlled Kashmir valley always dominated our conversations. These words became increasingly meaningful in Khurram’s life when, in the late 90’s after finishing his Masters in Journalism, he decided to dedicate himself as a Human Rights defender. Over the years Khurram has become one of the pioneering human rights activists in the valley.
On the night of September 15 Khurram was placed under illegal detention for the “potential to breach peace”—an ironic accusation to level at a peace and human rights activist. This occurred only hours after he was stopped from boarding a flight to Geneva, where he was due to submit the “civil society stakeholder’s report” to the UN Human Rights Council.
Despite having all the necessary travel documents, Khurram was given no reason for the detention, other than he had been stopped on the instruction of India’s intelligence bureau. He was sent back to the valley and taken into custody soon after.
Khurram was charged under the Public Safety Act (PSA), a dreaded law  implemented by India to repress any form of dissent. Amnesty has called the PSA “a lawless law” and documented its rampant use in Kashmir, where it is used to criminalize and penalize political dissenters. Khurram is being held in a jail nearly 300 kilometers away from his family and legal counsel. At the time he was transferred to that facility, Khurram was still to be informed of the grounds for his detention.Khurram’s detention has been denounced by intellectuals like Noam Chomsky, Arundhati Roy, Judith Butler, Veena Das, as well as other activists and organizations like Human Rights Watch and Frontline Defenders. Amnesty International called the detention a “shameful attempt to suppress a peaceful dissenting voice from Kashmir.” A group of UN experts have also called on the Government of India to immediately release Khurram.
The covert manner of Khurram's arrest was such that no warrant was issued. The magistrate who passed the detention orders did not even see him personally, or issue a show cause for bail bond, which the law requires when a jail term is ordered.
Initially, Khurram was put into a ten-day remand, and without formal notification, was in the middle of the night whisked off to a remote sub-jail in remote North Kashmir. This was probably done to amplify his isolation and thwart legal efforts for his release.
A soldier guards the roadside checkpoint outside Srinagar International Airport in Jammu and Kashmri, Jan 2009 PHOTO: Jrapczak – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.
This kind of treatment is not uncommon in the Kashmir valley. According to Amnesty, thousands of Kashmiri youth and activists, including lawyers and journalists, have been incarcerated unlawfully. Amnesty’s estimates of the number detained over the past two decades range from 8,000 to 20,000. Many prisoners are often re-arrested after release. The re-arrests and illegal detentions have become a matter of state policy. The issue of rampant incarceration is among a host of others human rights abuses that Khurram has been documenting and fighting against.
Khurram started his formal human rights activism coordinating the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), an organization he helped co-found with Parvez Imroz, a human rights lawyer and activist. Khurram has also lent his support to international actions against human rights abuses, and he the Chairperson of Asian Federation Against involuntary Disappearances (AFAD).
Khurram has singlehandedly fought to make space for dialogue, activism, research and documentation on human rights in Kashmir. He developed JKCCS into a hub of civil society and a second home to researchers, students, journalists, filmmakers, activists and budding human rights activists from all across the world.
In 2004, during an election monitoring exercise in the Lolab Valley, Khurram lost his leg in a landmine blast. But he remained undaunted, and went on to successfully build JKCCS into the ethical heart of the valley, well known for its rigorously researched documentation and reports on enforced disappearances, mass graves,  and custodial killings carried out by the Indian troops. The report on mass graves was an unprecedented work that Khurram spearheaded and which brought international attention to the human rights abuses in the Kashmir valley.
After the continued neglect by India of the Kashmiri demand for UN-mandated self-determination, in 1989 a popular armed struggle broke out in the region. India responded with brutal counterinsurgency measures, imposing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives Indian troops immense powers over the life, liberty and property of Kashmiris.
