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A young activist’s fight for gender equality and democracy in Thailand · Global Voices
Prachatai

Mimi (centre front) during the November 2020 Pride parade in Bangkok. Photo and caption from Prachatai. Used with permission
The original version of this article was published by Prachatai, an independent news site in Thailand. Interviews were conducted by Rattanaporn Khamenkit and Natthaphon Panudomlak, and the article was written by Anna Lawattanatrakul. This edited version is republished by Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Mimi, 17, is a gender equality activist who has been charged with violating the Emergency Decree and the Public Assembly Act for giving a speech during a protest at the Ratchaprasong Intersection on October 25, 2020.
A former member of the gender equality activist group Feminist’s Liberation Front and one of the creators of the Thai version of the Feminist anthem “A Rapist in Your Path,” Mimi now runs the Twitter and Instagram pages of Feminist FooFoo, which published content about gender justice.
Prachatai spoke to Mimi (who uses the pronouns they/them) about the beginnings of their activism, life after facing charges for political expression, and the importance of gender justice in the pro-democracy movement.
Mimi said their parents taught them about democracy when they were young, but they did not start joining political activities until they learned of the disappearance of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a Thai activist in exile who was abducted from his condominium in Phnom Penh on June 4, 2020 and is still missing over a year later.
Wanchalearm’s disappearance triggered a wave of protests against enforced disappearances, which became one of the central issues of the pro-democracy movement beginning in July 2020. Mimi was one of the young people who felt the need to do something at the time.
Even though some say it is inappropriate for young people to protest, Mimi believes it is a good thing that young people are taking a stand, as this is a way of saying that they also have rights and a voice. They said that young people are often excluded from the decision-making process and are prevented from speaking out about issues which affect them.
I feel that, if we are all people, we shouldn’t judge other people’s experiences through our own experience. When adults say that they know better, I think that’s insulting. It diminishes our demands and diminishes our values. I think that, even if they are in kindergarten or in primary school, they have the same right to complain that they are tired. They have the right to say that their quality of life is not good.
Mimi began their activism by working with the Feminist’s Liberation Front and the Free Queer and Non-binary group. They were also one of the creators of the Thai version of the Chilean feminist anthem “A Rapist in Your Path” (Un Violador en Tu Camino).
The first performance of “A Rapist in Your Path” in Thai took place during the Pride parade in Bangkok on 7 November 2020, organized by the Feminist’s Liberation Front, then known as the Women for Freedom and Democracy group, and the gender equality activist group Seri Toey Plus. The lyrics were then modified and used in other protests to speak out about social issues, including abortion rights, freedom of expression, the judicial process, and human rights violations in schools.
Mimi now runs the Twitter and Instagram pages Feminist FooFoo, which publish content about gender equality and LGBTQ rights, and said that they would continue to campaign for gender justice.
Mimi is facing charges for violating the Emergency Decree and the Public Assembly Act, after they gave a speech on gender justice and criticized the judicial process during the protest at the Ratchaprasong Intersection on October 25, 2020.
They told reporters that after they reported to Lumpini Police Station on January 13, 2021 that the police initially thought the speaker was student activist Patsaravalee Tanakitvibulpon, but later found out that the speaker was Mimi and charged them instead.
Mimi says their experience with the police and in juvenile detention have taught them that state officials have no understanding how to handle the pressing of charges against a minor, and lack gender sensitivity.
As soon as they saw me, they immediately marked me down as ‘Miss,’ even though I might identify as Mx, or as someone who isn’t a Miss or Mister. I identify as non-binary, but they didn’t care about my gender identity, and what was so shocking to me was that they have never heard of LGBT.
The juvenile detention centre lacks understanding in so many issues. They lack understanding in the issues we’re talking about. They didn’t understand what feminists are. They didn’t understand what LGBT is. I don’t expect that everyone must know about these issues, because most people who know about these issues are people who have the right to access education, but at least I think that the juvenile detention centre, which works with young people, I think they should know.
Mimi said that the legal process has been time-consuming, as they have to meet with lawyers and report to the police. They are often forced to miss classes and are not able to manage their time. They also said that they felt unsafe at school; even though they have not been harassed, they are worried about how they are viewed and what others would say.
Mimi’s case is still being processed by the public prosecutor, and the formalities have already been deferred twice.
Mimi (front, second from right) with other activists in front of the Lumpini Police Station. Photo and caption from Prachatai.
For Mimi, even though the feminist movement began with women who demanded the right to vote or to work and were often expected to take care of the home and become mothers, the current feminist movement is calling for justice for everyone, not only those who were assigned female at birth. The feminist movement also focuses on getting beyond gender binarity and increasing diversity. Mimi is also trying to understand the concept of intersectional feminism, which they understand to mean that oppression is due not only to gender but also other factors such as class or political beliefs.
I think everyone should be a feminist, because if it’s a true democracy, the people should be supreme, and every person should be equal, no matter their gender or class. I think that the democracy I dream of is not just about everyone having equal rights, but I think that, regardless of your gender background, your family background, or your mental background, you should be treated equally.
Mimi said that another critical issue in the feminist movement is dismantling the patriarchal structure of society, which they believe is not an easy task.
I think we won’t be rid of [patriarchy] so easily, because it’s been around for a thousand years. Democracy has only been around for a hundred years. I think that even though we get to have the vote and have democracy, I think we still won’t be able to destroy patriarchal culture, so we have to continue complaining about what we feel is injustice.
Mimi would like to see a society that cares about physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, which would allow people in the society to live happily. They want to see a society without discrimination, which understands diversity, whether it is about gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.
In our society right now, there is the binary framework. There is a male frame and a female frame, which are the frames within the framework, but I think that’s not all there is. Men are not the first gender, women are not the second gender, and LGBT are not the third gender. Everyone is a gender, no matter how you identify,” Mimi said.
To be free from discrimination, I think that is human right.

author: Prachatai


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Abuse of Hong Kong domestic workers by employers increased dramatically during pandemic lockdown · Global Voices
Hong Kong Free Press

Domestic workers who suffered physical and sexual abuse and rights advocates from Mission for Migrant workers and AMCB. Photo: Selina Cheng/HKFP.
The following post was written by Selina Cheng and published on Hong Kong Free Press on June 29, 2021. It is republished on Global Voices under a content partnership agreement.
Domestic workers in Hong Kong have faced increased levels of physical and sexual abuse—including rape—in the wake of official advice that they remain under lockdown at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
According to rights groups, the number of cases of severe physical abuse by Hong Kong employers, including beatings, groping, rape, long work hours and sleep deprivation, have risen significantly as a result of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions imposed on domestic workers.
The plight of those suffering abuse while following government advice to stay at home was exacerbated by the fact that some employers even barred them leaving home on their days off, effectively preventing them from seeking help.
Putri, 29, from Indonesia, took up her first overseas job in Hong Kong in 2019. Just days after she started working for a new employer in Yuen Long in February of this year, she was asked by her female boss to give her husband a massage, during which he groped her breasts. In the following days, he tried to rape her on the living room sofa, where she slept at night.
Putri told a press conference on July 2 that she fought back against the husband's advances.
“I was very scared and [was] shaking at that time,” she said in a statement in Bahasa Indonesia, her native language, via a video call in which her identity was protected. “I wanted to leave but did not know where to seek help,” she said.
Putri said the same man raped her twice at around 3 a.m. one day and again the next morning. “I tried to stop him, but he was very strong,” she said. She subsequently asked for permission to sleep on the roof of the house, a request that was initially rejected by the wife. But she was later given a mattress and some blankets to do so.
Putri was also required to work from 5:30 a.m. until midnight because the living room sofa was her bed, and she was only able to sleep after her employers finished watching television in the evening.
In March, Putri discovered she was pregnant, and the wife of the household took her to a doctor. She said her employers told her to either get an abortion, or face losing her job. Putri refused the abortion and sought help from an Indonesian rights group in late April, during her first day off in three months.
The 44-year-old male employer was arrested following a report to the police on May 19, police said. The man was taken into custody and was charged with three counts of indecent assault and one count of rape before a court two days later.
Hong Kong's domestic workers have endured long work hours and lost days off during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also been subjected to mandatory COVID-19 tests, a requirement rights activists describe as discriminatory.
A survey by the Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body (AMCB) found that about 40,000 foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong were given no rest days during the pandemic and 20,000 were given only one day off per month. Under Hong Kong law, domestic workers are entitled to one day off every week as well as labour holidays.
A separate survey by the Mission for Migrant Workers found that reports of sexual abuse and harassment suffered by workers in households tripled in 2020, and those of physical abuse increased by 2 per cent. About 7 out of 10 people said they worked more than 11 hours a day, while 3 out of 10 said they worked more than 16 hours daily.
Earlier this year, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Law Chi-kwong, urged migrant domestic workers to remain at their employers’ homes on their rest days. Pro-establishment legislator Elizabeth Quat went as far as to propose a lockdown for domestic workers even during their holidays.
“The Hong Kong government telling us to stay at home made the situation worse: employers used this to imprison and enslave foreign domestic workers,” said Sringatin, an Indonesian activist from AMCB.
In another case of abuse, two Indonesian women, Herlina and Uun, were employed in a household in Tuen Mun that had a total of four domestic workers. Each of the women was assigned to work on a separate floor of a four-storey house and were forbidden to talk to each other. The four were tasked with taking care of two adults, six children, 75 dogs, eight turtles and eight aquariums and bird cages.
Herlina suffered repeated beatings with fishing rods from her male employer. She was sometimes deprived of sleep as punishment. “[S]ince February 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, we were prohibited from going outside and required to rest at home. We were only allowed to leave the house to buy food or send money,” Herlina said.
The domestic workers’ agency also confiscated the women's passports and employment contracts.
Police said it received a report of assault using fishing gear in Tuen Mun at about 5 a.m. on June 24. A 47-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of common assault and was released on bail on June 29.
In April, Herlina was asked to move three large aquariums but was forbidden from getting help from her co-workers. One of the aquariums fell during the move, resulting in a deep cut on Herlina's left foot. She was given antibiotics, but it was not until the next day that she was taken to hospital, where she received nine stitches, her statement said.
Two other women, Selly (pseudonym) and Eden were subjected to other forms of physical abuse and sexual harassment before they sought assistance from rights groups.
All five women have left their employers’ households and are living in shelters provided by Mission for Migrant Workers and AMCB, their representatives said. Herlina and Uun’s male employer was arrested on June 27 for common assault, the NGOs said.
“All other workers in Hong Kong do not have to live in fear,” a statement issued by the Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body said. “Instead, if their job is not safe, they can give notice and find safer work conditions. [Migrant domestic workers] deserve the same rights.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Hong Kong Free Press


