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Live Streaming at Trinidad & Tobago Carnival Brings Issue of Copyright Infringement Into Focus · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Screenshot of a YouTube video featuring the Carnival 2016 Parade of the Bands in Trinidad And Tobago.
Now that the dust of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival 2017 has settled and commentators have conducted their own post-mortems, one issue remains at the cross section of Carnival and the social media landscape — live streaming.
The question of whether it is legal to live stream content like concerts and other paid-for events came to the fore after one netizen, Theresa Coutain, live streamed Machel Monday, arguably the most popular concert event of the Carnival calendar.
The 2017 edition of the concert was particularly star-studded, featuring artists belting out the season's greatest hits as well as old-school dancehall and dub icons. Among soca lovers who couldn't afford the high ticket prices, Coutain rapidly became “Saint Theresa” in lieu for bringing the noise to their computers and mobile phones.
But in an industry that relies on ticket sales and paid broadcast rights to get paid, are live streamers actually breaking the law, or are they off the hook if they do not make a profit from it?
One intellectual property lawyer, Nigel Trancoso, jump-started a lot of public discussion when he said in a newspaper interview that the most the promoter could do in the case of Machel Monday was write Coutain a letter advising her about intellectual property issues — including composer and performer rights — as well as “the moral issues surrounding the streaming”.
He maintained that as long as the streamer was motivated by a “love of culture and a desire to put it on display for the world”, there are no current legal consequences under Trinidad and Tobago's existing legislation, unless the promoter can “prove a causal link between the streaming live and a reduction in the patronage” at next year's event.
The Intellectual Property Office of Trinidad and Tobago subsequently issued a press release to counter this argument:
Anyone rebroadcasting an entire live simulcast is committing copyright infringement and can be subject to substantial fines. It matters not whether you are doing it for ‘for money or for love’. There is no distinction at law. […] The best approach in determining whether your broadcast is violating copyright law is to simply use your common sense. If you paid to enter a venue and watch the content, that content is likely protected by copyright. Good examples include If you live stream an entire movie in the theater, or you are at a music concert for example, you are likely violating copyright law by streaming the event for others to ‘take a view’.
Other experts concur. Dr. Emir Crowne, a barrister and senior lecturer, at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, submitted a post to the popular website Wired868, saying:
A national newspaper carried a story that suggested that live streaming Carnival events—the Machel Monday concert in particular—was not illegal. That is simply untrue. […]
First, live streaming an entire concert, or a substantial part of it, is an infringement of copyright. The profit motive is immaterial in terms of the actual infringement.
Section 21 of Trinidad’s Copyright Act, among other things, expressly gives the performer the exclusive right to broadcast and rebroadcast his/her performance. […]
Indeed, small snippets of the broadcast undoubtedly qualify under the ‘news reporting’ provisions of the Copyright Act. But that’s it. There is absolutely no exception, or limitation, in our intellectual property laws that would sanction the live streaming of the entire Machel Monday concert.
Crowne went on to explain that “Trinidad and Tobago’s intellectual property laws are quite modern” and “compliant with our obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)” putting the country's intellectual property laws on par with most other countries.
Attorney and Global Voices contributor Jason Nathu also weighed in on the topic on his blog:
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Periscope now give users the options to broadcast ‘live’ to their timeline. While this live streaming option has been praised in providing unique perspectives for current events and breaking news, the ability to ‘go live’ has provided more opportunities for infringement of copyright laws and the showcasing of illegal content.
Because the technology is available to almost everyone does not mean that persons can willy-nilly use their smart devices to broadcast anything that they want.
Referring to the country's Copyright Act, Nathu noted that live events do not always “fall neatly” into typical intellectual property categories:
Generally the organizers of an event would take measures to restrict access to the venue in which the event occurs. Media companies are awarded licences to cover such events, whether that coverage be live or delayed. Patrons to such events are sold tickets, which are subject to terms and conditions. The ticket forms the basis of a contract between the organizer and the patron. A patron who therefore uses his device to film or broadcast the event to a non-patron would almost certainly be in breach of that contract, and thus the organizer would be entitled to take legal action […]
Many netizens who watched Coutain's livestream were under the impression that she was not actually at the venue, an assumption which Global Voices is not able to confirm. However, Nathu's post also addressed the topic of streaming from an approved live stream source:
The Act also affords protection to authorized broadcasters of live events against any rebroadcast or communication to the public of its broadcast. Therefore, someone who streams the live broadcast of any event from a television station is guilty of an offence under the Act.
As far as national festivals like Carnival go, however, there are exceptions. Nathu says that in unrestricted venues — such as the Grand Stand of the Queen’s Park Savannah for the Parade of the Bands — live streaming is allowed:
Carnival masqueraders may therefore ‘go live’ once they are in any public place to display their revelry. Of course, persons should be bear in mind that there may be limits on what can be broadcast, such as content that violates the current law as it relates to obscenity and public order.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Malaysian Aid for Rohingya Refugees Reaches Bangladesh and Myanmar, But How Much Can it Do? · Global Voices
Palash Ranjan Sanyal

Undocumented Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh in a clinic funded by the European Commission. Image via Flickr by EC-DG-ECHO. CC: BY-NC-ND 2.0
A Malaysian ship carrying aid for the Rohingya community was granted access by Bangladeshi authorities after they initially refused it entry last month, but the long-term future of the refugees who have fled Myanmar to reach the South Asian country is anything but clear.
Nautical Aliya, an offshore support vessel transporting aid workers and emergency supplies, docked at Chittagong port on February 14 to provide aid to about 70,000 Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar after the Myanmar army began an operation in the Rakhine state where the persecuted Muslim minority is concentrated.
These refugees are a fresh addition to the more than 140,000 Rohingya who were already  living in Bangladesh, having escaped previous waves of state persecution in Myanmar. The ship, nicknamed the ‘food flotilla’ stopped by a Myanmar port to offload some supplies, but the volunteers were not allowed to visit the Rohingya in the country.
#FoodforFlotilla #Flotilla #NauticalAliya pic.twitter.com/blpQeaen87
— Khalil ⚓ (@KhalilBasar) February 9, 2017
The Rohingya Muslims are a stateless Muslim group numbering about 1.1 million from Rakhine with smaller refugee communities in Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia.
The issue of Rohingya refugees has been a serious one for Bangladesh for nearly four decades since the all-powerful military in Myanmar began an anti-Rohingya campaign that declared the minority illegal immigrants (see Global Voices reports here and here). Undocumented Rohingyas living outside the refugee camps in Bangladesh have settled in the towns of Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf.
In October last year, things got worse for the Rohingya after armed insurgents attacked several border police posts, leaving nine police personnel dead. Myanmar forces retaliated by killing dozens of “alleged insurgents”. Unsurprisingly, given the history of the bloody conflict in Rakhine, the counter-insurgency operation saw reports of wide-scale human rights violations on the part of the army, including incidents of extrajudicial murder, gang rapes, arson and infanticide.
The most recent wave of Rohingya Muslims to reach Bangladesh did so during this spate of violence in which villages were burnt and, according to an UN report, more than a thousand Rohingya were killed.
As #UN releases damning report into #Rakhine carnage a #mustread: #Myanmar‘s #Rohingya: Truth, lies & #AungSanSuuKyi https://t.co/yS4jXJJR02
— Vibhu Mishra (@bullet350) February 4, 2017
The ‘food flotilla’ humanitarian mission was organised by non-governmental organisations Kelab Putera 1Malaysia (KP1M) and the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisation (MAPIM) and consists of 195 volunteers from more than 30 local and international NGOs from Malaysia and other countries. They carried about 2,300 tons of food, medicines, daily essential goods, clothes and blankets. Most of the funds were raised by a range of charity activities across Malaysia.
Loading up Nautical Aliya #foodflotillaformyanmar #saverohingya https://t.co/PnLaj6g8Zr pic.twitter.com/5E4nx1lNui
— muhammad norizuan (@izuan_rahman) February 2, 2017
The ship first stopped at Yangon port in Myanmar on February 8 and offloaded several containers of relief the following day. A select group of 29 Flotilla volunteers were allowed to disembark from the ship to meet local officials.
Alhamdulilah Sampai Dah di Pelabuhan Yangon Myanmar#NauticalAliya #SafePortYangon#FoodFlotilla #ForMyanmar #Rohingya #Rakhine pic.twitter.com/3zRIgO5HY5
— Iskandar Zulkarnain (@Qar9Salim) February 9, 2017
God bless, safely reached port of Yangon, Mayanmar.
The government of Myanmar did not allow the aid workers to travel to the restricted Rakhine area and assumed responsibility for distributing the aid. Myanmar also initially refused to allow the food flotilla into its waters and has barred it from sailing to Rakhine’s state capital, Sittwe.
#Malaysian organisers of the #nauticalaliya prepare to meet #myanmar officials at #Yangon port. #rohingya #aid pic.twitter.com/Adq1TmrHWQ
— Patrick Lee (@patricklee_msia) February 9, 2017
The #nauticalaliya‘s crane about to lift one of the containers from the ship onto #yangon port. #rohingya #aid #myanmar pic.twitter.com/1nRksnZDkN
— Patrick Lee (@patricklee_msia) February 9, 2017
After that ‘Nautical Aliya’ started towards Bangladesh and made a brief stop at Saint Martin’s Island before reaching Chittagong.
According to original plan, the Fotilla team wanted to deliver the aid to Teknaf, the entry point for most refugees reaching Bangladesh. Teknaf was ruled out by Bangladeshi authorities, however, because of safety factors and difficulties accommodating large ships at the port. Finally, on February 14, the ‘Nautical Aliya’ docked at Chittagong Port in Bangladesh.
The vessel was escorted by two Bangladesh coast guard boats and a Bangladesh Navy vessel. Only 25 volunteers were allowed to visit the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Rohingya refugees gather for aid supplies as the crew of the #NauticalAliya distributes food and hygiene supplies at Kutapalong refugee camp pic.twitter.com/0smREYC64L
— Allison Joyce (@Allison_Joyce) February 16, 2017
From Chittagong medical teams have to travel 4 hours to #rohingya camps to provide medical treatment #FoodFlotillaForMyanmar #nauticalaliya
— CaptRahmat (@CaptRahmat) February 9, 2017
#FoodFlotillaForMyanmar updates: 21) final 4 jumbo bags lifted onto the #nauticalaliya just now #rohingya pic.twitter.com/jFHQs1nb3w
— CaptRahmat (@CaptRahmat) February 16, 2017
On February 23 Nautical Aliya returned to port Klang in Malaysia.
All safe and mission accomplished #FoodFlotilla #NauticalAliya. Thanks Mynmar and Bangladesh Navy for security escort @azeezputera pic.twitter.com/S9Hd1zymqa
— Chief of Navy – PTL (@mykamarul) February 23, 2017
@azeezrahim Well Done Brother And To All Crew Members Of Mission @KP1M ,proud Of Nation#aliya #nauticalaliya https://t.co/UNd51E9OT2 pic.twitter.com/5ftFtWAkvc
— RameshRaoAKS****** (@RameshRaoAKS) February 23, 2017
Bangladesh remains the only country which has repeatedly agreed to allow Rohingya refugees inside its borders. The refugees are sheltered in temporary camps and are surviving with the help of aid and donations from authorities and the local people. The World Food Programme and other local NGOs have pledged food and emergency medical aid support.
Bangladesh has refused to register the latest influx of Rohingya as refugees, however, effectively waiving any legal obligation to them. The government maintains that as Bangladesh is overpopulated with little or no form of social security for its own citizens, it simply is not in the position to host refugees indefinitely. There are also reports of a controversial government plan to relocate tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees to an to an uninhabitable remote island in the Bay of Bengal.
In 2015, the Thai and Malaysian navies both turned away refugee boats carrying Rohingyas fleeing Myanmar, who had to return to Bangladesh. Indonesia took some refugees but they were kept in detention camps without permission to work, and the Southeast Asian country subsequently refused to accept any more.
Experts have accused the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of failing to tackle the crisis adequately. Until countries take action to halt the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar and accept refugees in greater numbers, the embattled group will be forced to depend on International relief and initiatives like the Food Flotilla for day-to-day survival.
“You can’t have these people float around until they die.” ASEAN, take in Rohingya Muslims! http://t.co/7KmZSsY40y pic.twitter.com/rV3PdB5txT
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) May 15, 2015

