text:
The Archbishop of Cyprus Says He’s ‘Satisfied’ With a Far-Right Party’s Election Success · Global Voices
Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni

Chrysostomos II., the Archbishop of Cyprus, at the Horasis Global Russia Business Meeting in April 2013. Photo by Richter Frank-Jurgen. CC BY-SA 2.0
An Orthodox archbishop's “satisfaction” with a far-right party's election success in Cyprus has caused a stir on the Greek-speaking web.
Cyprus went to the polls on Sunday, May 22. The country's ruling conservatives won the general elections with about 30% of the vote, while National Popular Front (ELAM) earned its first seats in the legislature. ELAM, which has political links to the notorious Greek neo-Nazi movement of Golden Dawn, describes itself as representing “popular and social nationalism”. It is hostile to immigration and skeptical of the benefits of belonging to the European Union.
What really was the election's scene-stealing moment, however, was the reaction of Orthodox Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus to the news that two members of ELAM would now sit in Parliament.
Asked to comment, he said:
I didn’t believe they would get in but I can say I’m satisfied. Other voices will be heard now. Many times you need extremists so the others are more careful.
Below is the YouTube video (uploaded by user Reporter) with the archbishop's message in Greek (last 10-15 seconds):
In the past, Chrysostomos had declared in a newspaper interview that “most ELAM views are crystal clear and reflect mine”.
His remarks sparked much discussion online. There is a long-standing strife over the separation — or lack thereof — of church and state in Greece and by extension Cyprus, so perceived meddling of the Orthodox Church in politics fed the flames of debate even more.
A comment below the above mentioned YouTube video read:
i ekklisia na kamnei tin doulia tis k na men mplekete sta politika dromena…
Church must do her job and not meddle in politics…
In an opinion article titled “Arch-Fascist the II, The End” on news portal Cyprus News, Leontios Filotheou (@leontios_ on Twitter) used harsh language against the religious figure:
Επικίνδυνος είσαι. Και φασίστας.
Δεν είναι εξάλλου η πρώτη φορά. Ήταν οι «κρυστάλλινες τους απόψεις». Ήταν τα «καλά παιδιά». Και ήρθε και το κερασάκι. «Η ικανοποίηση από την είσοδο του ΕΛΑΜ στη Βουλή. Για να ακούγονται κι άλλες φωνές».
Μα γιατί; Άμα θέλαμε να ακούσουμε κανά φασίστα σε ακούγαμε εσένα; Χρειαζόμασταν λες και το ΕΛΑΜ;
Και τι σε ικανοποίησε ακριβώς;
Το ότι είναι ένα παράρτημα της Χρυσής Αυγής;
Σε ικανοποιούν οι απόψεις τους σε ότι έχει να κάνει με τον άνθρωπο; Με το συνάνθρωπο μας;  Με το μετανάστη; Τον πρόσφυγα; Τον κατατρεγμένο;
[…]
Σε ικανοποιεί που δεν καταδικάζουν το ναζισμό; Σε ικανοποιούν οι σβάστικες; Οι αγκυλωτοί σταυροί; Και όλα αυτά που έστειλαν εκατομμύρια ανθρώπους σε φούρνους στο μεγαλύτερο έγκλημα της ανθρωπότητας;
Σε ικανοποιεί το στυλ τους; Τα μαύρα; Η στρατιωτική πειθαρχία;
[…]
Τι στο διάολο σε ικανοποιεί επιτέλους;
You are dangerous. And fascist.
However, it's not the first time. They had their “crystal clear views”. They were the “good fellas”. And then, the best of all. “The satisfaction that ELAM entered the Parliament. So that other voices will be heard now”.
But why? If we wished to listen to a fascist, we would listen to you. We don't need ELAM as well, do we?
What satisfied you exactly?
The fact that it is a Golden Dawn branch?
Are you satisfied by their point of view regarding humans? Our fellow citizens? Migrants? Refugees? The oppressed?
[…]
Are you satisfied that they don't condemn Nazism? Are you satisfied by swastikas? By angled crosses? By all that sent millions of people to be burnt in furnaces, the biggest crime of humanity?
Are you satisfied by their style? Black clothes? Military discipline?
[…]
What the fuck satisfies you, after all?
Others underlined the rise of far-right politics across Europe and the relationship between conservative thinking and austerity measures imposed in recent years in various European Union countries, as Cyprus has itself faced a financial crisis some years ago:
Η είσοδος στην κυπριακή βουλή των φασιστών του ΕΛΑΜ βεβαιώνει ότι λιτότητα & Τρόικα είναι ο μεγαλύτερος στρατολόγος του σύγχρονου φασισμού!
— Leonidas Vatikiotis (@LeonidasV) May 22, 2016
ELAM fascists’ entrance into the Cypriot Parliament ensures that austerity and the Troika [the tripartite committee formed by the European Union Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund] are the largest recruiters of modern fascism!
Σοκ απο την είσοδο στην κυπριακή Βουλή του ακροδεξιού ΕΛΑΜ. Το φίδι απλώνεται σε ολη την ΕΕ. Κ ειναι μεγαλύτερος κίνδυνος απο τα ελλείμματα.
— Aggeliki Spanou (@AggelikiSays) May 22, 2016
Big shock by the entrance of far-right ELAM into the Cypriot Parliament. The serpent spreads all over EU. And this is a bigger danger than financial deficits.
“Serpent” refers to the phrase “the serpent's egg”, which is a common expression in Greek meaning the rise of fascism or Nazism. In fact, it's the title of a 1977 movie by Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, inspired by a line from Shakespeare, presenting a post-war Germany sunk into poverty and inflation.
Of course, there were messages of support, either from far-right politicians or social media users, that considered ELAM to be guilty only of expressing true and patriotic nationalistic values.
A tweet by Christos Pappas, a Greek Golden Dawn member of parliament, proclaimed:
ΖΗΤΩ ΤΟ ΕΛΑΜ
ΖΗΤΩ Η ΧΡΥΣΗ ΑΥΓΗ
ΔΥΟ ΚΡΑΤΗ ΕΝΑ ΕΘΝΟΣ
ΔΥΟ ΚΟΜΜΑΤΑ ΕΝΑΣ ΑΓΩΝΑΣ pic.twitter.com/pNkHXOBze2
— CHRISTOS PAPPAS (@PappasXA) May 30, 2016
Long Live ELAM
Long Live Golden Dawn
Two countries, one nation
Two political parties, one struggle
News reports or Facebook posts were full of comments praising the ELAM's win or the archbishop's words:
Γιώργος Χατζηθεοδωρίδης ΣΥΓΧΑΡΗΤΙΡΙΑ ΣΤΟΥΣ ΚΥΠΡΙΟΥΣ ΠΑΤΡΙΩΤΕΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΕΠΙΛΟΓΗ ΤΟΥΣ
Congratulations to Cypriot patriots for their choice
27/05/2016 02:43
Πολύ σωστά τα λέει ο αρχιεπίσκοπος Κύπρου
Archbishop of Cyprus speaks the right things
“Many voices must be heard, extremist ones as well, so that the others are careful and not decide immediately, just because they have the power”.
Very good stance, except the bit about “extremist ones”. It would be better to say “popular right-wing parties”.
ELAM has taken a nationalist stance in the ongoing negotiations with Turkish Cypriots to reunite the country. Currently, the island is split down ethnic lines between an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, the result of Turkey's invasion in 1974 following a military coup in Cyprus that aimed for Greece to annex it and therefore unify the two.

author: Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni


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The One-Woman Army Fighting Thalassemia in Pakistan · Global Voices
Sana Saleem

Ayesha Mehmood speaks at World Thalassemia Day event. Photo via Ayesha Mehmood's Facebook
Ayesha Mehmood is the official spokesperson for Thalassemia Pakistan – an organisation that raises awareness about the inherited blood disorder.
Mehmood, who has thalassemia major herself and has lost two siblings to the disease, has made it her life's mission to raise awareness on social media about the life-threatening disorder, to reduce social stigma associated with the disease and to push for legislation that will help curb its spread.
Thalassemia is passed down through families. The bodies of thalassemia patients make an abnormal form of hemoglobin, the protein molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen. The disorder results in excessive destruction of red blood cells, which leads to anemia. If both parents have the mutated gene – the symptomless thalassemia minor – their children are highly likely to have life-threatening anemia.
Last week, a parliamentary panel in Pakistan unanimously passed a bill to make blood tests compulsory for relatives of thalassemia, with recommendations that blood tests be made mandatory before marriage to curtail the spread of the disease. While some might find the bill excessive, Mehmood, who goes by “Blessed Ayesha” on social media platforms, shared her feelings on Facebook saying drastic measures are necessary to curb the spread of thalassemia:
If our mature sensible citizens get them self tested then they don't need government to force this onto them. Only if they understand..It hurts to see new born babies getting pricked twice/thrice to find a vein for blood transfusion. Sadly we are still living in dour-e-jahalat (era of ignorance.)
According to reports, 5,000 children are diagnosed with thalassemia-major every year in Pakistan. Thalassemia patients have to undergo regular blood transfusions, which makes them more vulnerable to HIV and hepatitis. And the sessions can be excruciatingly painful.  Mehmood narrates her experiences along with tidbits of information that could help other patients:
80s generation suffered because there wasn't any awareness at that time. But why new cases every year now even when there's a lot of awareness is being given by media, thalassemia centers, etc.Trust me it hurts when a new born baby is pricked twice/thrice for blood transfusion, he/she wouldn't have to go through this if their parents could have gone for a single prick of hemoglobin electrophoresis.An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. On this day I would request you all to please get yourself tested for thalassemia and if you can donate blood then please do visit thalassemia centers in your city and give a gift of life to our thalassemia fellows! And to my thalassemia fellows take good care of yourself, we are no less than anyone, may we all live a long healthy and happy life ameen :)
There's little to no awareness about the pain patients go through during, between and after transfusions. Mehmood routinely her blood transfusion experience:
Is se behter koi jagah hi nahi mili nurse ko :'( pic.twitter.com/Ler43YJScK
— Ayesha Mehmood (@blessedAyesha) May 16, 2016
The nurse couldn't find a better place (for the needle)
Some of the most common symptoms of thalassemia include dizziness, headaches and leg cramps amongst other things
Woke up with headache and then legs pain.. #NotMyDayToday
— Ayesha Mehmood (@blessedAyesha) May 25, 2016
But that doesn't stop Mehmood from reaching out to others in pain:
@shadesofsunrise I hope you are fine. Please let me know if need any help.
— Ayesha Mehmood (@blessedAyesha) May 23, 2016
That's not all, to ensure thalassemia patients are able to get regular transfusions Mehmood runs and supports regular funding drives.
Please do visit and donate blood!
It's our humble request! https://t.co/JH1LiSMyEl
— Ayesha Mehmood (@blessedAyesha) May 28, 2016
It's been a long battle for Mehmood and others fighting to curb the spread of thalassemia but they are not giving up just yet.
With the Islamic month of Ramadan around the corner, and TV audiences about to hit peak levels, she is making sure the disorder gets mainstream media coverage. Lately, she's been busy tagging mainstream media anchors on Twitter encouraging them to cover thalessemia on their shows:
@iqrarulhassan is Ramadan aik program thalassemia awareness pe karlen please. Kisi center ka visit karke, kuch bachon ko show pe bula ke?
— Ayesha Mehmood (@blessedAyesha) May 29, 2016
This Ramadan, please do a program on thalassemia awareness please. Visit a centre or call some kids on your show?