Approximately 700,000 Indian troops are stationed in Kashmir today—roughly one Indian soldier for every eight Kashmiris. The Indian forces have carried out large numbers of summary executions, custodial killings, torture, rapes, and arbitrary detentions. A study  by Médecins Sans Frontierès revealed that one in every seven Kashmiris has witnessed or has been a victim of torture. Human rights organizations claim that to date more than 70,000 Kashmiris, both combatants and non-combatants, have been killed, and over 8,000 men have disappeared while in the custody of Indian forces. Coordinated by Khurram, the movement to search for the disappeared has become one of the most visible of JKCCS’ campaigns.
Since 2008 the movement for self-determination in the valley has shifted towards civilian demonstrations and street battles. Even as the militancy has abated—by the government’s own admission the number of militants now is less than 400—the intensity and lethalness of the response by Indian troops has not descreased.
On July 7, 2016 a fresh wave of civilian demonstrations began after a young militant leader, Burhan Wani, was killed by the Indian forces. At the time of writing, Kashmir valley is in its 107th day  of protests and curfew. More than 80 people have been killed, including elderly people and children, and over 11,000 wounded. An estimated 800 Kashmiris as young as five years have been injured in the eyes or blinded by the Indian troops, who have used disproportionate force against both protestors and non-protestors. Phone and Internet service were banned, and continue to be partially blocked. Already more than 1,000 arrests have been made and many more are expected. JKCCS has been tirelessly documenting the human rights violations, and Khurram was due to report on this in Geneva.
Khurram has been one of most vocal critics of the India’s repressive policies in Kashmir. His unlawful arrest by the government in Kashmir is an attempt to criminalize his work as a human rights activist, to turn him into a symbol to ensure silence, and criminalize voices like his. His arrest is a part of the renewed crackdown on people who have been clamoring for the right to self-determination. If anything, however, this incarceration and these efforts to tarnish his reputation have elevated Khurram in the eyes of his people and of the global community.
Khurram also remains undaunted, and views his arrest as a vindication of his stance for human rights and a rightful solution under the UN mandated self-determination of the Kashmiri people.
While awaiting transfer to the jail he reflected upon the events that were unfolding rapidly—the baseless allegations, and his illegal detention. He said: “I would sometimes wonder about my work, the sacrifices of Kashmiri people, the loss of my leg, and the witness JKCCS was creating to give voice to the voiceless; I would wonder if I was on the right path. This detention proves I am doing something right.”
Ather Zia teaches at University of Northern Colorado. She is working on a book on enforced disappearances in Kashmir. She is the founder-editor of Kashmir Lit at www.kashmirlit.org, and blogs at http://www.huffingtonpost.in/ather-zia/

author: Guest Contributor


text:
What Did Russia’s Leading News Agency Tweet During the Final U.S. Presidential Debate? · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Pixabay
Hours ago, the third and final U.S. presidential debate ended, capping off a heated exchange between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump that again mentioned Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, many times. RuNet Echo recaps the debate-night tweets by one of Russia's biggest national news agencies to get an idea of what resonated in Moscow.
With nearly 3 million followers on Twitter, RIA Novosti was Russia's most active major news organization that offered live blogging during the third debate. The following tweets appeared in chronological order.
The first tweet appeared about 30 minutes in, when Hillary Clinton first mentioned the U.S. government's spying allegations against the Russian state:
Клинтон заявила что Россия “шпионит” за американцамиhttps://t.co/ufZJlThpAX pic.twitter.com/pb8DVOu0tg
— РИА Новости (@rianru) October 20, 2016
Clinton declares that Russia “spies” on Americans.
RIA's wording was likely meant to amuse Russian readers, whom the Kremlin has repeatedly reminded are at risk of being spied upon by the U.S. government, in keeping with revelations made by Edward Snowden and others.
Трамп рассказал, почему Клинтон “не любит Путина” https://t.co/5gpzxwDTlZ pic.twitter.com/F8sug6wlNt
— РИА Новости (@rianru) October 20, 2016
Trump says why Clinton “doesn't like Putin.”
Путин хочет использовать Трампа как марионетку на посту президента США, считает Клинтон: https://t.co/HcgjfJfjql pic.twitter.com/eD4ppRGdiA
— РИА Новости (@rianru) October 20, 2016
Putin wants to use Trump like a puppet in the U.S. presidency, Clinton believes.
