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Kurdistance: A Medley · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Welcome to this week's edition of Kurdistance, where we will roam the world over to see what the Kurds are discussing.
Diaspora News
Most of the Kurdish bloggers are Diaspora, but this week we are going to look at the areas in which they are talking about. Vladimir, who writes for From Holland to Kurdistan, talks about the latest Kurdish Hollywood news from the new film by Hiner Salem, the further success of the film “David and Layla” (described as the Kurdish version of ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’), Kurdish director Zulli Aladag receiving the “Golden Camera” award, to the making of a new film called Peshmerga:
In other news, it’s confirmed that the movie about Mulla Mustafa Barzani will be named “Peshmerga”. The Kurdish director will be Ali Bedirxan, who resides in Egypt. And the Arabic and Kurdish media reported that it’s a joint venture between Hollywood and Egypt cinema.
Iraqi Kurdistan News
Iraqi Kurdistan writes about the involvement of the Turkish government in the affairs of Kirkuk:
The Turk does not hide their hatred and hostility to any thing concerning Kurds, even if those Kurds were not from Turkey but from Iraqi Kurdistan. The Turks are financially and logistically supporting the Turkmen Front, which is an organisation founded and funded by Turkish intelligence agencies among Iraqi Turkmen and encouraging them to make an unholy alliance with Sunni insurgents and remnants of Saddam in Kirkuk. There has been recently reports about even increasing involvement of Turkey in the internal affairs of Iraq by increasing financial support to its stooges in Kirkuk among overt threats of military intervention in Iraq if the people of Kirkuk decided to join Iraqi Kurdistan federal region.The Turks might be stupid enough to indulge in such a blunder which no doubtedly will draw Turkey into a conflict which could end up by destruction of Turkish economy and death of thousands of Turks in Iraq and which might cause disintegration of Turkey as one state, if the Kurds of Turkish part of Kurdistan decided to support their brethern in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Hiwa from Hiwa Hopes writes about the alarming increase of Iranian influence in Iraq:
Iranian influence is more than what I personally expected to be now, I thought the sandwich situation for them [US controlling both Afghanistan and Iraq] will be the worst scenario the Iranian Mollahs might have ever dreamt. But at a time when it is reported that the only world superpower is living its weakest level of superiority’ of course the situation is different for Tehran. Yes many of them are killed in the daily attacks in Baghdad and other places but the fact is that any nation who sheds blood will achieve more in a longer term. In deed shiism started with bloodshed!
Will the rise of Shiisim in Iraq be worse than the sectarian violence?
Hiwa also writes about the continued trials of Saddam supporters, trials which get little media attention, despite the horrors they reveal:
Did you hear, know, read or see anything about Saddam's aids’ trial on Anfal today? In which Chemical Ali made very very serious admissions?
I think the only channels which had headlines about it was the Kurdish TVs which mention it just like a repetative program from which the managers are bored to broadcast. However, today Ali said: “the 1975 which they [kurdish lawyer] call it a defeat, for us was a deal and Allah Bless the two countries who did it” and that he killed, beheaded and executed people without even questioning.
He also accepted that he ordered that Kurdish houses, orchards and even trees to be cut. When asked what was the policy you were implementing, he proudly said: “to end them, I volunteered to do it and I will do it again if I were to”
Iranian Kurdistan News
Kirmasan gives a wonderful explanation of the lack of public utilities that the Kurds of Eastern Kurdistan have and the problems that this situation creates:
Anyone familiar with Kurdistan will understand that the mountainous region is home to cold winters and heavy snow fall. As a result of these energy cuts, many people have suffered and sources inside Eastern Kurdistan have said that at least three children have died as a result of the cold. Sad but no surprise. Kurdish families suffered the same fate last year. However, the people of Kurdistan and Seqiz, in particular, were hopeful that this year they would have a more comfortable winter than last after Ahmadinejad visited the region and promised that shortages would not happen again.
There have been few large scale protests in Eastern Kurdistan against the IRI in the past six months. Recently however, the city of Seqiz rattled as protestors were met by hostile agents of the Islamic Republic. Protests began following the energy cuts, which resulted in no heat being provided to the people of Seqiz, as well as the neighboring towns and villages. After a series of unjust arrests, the city and region became more restless. The people began rioting and broke windows of any government-owned buildings and set the governor's house ablaze.
Kurdish Aspect writes about the increase of court cases being brought up against Kurdish authors in Iran, and the disappointment of the scarcity of support by Kurdish authorities for these authors:
Failure to act will only add to the suspicion that the Kurdish authorities may want to walk the same cheap and dirty line of the majority of Islamic governments who allow some free reign to Islamic terrorism to clear liberals, as long as these terrorist do not challenge the governmental authorities. This in effect will mean that our country will be doomed like all other benighted Islamic countries to decades of underdevelopment and human right abuses and extremism. It is not right that tens of our writers be killed or forced into silence or exile because of the primitive Islamic terrorism. Our liberals, because of the Islamic terrorism, are have no country of their own.
Turkish Kurdistan News
Mizgin from Rasti writes this week about recent Turkish government statements concerning Turkish involvement in Iraq, or rather Turkish involvement with the Kirkuk situation in Northern Iraq:
The Washington Times’ resident Kurdish “expert” has a column out today to let us know that Abdullah Gul is going to tell Condoleeza Rice just how bad the situation in Iraq has become . . . as if she didn't know. I mean, they all know; they just refuse to admit it publicly.
Poor Gul! He has to make the case that “Turkey is trying desperately not to be pulled into the war” in Iraq which, of course, is absurd. If Turkey doesn't want to be pulled into the war, don't be pulled into the war. That was Turkey's choice in 2003, when the US was desperately trying to pull Turkey into the war with billions of dollars in bribes, so Turkey can choose not to become involved in the war again.
It would probably help Turkey not to be involved if it would remove all of its MIT agents, JITEM agents, and mercenaries from South Kurdistan, but then it would not be able to easily manufacture an environment that could properly be used as an excuse to annex the Mosul Vilayet–and all of its lucrative oil–plus extend its magnificent human rights record to the Kurds of the South.
The Syrian ambassador to the US is quoted as agreeing that a break up of Iraq would be “catastrophic.” It should be noted that Syrians are keen Kurd-killers themselves, so getting the opinion of the Syrian ambassador is like getting another fox to help guard the hen house.
And also from Rasti, a comment on the “holey socks” of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz on his recent trip to Turkey:
This is the guy who went ballistic when Turkey refused to join the Coalition of the Willing back in 2003. This is the guy who was throwing billions–yes, billions–of dollars down on the table as a bribe to the Turks so that they'd join the Coalition, but the guy is too cheap to buy new socks. Now the Turkish Sock Industrialists’ Association is going to send him twelve pairs of socks and–yes–that was the article from which TDN removed the picture of Wolfowitz and his socks.
Not only was this a Kodak moment, it was a bigtime point-and-giggle moment as well, and it just goes to show you that you can be a tightwad with no capability for foresight and be appointed to head the World Bank.
Geez . . . I don't even want to think about the condition of his underwear.
Syrian Kurdistan News
Alas, there is no news coming out of Syrian Kurdistan, this is partly due to the Kurds in that region have to fight for very different things. While other Kurdish groups talk of freedom and governance, the Syrian Kurds fight simply to live. If any of our readers know of some good sources for blogs or info/news on this subject, please leave me a comment.


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Lebanon: Where’s the Border? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese blogger Abu Kais is wondering what has happened to the Lebanese-Israeli border, following clashes between the Lebanese army and the IDF.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Music Video On South East Asian Haze · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Malaysian blogger Kean-Jim Lim introduced this music video made by some Malaysians protesting the haze brought about by slash and burn agriculture in nearby Indonesian island of Sumatra.
This MV is in Cantonese and Malay. Well, it is so true and so real about what Malaysians have experienced in Malaysia on last October.
According to one of the production team member, who posted it on Youtube, the motivation for making the video was
Slash and burn practices in Indonesia (Sumatra) has raised concern of another 1997 situation. (March 2000). It seems to be happening yet … all  again in August 2002 and yet again in August 2005 and now in October 2006. Thank you indonesia to give us a romance enviroment just like london city!!

author: Preetam Rai


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Nepal: Life in the middle of a political conflict · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Life in the Terai gets harder. An account of the days as they go by in the middle of the Madheshi Movement, and the impact on the lives of people at My Vision.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Nuclear Crisis and Shadow of War at the Iranian Blogosphere · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several Iranian bloggers, inside country and abroad, have written about their country's nuclear crisis and the anticipated dark future which awaits it. For most, they see the situation becoming worss and the Iranian government moving in the wrong direction.
For Alpar,a very active blogger in Tehran, the situation is one of the worst in Iran's history [Fa]. He says:
Iran is in one of its worst crisis in its history and nobody knows after going through that crisis, whether there will be still an Iran or not. With this pointless political system, incapable government, fragile economy, lost capital, and a united world against us..can we imagine a worse situation? Iran should accept United Nations resolution and stop uranium enrichment.
At least think about war
Majid Zohari, a blogger based in Canada, says we heard a lot that Iran is not like Iraq and Afghanistan and they won't dare to attack it [Fa].The blogger says such arguments are not based on strong rationality and are really challenged by history. He asks who can admit that he wasn't shocked by events which happened in the last five or six years. “In all these years we see the value of predictions is zero. A nuclear or non-nuclear attack is so important that we can at least think about them,” he adds.
Human Rights and Nuclear Crisis
Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a reformist politician and blogger,  says that Mr Elham, the Iranian Parliament Speaker, was quoted as saying that the nuclear issue is just an excuse to impose sanctions on Iran [Fa]. According to him, if this issue gets resolved then the human rights question will be raised. Abtahi is against such kind of reasoning and says the nuclear problem is the only thing that unites the world against Iran. The blogger says that the human rights record in many countries is worse than Iran.
Jomhour, an Iran-based blogger, challenges Abtahi's post on the human rights issue. Jomhour  says one thing which is lost in Mr Abthai’s post is the human rights situation in Iran [Fa]. He writes:
Human rights get violated regularly in the country and most of time in a legal and organized way. Women, religious and ethnic minorities’ rights are violated by law. Some believe the nuclear issue is a good excuse for the Iranian government to pursue human rights violation in country, in the name of national security.
Bombs
Ardeshir Dolat believes in a near future Iranian nuclear facilities will be attacked[Fa].The blogger writes:
There is no doubt that the countries that feel they are directly threatened by the Islamic Republic will bomb nuclear facilities in the near future. The reason for such action is very clear…USA, Israel and Europe are directly threatened by terrorist actions. USA and Europe are not against Iranian nuclear energy but nuclear weapon in the hands of Islamic Republic.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Pascua Lama, Chile: Moving Three Glaciers · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

