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Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah: Opening doors to African women’s bedrooms · Global Voices
Fiona Leonard

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.
Not everyone likes what Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah has to say (Warning: The blog contains some content only suitable for adults. You must be at least 18 to browse the blog). A recent visitor to her blog asked:
I was wondering. Are you Kenyan? .. I think you are. What is this obsession with sex that you Kenyans possess. This is maybe the 5th Kenyan blog talking about sex…Have a grip of yourselves people…
Nana Darkoa replied:
Elyas, I am not Kenyan I am Ghanaian. Perhaps you should learn not to judge people with little or no knowledge. Your assumption that Kenyans are obsessed with sex is based on reading 5 blogs on sex authored by Kenyans? What rubbish!
Her visitor was quick to respond:
Nana. I did not jump to any conclusion. There is no difference between you Ghanaians and the Kenyans. You both happen to be Bantus. Therefore, you people are both fascinated by sex. Do you really think that this is the way to enlightenment. It is apparent that ya’ll trying to imitate the western culture. Please, stick to your culture and quit trying to be something your not.
Ghanaian blogger Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah. Photo courtesy of Nyani Quarmyne (www.nqphotography.com)
Such comments are, however, the exception rather than the rule on Nana Darkoa’s blog Adventures from the bedrooms of African women. For the past two years, Adventures has provided a forum for frank and intimate discussions of sex and sexuality amongst African women and men. It was Nana Darkoa’s hope that the blog would be a space in which to continue a discussion that started two years ago during a holiday away with a group of girlfriends. In the space of a few days, they explored issues and secrets at a level she had not previously enjoyed. It was a conversation she didn’t want to end, so she teamed up with close friend, Abena Gyekye, and took it online.
But she wanted the blog to be more than a place to gossip about sex. Nana Darkoa is adamant that women should be encouraged to take responsibility for both their sex lives and their sexual pleasure. In Ghana, she believes that, for the most part, Victorian norms proliferate around the subject of sexuality. Sex education, where it exists at all, is very simplistic – if you have sex you will get pregnant, and the only solution is abstinence. That, however, is not where many Ghanaians – who make up the majority of her 10,000 visitors per month – want the conversation to end.
Wow this has been a very interesting read. I just found out about this blog and I am in awe of many of the posts. I had to comment on this one.
Nana Darkoa believes that there is a lot of curiosity in Ghanaian society about sex, particularly among young adults who are exploring and experimenting sexually. By not discussing sexuality openly, she thinks society automatically creates mystery and fear around the topic and a sense that what you’re doing is wrong. By contrast, Adventures provides a safe and anonymous space in which to discuss a range of topics. And with comments on the site often running longer than the posts themselves, it is clear that her readers value the opportunity to share and question their attitudes and experiences as well as the experiences of others.
I have found it interesting reading all your views. I must say I have learnt from the post and the comments as well. Nevertheless I must say that there is point that has not been well elaborated so, I decided to write about from my own experience.
With blog articles and comments often exploring intimate subjects, there are those who consider Nana Darkoa to be ‘brave’ for even attempting to write about such topics. She is quick to dismiss the notion that she is brave – a word she believes is better attributed to people who take real risks. Rather than being a brave move, starting the blog seems a natural extension of her many varied roles – whether as a Programme Officer in charge of fundraising and communications at the African Women’s Development Fund, co-founder of fashion label Maksi Clothing or as founder of the feminist women’s empowerment group Fab Fem. Feminism is at the heart of her blog and all her endeavors. On International Women’s Day she wrote passionately about coming out as a feminist:
Oh so being a feminist is being part of this movement that wants to change the world in which we currently live in? That wants to create a world that is safer for girls, women and communities at large. Well sign me up for that movement!
Feminism and sex are but two of many topics that are explored on the site. Blogs are just as likely to explore long distance relationships, domestic violence or homosexuality. Topics are often driven by requests from her readers, or from issues that are raised in comment discussion that she feels warrant a blog of their own. One subject which she is hoping to explore in more depth is how notions of sexuality fit culturally. She is not convinced that current ‘traditional values’ are consistent with African culture. Nana Darkoa believes we should be questioning whether the level of control that women have today over their lives is drawn from traditional African culture or has been imposed more recently.
Ironically, one concern Nana Darkoa has about her blog, is that many of her guest contributors and commenters tend to be men.
Wandered into this thread randomly from someone’s blog link, and it makes for an interesting read. Myself, I’m a white male, and hopefully not unwelcome to comment.
The prevalence of men visiting the site is, she believes, a product of men having more access to public spaces and a greater willingness to discuss sex openly. Despite it's growing community of male supporters, Nana Darkoa is adamant that she writes only for women.  It is her hope that those women (and men) will continue to engage with Adventures and help the blog to keep pushing boundaries – boldly exploring thought provoking issues and drawing followers and contributors from across the continent.
This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

author: Fiona Leonard


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Nigeria: Buhari leads in mock online polls  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nigerian presidential candidate Mohammadu Buhari leads in mock online polls: “There are now several platforms online that allow Nigerians with access to the Internet to vote for their favourite presidential aspirant and share their preference on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Russia: “iPad 2 Smuggling in Full Blossom” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Profy writes about the attempts to smuggle iPad 2 into Russia.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: The Most Fierce DDOS Attack On LiveJournal Analyzed · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Ilya Dronov, LiveJournal's head of development, told [ru] some details about yesterday's DDOS-attack on LiveJournal, popular blogging platform in Russia. That was the most fierce attack in the history of the platform. Anton Nosik, suggested [ru] that (despite that most of the attacking machines were outside of Russia) the main client of the attack was probably the same as in the case of DDOS-attacks against Georgia and Estonia.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Voting For The BOBs Blog Award Has Started · Global Voices
Marina Litvinovich

On March 22, 2011, voting began for “The Best Of Blogs” Awards, an annual event organized by German media corporation Deutsche Welle. The award is getting more popular every year. This happens mostly because the role of blogs and online communities grows, as does their influence on  social life. Online voting will last untill April 11, 2011, and is based on a short-list of pre-selected blogs and social projects chosen by the international jury.
In the nomination “Best Russian Blog” the winner will be selected by Russian Internet users only. Two winners will be anounced in each of the six international nominations:  one by the online community (User Prize) and one by the international Jury (Jury Prize). The jury panel will  get together on April 11 in Bonn and announce  the winners on April 12.
This year, Russia is represented in the jury panel by Alexandr Plyushev [ru], popular journalist and blogger.  In 2006, I represented Russia and one can see how the level of the blogs participating in the  competition has increased since then.  But the most important is that  their social value and influence have grown not only online, but also  offline.
In the category  “Best Blog”, Yegor Zhgun [ru] has reached the finals. This blog will compete for the main prize with ten other finalists representing the remaining ten languages of The BOBs. Yegor Zhgun is a talented artist who feels the social atmosphere well and responds to it with his bright and critical cartoons, pictures, comics. This year, Yegor became popular as the author of a humorous character named Zoich [ru], which was offered as a mascot of the Winter Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi.
Zoich – a mascot of the Winter Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi, illustration by Yegor Zhgun.
Global Voices covered the story of Zoich in the post Russia: Sochi Mascots, Politics, and Some Twitter. Zoich became the absolute leader of online voting for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games mascot. Unfortunately, he did not win the official vote.
In other international nominations, Russia is represented by the following online resources:
“Best Use of Technology for Social Good”: community Rospil rospil.info [ru] created by Alexey Navalny.
Sreenshot of the "Rospil.info" site
“Rospil.info” has been launched in 2010. The community collects information on suspicious state purchases, which can be corrupt. The information sent by the users is then monitored and evaluated by the site's experts and, if needed, a complaint is sent to the authorities. Several suspicious auctions accounting for 335 mln rubles ($11.8 mln) have been cancelled because of the site's activity.
The main breakthrough of the site, however,  is elsewhere. It was the first case in RuNet demonstrating that there were many people ready to donate to socially useful projects. In a very short time, Alexey Navalny fundraised around 6 mln rubles ($210,000) to pay for the site and legal experts.
In general, Internet users were also ready to donate – mostly to social projects aiming to help children, sick and old people, etc. Also many funds have been collected during the summer campaign to help victims of the wildfires: to purchase food, water, household supplies, and help firefighters and volunteers involved in fire fighting – they were provided with the supplies for extinguishing, protection, water, food and medicines.
One can assume that the collection of funds online will soon become a common practice for various online initiatives and projects. On the other hand, large numbers of ordinary people will get an opportunity to be engaged in social activities and support projects and organizations they like.
In particular, the next project nominated for «The BOBs» is also busy with fundraising  “Best Social Activism Campaign” category lists “The Little Blue Bucket Society,”  a group of activists that struggled against bureaucrats’ flashers [blue lights installed on government cars that give special privileges on the roads – GV] and violations of the law by officials on the roads during the whole year. Now the “Blue Buckets” are raising funds for the installation of a billboard against “flashers” on Kutuzov Avenue, a “government road” [the one that connects the center of Moscow with government officials’ residences on Rublevskoye highway – GV] in Moscow, where the cars with flashers go more often. President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also drive along this street and therefore the road is often blocked, that, of course, displeases the majority of ordinary drivers. About 13 ,000 rubles ($460) are collected so far while the rent of the place for a billboard is 100 thousand ($3, 500).
If we are talking about social campaigns of RuNet in 2010, then we should mention that the  “Blue Buckets” initiative was one of the most noticeable but not the only one. One can remember a campaign against police outrage, which resulted in reformes initiated by the President Medvedev. One can also recall a social campaign started by the car accident of Anna Shavenkova in Irkutsk and accidents on Leninsky Prospekt with  Vice-President of Lukoil company Barkov. Among recent campaigns is one for the reform of child healthcare system in Novosibirsk region, which  has been launched after the tragic death of Darya Makarova's child. Or a  campaign against the new law on the calculation of child benefits which has been initiated by the members of  LJ community of pregnant women [ru]. Within a very short time, they managed to force the authorities to amend the law and change the system of benefits’ calculation. 2010 was extremely rich in social campaigns and this is a good sign of maturation of Russian civil society.
Blog of “Novaya Gazeta“ newspaper has been nominated for  “Reporters without Borders Award.” In 2010, this blog was regularly updated with exclusive articles and the most interesting topics of the next issues. So, the nomination of this blog is well-deserved.
In the category “Social Topic Award Human Rights,” Russia is represented by the community “Music of Social and Civil Action.” The nomination of this community doesn't seem to be accidental. It is quite difficult to chose a blog that is the best resource on protection of human rights among hundreds and thousands of similar sites. The blog which connects social protest with music is certainly interesting by its nonlinear approach to the topic of activism and politics.
Grani-TV.ru is nominated in “Best Video Channel” category.It covered all social and political activities in Russia for the last several years.
The most difficult choice RuNet users will have to make is in the category “Best Russian Blog.” Aside from the blogs mentioned above, here are the nominants:
I would give special attention to the project “Gave a Word” [ru]. It is interesting that – for the first time in Russia – a project realized a socially useful idea to monitor and control promises of the authorities. Another very promising project is “StreetJournal.org” where citizens can report on problems in their city and work together to solve them [see a detailed report about StreetJournal creator in the Perm region here – GV].
In general, if we look at the list of Russian pretenders for «The BOBs» award, we can note an important feature: most of the projects reflect the topics that troubled online community in 2010 – beginning of 2011. These are the problems of corruption, lawlessness on the roads and cars with flashers. So, we can see the growth of civil projects and online activity of Russian Internet users. I think this process will lead to the strengthening of Russian society and will teach people to control the authorities and to seek for solutions of their problems – both at the local and national levels.
I invite everyone to vote on «The BOBs» Awards and to support Russian nominees. To vote for the favorite resource you must register on the website using your Twitter or Facebook account. Choose the best!

