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Palestinian Assaf Wins Arab Idol Singing Contest · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

Watching Arab Idol in Palestine, June 8, 2013. Photo by Johannes Axner (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Palestinian Mohammed Assaf won the title of this year's Arab Idol, the Arabic version of American Idol. However, having contestants from different Arab countries makes the singing competition similar to Eurovision, where the citizens of each country consider the win a national trophy.
This year, Assaf's win sent thousands of Palestinians to the streets, celebrating, chanting and dancing.
@erinmcunningham: Great night in Palestine tonight as 24-year-old Gazan-born singer Mohammed Assad takes the Arab Idol crown :) Mabrouk [Congratulations]!
Assaf, who himself grew up in a refugee camp and whose mother is an UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) teacher, was appointed as UNRWA Ambassador for Palestine Refugees following his win:
@Zeinobia: Mohamed Assaf is now an ambassador for the UNRWA
@lesliethomas427: So happy for my buddies in #Gaza #UNRWA with reason to celebrate #ArabIdol Mohammad Assaf win!
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, also granted, the Gaza-born, Assaf diplomatic status:
@allawati: Mahmoud Abbas grants Mohammed Assaf diplomatic status in the non-state of Palestine.
Deema commented on the reactions of UNRWA and Abbas’ appointments, seeing it as a hijack of Assaf's title for personal purposes.
@DeemaM: The best part about #Assaf winning #ArabIdol is how the UNRWA and Mahmoud Abbas have hijacked his win for their own selfish purposes.
Joseph Dana also mocked Abbas’ reaction, especially that it coincided with the resignation of the Palestinian prime minister.
@ibnezra: Abbas accepts resignation of Rami Hamdallah. Mohammad Assaf for Palestinian PM?
It is always hard in the Arab world to draw a solid line between events like music competitions or football matches and politics. Ali Abunimah tweets:
@AliAbunimah: Look how Palestinians are joyfully celebrating Assaf's win. Imagine what it'll be like when they celebrate the defeat of Israeli apartheid!
Some others were not happy, saying that this is not an event that deserves celebration. Islam Faried tweets with irony [ar]:
@islamfaried: باركوا يا جماعة للشعب الفلسطيني … محمد عساف حرر القدس وبنى مملكة بيت المقدس وقام بترميم المسجد الأقصى
@islamfaried: Congratulate the Palestinian people, everybody .. Mohammad Assaf has liberated Jerusalem, built a monarchy there and renovated Al-Aqsa mosque.
@NivineA: Stupid Arabs can spend money on voting, fancy performances and outfits but forget that Syrians are dying next door #ArabIdol
@YasserAhmad: #ArabIdol is yet another lame story of how to collect money over silly voting. Arabs are only good in voting for singers not politicians.
It however helped break some long-standing stereotypes.
Because of the political situation there, very few Arabs have ever been to Palestine, and most of them drew a stereotypical image of it and its people from the footage they watch in the news or the images published in newspapers. @ahmedhasen_40 explains in two tweets [ar]:
احنا زمان اترسم في خيالنا ان اهل فلسطين ليل ونهار في مظاهرات وضرب حجارة او صواريخ …ولما عشنا الثورة عرفنا انك تنشغل بالسياسة والمظاهرات وبرضه تحب وتسمع اغاني وتحتفل بالعيد وتلعب كرة
In the past, we had this mental image that people in Palestine are either demonstrating day and night or throwing stones and launching rockets .. but after we lived the revolution here, we realised that you can be preoccupied with politics and demonstrations, yet continue to fall in love, listen to music, celebrate and play football.
For others, the win had a sentimental value:
@LRJarrar: My dad is 71 years old & cries like a baby when he hears Mohammed Assaf on #ArabIdol sing for Palestine as audience chants “Falasteen”
Abeer Ayyoub writes for +972 about Assaf's victory:
When we finally got home, we found mum gazing at the television screen with a wide smile on her face … I asked mum how it was in the neighborhood when the results were announced. She said the fireworks never stopped and that my two-year-old niece Tala woke up crying out of fear. She thought it was the same sounds of bombardments she usually hears; sad! That was the reason we were so happy – we are not accustomed to such kinds of happiness, we have always known war, blood and destruction. But yesterday, we proved to everyone, first and foremost to ourselves, that we are a nation of love and peace rather than a nation of blood and war.
She adds:
Assaf did what politics couldn’t: he united Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, the occupied lands of 1948 and the diaspora. They all supported the Palestinian artist regardless of his home territory or political affiliation. That is the ultimate Palestinian goal: unity.
Nervana shares the same opinion with Abeer:
@Nervana_1: Fact: Mohamed Assaf has united the Palestinians better than Meshaal, Haniyeh and Abbas! #Assaf #arabidol

author: Tarek Amr


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Saudi Human Rights Activist Sentenced To 8 Years in Prison · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