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Sana Saleem


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What a Vote on Islamic Marriage Blessings Says About Politics in Kyrgyzstan · Global Voices
Chynara Bakyt kyzy

Kyrgyzstan's parliament: Never afraid of controversy. Pixabay stock image.
Earlier this week, MPs in Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted down a piece of legislation that would have allowed for the criminal punishment of Islamic clerics blessing marriages involving persons younger than 18-years-old.
The vote's surprising outcome tells a story about the tussle between secular and religious-minded groups for the Central Asian country's future, and hints at a brewing political power struggle as incumbent President Almazbek Atambayev prepares to step down from office in 2017.
An overwhelmingly poor country of six million people, Kyrgyzstan is ex-Soviet Central Asia's only approximation of a democracy, encompassing all the unpredictability associated with that form of government.
Just a few weeks ago, for instance, the parliament voted against a law that would restrict the activities of non-governmental organisations in a way very similar to Russia's much-criticized ‘foreign agent's law’.
Given that Kyrgyzstan depends on Russia for nearly all of its fuel imports and as a destination for up to a million migrant workers, it was widely perceived that the law would be passed with the Kremlin's blessing.
But it wasn't.
This time round, the same secular and pro-democracy types that praised MPs for blocking the anti-NGO law's passage last week fumed at their collective decision not to afford young girls protection from religious marriages, that when unaccompanied by a parallel civil union, leave them lacking legal rights.
Liberal blogger and financial consultant Daniar Aitman blasted:
Педофилия является большой проблемой в Кыргызстане. По данным Национального статистического комитета, 15 процентов всех женщин страны в возрасте 25–49 лет впервые вступили в брак, не достигнув 18 лет.
Кто эти девочки, рано ставшие женщинами? Юные Джульетты, влюбленные в своих Ромео большой и чистой любовью? Нет. Это девочки, которые были выданы замуж — а точнее проданы замуж — своими родителями или другими родственниками. Мало того, многие из них были даже не проданы, а просто украдены.
Маленькие, несчастные, послушные девочки, не созревшие ни физически, ни морально. Они становятся рабынями — сексуальными в том числе. Их бьют, насилуют и эксплуатируют как последнюю скотину. Они лишаются детства, здоровья, будущего.
У них нет никаких прав. Они даже не являются законными женами своих хозяев, потому что их «браки» никогда не были зарегистрированы. В любую секунду они могут оказаться на улице — без дома, без имущества, без достоинства.
Pedophilia is a big problem in Kyrgyzstan. According to the National Statistics Committee, 15 percent of the country's women aged between 25 and 49 years first got married before reaching the age of 18.
Who are these girls that become women too soon? Young Juliets who fell for their very own Romeos? No. It is the girls who were married, or rather sold into marriage by their parents or other relatives. Moreover, many of them were not even sold, but simply stolen [referring to practice of bride kidnapping].
Small, poor, obedient girls, mature in neither the physical or mental sense. They become slaves, including of the sexual type. They are beaten, raped and exploited like the last beast. They are deprived of their childhood, health and future.
They have no rights. They are not even the legitimate wives of their masters, because their “marriages” have never been registered. At any moment they can appear on the street – without a home, without property, without dignity.
Печально😔, что не прошёл проект Саляновой по защите несовершеннолетних девочек от навязываемого замужества.Удивительно,что против женщины ЖК
— Aijan Alisherova (@bomarche) May 26, 2016
Sad that [initiator MP Aida] Salyanova's law protecting underage girls from forced marriage did not pass. Surprising that women in the parliament were among those against.
This is not the first parliamentary scandal relating to the nikkah, or Islamic marriage law in Kyrgyzstan.
A law that would have fined mullahs who bless marriages not registered with the state failed to pass after a vote in Kyrgyzstan's parliament in 2012 that pitted male MPs against their female counterparts across party lines.
Many speculated that male MPs voting against the law were protecting their own interests, since the nikkah remains an important means of endorsing officially illegal polygyny.
On this occasion public attention regarding the bill was even greater and focused on the MPs and parties that voted against the law.
Some 61 out of 105 MPs were against the bill, many of whom failed to give an adequate explanation for voting the way they did.
“At the moment of the vote I left the parliament, and a colleague voted instead of me,” said Iskhak Masaliyev of the Onuguu Progress Party. Kloop.kg, creative commons.
Social Democrat Iskender Matraimov said he had “already forgotten why” he had voted against the legislation. Kloop.kg with permission.
Ainuru Altybaeva, another Social Democrat said she had herself “lobbied the law for around a month. My ‘against’ was a technical mistake.” Kloop.kg with permission.
One mysterious political force — the Kyrgyzstan Party — voted solidly against the law.
Supported financially by the country's largest vodka producer, they are not a religious party in any obvious sense, but have seemingly developed a platform based on ‘morality’ to capture more conservative voters.
Some have suggested the party is a dummy party controlled by the generally secular Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan that control more seats than any other party and is effectively led by President Amazbek Atambayev.
Atambayev's critics note he makes increasing references to God in his speeches, perhaps mindful of the growing importance of religion to huge swathes of the electorate.
Some have argued that the law was not so necessary after all.
At least three articles of the Criminal Code theoretically already punish pedophilia, even if none of them target religious clerics specifically.
But a sense of lack of control over the national destiny on the part of secularists may be framing the debate in respect of this and other initiatives that raise Islam's pubic profile in the country.
Another proposal raised by conservative MPs to extend lunch breaks on Friday for state officials to have more time at Friday prayers has caused more secular irritation, while a prayer room installed in the legislature in 2014 with funds from Saudi Arabia drew sharp criticism from civic campaigners.
At the heart of these controversies is not only a church and state debate, but a fearful discourse about ‘external influences’ that colours politics in the tiny, aid dependent country.
When MPs vote against a law restricting NGO freedoms, their opponents might assail them for protecting Washington's interests, for instance.
When they vote for a law restricting the rights of LGBT groups, their critics argue they are in thrall to Russia.
So, political gossips and conspiracy theorists might ask, when MPs vote for mullahs rather than teenage girls, which foreign interests are they representing this time?
Following the unsuccessful vote, one Facebooker epitomised the widespread public despair at a parliament that somehow seems to be fulfilling a number of functions except the one it was elected for — to propose, study and pass legislation in regard of the public interest.
These do nothings! They are secretly lobbying this stuff. ‘I do not understand’, ‘I left the room'…these are not answers. If you really do not understand then why are you here? To polish your backsides on these chairs?

author: Chynara Bakyt kyzy


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Zanj Radio: Jamaica’s Online Music Station With a Social Message · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

Jamaica to the World — Radio with a purpose in the form of online station Zanj Radio. Photo courtesy Zanj Rracc, used with permission.
“One good thing about music…when it hits, you feel no pain.”
So sang Bob Marley in his celebratory song Trenchtown Rock. Music — specifically reggae music, with all its variants — is the lifeblood of Jamaica, and technology has the potential to take the creative raw material several steps further.
Enter 28-year-old media entrepreneur Orrin Carr. Otherwise known as Zanj Rracc (so called in honour of the Zanj People of Eastern Africa who were enslaved by Arabs and had the first successful slave revolt of Africans outside of Africa), he is the founder of the Internet radio station Zanj Radio, which he started in 2010, operating from his dorm room on the University of the West Indies Mona campus in Kingston. He says of his moniker:
The Zanj people within their own society, had an all inclusive culture. They were artists, highly creative people who were seen as politically expedient. The history of the Zanj people that I find most attractive stems from the fact that for 15 years the Zanj state, in the middle of the Muslim Caliphate, was seen as a safe space for Africans fleeing persecution and enslavement in that part of the world. They preceded Haiti in this regard.
Personally, I got the name because when I lived at UWI I had a huge poster of the radio station on my room door and the persons who lived on my section of the flat didn't know my name so they began calling me Zanj.
Zanj Rracc, founder of Zanj Radio. Photo courtesy the subject, used with permission.
The station broadcasts a vibrant and eclectic mix of African-based music (from dancehall to hip hop to jazz) from Friday night to Monday morning, but plans to expand to 24/7 broadcasting.
Zanj's vision has also expanded. He sees the radio station not only as a platform for lesser-known musicians to showcase their work, but as a broader global expression, incorporating world music in extraordinary and exciting mixes. Eventually, he would like to include talk shows and sports features. Zanj comments:
I grew to realize the importance of having a media entity that provides opportunities for emerging broadcasters, DJs, musicians and creative artists. This realization helped me to shape ZANJ Radio into what I deem to be ‘a safe media space in cyberspace’, where different people come together to showcase their talents.
The radio station has four DJs, including DJ Cane (who is blind) and DJ Afifa, who describes herself as a “sound artist,” creating blends of music and sounds that express emotions and convey specific messages. Afifa is the founder of Di Institute for Social Leadership, a grassroots educational project for youth and adults that incorporates art and creativity in learning for residents in violence-prone neighborhoods. She is also co-founder of SO((U))L HQ, a space for discussion and sharing on arts, culture and human rights situated in leafy Stony Hill, just outside the capital. This is where Zanj Radio is now based, broadcasting to regular listeners in Brazil, Russia and elsewhere.
Music for the soul; photo courtesy Zanj Rracc, used with permission.
Zanj Radio is not just another music station, and Zanj Rracc sees himself as much more than a DJ. Having recently graduated with an English degree, Zanj is working in the field of human rights and teaching English at Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre and St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre, Jamaica's maximum security prisons in Kingston and Spanish Town, respectively. He would like to see Zanj Radio develop into a fully-fledged business, employing Jamaicans regardless of their incarceration history, disability or any other factor that may make them “unemployable.” His radio station has an underlying philosophy of diversity, social justice, education and self-reliance for disadvantaged communities in Jamaica.
Forging their own creative path, Zanj and his colleagues have encountered many challenges, learning the hard way. Feeling the need to expand his media management, business and technical skills, Zanj applied to the prestigious Swedish Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), where he has been offered a place to study for a master's in media management. The Institute's alumni include Daniel Ek (founder of Spotify) and Alexander Ljung (SoundCloud).
But there are further hurdles to climb: to find funds for his course, Zanj has turned to crowd-funding. As he says, simply:
This is not just another media entity. It is a solution.