author: Marina Litvinovich


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Sri Lanka: The Future Of Books In Cupboards · Global Voices
Rezwan

“In this day and age, with houses getting smaller and space becoming an issue, with E-books being the rage in the West, and Kindles and i-pads common enough in Colombo”, Ameena Hussein wonders about the future of books.

author: Rezwan


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Taiwan: Nuclear Waste on Orchid Island · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

Nuclear waste is the material that nuclear fuel becomes after it is used in a reactor. It is dangerously radioactive and remains so for thousands of years.
Four years after the first Taiwanese nuclear power plant was built in 1970, the Taiwan Atomic Energy Council decided to dump its nuclear waste at Orchid Island (Lanyu), where the indigenous Tao people (Yami) have lived for generations. More than twenty years have passed, the radioactive waste barrels have eroded with rust and it seems that no one is ready to take care of the problem.
Birds eye view of Orchid Island, Taiwan. Photo taken by Flickr user bambicrow (CC BY-NC 2.0)
There are two nuclear waste storage sites [zh] on Orchid Island. Every week, boats from Taiwan bring the radioactive waste to Orchid Island dumping 45,000 barrels of waste on the beautiful island annually.
These nuclear waste storage sites have changed the fate of Tao people forever. In a campaign page [zh] on the public television website, Tao people demanded that the government return a peaceful childhood to their children:
民國六十九年核廢料從台灣漂洋過海到蘭嶼，從此以後，伴隨著蘭嶼小朋友長大的，除了飛魚、迷你豬，還有核廢料桶。
According to an in-depth report [zh] Tao people were ignorant of the construction of nuclear waste site:
當年貯存場地施工的時候，鄉民根本不知道是在建核廢料貯存場。當時的鄉長江瓦斯甚至不懂中文！少數鄉民聽施工的人說是正在蓋「罐頭工廠」，今天運送廢料的專用碼頭被說成某種軍事用途的港口……。
When the Tao people finally learned the danger of nuclear waste in 1987, they began to protest against the nuclear waste and the battle has been going for more than 20 years. In 1995, they announced the “Declaration of expelling the nuclear waste demons” [zh]:
雅美族，全球只有三千人，一個吟詩的民族，一個和平的民族，我們不願意再以我們族人的血肉之軀去作為台電核能人體實驗的對象。
Below is an excerpt of a documentary ‘The borderland‘ [zh]. It shows the life and culture of Tao people on Orchid Island and this video clip from 1:20 to 2:58 shows some precious historical photos about Tao people's protest against the nuclear waste storage sites in 1987:
On December 31 2002, Tao people managed to terminate the contract with the Taiwan Power Company. However, the Taiwanese government has no plan to remove the nuclear waste from the Island. The next round of battle for Tao people since then has been to press the government to solve the waste problem.
Below is special coverage of the nuclear waste problem in Orchid Island. The reporter interviewed the environmentalists, government and protesters, but not a single party could provide a viable solution to the problem:
In 2008, 26 years after the first barrel of nuclear waste was stored on Orchid Island, the government finally took action to conduct a thorough security inspection of these nuclear waste barrels. According to a local news report reposted in the Orchid Island e-news website [zh], the result was worrisome. The inspectors assigned by the Taiwan Atomic Energy Council found out that:
首座開蓋檢整的壕溝貯放的四千多桶核廢料全部鏽蝕，部分廢料桶甚至已開膛剖肚。
核廢料桶禁不起蘭嶼高溫潮濕和高鹽分的惡劣環境，八十一年起陸續出現鏽蝕。
Who should take care of the nuclear waste? Who should be responsible for the nuclear waste? Where should the nuclear waste go? Blogger Annpo pointed out [zh] that the problem of  nuclear waste cannot be neglected in the review of energy policy in Taiwan, in addition to the safety of nuclear power plants [zh]:
當年，國家發展重工業，需要大量電力，今日國家依然要大力發展，生產更多需要被消化被解決的問題，發展之後留下的都是「債」。債，誰要還？誰來還？要不，根據用電統計，用電量最多的地區，作為核廢料掩埋場，好不？支持興建核電的，一人抱一桶回家，好不？

author: I-fan Lin


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Tensions Between Korea and Japan Intensified Over Territorial Conflict · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Koreans have expressed deep regret over the Japanese government’s decision to endorse middle school textbooks that defined Dokdo island as part of its territory. Reflecting people's anger, Korea's power Twitterer and bestselling novelist, Lee Oi-soo (@oisoo) harshly condemned [ko] Japanese government for approving the new textbooks.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Trinidad & Tobago: Education – Leaving Kids at Sea  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“All children now go to secondary school. But it remains an unfortunate truth that the majority of those innocents who sat SEA Tuesday will not have the secondary schooling they deserve”: Lisa Allen-Agostini blogs about the state of education.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Venezuela: H1N1 Cases on the Rise · Global Voices
Patricia Acosta

Venezuelans are facing another vulnerable situation. This time it is the H1N1 virus, a flu pandemic that started in the middle of March 2011, according to the Ministry of Health on their official webpage [es]. Besides this information, there is another version that comes from the Red de Sociedades Científicas y Médicas de Venezuela [Medical and Scientific Societies Network of Venezuela] which informs [es] that the first cases of H1N1 developed in the beginning of February in the Guarico state.
H1N1 has spread rapidly to some other states in the country, increasing from 12 [es] to 342 [es] cases and 4 deaths in less than a month.
Marcos Díaz Orellana, the governor of the sate of Merida [es], suspended classes in the University of Los Andes as part of a preventive measure.
The instructions regarding vaccination, provided by Minister of Health Eugenia Sader, are clear [es] enough:
En cuanto a la vacunación, advirtió que sólo está  indicada la vacuna en niños y niñas de seis meses, adultos y adultas  mayores de 60 años, personas con el sistema inmunológico comprometido  (VIH/SIDA, cáncer, diabetes, hipertensión o problemas respiratorios) y  mujeres embarazadas, “de resto no hay indicación de vacuna a la  población en general”.
H1N1 vaccine. Flickr Image by Daniel Paquet (CC BY 2.0)
She also recommended this to prevent [es] the flu:
“Debe quedarse en casa para evitar contagiar a otros,  lavarse las manos frecuentemente con agua y jabón o gel antibacterial,  mantener las habitaciones ventiladas y en caso de dudas, la población  puede llamar al 0-800-VIGILAN (8444526).”
On the other hand, the Red de Sociedades Científicas y Médicas de Venezuela has asserted that:
“La falta de vacunación oportuna causó nuevo brote de AH1N1″
There are some reactions from citizens on Twitter. Gerald Capriles affirms (@Gecacapri):
Me da miedo la #Ah1n1
Carmen Ramia (@carmenramia) informs:
Casos de influenza AH1N1 se duplicaron en Caracas en 24 horas.
Miguel Mendoza (@miguemendoza) encourages his Twitter followers to vaccinate against the flu, and Manuel Morán (@manmoran) thinks that:
La vacunación contra AH1N1 debe ser masiva, todos los venezolanos tenemos el derecho a ser protegidos.
Dr. Rigoberto Marcano (@rigotordoc) gives the discussion a political tone by referring to the administration of President Hugo Chavez as “the regime.”
Claro, el regimen NO vacunó cuando debió haberlo hecho en 2010 RT @UNoticias: Un gentío anda en busca de vacunas contra la #AH1N1
Gonzalo Rodriguez (@ponchalo2012) states ironically:
CASI NADA!!! Confirmados 415 casos de #AH1N1 a nivel nacional http://t.co/4Xqi2Oh via @webnotitarde
GabO! (@gabocumarin) talks about President Chavez's declarations regarding H1N1:
el presidente @chavezcandanga dice que hay todos los insumos para la#Ah1n1 y no poseen equipo para realizar la prueba ! q #cagada
Some citizens have taken precautions, deciding to go to private drugstores to buy the vaccination to avoid getting the virus. Nevertheless, those drugstores are regulated by the Ministry Health in order to provide an accurate figure. Locatel, a well known Venezuelan drugstore chain, asked the Ministry for 1500 vaccinations and it was just given 29, adding those citizens that want to vaccinate against H1N1 to a waiting list. El Nacional [es] informed that “New flu triple vaccine for the H1N1 treatment will be arriving to Venezuela by the end of this week, the Minister of Health Eugenia Sader informed this Monday, on March 28.”
Beyond what the real cause of the outbreak and the recommendations from health authorities, Venezuelans have responsibly taken precautions on their own, even though examination expenses and vaccinations in private hospitals imply an extra cost in their family or personal budget.
On Sunday, March 27, President Chavez confirmed in his show “Aló Presidente” that: “we already have 382 [es] cases of H1N1 flu.”
On March 28 Venezuela woke up to 415 [es] “confirmed” cases.

author: Patricia Acosta


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Argentina: Reactions and Analysis of Blockade of Newspapers Clarín and La Nación · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