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Elsa, the first major storm of 2021’s hurricane season, sweeps across the Caribbean · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica on a sunnier day: NASA astronaut Terry Virts, flight engineer of Expedition 42 on the International Space Station, tweeted this image of the Caribbean island on January 10, 2015. Photo by NASA Johnson on Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0.
The Caribbean is once again on the frontline of the Atlantic hurricane season. Elsa, designated as a tropical storm on July 1, is the first major weather system of 2021, and made landfall in Barbados on July 2.
In a poignant reference to the late Barbadian poet Kamau Brathwaite, artist Annalee Davis posted on Instagram:
A post shared by Annalee Davis (@annalee.devere)
Because Barbados is predominantly flat, the effects of the storm were felt early on. With the country under a tropical storm warning, citizens lined up to get supplies, with some even choosing to sit out Elsa's passage at hurricane shelters. Elsa, accompanied by gusty winds and heavy rainfall, approached Barbados from a southeasterly direction, causing power outages in some areas. Flash flood warnings were also in effect. There were also reports of felled trees, including at the country's major hospital, which suffered damage to its roof and windows, as well as flooding in certain departments. Across the island, many wooden homes were also damaged.
Next in the storm's path was St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which has been dealing with the fallout from continued eruptions at its La Soufrière volcano, all while dealing—like the rest of the world—with a pandemic. On Twitter, Trinidad and Tobago-based journalist Wesley Gibbings mused that “in the #Caribbean this annual encounter with destruction has us ritualistically picking up the pieces” and wondered whether it has “influenced our management of the #pandemic”.
Meanwhile, on Instagram, St. Vincent-based photographer Nadia Huggins posted video of the first stages of Elsa's approach:
A post shared by Nadia Huggins (@nadiahuggins)
The island nation subsequently experienced gusts of up to 153 kilometres (95 miles) per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center in the United States.
As of July 4, having passed by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Elsa is making its presence known in Jamaica, though its intensity has been downgraded. Netizens on the ground in Kingston tell Global Voices that they have been experiencing heavy rain, but no real wind—so far. At least one Jamaican Twitter user, however, felt that the country's meteorological service's use of social media left much to be desired when it came to posting regular updates.
On her blog, Emma Lewis described the experience of waiting for the storm:
It is a very warm, sticky evening. You feel you could reach out and feel the humidity and wrap it around your finger and mold it into something, like plasticine. The leaves are hanging motionless on the trees. A very persistent and loud frog is tweeting outside our window with considerable energy: ‘Storm coming!’ […]
It’s the time of year when I start poring over lurid maps of swirling colors on various weather sites. I prefer them when they don’t move.
On Instagram, the Jamaica Observer posted photos of rising water levels at Bull Bay, located about ten miles east of the capital on the island's southeastern coast:
A post shared by Jamaica Observer (@jamaicaobserver)
Heavy rains also caused flooding in the densely populated area of Spanish Town, and in the parish of St. Thomas, where a new highway is being constructed. Flood waters continue to rise in several areas, causing Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding to post a warning on Instagram urging people to exercise caution:
A post shared by Mark J Golding (@markjgolding)
As Elsa made its way across the country the storm left even serious flooding in its wake, including at some hospitals, as was the case in Barbados.
As of 5 p.m. on July 4, the storm was located near Cuba's southeast coast, after which it is projected to head towards Florida with significantly reduced wind speeds.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Myanmar coup architect’s birthday celebrated with mock funerals, curses, protests · Global Voices
The Irrawaddy

People set a coffin on fire during a mock funeral for Min Aung Hlaing to mark his 65th birthday on Saturday. Photo and caption from The Irrawaddy. Used with permission.
This article was originally published in The Irrawaddy, an independent news website in Myanmar. This edited version is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
His name was scrawled on coffins at mock funerals across the country. People shouted wishes for his death. Myanmar’s poker-faced coup leader's image stared out from bonfires, engulfed in flames.
This is how Myanmar people marked the birthday of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who turned 65 on July 3. In other words, it was the way they vented their simmering hatred of the General for seizing power from the country’s democratically elected government five months ago, and for his forces’ lethal response to the popular protests against the coup.
Young activists in Yangon held a mock funeral for Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in protest at the coup leader, who reportedly turned 65 on Saturday.
(Photo: CJ) #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/2UkZ2kxXMt
— The Irrawaddy (Eng) (@IrrawaddyNews) July 3, 2021
Conversely, on June 19 Myanmar citizens at home and abroad marked the 76th birthday of the country's elected leader, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained by Min Aung Hlaing since the coup.
The celebrations for Aung San Suu Kyi stand in stark contrast to those witnessed on Saturday, July 3. For the State Counselor’s birthday, smiles and flowers were everywhere. People prayed for her good health and speedy release. Facebook was flooded with pictures of people wearing or holding flowers to show solidarity with their leader, who is known for wearing flowers. One user wrote: “Come Back, Mom…Revolutionary flowers are now in bloom.”
According to one of her lawyers, Aung San Suu Kyi received the greetings with pleasure and thanked the people for her birthday celebrations and wished them good health.
Anti-regime protesters in Mandalay held a mock funeral for coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday.
(Photo: CJ) #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/s2N9kQ2uNZ
— The Irrawaddy (Eng) (@IrrawaddyNews) July 3, 2021
On Saturday, activists in Yangon placed fans at bus stops as part of a mock funeral for Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. (It is a common practice to distribute fans at Buddhist funerals). Young people staged flash mob protests, vowing to take revenge for his brutality toward protesters.
In Mandalay, people set afire coffins bearing the General's name, along with pictures of him, in the streets, cursing him and calling for his speedy death. Others declared that due the misery he has brought to the country since the coup, he should have been stillborn, and some went as far as to show their hatred by urinating on pictures of the General.
On Facebook, people posted pictures of themselves holding placards with their “birthday wishes” for Min Aung Hlaing. One sign read: “May you die in haste!”
In Ayeyarwady Region, villagers sent the message: “May your birthday be your death day!”
Residents of Myaing Township, Magwe Region drove their motorbikes in a procession as they organized a mock funeral for coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on his 65th birthday on Saturday.
(Photo: CJ) #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/1CzM0l0mVm
— The Irrawaddy (Eng) (@IrrawaddyNews) July 3, 2021
For Min Aung Hlaing and his wife Daw Kyu Kyu Hla, who are both reputed to be highly superstitious, the people’s reaction on Saturday was likely to have made them quite uncomfortable.
Until this year, few in the country would have had any interest in the General's birthday. Were it not for the coup and his deadly response to the protesters, there would have been no mock funerals for him on Saturday July 3.
The General's predecessor as dictator, Than Shwe, was the subject of similar protests, but largely by activists in exile—not in the nationwide denunciation that Min Aung Hlaing is facing today.
Anti-regime protesters in Yangon gathered in Mayangone Township and wished Senior General Min Aung Hlaing a speedy death on his 65th birthday on Saturday.
(Photo: CJ) #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/E3cCDRhAES
— The Irrawaddy (Eng) (@IrrawaddyNews) July 3, 2021

author: The Irrawaddy


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Protests in front of Czech embassy in North Macedonia target anti-Roma racism and police brutality · Global Voices
Metamorphosis Foundation