author: Emma Lewis


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Japanese Are Uploading Photos to Twitter to Prove They Live in the Boonies · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Inaka in Japan (Mikata, Fukui Prefecture). Photo by Nevin Thompson.
Inaka is the Japanese word for “countryside,” and means “rural area” with a heavy emphasis on being “backwoods” or “the sticks.”
It's also the subject of a popular ongoing challenge on Japanese Twitter with its own hashtag. As Japanese website Fundo reported: “Show that you live in inaka without using the word inaka” (#田舎という言葉を使わないで田舎を表現, inaka to iu kotoba wo tsukauwanaide, inaka wo hyogen).
About a quarter of Japan's population lives in the densely packed urban centers surrounding Tokyo and Osaka, with many more people living in urban areas serviced by subways, shopping and plenty of amenities. While there may be crowded trains and little green space, living in Japan's big cities is convenient.
So what better way to demonstrate that one lives in inaka than by a photo showing the nearest department store is more than 100 kilometers away, as one Twitter user did?
ジャスコ
直進 110km
#田舎という言葉を使わないで田舎を表現 pic.twitter.com/yO259F4fDV
— 狐日こがみ (@KOGA3I) May 4, 2016
JUSCO: Go straight for 110 km.
Inaka is associated with rice fields, which means a constant supply of rice fresh from the farm. Often, this rice must be polished before it can be cooked. Coin-operated rice polishing kiosks are a common site in many rural areas:
「#田舎という言葉を使わないで田舎を表現」　大喜利会場 – ツイッター速報 https://t.co/gnG4WLX4DC　このタグ好き pic.twitter.com/QGL4F7d856
— ピノコ (@eoao5161) May 25, 2016
I love this hashtag.
Another Twitter user provided a clever demonstration of inaka using just two Chinese characters:
#田舎という言葉を使わないで田舎を表現
畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑
畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑
畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑
畑畑畑畑畑家畑畑畑畑畑
畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑
畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑
畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑畑
— くろたんは6/4TANO*C参戦 (@chronos_sdvx) May 4, 2016
In the tweet, the character for house, 家 (ie), is surrounded by the character for field, 畑 (hatake).
Sometimes, rural life presents some unexpected restrictions on how people can live:
#田舎という言葉を使わないで田舎を表現 pic.twitter.com/pYG0Fc0GxN
— えだまめ (@flute_ad15) May 7, 2016
Image reads: Notice: The local farmers have requested that you keep your curtains closed at night. They have been having problems with growing their strawberries. Apparently the lights from the dormitory's windows at night are slowing down their growth. Thank you for your cooperation. Management office.
Public transportation isn't always available whenever you want, as this bus schedule demonstrates:
#田舎という言葉を使わないで田舎を表現
06
07 36
08
09
10
11
12
13
14 28
15
16
17
18
19
20 20(終)
— ぴよらっと (@piyorat) May 4, 2016
Note: This Tweet is intended to resemble a typical Japanese timetable at a country bus stop. The final bus comes at 8:20PM.
The bus only comes by three times a day, and service ends at 8:20 pm.
Another Twitter user posted a photo of a street sign that would likely never be seen in any of Japan's big cities:
夏は蟹が道路を横断 #田舎という言葉を使わないで田舎を表現 pic.twitter.com/nEzT7PdoDM
— ヨシダキョウベイ (@kyobei) May 4, 2016
Translation of sign: “Crab crossing, June to September”
Translation of tweet: Crabs cross the road here during the summer.
In this photo posted by a Twitter user in Tochigi, northeast of Tokyo, wild boar on the tracks have delayed train service:
イノシシと電車がぶつかるところ。#田舎という言葉を使わないで田舎を表現 pic.twitter.com/OdqJGnl6qc
— 沼田六郎 (@numatarokurou) May 4, 2016
A train has collided with a wild boar.
The appearance of wildlife in the middle of town is definitely inaka, such as a pheasant.
#田舎という言葉を使わないで田舎を表現
そこそこ、車のとおりの激しい
幹線道路を、キジが歩いてます。https://t.co/MEArdvguW6 pic.twitter.com/YOTElknYUq
— のら２ゃんれい（大人の絵本作家） (@KusunoTohiro) May 5, 2016
A pheasant is walking down the middle of a “busy street.”
Or a pair of kamoshika (a kind of antelope that lives in the mountains):
#田舎という言葉を使わないで田舎を表現 pic.twitter.com/9FJUtN4K0N
— にゃんばる (@okazu_104) May 19, 2016
#ShowThatYouLiveInInakaWithoutUsingTheWordInaka
And, in a country where cellular coverage anywhere and everywhere is the rule rather than the exception, there is one image that automatically signifies inaka:
圏外
#田舎という言葉を使わないで田舎を表現 pic.twitter.com/SCCz98Oeve
— よっちんとスポンジボブ (@yocwitter) May 5, 2016
“No cellphone coverage past this point.”

author: Nevin Thompson


text:
Macedonia’s Ruling Party Has Resuscitated Socialist Realism Without the Socialism · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

A painting depicting Macedonia ruling party chief Nikola Gruevski, his cousin Sasho Mijalkov, and his associates at a VMRO-DPMNE party rally. Photo by Nova, used with permission.
The independent news portal Nova revealed that Macedonia's ruling party placed an order for more than 50 enormous paintings depicting key historical moments that have occurred in the manner of former Communist Party.
The order is controversial for several reasons, not least of which is that the paintings were requested in the style of socialist realism, while the party, VMRO-DPMNE, styles itself as anti-communist, and is member of the “center-right” European People's Party. Many of the officials in this party, or their parents, are former members of Macedonia's ruling elite during Communist times.
The paintings also depict the current party leader Nikola Gruevski and his close associates in a very favorable light, seemingly adding to his personality cult. In some of the pictures, he's depicted with his wife, and allegedly one of the still undisclosed paintings will depict him with his daughters and mother. The dimensions of that painting are reportedly 4 by 8 meters (13 by 26 feet).
Macedonia ruling party chief Nikola Gruevski, his wife Borkica, and closest associates, including their godfather, Zoran Stavrevski (the minister of finance), on an oil painting. Photo by Nova, used with permission.
Even more importantly, the news portal Nova raised the issue of who is paying for the paintings, all of which come in gilded frames. The whole operation is worth several millions of euros. The authors are painters from Ukraine and Bulgaria who had previously received lucrative government contracts to work in the Skopje 2014 project.
Nova journalist Maja Jovanovska asked representatives of the VMRO-DPMNE if the paintings had been ordered as part of a public procurement contract, but the party's spokesperson, Ivo Kotevski, failed to respond to her calls and messages.
The paintings are bound for the seat of the VMRO-DPMNE party building in the center of Skopje, erected in July 2015. The party claims it did not spend a penny on the construction, as it had been built for free by a local contractor who plans to use part of the complex for a hotel. The contractor, Mincho Jordanov, is one of the richest men in the country, and his companies have also been involved in the Skopje 2014 project.
The headquarters of VMRO-DPMNE, Macedonia's ruling right-wing party. Photo by Global Voices, CC BY.
The little square in front of the party headquarters had been financed with public money through the City Government, adorned with symbols associated with the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, a historic movement to which the party claims “descent.” Macedonian taxpayers also paid for the fountain as part of Skopje 2014 with an imitation of Trajan's Column and atop it the party symbol (the two-tailed lion).
With the ongoing “Colorful Revolution” protests, the party headquarters and the square remain the most inaccessible areas in Skopje, under constant guard by heavily armed police forces.
A painting depicting a VMRO-DPMNE rally during their “Orange-Revolution” phase in 2006, when they tried to associate themselves with the Ukrainian Color Revolution to show that they are pro-Western. Photo by Nova, used with permission.
Social media users quickly draw parallels to other regimes that have used this art style in recent history, both in Europe and around the world.
Twitter user @Zivce_Ivanova pointed to an artwork glorifying Romania's Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife:
Некој го имал Чаушеску за идол. Погодете кој.
(Помош: види втора слика.)#ОвааВладаНеЧини #Ж #Груевски pic.twitter.com/U5cKbNiEpJ
— Живче (@Zivce_Ivanova) June 1, 2016
Guess who has Ceaușescu for an idol? Hint: Look bellow!
Another Twitter user, @parg0, pointed to a painting of China's Mao Zedong.
Пронајди ги разликите
? pic.twitter.com/xewloxJifb
— Парго (@parg0) June 1, 2016
Spot the differences
?”
Citizens also noted that current party officials are depicted in a somewhat more appealing manner. For instance, Gruevski is shown a bit taller, in comparison to his very tall henchmen Martin Protuger.
Протуѓер е две глави повисок од #Ж , ама на сликиве го намалиле, а со тоа и вредноста и моќта! #
— TrpAna (@TrpAna) June 2, 2016
Protuger is two heads taller than Gruevski, but in the paintings he's been made shorter.
Photos of the paintings have allegedly been leaked by whistle-blowers.
Speaking to the radio Deutsche Welle, the painter Matej Bogdanovski said these paintings adopts a form of socialist realism, which in the Communist Eastern Bloc “served to show the spirit of the new time, the new ideology (Communism), the progress and the happy worker within it.” Bogdanovski calls these new paintings a “mutation” of the genre, however, arguing that the “realist expression” remains without the “happy worker.” The country's people are left out almost entirely, he says, saying this is a subtle attempt to cultivate the notion that “the state and the party are one and the same, and we are all unimportant.”