Трамп заявил, что благотворительный фонд семьи Клинтон является “преступной организацией” https://t.co/NURKLw6GwI pic.twitter.com/552cE6tJFa
— РИА Новости (@rianru) October 20, 2016
Trump declares that the Clinton Foundation charity is a “criminal enterprise.”
Трамп заявил, что Асад намного умнее Клинтон и Обамы https://t.co/kzuBsKGIuo pic.twitter.com/74isHq8CAF
— РИА Новости (@rianru) October 20, 2016
Trump declares that Assad is much smarter than Clinton and Obama.
Трамп пообещал отменить реформу здравоохранения Обамы https://t.co/bflsAw5ctl pic.twitter.com/4ZY5FFoDRU
— РИА Новости (@rianru) October 20, 2016
Trump promises to cancel Obama's healthcare reforms.
Overall, RIA chose to focus on Donald Trump's comments, whose alarmist tone is likely better for generating traffic on social media. Naturally, the news agency also focused on moments when Russia came up in the debate, though nothing was tweeted regarding the extended conversation about the Russian-Syrian bombing of the Syrian city of Aleppo, which U.S. State Department officials have said should be investigated for war crimes.
In terms of retweets and “likes,” the most popular of the tweets above was the one recalling Trump's declaration that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is “just much tougher and much smarter than [Clinton] and Obama.”

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Young Skaters in Rural South Africa Shred It Up in ‘Valley of a Thousand Hills’ · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A screenshot of the documentary “Valley of a Thousand Hills.”
“Valley of a Thousand Hills” is a recent mini documentary about Indigo Skate Camp, an effort to create the first generation of Zulu skaters in the village of Isithumba, in the Kwazulu-Natal region of South Africa. The village is surrounded by 1,000 hills, hence the title of the film.
The camp is the brainchild of South African professional skater Dallas Oberholzer. Skateboarding is not a common sport in South Africa, especially among blacks.
In addition to skateboarding, the 30 to 40 kids taking part in the programme are taught self-respect, health and safety, art and music.
The film is by Jess Colquhoun, a documentary filmmaker and photographer, and Huck Magazine. Check it out:

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
A Portuguese Woman’s 20-Year Legal Battle Over a Scholarship Ends in Her Imprisonment for Defamation · Global Voices
Manuel Ribeiro

Self-portrait of Maria de Lurdes. Photo from Facebook, published with permission.
A woman was taken into custody on September 29 to serve a three-year sentence for “insulting” a group of judges several years ago as part of a lawsuit that she had waged against Portugal's Ministry of Culture for stripping her of a long-term scholarship to study in the Netherlands in the 1990s.
The case of Maria de Lurdes Lopes Rodrigues is raising indignation on social media between friends and strangers. Many think her arrest is unfair. One Facebook user put it like this:
È pena que a lei não seja aplicada para todas as pessoas da mesma maneira, por isso nos sentimos todos revoltados com situações destas e outras, as leis aplicadas são vergonhosas.
It is unfortunate that the law is not applied to all people in the same way, that's why we all feel disgusted with these situations, and in others the laws applied are disgraceful.
The former scholarship candidate was accused of slandering and defaming the judges in 2007. She was eventually convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. An article published in 2013 in a local newspaper named Diário de Notícias explained:
Maria de Lurdes, a mulher de 47 anos que foi condenada a cumprir três anos de prisão efetiva por crimes menores como injúria e difamação (…) está para ser detida desde 20 de dezembro de 2012. Foi esta a data de emissão do mandado de detenção pela juíza da 4.a Vara Criminal de Lisboa. A mulher que ofendeu as mais altas magistraturas da nação, incluindo o ex-procurador-geral da República Pinto Monteiro, ainda não foi detida porque o seu paradeiro está por confirmar.