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Palash Ranjan Sanyal


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In China’s Shadow: Will Taiwanese Universities Sell Out Academic Freedom? · Global Voices
New Bloom

University professor Fan Yun holds a placard saying “I am Fan Yun of National Taiwan University, Academic Freedom is not for sale.” Photo credit: Fan Yun via News Bloom.
The original post was written by Brian Hioe and originally published on New Bloom on March 7. The following edited version is republished on Global Voices in accordance with a content partnership agreement.
The recent revelation that at least 80 of Taiwan’s 157 universities have signed agreements with China promising not to discuss unification/independence issues or the issue of “one China, one Taiwan” in class has rocked Taiwanese society in the past week.
Among these universities are Taiwan’s leading educational institutions, including National Tsing Hua University, National Chengchi University, and others, as well as both public and private institutions.
Schools, however, argue that signing the agreement does not imply that they agree to the “One China Principle”, which states that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.
The issue of unification/independent has been an arena of political contest in high school education as the elementary education curriculum and textbooks have to be approved by the Ministry of Education. The attempt made by the former ruling Kuomingtang party to push for a revision of history framing Taiwan and China as a single political entity since the Ming Dynasty in high school classrooms saw the Ministry of Education occupied by protesters in August 2015.
Nevertheless, it has generally been assumed that Taiwanese universities enjoy freedom of speech as the teachers and professors have the freedom to design their curriculum. The university agreements with China, hence, have taken many by surprise.
Taiwanese university professors such as Fan Yun of the Social Democratic Party and former Shih Hsin University president Lai Ting-ming organized a petition condemning the university agreements.
University associations including the National Taiwan University Student Association and the National Taiwan University Graduate Student Association have issued a joint statement to condemn the secret deal.
Furthermore, an online campaign has been organized calling on university students and professors to take photos of themselves holding signs that state their name, affiliation, and that “Academic freedom is not for sale”.
Yet, taking into the account of the current condition of tertiary education industry in Taiwan, the agreement is not at all surprising.
University administrations have a tendency to maintain good relations with China in order to attract Chinese exchange students, who constitute not insubstantial numbers on the campuses of some universities.
Against the background of Taiwan’s declining birthrate, university administrations have to make sure that they have enough student enrollment to keep the schools running. As the agreement suggests, academic freedom seems to be the cost for keeping the schools in operation by attracting Chinese students .
For Taiwanese universities that aspire towards big profits, more mainland Chinese students implies more revenue, since in some schools, mainland Chinese students have to pay close to double the tuition of Taiwanese students.
The logic behind the agreement trading off academic freedom thus similar to the sale of Taiwan media companies to Chinese groups. Both the freedom of press and academic freedom has a price tag on them.
At the same time, the fact that Chinese students, along with other international students studying in Taiwan, have been active participants in the Sunflower Movement and other independence-leaning social movements, have made China anxious about its young generation being exposed too much to new ideas and political activism.
Beijing has reason to be wary. More recently, some Chinese students studying in Taiwan have participated in Taiwan's LGBT movement, and some have made critical remarks regarding Chinese state policies. The university agreements can be viewed as a measure to keep mainland Chinese students away from pro-independence sentiment.
In reaction to public concern over the universities secret agreements with Beijing, the Ministry of Education stressed that it would ensure that Chinese exchange students can continue to study in Taiwan, and that academic freedom would be protected.
Many Taiwanese, however, have an unsettling feeling they are being sold out.

author: New Bloom


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Jaysh Al-Islam Is Leading Peace Talks in Geneva, While Clamping Down on Speech in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta · Global Voices
Salma Essam

A photo in Ghouta inciting hate against writers in Freedom Raise Magazine. It reads: “Writers of ‘Freedom Raise’ magazine in Eastern Ghouta that explicitly promotes heresy on its land.. Together to dislodge these people; send them to trial, and shut their offices. Photo Source: Yassin Al Haj Saleh
Jaysh Al Islam, a Syrian opposition group that runs the Eastern Ghouta region a stone's throw away from the capital city Damascus, has shut down a magazine and five well-known civil society organisations, according to activists working in the region.
The apparent clampdown comes as Jaysh Al Islam's leader Mohammad Alloush leads a delegation representing Syria's fractured opposition at the United Nations in peace talks with Bashar al-Assad's government.
War-torn Syria is divided into areas held by forces allied to Assad's regime and areas held by forces allied to secular or Islamist rebel groups (such as Jaysh Al Islam). Kurdish groups and ISIS also control parts of the country.
The clampdown comes after ‘Rising for Freedom‘ Magazine (طلعنا عالحرية), also known as RFM, published an article titled, “Carry Me, Dad”, which was deemed offensive and blasphemous by some protesters, who stormed and vandalised the magazine's offices. The protesters demanded that the magazine's staff be put on trial and that their offices be closed. Jaysh Al Islam soon complied. But their crackdown is broad and extends to organisations that have no affiliation with RFM.
As news of Jaysh Al Islam clamping down on the magazine and civil organisations in Eastern Ghouta spread, Waseem Al Ahmad, a Syrian activist based in Damascus, wrote:
“لا تقتلوا الثورة والعمل المدني في الغوطة فهي من المناطق القليلة التي نتباها بها
ونحدث بها أمام شعوب العالم عن ثورتنا السلمية التي خرجنا بها من أجل الحرية والعدالة”
Don't kill the revolution and the civil work in Ghouta. This is one of the few areas which we brag and talk about to the world as a place that witnessed the emergence of our peaceful revolution, fighting for freedom and justice.
Assad and his father ruled all of Syria for 45 years through heavy censorship, mass surveillance and systematic human rights abuses, before widespread protests erupted in 2011 demanding reforms at first and then regime change. Assad refused to step down, sending Syria into a six-year conflict that has killed almost half a million people, displaced half the population and splintered control over the country.
In response, RFM announced that it will suspend its activities within Syria until further notice:
في أعقاب التطورات الأخيرة التي أعقبت الاحتجاج على نشر مقال “يا بابا شيلني” للكاتب شوكت غرز الدين في العدد 86 من مجلة طلعنا عالحرية، قررت إدارة المجلة إيقاف نشاطها في الداخل السوري، وإيقاف التوزيع الورقي إلى حين البت في الأمر عبر المحكمة.
In the wake of recent developments that followed the protest against our publication of ‘Carry Me, Dad’ by the author Shawkat Garzeddin, in issue number 86 of [RFM] we have decided to suspend our activities within Syria and stop distribution pending the decision of the court.
Besides Rising for Freedom Magazine, the organisations impacted by the clampdown are: Violations Documentation Center, The Day After: Supporting a Democratic Transition in Syria, Local Development and Small-Projects Support, and the Hurras Network for Child Protection. These are all well-known organisations operating in the Eastern Ghouta region, especially within Douma city, which is 10 kilometres from Damascus.
According to activists, the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), a network of approximately 70 coordination groups that play a key role in organising anti-regime demonstrations and disseminating information about the revolution, has also been ordered to cease operations, too.
The broad clampdown comes after 70 protesters showed up on the morning of Tuesday, March 7, 2017 outside the offices of RFM, threatening to break in. Jaysh Al Islam's police refused to intervene, and asked employees to evacuate their offices instead.
According to a statement released by 16 Syrian organisations, including the five organisations that have been shuttered, this is what happened next:
At 4 PM, when the staff of the NGOs left, they encountered protesters with melee weapons. Soon after, a small group arrived with signs and tools for vandalizing, and they subsequently stormed the building, vandalizing furniture and office equipment, tearing down the NGOs’ signs and posters inside their offices. They wrote threats on the doors and outside the building before fleeing.
A day later the Jaysh Al-Islam-controlled Prosecutor General in Douma issued a statement that ordered RFM to close, along with the five other organisations, many of which have no affiliation with RFM:
All offices of the Rising for Freedom Magazine, Hurras Network for Child Protection, and any affiliated organisation or magazine will be closed until they face a judicial hearing.” The decision also instructed “to send a statement to the local administration in Douma to close the offices and seal them shut, and write a report” about the situation.
Syrian activist and member of ‘Hurras’ Aous Al Mubarak explained on Facebook, that despite Hurras insisting that it has no ties to the magazine, the general prosecution would not change its mind:
تسكرت المكاتب بأمر من النيابة العامة (بالقضاء التابع لجيش الإسلام) اللي وصلتها دعوى من الحسبة (هيئة الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر التابعة لجيش الإسلام) ضد شبكة حراس الطفولة بسبب مقالة بطلعنا عالحرية!
قلنالهن للي جايين ينفذوا الأوامر من الشرطة (التابعة لجيش الإسلام) إنو شبكة حراس الطفولة مجلتها هي طيارة ورق ومالهن علاقة بمجلة طلعنا عالحرية. لكن أصروا على الإغلاق لكل المكاتب، مو بس شبكة حراس، مكتب التنمية ومركز توثيق الانتهاكات. كان واضح إنو الموضوع سياسي ضد كل هالمؤسسات. …
كل عمرهن متضايقين من وجودنا ومن المبادئ اللي عم نشتغل عليها بالحرية والعدالة والمساواة وفصل السلطات والانتخابات العامة، متضايقين من نجاحنا. بس اليوم قرروا ينهوا كل شي وما عاد يسمحوا لتيارات مختلفة عنهن تشتغل.
مبروك عليكن الحزب القائد للدولة والمجتمع وكل شمة هوا بهالبلد.
General prosecution of Jaysh Al Islam has received a litigation from the “Committee for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” to shut down the offices of Hurras for an article published in Freedom Raise magazine. We said the magazine is not part of the network explaining that ‘Kite/tayyara waraa’ is our affiliate magazine, but in vain. Not only did they close the network's office but the Center for Development and Documentation of Violations as well. The opposition against all these institutions comes due to clear political reasons. They have long disliked our presence and the principles of our work; freedom, justice, equality,division of power, and general elections. They disfavor our success but today they decided to end everything. They no more approve of diverse political orientations, those that do not conform with their ideals. Congratulations for seizing control of Syria, the society and every single being in this country.
Highly controversial among activists, Jaysh Al Islam is considered by many to be behind the kidnapping of well-known activists Samira Al-Khalil, Razan Zaitouneh, Wael Hammadeh and Nazem Hammadi, collectively known as the ‘Douma Four‘, on the evening of December 9, 2013, in Douma, Eastern Ghouta. The four are still missing to this day. At the time, Jaysh Al Islam was led by Mohammad Alloush's cousin, Zahran Alloush, until the latter's death in an airstrike in 2015.
Campaign poster for the Douma Four. Source: Douma Four Campaign Website.
Syrian activists were quick to condemn the move. In a Facebook post, activist Loubna Mrie said:
My problem with the opposition delegation to Geneva can be summarized by the following: Currently I am being represented, against my will, by Muhammad Alloush, whose Jaysh al Islam proudly put civilians in cages as human shields and have a long history of kidnapping and harassing activists. While Alloush is in Geneva pretending to speak for Syria’s revolutionaries, his thugs are attacking the very revolutionaries he should be speaking for. Today his loyalists shut down the offices of civil society activists because his group didn't like what the activists wrote in one of their articles.
She then went on to say that:
There will be no peace without accountability for all war crimes committed by all sides of the conflict. The people living in Eastern Damascus under regime bombs an the oppressive rule of Jaysh al Islam do not have the option of speaking out. Those of us who are safe in the west have a responsibility to not let a war criminal represent the voices who called for democracy and freedom of speech. This is just one more mistake committed by our political opposition. We need to reclaim our revolution and not allow the Alloush group to intimidate the political delegation the way it has oppressed the people of Damascus.
Global Voices contributor Sarmade Al Jilane tweeted:
I stand with @freedomraise
Hands off Media centre of ‘Rising for freedom’ magazine
Today closed with threats of detention in Gouta pic.twitter.com/BY369dFdiJ
— Sarmad Al Jilane (@Sarmad_AlJilane) March 8, 2017
Eleven civil society organisations working in Syria are standing in solidarity with the shuttered groups, including Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, Baytna Syria, Free Syrian Lawyers Aggregation, Alkawakbi Center for Transitional Justice and Human Rights, Syrian Nonviolence Movement, The Syria Network for Human Rights (SNHR), Darna organisation, the Local Administration Councils Unit (LACU), Badael Foundation, Fraternity Foundation for Human Rights and Kesh Malek.