author: Filip Stojanovski


text:
Problems in Trinidad and Tobago? Write the Queen! · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Queen Elizabeth II at the University of British Columbia during the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002. Photo by Michael Chu, used under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.
The hashtag #writethequeen is trending on #TriniTwitter after a local activist wrote a letter to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II asking for the former mother country's help in addressing the escalating crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago.
Nalini Dial began her letter by congratulating the head of the British monarchy on her 90th birthday; she juxtaposed the joy of this celebration with the “sense of deep regret, hopelessness, and helplessness” that the twin island republic England once colonised is, in her estimation, feeling:
There seems to be no will of any Political Party, past or present, to truly take the necessary steps to rid our land of this epidemic – in no small part due to the fact that they believed to be beneficiaries of financing from persons who are themselves linked to money-laundering and the illicit drug trade. […]
Therefore, we are taking it upon ourselves to appeal to Her Majesty to approach Her Majesty’s Government to offer its expertise and advice in crime-fighting to our Prime Minister, Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley and his Government. It cannot be disputed that a Government which cannot protect its citizens is failing in its first and foremost responsibility to the citizens.
Dial promised to forward the letter to local and international media — but she may not have bargained for the response of the country's social media users. Trinbagonians, as citizens of the country call themselves, are famous for using humour to deal with difficult issues — in fact, poking fun at things is practically the default response. It's no surprise then that the hashtag soon went viral, with netizens putting their own hilarious spin on queen-worthy complaints.
Everything from the country's new 80-kilometer-per-hour speed limit to the child marriage controversy got mentioned:
#writethequeen 80kmh a prob. Switch to carriage or nah?
— † (@smokeohontas) June 2, 2016
Sat talking chupidness #writethequeen
— Rachel (@racheltnt) June 2, 2016
There were also complaints about the customer service of one cable TV provider and the repetitive nature of soca songs:
Flow fucking up #WriteTheQueen
— Owner of Drogo (@kramTT) June 2, 2016
Iwer sing the same song for 5 years #writethequeen
— Caresse (@caressable_) June 2, 2016
One Twitter user even complained about the country's president (upon whose inauguration, gave a stirring speech about his presidential powers and then, in the view of many social media users, failed to use them for the good of the country):
Presidential powers we know and don't know #WriteTheQueen
— Owner of Drogo (@kramTT) June 2, 2016
There were so many #writethequeen tweets that one Twitter user had to declare:
Why does everyone wants to #writethequeen on my TL? The address is Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA, United Kingdom.
— Haydn Dunn (@HaydnDunn) June 2, 2016
Perhaps one of the most pressing problems, considering how much Trinbagonians love their Carnival, was the possibility of not getting a costume to parade in their band of choice:
Trying to get a costume in @CarnivalTRIBE for 2017? #writethequeen
— Tenille Clarke (@tenilleclarke1) June 2, 2016
Local expressions also came under fire — specifically, the “Trini-ism” of adding “ments” to words — for example, “fetements”, meaning a fete or party:
People still putting “ments” at the end of words #WriteTheQueen
— Michael Saunders (@Angelo_vo) June 2, 2016
Twitter user, blogger, and activist Brendon O'Brien did come to Dial's defence, though, saying:
I wanna say something potentially unpopular…
There's nothing wrong with someone deciding to #WriteTheQueen.
— Tekhartha Zenyatta (@BrendonJOBrien) June 2, 2016
However, he also offered an explanation about why there might have been such a social media backlash:
The real problem? We don't trust Nalini Dial. Which is fair. I don't trust her either… #WriteTheQueen
— Tekhartha Zenyatta (@BrendonJOBrien) June 2, 2016
Dial was a member of the Congress of the People political party and contested a seat in the country's last general elections. While she has come out against homophobic comments made by government ministers, she has also made controversial and insensitive statements herself.
What also had many social media users incensed is that one media house, which ran a story on the trending hashtag, failed to credit the authors of the tweets:
WAIT this media house took all the tweets from #writethequeen hashtag put it in an article and didn't credit the persons who posted them?
— Clydeen McDonald (@ClydeenMcDonald) June 2, 2016
Still, netizens loved the hashtag, and they'll likely keep contributing to it:
All about #WriteTheQueen
So much win.
— Amanda Reason (@Femme1991) June 2, 2016

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
The Week That Was at Global Voices Podcast: Unsung Heroes · Global Voices
L. Finch

The Week That Was podcast takes a look at some of the stories that we’ve published recently on Global Voices.
This week, we take you to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Japan and Myanmar. We also speak with Global Voices Brazil editor Taisa Sganzerla about a heinous rape case that has Brazil and other parts of the world in uproar and with Global Voices contributor Leila Nachawati Rego about her new novel that pays homage to the anonymous people who are living, loving and resisting for Syria.
Many thanks to all our authors, translators and editors who helped make this possible. This episode features stories by Filip Stojanovski, Nevin Thompson, Mong Palatino, Fernanda Canofre and Taisa Sganzerla, and Firuzeh Shokooh Valle.
We also feature Creative Commons licensed music from the Free Music Archive, including Please Listen Carefully by Jahzaar (CC BY-SA 4.0); Machine Elves by Alan Singley (CC BY-NC 3.0); Looking For That Moment When Time Stands Still by Will Bangs (CC BY-NC 3.0); All My Light by Cory Gray (CC BY-NC 3.0); Shamon’s Roar by Sergey Cheremisinov (CC BY-NC 4.0); and A Storm At Eilean Mor by Jon Luc Hefferman (CC BY-NC 3.0).
Expect to hear our voices again in two weeks. Happy listening!
Image in SoundCloud thumbnail is by Filip Stojanovski, CC BY.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS

author: L. Finch


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What It’s Like to Come Forward About Sexual Harassment in the Russian Opposition · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

A supporter of Alexey Navalny joins a crowd outside the Russian parliament. Photo: Vladimir Varfolomeev / CC 2.0.
It’s election season in Russia, with a national vote scheduled to take place later this year in mid-September. In December 2011, the last time the country went to the polls to elect the men and women who make up the federal parliament, apparent voter fraud helped spark mass protests in Moscow that briefly challenged the political stability that has characterized Vladimir Putin’s now 16 years in power.
Today, the anti-Kremlin opposition movement isn’t doing so well. The opposition’s best hope for getting even a handful of candidates on the ballot was dashed recently, when the so-called “Democratic Coalition” collapsed. To make matters worse, hackers later sabotaged the primary voting of the one registered party within the coalition. And now allegations of unchecked and unpunished sexual harassment—on the campaign team of the Russian opposition's most visible face, Alexey Navalny—are boiling to the surface.
Earlier this week, Russia’s democratic opposition suffered its latest blow, when Alexey Navalny appeared on Dozhd television to answer viewers’ questions live on the air. One of the questions was from Maxim Katz, who helped manage part of Navalny’s Moscow mayoral campaign in 2013. Just before the actual election (there’s some dispute about whether it was two weeks or four days before the vote), Katz changed roles within the campaign, and he and Navalny's camp have been estranged ever since.
Katz asked Navalny to explain why he’s declined to support Katz’s various political efforts since Navalny lost the mayoral race, including Katz’s Moscow city Duma run in 2014 and Duma deputy Dmitry Gudkov’s current reelection campaign, which Katz now manages.
In his response to Katz, Navalny didn’t mince words, calling him a “dishonest” “con man.” Navalny went on to list various political disagreements with Katz, arguing that Katz’s support for a former Moscow city official accused of hiding assets contradicts the principles of anti-corruption activism, which is Navalny’s primary activity. Katz soon responded in a blog post, detailing his work in the 2013 mayoral campaign, and accusing Navalny of slander.
Arguments like this, between oppositionists about the best organizing strategies, are not uncommon in Russia. What happened next, however, was uncommon: Catrin Patyulina, another staffer in the mayoral campaign, publicly accused Navalny’s campaign manager, Leonid Volkov, of sexual harassment. Hours after Navalny’s appearance on Dozhd TV, the popular photoblogger (and Katz’s longtime friend and business partner) Ilya Varlamov published a long text written by Patyulina, where she said Volkov stalked her, showered her in text messages, and cornered her at the campaign headquarters—all after she says she made it clear to him that the attention was unwanted.
Patyulina says Volkov fired Katz when he suspected the two had become romantic, arguing that Katz’s ouster was not the result of political differences, as Navalny claimed on television. According to Patyulina, when she told Navalny about Volkov’s sexual harassment, Navalny responded, “And I thought he only wanted to fuck you! But it turns out it’s not that simple.”
Not only did Navalny refuse to take disciplinary action against Volkov, but he later supported Volkov’s decision to remove Katz, Patyulina says. After the campaign, when Patyulina returned from Cuba on a vacation with Katz, Navalny replaced her within his anti-corruption organization, allegedly accusing her of being “one of Katz’s spies.”
Navalny has refused to comment any further about his past with Maxim Katz, which apparently includes any reactions to the sexual-harassment accusations against Volkov, who remains one of Navalny’s closest political allies. Volkov, meanwhile, has responded. In a Facebook post that he says is his final word on the subject, Volkov focused mostly on demonstrating that Katz indeed deserved to be fired, arguing that he was lazy and, at one point, even threatened to go to the police, if the campaign adopted a controversial plan to stage a sit-in at Moscow’s election commission, in the event of widespread voter fraud.
Volkov addressed Patyulina’s accusations, too, denying that he harassed her. Like many who have criticized Patyulina for going public, Volkov drew attention to the fact that she published screenshots of his text messages to her, where he flirted with her persistently, aggressively, and unrequitedly. “Publishing personal messages is unethical,” he argued, likening her revelations to the hidden camera footage defaming oppositionists that regularly airs on pro-Kremlin television networks. Volkov then shared his thoughts on being in love:
Мне не хотелось бы подробно комментировать: да, был влюблен; да, ухаживал; нет, не домогался; нет, все было не совсем так, как Катя рассказывает; мы общались на протяжении нескольких месяцев, и там были, понятно, разные эмоциональные моменты, как с положительным, так и с отрицательным знаком. […] Влюбленность — прекрасное состояние души, желаю его всем почаще испытывать, даже невзирая на то, что ваши смски, процитированные три года спустя, могут казаться вам самому и вашим друзьям очень глупыми и несколько дней над вами будут шутить смешные и не очень шутки. Это все равно того стоит.
I’ll just say this: yes, I was in love. Yes, I courted her. No, I didn’t harass her. No, it wasn’t the way Katya says—we chatted for a few months, and there were different emotional moments, both good and bad. […] It’s wonderful to be in love. I hope everyone gets to experience it, even if your text messages, quoted three years later, might seem to you and all your friends to be very stupid, and for a few days you’re the butt of a bunch of funny and not-so-funny jokes. It’s still worth it.
As evidence that he did not harass Patyulina, Volkov pointed out that they both appeared together on stage at the Techcrunch Moscow event in December 2013, where they discussed their work on Navalny’s campaign. The event was three months after the election. “How’s that for ‘harassment’ and ‘deadly insults’?” Volkov asked rhetorically, parroting a phrase that Patyulina never used.
Leonid Volkov and Catrin Patyulina present at Techcrunch Moscow. December 13, 2013. Photo: Facebook
Patyulina told RuNet Echo that her decision to accompany Volkov to the Techcrunch event is unrelated to Volkov’s conduct during the campaign. “I wanted to talk about my work of which I'm proud. We met in public and never met again,” she says.
Patyulina says she decided to go public with her story within 15 minutes of hearing Navalny’s comments on Dozhd TV. “I wasn't prepared at all, so I started searching through my archives in order to find proof [of Volkov’s harassment].” She says she scrambled to put her story into words, sending it to Varlamov at about 5 in the morning, the next day.
Asked what she makes of Volkov’s response, Patyulina said, “I think he's trying to make my words less significant and discuss other matters. He certainly knows he violated my personal boundaries and—though I said that I didn't want any of that—he continued his pressure.” She cites an email sent in September 2013, where Volkov apparently apologized for creating an unhealthy office environment. “He might think he was ‘just in love’ or something,” Patyulina says. “But when we discussed it later, I pointed out that it was harassment, and he never denied it.”
Following Patyulina’s revelations, initial reactions to the story had surprisingly little to say about sexual harassment. As already noted, Volkov focused much of his response on dissecting Katz’s record as a campaign manager. Katz’s response, too, concentrated on debunking these accusations. Curiously, both Patyulina and Volkov don’t even write the term “sexual harassment” in Russian, spelling it out in English, like a foreign product.
Virtually the only public figure to shine a light on sexual harassment in this story has been Maria Baronova, who’s currently running for a spot in the Duma. (Until recently, Baronova was running parallel to Lyubov Sobol, one of Navalny’s closest allies, and someone Katz once fired from Navalny’s mayoral campaign.) Baronova’s Facebook post has attracted 146 “likes,” but many of the comments dismiss Patyulina’s accusations.
Interpreting the leaked text messages, critics say Patyulina reciprocated Volkov’s advances. Others, particularly the well-known publicist and editor Dmitry Olshansky, seem to believe that Patyulina committed a greater offense, when she shared Volkov’s text messages. Olshansky also argues that sexual harassment is impossible without “physical harm” or “direct threats.” He calls Patyulina’s claims “feminist bullshit.”
Patyulina told RuNet Echo that she hoped she’d never have to revisit her experience with Volkov, but she “couldn’t stand the lies” about her friend, Maxim Katz. Responding to our questions about her story, the attention seemed to surprise her. “Nobody else is interested in this,” she said.