This post is part of our Special Coverage: Reformists on Trial in Saudi Arabia
Abdulkareem al-Khadar, a founding member of the Kingdom's defiant leading human rights organisation, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), was sentenced to eight years in prison for inciting public opinion and establishing an unlicensed human rights organization among other charges, five years of which to be suspended and applied only if the activist participates in any illegal assembly or association after his release.
Today's session was held in the Saudi Arabian city of Buraydah and it was attended by tens of ACPRA supporters, but the judge allowed no women, saying that “men are good enough.”
The first hearing session in Dr. al-Khadar's trial was on February 20th, when he asked the judge to withdraw from the case because of a previous personal conflict that they had had, but the judge refused.  The same judge, Ibrahim al-Husni, previously sentenced peaceful protesters to be flogged.
Dr. al-Khadar (in the middle) before the beginning of a previous session. Image uploaded by @acprahr
Back in March, two other prominent human rights activists and co-founders of ACPRA were found guilty and sentenced to 10 and 11 years in jail for “breaking allegiance to the ruler and his successor” and “trying to impede the country’s developments”.
After today's session, al-Khadar's lawyer and ACPRA member Abdualziz al-Shubaily was held by police forces after a secret police member had accused him of “inappropriate behavior.”  He was shortly released:
خرجت قبل قليل من مركز الشرطة الجنوبي بعدما اتهمني فرد من جهاز المباحث بعمل حركات غير لائقه له
@a_abdulaziz300: I was just released from the Southern Police Station after a secret police member had accused me of inappropriate behavior toward him.
Following the session, Saudi Twitter users started a hashtag: (#أنا_عضو_حسم) (I am an ACPRA member), where they wrote their names to declare their full support of ACPRA's positions and demands of political reforms.
This post is part of our Special Coverage: Reformists on Trial in Saudi Arabia

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Anas Soliman


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Spanish Taxman Confuses Princess’ ID for Another’s in Corruption Investigation · Global Voices
Elena Arrontes