Can you imagine moving three glaciers covering the driest desert in the world in order to extract gold and silver? Would you approve of a law that allows a private mining company to have economic power over a border between two countries? This is the sad story of Pascua Lama.
To have a clear introduction into the issue, fcadia (ES) explains its relevance in detail:
Pascua Lama es un proyecto binacional minero que pretende realizar la compañía transnacional minera Barrick Gold, en la alta cordillera de Chile y Argentina. En Chile, la zona comprometida corresponde a la Tercera Región (Región de Atacama) y en Argentina a la provincia de San Juan. Con una inversión inicial de 1.450 millones de dólares, busca extraer el oro que se encuentra bajo glaciares milenarios, reservas acuíferas en el desierto más seco del mundo.
Para poder desarrollar un proyecto en esta zona, era necesario contar con una ley que otorgara facultades especiales a las empresas, por sobre las legislaciones nacionales. Para ello, la empresa redactó un texto legal, que fue aprobado en 1997 por Carlos Menem (presidente de Argentina) y Eduardo Frei (presidente de Chile). La importancia estratégica que posee Pascua Lama en cuanto al Tratado Minero, es que de realizarse el proyecto, se instalaría una jurisprudencia que faculta a cualquier transnacional para que se apropie de toda la franja limítrofe cordillerana entre Chile y Argentina, de manera que la soberanía, el control de los recursos hídricos (la cordillera es la madre de nuestras aguas) y los recursos minerales que en Argentina no eran explotados por la dificultad de transporte, quedan a merced de la voluntad depredadora de las transnacionales: se crearán imperios económicos intocables en espacios que nuestros pueblos por siglos cuidaron y respetaron.
Furthermore, the protection of natural resources does not exist as this summary by Atina Chile (ES) describes the project involved in moving 24 hectares of three different glaciers. The glaciers brings water to the Huasco valley.
El proyecto busca explotar las cerca de 17 millones de onzas de oro y 635 millones de onzas de plata para lograr una producción anual promedio, según ha declarado la firma, de aproximadamente 750.000-775.000 onzas de oro y 30 millones de onzas de plata anuales durante los primeros diez años.
A lot of civil protests have occurred since the project appeared in the Chilean newspaper headlines.
There is also an unofficial blog (ES) where you can find all the articles since January 2006 about the issue. They also have a fotoblog (ES) in which they promote the cultural events that have been made to inform the people about this issue. The online collective, Atina Chile (ES) also has an online colaborative document and a summary with all the information on this case.

author: Rosario Lizana


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Russia: Nationalism · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Fascists, nationalists, patriots, extremists: in Russia today, these labels seem to be used somewhat indiscriminately.
Chess champion and opposition politician Garry Kasparov calls Vladimir Putin's regime fascist – and the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi reciprocates by accusing the British ambassador in Russia of backing fascists (aka the opposition). The Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI) allies itself with other self-described “nationalist patriots” to hold the so-called Russian March – and the National Bolshevik Party (NBP) declares (RUS) that hardly anyone has the “moral right” to be there, because it is their party, the NBP, that is Russia's one and only legitimate, “healthy,” nationalist party. According to the self-described “anti-fascist” Nashi, however, both the NBP and the DPNI are fascists and extremists, along with Kasparov and Russia's other liberal politicians. A young man hits Kasparov on the head with a chessboard – and fingers are pointed in two different directions: Nashi suggest that the culprit could've been a member of the National Bolshevik Party, while the opposition claims that he must've been a nashist (a somewhat derogatory word that derives from both Nashi and Nazi, natsist in Russian).
In short, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, sort of.
Journalist Aleksandr Plushev (LJ user plushev) has recently raised the issue of nationalism (RUS) at his Radio Echo of Moscow work blog:
Nationalism on the march
During our […] daytime show, it turned out that 40 percent of our audience consider themselves nationalists.
Is anyone bothered by it?
Is this what our society is like? Is the audience of our radion station like this: the conditional nationalists, just like the liberals, have no place to go? Or is this figure distorted because not everyone has admitted to be a nationalist?
This entry has inspired a very lengthy discussion, parts of which are translated below.
First, however, this laconic observation left halfway through the discussion thread:
Merkator: I'm bothered by something else. IMHO, everyone has his own understanding of what nationalism is. Hence the 40 percent.
Now, on to the discussion itself:
Mironova Nataliya Alekseevna: People feel miserable. Oppressed. I'm not aware of the mechanisms that make people feel ETHNICALLY suppressed. There are many myths here. The oil rent, for example. Everyone could have gotten his share, but Jews have grabbed it all. Nonsense? Nonsense. But try explaining to such a suppressed person that if you divide all the oil money equally for everyone, each person will get a hundred dollars maximum, not $125,000, as the demagogues claim. Even if you take away from all the evil Jews, no more than $5 will be added.
I cannot accept the call for everyone to consider and call ourselves Russian – then, they say, everything will work out fine. I'm a person of the Russian culture, the Russian language is my trade, but I am Jewish, and the Holocaust for me isn't an empty sound. Why should I reject my ethnicity? I would consider that treason. Among those 6 million, many of my relatives have fallen. But as soon as the conversation turns to the Russian nationalists – even those who are moderate and “velvet” – it turns out right away that we have grabbed all they had. This is hopeless. I don't know what has to happen for people to change their minds. For people to stop hating Caucasus natives, Jews, Chinese, Americans…
[…]
Mysh: “Why should I reject my ethnicity?” Of course, you shouldn't. No one should. But for some reason now everything is being done to label Nazi those who do not reject their Russianness.
Mironova Nataliya Alekseevna: Could you be more specific? Who asked you to reject your Russianness? In what form? […] If to be Russian means walking like a goose, throwing your arm up [like a Nazi], then maybe it's better not to be Russian. […] Try being Russian without hurting anyone: kind, open-minded, generous, seeking truth and justice. It's a lot more difficult but a lot more interesting as well than getting together for the “Russian Marches” and being angry and blaming the migrants for all your problems.
Vr: Nataliya Alekseevna, you provoke rude responses with posts like this. Is there nothing but Russian nationalism? In Plushev's show, there was a question about nationalism in general, regardless of what nationality it was about, but you were led by the familiar reflex: nationalism=Nazism=Russian=beat the kikes, save Russia! Why?
[…]
Mironova Nataliya Alekseevna: I'm not provoking anything. We live in Russia, where 80 percent of the population are Russians. The show was about the “Russian project” of the [pro-Kremlin United Russia party]. Forty percent of respondents called themselves nationalists during the show. Which nationalists? You decide. People who were calling in were saying that nationalism is a decent and harmless thing. All it takes is to get rid of the [term rossiyane] – everyone should be calling themselves [ethnic] Russians and step under their banners, and then everything will be good, and they won't hurt anyone. I don't want to join their rank. I don't want to call myself [ethnic] Russian. I'm a Jew. I'm not proud of it, it's just the way it is, a fact, but it's important to me. I understand very well a [Tatar] who wouldn't want to call himself Russian. And a [Mordvin], and an [Evenk]. Respect us the way we are. […]
Igor: IMHO, patriotism is the love for one's motherland, and nationalism is the love for one's nation. Do you love your people? If yes, then you are a Jewish nationalist. You don't want to be Russian. Don't. But I want to and don't understand why in my own country I have to be a rossiyanin, and not Russian. […]
[…]
Gena: […] This is old news, Aleksandr. For our people, racial and ethnic prejudice is part of the worldview, and of course Russia means nothing but very good, but they, all those who are non-Russian, they represent everything that's bad. It's a generalization, of course, and there are many people who have an adequate world outlook, but a considerable segment of the population is infected with this virus of dislike of non-Russians, and to them getting Russia off her knees means that at the same time everyone around has to knee before Russia. […]
Leo: Sasha, are you sure that those who voted had read the Wikipedia definition [of nationalism]? I'm not sure. Have you explained to them that “nationalism” isn't the same as love for your nation?
Igor: Suggest another term, to replace nationalism.
Aleksandr Plushev: Natiophilia.
Igor: You can be a Francophile without being French. Can one become a French nationalist if one is, say, a [Chukcha]? I don't think so.
Aleksandr Plushev: Then this assertion doesn't work: that nationality is a matter of how one feels about himself and that anyone who grew up in the Russian culture ans speaks Russian is Russian.
Roma Sh.: Dear Nataliya Alekseevna! You've painted an image of a “Russian nationalist” and then took it apart with your arguments. But here goes. I don't feel miserable or oppressed. Yet, I'm a normal Russian nationalist. I consider all Russian citizens Russian by their citizenship, but different in descent. I can't allow myself to say a single negative word about Jews. Jews also did and do create the great Russian culture. By the way, my Jewish friend, a vet doctor, recently returned from Israel and said that he hadn't seen more ardent nationalists than the Jews. And they consider him Russian, not Jewish.
Dmitry: I've never heard anyone at [Echo of Moscow] criticise the nationalism of the State of Israel (their ban on marriages with non-Jews, etc.)
Evgeniy: To Roma Sh.: What do you consider a Russian nationalist? How different is he from just a Russian (I mean a Russian citizen here)? Only please don't write about [Matryoshka dolls], birch trees, etc. In general, what's a nationalist?
Mironova Nataliya Alekseevna: [I want to know the answer, too.] Someone who isn't miserable or oppressed doesn't need to consider himself a nationalist. And a nationalist's primary occupation is to look for and gather those who have been hurt.
Roma Sh.: […] Nehru and Ghandi gathered those Indians who felt hurt and created the Indian NATIONAL Congress, and then the state of India itself. It was the sense of national injustice of the young American nation that had been oppressed by the English, which created the USA. The national hurt of the Jews from all over the world has gathered them at the Sinai. And only the Russian nationalism that helps Russians to become a nation is bothering everyone, for some reason. […]
Igor: [Russian nationalists are no different from other Russians if these citizens] consider Russia their Motherland.
Yevgeniy: Then there are 150 million nationalists in Russia, not 40 percent. And don't tell me that liberals don't consider Russia their motherland, it's silly. Everyone has their own way of seeing ways of development for their motherland and everyone wishes only the best for her.
[…]
muta: […] Over 80 percent of those who live in this country are Russian. If Russia is not for Russians, then it's definitely not for the [Dagestanis] or [Azeris]. And to say that both I and a Dagestani live in the same country, according to the same laws, isn't correct. That's is, it's correct but only on paper. In reality, I was cruelly beaten in [Dagestan's capital Makhachkala] for just [staring] at an attractive girl. And the cops only said that this is how it works there. So, when I come to the Republic of Dagestan I have to bother about their customs and traditions, and when a Dagestani comes here, he skillfully slaloms around using his own traditions and ideas […]. But we do have traditions, too: for example we won't beat you up if you're just looking at a girl. No one would harass you (well, except for the totally screwed up ones) for kissing your wife in the street. The customs of the mountains should stay in the mountains, but the brotherly peoples of the Caucasus refuse to understand it. And the regime says I'm a fascist. Where is the truth?
Gataullin Rail Ravilevich: And were you looking at her? In what way? […]
Marina: […] This question reminded me of one story: we were talking with one guy, a Kurd from Iran who has assimilated successfully in Europe. He had it all, including a European girlfriend. And suddenly it turns out that it hurts him a lot that his girlfriend wears nothing but a swimming suit at the beach: why does she have to bare her legs and arms?! No comment.
muta: I don't understand why people who have escaped from their own countries drag their customs to the places that have agreed to give them refuge. Yours is a typical example. The Australian Muslims, as far as I remember, went even further – they walked around the beach and beat everyone who was there. […] And they were the first ones to scream about Australian fascism when the people stood up and hit them back. I've noticed a long time ago that the indigenous population is always to blame for all the problems of the migrants. The French are blamed by the Africans, the Belgians by the Chechens, and [the Russian] are always blamed by everyone. Please understand that this cannot continue forever. And it won't. If the regime doesn't want (or is scared) to get involved in these issues, then the population itself will deal with it. The first ones like the DPNI are getting more and more active with each year and their ranks grow […].
[…]
Gataullin Rail Ravilevich: What does migration have to do with it?????? Dagestanis are the citizens of Russia! And so are Chechens! Are you for the purely Russian state? Then you should address [Vladimir Putin] – ask him to let the ethnic republics and autonomies split from the Russian Federation. […]
[…]
Mikhail: As for the “Russia for the Russians” slogan – it's too hyped by the journalists. It's becoming fashionable to call Russia a fascist state, but only those who are not smart enough are doing it. Fascism is considered to be the regime's project, etc., but I don't see a serious problem here… I just feel sorry for the murdered and maimed foreign students.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Serbia: Ahtisaari’s Kosovo Report · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Kosova has been given the blessing of the international community to begin proceedings for independence in earnest and with the sincere belief that their country will be recognised.” More on this at Balkan Baby.