The Clarín newspaper – photo: Laura Schneider
On  Sunday the 27th of March, Argentina awoke to some big news: The daily Clarín [es] could not distribute their newspapers in Buenos Aires  due to a blockade at their printing plant. La Nación [es] also suffered a  blockade, though theirs was shorter than Clarín’s, which  lasted 12 hours.
It  is important to note that this is not the first time Clarín has been  blockaded, but no previous blockade has lasted long enough to prevent  distribution of the newspaper to a large part of the population.
At the time of writing this post, it is still not known who is responsible for this action, as the blog Algo habré dicho [es] (I must have said something) explains:
Ayer veíamos las imágenes en TN (no había mucha más cobertura, era puro fútbol o Los Simpsons) sobre el bloqueo a la planta y nos preguntábamos si el televidente pensaría: “che, por qué es el bloqueo? por qué no enfocan una bandera, a ver que dicen…? por qué no entrevistan a alguno de los que bloquean?”
Nevertheless, Argentinian bloggers are attributing the blockade to various sectors, like, for example, Pepe in the blog Viñetas [es]:
El reciente bloqueo al diario CLARIN es la frutilla del postre de una serie de hechos e indicios evidentes, que marcan la inclinación autoritaria del gobierno de Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
Damian in the blog Perspectivas Críticas siglo XXI [es] (21st Century Critical Perspectives) analyses blockades carried out previously on the same newspaper,  specifically by the union leader Hugo Moyano, Vice-President of the  Justicialist Party of Buenos Aires Province and Secretary-General of the  Argentinian General Confederation of Labour:
No es la primera vez que Moyano bloquea diarios, a fines del 2010 lo había hecho también en las plantas de Clarín y La Nación. También ha bloqueado a otros medios críticos como Perfil.
In the blog Cadena de Palabras [es] (Chain of Words), Laura Cambra looks beyond who may or may not be responsible,  bearing in mind the electoral campaign which has already begun in  Argentina for the 2011 presidential elections:
¿Por qué el gobierno calla? Porque, aunque quiera, no puede enfrentarse a Moyano……..¿Por qué la oposición calla? Porque sería poner a CFK (Cristina Fernández de Kirchner) en posición de víctima y, por lo tanto, elevar la percepción positiva que de ella tiene el electorado………¿Por qué Clarín también calla? Porque aprovecha para victimizarse. Luego de tantos ataques, es lo que mejor sabe hacer para obtener adhesiones y no deja pasar la oportunidad de ponerse en el centro de una pelea que, en este caso, no es suya.
Some believe that it was all a show, like the blog Notero de a pie [es] (Street reporter):
Bastó un nuevo bloqueo en las puertas de sus distribuidoras para que el hombre montara un show de victimización de muy poca monta, muy barato….
However,  not all bloggers are looking for those responsible for the action itself, but  are instead carrying out an analysis that goes beyond what happened, like  Fernando Santillan in his blog 7:50 a Retiro [es]:
El hecho es más grave porque se trata del bloqueo a dos diarios. A quienes no somos periodistas ni dueños de medios, decir que éstos merecen un tratamiento especial puede resultar por momentos molesto. Sabemos que hay casos en los que, bajo el manto de la libertad de prensa, se han cometido errores e injusticias. Pero en este caso como en pocos más, es claro que siempre hay que errar por el lado de la libertad: porque la libertad de prensa es una garantía para la vigencia de otros derechos.
The news has taken on various dimensions, and on Sunday the 27th, the Argentinian Federation of Press Workers [es] published a communiqué  on their website:
Fieles a su costumbre, los medios que integran el grupo Clarín pretenden inventar una realidad que no existe. Como si se pudiera mutar de victimarios a víctimas a partir de la ficción que el monopolio crea.
Los compañeros que son perseguidos en Artes Gráficas Rioplatenses (AGR) -perteneciente al Grupo Clarín- protestan, junto a sus familias, frente a la planta de impresión de la empresa en reclamo ante la persecución sindical que sufren los delegados. Ésa es la noticia del día.
True to form, the media outlets that make up the Clarín group intend  to invent a reality that does not exist. As if they could transform  themselves from perpetrators into victims through the fiction that their  monopoly creates.
Those who are being persecuted in Artes Gráficas Rioplatenses  (AGR, Graphic Arts of the River Plate region) -which belongs to the  Clarín Group- are protesting, with their families, outside the  printing plant of the company, which is under complaint for the violation of union rights that their representatives have suffered. This is the news of the day.
Meanwhile, the 28th of March edition of Clarín came out with a blank front page.
Front page of the the daily Clarín on the 28th of March 2011 – photo: Laura Schneider
In  summary, whether it was an attack on free expression or a union protest  is still unknown, nor is it known who initiated the blockade. The blog Otra Noticia Mas [es] (Another News Story) analyses what happened so that readers can draw their own conclusions:
Cuando algo se quiere analizar realmente las preguntas para hacerse son: ¿A quién perjudica?, ¿A quién favorece? Al menos para empezar. En estos puntos creo estar en desacuerdo con muchos, no creo particularmente por la información que yo (simple ciudadano) puedo manejar, pero digo, esto. ¿A Clarín lo favorece? Creo que no porque saltan cosas que tal vez para ellos serían mejor que estén tapadas. ¿A Clarín lo perjudica? Quiero decir, le afecta económicamente? No lo creo, no al menos por un día, si fueran varios es otra cosa, pero un día lo pueden bancar. Aunque tendríamos que tener en cuenta que contra Clarín no es solo esta vez la que se le han hecho cosas similares que afecten su negocio con lo cual si lo prolongamos en el tiempo tal vez la respuesta sea sí.
Al oficialismo lo favorece? A mi modo de ver, no, porque mucha gente que está de acuerdo con ellos les puede parecer que si bien Clarín no les agrada, no es la forma.¿Al Oficialismo lo perjudica? Creo que aunque más no sea de costado sí.Entonces habiendo tantas dudas, por mi parte lo que voy a hacer es: buscar a otros que tal vez parecen estar más afuera del círculo que pueden salir beneficiados, mi abuelito decía, a rio revuelto ganancia de pescadores.
When  you really want to analyse something, the questions to ask yourself  are: Who does it harm? Who does it benefit? At least to start with. On  these matters I think I disagree with many, I do not think  it is due to the information that I (a mere citizen) have access to, but this is what I say. Does  it benefit Clarín? I don’t think so, because it brings out into the  open things that they might prefer to keep hidden. Does it harm Clarín? That is, does it affect them economically? I don’t think so, at least not  for one day. If it were several days it would be another matter, but  one day they can deal with. Although we should bear in mind that this is  not the only time that Clarín has been subject to similar actions that  affect their business, so if we were to prolong it perhaps the answer would be yes.
Does  it benefit the government? I would say no, because many people who  agree with them might think that, even if they don’t like Clarín, this is  not the way to deal with them. Does it harm the government? I think  that it does, if only indirectly.  So with so many uncertainties, what I am going to do is: look for  others who might appear further from the centre of things who could end  up benefiting. As my grandpa used to say, troubled waters, fisherman’s  gain.

author: Laura Schneider


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Attahiru Jega: Nigeria’s Electoral Captain or Captor? · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

This post is part of our special coverage Nigeria Elections 2011.
With the 2011 General Elections barely hours away, one man holds the key to the eternal propagation or termination of the social revolution through the ballot box in Nigeria. Parliamentary election is to be held in on 2 April and  presidential election will take place on 9 April 2011.
UPDATE 04/03: The nation's election commission just announced that all elections would be pushed back a week, due the late arrival of voting materials.
Attahiru Jega, a professor of Political Science and head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will determine to a large extent the credibility of the polls within these three weeks.
Attahiru Jega, a professor of Political Science and head of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
INEC had a credibility crisis during the tenure of Maurice Iwu, Jega’s predecessor. In the words of Patrick Utomi (until recently, a presidential candidate of Social Democratic Mega Party):
As is now widely documented and accepted the 2007 election was a farce.  But it was not that it was a farce alone that troubled me. It was the level of evil in the process and the widespread view that to have a place in politics you had to sell your soul, conscience and dignity.  I was convinced there could be a better way, a different way.
It is therefore not surprising that:
… The person who heads the electoral agency must be seen to be guileless, with an integrity that is transparent and also unbiased. It is not just enough to allude to the qualities listed above, it is absolutely essential that the perception matches reality.
Living up to expectations, Jega maintained that he will not morph from an umpire to a biased player in the elections. Get2Central writes that:
Forty-eight hours to the general elections in the country beginning with the National Assembly polls, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, declared yesterday that he was not under pressure to manipulate the electoral process in order to give undue advantage to anybody and that even if such pressure comes from any quarters, he would not oblige them.
The electoral boss insists that:
… With the security features, if a ballot box is snatched and swapped, the commission would know. Also, if ballot papers are swapped or taken to areas they are not meant, the INEC would know. In the same vein, if result sheets are snatched and fraudulently exchanged, the commission would know.
As such Jega has passed the bulk to politicians and lawyers.
For the INEC, I can say categorically and convincingly that we are ready for the election, the question should rather be, are the lawyers and politicians ready? We have put all the necessary machinery in place to not only ensure that the election is free, fair and credible, but to also ensure that a level playing ground is accorded all the contestants. I am doing my best to ensure that all the mistakes of the past are not repeated. …Consequently, the question is not whether INEC is ready, but whether the other stakeholders are ready. Our major concerns at this moment are politicians and lawyers.
These are no mere words, coming from one with such intimidating rich background:
…as former ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities) President, a respectable civil society activist and a human rights practitioner.
This post on twitter sums up the expectations of most Nigerians as regards INEC chief and the 2011 elections in Nigeria:
I won't lie. INEC chairman Attahiru Jega impresses me. Hope he delivers on his promises.
This post is part of our special coverage Nigeria Elections 2011.

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


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Bangladesh: Buddhist Tourism Sites · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bangladesh Unlocked highlights some of the archeological sites in Bangladesh which are rich and tangible remains of a great Buddhist culture.


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Bangladesh: Pedaling The Path To Empowerment · Global Voices
Rezwan

Rudmila Rahman writes about the initiative of a group of thirty passionate women from diverse walks to life, who “got on their bicycles and rode through Dhaka to promote bicycles as an alternative means of mobility for women in Bangladesh.”