“Racism kills! Roma people want to live!” banner at protest against police brutality and systemic racism against Roma in Skopje. Photo: Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA, from the photo album “Roma Lives Matter.”
This story was originally published by Meta.mk. An edited version is republished here via a content-sharing agreement between Global Voices and Metamorphosis Foundation.
On July 3, over 1,000 citizens of North Macedonia participated a protest in front of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in North Macedonia's capital, Skopje.
Led by the Citizen movement AVAJA, the protesters demanded justice and that the government take responsibility for the murder of Stanislav Tomaš, a young Roma man from Teplice, Czech Republic, one of the latest cases of police brutality due to systemic racism against Roma in Europe.
The protest started in front of the primary school Kočo Racin on Vodnjanska (also known as Mother Theresa Street) and proceeded to the Czech embassy, which is located nearby.
“Racism kills! Roma people want to live!” banner at protest against police brutality and systemic racism against Roma in Skopje. Photo: Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA, from the photo album “Roma Lives Matter.”
AVAJA claims that the Czech authorities, led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and President Miloš Zeman, as well as the Minister of Interior Jan Hamáček, not only failed to condemn this instance of police brutality, but even thanked the police for their reaction and expressed support for Teplice's police officers.
Czech authorities have sought to justify the use of force in the incident as legitimate, claiming that Stanislav Tomaš was under influence of addictive substances. On the other hand, AVAJA argue that the video of the arrest that spread on social networks shows a police officer kneeling over Tomaš’ neck for about five minutes and called for an ambulance after realizing he was no longer moving.
Roma human rights activists point out that police brutality against Roma is the most visible mode of systemic racism in Europe. It is based on unlimited force applied by police who view and treat any person of Roma origin as a criminal.
“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes a duty” banner at protest against police brutality and systemic racism against Roma in Skopje. Photo: Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA, from a photo album “Roma Lives Matter.”
At the protest, AVAJA also evoked the memory of the unsolved case of police brutality in September 2020 in North Macedonia, when three Roma were beaten in the Bitola district.
After a video that appeared to show police officers beating ethnic Roma citizens was shared on social media, the Ministry of the Interior immediately announced an internal investigation. Prime Minister Zoran Zaev called the incident “shameful,” and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights condemned the incident as an example of abuse of police authority.
At the time, more eyewitness videos were leaked to the media. However, this was followed by the circulations of anti-Roma videos by on social networks, purporting to show “the whole event.” Various right-wing figures claimed that the people beaten by the police “deserved it” because they had attacked the police first.
The officers involved were suspended from duty pending a criminal investigation. So far there has been no judicial outcome for this case.
Salija Bekir speaking at June 3 protest in front of Embassy of Czech Republic in Skopje. Photo by Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA, from a photo album “Roma Lives Matter.”
Salija Bekir, one of AVAJA team leaders, stated at the protest:
Свежи ни се сеќавањата за полициската бруталност врз Ромите во Битола кој што е во судски процес! Свежи ни се сеќавањата за присилните евикции на ромските населби, свежи ни се сеќавањата на смртта на Роми во затворите под сомнителни околности! Свежи ни се сеќавањата на секојдневната дискриминација врз Ромите од страна на поединци и институции, како што е малтретирањето на детето од Кочани!
We have fresh memories of police brutality against Roma in Bitola, which is a subject of ongoing court case! We have fresh memories of forced evictions of Roma settlements, we have fresh memories of deaths of Roma in prisons under suspicious circumstances! We have fresh memories of the everyday discrimination against Roma by individuals and institutions, such as the harassment of the kid from Kočani.
AVAJA demanded that Czech authorities conduct an independent investigation into police brutality in the case of murder of Stanislav Tomaš and create an independent commission which would examine violations of police rules and practices contrary to police code of conduct in Roma communities.
Protest against police brutality and systemic racism against Roma in front of Czech Embassy in Skopje. Photo: Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA, from a photo album “Roma Lives Matter.”
In previous weeks, protests with similar demands have taken place in Czech Republic and Romania.
Protest against police brutality and systemic racism against Roma in front of Czech Embassy in Skopje. Photo: Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA, from a photo album “Roma Lives Matter.”

author: Metamorphosis Foundation


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Hong Kong Government defines assault on police as “lone wolf terrorism” · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Some Hongkongers placed white flowers near the scene of attack to mourn the Leung's death. Photo used with permission.
July 1 2021, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Chinese Communist Party and the 24th anniversary of the handover of sovereignty to China, ended dramatically with a police stabbing in Hong Kong. The assailant, 50-year-old Leung Kin Fai stabbed a police officer in the back in Causeway Bay at 10 pm.
The injured police officer, 28, was hospitalized and is currently in a stable condition after surgery. On the other hand, after the attack, the assailant stabbed himself in the chest and died in the hospital.
The newly promoted Secretary of Security Chris Tang described the incident as a ‘lone-wolf style act of domestic terrorism’ and claimed that the man had been radicalized by hate speech. Some were concerned that this characterization foreshadows increasingly repressive policies within the city. Edward Chan, a Ph.D. student, was among the first to express such concern:
No one would want to see this to happen.
HK Police has determined this incident as “lone attacker terrorism”. But then, who was he inspired by? And also, isn’t that the NSL has made HK a safer place?
My concern is that: 1. More repression; 2. People imitate https://t.co/2hrfytZ5IZ
— Edward Chan 陳星宇 (@edwardsychan) July 1, 2021
The police authorities banned the July 1 rally for the second consecutive year on the grounds of pandemic control. Since 1997, the annual event has been an occasion for citizens to express their grievances on government policy.
To ward off potential public gatherings, the police deployed thousands of officers to protest hot spots around Hong Kong Island. Causeway Bay was one of the district with the heaviest police presence.
Local media outlets later revealed that Leung was employed and living with his parents. He had left a suicide note in which he criticized the National Security Law and police agencies’ abuse of power during and after the 2019 anti-China extradition protests crackdown, as hundreds of protestors were injured, arrested and charged with serious crimes such as police assaults, rioting, inciting rioting, state subversion and etc..
On social media, pro-democracy netizens described Leung as ‘a man who seeks justice’ (義士）or ‘a hero who sacrifices himself'（烈士）and  a number of citizens went to Causeway Bay to mourn Leung's death:
2/3
Citizens stood in silence & tried to lay down white flowers at the site where Leung died after stabbing himself in the chest, but police cordoned the area and issued tickets for littering and breaching Covid measures. Citizens therefore laid flowers in nearby areas pic.twitter.com/8TLSYH8F7W
— Real Hong Kong News (@RealHKNews) July 2, 2021
The police authorities issued a statement suggesting that mourning Leung was ‘no different from supporting terrorism’ and stressed that the national security police authorities would conduct further investigation on the case:
It will incite further hatred, divide the society and eventually breach social order and endanger public safety, threatening everyone in Hong Kong…Members of the public should remain rational, discern fact from fallacy and not tolerate or glorify violence. We should not let misinformation mislead the next generation into going astray or even worse to become terrorists.
The newly promoted Chief secretary John Lee even implied in his blog post that act of mourning could be interpreted as inciting or advocating terrorism. Independent journalist Aron Nicholas highlighted Lee's comments on Twitter:
John Lee said he has “seen people online inciting support for the murderer who tried to kill a police officer…including by so-called mourning and laying flowers.”
Anyone inciting or advocating terrorism may violate the national security law, Lee said. https://t.co/UMDsahiXVw pic.twitter.com/yWK5eLDDoF
— Aaron Mc Nicholas (@aaronMCN) July 3, 2021
However, criminology experts are concerned that the label of ‘lone wolf terrorist’ might further antagonize pro-democracy Hongkongers and intensify animosity between them and the police forces. The label carries the risk of ‘creating a self-perpetuating problem’, according to Raffaello Pantucci, an expert on terrorism.
Many, such as independent journalist Rich Scotford, are worried that the terrorist label could lead to the introduction of Xinjiang style repression to Hong Kong:
HK Police – You're a terrorist, and you're a terrorist, and you're a terrorist! Everyone who doesn't support us is a terrorist!
Note: This is basically the Xinjiang policy applied to HK. https://t.co/aZOHjIAyeq pic.twitter.com/HEHQOkBMMl
— RichS ? ??? (@RichScotford) July 4, 2021
More than a million Uyghurs have been arbitrarily detained in re-education camps China’s Xinjiang region since 2018. The Chinese authorities have, on the other hand, justified the policy as effective measures against terrorism and extremism.
The anticipation of more repressive measures is not groundless, on July 4, the police authorities arrested a 20-year-woman and a 26-year-old man for posting inflammatory messages on social media. The messages allegedly incite others to kill officers and set police premises on fire. The police, however, has not revealed exactly what were written in the messages.

author: Oiwan Lam


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In Turkey new cost saving measures are selective · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