author: Salma Essam


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Russia Adds First-Ever Foreign Messaging App to Federal Registry · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Image: Pixabay, edited by Kevin Rothrock
For the first time ever, Russia’s federal censor, Roskomnadzor, has added a foreign messaging app to its “Registry of Information-Dissemination Organizers,” the Swiss company Threema.
Since 2014, the Russian government has managed a list of online services that “organize the dissemination of information.” Today, this list includes websites like Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki (Russia's two most popular social networks), the image board 2ch.hk, the email client Mail.ru, and dozens more services.
The list was introduced following the passage of a federal law that requires websites to store all Russian users’ metadata (“information about the arrival, transmission, delivery, and processing of voice data, written text, images, sounds, or other kinds of action”) and make it accessible to the Russian authorities. Websites can avoid the hassle of setting aside this information by granting Russian officials unfettered, constant access to their entire data stream.
Last year, Vladimir Putin signed a new law dramatically expanding what “information-dissemination organizers” must share with the government. Beginning on June 1, 2018, any websites on the registry will be required to grant the authorities access to all data for Russian users, along with their correspondence. Additionally, these websites are required to store this data on servers located inside the Russian Federation.
On Thursday, March 9, Roskomnadzor added to its registry Threema, a proprietary encrypted messaging application based in Switzerland. In a statement to RuNet Echo, a spokesperson for the company said Roskomnadzor contacted Threema with a request for some basic information, but Russia's censor nothing about the onerous requirements specified in Russian law:
We were asked by Roskomnadzor to provide our company name/address and web domain name for their registry in order to continue offering our service to users in Russia, which we have supplied.
We are not aware of any requirements to store, collect, or provide information, and will certainly not do so. We operate under Swiss law and are neither allowed nor willing to provide any information about our users to foreign authorities.
Threema is the first foreign online messenger to land on the list, and it’s also the first website added to the registry in 2017, according to Rublacklist.net, a news site that monitors Internet freedom in Russia. Roskomnadzor currently recognizes 73 different websites and online services to be “information-dissemination organizers.”
In June 2016, the St. Petersburg news site Fontanka.ru reported that Threema was gaining popularity among Russian state officials and major businesspeople. The app, which claims to be “the world’s favorite secure messenger,” offers users full anonymity, not even requiring a phone number or email address to register an account. The company underwent a security audit by the outside firm CN Lab in 2015, but it has not released its full code for public review.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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South Africans Want Their Government’s Hands Off Social Media · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A slum in South Africa. South Africans want their government to focus on issues, such as, improving lives of of its citizens. Image source: http://tokolosstencils.tumblr.com/. Used with permission
South Africa's Minister of State Security David Mahlobo has shocked and angered social media users in the country after saying that the government is contemplating regulating social media to counter false narratives and the spread of fake news.
Ironically, there have been multiple scandals this last year that connect Mahlobo's ruling party the African National Congress (ANC) to fake news sites promoting positive news about the government, propaganda botnets used to redirect focus away from controversies in the government, and a “black ops” local election campaign intended to disempower opposition party campaigns and empower a pro-ANC agenda on social media.
At a press briefing on 5 March, 2017, Minister Mahlobo added that social media has become a space of negative and “untrue” opinions and added that “even the best democracies” are regulating social media.
South Africans immediately reacted to his statement on Twitter with the hashtag #HandsOffSocialMedia. They accused Minister Mahlobo, President Zuma and the governing party the African National Congress (ANC) of trying to control expression and discourse in the country.
#FakeNews by private corporations & gov regulation of social media has the same purpose: controlling social discourse #HandsOffSocialMedia
— Elliott (@ElliottTheElite) March 6, 2017
In its 2016 Freedom on the Net report, Freedom House, a US organization that monitors human rights and democracy-related issues around the world, gave South Africa a solid “free” score for its “Net Freedom Status”, but it gave the country's media only “partly free” score. The ANC has dominated the political landscape of South Africa since the first all-race, post-apartheid elections in 1994.
We have 99 thousand problems and social media ain't one #handsoffsocialmedia
— ZS NEL (@fana_lemane) March 6, 2017
If it were up to Zuma South Africa would be offline by now … #HandsOffSocialMedia pic.twitter.com/bMgHlWkiFV
— Swing Voter (@NosiphoKhulu) March 6, 2017
#HandsOffSocialMedia They want to dictate us what to think. They want to control our minds by controlling what info we have access to.
— Nhlanhla (@NbizaroNhlanhla) March 6, 2017
South African radio host and Twitter user Miss.V tweeted:
Freedom of Expression…Check the Constitution if you have forgotten… #HandsOffSocialMedia
— Miss.V (@azolav) March 6, 2017
Freedom of expression is protected by section 16 of chapter two of the Constitution of South Africa, which states that “everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes freedom of the press and other media; freedom to receive or impart information or ideas; freedom of artistic creativity; and academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.”
Social media use is rapidly growing in South Africa's population of 55 million. According to the Social Media Landscape 2016 report by World Wide Worx, South Africa has 13 million Facebook users, 7.4 million Twitter users, 8.28 million YouTube users and 2.68 million Instagram users. And social media platforms are increasingly becoming popular tools of political expression and debates. Hashtags, for example, have become one of the most popular ways of organising protests, building movements and expressing anger over political decisions in the country.
#HandsOffSocialMedia social media is a means for citizens of SA to keep government accountable for their actions. Can't sweep under carpet
— Mario (@marioigrec) March 6, 2017
Dear Mahlobo. Regulate corruption and crime first before even thinking about laying into our social media accounts #HandsOffSocialMedia
— Yolandi Serfontein (@TheRealYolandi) March 6, 2017
In 2014, President Zuma was ordered by a court to repay $16 million in taxpayers’ money spent on his private home. He repayed $542,000 in 2016. The scandal has dogged Zuma's presidency and triggered several unsuccessful impeachment bids by the opposition.
WHEN IS THIS BEING REGULATED? @MYANC #HandsOffSocialMedia pic.twitter.com/DDGGLdGU86
— TweetGuru (@JustKholii_) March 6, 2017
Zuma has denied taking bribes, and has appealed against the ruling. Tweet Guru, a Cape Town-based, self-described social media influencer, also shared this commentary:
#HandsOffSocialMedia in a nutshell. pic.twitter.com/I4qwFUphGX
— TweetGuru (@JustKholii_) March 6, 2017
Thato Lephole reminded South Africans:
The public has the power to regulate government aswell, it's called voting.
Two way street. #HandsOffSocialMedia
— IG: thato_lephole (@thatolephole) March 6, 2017
The next election is slated for 2019. The ANC, which led the fight against white minority rule, will face off with two parties – the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters. ANC suffered historic losses against them in local elections last summer.
There is a growing trend in Africa of governments curtailing online freedom of information and expression particularly during elections or civil unrest. Writing on Quartz Africa, Abdi Latif Dahir noted that African governments increasingly disrupt internet communication to control the flow of information and “to keep a lid on simmering anger on the ground.” The article argued that government-directed internet outages became the rule rather than the exception in 2016 on the continent.
Countries that have shut down the internet during elections or civil unrest in Africa include Uganda, Burundi, Gabon, Cameroon,  Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Chinese Scientists Speak Out Against the Great Firewall (Again) · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Luo Fuhe, vice-chair of the country’s top political advisory body – the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) urged the government to improve the speed of overseas Internet access. Image from CPPCC's website (deleted)
Chinese scientists have periodically spoken out against the national web filtering system, often termed ‘the Great Firewall’, which blocks and censors web traffic from overseas websites. It damages research, they say.
But their voices have been dismissed — and deleted — again and again.
The latest criticism came from Luo Fuhe, vice-chair of the national advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Ahead of the annual Two Sessions of the CPPCC and National People's Congress, Luo, who is also the vice chair of a minority political party under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, the China Association for Promoting Democracy, submitted a proposal urging the government to improve loading speeds for overseas websites. The proposal was based on a study that was conducted by his party.
A journalist from China.com followed the news and his report on Luo's statement was distributed via various news outlets in China. Within a few days, however, overseas media began to pick up the report, and reports on local media portals relating to Luo's proposal were swiftly taken down. Nevertheless, his proposal is still circulating on Chinese social media and has overwhelmingly been backed by Chinese netizens.
In the original news report, Luo criticized the adverse effect on economic and scientific development reaped by slow overseas Internet connections:
目前在我国境内访问境外网站的速度有愈加缓慢的趋势，这将给我国的经济社会发展和科学研究等方面造成极大的影响，需要引起高度关注，应通过增加国际网络出口宽带及设置境外网站访问权限负面清单等方式提高境外网站访问速度，满足开放发展的需要。
Currently our country's internet connections to overseas websites are getting slower and slower. This affects our economic and social development adversely, as well as our scientific research. It needs public attention. We should improve infrastructure and increase the number of exit nodes to the international network. Moreover, the introduction of a “black-list” system will also increase the speed. This will cater to the needs of open development.
In the past few years, the Great Firewall has been upgraded and all traffic from overseas websites are subjected to blocking and filtering. Moreover, secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) has become a common practice for overseas websites. Now, even when an encrypted website is not blocked in mainland China, data transfer is slowed down, disrupted or even suspended as the encrypted data passes through the Chinese filter.
Luo illustrates the problem of network speed in his proposal:
在国内访问联合国粮农组织或很多国外大学网站速度很慢，每打开一个网页至少需要10-20秒的时间，有的国外大学网站需要半小时以上的时间才能打开…有些研究人员靠买翻墙软件到域外去检索，完成自己的科研任务，这个不正常。
When visiting the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations or many other overseas university websites, it takes at least 10-20 second to access a page. Sometimes it takes more than half an hour to access some university websites…some researchers have to buy circumvention tools in order to access information for their scientific research. This is so abnormal.
Luo quoted from CAPD's study:
有的留学生回国探亲期间就因无法打开自己在国外就读的大学网站而无法完成相关表格的网上填报；有的在华工作的专家学者需要利用周末或假期去香港等地访问境外网站查询所需研究资料。
There are some cases in which overseas Chinese students, having returned home from holiday, could not access their university websites and failed to submit their papers online. There are also cases in which experts and academics who work in China have to spend their weekend or holiday in Hong Kong or other countries just to get access to overseas websites for their research work.
Luo's proposal consisted of three suggestions:
This is not the first time a Chinese scientist has criticized the Great Firewall for holding back research.
On May 30, 2016, after Chinese President Xi Jinping urged scientists to turn China into a strong country with leading technological development during the country's National Science and Technology Conference, an old scientist from the Academy of Science asked Xi to grant scientists access to overseas websites.
Gong Wenxiang, an e-commerce businessman, revealed on Weibo two days after the conference that after Xi's speech, a scientist from the floor said:
屏蔽国外互联网可以，但我们搞科学研究的，是否可以网开一面，让我们可以通过互联网看国外的科技发展动态？…我们保证不看海外的反动消息。
It is Okay to block overseas websites, but for scientists and researchers, is it possible to give us access to the Internet and let us see what the latest developments in other countries are… we guarantee that we will not read politically sensitive content!
Xi Jinping urged Chinese scientists to help China to lead the world in the development of technology.
Then, an older scientist raised a question:
嚴格的網路監管，對搞科研的人來講，損失是非常大的。科研工作者登陸國外的一些網站，可以了解很多科技先進國家正在做什麼，把科研成果轉化到了什麼地步。因此，是不是可以給搞科研的人一點特殊的方便？
Control over the Internet is too strict and it affects scientists. Accessing overseas websites can help scientists to learn more about how advanced countries have converted knowledge from their scientific findings into technological products. Is it possible to grant special access for scientists and researchers [to overseas websites]?
According to China Science Magazine's report, after this speech, the conference hall was silent for a second before loud applause broke out.
Another scientist sitting next to the first speaker took the microphone and appeared to counter Xi's speech:
在沒有比較和認識的情況下，中國要想走在世界科技發展的前面，領先世界，是非常困難的。
Without comparisons with and knowledge of others, it will be very difficult for China to lead the world in global technological development.
A fourth scientist echoed:
如果这个问题解决了，这次会议就相当成功了！
If this problem could be solved, it would be an achievement of this conference!
Later, about 78 scientists from the China Academy of Science submitted a joint statement to Xi urging the authorities to loosen control over the web and grant them expanded access.
The proposal put forward by Luo Fuhe is thereby not one man speaking out, but rather another coordinated effort by scientists who are pushing the authorities to grant access to overseas Internet.
The debate over Internet management has been fierce in China. Last year in March, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) revised its Internet Domain Name Management Rules and posted a draft online for discussion over the space of a month. Implementing these rules would imply a “white-listing” of the network through a domestic registration system, which means that by default, all sites not registered in China will be inaccessible unless they are on the government's “white list”.
Due to strong opposition, the legislation was halted until January 2017 when state news outlet Xinhua suddenly reported that the management rule would soon be launched.
Now that the scientists have spoken out again and won broad public support in the process, the risk of disgruntling the wider Internet-using community by implementing the new rules is something authorities should take into account.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Some Chinese Pin Their Hopes of Lower Housing Prices on a Property Tax · Global Voices
Jack Hu