author: Kevin Rothrock


text:
Armed Men Reportedly Attack Colombian Opposition Leader, Jeopardizing Fragile Peace Talks · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Imelda Daza during an interview made after her return to Colombia. Image: Youtube / Jonathan Fortich
Early last month, armed men broke up a meeting with Imelda Daza, the leader of the Patriotic Union party, adding confusion to an already complex peace process that seeks to end the armed conflict that's plagued Colombia since 1960. The attack took place in Cartagena on May 6, when armed men entered a union office where different left-wing groups were meeting. The Patriotic Union has expressed its concerns about the raid and denounced the act as “a sabotage of the peace process“:
Atentado contra @ImeldaDaza y dirigentes sociales en Cartagena, es un atentado a la paz. Garantías @JuanManSantospic.twitter.com/vSMw0flWvA
— Unión Patriótica (@UP_Colombia) May 7, 2016
[Inside the tweet: Headquarters of SUTIMAC -Construction and Building Materials Workers Union- was attacked with guns while a meeting with Imelda Daza and UP -the Patriotic Union Party-, the PCC -Colombia's Communist Party- and the JUCO -Communist Youth Movement- was taking place. Personal bodyguards reacted, gunshots were exchanged, one bodyguard was wounded. Please share and stay alert.] An attack on @ImeldaDaza and social leaders in Cartagena, is an attack on peace. Guarantees @JuanManSantospic.twitter.com/vSMw0flWvA
— Unión Patriótica (@UP_Colombia) May 7, 2016
Frustran ataque sicarial que al parecer sería contra Imelda Daza de la UP https://t.co/du2ihBJNOtpic.twitter.com/SbJfOGPtaK
— W Radio Colombia (@WRadioColombia) May 7, 2016
Thwarted attack by hit men seemed to be aimed at Imelda Daza from PU https://t.co/du2ihBJNOtpic.twitter.com/SbJfOGPtaK
— W Radio Colombia (@WRadioColombia) May 7, 2016
Imelda Daza, age 67, spent thirty years in exile and returned to Colombia last year. In 1985, she was elected to serve as a city councilwoman in the northeastern department of César by the Common Cause movement, which was then integrated into the Patriotic Union left-wing coalition. But she never took her seat, thanks to the death threats that started shortly after her election. Consequently, she moved to Bogotá and later left the country. The councilwoman was able to escape with her life, but the political situation back home only worsened. Of her fellow party members, 13 were assassinated. Others were radicalized and joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Con @Marcodhes y la dirigente de la UP @ImeldaDaza hablando de los retos del exilio en la tarea de construir la paz pic.twitter.com/e073QGQeli
— Juan Carlos Villamiz (@jc_villamizar) April 22, 2016
With @Marcodhes and the leader of PU @ImeldaDaza talking about the challenges of exile in the task of building peace. pic.twitter.com/e073QGQeli
— Juan Carlos Villamiz (@jc_villamizar) April 22, 2016
The attack in Cartagena has generated anger from different politicians and social leaders who blame the country's far right, citing its role in past attempts to derail the peace process. The Patriotic Union has been an active participant in this process since 2013, when it regained its status as a registered political party and gained recognition as a “genocide victim,” due to the systematic disappearances of thousands of its members.
A la extrema derecha armada le decimos: nada nos detendrá en la búsqueda de la paz. Ni sus sicarios ni sus amenazas ni sus atentados.
— Iván Cepeda Castro (@IvanCepedaCast) May 7, 2016
To the armed far right, we say this: Nothing will stop us in our search for peace. Not your hit men or your threats or your attacks.
— Iván Cepeda Castro (@IvanCepedaCast) May 7, 2016
Sicarios paracos [paramilitares], fantasmas según [gobierno], atacaron un acto de la UP en que se encontraban Imelda Daza y dirigentes sindicales en C/gena.
— Carlos Lozano (@carloslozanogui) May 7, 2016
Paramilitaries, ghosts according to the government, attacked a PU meeting in Cartagena where Imelda Daza and union leaders were talking.
— Carlos Lozano (@carloslozanogui) May 7, 2016
Rechazo y condena a este atentado contra Imelda Daza! https://t.co/TIwluhJI5c
— Juan Manuel Galán (@juanmanuelgalan) May 7, 2016
Rejection and condemnation against the attack on Imelda Daza! https://t.co/TIwluhJI5c
— Juan Manuel Galán (@juanmanuelgalan) May 7, 2016
Atentado contra Imelda Daza no logrará destruir la esperanza de #Paz que tiene hoy #Colombia. Toda nuestra solidaridad y compromiso.
— Paula Gaviria (@PaulaGaviriaB) May 7, 2016
Attack on Imelda Daza won't be able to destroy hopes for Peace [#Paz] that exists in #Colombia today.  All of our solidarity and commitment.
— Paula Gaviria (@PaulaGaviriaB) May 7, 2016
The circumstances surrounding the attack, however, are unclear according to Imelda herself: the meeting was private and very few people knew about it. Also, some reports say the intrusion was not an attack but an attempted robbery.
Dice la policía que Atentado a Imelda Daza podría ser un intento de robo.
— LEONEL VALENCIA (@levale76) May 9, 2016
The police say that the attack on Imelda Daza could have been a robbery attempt.
— LEONEL VALENCIA (@levale76) May 9, 2016
Subsequently, security cameras captured footage of one of the assailants:
Capturan en Cartagena a hombre señalado de atentar contra dirigente de la UP, Imelda Daza, y otros sindicalistas https://t.co/SM1IppgeIl
— Noticias Caracol (@NoticiasCaracol) May 10, 2016
In Cartagena, the man thought to have attacked the PU leader Imelda Daza and other union leaders is captured. https://t.co/SM1IppgeIl
— Noticias Caracol (@NoticiasCaracol) May 10, 2016
In a press conference after the attack, Imelda Daza asked President Santos for guarantees that citizens will be allowed to exercise their political rights, and insisted that paramilitarism must be dismantled. These demands are part of the framework of what's called “the pedagogy of peace.” The government, meanwhile, has assured that “all of Colombia will take part in the post-conflict.”
On Twitter, searching for the hashtag #TodosSomosImelda (We Are All Imelda), you can find a variety of opinions about both Imelda Daza generally and the attack specifically. At the time of this writing, the Colombian government says it will offer security to Daza and other participants in the peace talks.