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Serbia: Forget Mladic, On to EU · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Some people in the Balkans and the EU believe that “Serbia’s integration into the EU should be prioritized over the arrest of those most responsible for the worst atrocities committed in Europe since the Second World War,” writes Neretva River.


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Serbia: “Serbiality” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

South East Europe Online explains what “Serbiality” is: “So, I came up with the word Serbiality to define the Serbian reality (or realities), based on concensus instead of fact. So, for example, if Serbs agree that there was no genocide attempt by Miosevic in Kosovo, then there wasn't. Or, if Srebrenica didn't happen, then it didn't. Serbiality is hard to break through.”


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Singapore: Why the next Web Killer App won’t be developed in Singapore. · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Kevin has a post that argues why the next web killer app won't be developed in Singapore.


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Slovenia, Croatia: No Love · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Neretva River writes about sour relationship between Slovenia and Croatia.


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Sri Lanka: Human Rights and Independence · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

groundviews on why democracy is undermined by the lack of respect for human rights, and why Sri Lanka needs to get together the case for fighting violation of human rights. “There is no way in which effective human rights monitoring can be conducted by national institutions.  The National Human Rights Commission is undermined at the top by the intentional violation of the Seventeenth Amendment and the non –constitution of the Constitutional Council as well as by a lack of resources.”


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Taiwan: name-rectification · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Mutantfrog blogs about the politics of name-rectification in Taiwan. Michael Turton from the View from Taiwan believes that “in any normal postcolonial state these monuments to the previous power would be either rehabilitated or destroyed. That is the process that the DPP is attempting to carry out“.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Tajikistan: Energy Crisis · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia reports that Tajikistan's energy crisis has gotten worse as a hydroelectric station serving the Pamir region has just gone out of service.

author: Nathan Hamm


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The Balkans: Iraq Jobs · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Neretva River reports on an American firm recruiting the unemployed in the Balkans “to carry out various jobs assisting the US military in Iraq in fields of work ranging from truck driving to engineering”: “One 22 year old prospective KBR employ noted that his family were praying that he wouldn’t get a job with KBR and wouldn’t get sent to Iraq, but he also made clear the fact that if he remained in Croatia, he had no prospect of finding a job.”


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Afghan Whispers:National Reconcilation and Ashura · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Askar Gu Raiz talks about national reconcilation in country.The blogger writes
I believe the mere debate around the hostilities of the past three decades, and the indirect confession that parties involved in those wars shoulder responsibility for the destruction and bloodshed, yet are entitled to forgiveness, is a positive start. I think the resolution will not look as ugly as we feared it can be if a couple of amendments are introduced to it, and a slight change of language happens.
Notes from West says the news in media was that war criminals gave amnesty to themselves[Fa]. The blogger writes
the meeting of jihadist leaders for national reconcilation followed by another meeting,one moth ago, where war lords met to condemned Human Rights Watch report ctalking about war crimes. The blogger asks the reason of this amnesty was the power of war lords or their fear from human rights organisations.
Afghan Lord talks about Ashura, the religious ceremony. Ashura, the 10th of Muharram is a holy day for Muslims and especial day for Shi’a. This day is a remarkable day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar, the day of mourning for the martyrdom of Hussainn the son Ali and the grandson of Muhammad in the unequal battle of Karbala in the year 61 (AD 680).The blogger writes, as one sees in the video, people are beating on their backs, shoulders and chests with sharp knives at the end of chains. They bloody themselves to show their feelings in Ashura and Hussain’s martyrdom. Although making themselves bloody is banned by Shi’a Muslim leaders but this still goes on and never stopped. This is not only for the people in Afghanistan but different countries like; Pakistan, Iraq, Palestine and Iran.
Afghan Lord adds
I got a chance to ask questions of a few of them – why are they beating and making bloody. A young man said; I have wishes to gain, before I bloody myself I have reasons for that. When I asked him to tell me what your wishes, he to me; is I want to get marry, I don’t have money.Another told me I am not using chains with the sharp knifes at the end because I last year I did in order to get the result but I didn’t.


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Arabisc: Egyptian Women a Cut Above the Rest · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Prostitution, female circumcision and lesbianism aren't vices restricted to Egyptian woman, says Egyptian blogger Tamr Heneh, in an open letter to Egyptian talk show hostess Dr Hala Sarhan.
According to the blogger, the Arab world has much more problems which Dr Sarhan could focus on, instead of continuing to drag the reputation of Egyptian women to the ground.
Tamr Heneh accuses Dr Sarhan of tarnishing the reputation of women in her country in exchange for her job and fame.
Not content with rebuking Dr Sarhan, Tamr Heneh ventures into giving the famous presenter a few topics to consider for her future episodes. Tamr Heneh‘s list opens fire on a number of taboo topics in the Arab Muslim societies, which are not normally discussed on television and the media.
عايزين حلقة عن الشيوخ اللىفوقنا بشوية عالخريطة اللى بييجوا لينا هربانين من الكتمة و الكمكمة و لابسين الغطرة و العباية … بيستغلوا البنات الجعانين اياهم .. اللى ماحيلتهومش حاجة .. و مشوار للحوامدية يشتروا بت عيله قاصر أهلها مش لاقيين اللضا .. خمس تلاف يا قطة .. و ياخدوا البنية قانونى و تمام التمام .. و كام شهر و فايدها عيل ترجع لحضن أمها … هتعمل ايه تفتكرى؟؟ لأ و حددى بالظبط مين السبب فى اللى هتعمله.
Another issue Tamr Heneh thinks Dr Sarhan could focus on is discussing Saudi novel: Banat Al Riyadh (Daughters of Riyadh) – a controversial novel written by a young Saudi woman which broke taboos in the  Saudi Arabian conservative society.
The book speaks openly of sex, lesbianism and young women's desire to lead freer lives.
موضوع تالت : البغاء فى المغرب : فن أم شطارة أم ماذا؟
موضوع رابع : ظاهرة اللواط فى منطقة الخليج العربى – هل هى ظاهرة اجتماعية سببها قمع الحريات الشخصية و وجود المطوعين .. أم ماذا؟
موضوع خامس : نسوان لبنان يرقصن على أنغام الرصاص الطائفى و الصهيونى و حكاية ” رهاب المثلية” ………
موضوع سادس : لجوء النساء العراقيات للدعارة بسبب الحرب و الترحيل …
فيه مواضيع كتير يا هالة بعيد عن مصر و المصريات …
* The Arab Gulf countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Photocredit: Dr Hala Sarhan's website


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Armenia: Election Monitor · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian posts his latest Armenian parliamentary election monitor at its new home, which will not only monitor online coverage of the election, but also occasionally produce its own original reporting and research.


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Armenia: Tax Transparency · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Armenian Economist applauds the Armenian tax service for making information on the top 1000 tax payers more transparent but says that it needs to be explained better.


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Bahrain: To Blog or Not to Blog  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Lulu is wondering whether it is safe to blog in Bahrain, after the Godfather of Bahrain's blogger was released on bail for describing a minister as ‘stupid’.


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Central Asia & Caucasus: Press Freedom · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia reports on recent developments related to press freedom in Central Asia and the Caucasus.


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China:  An Open Letter to Google Founders · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Isaac has written “An Open Letter to Google Founders— to save Google in China and save Internet in China” and propose 3 ideas to Google for its China strategy in a long term run, to survive, and live better.


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China: e-commerce · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fons Tuinstra in China Herald blogs about the prospect of e-commerce in China.


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China: privilege of having babies · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

More and more wealthy and famous people, such as artists, popstars are violating the one child policy. Zengying feels that such kind of open violation of policy is a reflection of social inequality (zh).