Screen shot from Google Earth's satellite image of a Chinese ghost city. Via China's state own Xinhua News July 2013.
Wary of the fallout over an overheated property market, some Chinese officials and high-profile think tanks have suggested that the country implement a property tax to stabilize the volatile industry, a proposition that is sparking intense debates on Chinese social media.
Jian Kang, a delegate of the political advisory body Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a member of a government think tank on economic policy, has called for launching a property tax in a bid to quell a housing market full of rampant speculation, but he has also warned that the public shouldn’t expect the tax to sharply bring down housing prices, especially in the largest cities.
As well, a deputy minister of China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said in an official news conference in late February that the government was accelerating the legislation for a property tax.
Currently, those buying property in China need to pay a number of taxes, including stamp duty, land value increment and income tax on the transaction. That means investors can hold a vast portfolio of properties and pay no annual tax on them after the initial purchase.
The Chinese government experimented with introducing a property tax in the cities of Shanghai and Chongqing in 2011. But the tax rate is less than 1 percent and the regulations were carefully written to affect only the very wealthiest with the most expansive property holdings. The tax has had negligible impact on the property market in both cities.
The reintroduction of the idea of a widespread property tax has triggered wide debate. Some believe that the full implementation will restrain speculation on the housing market and tame prices, while others believe that the taxation will encourage the market and push up prices.
China’s government at all levels have long relied heavily on selling monopolized land for revenue. More than half of annual revenue in China’s largest cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have stemmed from land sales.
Fang Jianxin, a newspaper columnist, argued that the current housing market bubble stems from the monopoly of land by the government:
重庆市为何能做到房价平稳？是土地供应量大增自然抑制房价无序暴涨！体现管理者水平问题。很多地方政府官员依赖卖地搞建设，做政绩，这才是土地市场管不好的深层次原因。地价暴涨，房价自然难下跌！首先要控地价但地方政府收入就少，所以采取控地价的政策多数是隔靴搔痒。
Why are housing prices in Chongqing moderate? The increased supply of land will naturally suppress the price. This is a land management issue. Governments from other cities depend on land revenue for developing infrastructure and showing off their success. This is the root cause of the problem in land management. If land prices are high, housing prices will not drop. But if the governments reduce the price of land, their income will drop, and they don't have the motivation to do so.
Such a revenue model based on land sales also would explain why China’s local governments have been keen to grab land from country folk, only to later sell it to developers, over the past decades. It also would suggest why it’s so difficult for the Chinese government to roll out a property tax, a policy taken in many developed countries — it might cool the property market and reduce revenue from land sales.
Heavy reliance on the housing market for economic growth in China has ushered in exploding housing prices in the largest cities and oversupply in third- and fourth-tier cities. Soaring home prices in big cities have also fermented complaints and unrest among residents, which could pose a potential threat to the Chinese Communist Party’s ruling.
China’s central government, however, does seem to be trying to get local governments to wean off selling land. Chinese President Xi Jinping declared during China’s central economic conference in late 2016 that “housing should be used to live in, not for speculation,” which many experts have expected might signal a tightening of regulations on the housing market.
Economic Information Daily, a newspaper under the Chinese state news agency Xinhua's umbrella, touted that imposing a property tax could guide capital to flow from the virtual economy to the real economy, promoting industrial development which has long been vexed by a lack of capital. Caijing, a well-known finance magazine in China summed up Economic Information Daily's front page news on Weibo, China's most popular social media platform:
【经济参考报头版：房地产税有利资金“脱虚向实”】房地产税可能在短期内对住房市场造成一定影响，但我国现行较高的首付比，可以给予金融机构房贷资产质量充足安全垫；且房地产税有助于减少社会资金向房地产业聚集，反过来又会降低整体房地产金融杠杆，并引导资金“脱虚向实”。
A property tax could help capital flow out of the virtual economy to the real economy. Imposing a property tax may affect the housing market in short term, but China’s higher down payments would protect banks’ mortgage assets. A property tax would also help reduce private capitals concentrating in the real estate market, which in turn would lower its financial leverage, and guide capital to leave the virtual economy for the real economy.
However, some economists have cast doubt on the government’s determination to push up the introduction of a property tax, given the government’s heavy reliance on selling land and a lack of nationwide registration of home owners. To date, China’s lawmakers have not started legislative process for property tax.
Other economists argue that the root cause of soaring home prices in a couple of the largest cities lies in a serious imbalance in how national resources are distributed. Too many premium universities, hospitals, state-owned enterprises and other important resources controlled by the government are concentrated in Beijing or Shanghai, stimulating those property markets with their presence.
For years, Chinese property owners and investors in large cities have enjoyed a free ride to wealth driven by rapid growth in home prices and a lack of property tax to cut the gains.
Ma Guangyuan, a well-known economist, said on Weibo that he was pessimistic about a property tax’s effect on lowering housing prices, pointing to the government's land monopoly and the oversupply of money as the underlying reasons:
房产税抑制不了房价，这是很多国家的事实。只要房价涨幅超过持有成本，还是会选择买房子。把抑制房价的希望寄托在房产税上是太傻太天真了！
As a matter of fact in many countries, property taxes can’t curb housing prices. People prefer to buy property only if housing surges overtake holding costs. It’s too silly and naïve to count on a property tax to contain rising prices!
The economist’s view attracted criticism that many speculative buyers could hold dozens of homes without any cost, which fuels speculation and is unfair to common buyers. Weibo user “Autumn Leaves” said in the comment thread:
拥有几十几百甚至更多套房产的人，无需考虑持有成本，这是什么理？竟然还有这么多人支持，难道人人觉得投机炒房合情合理？人人参与并乐与其中，那房价永远暴涨很正常啊。
Why could those who own dozens or hundreds of homes never worry about holding costs? It’s surprising that so many people oppose a property tax. Does everyone think speculative buying is reasonable? Housing prices will continue rising if everyone tends to participate in the speculation.
Qi Junjie, an overseas Chinese student, also believed the property tax is an effective means to contain property investment:
曼哈顿要是没有房产税，早就被中国人炒爆了！可能会变成唐人街！
Housing speculation in Manhattan would be rampant by Chinese without a property tax! It could become Chinatown!
Given China's growth model being heavily reliant on land sales and property market speculation, Weibo user Frank Lei expressed his pessimism with a satirical comment:
古有地主收租，今有天朝卖房，实业误国，炒房兴邦
Landlords made money on collecting rent in ancient times, now people make a fortune selling homes. Doing industry harms the nation, while housing speculation makes the country prosperous.

author: Jack Hu


text:
The 12 Faces of a Ugandan Woman · Global Voices
Prudence Nyamishana

Ugandan woman who wants to be beautiful and at peace with nature. Photo by Spencer Montero and used with permission.
On International Women's Day, March 8, 2017, This is Uganda ran a campaign to showcase the various faces of a Ugandan woman. Using the hashtag #SheRunsUg, they showcased 87 pictures that provided an insight into the way Ugandan women live their daily lives.
This is Uganda is a platform of talented writers from Uganda who are determined to tell stories about Uganda and for Ugandans aimed at demystifying global stereotypes that obscure the country's story.
According to a 2014 census by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, women constituted 51% of the overall national population while men constituted less than half of the total working population.