author: Juan Arellano


text:
Drug Trafficking, Politics and Journalism: Who Serves Whom in the Peruvian Electoral Campaign? · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Questions about possible connections between Keiko Fujimori's political party and drug trafficking raise doubts about her ability to fight corruption if elected as head of the Peruvian state. Photo by Néstor Soto Maldonado used under Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC 2.0).
Disputes and scandals have tarnished the presidential elections in Peru. Most recently, accusations have surfaced of connections between drug trafficking and Congressman Joaquín Ramírez, Secretary General of Fuerza Popular, the political party under which Keiko Fujimori is running for president. On Sunday May 15, 2016, Peruvian news program Cuarto Poder broadcast a report conducted with Univisión that revealed Ramírez is being investigated by the DEA. The Congressman is being investigated for money laundering, a crime for which he is also under investigation in Peru.
In addition to those revelations, two days later newspaper La Republica and independent media Ojo Público revealed that an investigation called Operation Untouchables: The Arevalo Drug Trafficking Organization conducted by the DEA and Dirandro (Drug Enforcement Administration of the Peruvian National Police) has been ongoing since 2011. The investigation follows Miguel Arévalo Ramírez, aka ‘Eteco’, a Peruvian drug kingpin, and also involves Joaquín Ramírez.
The Congressman made certain declarations that implicate Keiko Fujimori. The presidential candidate quickly denied the allegations and accused her opponent, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, of conducting a “dirty war strategy”, but gave no further statements. At the same time, the DEA declined to comment on the investigation but issued a statement which clarified that Keiko Fujimori “is not being investigated nor was she previously.”
Nevertheless, netizens on Facebook took to social media to make their own public speculations, since indications of a relationship between the Fujimori name and drug trafficking have a long standing history. Anthropologist Sandra Rodríguez, for example, asked that Joaquín Ramírez's parliamentary immunity be removed and recalled some past incidents:
Fidel Ramírez, el tío de Joaquín Ramirez, fue un estrecho colaborador de Montesinos [quien fue asesor del ex-presidente Alberto Fujimori -el padre de la candidata presidencial-]. Ahora su sobrino, Joaquín Ramirez, es el Secretario General de Fuerza Popular. Y hoy, ante el escándalo del lavado de 15 millones de Keiko por Joaquín, entendemos por qué. No sólo porque el lavado de dinero es la columna vertebral de ese partido. Sino porque el vínculo entre el narcotráfico y la política, tan bien orquestado por el dúo Montesinos-Fujimori durante los 90s nunca se rompió. Sólo se ha reorganizado con los hijos y sobrinos de los viejos mafiosos
Fidel Ramírez, Joaquín Ramirez's uncle, was a close associate of Montesinos [who was an advisor to former president Alberto Fujimori, father of the current presidential candidate]. Now his nephew, Joaquín Ramirez, is the Secretary General of the Fuerza Popular. And today, with the scandal of Joaquín laundering Keiko's 15 million, we know why. Not just because money laundering is the backbone of this political party. But also because the link between drug trafficking and politics, the same which existed between the Montesinos-Fujimori duo in the 90s, was never severed. It's only been reorganized with the children and nephews of the old mobsters.
Álvaro Campana gave an account of all the circumstances in which Keiko Fujimori came in contact with money of unknown origin. Here are a few examples:
1. Keiko Fujimori recibió en el 2011 US$10,000 de un acusado por narcotráfico que se llama Eudocio Martínez, más conocido como Oyuquito. ¿Cuáles son entonces las conexiones de Keiko Fujimori con la economía ilegal?.
2. Keiko Fujimori hizo una rifa que recaudó un millón y medio de soles y sólo invirtió 39,000 soles. Y nadie cobró el premio de la camioneta que se rifó. ¿Encubrimiento de fondos de campaña?.
1. In 2011, Keiko Fujimori received US $10,000 from an accused drug trafficker named Eudocio Martínez, better known as Oyuquito. What are the connections between Keiko Fujimori and the illegal drug trade?
2. Keiko Fujimori held a raffle that raised a million and a half soles and only invested 39,000 soles [11697 USD]. No one claimed the prize, a raffled truck. Hiding campaign funds?
That same Monday, host Chema Salcedo from local media house RPP interviewed Gerardo Reyes from Univisión, the journalist who led the investigation regarding the money laundering accusations. Salcedo asked him for proof; Reyes replied that the word of the DEA representatives was sufficient. Salcedo downplayed the validity of this response and questioned Reyes's competence, despite his numerous awards (including a Pulitzer Prize). Reyes, meanwhile, reported the details of the investigation to other media outlets.
The reactions were swift. The website Clases de Periodismo called the interview a strange lesson in journalism:
Hay ocasiones en las que los periodistas se creen dueños de la verdad. Ocasiones en las que se creen jueces y resultan implacables. Y en este caso, el conductor de Radio Programas del Perú (RPP), Chema Salcedo, adoptó otro papel: en no pocos momentos parecía más el abogado de Keiko Fujimori que un periodista interesado en la investigación realizada por Univisión y Cuarto Poder.
There are occasions when we believe journalists are all-knowing. Occasions when we believe judges and they are implacable. In this case, the host of Radio Programas del Perú (RPP), Chema Salcedo, took on another role: in many moments he appeared more like Keiko Fujimori's attorney rather than a journalist interested in the investigation conducted by Univisión and Cuarto Poder.
The writer Gustavo Faverón opined that in the face of the report that reveals “the umpteenth connection between drug trafficking, money laundering and Keiko Fujimori's candidacy”, that pro-Fujimori journalists attack, according to them, the lack of rigor of the report.
Pero más allá de eso, Beto Ortiz, Chema Salcedo y las otras geishas reflotadas deberían pensarlo dos veces antes de ejercer el periodismo como tapadera para delincuentes. ¿No es suficiente con no investigar nunca nada ni descubrir jamás las oscuridades de los políticos más corruptos del país? ¿Ahora van a correr a silenciar o despreciar las cosas que descubren los periodistas de verdad?
But beyond that, Beto Ortiz, Chema Salcedo and other compliant journalists should think twice before practicing journalism as a cover for criminals. Is it not enough that they never question anything and never investigate the obscurities of the most corrupt politicians in the country? Now they are going to rush to silence or discredit information that real journalists discover?
Congressman Ramírez denied that he is under investigation by the DEA and announced he will take legal action against the journalists who spread the news. He also linked the complaint with the campaign which, according to Ramírez, is harming Keiko Fujimori on purpose. However, he failed to show documents proving the origin of his various properties and assets which are under investigation.
Despite his proclaimed innocence, on May 18, Ramírez stepped aside and resigned from his position as Secretary General of Keiko Fujimori's party.
But that's not all the candidate is dealing with; on May 20, it was revealed that both Fujimori and her husband are being investigated for money laundering.
In the midst of all these complaints, the first debate between Fujimori and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski on May 22 was full of attacks from both sides. While political analysts declined to announce a clear winner, Ojo Público fact checked some of the statements made by each candidate during the debate and found that the three declarations Fujimori made were all false, while those made by Kuczynski were either false, misleading or questionable.
Doubts hung over the electorate just days before the election. The links between drug trafficking and Fujimori's party remain unclear and leave many questions unanswered. Moreover, the prosecution has stated that the Fujimori party hampers the investigations conducted against its members. Nevertheless, the most recent polls give the advantage to Fujimori over Kuczynski.
Doubts are also being raised about the accuracy of the information, given the links between journalism and politics that have become evident with the current controversies. For many, this is reminiscent of media strategies employed by Alberto Fujimori in the 90s.
As a result, some organizations and politicians have expressed reservations as to whether or not a possible Fujimori government can effectively fight corruption. On the contrary, the testimonies reflect the fear that the administration would become a government in which impunity prevails, or even one where the ties to drug trafficking could tighten and leave Peru on the path to becoming a narco-state.


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For a Conversation With a Random Swede, Call This Number · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Random Swedes will be answering “The Swedish Number” until June 24. Credit: Swedish Tourist Association
This article by Jason Margolis originally appeared on PRI.org on May 31, 2016, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Last month, Sweden set up a new phone number called “The Swedish Number.” Call it and a Swede, any Swede, will answer to talk to you about their country.
It was started as something of a gimmick by the Swedish Tourist Association. The gimmick caught on, and, to date, more than 160,000 people have called.
I’m responsible for a few of those calls.
“Random Swede answering,” said Christer Blom, picking up the phone. Blom is a 53-year-old software developer who lives in the Swedish countryside about 100 miles west of Stockholm. He volunteered to field calls from people across the globe two weeks ago.
“I just thought it would be a nice thing to do,” he said.
About a third of the calls to The Swedish Number originate from the United States. The rest are a mix from across the globe. Blom said some people want travel tips; lots call to talk about politics; others want to talk about, well, anything.
“The call before you, the first question was: What’s your favorite dessert?” said Blom. “I had to think a while, but this time of year it’s strawberry with some cream. Of course it’s a seasonal dessert. It’s nice.”
You might be thinking: How does learning about Blom’s favorite summertime dessert promote travel to Sweden? Jenny Engström with the Swedish Tourist Association said the idea was, first and foremost, to create a genuine interaction.
“What I think is the cool thing about this is that it’s a phone call between two people,” said Engström. “In this digital world we’re living in, you’re not able to hear people’s voices.”
The Swedish Tourist Association, a nonprofit member organization independent of the Swedish government, wants those voices speaking for their country to be unfiltered. “To let the people who live here promote Sweden, instead of someone in a marketing firm telling you where to go or what to do,” Engström said.
Engström said they were hoping for 2,500 Swedish volunteers to answer their phones; they’ve gotten 30,000, including Sweden’s prime minister.
That’s putting a lot of faith in average, ordinary citizens to market your country. In the calls I made, everybody was off-the-charts friendly.
Medical student Lisa Haern greeted me with an enthusiastic “Hi!” from Stockholm, taking a break from the books. She said she downloaded an app to talk to people like me. I asked if the Swedish Tourist Association wants her to promote anything or if she has any bullet points to follow.
“No. There’s no information,” said Haern. “It’s just, OK, enter your number, and that was it. You’re now logged in and you can answer for Sweden, the Swedish number.”
The Swedish Number was also introduced to mark 250 years since Sweden became the first country to abolish censorship. I had little doubt that the Swedes I was speaking with were free to say or do whatever they wanted, especially when Alexander Larsson, a college student, put me on hold.
He did come back quickly and we had a nice conversation. He gave me a few travel tips, then we ended up talking about politics and racism in his country. He said most of his conversations have nothing to do with Sweden at all.
“Some people just call because they’re lonely, I figure,” Larsson said. “So they just want to talk because they have no one else to talk to, I guess.”
Did my phone calls make me want to visit Sweden again?
A little.
Did they make me think more highly of the place and the Swedish people?
No question.
If you want to talk to a random Swede yourself, call soon. The phone number, (011) 46–771–793–336, will be disconnected on June 24.

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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One Young Couple’s Mission to Save Athletics in Pakistan · Global Voices
Sana Saleem