“Arrival of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey” by G20 Argentina is licensed under CC BY 2.0
President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a circular on June 30 instructing officials to reduce expenditures. The cost reductions would apply to all real estate developments, constructions, purchases, and leasing by public institutions, which will be halted immediately, according to reporting by Hurriyet Daily News. As the president introduced cost-savings initiatives, the first lady, Emine Erdoğan, recommended that citizens cut their food consumption, while speaking at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's “Protect Food, Protect Your Table” event the same day. But just as the cost reductions exempted the president and the parliament, so did the first lady's advice. References to her taste for expensive bags and spending habits surfaced on Twitter, with users criticizing the hypocrisy of the new measures.
Emine Erdoğan: Gelin porsiyonlarımızı küçültelim pic.twitter.com/y2Dx9hALis
— Solcu Gazete #0 (@solcugazete) June 30, 2021
Emine Erdogan: Come, lets reduce our portions.
40 bin dolarlık Hermes çanta kullanan Emine Erdoğan, “Gelin hep birlikte basit önlemler alalım; alışverişe çıkmadan önce alınacaklar listesi hazırlayalım, porsiyonlarımızı küçültelim.” dedi. pic.twitter.com/TcxVjCwmen
— Kaç Saat Oldu❓ (@KacSatOldu) June 30, 2021
Emine Erdogan who is using 40,000USD Hermes handbag, is saying “come, let's take simple measures: let's prepare a shopping list before going to grocery stores, and reduce our portions.
The same day, the government also announced a 15 percent rise in electricity prices and a 12 percent rise in residential natural gas prices.
Discussing the circular at a parliament press conference, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Group Deputy Chair Saruhan Oluç said the new measure is nothing but a “bankrupt's certificate” or an “arrangement of bankruptcy.” Adding, “There is a fast move towards bankruptcy; they have perhaps already gone bankrupt but have not yet fully announced it.”
CHP Party Spokesperson Faik Öztrak, mocked the ruling party's new measures in a tweet.
Atanmış İç İşleri Bakanı “Temmuz’da ekonomimiz şahlanacak. Almanya, Amerika bizi kıskanacak” diye müjde verirken, meğerse bunu kast etmiş.
Elektrik fiyatlarına 1 Temmuz’dan itibaren % 15 zam geldi.
Yurttaşının aklıyla bu kadar çok alay eden, başka bir hükümet dünya üzerinde yok.
— Faik Öztrak (@faikoztrak) June 30, 2021
The appointed Minister of Internal Affairs said, “Our economy will take off in July. Germany, America will be jealous of us,” turns out this is what he meant when he was sharing the good news. As of July 1, electricity prices have increased by 15%. There is no other government in the world that mocks the mind of its citizens as much.
Speaking in Turkey's Afyon province on June 5, Minister of the Interior, Süleyman Soylu said, “You will see, as of July, our economy will take such a leap and growth in July that Germany, France, England, Italy and especially the USA, which meddles in everything, will crack and explode.”
Three days prior to Soylu's visit to Afyon, the Turkish lira hit a fresh low against the dollar.
Former Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu also joined the wave of criticism against the decision to raise electricity and gas costs in a tweet:
Her ay yaptıkları doğal gaz zammı yetmiyormuş gibi elektriğe yine %15 zam yaptılar.
İktidar sanki yemin etmiş söke söke vatandaşın varını yoğunu alacak❗
— Ahmet Davutoğlu (@Ahmet_Davutoglu) June 30, 2021
As if monthly prices hikes on natural gas were not enough, they have introduced 15% increase on electricity costs. It is as if the government vowed to do what it can to take whatever the citizens have.
Others criticized the decision to establish the Price Stability Committee, which was announced on June 30 in a presidential decree. The new committee was set up to help the country to fight inflation which has consistently been in double digits in recent years. According to Hurriyet Daily News, the committee includes the ministers of treasury and finance, trade, labor and social security, energy and natural resources, industry and technology, and agriculture and forestry, as well as the Central Bank government, and the chief for strategy and budget under the presidency. “This is what happens when the president takes away the central bank's ability to use interest rate policy independently,” wrote the economist Timothy Ash in a tweet:
Turkey establishes a Price Stability Committee – other countries generally have central banks mandated to do this job. This is what happens when the president takes away the central bank’s ability to use interest rate policy independently.
— Timothy Ash (@tashecon) June 30, 2021
President Erdoğan has replaced three Central Bank governors since 2019, demonstrating his grip over the Central Bank and its monetary policies. The most recent replacement occurred through an overnight decree published in the Official Gazette in March of this year, when Naci Agbal, a former finance minister was replaced with Sahap Kavioglu, a banking professor and columnist in a government newspaper. While there were no official explanations for this replacement, pundits said the sudden replacement was linked to Agbal's decision to raise interest rates, which goes against President Erdoğan's unorthodox theories about monetary policy and its impact on inflation. Agbal was in his position for just four months before getting replaced by Kavioglu, who happens to share the president's views on monetary policy. Under Agbal, the Turkish lira was indicating a recovery as he raised the interest rate to 19 percent from 10.25 percent since taking over the office in November 2020.
In an interview with BBC, Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at currency exchange firm Oanda said, “The base premise of Erdonomics is that higher interest rates cause higher inflation, a theory that flies in the face of conventional economic theory everywhere.”

author: Arzu Geybullayeva


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Social media companies could be liable for user-generated content in India · Global Voices
Subhashish Panigrahi

Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, US. Image via Wikimedia Commons by User:FASTILY. CC BY-SA-4.0.
Twitter found itself outside India's ‘safe harbour’ intermediary liability rules that normally provide legal protection against its user-generated content on June 16. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Minister of Law and Justice, Electronics and Information Technology and Communications of India, elaborated in a series of tweets on how the company failed to comply with the 2021 Information Technology Rules of the 2000 Indian IT Act. In response, In late June, Indian news outlets the Quint and the Wire filed petitions to the Delhi High Court challenging the constitutional validity of these rules.
Hearing update: Petitions filed by @TheQuint and @thewire_in challenging the validity of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 are listed before the Delhi High Court. We will observe the proceedings and keep you updated. (1/n) pic.twitter.com/NP8krOES4J
— Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) June 28, 2021
While Prasad has been highly vocal about Twitter's alleged non-compliance with India's IT Rules, many free-speech activists and civil society representatives suggest that the rules themselves are the problem. The United Nations Special Rapporteurs on freedom of expression, privacy and right of peaceful assembly released a report on June 11 underlining how the rules ‘do not appear to meet the requirements of international law and standards related to the rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression.’
Prasad announced Twitter's noncompliance a few hours after police lodged a report in Ghaziabad in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where a 72-year-old Muslim man was assaulted by five Hindu nationalist men. Many Twitter users tweeted about this event, and Twitter eventually restricted tweets from 50 users related to this incident by the request from India's IT ministry.
There are numerous queries arising as to whether Twitter is entitled to safe harbour provision. However, the simple fact of the matter is that Twitter has failed to comply with the Intermediary Guidelines that came into effect from the 26th of May.
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) June 16, 2021
This announcement occurred right after Twitter's alleged non-compliance with the IT Rules. The Indian government has repeatedly attempted to have tweets taken down that are critical to the government. Patra and many others affiliated with BJP had in mid-May falsely accused the Indian National Congress of developing a ‘toolkit’ to hurt the image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during India's second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. The Indian government then warned Twitter in mid-May to remove the ‘manipulated media’ flag for tweets by BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra. In late May The Delhi Police raided the Twitter office.
The Centre for Internet and Society, a respected Indian policy research organisation, suggested in a detailed report on intermediary liability in India that Section 69A of the IT Act has been abused by the Indian government as a justification for the removal of content that is constitutionally protected as freedom of expression. The authors of this report fear that the IT Act is undermining social media companies’ ability to protect human rights on their platforms.
On June 29, the Indian journalist Kashish Singh from the Quint claimed that a police report was filed against Twitter India's Managing Director Manish Maheshwari by the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu nationalist militant organisation. Bajrang Dal, BJP and a range of other right-wing, Hindu nationalist organisations constitute the Sangh Parivar that is led by the paramilitary organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari has been booked under Section 505 (2) of IPC and Section 74 of IT (Amendment) Act 2008 for showing wrong map of India on its website, on complaint of a Bajrang Dal leader in Bulandshahr.#TwitterIndiaMap #TwitterIndia
— Kashish (@Kashish_singh2) June 28, 2021
Prominent international civil society stakeholders such as Mozilla shared their grave concerns about India's IT rules when they came into effect in February 2021, suggesting they are endangering the open internet.
The rules are divided into three parts, with the first defining legal terms, including newly coined expressions such as “significant social media intermediaries” (SSMI, such as Facebook and Twitter), and the second and third parts detailing compliances and requirements. The Indian government's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is charged with administering the guidelines for messaging-related intermediaries such as WhatsApp (owned by Facebook), Facebook Messenger and Telegram, and media-related intermediaries such as Facebook, Instagram (owned by Facebook) and Twitter.
Part three of the rules also aims to regulate digital news media, but the details about such platforms are still unclear, as is the regulation of over-the-top (OTT) platforms including Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar and Netflix through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The petitions filed by the Quint and the Wire to the Delhi High Court, perhaps, will help to clarify the constitutionality of these rules.

author: Subhashish Panigrahi


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Vicious mass rape of women has become a weapon against the Tigray in Ethiopian war · Global Voices
Roman Debotch