Here are some of the pictures that were showcased on Twitter to celebrate Uganda's women.
The daily hassles:
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 22 #SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/uTci91CjnT
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017
Those that defy stereotypes:
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 23 #SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/W9BYJZ2iCI
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017
The woman in the health sector:
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 18 (Photo by @phionapaige) #SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/v2BxY1I1Ow
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017
The current speaker of parliament, Rebecca Kadaga. She broke the glass ceiling when she became Uganda's first female Speaker of Parliament in May 2011.
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 4 #SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/i0ZDVkKArD
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017
Phionah Mutesi, who was born in one of Uganda's largest slums, rose to be Uganda's number one chess champion. Her story  is the subject of the Hollywood movie The Queen of Katwe.
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 7 #SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/iqTeeXyZwZ
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017
The teacher:
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 29 #SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/JPqZs4nW2P
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017
The mother:
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 39 (Photo by Seyhan Arik) #SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/Uh71rNox83
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 44 (Photo by p.a.c.e onlus) #SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/yq3J13WC94
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017
The police officer:
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 50 (Photo by Kibuubi Media) #SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/bqkaoW4T9n
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017
The individualist:
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 42 (Photo by Prossy Babirye) SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/AngsAfl3Il
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017
The natural beauty:
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 37 (Photo by Spencer Montero) #SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/J4xS23zuJB
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017
And finally the woman that raises the Ugandan flag up high:
Here comes the Ugandan woman. 1 #SheRunsUG #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/utuPKhrkC8
— This Is Uganda (@ThisIsUganda_) March 8, 2017

author: Prudence Nyamishana


text:
Georgian Town of Batumi Suffers Riots Over a Parking Ticket, Local Grievances · Global Voices
Akhal-Tech Collective

Streets of Batumi. Public domain image used by Wikipedia and produced by Oley24.
Georgia's second biggest city Batumi was rocked by riots that left two dozen injured and saw several cars overturned in the early hours of March 12.
The riot, which saw protesters use rocks and fireworks as projectiles in a pitch battle with riot police, stemmed from a man refusing to pay a parking ticket, but seems to have been rooted in broader dissatisfactions.
Authorities announced that the unrest has since been quelled.
This is how the main entrance of #Batumi police station looks like now. Sad to see the City ‘destroyed’ in a blink of an eye #BatumiRiots pic.twitter.com/cRLV72iqFL
— Luka Pertaia (@lookiane) March 12, 2017
Roughly the area of #unrest in Batumi now. Point of reference is cafe Akhali Gemo, 78 Gorgiladze Street. #BatumiRiots pic.twitter.com/eJfaWgNbvF
— Alex Melikishvili (@A_Melikishvili) March 12, 2017
Batumi is the administrative capital of Adjara, an autonomous region that speaks a dialect of Georgian and has a large Muslim minority. An attractive town on Georgia's Black Sea coast buoyed by over a decade of steady investments, Batumi has a relaxed feel and boasts its own distinctive cuisine. Even the boat-shaped Adjarian khachapuri, or cheese bread, is different from the cheese bread originating in other parts of Georgia, echoing versions of the Turkish pide in form but featuring an egg floating on top the cheese.
Political frustrations appear to have been on display during the March 12 rally that descended into violence after the man that received the parking fine, Jimi Varshanidze, was detained. One journalist based in the capital Tbilisi linked to footage of the rally in which local Batumi residents appeared to be asserting their local identity in a riposte to comments attributed to the city's police chief that Batumi Muslims were “Tatars”.
Residents have in recent days called for the removal of the police head, who hails from Gori, the town of late Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's birth, some 200 kilometres away.
‘Aren't we Georgians? We Are! Aren't we Adjarians? We are'; ‘We are Adjarian Muslim Georgians’ https://t.co/X5GMXWUlVc #BatumiRiots
— Luka Pertaia (@lookiane) March 12, 2017
Photo from a small-scale demo in front of #Batumi police station on 9 March. The caption reads: ‘Adjarians are not Tatars, Mr Policemen’ pic.twitter.com/71zOOmv9aa
— Luka Pertaia (@lookiane) March 12, 2017
As to how the unrest began, Georgian watchdog Democracy and Freedom Watch reported:
The riot began after a man refused to accept a fine for parking in the wrong place and was detained by police after arguing with them.
Accounts of what happened next vary, but what is known is that the conflict escalated and that six men were arrested.
Later, hundreds of mostly men gathered outside the police station demanding the release of the arrested men and the resignation of the police leadership.
Riot police was called in to defuse the situation. Around midnight local time there were reports that the police were using tear gas against the protesters.
A video which appears to have been filmed from inside the police station shows a rain of rocks hurled at the building and at a column of retreating riot police carrying shields.
Varshanidze has since been released. He said he parked his car opposite a drugstore and was fined by police when coming out of the store, before being detained for arguing with the officers.
According to Democracy and Freedom Watch, “opposition politicians claim people in Batumi lately have grown irritated by the ‘unreasonably’ high fines they are being issued by the police in the Black Sea resort city.”
Many #local #grievances have been brewing in #Batumi for some time for a contested traffic police ticket to cause #rioting on such scale
— Alex Melikishvili (@A_Melikishvili) March 12, 2017
#Batumi: Even if encouraged by outsiders, riots that agressive are very rare, seem to display genuine discontent with, but not only, police
— Shota Kincha (@shotakincha) March 12, 2017
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili was quick to blame “political forces” for stoking the conflict.
This is likely reference to former Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili and his United National Movement that failed to regain control of the parliament in polls in October that some had predicted would see the latter make a dramatic return to Georgia from his current digs in Ukraine.
The battle between the Georgian Dream, represented by Kvirikashvili and bankrolled by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili on the one hand, and Saakashvili and the UNM on the other, has gotten hotter in recent times, after a controversial court ruling handed over the opposition Rustavi-2 channel that favours UNM rule to previous owners more likely to toe the government line.
Batumi, however, has its own local politics fairly distant from the tug-of-war taking place at national level. While the Christian and Muslim communities there have co-existed peacefully for years, there are some signs of tensions, notably surrounding the construction of mosques and the pervasive economic influence of Turkey in a region once under Ottoman control.
While the city has emerged as a tourist destination and regional gambling hub, thanks partly to significant Turkish investments, residents working and living beyond the bubble of these growing industries have little to celebrate.