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China: Maps Showing Earthquake Zone and Nuclear Plant · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Laputa puts up three maps [zh] showing China's earthquake zone and nuclear plants location.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: University Students Protest in Bogotá · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Jim Wyss from Inside South America posts pictures and writes about the student protests he witnessed in the Bogotá neighbordhood La Macarena. He explains: “Colombia's congress is mulling a bill that would allow for private investment in state-run schools. Some are worried the deal would also deprive universities of their autonomy.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Côte d’Ivoire: Abidjan in the Waning Hours of Gbagbo’s Regime · Global Voices
Julie Owono

This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011.
The last two days have been rich in twists and turns in Côte d'Ivoire.
Forces loyal to Alassane Dramane Ouattara, the internationally recognised president of Côte d'Ivoire, and Guillaume Soro, Ouattara's prime minister, began an offensive towards the South and the West of the country. In less than three days, they succeeded in taking over the cities of Douékoué and reached Yamoussoukro on March 30th. The Forces Républicaine de Côte d'Ivoire (Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire) have entered Abidjan, the main city of Côte d'Ivoire where the incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to step down in December 2010 after losing the presidential election, may still be located.
The Ivorian online community commented on the events, and here is a quick snapshot of a few conversations.
Fear of MACA Prisoners
Maison d'Arrêt et de Correction d'Abidjan (MACA) is the prison of Abidjan. Following news that prisoners had been released, Léon Guéré (@Cocoloposo) wrote on Twitter on March 31:
@cocoloposo: #civ2010 URGENT: MACA ouverte tous les prisonniers sont dehors.(police)
Following this announcement, netizens started fearing that these prisoners would be given weapons:
@Abidjannais225, replying to @Cocoloposo, said:
@Abidjannais225: Confirmez SVP !!! P…. mais c grave, LMP veut creer la chienlit au pays
Online activist “K.” (@Sanders225) confirmed the same day that prisoners of the MACA, and from two other prisons had been freed. Later, a news story on Reuters said up to 5000 prisoners had been freed in Abidjan.
Where is Laurent Gbagbo ?
Guillaume Soro, the prime minister announced that Laurent Gbagbo had until 7pm GMT on March 31, 2011 to resign. This caused plenty of ironic reactions on the Twitter hashtag for news on Côte d'Ivoire, #civ2010:
Fifteen minutes before the announced deadline, @Malko7 tweeted a countdown:
@Malko7: Heure H-15 minutes
And when the time was reached, Marie L'Ange (@Attou_225) commented:
@Attou_225: c'est l'heuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure!!!!
Nnenna tweeted:
@Nnenna: Il est 19h ici chez moi. On dit koi?
In the meantime, violent clashes were taking place at the Radio Télévision Ivoirienne, Ivorian National TV. The station was managed by Gbagbo partisans until the day before.
Between 9pm GMT and 10.40 GMT, the same video was broadcast repeatedly: Laurent Gbagbo and his wife Simone, surrounded by their close entourage having a conversation in the Garden of the Presidential Residence in Cocody. Laurent Gbagbo looks preoccupied, and Simone does not seem to realise the current situation of Abidjan, as shown in the following video posted by abidjannetTV, the YouTube account of the Ivorian news site:
The signal of the RTI finally stopped at 10.40 pm GMT, as shown in this picture shared by Olivier Vauluisant (@batelier59):
End of Transmission of RTI's signal Batelier59 on Twitpic
According to Senam Beheton (@SenamBeheton) on Twitter, these images where shown while Ouattara's FRCI were taking control of the State Television:
@SenamBeheton : Les propriétaires sont peut-être arrivés. La recréation est terminée?
Sky News was reporting on April 1  that Laurent Gbagbo and his wife could still be in their palace in Cocody, while surrounded by Ouattara's FRCI. Later the same day, another version was given according to which Laurent Gbagbo and wife Simone had left the residence for the Presidential Palace in Plateau Area [Fr], Abidjan. EdithBrou wrote on Twitter:
the palace and the radio, in the Plateau and residence remain the bastions of Gbagbo according to a diplomat contacted by #AFP
Côte d'Ivoire trending
The recent events in Côte d'Ivoire were closely followed on Twitter, where #civ2010 and Laurent Gbagbo were trending topics in France:
This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011.

author: Julie Owono


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Côte d’Ivoire: The Final Battle of Abidjan · Global Voices
Nemo

For the past few days,  things have accelerated in Cote d’Ivoire.   International media seems to have regained an interest in the Ivorian crisis. A status quo which would have kept the country in a complicated stalemate was feared for a while.  But after the inconclusive  negotiations with the African Union, Ouattara’s camp has decided to take action.
Following a meeting between the officers of the RHDP which took place on the 29 March, blogger Seth Koko reports that :  in response to the suggestion of further talks with his opponent Laurent Gbagbo,  Allassane Ouattara stated in no uncertain terms that [all links in Fr]:
“All the peaceful ways and means  to exit the crisis have been explored.”
After this announcement, the sides gathered themselves and within two days, several towns fell one after the other into the hands of pro-Ouattara forces, recently renamed the  FRCI (Republican Forces of Cote d’Ivoire). The cities that were claimed by the FRCI were   Duekoue, Daloa, Bondoukou, Abengourou, Tiebissou, Gagnoa (the birthplace of Laurent Gbagbo) Soubre, San Pedro (a harbour town which exports the bulk of Ivorian cocoa beans). In just a few hours, 75% of Cote d'Ivoire territory was under the control of Ouattara’s forces.
This dramatic breakthrough, achieved without too much difficulties, has prompted magazine Jeune Afrique to ask in an article published on March 31:
Who still wants to defend Laurent Gbagbo? The advance of the pro-Ouattara army is striking, as if the Force de Défense et de Sécurité (FDS), loyal to the exiting president Laurent Gbagbo, no longer had any desire to fight. The Republican Forces of Cote d’Ivoire (FRCI, pro-Ouattara) took hold of Yomoussoukro on Wednesday night without meeting any resistance, while the Republican Guard, an elite pro-Gbagbo commando, could have created a lot of problems for the assailants.
The advance has been so incredibly fast that, on social networks, some Ivoirians turn to irony and speak of “a car race ” :
“Who is going to win the car race of Abidjan? Loss, Wattao, Cherif, Morou, Zacaria? All the experienced pilots!”#civ2010
Loss, Wattao, Cherif, Morou and Zacaria are the different commanders of the pro-Ouattara forces currently moving towards Abidjan, the economic capital and the most populated town in the country. The commanders of the FRCI have been clear: their objective is to make Laurent Gbagbo step down and to achieve this, Soro Guillaume, the first minister of Ouattara Alassane, is not ruling out any speculations, as Radio Africa no. 1 announces:
Soro suggests that the FRCI will launch an imminent attack on Abidjan.#afrique #civ2010http://fb.me/SeQAZL77
Later on, Soro Guillaume launched a clear ultimatum to Laurent Gbagbo:
“Mr. Gbagbo still has a few hours left to leave, otherwise, troops will march on Abidjan. And it will be much more complicated for him.”
Still,  it cannot be excluded that despite the tactical retreat, the Forces of Defence and Security (FDS) loyal to Laurent Gbagbo  have something else in store. Many people dread that Laurent Gbagbo is regrouping his troops in Abidjan in preparation for the final battle. The various troops of the FDS who have withdrawn, faced with the imminent advance of the FRCI, still have their respective military headquarters located in Abidjan. Equally, finding themselves in the same situation are the large military camps, a large concentration of soldiers and the main heavy and light artillery detained by the forces of Laurent Gbagbo.
It should be especially feared that the FRCI will return to Abidjan only to find themselves confronted by recently enrolled and armed young patriots, such as the prisoners of the MACA (Abidjan jail). This fear is shared by many observers, media groups and Ivorian civilians. On Twitter, an Ivorian who had fled Duekoue voices his concern about the imminent assault on Abidjan:
“I would prefer Gbagbo to resign before the fighting in Abidjan commences, as it’s going to be a real pity if it takes place. Too much blood is going to be spilt.”#CIV2010
Another Ivoirian announced that the return fire of the pro-Gbagbo forces will result in yet more blood being spilt:
“I tell you: the counter offensive military attack of the pro-Gbagbo forces will be violent and fatal. Your militias will be overthrown.”#civ2010 #clifci #france24
Whilst everyone is asking themselves questions about the inevitable final battle in Abidjan, Slate Afrique posted an article online which affirms that the war in Abidjan has already begun:
But the fear is at its height in Abidjan; whereas Gbagbo’s forces may withdraw, they are more than likely preparing themselves for a final confrontation which risks turning into a massacre.
This fear is visible in a speech posted on Thursday,  March 31, by an Ivoirian internet user:
It is certain that the most dangerous day of all has reached Abidjan today.#civ2010
Within a context marked by the new sanctions against Laurent Gbagbo and his close associates, and more especially by the young patriot’s preparations for war, the majority of Ivoirians are dreading the infamous final battle of Abidjan as it risks spilling yet more innocent blood.

author: Nemo


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Cuba: Hope from the Carter Meeting  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I know Jimmy Carter does not hold in his hands the solutions for all of Cuba”: Still, Octavo Cerco reflects on her meeting with the former U.S. President, saying that it “remind[s] [her] that…there is a light at the end of the road.”


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Ghana: “African Woman” by Ghana’s Afro Pop Queen · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jemila writes about the latest video from Ghana's Afropop Queen, Becca titled : African Woman: “You know Circumspect couldn't pass this one by. Check out her other vids too; she has such a unique and authentic flavor and def love how she reps her African identity!”


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Guatemala: Antigua Municipal Government Removes Street Carts · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Antigua Daily Photo posts pictures by Miguel De León Soto of small street carts that sell fresh fruits in Antigua, Guatemala: “he’s outraged the municipal government has removed these typical street carts without consultation. He believes these carts not only provide much needed services and products, such as fresh fruits, but they are also an integral part of our identity, and important ingredient of what makes La Antigua Guatemala rich and colorful.”


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Guyana: Immigration Wants to Know  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal has “been fillin’ a’ visa form online” – no surprise, then, that she needs to lie down.


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Jamaica: Environment Under Siege  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Jamaica’s coasts and vital mangroves have been under assault for decades from shoreline over development”: Labrish blogs about the latest victim.


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Jamaica: Public Frustration  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Ruthibelle dubs the Manatt Dudus Commission of Enquiry the “Comedy of Enquiry”, then explains why she continues to watch; Grasshopper Eyes The Potomac, meanwhile, wonders whether the country is “irie” or “irate”.


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Kyrgyzstan: Interview with the former tycoon, now a criminal · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Sabina Reingold interviews Eugene Gurevich, former director of MGN Group, which was managing most part of the state assets in Kyrgyzstan under the previous president Kurmanbek Bakiev. Gurevich fled the country after the popular uprising in April 2010 and has been recently sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Mali: Innocence Lost · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ayigbe Boys loves the innocence captured in a photo taken by Malian photographer, Malick Sidibe who is noted for his black-and-whites of popular culture in the 1960s in Bamako.