Maria de Lurdes, a 47-year-old woman who was sentenced to serving three years of effective imprisonment for minor offences such as slander and defamation […] is to be held starting December 20, 2012. This was the date of issue of the arrest warrant by the judge of the Fourth Criminal Court of Lisbon. The woman who offended the highest nation's judiciary, including former Attorney General of the Republic Pinto Monteiro, has not been arrested because her whereabouts are unconfirmed.
The alternative to prison would have been hospitalisation in a mental institution. After giving proof of her sound physical and mental health, Lurdes refused to turn herself over to authorities. She was ruled in contempt of court and remained as such until her capture on September 29, 2016.
Back in 1996, Lurdes had come in second place for a long-term scholarship to study film in the Netherlands from the Ministry of Culture, headed at the time by Manuel Maria Carrilho. When the first-place winner dropped out, Lurdes thought she would receive the scholarship, but the ministry took it away from her, according to her friend Mario Gomes in a Facebook post titled “Free Maria de Lurdes“:
A Lurdes está presa desde ontem porque ousou questionar o poder discricionário de Manuel Maria Carrilho (MMC) enquanto Ministro da Cultura. MMC retirou-lhe uma bolsa – que ela tinha ganho por mérito em segundo lugar e porque o primeiro da lista desistiu […]
Lurdes is incarcerated since yesterday because she dared to question the power of discretion of Manuel Maria Carrilho (MMC) as minister of culture. MMC stripped her of a scholarship — that she had won by merit in second place since the first candidate dropped out of the running. […]
Lurdes presented several requests for Manuel Maria Carrilho's decision to be reconsidered, including letters to the prime minister at the time, António Guterres (who is now set to be the next United Nations secretary-general), Ombudsman Menéres Pimentel, and the minister of culture himself.
Suspicious of how things had played out, Lurdes wanted a reason why she was denied the funding. That's when she reportedly discovered that the minutes of the scholarship selection jury's meeting on her case, which would have outlined their decision-making process, were missing.
Lurdes, who believed the minutes never existed, decided to take the case to court with the idea of forcing the ministry to produce them or admit that they didn't have them. According to an article published in 2000 in the weekly newspaper O Independente — now extinct — she described the situation as a “flagrant injustice that arises from the spirit of impunity that reigns in public administration.”
She won the court case at first, then lost when the ministry's head officers appealed.
The case went up to the Supreme Administrative Court (STA, in Portuguese) which dismissed her claims. It was then that Lurdes filed a criminal complaint against the judges who signed the STA's judgment. The O Independente reported that Lurdes accused the judges of being “complicit with the disappearance of the jury minutes”. Her friend Gomes explained on Facebook:
O Juíz pediu por três vezes os Pareceres ao Júri que consubstanciava a atribuição da bolsa – esses Pareceres nunca apareceram pela simples razão que nunca existiram conforme um dos membros admitiu à Lurdes. O Juiz perante a evidência desta ilegalidade… arquivou o Processo!?…
The judge asked three times for the jury's report that outlines their reasoning for [not] awarding the scholarship — these documents never appeared for the simple reason that they never existed, one of the members admitted to Lurdes. Faced with the evidence of this illegality, the judge…closed the case!?…
She lost again but didn't give up, exhausting all the resources available to her in the Portuguese judiciary system. She initiated lawsuits against several people involved, including Portugal's attorney general. Lurdes believed she was in the right. A source in Ombudsman Menéres Pimentel's office acknowledged that there was something strange about her treatment by the Ministry of Culture:
Apesar de terem sido detetadas irregularidades ao nível de fundamentação, o provedor não podia recomendar à Administração que reclassificasse a candidata a bolseira porque as bolsas já estavam vencidas, o que implicava que qualquer recomendação não teria utilidade, pois o prazo para a revogação do ato já tinha caducado.
Although irregularities were detected in their grounds [for not giving Lurdes the scholarship], the ombudsman could not recommend that the Administration reclassify the candidate for a scholarship because the scholarship itself had expired, which meant that any recommendation would not be in due time for a repeal.
In 2007, the STA judges who she had accused of corruption, in turn, took her to court for defamation and slander for saying they were biased in favour of Minister Manuel Maria Carrilho. By 2012, she had been sentenced to three years of jail or hospitalisation.