[All links lead to Spanish-language pages unless otherwise noted.]
A supposed administrative error by the Spanish tax agency falsely attributing the sale of 13 estates to the Princess Cristina as part of the ongoing corruption case against her husband has Internet users taunting the agency for its clumsy mistake.
The main person accused in the so-called “Case Nóos” is Iñaki Urdangarín, the King's son-in-law, but Urdangarín's wife, Princess Cristina, could also be implicated in the case if she cooperated in the fiscal crimes of her husband.
A report requested recently by Judge José Castro from the Spanish Tax Agency, which details the patrimonial activities of Princess Cristina, attributes the buying and selling of 13 estates carried out between 2005 and 2006 to the princess. But the agency later released a statement declaring the information in the report to be false due to an administrative error. The tax minister explained in the statement that the error was due to a mistaken attribution of the princess’  national ID number, or DNI, given that the number on her document coincides with the number of others. An unlikely justification, considering that each DNI is unique and that the ID document of the King's daughter consists of just two digits and a letter: “14Z”.
While the media tried to decipher whether or not the error was committed by the exchequer, Internet users made fun of the Spanish administration system and its explanation. At the same time, users expressed their doubts about the quality of the judicial investigation.
These have been some of the comments made online about the supposed error, making “DNI” a trending topic on Twitter:
@moedetriana: La infanta tiene un DNI de dos cifras y unos ingresos de ocho y nosotros al revés.
@LaEtxebarria: Voto porque en nuestra próxima declaración de la renta todos pongamos el número 14 . Un error lo tiene cualquiera.
DNI
@LaEtxebarria: I vote that in our next tax declaration we all put our DNI number as 14. It's an easy mistake to make.
@Cresleaks: La Infanta nos ha hecho la 13/14 (13 fincas con el DNI 14) eh eh lo habéis pillao #Nivelaco
@Cresleaks: The Princess has given us 13/14 (13 estates with a DNI of 14) Hey! You've been caught!#Nivelaco
Many, including numerous journalists, expressed their skepticism of the possibility that the Exchequer made a genuine mistake:
@iescolarm: Probabilidad de nacer infanta: una entre 23 millones. Probabilidad del “error” de su DNI: una entre diez quintillones http://kcy.me/mvxs
@iescolar: Probabilty of being born a Princess: one in 23 million. Probability of an “error” on a ID card: one in quintillionhttp://kcy.me/mvxs
And others related it to other current corruption cases:
@Fredy_Barragan: Yo creo que lo de Messi es un error en el DNI, como la Infanta Cristina. No hay otra explicación.
@Fredy_Barragan: I think Messi [en] has an error on his DNI, just like Princess Cristina. There's no other explanation.
@antoniosilvaweb: Lo del DNI de la infanta es error de Hacienda. Lo de Blesa es error del juez. Lo de seguir aguantando a estos golfos, sí es error nuestro.
@antoniosilvaweb: The error on the Princess’ DNI is the Exchequer's fault. In Blesa's case [en]  it's the judge's fault. That we carry on putting up with these louts is all our fault.
Some Internet users commented on the news with photo montages:
Image from blog Skakeo. “13 administrative errors anyone could make: ‘Ahh, I confused my DNI with the Princess’ and I've completely messed it up.'”
Published by El Jueves magazine. “Treasury Department we are all stupid.”
In Spain, corruption cases are testing the patience of the citizens who, at the same time, are being submitted to austerity measures put in place by the government. A large part of the country's institutions are under suspicion of corruption. In any case, the reactions on the Internet show that Spaniards still react with humour in the face of such news.
However, they also question whether justice is equal for everybody. Luis Piedrahita wrote a message on Twitter about the debate. Just 40 minutes later, it had been retweeted 600 times:
@PiedrahitaLuis: Mientras la justicia imputa y desimputa, encarcela y desencarcela, culpa y exculpa, España espera y desespera.
@PiedrahitaLuis: While the justice system accuses and defends, jails and frees, blames and excuses, Spain hopes and despairs.

author: Elena Arrontes


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Trinidad & Tobago: Tourists Charged · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This is a country where tourism is a big portion of the nation’s income, yet tourists are clearly not valued, even just enough to answer a simple question.
tzen project blogs about her family's travel nightmare in Trinidad and Tobago.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Video Exposes Lavish Lifestyle of Thai Monks · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

This viral video shows Thai monks reportedly from the Si Sa Ket’s Kanthararom district riding in a private plane and carrying luxury brand bags and sunglasses.

author: Mong Palatino


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Snapshot of Pakistan’s Digital Landscape · Global Voices
Rezwan

A snapshot of the the digital landscape in Pakistan – covering mobile, internet, social media and e-commerce – as of June 2013. Click on image for a full view. By Samra Muslim. Used with permission.

author: Rezwan


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Protesters’ Open Letter to Brazil’s President · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

The Free Fare Movement (Movimento Passe Livre) sent a open letter [pt] to the President Dilma Rousseff on Monday, June 24, 2013. They wrote that free public transport is a social right and criticized the violence of the Brazilian police and State during recent demonstrations led by social movements as whole in the country. Paulo Padilha (@ZubiZubiYe) has translated the letter from Portuguese into English and made available on googledocs.

author: Thiana Biondo


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The ‘Penis Class’ is on China’s State Media  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ministry of Tofu explains the term “Diaosi”, a online buzzwords to describe a social class in China. The literal meaning of diaosi is “the fan of Penis”, it refers to the self-proclaimed Chinese underdogs who wallow in self-pity and self-mockery and the vulgar term has been adopted by state-run media.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Chinese Social Web Slams Local Dog Meat Festival · Global Voices
Owen Guo