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Mexico Appoints its First Female Attorney General after Arturo Chavez Resigns · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Erwin in The Latinamericanist reports on the resignation of Attorney General Arturo Chávez, adding that: “Chavez’ resignation opens the doors for Mexico’s first female Attorney General. Calderon named investigative prosecutor Marisela Morales to the post with the aim of deepening ‘the strategic role of the attorney general's office, in particular in the fight against organized crime’.”


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Mexico: Reactions to “Resignation” of US Ambassador Carlos Pascual · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

This post is part of our special coverage WikiLeaks and the World.
Carlos Pascual, the Ambassador for the United States of America (USA) in Mexico, gave up the post on March 29, 2011, amidst expressions of irritation from Mexican president Felipe Calderón regarding the content of confidential documents published by the embassy led by Pascual and released by Wikileaks.
The decision was made public by the Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who recognised the work carried out by the diplomat in the Mexican territory on many matters of vital importance for bilateral relations in commerce, energy, human rights and the joint fight against drug cartels.
Carlos Pascual, picture from Flickr from the U.S National Archives (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Bloggers have reacted to Secretary Clinton's announcement. Jaime Alejandro Rosales D. [es] believes that Pascual's resignation is related to the disclosure of documents by Wikileaks and he reflects on what might happen if the documents which Mexican public servants use to undertake their functions were made public:
El retiro del embajador de Estados Unidos en México,  Carlos Pascual, anunciado ayer, es uno de los saldos de las revelaciones  de Wikileaks. En ese sentido cabe preguntarse cuántos de nuestros  funcionarios, incluido el propio Felipe Calderón, dejarían de ser  confiables para la ciudadanía y tendrían que renunciar si la opinión  pública conociera los análisis, motivaciones y maneras que utilizan para  ejercer el poder y controlar, cuando no para manipular, a la población.
Elsewhere, rather than attempting to judge whether the ambassador's resignation is directly related to the leaked documents and the resulting pressure from the Mexican government, “immorfo” stated on the blog entitled El Chahuistle [es] that it was simply a “unilateral action” by the USA, which he claims will be exploited by political parties in an attempt to pass it off as an achievement of their allegations or lobbying, which the same author branded as irrelevant:
Descripciones que seguro provocaron la diminuta ira del paracaidista de Los Pinos pero sin la sustancia suficiente para provocar un despido como el de Pascual; al contrario, esto es una acción unilateral de Estados Unidos ante la cual los panistas tratan de hacerla un logro meritorio de sus gimoteos, pero el que Calderón haya considerado que es “difícil” trabajar con el ahora ex embajador es eso, un gimoteo hueco sin repercusión. [énfasis del autor]
On the same point, Martha Anaya [es] admits that it is difficult to understand the irritation of President Calderón given the content of the leaked documents, in the sense that ambassadors who preceded Pascual spoke forcefully about sensitive subjects which, at the time, reflected the current situation in Mexico. Some were even references made public by the diplomats themselves, as in the case of Jeffrey Davidow (who held the post from August 1998 to September 2002). On this subject, Anaya notes the following:
Según le dijo Calderón al Washington Post, una de las  cosas que más le molestó fue ver plasmado en los cables que en el  Ejército Mexicano le tenían “aversión al riesgo”, o que no son  suficientemente valientes, cuando han perdido probablemente unos 300  soldados.
¿Qué escribió Davidow al respecto en su libro “El oso y el  puercoespín” (Grijalbo 2003)? Va un párrafo (las negritas y subrayados  van por mi cuenta):
“Todos los días, oficiales policiacos, agentes del ministerio público y jueces son amenazados e incluso asesinados. Zonas enteras de ciertos estados están dominadas por los narcotraficantes donde el imperio de la ley no las afecta y las fuerzas del orden temen entrar en ellas.” [énfasis de la autora]
As Calderón told the Washington Post, one of the things which most irritated him was to see official documents stating that the Mexican Army was “risk averse”, or that they were not sufficiently courageous, when they had probably lost around 300 soldiers.
What did Davidow have to say about this in his book “The Bear and the Porcupine” (“El oso y el puercoespín”) (Grijalbo 2003)? Here is a one paragraph (the words in bold and the underlining are mine):
“Everyday, police officials, agents from the public ministries and judges are threatened and even killed. Whole areas of certain states are dominated by the drugs traffickers where the rule of law does not touch them and where the law enforcement agencies dare not enter.” [author's emphasis]
Anaya goes on:
Vuelvo a citar a Davidow:
“Para los políticos mexicanos ha sido tradicionalmente benéfico que  los vean infligir cierto daño a Estados Unidos. Por lo general, la agresión –que suele ser muy retórica y rara vez real—se controla; hay un puñetazo contundente en el ojo, más que un golpe en el cuerpo”.
Pedirle al Presidente Obama que retirara a su Embajador en México no  cae precisamente en el campo de la “retórica”, pero sí resulta  contraproducente en términos diplomáticos.
Así que sigo sin entender la ira de Calderón hacia Pascual. Al menos,  no por las razones que esgrimió ante el Post. [énfasis de la autora]
Quoting from Davidow again:
“It has traditionally been beneficial to Mexican politicians for the public to see them inflict a certain amount of damage on the United States. On the whole, the aggression – which is usually rhetorical and rarely real – is controlled, a good punch in the eye, rather than a blow to the body”.
Asking President Obama to withdraw his Ambassador for Mexico does not exactly fall under the category of “rhetorical”, but it does seem counter-productive in diplomatic terms.
That is why I still don't understand Calderón's irritation towards Pascual. At least not for the reasons which he put forward to the Post. [author's emphasis].
In this respect, the reactions of bloggers to Secretary Clinton's announcement are many and varied; however, at the time of writing this post, on March 29, 2011 (10 days after the formal announcement of his resignation), Carlos Pascual is still holding the position of Ambassador for the USA in Mexico and appears as such on the official website [es] of the United States Embassy.
This post is part of our special coverage WikiLeaks and the World.

author: J. Tadeo


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Russia: Author of The Three Big Pigs Gains International Fame · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Yegor Zhgun [ru], Russian designer, who skillfully combined Disney's tune and “Angry Birds” game in a Libya-related satirical cartoon, has been spotted by AFP. See GV post on another Zhgun's work here.


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Russia: More on Navalny · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More on Alexey Navalny's anti-corruption activities – at A Good Treaty and RussiaWatchers. Also, the newyorker.com transcript of Julia Ioffe's Q&A on Navalny is here; “I think Navalny is Russia’s best hope,” she responds to one reader.


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Russia: New Government Initiative Questions the Nature of Online Monitoring · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