Maria de Lurdes. Photo: Facebook, used with permission.
At the time, there was outrage over Lurdes's case. According to Diário de Notícias, the president of the bar association in 2013, Marinho Pinto, considered her conviction “absolutely unusual and rare” in Portugal, and compared the case with ones that grabbed more media attention:
É raríssimo alguém ir preso neste país por crimes como difamação ou injúria. Se essa senhora tivesse dinheiro para pagar uma boa defesa não seria presa”, considerou. Por ofensas do género, à honra e ao bom nome, personalidades como Miguel Sousa Tavares ou José Manuel Coelho foram absolvidos em processos mediáticos.
“It's rare that someone goes to jail in this country for crimes such as defamation or slander. If this woman had money to pay for a good defense she would not have been arrested,” he said. For similar offenses, against a person's honour and good name, personalities like Miguel Sousa Tavares and José Manuel Coelho were acquitted in cases closely followed by the media.
Miguel Sousa Tavares is a well-known journalist and writer from Portugal who, in 2014, called the president of the Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, “a clown“. The writer was taken to court by the public prosecutor, but the case was eventually dropped. His lawyer, Francisco Teixeira da Mota, also made a comparison between what happened in that case and what is happening in Maria de Lurdes's:
Condenar a prisão efetiva a utilização de expressões, ainda que ofensivas da honra e da consideração seja de quem for, é um absurdo”. Teixeira da Mota, um especialista em matéria de liberdade de expressão, sublinha que esta mulher “já nem tem a opção de tentar uma queixa no Tribunal Europeu dos Direitos do Homem, uma vez que o acórdão que a condenou transitou em julgado há mais de seis meses”, isto é, a l8 de abril de 2012.
Condemn someone to prison for the use of expressions and terms, although in offensive honour and consideration of anyone, is absurd.” Teixeira da Mota, an expert on freedom of expression, stresses that this woman “does not even have the option of trying to submit a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights, since the judgment that condemned her became final more than six months ago,” that is, April 18, 2012.
Following her arrest in September 2016, more than 6,000 have signed an online petition asking for her freedom.

author: Manuel Ribeiro


text:
An Indigenous Woman Could Be a Presidential Candidate in Mexico Two Years From Now · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

Indigenous women from Chiapas. Photo by Flickr user Andres Virviescas. Used under the CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.
In a little less than two years from now when Mexicans go to vote for their next president, it's possible they'll see the name of an indigenous woman on the ballot.
During the Fifth National Indigenous Congress (CNI), Mexican indigenous communities and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) declared their intent to nominate a woman as an independent candidate ahead of the presidential election in 2018. The announcement appeared in a document entitled “May the earth shake to its core”:
Ante todo lo anterior, nos declaramos en asamblea permanente y consultaremos en cada una de nuestras geografías, territorios y rumbos el acuerdo de este Quinto CNI para nombrar un concejo indígena de gobierno cuya palabra sea materializada por una mujer indígena, delegada del CNI como candidata independiente que contienda a nombre del Congreso Nacional Indígena y el Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional en el proceso electoral del año 2018 para la presidencia de este país.
Given the aforementioned, we declare ourselves in permanent assembly and will consult the agreement of the Fifth CNI in each one of our geographies, territories, and paths to appoint an indigenous council of government whose word is carried out by an indigenous woman, a delegate of the CNI as an independent candidate who fights on behalf of the Indigenous National Congress and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in this country's 2018 presidential election.
At this time, they have not announced the name of the woman who would be nominated as a candidate.
It is important to remember that the EZLN is a primarily indigenous armed group of the extreme left who staged an uprising in 1994 in Chiapas, in Mexico's southeast region. In recent years, they have remained inactive and their most well-known leader, the Subcomandante Marcos, changed his name in 2014 to make way for a new persona identified as Subcomandante Galeano (some versions indicate that his real name is Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente).