The annual dog meat festival in China’s southwestern city of Yulin in Guangxi province opened on June 21, 2013 amid strong outcry online, with some calling for a boycott of the event.
Weeks before the “food carnival” in which thousands of dogs would be brutally slaughtered to be served in restaurants across the city, some animal rights activists and pet lovers even appealed to the United States White House petition page in a hope to stop the dog eating festivity. The move fell short, failing to get 100,000 signatures, which is the threshold of getting an official response.
Feasting on dog meat is a summer solstice tradition for many residents in this city of six million. Its popularity is best described by a regional proverb— “the smell of dog meat is so strong, even the god won't last for long” . Locals believe the delicacy gives eaters strength and energy.
Dogs to be cooked in Yulin ( Open Source)
Efforts to curb the tradition of consuming dog meat have been successful in the past. In 2011, an online campaign forced local government to do away with a 600-year-old tradition of dog meat festival in Jinhua city of China's eastern Zhejiang province.
However, little change seemed to be on the horizon for Yulin. In the city, an estimated 10,000 dogs are killed every year during the festival. That many are beaten to death, frayed and cooked on the spot has galvanized animal protection groups, which reject such a tradition as inhuman and unsafe.
Media reports also said many dogs are strays or abducted from pet owners, and they are usually stored in cramped conditions where diseases can easily spread among dogs.
While a large number of netizens took to the Internet to voice their disgust over the practice, many locals defended their custom and dog-eating culture.
“Eating dog meat is a eating habit in the society, it's not illegal and has nothing to do with morality”, a local was quoted as saying by state news agency Xinhua.
The intensive bickering online over dog-eating takes place against a backdrop of increasing pet ownership in the country. It also underscores a greater consciousness of animal rights among the general public.
Yang Yiyan lamented on popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo:
这样低俗卑劣的地方风俗文化不要也罢！坚决支持取消“广西玉林「荔枝狗肉节」”！！
We don’t need such a low and despicable local custom and culture! I firmly support the cancellation of Guangxi Yulin [Lizhi dog meat festival] !!
Echoing the same sentiment, Zhang Kexin wrote:
今天，2013年6月21日，广西玉林将举办“荔枝狗肉节”；届时，大批的狗在遭受苦难后将被 “活”杀！成为当地人的美食…；我们做了？我们什么也没有做？ 文明、道德、善良、生命价值观离我们近了？还是远了？ 但是，我们将永远记住——一个杀戮和血腥的日子和一个罪恶的城市！！
Today, June, 21 2013, Yulin of Guangxi will hold the “Lizhi dog meat festival”. Massive numbers of dogs will be tortured and killed by then! They will become local cuisine…; What did we do? We did nothing [to stop it]? Civilization, morality, kindness, value of life, are they closer to us or more further away? But let us remember this–A massacre and bloody day and a sinful city!!!
Meiri Maogou Youyue mourned the dogs that would be killed for the tradition:
6月21号！就在今天#玉林荔枝狗肉节#正是开幕】就在今天将有上万条生命要被残忍的杀害！就在今天玉林这个没有爱的城市将被血染！就在今天玉林的“好”名声将响彻国内外！ 我们什么都做不了，请大家默默地为今天死去的上万只狗点上根蜡烛。
June 21, it’s today #Yulin Lizhi Dog meat festival opens today. Thousands of lives will be slaughtered brutally today! The Yulin city without love will be inundated by blood! Yulin’s “good reputation” will be heard across the globe! We will do nothing today but to light candles for thousands of dogs that are killed today.
But Xiaoying Tongxue had a more nuanced view, writing that eating dog meat isn't necessarily wrong, but inhumane slaughter practices are:
我自己坚决不吃狗肉，但是我绝对不会指责别人吃，每个人都有自己的喜好，只要这事不犯法，你就不能说人家做错了，只是希望这些人杀狗的时候能人道一点。
I am determined not to eat dog meat, but I will never criticize those who do so, everyone has his or her preferences, as long as you don’t break the law, you can’t say [eating dog meat] is wrong, [I only] hope that the way of slaughtering dogs will be more humane.