Jawwad Farid & Fawzia Salahuddin with their son Amin. Photo via Jawwad Farid
Jawwad Farid and Fawzia Salahuddin are no ordinary couple — by day they may work as actuaries and risk management experts, but their evenings, weekends and holidays are spent helping young athletes pursue their dreams.
This is no easy feat, as athletics in Pakistan have long suffered thanks to either a lack of funds or politics. In 2014, athletics did not form part of Pakistan’s delegation at the Asian Games in Korea due to infighting between two local parallel Olympic associations. Earlier this year, reports blamed mismanagement for the country's poor athletics performance at the South Asian Games — after an 84 hour flight to India, the team landed only a day before the opening ceremony.
Still, Farid and Salahuddin aren't taking no for an answer. For the past two years, the duo has worked on raising funds for the Sindh Track and Field Club, which describes itself as “a private athletic club devoted to training young athletes in Urban as well as Rural Sindh” — and that's not all — they have set things up so that athletics fans can follow the personal stories of these young athletes as they train to fulfil their athletic dreams. On his blog, Farid talks about one such star, Abdul Mueed Baloch. The story beautifully weaves Mueed's struggle with Farid's passion and devotion towards the young athletes:
I had been following a group of kids with my camera for twenty one months.  The Quaid-e-Azam games at Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad was
supposedly my last shoot. The documentary I had been working on was a private pet project. Over the year it had taken a life of its own to consume everything around me […] It is a story that I had been dying to tell all of my life. What is the charm of athletics? Why did I fall in love with it twenty nine years ago? What makes these kids run? Where do they come from? How do they handle the heart break of lost races and the stress of training? What makes them come back for more punishment, day after day? How can they show the world what running really means to them? Abdul Mueed is the perfect poster child for this tale. A footballer from Dalmia who hung up his cleats to run track for the first time in February 2015. He has come a long way from dusty football fields with his dreams. As he tells his story, sit down and take note.  You first saw him here. God willing you will inshahallah see a lot more of him in coming years.
Baloch comes from a low-income and often ignored community in Karachi. As Farid puts it in a documentary they filmed, “Dalmia is a low-income neighborhood sandwiched [between] an abandoned cement factory and a naval base”. That hasn't stopped him: in the past year, Baloch has won three national titles. Farid is currently working to ensure that he and others can make it to the Asian games in 2018. The short documentary featuring Baloch and other athletes, which Farid and Salahuddin have worked on putting together, will help raise funds and ensure that the young athletes get the necessary attention and funding to participate in regional and international events.
Baloch's heartening story is about a young man's pursuit to get international recognition for his country. In the film, Baloch talks about his hopes, aspirations and motivation to continue working towards his goals:
It's nothing but hard work. I am doing hard training, but all I know is that I need to do this and I need to move forward.
In a public post on Facebook, a law student speaks about Baloch's story and the critical role played by the Sindh Track and Field Club:
Sindh track and field coaches have done it again. Trained muheed towards excellency and helped him become the fastest man in Karachi. ❤
The coaches, Roma Altaf, Ahmed Wali and Abdullah Chandio, dedicate their weekends to ensure that the young athletes get all the time and practice they need to make their participation in professional games possible.
Coaches Abdullah Chandi (left), Roma Altaf, Ahmed Wali at the Sindh Track & Field Club. Photo by Jawwad Farid
And it's not just Moeed — other star athletes that have trained at the club include 12-year-old Hiba Khurshid, who picked up three gold medals and bagged the best female athlete trophy at the Pakistan sports board inter-provincial athletics championship. According to media reports, this was the first time in the history of junior athletics (under 16 and under 17) that the best national athlete trophies were picked up by two young athletes from Sindh.
Farid and Salahuddin also raise money to hold regular races in order to encourage the athletes to compete. What better way to motivate athletes than to have a crowd cheering them on?
Twitter user Hareem Sumbul has been a regular supporter of the club:
It's heartening to seethe journey of STFClub since the first event #BreakTheBarrier #U17Athletics #STF #KarachiTrack pic.twitter.com/kh8emYBNYG
— Hareem Sumbul (@HareemSumbul) November 7, 2015
Many other netizens have come out in full support of the athletes:
Winning the race doesnt matter,beating yourself Does Give better than ur best guys.#BreakTheBarrier #STF #KarachiTrack #U17Athletics
— Umar Ayub Arain (@uayub33) November 7, 2015
Afia Salam, veteran journalist and former editor of “The Cricketer” made a rally call to her colleagues to help with media coverage:
C'mon my sports journalist friends & other sports enthusiasts.. these kids have come this far.Help them go beyond this #SupportTrackAndFieldSports
Meanwhile, on his blog, Farid talks about his own journey of failure, weakness and commitment:
I think a daily dose of heartbreak, a fling with madness and facing your own human weaknesses as a teenager is a very small price to pay if it leaves you with the gift of self awareness and hunger.  Competing against the clock, facing your limitations and then going back to the starting line to push yourself just a bit more harder this time, repeating it again every day like a driven, demonic machine is the right training if you want to aim for greatness.  It is not easy, its not for everyone. If it doesn’t kill you…
The heartwarming stories of these athletes, their coaches and supporters portray a hopeful picture for the future of athletics in Pakistan. It speaks about breaking barriers — because when it comes to realizing their dreams, they are not letting anything stand in their way.


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Threats of Criminal Charges Do Not Deter Macedonia’s ‘Colorful Revolutionaries’ · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Protesters painting the Alexander the Great monument using toy water guns. Photo by Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA.
Protesters of the ‘Colorful Revolution’ in Macedonia claim they won't be intimidated by the police announcement that they would press criminal charges against the bravest among them. The anti-corruption protests, while non-violent, are far from passive, and include marches, performances, and throwing paint at objects that symbolize the impunity and poor governance of the regime. According to experts, the charges are illegal from several points of view.
Under Macedonian law, such ‘painting’ is considered a misdemeanor, with a fine of 50 euros (58 US dollars) should a uniformed policeman or sanitary inspector catch the perpetrator in the act. Contrary to the law, the police have been calling in people suspected of painting for questioning. The protesters consider this a form of intimidation which, in fact, fueled their anger and increased their numbers.
While the ‘Colorful Revolution’ protests take place in over 20 cities across Macedonia, they have been most frequent and intensive in the capital, Skopje and second biggest city, Bitola. On Friday, June 3, the police increased the pressure by announcing their intent to press criminal charges against seven protesters in Skopje, and against 26 protesters in Bitola. This gives the situation a much higher level of gravity — if the public prosecutors approve investigations under such charges, they may involve arrests, detention and possible prison sentences.
The pretext for these charges is “participation in a mob about to perform a criminal act”, the act being “damaging cultural heritage objects.” The objects in question are the Ministry of Culture building and the Triumphal Arc in Skopje, and “property damage” in Bitola.
Единицата за насилен криминал при СВР Скопје до Основното јавно обвинителство Скопје поднесе кривични пријави против седум лица поради основан сомнеж дека учествувале во толпа што ќе изврши кривично дело. Кривични пријави се поднесени против лицата П.Б., М.З., И.М., С.С.К., А.Г. и Н.П. од Скопје и А.К. од Охрид.
The Violent Crimes Unit of Skopje of the Internal Affairs Sector in Skopje submitted criminal charges to the Basic Public Prosecutor against seven persons suspected of participation in a crowd about to commit a criminal act. Criminal charges are pressed against the persons P.B., M.Z. I.M., S.S.K, A.G., and N.P from Skopje, as well as A.K. from Ohrid.
In response to the announcement, the protesters in Skopje continued with the everyday activities of gathering at 6 pm in front of the office of the Special Public Prosecutor, marching and painting, and using a human-powered slingshot to reach distant objects, such as the seat of the government. The banner of the day read: “The Guilty Party is Pressing Charges,” referring to the impunity of some of Macedonia's rulers who are suspected of committing grave crimes.
Protesters also created a ‘face in the hole’ cardboard cutout where any supporter of the protests can get their photo taken in the role of ‘slingshot bombardier’.
As the police announcement listed the seven “chosen ones” by their initials, protesters painted their own initials on their t-shirts before starting the march, as a sign of defiance.
Accused protesters painting their initials on their t-shirts. Photo by Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA.
The protesters then proceeded with the usual march, visiting the seat of the government and using the slingshots to throw more paint on its recently refurbished facade.
#ШаренаРеволуција и вечерва ја бои зградата на Влада на РМ. pic.twitter.com/JhMaZ8ncxT
— META.mk (@meta_agency) June 3, 2016
The Colorful Revolution paints the government building this evening, also.
After that, the protest went to the main square in Skopje, were participants proceeded to paint one of the biggest symbols of Nikola Gruevski's regime — the statue of Alexander the Great, officially named ‘Equestrian Warrior’. Due to its hefty cost of 8.2 million euros (around 9.3 million US dollars), it is also regarded as a symbol of corruption and government excess. For the first time, the protesters actually entered the fountain to offer an up-close dose of painting, using toy water guns.
Демонстрантите влегоа во фонтаната на споменикот Воинот на коњ и ја обоија #ШаренаРеволуција #протестирам pic.twitter.com/xLTRPIce0E
— META.mk (@meta_agency) June 3, 2016
Protesters enter the fountain of the monument Equestrian Warrior.
The protest ended in euphoria, as the most active painting protesters also lit flares. The last stop was the Parliament building, which also got a dose of color.
‘Colorful Revolution’ protesters lighting flares in front of Alexander the Great fountain in Skopje. Photo by Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA.
Legal and other experts have questioned the conduct of the police on two grounds. According to the Article 97 of Macedonia's constitution, “The bodies of state administration in the fields of defence and the police are to be headed by civilians who have been civilians for at least three years before their election to these offices.” The current Minister of Interior Mitko Čavkov has, until recently, served as a high-ranking police official. According to human rights expert Professor Mirjana Najčevska, PhD, this makes his entire appointment — and any of his commands — illegal and unconstitutional.
Moreover, according to cultural policy expert Professor Donka Bardžieva, PhD, the citizens could not know that the painted objects have been declared as items of cultural heritage, because they had not been properly marked. According to Article 45 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Culture was obliged by law to properly mark them within 60 days of giving them such status. In addition, according to Article 174 of that law, the minister and her underlings are obliged to pay a fine of 810 to 240 euros (920 to 2761 US dollars) for non-compliance.
Meanwhile, the protests continue across Macedonia. On social networks, on the ground information is shared via the hashtags #ColorfulRevolution and #Macedonia in English, #ШаренаРеволуција and #протестирам in Macedonian, and #RevolucioniLaraman and #protestoj in Albanian.