author: Akhal-Tech Collective


text:
In Kyrgyzstan, Prosecutors Sue Media for Offending President · Global Voices
Eurasianet

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev (left) meets with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Russian government official image, licensed for reuse.
The following is a partner post from EurasiaNet.org. Republished with permission.
Kyrgyzstan’s top prosecutor has accused two major media outlets of insulting the president by spreading “false information” about him and has said her office will pursue damages in court.
Indira Djoldubayeva said on March 9 that the General Prosecutor’s Office will seek damages amounting to 26 million som ($375,000) from Radio Azattyk, the Kyrgyz service of US-funded broadcaster RFE/RL,  and plucky news website Zanoza.kg.
The prosecutor’s office is filing two separate suits in its capacity as the guarantor of President Almazbek Atambayev’s honor and dignity.
The first suit is being filed in response to the two outlets’ reports on public allegations made against Atambayev by jailed opposition leader Omurbek Tekebayev. Specifically, the leader of the Ata-Meken party alleged that Atambayev may have been the owner of cargo on a plane that crashed in January outside the capital, Bishkek, killing 39 people. Accusations that Atambayev was in some way linked to the contents of the doomed Boeing 747 cargo plane had previously been circulating as rumor.
Lawyers for Tekebayev suggested their client was arrested because he holds documentary evidence supporting his claims. Remarks by the lawyers were widely reported, and not just by Zanoza.kg and Azattyk.
The General Prosecutor’s Office has said the outlets “abused their freedom of speech” and failed to verify their reports, which they said “defamed” the president.
“Some individuals see freedom of expression as a free pass for satisfying their own ambitions and they frequently indulge themselves by spreading unreliable and negative information, often with offensive content, that demeans not just the honor and dignity of their own fellow citizens but also that of the president who stands for those people,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The authorities are demanding that the two outlets in question deny the content of their reports on the offending topic and that they pay Atambayev compensation for moral damages — 10 million som from Azattyk and 3 million som from Zanoza.kg.
It is unclear why only these two outlets have been singled out for this treatment, considering that most media in the country at least alluded to the allegations, which were first made in the press center of a leading news agency. One likely explanation is that Azattyk and Zanoza.kg have produced the strongest line of reporting on the government.
The two outlets are also facing accusations of reporting other accusations made by Tekebayev concerning bank accounts allegedly held by Atambayev in Cyprus.
Prosecutors argue that details in the story “do not correspond to reality” and are presented in a way that puts the president in a bad light. For those pieces, the authorities want 3 million som from Zanoza.kg and 10 million som from Azattyk.
Zanoza.kg editor Dina Maslova said that the court cases were more likely to enhance the media’s reputation than that of the president. The biggest problem is that the website will have to expend an inconvenient amount of effort defending its commercial interests instead of focusing on reporting, Maslova told EurasiaNet.org.
“It seems to me that there are people in the president’s entourage who are just annoyed, but by advising him to sue internet publications, they are really doing him a bad turn. There is no other way to explain this unwise decision,” Maslova said.
Lawyers for Ata-Meken are facing their own 10 million som lawsuit for airing the allegations about Atambayev owning cargo on the plane that crashed in the first place.
Ata-Meken has also filed its own suit against Atambayev, who recently referred to the party in public as a “stinking party” and called Tekebayev a “marauder” — the latter being a reference to allegations the politician somehow profited from the looting that occurred in the wake of the April 2010 revolution. Ata-Meken has not said it wants any money, however, and said it wishes only for the president to make a public apology.
This cycle of confrontation between the president and the opposition was sparked by Tekebayev’s concerted opposition to changes made to the constitution last year. In the end, while the amendments were of relatively indifferent importance, the political struggle has proven vicious and bitter.
Tekebayev is now being held in a pretrial detention facility, from which he occasional passes notes through his lawyers. In his most recent prison statement, he suggested Atambayev undergo a medical examination to establish the state of his mental health.

author: Eurasianet


text:
India’s Cashless Villages: Not Really There Yet, But the Journey Has Begun · Global Voices
Rezwan

A small village shop in Himachal Pradesh, India. Image from Flickr by Michael Foley. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
After the recent de-monetization in India, one of the largest cash-based economies of the world, people had great difficulties carrying out day-to-day transactions. Even now, as new “cashless villages” are trumpeted in the media, recent reports reveal a lack of adequate infrastructure and villagers who are struggling to make the transition.
On November 8, 2016, India took the bold step of withdrawing 500 (US $7.50) and 1,000 (US $15.00) Indian rupee banknotes, which represent 86% of the total currency, from circulation. The main mission of the Modi government was to stop the flow of illicit cash and crack down on counterfeit banknotes.
The process was not systematically implemented, which created chaos across the country, especially in villages where people are extremely cash reliant. People could not buy the things they wanted and needed, businesses could not receive payment for their goods, buy tradable goods, or pay their staff. Adequate supplies of new notes were not available to take the place of the demonetized currency, and people had to join long, serpentine queues outside banks to withdraw money for day-to-day needs (See Global Voices report).
The Indian government defended the de-monetization move and noted bluntly that the highly inconvenient currency shortages would themselves provide the impetus to drive India towards a cashless economy.
In the months since the demonetization, a number of villages have been declared newly cashless. In a number of cases, the transformation was driven by local NGOs with the help of banks and local authorities. Some 11 remote villages in India have been adopted by the United Bank of India (UBI) under a pilot project to transform them into cashless villages, for instance.
Dhasai village in Maharashtra is one of the few villages in India to go cashless. https://t.co/TuH0MkDZFX
— scroll.in (@scroll_in) December 18, 2016
Amid chaos over cash, J'khand's tribal dominated Nuagram is going to be the first ‘cashless’ village by December 2016.@htTweets pic.twitter.com/iBmBIx6jIb
— Sanjoy Dey (@sanjoy_dey25) November 21, 2016
Reportedly, the villages had point of sale (PoS) machines installed, more bank accounts with ATM cards created and mobile banking apps like PayTM and RUPay downloaded onto smart phones before being declared cashless.
Many banks are enabling SMS banking platforms and software for the village to enable users to do basic banking transactions in English and their local languages.
India’s dream of a cashless economy is slowly turning into a reality. The SBI Colony in Nerul & Shirki village goes #Cashless. pic.twitter.com/PFhRbP5nLH
— State Bank of India (@TheOfficialSBI) February 17, 2017
#DigitalIndia2017
India’s cashless villages – The Times of India https://t.co/kIybFwl9J8 pic.twitter.com/9xvxj5Ewdg
— Agent Crocus Sativus (@TripathiTweet28) January 3, 2017
Before the demonetization in India, 95% of all transactions were in cash, 90% of vendors didn’t have card readers and 85% of workers were paid in cash. Debit and credit cards are mostly restricted to the urban middle class.
In rural areas many do not have bank accounts, and online transactions are still distant dreams since people are not literate enough (most banking websites are in English). There are still not enough smartphones — only 17% of the population currently have access to one — and Internet connections are often slow and costly for the poor.
Rural merchants and consumers prefer cash transactions to avoid paying the service tax of around 14.5 percent on certain services. Many do not use mobile payments, although the trend is shifting quickly.
Monishankar Prasad, a New Delhi-based author and editor told Forbes that “no economy can go completely cashless” and that India's alternative systems require building up with more training for the population.
Helping India Go Cashless: India's largest Lender SBI adopts Shirki village in Pen Taluka in Maharashtra #BenefitsOfNotebandi pic.twitter.com/In6xNH3cxA
— Sagar Khandelwal (@Khandelw13Sagar) January 15, 2017
More than 500 JANDHAN account opening and a digital cashless training to the villagers organised by VESS India at Domri Village of Varanasi pic.twitter.com/fo1HiHhMsH
— Dr. Rajesh (@DrRajeshvess) January 12, 2017
Although some of the news of the transformation seemed promising, soon there were reports refuting the claims that villages have become cashless. A Hindustan Times report called the trend of declaring cashless villages “a fad”. Investigative reports found that the claims are mostly on paper.
In many villages that were declared cashless, many swipe machines for cashless transactions did not work for lack of internet or electricity. Even those which worked could not be used as local people did not trust cashless transactions. These villages lacked ATM machines and villagers had to walk to their nearest town to withdraw money. Even the additional data plans proved expensive to some villagers.
By transferring Rs5 digitally to 27 accounts, the District Collector declared Malappuram “first cashless tribal village”! Just incredible!!! pic.twitter.com/pytfVYFaP6
— M S Rana⚓ (@ms_rana) January 6, 2017
Claims of Rajasthan village becoming ‘cashless’ busted – Janta Ka Reporter https://t.co/CGnNoImcR2
— Rajasthan Travel New (@Rajasthan_News) January 6, 2017
Pune: In ‘cashless’ village, only 50 per cent have ATM cards: About 25 kms from the main city of Pune, in Khed https://t.co/knEQPuSnP9
— The Currency Scene (@CurrenScene) January 4, 2017
The Modi government called this village “cashless” as an example of the new India. Reality is quite different https://t.co/A8QZ7Ypck6
— Ajay Mehta (@ajaymehta) February 12, 2017
“The vision of #Digital & #Cashless India in ‘SMART’ Jhattipur village is still far from real.” https://t.co/1uTrp45lg0
— Dr. Shahid Siddiqui (@shahidsiddiqui) February 19, 2017
People in Lanura village in Budgam, 25 kilometres from Srinagar, Kashmir were trained and the village was declared cashless on December 18. It turned out that the village, however, lacked adequate internet connections and smartphones.
India is supporting cashless economy, Now Lanura village in Jammu & Kashmir becomes cashless. #DigitalIndia2017 pic.twitter.com/pLaVw7Q9Xm
— Ashish Mishra pune (@aashish81us) January 3, 2017
Rafiqa Bano, a community correspondent at the award winning citizen media site Video Volunteers posted a video report in which locals in Lanura admitted they were stunned by the declaration.
The village lacks basic facilities, like electricity infrastructure, water, metallic road and other amenities of life, says a villager, Ghulam Mohammad. The villagers are poverty stricken and a very few people use smartphones and internet. Locals are aghast over the announcement and demand a probe into the matter.
The district administration Budgam under its [declaration] released on its official website maintains that the ‘feat’ was achieved through “rigorous efforts by CSC e-Governance Services India Limited and National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the objective of Digital Financial Inclusion.” In the few shops scattered across this village, people could be seen doing cash transactions. Apparently, NIC Budgam’s District Informatics Officer has been awarded for this ‘achievement’ recently in New Delhi.
Although many of the claims were not 100% true and the villagers still need to learn the basics, few would deny India has taken its first step towards a cashless economy. The government plans to provide free WiFi to 1050 villages in the next six months as part of its Digital Village initiative. Similar initiatives and a reasonable period of time are required before we can call such Indian villages truly cashless.