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China: reporters and migrant workers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates a reporter's account about his experience (with 5 other newspapers’ media workers)  in working with the Labor Supervisory Department to obtain back wages for migrant workers.


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China:  Wang Shuo PK sina.com · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Sina.com opened a blog for the famous contemparory writer Wang Shuo. Wang in his Pi-zi (slandering) manner (video)asked “what make you think that I will write for you for free?” Wang Xiaofeng shows his support for Wang and criticizes Sina's blog policy further, especially that the editors would delete and edit the bloggers’ post (zh).


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Cuba: Silvio Rodriguez mix · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Puerto Rican blogger Rafi posts an annotated mix of songs he considers representative of the main themes present in the work of Cuban folk singer Silvio Rodriguez.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Dubai: Tourism in Hatta  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese blogger The Human Product visited Hatta, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and posted pictutres here.


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Egypt: Free Kareem Demonstrations · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Worldwide demonstrations to call for the release of Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulaiman are being planned on February 15, writes blogger Esraa in Mideast Youth.


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Flooding, Pisco, and Free Education · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

In the last couple weeks there has been flooding and landslides in the beautiful region of Chanchamayo, located in the central jungle of the country. Even though the media have covered the situation extensively, it seems that bloggers haven't been interested in the topic. However, it's likely that, there, they have written about it and I haven't seen the posts, except for Peru Llacta: “Lessons unlearned“, which reflects on our deeply rooted lack of foresight and the consequent wastefulness of resources. From the USA, Peruanista writes for English speaking readers in “Peru floods: How to help:”
Recent floods and mudslides have ocurred in the central Andes of Peru, as a result of an unexpected and larger than normal rainfall, that is going on since the end of 2006. Over 16 people are dead, dozens are missing and thousands have lost their homes, businesses, lifestock and farmland. The reconstruction process will take over 6 months according to Peru's government, but for many it will take much longer before they can return to normal life.
Peruanista includes maps, videos, and links to websites that are working with the victims. From Spain, Imaginariums also comments about what happened in “Seeking scores of missing people due to floods and avalanches in Peru.” Curiously, animals also received blog attention as the ADEA (Group for the Ethical Defense of Animals) launched an SOS for animals of the Central Forest.
Changing topics, this past weekend celebrated the Day of Pisco. At Cinencuentro they departed from their usual topic for a moment and commemorated the day with post Photo of the day: happy pisco day. And since it could not be any another way, Pisco Weblog's post title was instructive: Day of the Pisco Sour. However, we must also remember what Milanta says in: The good thing: PISCO, but… . Of course, it's good to celebrate, but let's not exaggerate.
Finally, one of the topics that has attracted more interested parties to the debate was the proposal to end the free tuition of public university education. Gran Combo Club has an excellent summary in two posts:  “Free education” and Free education II. It summarizes various points of view in diverse different media, as well as linking to some bloggers that took up the subject. Meanwhile, Pueblo Vruto leaves no doubt regarding his favor of the proposal in his post “Terrible but necessary.” And finally, La Cebolla adds a touch of necessary humor in: “100% of students will go to private universities by 2011.” If the proposal becomes more serious, it will definitively give bloggers a lot more to talk about, but at the moment we'll leave it at that.
The photo accompanying this post is of La Merced, part of the zone of Chanchamayo. I took it a couple months ago while I was there. It is not the zone affected by the floods and landslides but you can see the creeping development close to the river's edge, which is why full rivers inevitably lead to flooded land. Soon this new development will have, if it does not already, small thatch huts with people living in them, which guarantees that the next floods are even more damaging.
Translated from Spanish by David Sasaki.

author: Juan Arellano


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Georgia: Folk Music on MySpace · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Levan continues to mine MySpace for Georgian music, coming up with a list of folk an classical musicians.


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Iran:Iranian History Forum · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

An Iranian history forum is launched where people can discuss about different topics and periods in Iranian history.I discovered it thanks to Iranian.com.


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Israel: Al Jazeera has Arrived · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Qatari television network Al Jazeera has opened an office in Israel, writes blogger Eliesheva.
“My Israeli side is annoyed; why do they get to freely tramp around the country as professional journalists and Israeli citizens can’t even step foot inside most Arab ones?” she says.


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Israel: Palestinian Coalition · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jonathan at Head Heeb gives us his two cents on the Palestinian agreement reached in Mecca. “There are, to be sure, some positive signs. The fact that the Fatah and Hamas leadership had the political maturity to perservere despite factional violence, and that they succeeded in reaching an agreement, is evidence by itself that the gunman's veto can be overruled,” he writes.


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Israel: Palestinian Officials Pilgrimage · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Aussie Dave at Israellycool ridicules Palestinian officials performing the Muslim pilgrimage rituals here.


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Kazakhstan: Money, Kidnapping, Money, Power, Money… · Global Voices
Leila Tanayeva

“The headline is not a text from James Bond film trailer. It is how they do business in Kazakhstan”, wrote Jana Zhukova is Livejournal community of Almaty residents (RUS). She referred to mysterious set of events that surrounded “Nurbank”, the seventh largest bank in Kazakhstan connected with the President's son-in-law Rakhat Aliev. On January 31 five armed people stormed the building of the bank but were stopped by the bank's security guards.
In the following several days the news came with amazing speed: Janna writes on (RUS). First the law-enforcement agencies said they had no idea of what was going on. Then, it turned out that the armed people were … the officers of the special forces of the police, who came to free the hostage! And finally, on February 4th several local and international media outlets received a letter from Kapasheva Armangul addressed to the President of the country Nazarbayev. Armangul is a wife of Timraliev Zholdas, the first deputy Head of the Board of “Nurbank”. In this letter, she claimed that her husband was kidnapped. Twice.
The first kidnapping of Armangul's husband happened on January 18, after the Board meeting. She writes that in the evening of the same day, her husband was taken into a private bath-house, handcuffed, beaten and threatened with gun. Kapasheva maintains that no one else but Rakhat Aliyev was doing it himself.
What did he want? According to her letter, he demanded Timraliev to phone the owners of “Ken Dala” business center, where “Nurbank” occupies an office space, and arrange its transfer to Aliyev. The hostage had to do so. A day later he was brought home. On January 31 (the day of the armed attack on a bank) he went to a meeting with the management of the bank and its shareholder Rakhat Aliyev. Before he left for a meeting he asked his wife to report to the police if something happened to him. He is still not home.
Zonakz.net, former Navigator or Navi, was not accessible on the day when the news broke. Now it's up again and has plenty of comments (mostly anonymous) on this news. I tried to single out and bring forward those few voices that spoke about it (the topic of the “Family” is usually avoided, plus only few sites reported about it) and you might be seeing a bit more of my own voice here than usual.
KUB blog, whose author recently got a two-years suspended sentence, continues providing updates from different authors. As one of them, tiffozi, writes (RUS), Timraliev phoned his wife and said that he is hiding because of the charges brought against him by the financial police. Another colleague of Timraliev, Abel Gilimov is also missing, and he also faces charges. It is believed that Gilimov is relative to Almaty mayor whose clan is said to be in a nasty confrontation with the clan of Aliyev.
Following these conflicting accounts, deputy Dariga Nazarbayeva, Presiden't daughter, described the case as a serious criminal offence, without any politics involved. “As far as I know”, she said, “Timraliev is under a house arrest. I don't know how his wife does not see it…”. Rakhat Aliyev himself commented as well: “… the information on a disappeared former employee of the bank is an obvious libel resembling carefully planned provocation. As far as I know, this person is suspected in a criminal offence and at the moment is under house arrest giving evidence to inspectors. “Nurbank” administration already stated that it would resort to legal protection of its reputation against slander and dirty insinuations. As the bank shareholder, I join this claim”.
There were several comments on Janna Zhukova's post:
LJ user Kubekov said: Well… If doctor Aliyev (Aliyev is a former surgeon) put his hand in it… This is like a cheap action film!
LJ user teihe: Make your bets, gentlemen, on the President's reaction.
It is indeed interesting how the President will react on this, when two clans are involved, one of them being led by his daughter's husband. Some people say it is possible that he will become an ambassador again, as it was after 2001, when he was sent to Austria for several years following similarly mysterious events involving, as some claim, his ambitions for power.
During these events, the President was with an official visit to Germany, where chancellor Angela Merkel was not shy to speak about the human rights situation in Kazakhstan, writes Ben on neweurasia. She particularly offered their help and cooperation in building the legal system. “It’s quite interesting to note that ex-Soviet countries, 17 years into their independence, are still being awarded discounts for their infantile nationhood along the lines of “oh, you’re building a legal system from scratch, of course that takes time”. Sure, the establishment of a sound legal system has taken decades in the Western world, but the time during which points like Merkel’s make sense is slowly running out”, comments Ben.
In his turn, Nazarbayev was not shy when it came to beer-drinking and chose all three from the list of rituals: a woman, a sword and a beer. “Like Putin some years ago, Nazarbaev then downed a huge beer jug and kneed down for his accolade. Now he is a proper Spandau knight”.
In Ukraine, the activists of Novaya Pora movement picketted the building where Nazarbayev was meeting Yushchenko. They held up slogans that said: “Nazarbayev, Don't Make Kuchma's Mistakes!”, explaining that Kazakhstan experiences all that Ukraine did during Kuchma – supression of freedom of speech, denial of registration of opposition parties, unfair elections.
Nazarbayev though has more important things at home to sort out. We shall see.

author: Leila Tanayeva


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Korea: anti-Semitic comic book · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has denounced Rhie Won-bok’s comic “Far Country, Neighbor Country” for its anti-Semitic content. The issue has much resonance in the blogsphere.
Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole hopes that more foreign press would pick up the story.
Michael Hurt tries to trace the history of anti-Semitism in Asia.
Joe Mondello has been translating the content of the book from Korean to English to throw light on the counterfactual nature of the book.


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Korea: Chicken · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Michael Hurt blogs about the superiority of Korean Chicken, the secret is in the seasoning and the size.


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Kuweit: What’s in a Video? · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Tunisian blogger Sami Ben Gharbia writes (Fr): “Shams, the Kuweiti singer just released her video “Ahlan Ezzayak” [Welcome, how are you?] which has become popular in Arab countries. The video which caricatures the American administration (Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney) mocks American policy in the middle east arab-style.” The blogger goes on to post the video.

author: Alice Backer


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Lebanon: So Lebanese · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese blogger Nancy D describes this picture as ‘So Lebanese.’