Russian authorities said they were interested in developing a new system for monitoring of online content. The document of the tender for the new system not only provides specifics about what the Russian government wants to monitor, but also exposes its attitude towards information technologies.
Internet Monitoring System
Last week, Roskomnadzor, Russian Federal Service for Telecoms Supervision, announced a public tender for developing Internet monitoring system. According to the tender, the budget for such system is 15 million rubles (about $530,000) and the job applications should be submitted by April 15, 2011. The system needs to be developed by August 15, 2011 and the testing period should end on December 15, 2011.
Tripple monitor setup, photo by Les Howard
Michail Vorobiev, an assistant to the head of Roskomnadzor, told [ru] Russian information agency RIA Novosti that the system's purpose was to discover content recognized by the Russian law as illegal. Such system will be based on two elements: a storage that would contain illegal materials (some sort of ‘thesaurus of illegal keywords’) and the search system that will scan through the online space and compare the online text with the illegal content in the storage.
The description of the tender is a long and openly published document [ru], so what exactly the system should look for is not a secret. The number and the nature of goals that the search robot should achieve are surprising. It goes ways beyond incitement of national hatred or appeals to violence. In includes not only terrorism, appeals to actions that threaten constitutional order, materials that disclose classified security information, propaganda of drugs and pornography, but also false information about federal and regional officials, as well as content that threatens the freedom and secrecy of choice during elections. Another interesting goal is to discover content with hidden embedded components that seek to influence subconsciousness. If it’s not enough, the program would monitor not only textual, but also visual content (photos and videos).
Publicist from Lenta.ru Valery Panfilov summarized [ru] the list:
“…документации до списка отслеживаемых нарушений, который оказался длиннее, чем список запрещенных язвеннику продуктов”
The major target of the monitoring, at least according to the Russian officials, is not traditional media websites or blogs, but comments at the online media outlets (it is important to note that the monitoring system is intended to be used for the content of the sites officially registered as online mass media). Since 2010, online mass media are required to remove illegal comments only following request from Roskomnadzor.
Within the first year of removal practice, Roskomnadzor had discovered and requested to remove [ru] 45 comments of “extremist content.” People at Roskomnadzor, however, admit [ru] that monitoring comments is a challenge for them because it requires additional human resources. The new system should provide solution for this. According to the tender, the system should be handled by only two operators.
Russia's Story of Content Surveillance and Removal
The Russian Internet has a long history of efforts to develop a “successful” and sustainable system for content monitoring and surveillance. First, and probably most famous, were SORM and SORM-2 systems that every Internet provider had to install. Another attempt to monitor illegal content was engagement of Internet users. About one month ago, a number of IT-hosting providers strongly affiliated with the Ministry of Communication launched a new organization “A League for Secure Internet.” According to the  founders, the organization should create online brigades of Internet users that will seek and report unlawful content.
At the same time, private companies also develop systems for monitoring of online content for commercial purposes. For instance Medialogia develops [ru] solutions for the monitoring of traditional and social media. The “News Terminal Glass” has built iPhone/iPad applications that categorize information as “positive” or “negative” around particular person or issue. According to advertisement brochures of the monitoring system, among its clients you can find the Presidential Administration of Russia and the Russian Government Administration (more about media monitoring the Presidential Administration of Russia is here [ru]).
The Ambiguity of Content Removal
Obviously, after the publication of this tender, many Internet users complained about the new “Big Brother” and the government's intentions to censor the Internet. The situation, however, is more complicated and ambivalent. The major problem is not the fact the Russian government tries to develop a system for online monitoring, but how it defines and interpretes the purpose of this system. Moreover, the tender reflects a general attitude of the Russian government towards information technologies. On one hand, the state’s effort to monitor online content can be approached as legitimate.
First, if the government wants to know what its citizens say publicly, it should be welcomed. What can be better than the authorities sensitive to public opinion. What if a blogger in Vladivostok shares her problems and the president of the country wants to have tools that bring to his attention the most concerning reports? One of the ways to do it in the reality of information overload is a system that can aggregate and evaluate social media.
Second, it doesn't seem to be a problem with the state’s will to discover illegal content. For instance, the Russian Internet continues to experience significant content control problems, including a paradoxical situation when Vkontakte.ru, one of the most popular websites among school students, is also one of the major hosts of online pornography and is internationally recognized as a major copyright infringer.
Last week, a group of managers of major IT companies wrote a public address [ru] that demanded more efforts for content filtering from Vkontake administration. Michael Gurevitch, a general director of Mediamir company, pointed out that Facebook has more users than Vkontakte, but you wouldn’t see there any pornography, including child pornography, and founder of Groupon Russia Elena Maslova argued that it’s not fair that Vkontakte attracts users through illegal content. The spokesperson of Vkontakte Vladislav Tzyplukhin claimed that the situation changed radically one year ago due to the measures that reduced visibility of pornography and increased measures of moderation. Tzyplukhin's arguement, however, can hardly survive the reality check.
But What Is Illegal Content?
On the other hand, despite the general legitimacy of the effort to develop an Internet monitoring system, the tender emphasized several issues in Russian approach toward the problem of content control and using information technologies by the government in general.
The first and probably the most visible and significant problem is the way  that Russian authorities define illegal content and extremism. The issue starts with the law and continues with its interpretation and enforcement. Another indication of this problem is the fact that the list of content that the system should identify is very long and includes false information about officials. Putting terrorism, threats to constitutional order, xenophobia, child pornography and accusations against government officials within the same framework not only raises many concerns, but also makes the system less effective.
There are also few institutional issues. For instance, Roskomnadzor, a Russian analogue of American FCC, is responsible for monitoring of media content. The state should demand self-responsibility from administration of major websites and media, but not actively engage in monitoring – something that is not only problematic, but also not viable.
Another institutional problem is the government's method of viewing horizontal reality through hierarchical approach. For instance, the effort to create a crowdsourced system for content monitoring through founding new hierarchical traditional organization, “League for Secure Internet,” so far has proven uneficient. Effective crowdsourcing solutions have to come from the bottom (e.g. initiative gdecasino.ru for monitoring illegal gambling sites [en]), but not being imposed through top-down hierarchy. Moreover, this type of initiatives should develop opportunities for monitoring (e.g. crowdsourcing websites) but not create new offline organizations that aim to manage online crowds. The efforts to organize brigades of monitors and fight Internet bots so far only created even more bots that attack users on behalf of the League.
Not Censorship But Another Corruption Case?
There is also an obvious explanation that is being suggested by many bloggers, that claim that the League as well as the new tender are another ways to steal money from the budget. According to these opinions, the tender should be investigated by anti-corruption websites. For instance, Maksim Salomatin from Park.ru says [ru] that the fact that participants of the tender should finish the work on the system in impossible 3 months means that, probably, Roskomnadzor has in mind some particular organization that has already worked on this program.
Besides, a lack of understanding of technology by governmental officials makes them to believe that those tools can solve significant problems and make their life easier. The tender demonstrates that officials approach technology as some sort of magic. Blogger Klugovich wrote [ru] that only computer illiterates or sci-fi fans would believe that technology would be able to distinguish between criticism and deliberate defamation against officials, not to speak about audio and video materials.
According to the opinion [ru] of Lev Matveev, an executive director of SearchInform, development of such system is possible on time, however it will not be effective due to a high number of false alerts. And it is doubtful that this type of system can reduce the number of people required for content monitoring. But one may also suggest that it will only increase it.
“Deus Ex iPad” Approach
The case described is an example of a “deus ex machina” approach, a belief that technology will solve Russia's governance problems. The technology will create a new “vertical of governance,” and finally reduce the country's governance task to the management of an iPad application. On the other hand, the crowdsourcing will engage people in solving the problems by themselves without the government.
I wonder when Russia will come to the idea from Asimov's “Franchise” where a super computer randomly chooses the president of the country. Why the state would need elections if a hi-tech firm can develop such system  (in the case of Russia, we can even suspect who will be chosen by the computer).
One of the bloggers suggested [ru] even more futuristic scenario as a reaction to the new tender:
да чё лет через 20 и народ можно заменить роботами
The role of technology is brilliantly summed up [ru] by the Infowatch blog:
Как понимают все умные люди, социальную проблему невозможно решить техническими средствами. Подобное лечится подобным. А технические препоны легко и непринуждённо обходятся технически же.
This is something that Roskomnadzor and Russian government should remember.

author: Gregory Asmolov


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Russia: Tatarstan People’s Message to Japan · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russian photographer Oleg Klimov re-posts (RUS) a YouTube video (RUS, JPN) by a Tatarstan-based Japanese photographer Sohei Yasui, in which residents of Tatarstan's capital Kazan share their opinions on the situation in Japan and send kind wishes to the Japanese people.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Tajikistan: Russia raises petroleum prices · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Christya Riedel reports that Russia has increased tariffs on oil and oil products exported to Tajikistan, putting the country's farmers at risk as they prepare for the spring planting season. Tajikistan receives 92.5% oil products from Russia.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Mohammed’s Statements · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

B.C. Pires and Guanaguanare take note of the fallout over the recent statements of the Police Service Commission Chair, which suggested that there is a racial imbalance in the service.


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Uzbekistan: Next on the List of Revolutions? · Global Voices
Ekaterina

While uprisings across Middle East and North African countries are turning into revolutions, many ponder over the question “who is next”?  What countries or even regions might next be hit by the rebellion wave, if any.
Last month, Alen Mattich at The Wall Street Journal produced and published an index of likely candidates ripe for an upheaval. The ranking is based on three equally-weighed criteria: social disparity; propensity to revolt; and the share that food makes up in a household's total expenditures.
Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov. Image by Helene C. Stikkel for US Department of Defense, in public domain.
According to Mattich, Uzbekistan is in the top 20 along with Libya, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. The fact that Uzbekistan (with index 76.4) is 15th on the list, while Libya (with 76.9) holds the 13th place, has provoked numerous articles in the local online media and in the blogosphere.
Sobit comments [ru] on the post on Uznews.net (the website is blocked in Uzbekistan and Uzbek citizens access it using through services):
A coup is possible in Uzbekistan, but not a revolution. Islam Karimov [the president of Uzbekistan] is getting older. The security services, army or Mirziyaev [the prime-minister] will lead the coup. And still, a dictatorship will remain in Uzbekistan.
There are some other comments [ru]:
Stig:
I have no idea, who will assume power in Uzbekistan, but I am absolutely sure the SITUATION WILL CHANGE IN JUST ONE (!) DAY.
Rustam
We must be realistic, a coup or revolution will not happen in Uzbekistan. There is no stable government yet in the countries, where revolutions happened.
a
The basis for stability in the Asian societies is a seduction of powerful opponents plus a destruction of weak ones. In such kind of system revolutions are pointless. In other words, why must one spend his energy for revolution, if it is possible to work in tandem? Eventually, it is always easier to buy something than to fight for it.
However, recent steps taken by the Uzbek government have been aimed at strengthening control over the citizens. They show that the authorities feel the danger of possible unrest in Uzbekistan.
Uznews.com reports [ru], that the Uzbek Agency for Communication and Information (UzACI) obliged the mobile operators and Internet Service Providers (ISP) to disconnect users at the first request from the authorities. From now on, mobile operators and ISPs have to report on any mass SMS distribution that has “shady content” and also to disconnect users from the web, if state bodies tell them to do so.
The UzACI have so far refused to confirm or disavow this information. The biggest ISPs in Uzbekistan – Sharq Telecom, Sarkor Telecom and TPS – said they have not received such instructions.
Blogger Grazy-gunner sees these measures as a tool of the government to secure itself against the possible urpisings, but he does not believe that revolution can happen in Uzbekistan. He writes [ru]:
Central Asian people lived in the USSR [Soviet Union] for many years and they forgot Sharia. There is no Islamic fundamentalism – the main weapon of revolutions in the Arab countries. Therefore, regardless of what the West is saying about the similarities, no revolution is expected here.
Referring to this news, Abdilfazal cites Vladimir Zharikhin, Deputy Director of the CIS  Institute saying:
[…] there is no need to exaggerate the role of mass media. If revolution is destined to happen then it will happen anyway.
Although there is no Islamic fundamentalism and the role of mass media is not big, one can see many similarities of the political developments in Uzbekistan and in the MENA countries. Dictatorial regimes, corrupted economies, cronyism and absence of freedom of expression are few, but not the only examples.
However, Uzbek citizens are afraid of being shot in case they dare to ask for more freedom. As results of the online survey show [ru], nearly 85 per cent of the population is sure that the president would order to shoot people in case they go onto the streets. This assurance can be explained by the 2005 Andijan massacre, when the president Karimov ordered to shoot at the protesters – including women and children – who had been holding a peaceful rally.
User “a” thinks [ru] that even if revolution happens in Uzbekistan, it would hardly change the people’s life much:
Today the revolution should be arranged in everyone’s life – it’s about education, professional and personal development. Only then one can influence any long-term processes. And social upheavals that involve uneducated masses cannot solve problems. No crutches can help if a person doesn’t want to stand up and go.

author: Ekaterina


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Bhutan: Memories Of Bangladesh · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dorji Wangchuk accompanied His Majesty the King of Bhutan on a tour to Bangladesh to attend its 40th Independence celebrations. The blogger shares his impressions on Bangladesh and the Bangladeshis.