author: Owen Guo


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Hacker Attacks on South and North Korea · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Hacker collective Anonymous previously announced they will attack North Korean sites on June 25. But it took an unexpected turn as several major South Korean sites, including the website of South Korea's presidential office and those of media organizations, have been temporarily suspended. North Korea Tech explains in detail.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Indigenous Land in Panama Sold to Developers · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“They said they would make a program to help people, but they really wanted our signatures to sell [the land]. They lied to us and now we have realized this,”
Independent journalist Jennifer Kennedy quotes Samuel Tugri, an indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé resident of the Kusapín district, where “large tracks of pristine coastal land […] have been sold to foreign developers.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Mozambique’s First Civic Hackathons  · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Mozambique's Ministry of Science and Technology is sponsoring the country's first civic hackathons, with the support of Sweden and Finland. The second, slated for the end of June, will focus on mobile apps in natural disaster management and flooding scenarios, frequent in the country. First prize is worth €2,000.

author: Janet Gunter


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New Regulations for Skype and Viber in Bahrain · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Security considerations” are being cited as reasons behind new regulations which could put an end to the use of popular services such as Skype, WhatsApp, Viber and Tango in Bahrain.
Newspapers quoted Minister of State for Communication Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa as saying new regulations were being introduced for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications, which have become popular across the Gulf region, with millions of users exchanging news, views, photographs, and trivial jokes daily, as well as making free calls and connecting with friends and family.
Al Khalifa is quoted as saying:
The measures are meant to guarantee there is no clash with traditions and customs in addition to security considerations. They are part of the efforts exerted by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to ensure the existence of regulations that preserve the rights of operators and that there is no abuse of communication applications.”
He said the move was to protect the country's communication sector, adding that a study showed that “100,000 people in Bahrain had used VoIP applications in four days.”
Bahrain seems to be taking the cue from Saudi Arabia, which has already banned the use of Viber in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia blocked the instant messaging application on June 5, 2013, after it threatened to block encrypted communication software, unless it was allowed to spy on users. Other services the Saudi authorities are threatening to block include Skype and mobile messaging service WhatsApp.
According to @Comms_BH, a verified Twitter account, which describes itself as the official account of the Ministry of State for Communications:
@CommsBH: Minister: MoSC is conducting a research study for the purpose of setting up controls over the usage of (VoIP) technology. #Bahrain
@CommsBH: The procedures comes in order to prevent any breaching of observable moral values and traditions as well as for security considerations.
@CommsBH: Legislations and regulations aim to ensure the protection of data and boost the security of international calls and telecom networks.
Online, netizens expressed dismay at the news.
Ahmedroid asks:
@albosta: Shall we kiss free VOiP goodbye #bahrain #skype #asterisk #previousTweet #viber
And Rasha Yousif adds:
@RshRsho: If @Comms_BH blocks viber, tango or Skype I’m burning tires #Bahrain
Burning tyres and blocking roads is a popular sign of protest in restive Bahrain, which has been witnessing almost daily protests since February 14, 2011.
On March 12, the World Day Against Cyber-Censorship, Reporters Without Borders named Bahrain as one of five state Enemies of the Internet – “spy states that conduct systematic online surveillance that results in serious human rights violations.” The other four are Syria, China, Iran and Vietnam.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Tamim Bin Hamad Named New Qatar Emir · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Former Qatari ruler Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani handed power today to his fourth son, Shaikh Tamim. Doha News maintains a live blog here to cover the story.


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Saudi Forces Hunt and Kill ‘Wanted’ Protester in Residential Area · Global Voices
Guest Contributor