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New Caledonia: 6.65 Times More Expensive Than France · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Expat French blogger Katuali complains (Fr) about the ridiculous markup in prices on French products in New Caledonia, an Oceanian island which is technically part of France: “That there be taxes and custom fees is fine but from there to selling a product 6.65 times more than what it costs in mainland France, is it really worth it?  To top it all off, it's a product that is supposed to be eaten fresh.”


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Poland: Govt Resignations · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot wonders whether the recent resignations mean that the Polish government is falling apart and provides more info on the resignation of the minister of the interior Ludwik Dorn. Traveling Life has more on defense minister Radek Sikorski's departure.


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Russia: Gorbachev & Putin vs Bill Gates · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russian Kafe reports: Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Putin join forces against Bill Gates in the pirated software case brought against a Russian schoolteacher.


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Russia: Khodorkovsky’s Statement · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Mikhail Khodorkovsky's lawyer Robert Amsterdam releases a statement from his client.


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Russia: Luzhkov’s Skiing Accident · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Snowsquare reports on Moscow's mayor's “annual head injury.”


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Saudi Arabia: Blogging Concerns · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi Jeans wonders how can bloggers protect themselves, following Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif‘s incident.
“Mahmood's suggestion to arrange a workshop run by professional journalists to teach us how to criticize, but not get legally caught for their efforts is a good start, but I think there is more to do here, although I don't know exactly what to do. More suggestions?” he writes.


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Saudi Arabia: Human Rights Course · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A course on human rights is being held in Qatif, Saudi Arabia, in March 15-16, reports Saudi Jeans.
“The course is the first of its kind here, and the seats are limited,” he explains.


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South Korea: The ‘Whale Hunt’ · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Neff from Ohmynews writes about the history and practice of circumcision (“Whale Hunt”) in South Korea.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Digg, Trinidad-style · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Trinidad and Tobago has a new user driven social content website called Allyuh.com, which also maintains a blog.


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Ukraine, Russia: The Pipeline Vote · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes posts an account of how the Ukrainian parliament “[spit] in Putin's porridge.”


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Uzbekistan: Dialogue or Sanctions · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nick discusses a condemnation from the International Crisis Group of expanding European ties with Uzbekistan and wonders why there are different standards for European relations with Uzbekistan than with countries like Iran.


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Vietnam: Visiting a Pottery Village · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Vietnamese God visits the village of Bat Trang for his Tet (Vietnamese New Year) shopping and post images and description of the village. The village is well known for its ceramics.


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Who is visiting Africa? · Global Voices
Jacky

Chinese President Hu Jintao is on a 10-day-visit to Africa now. Many state-owned news media such as Xinhua News Agency and People’s Daily, headline his visit on their websites’ front page almost everyday. His tour has also attracted attention from Chinese netizens.
The Chinese government regards Hu’s visit as a great diplomatic victory. Many Chinese echo with exultance.
A popular post applaudeded Hu’s effort in Sudan’s Darfur crisis, China vs. the US in Africa: Bush failed, Hu Jintao succeeded!!!
在俺们胡哥的亲切的微笑中，达尔富尔问题就这样解冻了！在俺们胡哥的亲切的微笑中，联合国的维和部队就快要进住了！
布什做不到的，胡哥在微笑中做到了！！！
中非友谊是真正的友谊！！！！！！！！！
支持胡哥！
Bush failed, brother Hu succeeded with smile!!!
Sino-Africa friendship is a true friendship!!!!!!
Support brother Hu!!!!
At the same time, many blogs and BBSes cross-posted analysis from all over.
China’s role in Africa from Singapore’s Zaobao is one of the popular articles,
中国在非洲所要扮演的角色，依然是第三世界利益的维护者，但不再是国际秩序的挑战者。在非洲大陆继续站稳脚跟，同时又要避免与西方国家发生对抗，这应该是当前中国对非洲外交的思考方向。
Many bloggers seem to not understand China’s Africa strategy, especially Hu’s promised economic aid to Africa. They think China is a poor, developing country. It should take care of its own business before it goes out to help others.
This blogger, benfei, strongly questions China’s policy in helping Africa,
质问：中国只是个发展中国家，又不是发达国家，不是钱多的没地方花，自己国内的问题都没解决好，在国际上装什么大尾巴狼啊？每年GDP的增长都高居世界榜首，可国内民众受惠在何处了？那些无聊的数字又代表了什么意义？民众的住房、医疗、教育问题都急需政府的大投入，自己都入不敷出，还谈什么媚外啊？民众的贫富差距早在 05年左右就超出了国际警戒线，可谁来过问，谁来关心？由此产生的一系列社会问题已严重加剧了不稳定因素。这一切老百姓都看的那么清楚，我们的政府难道就熟视无睹？看看希望工程里那些可怜的孩子，再看看那些丑态百出的贪官们，民众的心在泣血，国家的责任何在？
This blogger, RuYi, is suspicious of the policy, but he is not so emotional and even makes his own suggestions on helping Africa.
…
不是说非洲不应该帮助，
…
我觉得我们在帮助别人的时候，
首先要看看我们自己的承诺和自己的经济实力是不是能成正比．
要知道我们还是发展中国家，
我们的经济基础依然薄弱．
按发达国家的人均水平，我们目前依然贫困．
…
我们帮助非洲国家　，我没有意见．
…
但是需要看到的是中国目前的一系列问题．
我们的有很多贫困学生无法得到资助，而上不了学．
…
却要资助非洲国家２０００名学生，甚至更多的学生在中国上学．
…
I think before we help others,
we should see whether our commitments are proportional to our economic strength.
We should know that our country is a developing country,
our economic foundation remains weak.
Compared with those developed countries on per capita level, we are still poor.
…
I am not against helping African countries,
…
But we must see China currently has a series of problems.
We have many poor students. They get no funding to go to school.
…
Yet, we need to fund 2000 and more African students to study in China.
He continues to offer his 7 advices on helping Africa:
1. Seek voluntary university students to go and help Africa;
2. More help in building Africa's police system, stabilize the societies;
3. Set up Chinese areas in Africa;
4. Encourage Chinese businesspersons to develop in Africa;
5. Transfer some agricultural technologies to Africa;
6. Advise Chinese in Africa to get the local citizenship;
7. Completely open bilateral trade.
Although Chinese opinions on China’s Africa strategy are not so unified, people are getting more and more interested in Africa.
Voc.com.cn has recently started a special session, Read Elites’ Works, Taste African Coffee, for propagating African culture. Moreover, they have invited the Ethiopian Ambassador, Haile Kiros Gessesse and Kenya's Ambassador, Ruth Sereti Solitei, to start blogs on their site.
This girl, A Hedgehog in the Forest, talked about her African dream when she saw the news of Hu Jintao visiting Africa. In her post, Blessing Africa, she wrote:
最近一个时期，中国和非洲许多国家都会是“蜜月期”，因为一个大国的元首到非洲出访，会给非洲国家和人民无限的荣耀和实惠。所以，在我心底埋藏的愿望就有可能实现了——今生就想去非洲。

author: Jacky


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A Week Goes by in Kuwait · Global Voices
Abdullatif AlOmar

Kuwait enjoyed nice weather this week. A lot of people grasped the opportunity and went out camping in the desert.
Engineeroo was no different. He joined the scores of people who erected tents and took with them their food and drinks to enjoy the beginning of spring. Not only this but he also captured a rainbow !
Yesterday when I was in our camp(المخيم) after the lovely rain … rainbow was shown a full half circle…. actually, it was two of them and I captured both…. :) here is one of them and you can See my shadow … ;)
Missed the InfoConnect Trade fair? Chillnite has got the run down on it over at his blog Chillnite.
Just came back from InfoConnect 2007 exhibition at the Mishref fair grounds. Why am I not surprised to see the lack luster exhibition? I don’t think Kuwait’s IT sector is mature enough  to be part of any of these exhibitions held in Kuwait.
The Criticizer at MacaholiQ8 talks about another addiction he has – smoking Shisha! But there is bad news about his favorite joint.
Most shisha smokers and “gahawi” riders know Digol Cafe so here are the news; my ultimate hang out will be closed down because the building is scheduled for demolition within the next few weeks.
We had a Japanse musical show in Kuwait last week  and Joeymaniaa has pictures and a small report about it.
Wed 31-1-2007 : the place was to crowded even people was standing the whole show and some of them sit on the floor, i didn't have any idea of what would i see.
K The Kuwaiti gives us more car coverage. This time, Ferrari's 60th Anniversary, the Ferrari day was celebrated in style in Kuwait.
I finally got the time to post my pictures of the ‘Ferrari Anniversary’ on my Flickr page. My camera ran out of battery and I started using a friend's camera.
Al-Zayani had a ‘Ferrari Day’ to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Ferrari worldwide (1947-2007). They are basically do stops around the world with convoys of Ferraris driving around.

author: Abdullatif AlOmar


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Bangladesh: Elephant in the room · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Unheard Voices on catching those who are involved in corruption, including the ones at the very top. “It is immensely heartening to see the Caretaker Government moving aggressively in arresting the numerous corrupt and criminal politicians who have freely raped, pillaged and terrorized the young nation of Bangladesh. But what about the proverbial elephant in the living room?”


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Iran:New Dress Code Restrictions for Female Students  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Azarmehr writes that Amir-Kabir University news website reports about new dress code restrictions for female students. A big sign at the gates warns women students that they can only attend the classes if they strictly observe the Islamic dress code.


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Iran:Discover an Iranian Artist in Australia · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Thanks to Shirin Ahmadnia‘s [Fa] blog I discovered Alriza Dezfoolian‘s art works in Australia.


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Iran:Tell me Why? · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

View from Iran writes I watched Khameini speak at the induction of new police officers (on television, not live). Thousands of blue-hatted men lifted their fists in the air and shouted “Down with America” like a bunch of automatons. Why do regimes always choose to portray themselves in the most despicable manner? Why do they goose step and raise their fists in the air? Why do they choose to set themselves against an enemy rather than for themselves?


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Iran:Why Ahmadinejad does not worry about war? · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Digital Kelachinkov says it seems Ahmadinejad is the only one,except a few of his friends,who does not worry about a USA military intervention in Iran.The blogger says besides Ahmadinejad‘s belief in divine interventions, maybe he simply thinks that nothing will be happened and USA and Iran will make a compromise [Fa].