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Burkina Faso: Mutinous Soldiers Ransack Mayor and Minister’s Home  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Grioo reports that the homes of the Chief of the army, the minister of interior and the mayor of Ouagadougou were pillaged by soldiers(fr) outraged at the condemnation of one of their own after the death of student Justin Zongo. The opposition is asking for Campaore to resign (fr) and Air France has cancelled all flights to Burkina Faso (fr) next week.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Côte d’Ivoire: Who is in Control of RTI State Television? · Global Voices
Julie Owono

This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011.
Confusion surrounds the question of who is currently in control of the Radio Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI), the Ivorian national television station.
On March 31, the Republican Forces (FRCI) rebels loyal to Internationally recognised president Alassane Ouattara entered Abidjan, the main city of Côte d'Ivoire. When they reached the RTI's headquarters they were faced with resistance from Gagbo's Defense and Security Forces (FDS). The national television station is mockingly referred to as “Propaganda TV” or “LMP TV” because of the preconception that it favors President Laurent Gbagbo, who denies he lost an election in December 2010 and refuses to step down. RTI has become the stage for a war of control.
The signal was first cut for 24 hours, and on April 1, 2011 Directscoop, a citizen information blog focused on Africa, announced [fr] that the signal of the channel was back:
La Radiodiffusion télévision ivoirienne ( Rti) a recommencé à diffuser son signal vendredi peu après 19 heures
Wanyu, a reader, commented:
Un long metrage de Damon : « LA VENGEANCE DANS LA PEAU » est diffusé en ce moment sur la RTI.
Infodabidjan.net [fr], a news website, posted on its YouTube profile this citizen video shot on April 1, 2011:
The caption under the video explains:
Premieres images de la RTI après sa liberation
A large Facebook group called “The Comittee for the struggle against French interference in Côte d'Ivoire” (Comité de lutte contre l'ingérance Française en Côte d'Ivoire) [fr] gathers roughly 6720 pro-Gbagbo members, shared the video of the RTI's April 2, TV News edition: Militants of the FDS are shown reading a press release, explaining that they were attacked by Ouattara's forces, backed by the United Nations Office in Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI). They also said the situation at the RTI – as well as in Abidjan – is now under control, and that people should go about their lives as usual.
On Twitter, citizens reacted to this intervention immediately:
@Gare_au_gorille was outraged:
@Gare_au_gorille: la RTI veut 1 bouclier humain en ne relayant pas couvre feu #civ2010 > RESTEZ CHEZ VOUS et faites passer le mot !!!
@JusticeJFK also:
@JusticeJFK: Intervenant FDS sur la RTI: “nous appelons les populations à vaquer normalement à leurs occupations”. Quelle irresponsabilité!!!
“The committee for the struggle against French interference in Côte d'Ivoire” shared another video, shot the morning of April 2 in the RTI's offices, and as a proof that the state television was now controlled by the pro-Gbagbo FDS. It was re-posted on Youtube by AfricaWeWish:
Stéphane Kassi, an RTI employee explains what happened on Thursday March 31, 2011:
Le jeudi (…) Suite à l'alerte de l'attaque de la rébellion, nous avons essayés de faire un repli, au niveau de la cité qui est en face se trouve à côté (…) Nous ne sommes pas agents de la régie, mais nous avons fait de notre mieux. (…) Les combats ont eu lieu , et nous avons réussi à nous terrer quelque part jusqu'à ce qu'on ait pu nous exfiltrer. Ce matin nous sommes là, comme le pays nous le demande, Nous sommes là pour défendre notre patrie.”
This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011.


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East Timor: Parliament to use Portuguese language · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The East Timor Parliament announced that it will use the Portuguese language in plenary sessions at least once a month. A blogger reacts: “It would be like the Australian or United States or English legislatures publishing new laws in Japanese.”

author: Mong Palatino


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Hungary: Speeding through new constitution · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum discusses why Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, is speeding through with the adoption of a new constitution.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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India: Celebrating The Cricket World Cup Win · Global Voices
Rezwan

At the midnight of 2nd/3rd April 2011 many Indians are out on the streets of all the cities, towns and villages celebrating their team's winning of the Cricket World Cup 2011. Jaya Jha at Miles to go notices that the things that bring people together are mostly not the ones that would intellectually be considered most important for the society but are apparently trivial.

author: Rezwan


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Indonesian Football Mired in Controversy · Global Voices
Tikno

Indonesian football continues to be mired in controversy. First, there were demonstrations against the nomination of Nurdin Halid as chair of Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia or PSSI  (Indonesian Football Association). Then a brawl resulted in the cancellation of the PSSI congress in Pekanbaru. But the most serious problem was the emergence of a breakaway football league last January: Liga Primer Indonesia or LPI (Indonesia Premier League).
LPI has a vision to make Indonesian football more professional and independent. It will not ask funds from the government.
Supporters of Indonesian football team, Persiba Bantul. Image by Flickr user Paserbumi Bantul (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
The PSSI recognizes the Indonesia Super League or ISL but not the LPI. In fact the PSSI cancelled the membership of the three big clubs which joined the games sponsored by LPI. It also imposed sanctions on national team members who played in the LPI competition.
Fortunately, the government through the Minister of Youth and Sports Andi Malarangeng approved the LPI competition by declaring that it does not violate the country's rules and regulations. This allowed LPI to continue with the competition; and even the police finally gave permission for the LPI games.
What are the reactions of Indonesian netizens to the power scramble among football groups and leaders?
Catatanbujangan blog reminds PSSI that Indonesia has not yet won a medal from international games:
Tahun 1991 sampai dengan sekarang Indonesia paceklik gelar. Tak ada medali emas yang berhasil diraih, bahkan pada ajang Piala Tiger yang sekarang berganti nama menjadi AFF, kita belum pernah jadi juara.
Blogger “Pustaka Langit Biru” even said that PSSI is now hit by severe chaos.
Menegpora Andi Malarangeng membekukan kepengurusan PSSI dan otomatis PSSI tidak boleh diberi anggaran oleh negara. Kubu Nurdin Halid balik menyerang Andi Malarangeng, dan meminta agar menteri itu dipecat dari jabatannya.
Gresnews football reported that this case has gone international:
Dalam sebuah kolom yang dituliskan di ESPNSPORT.com, Jesse Fink menilai FIFA sebaiknya turun tangan dalam memperbaiki sepakbola Indonesia. Ini menurutnya adalah langkah untuk menyelamatkan sepakbola Indonesia.
And at Yahoo Answers, someone asked:
“Mengapa prestasi sepakbola Indonesia sangat jelek, Padahal olahraga ini populer di Indonesia?”
Twitter user Slamet Nurul Anwar suggests that LPI and PSSI should work together to improve Indonesian football:
LPI dan PSSI harusnya berdampingan bukan berseberangan, kasihan rakyat rindu dengan tontonan bola nasional yang bagus dan berkualitas.”
Blogger Multibrand blames the football leadership in the country
Under PSSI's above immature leadership, it is difficult to expect our football team would perform maturely thus better than they used to be..

author: Tikno


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Japan: JPRI Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

An Italian student at the University of San Francisco produced a video [ita, en] to help the victims of the Tohoku earthquake. In the video Caterina explains how to make donations through the JPRI Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan: Machine Civilization  · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Pinktentacle presented [en] the latest coreographed video by World Order, the performance group led by former martial artist Genki Sudo. The video is called  Machine Civilization and is a message of hope for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami.
“The unprecedented disasters unfolding in Japan; earthquakes, tsunami, and nuclear explosions, will somehow change things to come […] The world is not going to change. Each one of us will change. And if we do, then yes, the world will be changed. It is darkest right before the dawn. Let's all rise up to welcome the morning that will be so very bright for mankind.”


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Japan: Plutonium, Our Reliable Friend · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Professor Yuji Ankei posted on Youtube a rare version of the animated video called Mr. Pluto, our reliable friend – Story of plutonium (頼れる仲間プルト君——プルトニウム物語).  The video, that was later withdrawn, was made in the 1990s by the Japanese Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation and “tries to convince younger generations that Plutonium is not so dangerous as you imagine or many anti-nuclear activists insist.” Pinktentacle provided a detailed summary of the video in English.


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Pakistan: Resettling The Flood Affected · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chapati Mystery introduces the ‘Resettling the Indus’ project, which is an initiative of professionals from Pakistan dedicated to resettle the victims of last years devastating floods.


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Russia-Estonia: Renaming the Bronze Soldier · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user jurialhaz comments on [RUS] how Estonia has renamed the Tallinn Bronze Soldier monument – the object of the 2007 bilateral dispute with Russia – into “Monument to the soldiers of the Soviet army, who occupied Tallinn on 22 September 1944.”


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Slovakia: The Roma People, “Livin’ On the Edge” · Global Voices
Tibor Blazko