“Women of Tigray, Ethiopia” by Rod Waddington is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
It’s difficult to pick the most disturbing story that has come out of the ongoing civil war taking place in Ethiopia's Tigray region. There is the story of a 40-year-old woman who was repeatedly gang-raped by a group of 15 Eritrean soldiers and left on the side of a road. There is also the story of a 34-year-old woman who was raped by four Amhara forces and had a hot metal rod inserted into her genitals to burn her uterus. And then there is the story of a 65-year-old woman who was forced to watch as her two daughters were gang-raped and beaten in front of her.
In a recent debate in front of the British parliament, Labour Party politician Helen Hayes estimated that at least 10,000 women in Tigray have been raped since the beginning of the war.
This past April, Pramila Patten, the U.N. special representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said it might be months before officials fully know the full scale of the atrocities committed against women and girls in Tigray.  She made those comments at the UN Security Council's open debate on conflict-related sexual violence.
War broke out in the Tigray region of Ethiopia on November 4, 2020. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a full-scale attack on Tigray after he accused the state leaders, the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), of attacking a federal military base. Tensions between the TPLF and the federal government had been growing since Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018. The TPLF accused him of sidelining them in the federal political process while he in turn accused them of disrupting the long list of reforms he promised when he came to power.
Tensions boiled over when the TPLF decided to hold state elections in mid-2020 after the national elections were postponed due to the Coronavirus.
The war, however, did not surprise those who had been following politics in the East African nation. In the year leading up to the conflict, organizations like the Crisis Group were repeatedly calling for the de-escalation of tensions.
The federal government dubbed the military strike a “law enforcement operation” and declared the conflict over in three weeks after all big cities in Tigray were taken by federal groups. However, unofficially, the war is entering its eighth month.
Among the many appalling human rights violations in the Tigray war, the stories of mass rape are by far the worst.
The Ethiopian government along with allies such as the neighboring Eritrean government and Amhara regional forces went to war against Tigray. Victims report that most of the violence and rape comes from the Eritrean troops and Amhara forces from the neighboring state of Amhara.
The Ethiopian government sealed off the Tigray region from any reporters for months. But once reporters and aid agencies were allowed to enter, horrific stories started pouring out.
A nun in the region, who chose to remain anonymous for security reasons, told The Guardian that rape is happening wherever Ethiopian and Eritrean troops go.
Rape is starting at the age of 8 and to the age of 72. It is so widespread, I go on seeing it everywhere, thousands. This rape is in public, in front of family, husbands, in front of everyone. Their legs and their hands are cut, all in the same way.
Evelyn Regner, chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) called for the perpetrators to be held accountable for using sexual violence as a weapon of war in the Tigray war.
Sexual violence against women and girls has been used as a weapon of war for centuries. Unfortunately, it is still the case in many conflicts throughout the world and the civil war in northern Ethiopia is yet another example of it.
Tigrayans in the diaspora have been campaigning to stop the war in Tigray since the beginning of the war. Most of them have immediate or extended family living in the region.
Global Voices talked to numerous Tigrayans living in the diaspora, including, Meron, a 42-year-old resident of Chicago, who has a sister and cousins living in the town of Adigrat in Tigray.
What’s happening to our families and our people is such a nightmare, an unimaginable nightmare. I thank God that my sister and immediate family are safe so far, but we have extended family that has been raped or killed. But what keeps all of us awake every night is that the war is still going on, so nobody is really safe.
A number of protests have taken place across the world against what Tigrayans say is a genocidal war on their families. They say over a hundred thousand civilians have been killed since the start of the war.
Aside from mass executions of civilians and rape, Tigray is now facing a famine, which could cost thousands of more lives.
USAID estimates that 900,000 people in Tigray are living in famine conditions. Samantha Powers, head of USAID, has been very vocal in accusing the Ethiopian government of blocking aid to civilians in need.
“Every Tigrayan I know is advocating day and night for the war to end,” says Meron. “If this doesn’t end, I’m afraid it will be my sister that’s raped next or my family that’s executed.” Meron’s fear is in reference to the many men that Ethiopian troops have executed while they film themselves on their phones. These crimes were reported on and verified by news outlets such as CNN and The Telegraph after video footage surfaced of Ethiopian soldiers shooting unarmed men. These are among many potential war crimes that have yet to be investigated
The situation in Tigray remains volatile as Tigray leaders vow to fight until they push Eritrean and Amhara forces out.

author: Roman Debotch


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What has Hong Kong lost one year after the National Security Law was enacted? · Global Voices
The Stand News

Image from the Stand News. Used with permission.
The following post is the English translation of a Chinese report published by the Stand News on July 1, 2021. It is published on Global Voices under a content partnership agreement.
The Beijing imposed National Security Law (NSL) came into effect in Hong Kong about one year ago, on June 30, 2021.
Prior to its enactment, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam assured that the NSL would not affect Hongkongers’ long-enjoyed rights and freedoms, including freedom of expression and the right to protest.
But one year later, Hongkongers have lost the right to attend public protests and assemblies;  Apple Daily, Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy publication has been shut down; and numerous civic groups have been dissolved.
Yet, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam told a different story and praised the achievement of the NSL through her Facebook Page on its anniversary of enactment:
事實擺在眼前，香港擺脫了黑暴橫行、人心惶惶的社會動亂，廣大市民可恢復依法享有他們的自由和人權，而特區的抗疫工作也可走出暴力對抗、泛政治化的困局。
The fact is Hong Kong has got rid of violent protests and social unrest. The general public can enjoy their freedom and rights according to the law. The SAR government’s anti-pandemic work has stepped out of the predicament of violent confrontation and politicization.
On the other hand, professor Chung Kim-wah, a Hong Kong social scientist, told the Stand News in an interview that the NSL has caused ‘all-round damage’ to Hong Kong. He stressed that the effects of the NSL have been drastic as many international institutions and their capital had left, thousands of people have emigrated and a widespread campaign of social unrest has emerged within the city.
Freedom of assembly
July 1 is the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China. In the past, the government would organize activities to celebrate the historical moment while the Civil Human Right Front, typically led a rally to demonstrate people's discontent. The 2003 July 1 rally drew half a million protestors.
Last year, the police banned the annual July 1 rally on the grounds of epidemic control. Although a large number of people still rallied in the streets on that day, 370 people were arrested and 10 were accused of violating the NSL, including a motorcyclist, Tang Ying Kit, who was charged with inciting subversion for displaying a slogan: ‘Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of time’.
The annual June 4 candlelight vigil in Victoria Park has also been banned by the Hong Kong police for two consecutive years on the grounds of epidemic control. Last year, before the NSL was enacted, people spontaneously gathered in various districts to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre. This year, the police arrested  activist Chow Hang Tung on June 4 and deployed a large number of police officers to stop people from entering Victoria Park and having public gatherings.
Chow was arrested again one day before July 1 this year. The police accused her of ‘inciting others to knowingly and unlawfully participate in an unauthorized assembly’.
Rights to participate in elections
The largest prosecution since the implementation of the NSL has been the subversion charge against 47 pro-democracy activists for their participation in the primary elections. They were officially charged at the end of February this year and 35 of them have been in custody for over four months.
Regardless of the result of trials, it is likely that Hongkongers will not have the chance to vote for them in future elections. After the 2020 Legislative Council election was halted by the government on the grounds of epidemic control, Beijing handed down an instruction to  ‘improve the electoral system’. As a result, the election law was amended with a candidate screening mechanism and a loyalty pledge requirement. The new system will make it very difficult for Democrats to enter the legislature in the future.
The government will likely outlaw calls for election boycotts, casting blank or invalid ballots, or deliberately obstructing others from voting which would all taint the legitimacy of the election outcome.
Freedom of association
The anti-China extradition movement had induced the establishment of trade unions. For example, the Health Authority Employee Alliance (HAEA) was set up in November 2019 with over 10,000 members. It called for a strike in February 2020 — urging the government to close the mainland border in order to prevent COVID-19 from spreading to Hong Kong. However, the chairperson of the HAEA, Yu Wai-ming, was among the 47 activists arrested. Her bail was denied and she currently remains in custody.
As a result of the newly introduced loyalty pledge requirement among civil servants, many newly established civil servant unions have been and will be forced to disband.  The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Law Chi-kwong, stressed that he would ensure the unions comply with the NSL.
Recently, a medical doctors’ union, Frontline Doctors’ Union, which has been established for nearly 20 years, was dissolved. Former vice-chairman Siu Yuk Leung explained that no one was willing to take up the union organizer role.
Between June 24—30, 2021, six civic groups were dissolved.  These groups came from a variety of backgrounds: Frontline Doctors’ Union and Medicine Inspire were from the medical sector, Shatin District Policy and the New Democracy Coalition were political groups, g0v.hk was from the IT sector and Spring Church was from the religious sector.
Freedom of the press
In the recent national security police operation, pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily was accused of publishing commentaries calling for foreign sanction in Hong Kong. Seven senior executives were arrested and the paper's assets were frozen. Eventually, the paper was forced to shut down on June 25 and all previous articles were removed from the internet. Carrie Lam stressed the operation was not a suppression of press freedom but a proper move against suspicious acts endangering national security.
Apple Daily was not the only target. Public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong has also undergone drastic reshuffling throughout the year. Since Lee Pak Chuen became the Director of Broadcasting in March, he introduced a screening mechanism and censored a number of episodes in programs related to current affairs such as Hong Kong Connection and Viewpoint 31. Past video productions were also removed from RTHK’s YouTube channel.
Between June 24–30, 2021,  Viewpoint 31, RTHK Talk Show and English channel news program the Pulse were abruptly terminated. In addition, Alan Au, the host of a news commentary talk show Free Wind Free Phone, was replaced on the grounds of content and staffing review.
The Hong Kong government stressed that the NSL had restored the city's stability and improved its economy. It also defended measures such as freezing media companies assets as an international norm to prevent further criminal activities.
Yet, the Wall Street Journal reported in June that countless multinational corporations and professionals are pulling out of Hong Kong in light of the political turmoil, Beijing’s authoritarian measures and the impact of the epidemic. The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong also said some of its members are concerned about the future of investment prospects in Hong Kong after the implementation of the NSL.
While Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau agreed that it is necessary to clearly explain the new red lines drawn by the NSL, he stressed that the number of foreign investors using Hong Kong as their regional headquarters remains stable.
But professor Chung Kim-wah disagreed with the government’s evaluation. He said all he could see was all-round damages as one year after the implementation of NSL, the justice system had been undermined and Hongkongers had lost the right to a fair trial:
最後得到咩好處？… 只係造成一系列破壞，換嚟佢哋所謂嘅平靜，但實際上無平靜到……政府一無所得，甚至面對好嚴峻嘅 side effect，國際機構或者資金已經走曬，衍生好龐大嘅移民潮，亦令社會出現不合作運動。
Where is the benefit?… All it has caused is a series of damages in exchange of what they called stability. But in reality, there is no peace… the government has gained nothing and is now facing very drastic side effects. Multinational corporations or capitals have left and a huge wave of exodus has emerged. People in the society are unwilling to cooperate with government policy.
He also pointed out that the NSL has deepened the social conflict and tore the community apart. Under such circumstances, it would be very difficult to re-establish the new order. He believed that people would continue to resist in a passive manner and adopt an uncooperative attitude towards the government for a foreseeable period of time and such public sentiment is not conducive to policy implementation.