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Nepal: An update on politics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

United We Blog! has an update on the politics and turmoil in Nepal. Covering Maoists, the Terai region and the Army. “Suddenly, it appears, things are now returning to normalcy in Nepal. But everything is not rosy.”


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Nepal: The failure to govern · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Blogdai makes a rather bleak statement about Nepal's problems. “Nepal is a nation unique; where democracy gives birth to unelected oligarchy and peace agreements lead to continued violence. Nepal is a country where terrorists are hailed as hero’s and thieves are appointed to govern.”


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Pakistan: Ulema and Family Planning · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Islamabad on a seminar on Ulema's views on family planning. “The research showed that many Ulema did not support family planning as it meant to them limiting the number of children one can have, which is not permissible in Islam. However, majority of them believed that Islam permits birth spacing. It was observed that high the level of formal education among Ulema, the greater was the perception that Islam approved family planning”


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Russia: Racist Attack on Journalist/Blogger · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Channel One footage of the Feb. 10 news piece (RUS) on the subway attack on Aidar Buribayev, a reporter for Newsweek's Russian-language edition.
Four young men attacked Aidar Buribayev – LJ user aidar_b2, a 28-year-old reporter for Newsweek's Russian-language edition – on a Moscow subway train just after midnight Saturday. Buribayev is an ethnic Kazakh, who was born and raised in Moscow; his non-Slavic appearance was most likely the reason he got assaulted. Here's his account (RUS) of what happened:
So.
1. I'm in one piece. Injuries: left eye is swollen, nose is broken but no bone displacement, and a few insignificant scratches.
2. There were four attackers, young people. No, they weren't wearing any uniform. Just the black jackets, jeans and boots. Short hair, bum-looking, high school dropout type […]. I stood next to a non-working door at the car's end. A guy came up to me, he was hiding his face behind a scarf. He looked me over with disgust and then signalled to the company that stood at the other end of the car that I was on my own (he raised his index finger).
Two more guys approached. A small man standing near me understood what was going on and quickly vanished. The biggest guy asked: “What are you doing here? Russia is for the Russians, don't you know that?” I told him he was wrong. The big guy hit me in the face. I hit him back, and on it went…
What's interesting is that all three of them didn't really know how to fight. The big one fell down, and I continued with the rest. Two minutes of kindergarten (hitting each other with our feet and screaming), until the fourth one appeared. For some reason, he was standing aside at first. Shorter than me, well-built. And his two blows were the ones that succeeded (see item 1). Damn boxer.
We reached [Tverskaya station]. Two men started pulling us apart. I went to the police room, and the guys disappeared. The end of the story.
3. Until 7 AM, I was making visits to police departments, clinics, and the cops even took me to a narcologist and were very upset when the tube indicated that I was sober.
4. They could've caught the attackers right away, but there was only one policewoman at the station, who introduced herself as Masha. She showed up after about ten minutes of calling via the loudspeakers at the station's vestibule. But I don't think this is the end.
5. What it was. Most likely, it was an accidental attack by the neo-Nazis. Today, it may well be considered a routine crime ), or maybe not. Funny that on this very day I finished a piece on the [United Russia party] members who now have to love the “Russia for the Russians” slogan. A piece with some interesting bits on [the Movement Against Illegal Immigration, the DPNI].
6. It was nice to receive calls and know that people are concerned. Thanks to all. […] And Sasha Raskin (Newsweek) was following me around till the morning to all the cop places and was teaching men [in uniforms] to behave all the way.
“[They are beating us] – we are growing stronger.”
The number of comments to this post is growing every hour (right now, there are 210). Many readers are wishing Buribayev to get well soon, but as many seem to be the ill-wishers – aggressive, often illiterate, immature and repetitive. Below is the translation of three comment threads, which seem to be representative of the discource as a whole and also make for a somewhat informative reading. Buribayev responds to the first comment, but doesn't join the discussion afterwards.
krig42: You are very lucky, Aidar. Russians are surprisingly kind and tolerant. Because in your Motherland, an ethnic Russian journalist exposing local nationalists wouldn't have survived even a couple of publications. And you go on living and exposing. So everything is fair and logical. And then, if you are such a fighter against Nazism, why don't you do this in your homeland? And we'll deal with nationalism here ourselves, without the Americans from Newsweek and such helpers as you are.
aidar_b2: 1. To begin with, I am at home. In this city and in this country I was born, and it's not up to you to decide whether I can live here or not.
2. “Because in your Motherland, an ethnic Russian journalist exposing local nationalists wouldn't have survived even a couple of publications.” If one considers Kazakhstan as my motherland, then it probably means that you've never been there – or am I wrong? Or perhaps you could give some examples.
3. “Russians are surprisingly kind and tolerant.” I'm not arguing with this. But it seems to me that there are jerks everywhere, from Ecuador to Kamchatka.
***
fenrir93: Why don't you write about the fate of the Russian citizens, including journalists, in your historical motherland – Kazakhstan – and not about Russian nationalists?
scandal_max: And why don't you leave your comments in some other thread?
fenrir93: And why don't you leave your comments in some other thread?
scandal_max: I find it interesting to write here. And you do, too, right? And so does Aidar: he writes about things that he finds interesting.
***
veau: Damn, what nonsense… It's getting impossible to live in this country. I mean, what difference does it make if someone's Russian or not? It's like a mental illness. Everyone should be respected. And these bastards think that they are right? I feel ashamed for the country!!!
wind_lj: Russia or Turkmenistan, what difference does it make?
“It's getting impossible to live in this country.” No one is keeping you here. You can move and live somewhere in Turkmenistan. Because it doesn't make any difference whether there are Russians around or not. But to many people it does matter, and the Russian people mainly want to live in a country where there are 80-90 percent Russians, and not 10 percent. […] So 20 million Kyrgyz come to Russia, and 50 million Chinese, and 10 million Azeris. And they multiply. And as a result, only 10 percent of Russians will remain in the country. And this won't be Russia anymore. All our history will have to be crossed out – what for have we been building the country for? […] The thing is, in a normal state, the state itself would've been involved in immigration policies.
***
Notes:
- A translation on nationalism in Russia was posted here two days ago.
- Aidar Buribayev got detained by the police during the 2006 Gay Pride Parade in Moscow, which he was covering; his account was translated here. (At that time, his username was aidar_b, but then he deleted his blog: the links to his posts in the May 2006 translation are no longer valid. Aidar has a new blog now and his current username is aidar_b2.)


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Sri Lanka: World Wild Criticism · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Evil Lankan does a tongue-in-cheek post about internet critics who obsess over grammar, spelling and punctuation. “All this harassment from us other perfect blogger brother and sister friends (Perfectly anonymous as well) reminded me of several incidents last year.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: New music download site · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“You like the hot new soca music you hear on the radio but where can you purchase it before Carnival?” asks the Caribbean Beat blog. The answer is “downtown” — or used to be, before the soca music download site Trinihits.com came on the scene.


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Ugandan Blogosphere: Juba Peace Talks and Best of Blogs · Global Voices
Joshua Goldstein

If the activity in January and early February is a sign of things to come, 2007 promises to be a banner year for relevancy, engagement and quality of content in the Ugandan blogosphere.
The Juba Peace Talks between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda, whose wheels had been humming energetically as recently as October, have ground to a halt, with reports early this week of rebel movement towards the Central African Republic (CAR). However, Uganda-CAN, a leading policy advocacy organization has helped fill the void by creating an 8-part interactive blog series called ‘What's At Stake in the Juba Peace Talks.’  Two highlights:
On Implementing Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA):
The LRA rebels’ presence in southern Sudan is further weakening the CPA. They continue to destabilize the region, making it more difficult for the GOSS to rebuild institutions and communities. The NCP may also try to maintain its monopoly on political power and access to oil revenues by renewing its support for the LRA in an attempt to destabilize the south and prevent its secession. However, success in the Juba peace talks would help consolidate the gains towards peace and democracy in South Sudan initiated by the CPA over the past two years, which in turn are crucial to the hopes for the stabilization of Darfur.
On Peace in Karamoja:
The proliferation of arms in the region from conflicts in northern Uganda, southern Sudan, and Somalia has also fueled Karamajong cattle raids in the neighboring Iteso and Acholi regions of Uganda, undermining the Juba peace talks by making northern Uganda less secure and safe for IDPs to begin returning home. If the Juba peace talks succeed in bringing stability to northern Uganda despite this, the Ugandan government might be encouraged to seek a peaceful solution to the violence in Karamoja. However, a failure of the parties to the Juba talks to come to an agreement would greatly hamper efforts to address the arms proliferation, political tensions and humanitarian crisis in Karamoja.
In other news, we can see the level of organization, profile and relevancy of Ugandan bloggers rising. The first Uganda Bloggers Happy Hour in Kampala in mid-January was discussed by prominent Amsterdam based podcaster Bicycle Mark as well as the Daily Monitor newspaper in Kampala. Coming up in February, nominations are due for the First Annual Uganda Best of Blog Awards (make nominations here by February 15th), the awards for the cream of the Uganda blogging crop, and the second Uganda Bloggers Happy Hour will take place in Kampala.
In other news, Uganda blogger and provocateur Dennis Matanda  is quickly becoming much talked about across the the African blogosphere. In our last Uganda roundup, we talked about his proposal for recolonization of Africa. This post has been muched talked about, including this comment from White African:
Want to become an instant pariah? Talk about race in Africa. How about you continue and blame Africans for Africa’s problems, and how Africa isn’t living up to it’s potential. How about you make things even more explosive and talk about how things would be better if the white man was back in control.  Stirring up a huge pot, that no one in their right mind would want to touch, Dennis Matanda has really put himself on the map.
This week, Matanda published 100,000 Guns Later, another provocative article detailing the subtle connection between Uganda's history of ethnic militirization and today's proliferation of weapons in the big business private security apparatus:
Uganda has over 100,000 guns floating around. It is roughly estimated that there are over 5,000 guns in private citizen’s hands; another 22,000 in the private security firm’s armories, a colossal 20,000 amongst the Karimojong, another approximately 18,000 with the police force, 50,000 plus divided amongst the regular army – and maybe 5,000 or so scattered amongst the many secret and sub secret security organs.
The point I am trying to make is encased in the fact that a great many Ugandans have lost their jobs and their livelihoods under the Yoweri Museveni years,  1986 to the present. The country has never been as polarized as it is right now. Our future has never been as uncertain as it is today. We are living in a bubble as it could burst any time. Unlike the Obote time in 1985, these over 100,000 guns in the “wrong hands” could do damage to ordinary people like me.
Finally, Ugandan bloggers are continuing to cover issues out of the sight of mainstream media. In Uganda there is much talk about the plight of both urban and rural Internally Displaced Persons (IDP's).  However, I Left Copenhagen for Uganda provides a fascinating piece that addresses the plight of Sudanese refugees displaced in Uganda:
Officially, there is peace now in southern Sudan, and asking any Sudanese refugee if he/she is to return, they answer positively. Asking ‘when that would be more specifically?’, they whirl into abstract explanations, finally concluding ‘that when the repatriation starts, that will be’.  Translated into plain English it basically means ‘when there is someone facilitating the transport’. It is very simple, someone else (UNHCR) brought them here, now those ones must also bring them back.