According to netizen reports, Saudi Emergency Forces entered residential areas in the eastern city of Qatif over two nights and opened fire. An innocent bystander was killed on the first night, and a man ‘wanted’ by authorities for protesting and demanding reform in the Kingdom, was shot dead on the second night.
On Friday, the night of June 21, 2013, Emergency Forces fired live bullets while chasing a suspect on his motorbike in Toubi village in Qatif. Nineteen-year-old Ali Al-Mahrous was sitting in his car in that area at the time. According to Nabaa TV, he was shot [ar] and moved to a hospital. Reports say he died while he was being taken to a hospital, but pictures show him dead [ar] in his car.
19-year-old Ali Al-Mahrous. Screenshot from Nabaa TV's report on the June 21 shooting, uploaded to its YouTube channel.
The Eastern Provincial Police reported [ar] another story. The police claim that unknown gunmen fired at a police patrol which compelled the police to fire back. Later, they received a call about a teenager wounded from a stray bullet; they attempted to rush him to a hospital, but he died on the way.
On Saturday evening, June 22, Saudi Emergency Forces came again. This time their target was Morsi Al-Rebh, one of the 23 wanted persons by the government for his participation in protests that swept Qatif with the beginning of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011.
Sources say forces did not try to arrest Morsi before shooting him. Eyewitnesses say many gunmen started firing in the air to disperse t people gathered to put decorations for an upcoming religious celebration. After firing directly at Al-Rebh, two of the gunmen asked him who he was; when he confirmed his identity, they threw him in the back of the car and drove away. The official government news agency, SPA, reported [ar] that forces tried to arrest him, but he fled which forced them to handle the situation and shoot him.
The bodies of both men, Al- Mahrous and Al- Rebh are still with authorities, their families have refused to take them.
The family of Ali Al-Mahrous [ar] refused to take his body until an official investigation is opened, but the authorities refused and threatened to bury him in the desert. As for the corpse of Morsi Al-Rebh, his family received a call from the Ministry of Interior telling them that they can only take the body if they sign an agreement not to have a funeral procession – a deal the family had refused.
This is not the first time Saudi emergency forces have fired live bullets in a residential area. On September 26, 2012, government forces raided Awwamiya village, targeting Khaled Al-Labbad, who was also  on the list of the 23 wanted persons. They immediately killed him along with a 16-year-old teenager who was accompanying him, Mohammed Al-Mnasif. Three others were wounded in that shooting. One of them, 16-year-old Hassan Al-Zahrai later died in hospital.
The 23 wanted persons are accused of causing disorder and riots, among other charges and were called to hand themselves over to authorities. Many of them denied all charges and said their only crime was protesting peacefully demanding their rights. Citizens in Qatif complain of the discrimination they face as Muslims of the Shiite sect, but the government denies such discrimination.
Since the beginning of the protest movement in Qatif in early 2011, at least 20 people have been killed by security forces.
Lama tweeted [ar]:
اذكره مرة واحدة حين كانت اخته تبحث عنه بقلق في احد المسيرات، قال لها مبتسم لا تخافي علي اذا استشهدت ..خافي وابكي ان اعتقلت #مرسي_الربح
@Lama88Qatif: I remember once when his sister was looking for him [Morsi Al-Rebh] in a protest; he smiled and told her: don't be scared if I'm martyred, be scared and cry if I'm arrested.
Qatif  commented [ar]:
ثاني حالة اعدام في الشوارع في القطيف خلال عام، فهل هذه دولة ام عصابة مافيا. وانباء متضاربة حول استشهاد الشاب #مرسي_الربح
@QatifAli1: This is the second field execution in a year. Is this a country or a mafia mob? There are conflicting news about the death of Morsi Al-Rebh.
Mohammed Al-Rabiah  said [ar]:
أعجز عن استحضار تعبيرات الإدانة والشجب أمام جرائم وزارة الداخلية! الرحمة والمغفرة لشهداء القطيف واللعنة على هذه السلطة الطاغية المتجبرة.
@mohad_f: I cannot come up with enough expressions to condemn the crimes of the Ministry of Interior. May mercy and forgiveness be upon the martyrs of Qatif and curses be upon this despotic regime.
Author Toby Matthiesen tweeted expecting escalation in the region:
@TobyMatthiesen: Given the experience of the past 2 years in the Saudi Eastern Province, expect big funerals/demonstrations in the coming days for the 3 dead. [there were rumors about a 3rd martyr but they were denied later.]

author: Guest Contributor


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Yemen, Beyond the Headlines  · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