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War Has Been Declared Online Against ‘Fujitrolls’ in the Middle of Peru’s Presidential Elections · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Organized twitter trolls called “Fujitrolls” who tweet in favor of presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori are causing a tense political scene in Peru. Photo published under CC0 public domain license.
In Peru, the second round of the presidential campaign has caused more turmoil online than in the streets. On social media, Keiko Fujimori sympathizers (called “Fujis”), and those in favor of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (known as “Ppkausas”), have been attacking each other with every weapon at their disposal. A report from May 6 in the magazine Hildebrandt en sus Trece revealed the digital strategy of Fujimori's party, Fuerza Popular. It seems that the Fujimori side has acted in a more forceful manner and has been more inclined to insults. According to the magazine, their slogan is basically “Destroy Pedro Pablo Kucznski, members of his team and anyone who dares to criticize Keiko Fujimori.” This may be why Fujimori supporters online have become known as “Fujitrolls”.
A recent attack happened between Twitter users @clauxbryce and @elianacarlin. After @elianacarlin tweeted about the discovery of a newly exposed pro-Fujimori group, @clauxbryce responded by calling her a terrorist. He also tweeted that “we have identified them” and “they won't be around much longer.” Carlín Eliana is one of the founders of the group No to Keiko and is often accused of working for Nadine Heredia, the wife of current Peruvian president Ollanta Humala.
Solidaridad con @ElianaCarlin de @noakeiko por amenazas recibidas de parte de lo más recalcitrante del #fujimorismo pic.twitter.com/u1UbS0MECg
— Hurgar en la Memoria (@hurgamemoriaPE) May 12, 2016
Solidarity with @ElianaCarlin of @noakeiko for threats received from the most recalcitrant of the #fujimorismo
There is talk of teams working on three levels — the first being semi-institutional accounts or organized groups and supporters of Fujimori — although they are not officially part of her political party. For example, groups such as @CibernautasFP and @Jovenesconkeiko broadcast official statements of Keiko Fujimori and spokespeople of Fuerza Popular. The second level consists of personal accounts of Fujimori supporters (@uterofavre, for example, and @duchope, whose account was recently deleted), which were responsible for creating the trends #BajaBajaPPK (Down Down PPK) and #PPKaos (a play on PP Kuczynski's name and the “PPKausas” team that supports him, making it sound like “chaos”). The third level is a paid anonymous team that work two shifts, attacking Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and his supporters.
Pía Hildebrant, journalist of the weekly Hildebrandt en sus Trece, posted on her Facebook account:
hemos conocido más detalles patéticos, perturbadores y escabrosos de lo que hace esa gentuza […] El líder de los fujitrolls es un tal Christian Peralta, jefe de imagen de K. Fujimori (ver foto), a los fujitrolls les pagan “hasta 200 soles por semana” (o sea, más o menos 5 soles la hora; o sea, si en una hora -60 minutos- escriben 60 insultos -ganan 0.0833 céntimos de sol por cada comentario o tuit insultante; […] Qué asco, en serio. No los trolls, pobrecitos -en serio, me dan pena-, sino los fujimoristas usándolos de la manera más infame y canalla. Toda la miseria humana se concentra en la mafia naranja. Toda. No puede volver a gobernar el Perú.
we have learned more about the pathetic, disturbing and obscene details of what's behind this […] The leader of the fujitrolls is Christian Peralta, head of PR for K. Fujimori (see photo), the fujitrolls are paid “up to 200 soles [59,98 USD] per week” (ie. more or less 5 soles per hour, so if in 60 minutes they write 60 insults, they earn 0.0833 cents per comment or insulting tweet; […] Seriously, how gross. Not the trolls, poor things, seriously I feel sorry for them, but the Fujimori supporters using them in this vile and shameless way. All human misery is concentrated in the orange mafia. All of it. It cannot return to govern Peru.
The @fujitrolls account, dedicated to exposing the users behind the second level Twitter accounts mentioned above, was reactivated. The account is supposedly managed by several journalists who ask their followers to help identify the anonymous users behind the belligerent Fujitroll accounts.
Journalist and attorney Rosa María Palacios commented on her Facebook account that she is often targeted by anonymous accounts online, especially on Twitter. For this reason, she maintains, if there is an opportunity to identify people engaged in cyberbullying, personal attacks or violations of privacy, why not do it?
Con mucha paciencia un grupo de periodistas ha identificado las identidades de los cabecillas que nos han difamado durante años. Como la mayoría de este grupo virulento y soez se dedica a patrocinar a Keiko Fujimori han sido bautizados como Fujitrolls. No son todos los que están, ni están todos los que son (seguimos recibiendo información), pero hay lo suficiente para que las familias de estos sujetos, sus colegas en sus trabajos, sus jefes y sus amigos conozcan quiénes son estos seres perturbados con personalidades escindidas que se esconden detrás de un alias para matar con la palabra.
With great patience a group of journalists have uncovered the identities of the ringleaders who have slandered us for years. Since most members of this foul and virulent group are dedicated supporters of Keiko Fujimori they have been baptized Fujitrolls. There are still more of them (we continue receiving information), but there is enough to expose to the families of these individuals, their work colleagues, their bosses and their friends just who these disturbed personalities are that hide behind aliases to kill with words.
Various media outlets reported on the unmasking of the Fujitrolls. La República contacted Keiko Fujimori for comment and she said that she “condemns any kind of insult, no matter who is involved.” Fujimori told Perú21 that her political organization does not use Fujitrolls:
[ÚLTIMO MINUTO] Cayó alias Mar Mounier. @elhigadodmarita pic.twitter.com/Lzi2K3B80d
— fujitrolls (@fujitrolls) May 12, 2016
[BREAKING] Alias Mar Mounier has fallen. @elhigadodmarita
Meanwhile, on SpacioLibre, people commented on the newly identified Twitter user:
Maire Anthoanete Carrillo Herrera (a) “Mar Mounier” @elhigadodmarita en Twitter, ha sido por años una de las más acérrimas defensoras del fujimorismo y la más crítica de los periodistas “caviares” [de izquierda] y de los “rojetes” “terroristas” que siquiera se atreven a contradecir y denunciar a las huestes fujimoristas, Carrillo no solo ha llevado esa “lucha” en el mundo virtual sino que incluso ha sido comentarista en diversos programas conducidos por connotados periodistas “anticaviar” como Phillip Butters (por citar a alguno).
Maire Anthoanete Carrillo Herrera (a) ‘Mar Mounier’ @elhigadodmarita on Twitter, has been one of the fiercest defenders of Fujimori for years and the most critical of ‘caviares’ journalists [leftists] and of the ‘reds’ ‘terrorists’ who even dare to contradict and denounce the Fujimori supporters, Carrillo has not only taken the fight to the digital realm, but has also been a commentator on various programs conducted by renowned anti-leftist journalists like Phillip Butters (to cite one).
@elhigadodmarita responded to the @fujitrolls’ revelations ironically and very much in keeping with her defiant style, stating forcefully that they could not shut her up. The tweet was deleted during the editing of this article, but the replies from other users are still online. Meanwhile, those who defend her make their own opinions publicly known:
@elhigadodmarita Sigue adelante Mar, lo principios no se negocian, no se venden. Difícil q un caviar y la izquierda lo entiendan.
— Mariana Zelazon (@MarianaZelazon) May 12, 2016
Keep going Mar, principles are not negotiable, they are not for sale. It's difficult for a caviar and the left to understand.
Lo que le han hecho a @elhigadodmarita es una perrada, tio. La flaca es procaz y toxica, pero NO ha difamado. https://t.co/dcbzUyK4SM
— El Pulmon de Susan (@Pulmon_de_Susan) May 12, 2016
What they have done to @elhigadodmarita is a dirty trick, man. She is lewd and toxic but has NOT defamed.
While on Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's side there are also sympathetic tweeters that go on to be trolls, there is probably a minimally organized team online (as is typical for most political parties). That side of the controversy has not received the same level of attention — journalist Milagros Leiva points this out in her tweet:
Los troles caviares ponen su identidad real? No todos y son tan cobardes como fujitrolls, lo que queda es bloquearlos y nunca más leerlos…
— milagrosleiva (@MilagrosLeivaG) May 12, 2016
Do leftist trolls use their real identity? Not all of them and they're as cowardly as fujitrolls, you just have to block them and never read them again…
Another journalist, Isabel Guerra, is simply against this manner of dealing with the trolls. For her, this strategy is the same as taking justice into their own hands:
Soy totalmente antifujimorista, pero como demócrata rechazo que la justicia pase por la venganza. Sí a las listas, no al linchamiento.
— misabelg (@misabelg) May 13, 2016
I am completely against Fujimori, but as a democrat I reject that justice turns into revenge. Yes to the lists, no to the lynchings.
This seems to be the first battle in a war that's already been declared. Neither side can be trusted because at any moment they might counterattack. All that's left is to count the casualties and be vigilant. Unfortunately, as in any conflict of this nature, ethics in political conversation between citizens are among the casualties, and public participation could become discouraged when confronted with movements that can be seen as virtual executions.
The original version of this post appeared on the blog Globalizado by Juan Arellano.


text:
India Moves Against Illegal Immigration from Bangladesh, Plans to Seal Border in Assam · Global Voices
Sohini Chatterjee

Indian Border Security Force And barbed Wire at India Bangladesh border. Image by Sanjeev Syal. Copyright Demotix.
India says it wants to seal the border with Bangladesh in the northeastern state of Assam. India's government, led by the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), has given the military until June 2017 to finish. The BJP says these measures are a necessary defense against illegal immigration from Bangladesh.
Sarbananda Sonowal—Assam's new chief minister, and a high-ranking official within the BJP—has asked the Border Security Force (BSF) to proceed with urgency on the matter of sealing the border. BJP's unprecedented electoral success in Assam was due in large part to promises made during the campaign that a BJP-led government would be tougher on immigration. Responding to Sonowal’s request, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced that security forces aim to seal the border with Bangladesh in Assam by June 2017, within one year.
Aah aftr long yrs of wait! Govt set to seal Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam – The Times of India https://t.co/8rJiwCe27z via @timesofindia
— Devopriya (@devopriya) June 3, 2016
The total length of the Indo-Bangladesh border is of 4,096 kilometers (2,545 miles), about 7 percent of which is located in Assam. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, a 224-kilometer (140-mile) fence has already been constructed along the border, but there are still 122 locations across a a 61-kilometer (38-mile) stretch that lack any physical barriers, making the area easy for immigrants to cross. According to the government's new plans, at least 100 of these locations will get fences, and the BSF will install various barriers at the remaining sites.
According to press reports, Sonowal has promised extra assistance to the BSF to make the mammoth task feasible. (A 42-kilometer, 26-mile stretch in the Dhubri sector is expected to be particularly challenging for construction crews.)
@siddharth3 India Bangladesh share nearly 54 rivers, how can one seal entire border with such high degree of porosity?
— Kunjal Shah (@kunjal_shah) May 21, 2016
Ikhtisad Ahmed at Scroll.in wrote:
The Assamese backlash against Bangladeshi refugees and migrants took off in 1979, when the electoral rolls showed a disproportionate rise in registered voters. The concern from the local populace, which was concentrating on tribal autonomy at the time, was that the large influx of Bengali Muslims would change the outcome of the election and divert from the state’s political demands.
Ahmed added:
Assam’s crucial role in the renewed hostilities by virtue of the geography of the Brahmaputra River, and the Bangladeshi government’s failure to cultivate regional kinship and encourage mutually beneficial development in the neighbourhood, make Sonowal’s promise into a deeper predicament for Bangladesh.
Twitter user Kanchan Gupta questioned the motives behind the decision:
Good fences make good neighbours. But a fence is good only if you wish it to be so. Fact is, India's eastern border management is shameful.
— কাঞ্চন গুপ্ত (@KanchanGupta) June 4, 2016
Shahanaz Parbin Ritu, on the other hand, welcomed the decision and wrote in Facebook:
ভারত বাংলা বর্ডার সীল হলে আসামের বংগভাষী মুছলমানরা কয়েকদিন পর পর নাগরিত্বর প্রমান দিতে হবে না।
If the India – Bangladesh border is sealed then the Bengali speaking Muslims in India will not be required to prove their identity over and over again.
The porous border with Bangladesh has long been one of India's national security concerns, and India's government has taken various steps throughout the years to put up obstacles to illegal immigration, including barbed wire and floodlights at observation posts. Controversially, the BSF has also maintained a “shoot-on-sight” policy at the border. The new plan to fortifying the border appears to signal the government's new, more serious approach to curbing illegal immigration into Assam.

author: Sohini Chatterjee