An illegal Roma settlement in Slovakia. Photo by Flickr user matýsek/Matus Kacmar (CC BY 2.0)
One of the major ethnic minorities in Central Europe are the Gypsy/Roma/Romani people. It is unclear how many of them live in Slovakia, because often they label themselves as ethnic Slovaks or ethnic Hungarians in the polls.
They arrived centuries ago here, and even though this is their home, they're not fully integrated with the majority. In the Slovak language, for example, “to gypsy” (cigániť) means “to lie.” On the other hand, they are popular for their dynamic music and, historically, they've been considered excellent blacksmiths and horse herders.
Traditionally, they've been living in their own communities, some of them as nomads. They survived various assimilation initiatives, some of which would be deemed unacceptable today. During World War II, from 220,000 to 1,500,000 Romani were killed by the Nazis.
During the socialist era, nomadic way of life was prohibited, and instead of their wagons and ghettos, the Roma received new flats. One of Slovakia's largest and best-known Roma neighborhoods is Luník 9 in Košice.
After the fall of communism, the poorly educated members of the Roma community became the first victims of unemployment. Unable to pay their bills, some of them left their flats and created illegal colonies, with no access to public services, such as electricity, sewage and garbage collection.
They also grew to rely on social benefits a lot. One of the common majority stereotypes is that the Roma “have many children because of the related benefits” – even though a large share of children in foster homes are Roma.
Poverty leads to increase in crime. People living near the Roma colonies are unable to enjoy fruits of their work in gardens and fields, and even trees in national parks are being cut illegally. Children and old people are being robbed, often by the Roma youngsters who cannot be prosecuted. Real estate located close to Roma neighborhoods is quickly losing value. Some people are trying to defend themselves. In the village of Ostrovany, for example, a wall was erected between the Roma neighoborhood and the rest of the village – but it proved useless, because young thieves were able to get over it.
The media tend to focus a lot more on the problematic members of the minority than on the ordinary Roma, while some people in the majority population tend to believe that most of the unpleasant facts about the minorities are concealed to keep “social harmony.”
Fortunately, along with the state's positive discrimination, various non-governmental organizations are working with the Roma, visiting them regularly, teaching them how to deal with money and highlighting the importance of educating their children. The work done by Jozef Červeň (SLO), a Catholic priest from Luník 9, is a good example of this kind of effort.
A Roma settlement in Moldava nad Bodvou, East Slovakia. This place, called The Hole, is outside the city. In the newer part of it, there are newly-built one-room houses for one family. Some of them are clean, colorful and nice. Others are dirty and very poor. In the old part, there is one block of dilapidated flats, as well as many shacks, made of different kinds of materials. Photo by Terra, copyright © Demotix (08/22/2009).
But life could be hard even for the educated and otherwise “mainstream” members of the Roma community.
Blogger Janette Maziniova (SLO) spoke about her experiences in an interview (SLO) with SME.sk. Her problems started in elementary school, when her family moved to a different city and no one wanted to be friends with her. Even her teacher would reserve the seat next to her for bad students. As an adult, Maziniova failed to keep the job of a door-to-door insurance seller – because of the color of her skin. A waiter at a restaurant once refused to serve her – until she started speaking French to him.
On the other hand, Silvia Šarköziová, a successful musician, said she had only encountered indirect racism (SLO). She recalled, for example, how her daughter had to persuade her friends she was a Gypsy, because they did not believe someone like her could be one.
According to media reports, the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), is filing a complaint with the European Commission regarding Slovakia’s failure to remove all forms of racial discrimination. Miroslav Lacko, head of the Košice branch of ENAR's Slovak branch, said (SLO) that “racism in Slovakia has become part of everyday life” and cited as an example the construction of a new segregated colony for the Roma, financed by the Slovak government with the knowledge and money of the EU. “It is concentration camp surrounded by a fence,” Lacko said.
ENAR's initiative has been widely commented on in the Slovak online space.
Blogger Zuzana Panáková wrote (SLO):
Every activist speaking about discrimination should buy a small house in one of those villages in Eastern Slovakia, where Gypsies make up at least 60% of the population, and live off nothing else but the fruits of the earth he would plant himself. Only after this such an activist would have the right to complain, provided he still feels it is reasonable. […] After one year in such conditions I will ask him the following questions: […] What part of the planted produce ended up reaching the activist's table? Do you have a dog or another animal? Do you have tear gas or a knife in your pocket? […]
Below are some of the comments to the SME.sk article (SLO) about ENAR.
mar9:
I also have a fence around my house. Does it make it a concentration camp? Does this gentleman know the difference between a concentration camp and a fenced-off ground? The answer is simple – the former has watch towers and guards. […]
PanoramixPN:
I fully agree that there is racism in Slovakia. What I disagree with is the statement of who the victim of that racism is. The victims are white as well as the integrated Roma, who the state does not protect from criminal activity of the non-integrable part of the Roma community. […]
thomas9:
Obviously, Lacko knows nothing about concentration camps, otherwise he would say that Gypsies in Slovakia are quite well compared to the Czech Republic or Hungary, where some of them are getting killed or burned. […]
Zix.exe:
[…] I'm of mixed ancestry, and from the first look people think I'm from some [wild] tribe, but I've never encountered racism when I was searching for work, not even at any office, it is simply nonsense, and also the Gypsies I know, they live as normal people […]. Of course, somewhere at a bar or at a disco, it happens that people have prejudices, but let them stare and talk, who cares… […]
Could someone explain to me WHAT Slovakia owes to the Gypsies? WHAT Europe owes to them? Whose fault is it that they live like animals? More Jews died in World War II, and no one is giving them anything. [The Roma] have been here for hundreds of years already, they did not come here yesterday, and they still live this way.
As I've already said here, I have Gypsies in my family, but I do not understand how they can live this way, in that dirt, without schools, what kind of life is it?
My grandmother had her own house, a garden and was keeping animals, my grandfather played music at dance parties and they had as much money as the “whites.” My grandmother had four children and all attended school in the capital city, which cost a lot at the time. […]
[…]
And, because I'm genetically half-Gypsy, I'm interested if the pro-minorities gentleman would like to pay my mortgage, car leasing or whether the state would buy me land and a house […]. […] I work like crazy […] for 500 euro, and no one comes to my door – just to those who in their lives have never worked […]. […]
anfield road nema rad cenzuru:
If in this complaint France's deportation of foreigners will also be noted, then I don't see a problem with Slovakia also being mentioned.
Timmy_A:
I think that such accusations will make this hatred deeper rather than soften it.
xeon:
The next thing about Gypsies would that the “whites” would not give them jobs. The situation with employment in Slovakia is bad (the further east, the worse). It did happen to me once that I had to sign up at the [unemployment office]. I was visiting that place for about two months until I found a job (that I still have after many years). Every visit to that office was the same – sign it here, here and here … unfortunately, we have no job … come sign again in two weeks. Just once it was different – when I was signing the papers […] a Gypsy woman broke into the room with her husband and started hitting the table: “Give me a job! I want work!” The officer told her what she was telling everyone else – that, unfortunately, there was no work. After that, the Gypsy [told] her husband to “shoot it with the camera. They do not want to give me a job – discrimination! We're going to England [to seek asylum]!” I felt like a participant of a reality show.
rippen:
Slovaks=racists
I don't believe this – even at dance parties, Gypsy music is being played and Slovaks love it and dance to it.
zmok1:
Most Slovaks have nothing against orderly Gypsies… And the biggest fun is that aggressive, asocial parasites spit not just upon non-Gypsies, but also on other Gypsies who are well-behaved and socialised. I would be glad when gentlemen and ladies from human rights organizations explain this phenomenon – are these Gypsies racists as well?
123abc:
Unbelievable. The state will build new houses for free and will move those people there who now live in conditions I would not wish even to animals. Mr. Lacko can see discrimination in it and he is even going to complain to Brussels about it.

author: Tibor Blazko


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Southeast Asia: Media Says Sorry Over ‘Insensitive’ Japan Posts · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

This post is part of our special coverage Japan Earthquake 2011.
Singapore’s MediaCorp, Thailand’s The Nation, and Malaysia’s Berita Harian – all belonging to mainstream media in their respective countries – were forced to apologize to the public for publishing ‘insensitive’ articles about the Japan earthquake/tsunami disaster.
MediaCorp’s email to advertisers, sent a few hours after the Japan quake, was leaked in the internet
Screenshot of email sent by MediaCorp. From the blog of Mr. Brown
Be a Part of Channel NewsAsia’s Breaking News Coverage on the Japan Tsunami
Channel NewsAsia: Massive Tsunami Hits Japan after Massive Quake
A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake shook Japan in the early afternoon today, unleashing a powerful tsunami that wrecked havoc along the streets of coastal towns. Book your spots in the Weekday Evening News Bundle as the channel brings viewers comprehensive coverage reports on the disaster with extended versions of news bulletins tonight.
… Call our sales representatives now!”
MediaCorp owns TV network Channel NewsAsia, which is dominant in Singapore. Mr Edwin Koh, Senior Vice-President, Marketing & Sales Planning, issued this apology after the controversial email became public:
“We apologize unreservedly if we had been seen to be insensitive to the gravity of the situation. The staff concerned has been counseled to be more circumspect; we hope the public will be forgiving and we can focus our attention and efforts on the affected victims of this most unfortunate tragedy.”
The Nation, an English broadsheet in Bangkok, published this cartoon featuring the Grim Reaper immediately after the quake/tsunami tragedy in Japan.
The paper apologized after readers complained about the cartoon
This is to express our sincerest apology for Tuesday paper's editorial cartoon that many find improper or insensitive due to its overzealous depiction of the tsunami as killer waves and linkage to Japan.
The Nation deeply regrets the fact that the cartoon, which followed the artist's other work in which he shared his grief with the Japanese earthquake and tsunami victims, has offended several readers.
The Nation always cherishes freedom of expression on our op-ed pages. However, every issue is different in nature and we promise to treat each properly, with full ethics and professionalism.
The cartoonist, Stephff (Stephane Peray), also apologized
As the author of the cartoon published on Tuesday, March 15 in The Nation, I would like to sincerely apologise to all readers of The Nation, especially Japanese readers, if the image caused offence.
Any offence caused was totally unintended as I always try to be careful when I draw about natural catastrophies. I did this particular cartoon in a hurry after The tsunami on Friday and we weren't quite aware of the full extent of the tragedy at that time. The Grim Reaper is not meant to be understood as a humorous character and is often used in editorial cartoons in the West to signify a tragedy involving loss of life. But I quite agree that on this occasion this cartoon was inappropriate and something softer should have been used. Once again I apologise to those who felt hurt by this cartoon and particularly to the Japanese expatriates in Thailand. No insensitivity was ever intended.
The cartoon published by Malaysian paper Berita Harian featuring the Japanese TV icon Ultraman immediately generated criticism in the internet
The paper apologized on its social network sites
“We apologise for the publication of the cartoon in Berita Minggu. We had no intention of poking fun at the disaster that has befallen the nation of Japan and its people.
“In fact, we greatly sympathise with their plight and share the sorrow of the Japanese people,”
A petition was circulated by Malaysian netizens condemning the cartoon. Blogger universal, from Malaysia, thinks that an apology is not enough
How other country is going to view us when they pick up this news?! Tasteless and absolutely pathetic!! Poking fun at people's misfortune is not funny at all, and make urself like a dumb clown.
An apology is not good enough. People have to learn how to be accountable for their wrong doing and not be protected all the time. This is a very serious mistake; it is insulting to the Japanese and also brings shame to the whole nation.
The ‘Tao’ of Teoism, from Singapore, is not satisfied with the apology issued by MediaCorp
It is a sad, opportunistic and demeaning email that was send over the approval of their marketing team, and THIS IS THE BEST APOLOGY THEY CAN COME OUT WITH? You probably hanged a junior staff member out to dry, while conveniently ignoring the fact that such emails have to go out with the approval of the senior management? I can't believe that an email like this was not vetted by management before release. Shouldn't their management be held accountable too? In other countries, the manager in charge of this will probably have been demoted or sacked but cos this this high and mighty Mediacorp, the only action taken is “counseling for the staff concerned?” WTF is this???
Life in rural Thailand notes that in the past, newspaper editors would not be quick to apologize over similar matters
I think people get confused with the word cartoon. Some people think all cartoons are meant to be funny. They are not. A cartoon drawing can also represent current public figures or issues symbolically.
One thing I am know is that you can never please everybody in the newspaper game, never ever. Editors these days are too quick to apologise and pander to the whim of politicians and social commentators. In my day we would only ever apologise if we got the facts wrong. These two papers I just mentioned did not get the facts wrong, they simply showed the facts in a different format – but were they really that insensitive?
The Lost Boy criticizes The Nation
The Nation is often criticized. I regularly lay into some of the WTFs that grace the paper's FUBAR-laden website, but I don't think anything has ever made me question The Nation's integrity like this editorial cartoon from yesterday.
This post is part of our special coverage Japan Earthquake 2011.