Yemen is a country in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula rich in culture, heritage, and history, with an extremely friendly and hospitable people.
But that doesn't make the news.
The country is often misrepresented in Western media coverage, magnifying the country's negative aspects. A country of 24 million people of many different backgrounds “has been reduced to Al-Qaeda…wars, poverty, Qat, tribalism, or the ancestral home of Osama Bin Laden,” writes blogger Atiaf Alwazir (@womanfromyemen) in her post “The Flawed Media Narrative on Yemen“:
Today’s journalism on Yemen is no longer about getting the facts right, or inspiring people to think independently, it is about who can write the most sensationalized story on the country – no matter how many times it has already been told – because that is what sells.
But some Yemenis are trying to change that. Using film, photography, blogging, and social media, they want the world to see Yemen for its rich art, unique architecture, and the breath-taking landscapes and scenery that the country has to offer.
A panoramic view capturing Yemen's unique architecture by photographer Mohammed Alnahdi.
Getting to know Yemen
Yemen is the one of the oldest civilizations in the world, with its history dating back to the first millennium B.C. It was commonly known as Arabia Felix, meaning Fortunate Arabia or Hapy Arabia.
In fact, four of the world's heritage sites are in Yemen. First, is the old capital itself, Sanaa. One of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, it boasts more than 103 mosques, 14 hammams (baths) and more than 6,000 multi-story mud houses with unique architecture, featuring spectacular decorated facades adorned with stained glass windows.
A video uploaded by UNESCO offers a glimpse of old Sanaa:
Second is Shibam, also known as the “Manhattan of the desert”, which is home to the oldest skyscrapers in the world — 500 mud-brick houses which are eleven stories high.
Shibam, the Manhattan of the desert, by photographer Michail Vorobyev.
Third is the island of Socotra, the largest member of an archipelago site, important for its biodiversity and distinct flora and fauna. According to UNESCO, “37% of Socotra’s 825 plant species, 90% of its reptile species, and 95% of its land snail species do not occur anywhere else in the world.”
Take a look at the island in this YouTube video uploaded by ToYemen:
The last is the picturesque coastal town of Zabid, with its narrow alleyways and burnt brick buildings.
Beyond the media's portrayal
Various online efforts are being made to combat the media's narrow view of Yemen.
This short 20-minute video film, made for the British Council's Zoom Short Film Competition 2010 and uploaded to YouTube by ZoomCompetition, tries to correct misunderstandings about Yemenis conveyed through the distorted media coverage by showing their simple life:
To educate people on Yemen's history and heritage, Yemeni Poet Sana Uqba (@Sanasiino), who lives in London, wrote and recited a powerful poem about Yemen (video uploaded by Yemeniah Feda'aih):
One of my most popular blog posts entitled “Yemen… unraveled facts about my beautiful homeland” highlights many hidden facts about Yemen, such as it being the source of one of the finest and most expensive honey in the world – the “Doani honey” – and one of the first countries to introduce coffee to Europe by exporting its own coffee brand out of the port of Mocha.
Fahd Aqlan, a 35-year-old Yemeni man residing in Cairo, Egypt, started a Facebook page called So you think you've seen Yemen? to counter misconceptions and show the world another aspect of Yemen beyond what is portrayed in news headlines.
Summer Nasser, a Yemeni activist and blogger based in New York, started another Facebook page entitled The People of Yemen, which as she describes is a “photo project which brings the life of Yemen, one picture at a time to it's audience across the world.”
Others have spoken out in support of the country. Yemen-based journalist Adam Baron said in his Drones-Ad-Hoc hearing testimony:
Yemenis, as a rule, are nearly unfathomably friendly and welcoming.
On Twitter, Word Press Award winner and Spanish photojournalist Samuel Aranda (@Samuel_Aranda_) put in a good word for country as a foreigner:
@Samuel_Aranda_: For who thinks that in Yemen are only extremist. Visit Yemen!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNMsm1Fl_X8&feature=related…
Sampling Yemen's cuisine
Yemeni food is often accompanied by homemade bread and cooked in stoneware. This photo show's a typical breakfast or dinner made of bread, fava beans, and liver accompanied by tea with milk and cardamon:
A typical Yemeni breakfast or dinner. Photo courtesy “So you think you've seen Yemen?” Facebook page.
Bint El Sahn is a very popular and traditional Yemeni dish. Literally translated to English, it means “daughter of the plate.” It is made of many layers of dough, baked and served with a drizzle of honey on top. It is consumed during the meal as a main dish, not a desert.
The famous Bint El Sahn. Photograph by Hend Abdullah
Yemeni Kitchen is a great blog for an introduction to the country's cuisine. The blog, as described by the authors, “focuses on Yemeni Food with a historical twist.” Not only does it provide a step-by-step recipe of the dishes it introduces, but it also describes the history behind them as well.
A traditional northern Yemeni dance is called Bara'a and is performed with swift movements carrying a Janbiya, the Yemeni dagger, while dancing to the tunes of the Yemeni drum and muzmar, a type of Yemeni flute. Watch how young people perform this art in this video up loaded to YouTube by GTB313:
In the south, there is Hardamout dance and music, as seen in this YouTube video uploaded by Yemen Reform:
To listen to various Yemeni songs and rhythms, check out the following links: Ayoub Tarish is a famous Yemeni singer and composer; Yemen Reform provide YouTube videos of different Yemeni singers performing such as Alharethi, Alanessi, Alkebsi and also various Yemeni Nasheed Asswat Yemenia (Yemeni voices), and in addition to that it has songs for Abu Bakr Salem Balfaqih, Ali Thahban and Mohammed Morsehd Naji among others; My Diwan has the largest collection of Yemeni songs and Ahmed Fathi is a prominent Yemeni musician, singer, composer and Oud player.
Art, photography, and landscapes
This video, uploaded by TourYemen, shows the art, culture, and breathtaking landscape and beautiful scenery in Yemen:
Another panoramic tour of Yemen is available in this video uploaded to YouTube by tomeriko:
More breath-taking photos of Yemen can be seen through the Facebook pages of photographers Ameen Al-Ghabri and Abu Malik:
A beautiful shot of the old city of Sanaa through the lens of Ameen Alghabri.
A selection of photos of the portal city of Aden by Ameen Alghabri.
A breath taking view of the city of Ibb seen from a cliff.
Photo by Abu Malik.
Some of the most famous Yemeni painters are Lamia Al-Kibsi, Fouad Al-Foutaih and Mazher Nizar, and more of his work can be viewed here and here.
Oil painting by Fouad Al Foutaih, from the private collection of the author of this post, Noon Arabia.
For an alternative to Western media, follow local cultural and social stories through Yemen's own media, such as The Yemen Times and La Voix du Yemen.