author: Joshua Goldstein


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China: The west is red · Global Voices
John Kennedy

If you're still up in the air over what to do over the Chinese New Year holiday, or if you just happen to have a couple weeks off, you could always go to China's impoverished inland region and participate in the construction of the new socialist countryside.
Southern Rural News editor Tan Yifei's got a plan [zh], Regarding the initiative to go to rural experimental zones for the Spring Festival, posted to his Sina.com blog late last month:
同志们：
一年一度的春节即将到来，首先预祝各位新春快乐。
春节是中华民族的传统节日，有着其独特的含义和魅力。但是随着社会的发展，我们在城市已经很少能够体验到春节的味道了。那么也许您已经厌烦了城市商业的喧嚣和浮躁，也许您尚没有体验过北方传统春节的趣味，也许您还没有接触过冬日里的北方农村，但是现在只要您愿意，您就可以去农村过年。
The annual Spring Festival is upon us, and first I wish everyone a happy new spring.
Spring Festival is a traditional holiday for the Chinese people, and it has its unique significance and charm. But as society develops, us here in the cities far too seldom taste the flavor of spring. Perhaps you're sick of the commercial hoopla and flippancy of the city, or maybe you still haven't experienced the delight of a traditional northern Spring Festival, or seen a northern village in winter. But so long as you're willing, you too could see in the new year from the countryside.
青年中国行动是由一批极其热心、极其年轻的青年志愿者发起的追求理想服务祖国的活动，其核心理念是：让无理想者拥有理想，让有理想者拥有思想，让有志青年付诸行动，让持续行动改变中国。尽管其现在依然处于筹备阶段，但是其下属的子工作项目大学生反哺农村工程已经开展两年多，并在陕西洛南建立了新农村建设试验区，其中承担了部分城乡和谐互动的职能。
今年春节，试验区农民协会再一次和大学生支农办公室联手，开展部分文艺活动，如果您在春节期间去试验区过年，您不仅可以体验到北方农村风情，还可以了解到试验区农村民情，进一步加深对祖国传统文化和祖国国情的认识。
蒸花馍，写春联，舞狮子，扭秧歌，敬火神，放鞭炮等等，您都可以亲身体验。
促进城乡和谐互动，建设社会主义新村，就在我们的共同行动之中。洛南试验区欢迎您的光临。
联系人：
马永红 13002944313（西安）13991414900 （商洛）
（青年中国行动中心代总干事）
邓三平09147566667（洛南试验区农民协会会长）
殷本涛13991564225（大学生反哺农村工程洛南负责人）
A modern and voluntary twist on discredited socialist policies for people left behind by their capitalist cousins in the cities? Have China's neo-red youth taken up the slack which local cadres and NGOs don't or can't? Ma Yonghong, the force behind this project, at least is a local. From one of the poorest families in his village, he was accepted into the police academy in the provincial capital, but dropped out after two years, disillusioned with the flippancy, falling in love, net-surfing and video games [zh+photo] he saw there, and returned to his village, to his mother's anger, to put back into his community. Many photos from his work there can be found on his own blog. Such a huge topic, there's so much more to be said, not the least on Ma Yonghong himself. Any questions? Or need for further translations? Please leave a comment.
More information on China's “new socialist countryside” plan here, here, here and here.

author: John Kennedy


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Congo-Brazzaville: How Long for Sassou Nguesso? · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Hot afternoon in Pointe-Noire, Congo. Photo by Kaysha.
As Guinea has started a process that may lead to the dismantling of its 50-year dictatorship, bloggers from the Republic of Congo (not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo), a country with its own dinosaur dictator Denis Sassou Nguesso are daring to dream of ways in which he might be brought down. That being said, they are definitely at a much earlier phase in the process and are mainly discussing how the opposition might get its act together and unify against him.
According to Vous Reprendrez Bien Un Peu D'Humanisme,  Sassou Nguesso has started an anti-corruption campaign, implicating several of his close relatives and allies one of which has just “repented”. But the blogger is skeptical:
Le Président veut faire croire qu'il s'attaque à la corruption. C'est dans le but de faire plaisir à la société civile qui commence à ne plus supporter les débordements et les exactions du clan. Mais pour être crédible, il faut jeter des gens en pâtures.
The chosen sacrificial lamb, alleges the blog,  is the French former head of the SOCAB company, who conveniently has no family ties to the  President. The blogger continues:
Le dossier de ce premier repenti se trouve sur flickr. Il s'intitule “ces pauvres voleurs congolais“. Il a visiblement été mis par un complice du clan de malfrats. Un repenti qui, après de bons et loyaux services, a perdu la confiance des autres malfaiteurs. Ceux-ci, par opportunisme se sont retournés contre lui. Le résultat est là: le repenti a décidé de rompre la loi du silence en diffusant des documents qui en disent long sur la gangrène qui mine le régime congolais et le cynisme sans limite de ces gens.
Le dossier contient 51 photos dont certaines sont des documents scannés parmi lesquels différentes lettres à des dignitaires du régime comme le Président de la République, Denis Sassou Nguesso. Les photos sont annotées avec des explications ou des commentaires du repenti.
The file comprises 51 pictures some of which are scanned documents including different letters to the regime's officials, including President Sassou Nguesso himself. The pictures are annotated with explanations or comments by the repenting one.
The blogger then goes on to quote and analyze the letter addressed to the President. He also explains that the betrayed “thieves” include the son and the nephew of the President. (The Flickr page and the blog allege that the son  Edgard Nguesso was recently robbed of 270,000 Euros in a Paris hotel room.)
The blogger continues with what he believes to be the President's plan for political survival:
1. Faire main basse sur une grande partie de l'argent lié au pétrole par les sociétés écrans de Gokana en le plaçant dans des paradis fiscaux
2. Obtenir le maximum d'aide publique et d'effacement de la dette (vous comprenez nous on est de pauvres africains, on n'a pas d'argent…)
3. L'argent qui parvient tout de même au trésor sert à des grands chantiers pour construire des bâtiments inutiles. Ces chantiers sont accordés aux entreprises du clan Nguesso qui en profitent pour se faire bâtir un patrimoine de rois.
Mais à côté de cela, le FMI est content car il y a de la croissance au Congo. Même si cette croissance est une croissance contre-productive qui risque de générer ce qui se produit actuellement en Guinée avec un autre champion du cynisme Lansana Conté.
But next to that the IMF is happy because there is growth in the Congo. Even though this growth is counter-productive and risks generating what is currently happening in Guinea with another champion of cynicism, Lansana Conté.
The blogger seems unconvinced that the flurry of resulting construction will be of use to the population:
Pendant que le reste du peuple congolais meurt prématurément de malnutrition, de choléra, de paludisme …. des différents maux de la pauvreté pour faire simple, le clan construit des édifices de prestiges. Mais, il est incapable de faire sortir de terre des hôpitaux dignes de ce nom.
Ces palais présidentiels qui fleurissent partout au Congo,… au-delà de leur inutilité pour la lutte contre la pauvreté (voir les objectifs du millénaire), sont au contraire les meilleurs alibis pour les riches dignitaires du régime afin d'augmenter toujours plus la valeur de leur patrimoine immobilier.
The presidential palaces that are flourishing all around the Congo … beyond their uselessness for any fight against poverty (forget about the UN's millenium goals) are instead the best alibis for rich regime affiliates so that they may continually increase their real estate empires.
Le Pangolin links to a local human rights group's outcry faced with the death in detention of Guy Yombo, zeroing in on other ways in which the regime is creating discontents:
L’Observatoire congolais des droits de l’homme (OCDH) exprime sa vive préoccupation et condamne le meurtre, commis le 23 janvier 2007, au commissariat de police de Ouenzé 2 (Ouenzé mandzandza) sur la personne de M. Guy Yombo.
Arrêté depuis le 13 janvier 2007, par des agents de police du Commissariat de Ouenzé 2 dans le 5ème arrondissement de Brazzaville, sans mandat et visiblement sans motif connu de la famille, la victime est décédée dans des conditions non encore élucidées, après 12 jours de garde à vue dans les geôles du commissariat susmentionné. Selon des informations parvenues à l’OCDH, Guy Yombo, la trentaine révolue, a succombé à la suite des actes de torture et de mauvais traitements qui ont laissé des stigmates sur son corps.
Arrested since January 13, 2007 by  police officers of the Ouenzé Police Station 2 in the 5th section of Brazzaville without warrant and without any motive known to the family, the victim died in as of yet unknown circumstances, after 12 days of incarceration in the police station's jail. According to information given to OCDH, Guy Yombo who was in his thirties,  passed following acts of torture and bad treatment which left scars on his body.
Not unless the opposition gets its act together says one blogger. Over at Forum Réalisance, in a plea to the diaspora, Patrick Mampouya asked:
Les Congolais sont en général des personnes de qualités et bien formés (quand ils sont formés); pourquoi donc n'arrivons nous pas à nous organiser, à nous ras, a sembler autour d'un leader?
Les structures qui oeuvrent pour le Congo (Partis politiques, cercles de réflexions et autres mouvements) sont sclérosés par leurs dirigeants qui se disputent le leadership. …  et font le jeu du dictateur Sassou. … Au lieu de multiplier les groupes et associations, nous devrions investir et renforcer en masse les partis politiques existants pour y créer des courants, y apporter d'autres manières de fonctionnements, des idées neuves et des concepts d'aujourd'hui.
Le Pangolin comes up with concrete steps for the opposition, claiming anything else is (Fr) “intellectual masturbation”:
C'est de déclarer à la face du monde et des congolais qu'elle ne participera à aucune élection et de faire un travail de lobbying africain et international surtout en l'endroit de la France et USA qu'elle ne participera pas à aucune élection qu'elle veut un changement en profondeur, une transition de 3 à 5 ans, dès aujourd'hui.
Over at Demain le Congo Brazzaville, a discussion is taking place about whether “Sassou” is the only one capable of leading the Congo in the near future. One answer:
Rien ne prédestinait Sassou à être le président du Congo. Son avènement au pouvoir est lié à un contexte politique : le tribalisme du président Marien Ngouabi qui s'était largement entouré de ressortissants du nord Congo qui ont fini par l'assassiner quand il a voulu restituer le pouvoir à l'ex-président Massambat-Débat.
And another:
Sassou fait croire que la paix dépend de lui alors que c'est tout le contraire : c'est le désordre qui dépend de lui, lui le premier facteur de troubles sociaux depuis trente ans : quand il ne fait pas de désordre, il y a le calme, le statu quo, quoi, la pax romana, la paix armée, la terreur dans sa version “paix” forcée.