author: The Stand News


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Women protest across the country as Turkey officially withdraws from the Istanbul Convention · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

A screen shot taken from Voice of America Turkey Service report, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCA4nL1Qo9E
Thousands of women marched across the largest cities in Turkey on July 1, to protest Turkey's official withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. Heavy police intervention and violence were reported throughout the country.
Turkey announced its decision to withdraw from the Convention on March 20, 2021. The Istanbul Convention is a legally-binding human rights treaty created by the Council of Europe pledging to prevent, prosecute, and eliminate domestic violence and promote gender equality. It was open to signature in 2011 and has been signed by 45 states.
Erdogan first expressed interest in leaving the convention in 2020. The final decision came after the president unveiled a human rights plan he said would “improve rights and freedoms in Turkey and help the country meet EU standards.”
Turkish police block women as they demonstrate against Turkey's decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, in Istanbul, Turkey, 01 July 2021. Photo by Sedat Suna/EPA-EFE@epaphotos pic.twitter.com/pGxzg7c4Bx
— Sedat Suna (@sedatsuna) July 1, 2021
In the Turkish city Izmir, women were blocked by police barricades, prompting the chant “Build the barricades for murderers, not for women.” Police used tear gas and battered some of the protesters according to Gazete Duvar reporting.
18.45 – İzmir… #İstanbulSözleşmesi pic.twitter.com/Shzf48DXXJ
— Ka (@kazimkizil) July 1, 2021
This is not Handmaid’s Tale, this is Istanbul today. The police attacking the women who are there to defend their right not to be killed, protesting against Turkey’s withdrawal from Istanbul Convention. #İstanbulSözleşmesiHepimizin @MargaretAtwood https://t.co/UScvrQXw79
— Ece Temelkuran (@ETemelkuran) July 1, 2021
Protesters in central Istanbul held up placards reading: “We are not giving up on the Istanbul Convention. It's not over for us.”
Meanwhile, in Istanbul, tear gas is used this time against women marching in support of #IstanbulConvention which Turkey officially pulled out of today. https://t.co/UzcBSkS6NP
— Arzu Geybulla (@arzugeybulla) July 1, 2021
Ahead of the official withdrawal scores of women across Turkey shared videos of themselves united under the slogan #istanbulsözleşmesihepimizin (the Istanbul Convention is ours).
İstanbul Sözleşmesi Lale'nin, İrem'in, Deniz'in, Melis’in sözleşmesi. Benim, senin, herkesin sözleşmesi. #istanbulsözleşmesihepimizin Vazgeçmiyoruz! #1Temmuzdaİsyandayız pic.twitter.com/nxQRaAyMDq
— melis alphan ♀ (@melisalphan) July 1, 2021
At a July 1, event at the presidential palace in Ankara for “Action Plan for Combating Violence against Women,” President Erodgan insisted that the country and its leadership are committed to ending violence against women despite the decision to withdraw from the convention. “As the fight against violence against women did not begin with this treaty, so will our commitment not end because we are withdrawing,” he said. The President suggested numerous new measures to replace the convention, including, reviewing judicial processes, improving protection services, and gathering data on domestic violence.
The view among civil society initiatives fighting for women's rights in Turkey is different. According the initiative We Will Stop Femicide (WWSF) “300 Turkish women were murdered last year, most by their partners. A further 171 were found dead in suspicious circumstance,” WWSF's founder, Gülsüm Kav told The Guardian. This year alone, the platform has documented 130 femicides since January and 99 cases of women deaths in suspicious circumstances according to the initiative's monthly reports.
Meanwhile, the protests on July 1, did not just take place on the streets.
Turkey’s brave women protest against the government’s despicable decision to withdraw from #IstanbulConvention — an international treaty that protects women from violence and abuse. We will NOT give up. Defend women’s rights. #IstanbulConventionSavesLives pic.twitter.com/5KTv2ADeuf
— Elif Shafak (@Elif_Safak) July 1, 2021
U.S. State Department spokesman responding to Turkey's withdrawal on July 1 said the move was “a step backward for the international effort to end violence against women.”
Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention is deeply disappointing and a step backward for the international effort to end violence against women. We urge all states to strengthen their prevention of and response to all forms of gender-based violence.
— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) July 1, 2021
Amnesty International's secretary-general, Agnes Callamard, said the withdrawal sent a “reckless and dangerous message”:
#Turkey withdraw from the #IstanbulConvention has set the clock back ten years on women’s rights. This is the tip of the iceberg: an organised campaign globally against #women rights, SRR, equality, #gender, and #LGBTIQrights. We must come together to resist further assaults. https://t.co/llLVOpMGe9
— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) July 1, 2021
A court appeal to halt the withdrawal was rejected last week.


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Groups call for the release of Mother Nature environmental activists in Cambodia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A poster shared on social media calling for the release of detained Mother Nature members. Source: Facebook
Human rights groups in and outside of Cambodia are calling for the immediate release of Mother Nature activists who were detained for filming a sewage flow near the Royal Palace.
Mother Nature members Sun Ratha 26, and Yim Leanghy 32, were arrested on June 16 while documenting the flow of raw sewage in the Tonle Sap river. Their colleague Ly Chandaravuth, 22, was arrested in Kandal province. They were charged with plotting an attack against the state and insulting the king. The group’s founder, Spanish citizen Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, was charged in absentia.
This is not the first time that Mother Nature members have faced prosecution for their advocacy. Authorities arrested Phoun Keo Reaksmey, 19, Thun Ratha, 29, and Long Kunthea, 22,  in September 2020 for planning a walk to the prime minister’s residence as part of a campaign opposing the planned privatization and reclamation of Boeung Tamok lake in Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh. The three were convicted in May.
Mother Nature is known for organizing social media campaigns and community action plans to highlight environmental issues. In 2015 it led a campaign that successfully prevented the construction of a mega-dam in the remote Areng Valley. It also exposed sand smuggling operations in the country’s coastal areas. These campaigns led to the deportation of Gonzalez-Davidson.
Gonzalez-Davidson told Radio Free Asia that the recent arrests targeting Mother Nature would benefit officials engaged in business activities that harm the environment:
Whether it is cutting down trees in Prey Lang forest, illegal logging of rosewood in the Kravanh mountain range, dredging sand along the Mekong river or in Koh Kong, or mining for gold in Preah Vihear or Mondulkiri provinces, this will all now be more convenient for them.
Companies and individuals involved in illegal business activities are going to profit from these arrests.
But the Interior Ministry insisted that Mother Nature is only using the environmental issue to hide its real goal of conspiring to topple the government.
This action is a plan to incite, to ignite national division, and [it] violated the Cambodian Constitution with the aim of causing social insecurity and impacting national stability such that the competent authorities must take legal action.
Cambodian human rights groups have condemned the arrests and filing of charges against the young members of Mother Nature. Sopheap Chak of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights said the work of Mother Nature should be welcomed by authorities:
The work that activists undertake should be praised rather than hampered, and their voices should be listened to rather than silenced.
Following the judicial harassment that multiple members of the environmental group Mother Nature Cambodia have recently faced, CCHR calls for the immediate release of all environmental activists detained for their activism and for charges against them to be dropped. #Cambodia pic.twitter.com/T2PRybbe5p
— CCHR Cambodia (@cchrcambodia) June 28, 2021
Civil society groups have signed a joint statement expressing alarm over the arrests:
Advocating for human rights and demanding that the authorities protect the environment are not crimes, and jailing the country’s future generation of environmental defenders imperils us all.
They also called out the courts for indicting activists and placing peaceful dissenters in overcrowded jails during a pandemic:
The courts have shown little inclination to release people convicted for non-violent crimes early or on bail, but instead continue to incarcerate peaceful activists, putting their health at risk.
The UN Human Rights and the UN Environment Programme have released a statement urging authorities to stop punishing critics and activists. Cynthia Veliko, Southeast Asia Representative for the UN Human Rights Office in Bangkok, added:
It is imperative to stop the use of all punitive measures routinely leveled against human rights and environmental rights workers in Cambodia. Human rights and environmental work are not criminal offences
We urge the authorities to ensure that human rights and civil society organizations in Cambodia can operate without fear and intimidation and that their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association are protected and respected.
So far, authorities have not presented evidence as to why the mere documentation of a drainpipe runoff in a river constitutes a crime. A pro-government online news site has uploaded a video that appears to be a private Zoom meeting of Mother Nature members who were discussing the country’s politics.
Amnesty International questioned the illegal surveillance operations conducted against groups that advocate for reforms and good governance:
It is alarming that the authorities appear to be engaging in unlawful surveillance of environmental activists in order to concoct evidence of far-fetched conspiracies. Time and time again the Cambodian government has characterized critics of the government as rebels and conspirators, and painted peaceful activism as a crime.
Sebastian Strangio of The Diplomat wrote about the paranoia of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) which maliciously equate peaceful activism with treason and political destabilization:
Yet fear of public scrutiny alone fails to explain the overkill of the charges levied against the three Mother Nature environmentalists, and the government’s grim determination to stamp out the group’s activities. This instead reflects the CPP government’s profound paranoia about foreign influence, and its tendency to conflate independent civil society activism on any issue with attempts to engineer the overthrow of the present government.
If convicted, the arrested Mother Nature members could be in jail for five to ten years.