author: Rezwan


text:
Indonesians Gleefully Welcome Saudi King, But Activists Are Wary of Riyadh’s Influence · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Source: Flickr / Jim Mattis / United States government work
After a 47-year lapse, a Saudi King has visited Indonesia again. The visit was welcomed by many in Indonesia which is the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, but others expressed dismay the government didn't raise the plight of Indonesian migrants suffering abuses in Saudi Arabia.
King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived in Indonesia on March 1 as part of his month-long Asian tour which also includes Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, China, Japan, and the Maldives. The king was accompanied by 1,500 delegates, including 25 princes and 10 ministers.
The last visit by a Saudi ruler to Indonesia was made during the reign of Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
King Salman was welcomed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) as the guardian of the two Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Indonesia bangga menyambut kedatangan Sang Penjaga Dua Kota Suci Makkah dan Madinah, Sri Baginda Raja Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud di Indonesia.  Foto: Biro Pers Setpres
A post shared by Joko Widodo (@jokowi) on
Indonesia is proud to welcome the arrival of the guardian of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Madina, His Highness King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, in Indonesia.
Jokowi also featured the Saudi king in his video blog. He emphasized that the historic visit of the king would lead to closer relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
During the visit of the Saudi king, 11 agreements on cultural collaboration, trade and investment, science, crime fighting, and Islamic affairs were signed by Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
Labor groups questioned why the Indonesian government failed to raise the issue of protecting Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia, however.
Indonesia stopped sending workers to Saudi Arabia in 2011 because of the abuses suffered by migrants at the hands of their employers. But despite the ban, Indonesians continued to enter the kingdom to work as domestic helpers illegally, making them even more vulnerable to various forms of abuse.
According to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are more than 630,000 Indonesians working in the Middle East, including in Saudi Arabia. But that number would be higher with the inclusion of undocumented workers and victims of illegal trafficking.
A peaceful protest in front of the Saudi embassy was organized by activists during the visit of the Saudi king. They demanded better human rights protection for Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia where domestic workers are still considered by some abusive employers as kaffallah (property).
Presiden Jokowi Dinilai Tak Peduli Perlindungan TKI https://t.co/q8dROf72IM pic.twitter.com/G5H36qgOS8
— FSPMI KSPI (@FSPMI_KSPI) March 3, 2017
(President) Jokowi doesn't focus enough on protecting of Indonesian migrant workers.
In response, the Indonesian government claimed that during a dialogue between Jokowi and the king, the issue of Indonesian migrant workers was discussed. King Salman reportedly assured Jokowi that he will treat the Indonesian workers as his own people.
Saudi Arabia and Indonesia must follow up Salman and Jokowi's talk with technicalities on migrant workers protection https://t.co/RugOOvFNWt
— Andreas Harsono (@andreasharsono) March 2, 2017
Rising extremism in Indonesia was also discussed by netizens during the visit of the Saudi king. Indonesia is generally known for its inter-religious tolerance, although Muslim hardliners have become more active in recent years through their vocal opposition to the current government, which they accuse of being weak in defending Islam. They have also issued calls to establish an Islamic caliphate in the region.
During his speech in front of Indonesian senators and legislators, King Salman encouraged closer collaboration to combat terrorism and extremism.
#RajaSalman mengajak Dunia bersatu & bertekad memerangi ekstremisme & terorisme, itu sebabnya meng-Haji-kan keluarga dari Densus88 yg gugur
— Hans P Siagian (HPS) (@HansPSiagian) March 2, 2017
#RajaSalman (King Salman) calls for global unity and commitment to fight extremism and terrorism, therefore he's going to send family members of the fallen Densus88 (Indonesian counter-terrorism special forces) to the Haj pilgrimage.
7. Oleh karenanya, segala bentuk radikalisme dan ekstremisme disebut @KingSalman sangat penting untuk ditanggulangi #RajaSalman pic.twitter.com/5yoMTwTjG9
— Kantor Staf Presiden (@KSPgoid) March 4, 2017
Therefore, it's important to address radicalism and extremism, as mentioned by the king.
The king and his entourage also held a meeting with Indonesia's religious leaders.
Saudi belajar pluralisme dari Indonesia. Kita belajar Wahabisme dari Saudi. Impas. ? https://t.co/t1TOFFaRTh
— Berbagi Cerita (@idetopia) March 4, 2017
Saudi learns pluralism from Indonesia. We learn wahabism from Saudi. We're even.
Despite the positive reception which greeted the Saudi king, some are still wary about the rise of Wahhabism in Indonesia.
Historically, the advent of Wahhabism in Indonesia occurred during the Dutch colonial era when Muslim leaders took arms to fight the Dutch colonial government.
But the strict interpretation of Wahhabism only gained momentum in the 1980s with the introduction of Saudi-funded language and cultural schools. Today, moderate Muslims in Indonesia are uniting to fight against the spread of extreme Wahhabi and Salafist interpretations of the religion.
Wahabi bukanlah wajah Islam yg kita inginkan. Dengannya Islam tampak tdk kompatibel dg kemanusiaan dan peradaban abad 21.
— savic ali (@savicali) March 5, 2017
Wahabi is not the face of Islam that we (Indonesians) want. With it, Islam seems incompatible with humanity and 21st century civilisation.

author: Juke Carolina


text:
Reckless Diplomacy: Turkey-Netherlands #TulipCrisis Is Scary Viewing for Minorities in Europe · Global Voices
Akhal-Tech Collective

Secretary Kerry Listens as Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu Addresses Reporters in Washington. U.S. State Department image shared via official Flickr account. Public domain.
A bizarre diplomatic standoff that has escalated into threats of sanctions and other measures has smashed Turkey's relationship with Nato ally the Netherlands and buoyed nationalist rhetoric in both countries.
The escapade saw Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu blocked from landing in the Netherlands on March 11 and the Turkish family affairs minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya escorted to the German border by Dutch authorities the following day  as the pair tried to attend a rally outside Turkey's own consulate in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.
Cavusoglu and Kaya had both intended to address Turkish citizens on the theme of the country's upcoming referendum outside the consulate in the city of over half a million people. Rotterdam, famed as a city of immigrants, has a Muslim mayor, while roughly eight percent of the population is of Turkish origin.
Dramatically, Dutch authorities barred both ministers from making their unscheduled visits, and then dispersed an increasingly restless crowd with water cannon and police dogs. The crowd threw glass and rocks at the police according to eyewitnesses.
The rights and wrongs of the Turkish government sponsoring a rally connected to its own domestic politics in a foreign country, and the Dutch government's heavy-handed response to the situation have dominated the Twitter conversation. So, to, predictably, has the figure of Turkey's controversial President Recep Tayiip Erdogan, who blasted the Netherlands government as “Nazi remnants”and threatened sanctions.
Turkey analyst Aaron Stein compiled a useful English-language chronology of a badly managed farce gone wrong using “govt X” for the Netherlands and “govt Y” in place of Turkey.
Erdogan, arguably Turkey's most powerful politician since the country's modern founder Kemal Attaturk died in office in 1938, is set to be the main beneficiary of the constitutional fix at stake in next month's referendum.
While it is likely the changes empowering his office will pass, every vote counts, including those of Turks living and working in Europe, which explains why members of his government have made a largely unsuccessful attempt to visit cities with major Turkish populations on the continent and whip up support. In addition to the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland have also cancelled rallies in favour of a Yes vote, citing their desire not to allow their countries to become staging posts for a foreign government's political campaigns.
But the nature of the Dutch response to the latest rally attempt plays into the increasingly nationalist Erdogan's hands, as tweets by his supporters and a glance at the front pages of pro-establishment newspapers demonstrate.
These are cowards, fascist, and nazi remnants. #WeallERDOGANagainstNAZIS pic.twitter.com/qLfnAohWrS
— Evet Emir (@emirbereket) March 12, 2017
This is what's called “ramming home the message”. #Turkish press following editorial orders as crisis with #Netherlands and others deepens pic.twitter.com/vNlxXx0yp8
— Mark Lowen (@marklowen) March 12, 2017
I would like to offer the Dutch government my heartfelt thanks for doing so much for the “Yes” referendum campaign. #TulipCrisis
— Has Avrat (@hasavrat) March 11, 2017
It also seems a perfect gift for the right wing opposition Dutch politician Geert Wilders ahead of a general election whose results will be known on March 16. Some speculated that the government reacted to the rally in the way that it did in order to pander to the nationalist sentiment that has propelled Wilders to the verge of a shock victory.
Go away and never come back @drbetulsayan and take all your Turkish fans from The Netherlands with you please. #byebye https://t.co/FLKFNX2XGm
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) March 11, 2017
Most of all, however, it is a frightening time to be a Muslim minority in Europe as migrant populations become an object of struggle in tensions between Ankara and the West.
#tulipcrisis is a never ending series of ?'s but with real human consequences in a fragile time for minorities in EU…
— saghira (@taalluq) March 11, 2017