The news has been discussed in traditional media and on social media, especially after the reaction from Andrés López, founder and leader of a political party called the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA). He pointed out that the EZLN's participation in the election would mark a significant change for the group:
El EZLN en 2006: era “el huevo de la serpiente”. Luego, muy “radicales” han llamado a no votar y ahora postularán candidata independiente.
— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) October 16, 2016
The EZLN in 2006 was “the serpent's egg”. Then, as ultra “radicals” they called for not voting and now they are nominating an independent candidate.
Journalist Pascal Beltrán del Río took a stand regarding this in his column called “The Indigenous Vote”:
La reciente decisión del EZLN y el Consejo Nacional Indígena representa un cambio importante en sus posiciones anteriores con respecto a los comicios, pues con motivo de las elecciones presidenciales de 1994, 2000, 2006 y 2012 habían llamado a no votar y con ello rechazar a la clase política completa.
Este cambio propició una condena de Andrés Manuel López Obrador, líder del MORENA y virtual aspirante a Los Pinos en 2018, quien en diferentes momentos ha invitado al EZLN a ser parte de su movimiento por el “cambio verdadero”. Pero ¿qué tanto afectaría a López Obrador la participación de una mujer indígena como candidata en 2018?
The recent decision of the EZLN and the National Indigenous Congress represents an important change to their previous positions with respect to elections, since during the presidential elections in 1994, 2000, 2006, and 2012 they called to not vote, thereby rejecting the entire political class.
This change led to a condemnation from Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the leader of MORENA and virtual contender for Los Pinos [the official residence of Mexico's president] in 2018, who has invited the EZLN to be part of his movement for “true change” on several occasions. But, how much would López Obrador be affected by the participation of an indigenous woman as a candidate in 2018?
On Twitter, users like Rodrigo Castro criticized López:
Esta intención del EZLN, de postular candidata indígena p 2018,
se nota q le está doliendo a AMLO. Se vale llorar pues
— rodrigo castro (@RodrigoRocas) October 16, 2016
It's obvious that EZLN's intention to nominate an indigenous candidate for 2018 is hurting AMLO. Cry me a river.
In his public Twitter profile, cartoonist Rafael Barajas, better known as “Fisgón”, illustrated the EZLN's new position, alluding to the armed group's previous rejection and disqualification of the country's entire electoral process:
El EZLN lanzará una candidatura independiente. ¿No deberían explicar este cambio de discurso y estrategia a la luz de su postura de 2006? pic.twitter.com/TaufBeJncy
— Rafael Barajas (@fisgonmonero) October 18, 2016
Cartoon: Remember everything we've said about the filth that is the electoral farce in Mexico? Well, now we want in!
Tweet: The EZLN will launch an independent candidacy. Shouldn't they explain this change in discourse and strategy in light of their position in 2006?
Meanwhile, Dalia Vázquez received the news as follows:
Dedinitivamente yo sí votaría por la candidata indígena del EZLN, que no se diga más!
— Dalia Vázquez (@Dali_Vaz) October 18, 2016
I would definitely vote for the indigenous candidate from the EZLN, say no more!
The eventual nomination of an indigenous candidate for president of the country by the EZLN contrasts with the reality that women in politics have faced in recent months, particularly those who have been forced to forgo their legally obtained elected positions.
Such is the case of Rosa Pérez, whom the people of Chenalhó in Chiapas – precisely the state where EZLN has a major presence – forced her to leave office, solely because she was a woman. The electoral justice authority has already ordered Pérez's reinstatement, but this has not yet been carried out. María Gloria Sánchez, mayor of Oxchuc in the same state, currently finds herself in a similar situation.
Given this sexist behavior, which is tolerated because it deals with indigenous “customs and traditions”, it will be particularly interesting to know if the armed group in question effectively designates a candidate, if she will receive the support needed to ensure that her candidacy complies with the formal requirements and if she will truly have the possibilities to compete not just with López – who has sought the presidency on two prior occasions – but with the vast range of individuals in the political class who have already demonstrated their aspirations for 2018.
Otomi woman. Image from Flickr user Citlali Medal, used under the terms of the Creative Commons license.

author: J. Tadeo