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Guadeloupe, Senegal: Remembering Chevalier de Saint-Georges · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Jean-Claude Halley of Guadeloupe Attitude writes (Fr): “Ardent defendor of human rights and engaged abolitionist, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges was the first composer of African ancestry of classical music to the court of Louis XVth in France and a reputed invincible fencer. At the end of 2006, for Mozart's bicentennial and [Leopold Sédar] Senghor‘s centennial, Senegal celebrated Saint-Georges … with concerts on the island of Gorée and in the cathedral of Dakar.”


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Guadeloupe: Upcoming French Election Detached from Local Realities · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Convention Pour Une Nouvelle Guadeloupe reacts (Fr) to French presidential candidates Segolene Royal and Nicola Sarkozy's presidential platforms. According to the blogger, neither candidate “really takes into account the real situation of Guadeloupe which by international law is a non autonomous territory whose identity [France] has not managed to suppress. We ask Guadeloupeans to be vigilent so as not to be manipulated by an election detached from their preoccupations. “


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Guinea-Conakry: The End of a Dictatorship? · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Conakry, capital of the francophone West African country of Guinea, is bracing for a new round of violence following last month's general strike which left at least 59 dead and 1400 injured.  The strikes were organized by Guinea's powerful labor unions to pressure President Lansana Conté, an aging dictator, to appoint a prime minister without ties to the current regime and devolve some of his considerable powers.  On January 28, after an 18-day standstill, Conte and the unions reached a deal.
However, union leaders are unhappy with President Lansana Conté's choice of prime minister, and are planning to go ahead with a second round of strikes, due to start tomorrow.  In the last few days, 8 civilians have already been killed, including two in an incident were presidential security forces opened fire on youths throwing stones (Fr) at the president's motorcade.
By all accounts, the unions have considerable support among the Guinean people, who also want Conte to share power or step down.
Head of State Update, a blog about heads of state around the world, has an excellent backgrounder on Conté and his rise to power.  After independence in 1958, Guinea was governed by Ahmed Sékou Toure, “a union leader who had been one of the most prominent anti-French activists during the colonial period.”  Toure was a Marxist who enjoyed the support of labor unions that became powerful interest groups under his rule.  When Toure died in 1984 on an operating table in the US, where he had gone to seek medical treatment for a heart condition, Lansana Conté staged a coup d'etat.  Head of State writes:
General Conte has tried to ruled with an iron fist just like his predecessor. But as a non-Marxist he could not rely on the support of Guinea's powerful labor unions, which had been a traditional supporter of the old president's regime. He's also had to face unrest in the military and increasing pressures from the public at large to democratize the nation's political system.
Why do the unionists want Conte out? It seems that Conte's abuse of power has become more than the unions – and many Guineans – can bear.
In December, to give one example, Conté drove, sirens blaring, to the Conakry prison to personally free two of his friends (Fr) who had been imprisoned ten days earlier for their part in the embezzlement of 16 billion Guinean francs in public funds.  The unions have accused Conté of squandering Guinea's mineral wealth and say that Conté, who has a long history of heart problems that frequently take him abroad for treatment, is too sick to properly manage the country.
Alex Seck, a Senegalese blogger who has been closely following events in Conakry, lambasted Conté for being woefully out of touch with public sentiment, describing an incident where Conté told the unionists that “he was also a public servant, so he was on strike and could not look at their list of demands until the word had been given to call off the strike.” (Fr)
Congolese blogger Le Pangolin thinks that “Lansana Conte seems to have forgotten that he has lost his power, which now finds itself in the hands of the people” (Fr), and that Conte should resign before it's too late:
Pour prendre leçon de l'histoire, Lansana Conté aurait dores et déjà l'intelligence de négocier son départ avec dignité, de façon à se retire sans faire trop de dégâts pour lui et son clan. Maintenant qu'il a encore une parcelle de pouvoir certes mince, il peut encore faire prévaloir certaines revendications. Après il lui sera trop tard, car la dynamique créée par la victoire de janvier 2007 sur lui a réconforté le peuple guinéen que ce dernier n'était pas invincible et que qu'il n'avait pas de pouvoir. Et surtout que les répressions sanglantes marquent le peuple et le fortifient. C'est ce qui explique aisément que les syndicats guinéens donnent des ultimatums à Lansana Conté, c'est que les choses ont changé en profondeur en Guinée.
However, Seck doubts Conté will make such an easy exit:
A mon humble avis,celà m'etonnerait fort que le vieux Général accépte de concéder un pouce de son pouvoir à quelqu'un qui ne lui soit pas dévoué.  Mon intime conviction est que seule la mort de Lansana Conté ou sa déstitution,pourra ouvrir aux Guinéens,l'aire de la Démocratie.
L'histoire est là pour nous rappeler que jamais un Déspote Africain n'a partagé son pouvoir;jamais un Dictateur Africain n'a accépté de se retirer du pouvoir sans la force.
History is there to remind us that an African Despot has never shared power.  An African Dictator has never agreed to relinquish his power without force.
At his blog Black Star Journal, Brian, a former peace corps volunteer in Guinea, quoting a high-level government official, writes that Guinea is in “virtual insurrection.”
Seck writes Guinea has come to this point because the situation there is so desperate, the people believe they have nothing left to lose:
C'est plus facile à dire qu'à faire et à affronter,mais comme l'ont constaté les Grévistes,tout comme la population Guinéenne;la situation économique,sociale et politique Guinéenne est tellement en déliquescence qu'ils n'ont plus rien à perdre ou à espérer et se disent déterminés à aller jusqu'au bout quoiqu'il leur en coûte.
At Charcoal Ink, Tanzanian blogger Aurelia thinks that street protests are justified because “the public must always voice what they feel” but wonders why so many African countries appear intent on replicating the autocratic rule of the colonial period today, comparing many African leaders to “a Napoleon from Animal Farm.
Guinea's unions, which some say signal the emergence of a strong civil society, have a history of taking to the streets to demand concessions from President Conte.  Last March, they also organized a 2-week general strike.
The unions aren't happy (Fr) with Conté's choice of prime minister, Eugene Camara, who is a close ally.  They have called the appointment “contrary to the will of the Guinean people” and an “insult“.
Conté's appointment of Camara as prime minister has already lead to new violence, which many believe will only escalate.  Seck describes the “chaos” in Conakry:
La tuerie a commencé ce matin avec la mort de 2 jeunes manifestants abattus par les Bérets rouges du Bataillon autonome spécial Présidentiel au moment où le cortège du Président Conté essuyait des jets de pierres.Le paroxisme de la violence et de la répression a été atteinte à Kankan,où un militaire a ouvert le feu sans sommation sur les manifestants faisant de nombreux blessés.Ce militaire a été ensuite poursuivi,lynché,aspergé d'essence et brûlé vif par la foule en furie.
A Conakry,c'est le chaos, la résidence du Président Bissao-Guinéen, Nino Viera ainsi que celle du Ministre D'Etat Solana ont été saccagées;les Missions des Nations unies ainsi que les Chancelleries occidentales n'excluent plus l'évacuation de leurs personnels et ressortissants,pour la plupart, vers Dakar. Air France vient de suspendre ses vols sur Conakry; bref, la situation est confuse et trés préoccupante à Conakry.
Quel honteux silence!
The silence is shameful!
According to Seck, 400 ULIMO ex-combattants, who fought against former Liberian President Charles Taylor with Conté's aid, have come to Guinea to lend their support to the Conte regime as well as a 100 soldiers from Guinea-Bissau.
Missonaries working in Guinea write “tire burning, rock throwing, and other protests have led to looting” in Conakry and that there were also “serious disturbances” in the interior on Friday.
For his part, Seck believes violence, though regrettable, is an unavoidable price of affecting change:
La révolution est rouge et dans ce cas précis,il faut s'attendre malheureusement à encore beaucoup plus de victimes. Le Peuple a certes déjà payé un lourd tribu à la Dictature de Conté,mais d'autres sacrifices risquent malheureusement d'endeuiller plusieurs familles Guinéennes, la détermination du président Conté à rester au pouvoir est telle qu'il est prêt à faire le plein des cimetières de Guinée.
A la guerre comme à la guerre, le Peuple Guinéen est acculé et contraint à tuer pour ne pas être tué,il se doit de réagir violemment pour ne pas se faire ecraser sans combattre.
C'est triste mais c'est le prix à payer pour en venir à bout;pour extirper de la Guinée,ce cancer nommé: Lansana Conté.
In war, the Guinean People will be forced to kill or be killed.  They will have to react violently or be quashed without a fight.
It's sad, but that's the price that has to be paid to get to the finish line; to rid Guinea of the cancer named Lansana Conte.
Some bloggers compared the crisis in Guinea to recent events around Africa.
Le Pangolin wonders if Senegal might go the way of Guinea of Wade manages to win the upcoming election:
Le Sénégal a failli aussi suivre l'exemple de la Guinée, les choses se sont vite tempérées à cause de l'imminence des élections et surtout du sentiment général que l'ère Wade est à la fin. Il faut donc craindre au cas les résultats des élections venaient à être le contraire.
Meanwhile, pointing to events in Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, Aurelia wonders if street protest and violent state repression aren't growing trends in francophone Africa:
Photographs: Security forces clash with police during demonstrations against President Lansana Conte, Guinea, 17 January 2007, Guinea. (Top, right); A man wounded during demonstrations against Guinean President Lansana Conte that rocked Conakry and several provincial towns in, Conakry, Guinea, 25 January 2007 (Center, left). © Maseco Conde/IRIN

author: Jennifer Brea