text:
Macedonians Mourn Folk Singer Vanja Lazarova, Whose Plight Inspired Facebook Activism · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Journalist Ognen Janeski interviewing Vanja Lazarova (right) in 2014. Screenshot from TV 24 news segment.
Vanja Lazarova, a singer of Macedonian folk songs, died on Sunday, March 12 in Skopje at the age of 86.
Lazarova enjoyed a distinguished career, but towards the end of her life she had fallen into obscurity and was living with few resources — until she became the focus of an online initiative that helped her achieve the status of National Artist. The effort not only helped Lazarova, but also represented an important victory for Macedonian citizens against a government that didn't take kindly to criticism.
Lazarova was born in 1930 in the village of Stracin, and worked in the Opera of the Macedonian National Theatre and the National Folk Music Ensemble Tanec. She performed internationally, including playing the Royal Albert Hall in London for Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. She was the first Macedonian singer to make records for labels such as Polygram and Philips.
Последен поздрав до незаменливата Вања Лазарова. Ни ги отпеа судбините у еден здив.
— ∫(e^x)dx (@Enkriptirana) March 12, 2017
Last farewell to the irreplaceable Vanja Lazarova. She sung our destinies in a single breath.
She will be remembered for her performances of songs such as “I Was Born in Hardship” (the 1980s video below is from the archive of the Macedonian Public Broadcaster).
She contributed to the soundtrack of the most successful Macedonian movie, “Before the Rain,” with the band Anastasia. The movie won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in 1994 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film. The director, Milcho Manchevski, stated that the music in the movie was one of its essential elements.
During the last period of her life, Lazarova was living in a private nursing home off of a meager monthly pension of less than 170 dollars. She wasn't receiving any benefits from the copyrights on her music, and the owners of the nursing home were covering her expenses.
In May 2014, journalist Ognen Janeski discovered Lazarova's plight. His report, aired by independent TV 24, did not draw much initial attention, but when Janeski published it online May 13, it caused wide outrage on Facebook.
Overnight, more than 8,000 people joined the Facebook page “Support for Vanja Lazarova.” By becoming fans of that page, they also supported its request that Lazarova should “receive the status of National Artist and a national pension.” Several celebrities also voiced public support, most prominently musician Zlatko Origjanski who worked with her on “Before the Rain.” In less then a day, the number of “signatories” reached 10,000 and would nearly double by the end of the effort.
The shamed authorities reacted quickly, sending the minister of culture to make an urgent visit at the nursing home. During the visit, the minister also held a press conference saying Lazarova's request for a National Artist pension, which had been previously denied, would be reconsidered.
The government then bestowed Lazarova with the 11 October Award, given on the eponymous national holiday commemorating the uprising against fascism in 1941. The award was necessary in order for Lazarova to meet the conditions of the National Artist status and receive the associated pension.
Денес е две години од денот кога ја започнавме акцијата #ВањаЛазарова. Тоа и беше прва успешна граѓанска иницијатива во 6 години. Љубов!
— Пеце Ацев (@PeceAcev) May 13, 2016
Today (May 13, 2016) is the second anniversary of the action for Vanja Lazarova. This was the first successful citizen initiative in six years. Love!
After the success of the initiative, several other causes also used Facebook pages as petitions in a similar manner.
Lazarova spent the final two years of her life in the same nursing home, dealing with issues related to her advanced age and frail health. Some of her recordings were republished during this time, and the state sponsored a documentary film about her.
Ви текнува како беше оставена Вања Лазарова на маргините се додека Огнен Јаневски не ја откри и не направи интервју? Почивај во мир Вања.
— Man (@Goran_Man) March 12, 2017
Do you recall how Vanja Lazarova was left on the margins until Ognen Janeski discovered her and made an interview? Rest in peace, Vanja.
Journalist Ognen Janeski continued to serve the public interest as a journalist and activist. His work exposing the inadequacies of the system reportedly made his family a target of revenge by the ruling party. He said the Ministry of Culture denied funding to his parents, who had been working in a public cultural institution in the city of Prilep, after the conclusion of the action to support Lazarova. He also reported that his sister suffered demotion in the (partially government-owned) Macedonian Telecom, immediately after protests took place demanding someone be held responsible for the death of 9-year-old Tamara Dimovska, who died awaiting medical care in February 2015. Janeski had co-organized the protests.
The ruling party also targeted musician Zlatko Origjanski with various forms of pressure after he spoke out on Lazarova's situation and after numerous other occasions in which he publicly decried abuse of power and corruption by the authorities.
More recently, as part of the ongoing campaign of intimidation against civil society organizations, independent journalists and other critics, Origjanski's home was targeted by unknown perpetrators who vandalized his front door with insulting hate speech stickers on February 27. He reported the attack to the police, but the case has not moved forward. A week later, on March 3, a group of unknown persons came to his door with a video camera and hurled abuse at him, calling him a “traitor.” Pro-government web portals then propagated the video as proof of “the anger of the People.”

author: Filip Stojanovski


text:
‘Riot Cops in a Kindergarten’: Russia’s War on Religious Minorities Escalates · Global Voices
Katie Davies

Photo: Pixabay
The first time the police accused Evgeny of promoting fascism, he was living in Mordovia, a provincial republic about 350 miles southeast of Moscow.
A short man, smartly dressed in a shirt and tie, he laughs as he describes how local police tried, not once but twice, to put him in prison for two years.
It’s true, Evgeny admits, that he had been giving out leaflets to people in the area. But they were not Nazi propaganda. Evgeny is a Jehovah’s Witness — a branch of Christianity that sees spreading the word of God as a core tenement of faith.
“I told the policeman sitting opposite me how the Nazis had persecuted the Jehovah’s Witnesses,” Evgeny tells me. “The policeman couldn’t believe it. In the end, he looked at my file and admitted it was all lies. I escaped jail not once, but twice. I knew that God was with me then.”
Evgeny used to call himself a missionary, carrying out Bible study groups and spreading the word of God. Now, he is careful not to use the term. Under sweeping new anti-terrorism laws signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last June, engaging in more missionary work could be all the police need to throw him in jail.
Originally designed to combat radical Islamist preachers, the new anti-terrorism laws are potentially far-reaching. Anyone taking part in (broadly defined) missionary work now requires formal affiliation with a registered religious organization or group. The work itself is also limited to specially designated areas, such as houses of worship.
Adapting to this new reality hasn't been easy for Evgeny, who supports Russia's fight against terrorism, but says the law is a sign of fearful times.
“We go to the people because that is what is written in the Bible,” says Evgeny. “We can’t sit and wait in empty churches. But I’m not worried about the law because I am not doing anything wrong.”
Despite the confidence of men like Evgeny, however, Russia's controversial new laws are already impacting the country's spiritual sphere.
One of the first targets was Don Ossewaarde, an independent Baptist originally from the United States, who led a Bible study group in the city of Oryol, about 225 miles southwest of Moscow. Don's study group was small, but that didn't stop police from raiding his home during a Saturday meeting.
Already certain of what lay ahead, Don asked the police to allow him to finish the meeting. He was then taken to the local police station, and later tried and convicted of conducting unlicensed missionary work. He was ultimately fined 40,000 rubles ($616).
“I was surprised that they would go after me,” he says. “I haven't been a problem to anyone. I have not criticized the government or the local authorities. We are not in opposition with the Russian Orthodox Church. But I understand the relationship between our two countries is difficult right now. It is a political advantage to blame someone else for your problems, especially someone foreign.”
Such political advantages are sometimes worth a little extra police work, as well. According to Don, the local officers actually set him up, removing a flyer he'd dropped into a private letterbox, and then reposting it publicly on a residential bulletin board. The authorities’ position became crystal clear when Don's court-appointed lawyer warned him that he could be deported, even if all the charges were dropped.
Don has already pursued his case all the way to Russia’s Supreme Court, which refused on Jan. 20 to overturn his verdict. His appeal to the Constitutional Court, meanwhile, is still pending, but Don says he plans to leave Russia, whatever the outcome. He's already sold his apartment and the house where he once held Bible meetings, and he's given up all religious activity in Russia.
“It is so unfair and cruel that these people have been deprived by their own government of their place of worship and an activity that gives them so much joy,” Don says. “In the years I have been here, perhaps just a small group have found peace with God. But that still makes it all worthwhile. I regret nothing.”
The law passed last summer is not Russia's first legislation that puts pressure on religious minorities, many of whom have known the government's hostility for years already.
Roman Lunkin, a researcher at the Institute of Europe’s Center for the Study of Religion and Society, says the persecution of various religious groups in Russia has been ongoing for more than a decade.
According to Lunkin, the “anti-terrorist” law, like similar laws that came before it, encourages the idea that religious minorities are actually dangerous “sects,” which provides officials with an easy threat to tackle.
“If they somehow do justify taking pseudo-control of these movements, their fight will be as ridiculous and tragic as riot police in a kindergarten,” he said.
Despite this, many experts expect the Russian authorities to enforce the new law against unlicensed missionaries even more strictly in the coming months.
Konstantin Alexeev is a lawyer and a member of the State Duma's Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organizations. He has also worked with the Slavonic Justice Center on Don Ossewaarde's appeal. Alexeev says he believes that the situation in Russia for religious minorities is likely to deteriorate, in light of how judges are interpreting the new “anti-terrorist” law.
“The law in question does not forbid missionary work; it regulates it. But Russian law is often interpreted with xenophobia and superstition in mind, not legal literacy,” he says.
Alexeev says he thinks courts will feel compelled to curtail religious freedoms, as the state seeks to gain more power over Russian society. “The state wants to control everything. Religious organizations seek the greatest possible autonomy and independence,” Alexeev says. “The balance of these two factors is expressed in specific legislation. Currently, the pendulum has swung in the direction of strengthening the state, and we will see a further tightening of religious law.”
Many churches have vowed to continue their operations in Russia, despite the country's increasingly uncertain and hostile environment.
The Mormon Church, which maintains seven missions in Russia, is another organization that must adhere to the new regulations. Mormons have pledged to continue their work in Russia, but young people serving as missionaries have reportedly been instructed to identify themselves as “volunteers.”
“The Church will honor, sustain, and obey the law [on missionary work],” a spokesperson for the church said in a press statement. “Missionaries will remain in Russia and will work within the requirements of these changes. The Church will further study and analyze the law and its impact as it goes into effect.”
Many remain hopeful that religious minorities will be able to continue their work by putting more emphasis on humanitarian aid. Ryan Garder, a former Mormon missionary who worked in the Far-Eastern Russian city of Nakhodka, says his church will continue its work with the needy and vulnerable.
“The Mormon Church is very active in looking to serve those in need,” Ryan says. “We understand that not everyone is interested in our beliefs, let alone learning more about them. Nevertheless, most of us need a helping hand from time to time. We are happy to play that role.”
Others like Evgeny are even more resolute. “We did this under Hitler. We did this under Stalin,” he says. “Now they’ve blocked shipments of our literature and our Bibles, saying that it's a customs issue. But if we have Bibles here, we can continue.”

author: Katie Davies