author: Mong Palatino


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Kazakhstan celebrates its leader with two more statues · Global Voices
Paolo Sorbello

The unveiling of the statue of Nazarbayev in Turkistan, southern Kazakhstan. Photo: Regional government of Turkistan.
Driving from the newly-built airport of Turkistan into the city center, across the arid plains of southern Kazakhstan, features countless billboards with welcome signs and iconic imagery of the ancient Silk Road. Every two or three billboards, there will be one featuring a portrait of the country’s leader with one of his quotes in Kazakh.
To the potential surprise of first-time tourists, however, the leader in the portrait is not current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, but his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
On 5 July, the day before his 81st birthday, a bronze statue of Nazarbayev was unveiled in the center of the city. At the same time, in the capital Nur-Sultan, Tokayev unveiled another statue of Nazarbayev, showing just how pervasive and unwavering is the cult of personality for the so-called “Leader of the Nation,” or Elbasy, who ruled the country for three decades.
Tokayev unveils a new bronze statue of Nazarbayev in the capital Nur-Sultan. Photo: The website of the President of Kazakhstan. Akorda.kz
Turkistan, much like Nur-Sultan, was remodeled, rebuilt, and expanded under Nazarbayev’s command and supervision.
After the capital city was moved from the southern city of Almaty to the northern village of Tselinograd, the new seat of the government was renamed Astana. Its urban development encompassed glitzy new buildings and an entirely new expansion to the “left” side of the river Yesil. In March 2019, the day after Nazarbayev’s unexpected resignation, interim president Tokayev decreed that Astana be renamed Nur-Sultan in honor of the ex-president.
In Turkistan, the local population was already unhappy in May about the news of the erection of a new monument celebrating Nazarbayev. Rumors of the construction of a new bronze statue for the former leader had emerged in online media.
In addition, on 25 May, Bilal Çakıcı, deputy head of the International Organization of Turkic Culture, said in a public statement that the heritage of Elbasy should be celebrated in Turkistan, recently named “the spiritual capital of the Turkic world”.
I propose to erect in the center of the spiritual capital of the Turkic world, in the city of Turkistan, a monument to the person who initiated the revival of the city, as well as made an invaluable contribution to the implementation of the idea of Turkic integration: Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev.
As often occurs, Nazarbayev publicly said he would prefer measures that ensure people’s prosperity, rather than monuments.
“This year Kazakhstan celebrates the 30th anniversary of its independence. And the main gift for all of us should not be monuments or renaming, but a high-quality implementation of systemic measures aimed at preserving unity, stability, ensuring the well-being and prosperity of our people,” his press service reported him as saying.
In the past, Nazarbayev only agreed for his name to be given to the Western-style university that was opened in the capital in 2010, according to his press service.
“Elbasy did not support this idea, nor others in the past. […] Nursultan Abishevich has already stated quite a few times that he does not need such signs of attention. […] The only time in history when he agreed to give his name to new projects was a university and intellectual schools,” Aidos Ukibai, his press secretary, said.
During a visit in May, Nazarbayev heralded the fast-paced development of Turkistan, saying it grew at a faster rate than the capital.
I dreamed of reviving the city in the year of the 1500th anniversary of Turkestan. Not even three years have passed since the creation of the Turkestan region and we built 257 [projects]. No one will forget the work done to build the capital. The revival of the city of Turkistan is also an unforgettable event.
The speed of development, however, does not guarantee the quality of construction, as residents noted after seeing parts of the walls of the new Karavansaray complex crumble.
The criticism was dismissed by the regional governor, Umirzak Shukeyev, as irrelevant.
Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic had canceled plans for a grandiose party for Nazarbayev’s 80th birthday. This year, the central and regional bureaucracies seem to have compensated with two statues.
Kazakhstan, in short, is increasingly Nazarbayev’s country. He credits himself with having built most of it from scratch.
“Now you are driving as if in a completely different world, in a different city, which did not exist before,” Nazarbayev said of the city of Turkistan. But he could have said it about any of the cities with a Nazarbayev street, a Nazarbayev airport, or a Nazarbayev university.

author: Paolo Sorbello


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Tbilisi Pride march canceled amid violent attacks · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

A screenshot taken from Radio Free Europe video https://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-lgbt-pride-attacks/31342136.html
Georgia's capital Tbilisi was to hold a March of Dignity on July 5, organized as part of this year's Pride Week, but the march was canceled amid violent attacks by anti-LGBTQ protestors. At least 50 journalists were battered and a violent mob stormed and ransacked the offices of the march's organizers — Tbilisi Pride and Shame Movement, a liberal activists group.
One video showed mobs climbing onto the Tbilisi Pride office's balcony, and then tearing down and burning the Pride flag hanging outside. At least one tourist was hospitalized as mobsters took him for a gay man. In their statement, the march's organizers, Tbilisi Pride, condemned the attacks and the local authorities’ inaction. “On behalf of Tbilisi Pride, we would like to announce that the March of Dignity for solidarity will not be made today. Not only the government didn't ensure the security of queer [sic] community and our supporters, but with their activities they interfered with our right to the freedom of assembly,” read the statement. Later that day, the Ministry of the Interior of Georgia vowed to investigate the attacks against Tbilisi Pride and Shame Movement offices.
Tbilisi Pride’s full statement on the cancellation of the ‘March of Dignity’. Translation by OC Media. #TbilisiPride2021
⚡https://t.co/7zEZax7riP pic.twitter.com/ez3YMehyii
— OC Media (@OCMediaorg) July 5, 2021
Just one day before the march, the organizers wrote in a Facebook post, “We believe that together we are making history, taking crucial steps towards building a state where human rights are protected and people have equal opportunities.” But the evidence of violence the following day, showed a different story in Georgia, one marred by hate and intolerance.
Violent groups storming the office of Tbilisi Pride, breaking windows and equipment of the members. They announced they will set office to fire. We call on police to react in correspondence with law and arrest violent groups. #TbilisiPride21 pic.twitter.com/sGPcLIy7kN
— Tbilisi Pride (@TbilisiPride) July 5, 2021
The demonstrators attacked journalists accusing them of “promoting the ideas of the LGBT community.” One journalist was reportedly dragged around by a priest. According to reporting by OC Media, the main organizer of the anti-Pride protests was the Georgian Orthodox Church whose priests were visible during the protests and at least on one occasion appeared to engage in an attack on a journalist.
Chilling photos! Georgian journalist Rati Tsverava, harassed and beaten by homophobic mob, being dragged around by priests in #Tbilisi streets. Dozen more journalists violently attacked as police stands by. Gov wont deploy enough police #TbilisiPride #Georgia pic.twitter.com/jpiJzLwTRv
— Dato Parulava (@dato_parulava) July 5, 2021
According to Civil.ge, one priest while addressing the crowd on July 5 encouraged violence “for the sake of homeland”:
“You are obliged to use violence for the sake of homeland, the country, the sacred,” a priest addressed far-right homophobic crowds earlier today.
Orthodox Church Patriarchate said it distances itself from statements calling for violence. #TbilisiPride #LGBTQ pic.twitter.com/KqaQpbGIpL
— Civil.ge (@CivilGe) July 5, 2021
The Shame Movement, a Georgian activist group hosting the Tbilisi Pride organizers were forced to evacuate from their office due to the violence, according to Amnesty International.
The attacks were widely condemned by international organizations and European leaders.
?? #Georgia: We condemn threats and assaults at #TbilisiPride2021 venues on journalists & organizers. We call on Georgia to protect participants in peaceful assemblies, and to investigate violence & discrimination against #LGBTI people. Those responsible must be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/BWj4bw6OF5
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) July 5, 2021
ODIHR is concerned by today's violence in Tbilisi as well as the cancellation of the planned peaceful gathering. Each of these targeted attacks against activists, journalists, and their property must be swiftly and thoroughly investigated #FreedomOfAssembly #TbilisiPride2021
— OSCE/ODIHR (@osce_odihr) July 5, 2021
Belgium firmly condemns today's violent attacks against LGBTIQ civic activists, community members and journalists. #TbilisiPride2021
This is an attack against human rights and freedom of expression.
Georgian authorities must prosecute the perpetrators of those attacks. pic.twitter.com/iPuHtexLux
— ?? Belgium MFA ? (@BelgiumMFA) July 5, 2021
Numerous foreign embassies in Georgia issued a joint statement condemning the attacks. “We condemn today’s violent attacks on the civic activists, community members and journalists, as well as the failure of the government leaders and religious officials to condemn this violence.  Participation in peaceful gatherings is a human right guaranteed by Georgia’s Constitution.  Violence is simply unacceptable and cannot be excused,” read the statement signed by some twenty embassies and delegations.
Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Denis Krivosheev, said, “Instead of planning for this turn of events and providing a robust response to violence, the government deployed inadequately small numbers of policemen who were only reacting to violent attacks, rather than providing an organized protection for LGBTI activists.” In an interview with CNN International, Giorgi Tabagari, the director of Tbilisi Pride said, the team had to change locations multiple times throughout the day due to threats highlighting once again, “complete failure of the state.”
According to Georgia's Prime Minister, the organizers of the march were to blame for the violence. Speaking at a government meeting, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said, it was “unreasonable” for the organizers to march in a public space which could trigger “civil confrontation” at a time when the majority of the population finds LGBTQ identities “unacceptable.”
The PM also accused former president and his United National Movement Mikheil Saakashvili of organizing the march in order to sow “unrest” in Georgian society according to reporting by Civil.ge. Earlier, the Interior Ministry warned the campaigners not to participate in the march, in a statement “due to the scale of counter-manifestations planned by the opposing groups.”
Tbilisi Pride Week began on July 2, with the closed screening of a documentary film about the 2019 Pride march that was canceled after the local police refused to provide protection. The film, “March for Dignity” was attended by diplomats and local civil society groups. Anti-pride protesters gathered outside the screening venue while police reportedly arrested some twenty people who attempted to disrupt the event. This year's March for Dignity was to be the culmination of the week-long series of events planned to celebrate Pride 2021.
In the end, it was anything but a celebration. As the organizers of the march, said in their statement, the violence observed on July 5, was a “war declared against civil society and democratic values and the European course of the country.”


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Threats to Nepal’s endangered orchids · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

Orchids are one of the most sought after flowers in the world. Photo by Mamta B Khatri (The Green Owl). Used with permission.
Known for their beauty, curative powers and food value, orchids are likely the most traded flowers in the world — both legally and illegally. Collectors knowingly or unknowingly, pressure locals to plunder these magnificent flowers from the wild for their use as ornamental flowers, medicine or food. This makes the second-most-populous flower, with more than 29,000 recorded species worldwide, vulnerable and sometimes pushes them to extinction. Conservationists suggest that raising the profile of the legal orchid trade as an important conservation issue may prevent the extinction of some orchids.
Nepal boasts of 507 recorded varieties of orchids and the Government of Nepal has placed all wild orchids under Appendix I and II of the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) — a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals. However, each year local traders unsustainably collect tonnes of orchids from the wild and export them to international markets, raising concerns for their conservation.
Every year 10,000 tonnes of medicinal plants are shipped to 50 different countries from Nepal. This includes 24 species of orchids along with 12 Dendrobium varieties that have anti-cancer properties. And these reported cases are only the tip of the iceberg. There is a long history of unsustainable orchid collection in Nepal’s forests, such as when around 800 tonnes of orchids were smuggled to India from eastern Nepal in the 1980s, according to information published in 1985 by Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. A large portion of the wild orchids from Nepal go to India and China, and some to Hong Kong.
Reshu Bashyal, who leads the Illegal trade and sustainable use of medicinal orchids in Nepal project, came across 15 seizure records in the last 10 years — each seizure ranging from 4.4 to 9,364 kilograms of orchids. She told Global Voices:
They are mostly transported in trucks or public buses, where orchids are bundled in sacks, plastics, or clothes either solely or in mixed form with other herbs. Sometimes, smugglers hoodwink police using innovative ways, such as hiding them in bus engines, or storing them in sealed drums.
According to Reshu, between 2008–2016, Nepal reported 49,789 kgs of legal orchid trade with volumes fluctuating tremendously over the years. Wild-collected orchids dominated the legal trade, accounting for 96 percent of the trade while only 4 percent were artificially grown orchids, mostly belonging to the genera Dendrobium, Coelogyne, Cymbidium and Otochilus. A small amount of trade amounting to 200 kgs remained unidentified. ‘These provide initial insights into the nature and scale of illegal orchid trade in Nepal, as part of a broader effort to triangulate and verify commercial trade dynamics’, added Reshu.
Beautiful orchids generally grow on old trees’ inaccessible branches or cliffs and it’s difficult to collect. Photo by Mamta B Khatri (The Green Owl). Used with permission.
Buddhi Rai, belonging to an indigenous Kirant tribe from Siktemba village in Panchthar District in eastern Nepal, boasts of his orchids collected over 40 years, mostly Cymbidiums. ‘We call them aamlabung in our language’, Buddhi said talking with Global Voices. ‘Many species of orchids are found in our forests. However, I have sourced most of my collection from Indian towns Mirik, Darjeeling and Kalimpong’. Since the hybrid orchids are sturdier and the beautiful blooms last for months, people prefer planting them. He added that beautiful orchids generally grow on old trees’ inaccessible branches or cliffs and are difficult to collect.
The Kirati people use orchids to make their traditional attire. ‘The stems of aamlabung are dried like hay turning them into golden cords’, Buddhi says. ‘These cords shaped [sic] into beautiful florets last longer when added to traditional attire’.
Read More: Why pilgrims from India and Nepal throng to see an orchid that blooms in April
Although orchids for foodstuffs like vanilla, salep, chikanda and faham are non-existent in Nepal, Nepal’s Ayurvedic industry — a type of traditional medicine — involves around 94 orchid species. Many Nepali orchid species are also used in traditional Chinese medicine.
‘I’ve seen aamchis from Himalayan region selling tubers of orchids found in our hills in cities like Biratnagar and Kathmandu’, he adds pointing to the use of orchids for the cure of several ailments. ‘I’ve come across tubers of an orchid with purple flowers from our hills being sold in Kathmandu as an aphrodisiac’.
The Government of Nepal has placed all wild orchids under Appendix I and II of the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). Photo by Mamta B Khatri (The Green Owl). Used with permission.
Although all orchids are protected in Nepal, the Government of Nepal made an announcement in 2008 permitting the collection of wild orchids for trade, which contradicts its official policies, according to the research paper ‘Collection and trade of wild-harvested orchids in Nepal‘.
‘Endemic to the Himalayas and resembling a palm, Dactylorhiza hatagirea called paanch aunle locally, has been strictly banned for collection, use and sale’, said botanist Kamal Maden in an interview with Global Voices. Categorised as endangered, it has been kept in Appendix II of CITES which means it is not necessarily threatened with extinction but may get extinct if its trade isn’t controlled.
‘Paanch aunle is a protected species according to Forest Act, 2049 (1993)’, writes Kamal. ‘In 2005, the third amendment of Forest Regulation, 2051 (1995) put the export duty as 500 Nepalese Rupee [4.2 US dollars] per kg.’ But an underground trade of paanch aunle to China is still thriving.
Many other orchid species including Gastrodia elata will face extinction if the government continues granting export licenses for critically endangered species.
Strong policy enforcement and clear guidelines on sustainable harvesting along with habitat preservation will help conserve orchids in the wild. However, better understanding the trade and addressing its threats are of paramount importance to their conservation.
Reshu Bashyal often tweets about orchids to remind people about their conservation.
Meet the two new “buddies” of our office!
When there are issues of the illegal orchid trade from their natural habitats, there are also some small-scale initiations to promote orchid propagation in Nepal – to reduce pressure on the wild orchids. #orchids #nepalorchids pic.twitter.com/t1JBBTqptc
— Reshu Bashyal (@bashyalreshu) February 24, 2021
Found this beauty in the forest during our recent orchid hunting (somewhere in Nepal)!
As long as we are aware of the conservation importance of these incredible beauties, we get a chance to see them thriving in the wild! #orchids #conservation pic.twitter.com/AvOsqKLVEu
— Reshu Bashyal (@bashyalreshu) March 24, 2021

author: Sanjib Chaudhary


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Controversy over an explosion in the Caspian sea · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

A screenshot from a video shared by the Ministry of Emergency Situation https://youtu.be/UyztaBIJM6c
A July 4 explosion in the Caspian Sea where Azerbaijan has its offshore oil and gas fields caught international attention. While officials from the State Oil Company (SOCAR) claim the blast was caused by an underwater mud volcano, the cause is still being debated and investigated. No casualties were reported.
The mud volcanoes are common in Azerbaijan. According to The Guardian newspaper, “Scientists are uncertain as to what causes mud volcanoes to ignite, but the most likely theory is that the boulders and rocks propelled upwards during an explosion can knock against each other, causing a spark that lights gasses.”
Mark Tingay, a mud volcano expert and adjunct associate professor at Australia’s University of Adelaide said, “mud volcanoes, such as the ones in Azerbaijan, can also be plumbed into active hydrocarbon systems. And so they can erupt oil and natural gas, as well as mud.”
So, first, Azerbaijan is the home of mud volcanoes, and has hundreds of them.
My Google Earth mud volcano map of Azerbaijan gives you and idea of just how ludicrously many mud volcanoes there are both onshore and offshore. pic.twitter.com/m5m3yAPWSV
— Mark Tingay (@CriticalStress_) July 5, 2021
Morning video of volcano at Dashly island in Caspian Sea that erupted last night pic.twitter.com/asSoOAaZWl
— Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) July 5, 2021
Not everyone agrees with the cause of the explosion. According to Mirvari Gahramanli, the head of Azerbaijan's Oil Workers’ Rights Protection Committee, the explosion took place at an old exploration site near Umid [Hope] gas field and was caused as a result of poor patchwork when sealing off the exploration site. SOCAR denied these claims. The company spokesperson Ibrahim Ahmadov said the blast took place about 10 kilometers from the Umid gas field.
Not to be outdone by the Gulf of Mexico, there was a massive explosion in the Caspian Sea pic.twitter.com/JgxMkAmzUW
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 4, 2021
Azerbaijan's offshore fields are the country's main source of gas output, which it then exports to Europe. BP, which operates the country's largest oil and natural gas projects, told Bloomberg reporters its operations are continuing as normal.