author: Noon Arabia


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Afghan Presidential Palace Targeted by the Taliban · Global Voices
Samea Shanori

An attack on the presidential palace in downtown Kabul on the morning of June 25 has terrified Afghans and cast a huge cloud over the future of negotiations between the government, the Taliban, and the United States. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The assault, which occurred before a meeting scheduled between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Afghan elders, culminated in in several bomb explosions and gunfire between Taliban militants and Afghan security forces, killing at least seven people. Negotiations were already under threat, partly because Karzai took offence at the Taliban opening a new office in Doha.
Karzai is likely to have been in the palace at the time of the attack, but was not harmed. Farzad Lameh (@FarzadLameh), Afghan journalist and blogger, tweeted on June 25 from Washington DC:
There was no press conference scheduled at #Afghanistan Presidential Palace today, Afghan officials say. The Pre. was expected 2 meet elders.
Smokes in the Sky of Kabul, the attack on the presidential palace. By Twitter user, Wais Barakzai (@WaisBarakzai)
Due to the explosions, the U.S Embassy and the presidential palace were both locked down. Said Tayeb Jawad (@AmbassadorJawad), the former Afghan ambassador to the US tweeted:
Press conf cancelled as US Amb @Jim_Dobbins is locked down in US Embassy bunkers and President Karzai @ the Presidential Palace secure loc.
According to Tolonews, Taliban insurgents were able to get into the heavily guarded west gates of the palace using a fake VIP entrance card for their vehicle. The news agency (@Tolonews) tweeted:
Attackers used foreign soldiers fake badges and vehicle passes, which allowed at least one to get inside the heavily guarded area
The assault was launched after James Dobbins, the US envoy responsible for facilitating negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban met Karzai on June 24 in Kabul. The fighting between Taliban and government forces ended after an hour, leaving three security guards and four suicide bombers dead. Afghans terrified of the attacks shared and posted their concerns on various social media outlets including Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook Elly Sharifi wrote:
The horrible feeling of getting up with the sound of gunfire and 16 blasts right after each other…. :( stay safe Kabul.
Mariam Amiri posted:
Every week at least a couple of attacks take place in the Kabul city! It is very sad :(
Sabira L. Moradi shared [fa]:
در امن وبناه خداوند كريم باشيد، دوستان نازنينم دركابل
My dear friends in Kabul, stay safe and under God's mercy.
The terrible attack also worried Afghans living abroad whose families and friends are living in Kabul. Farzad Lameh wrote on his public facebook page:
I could be thousands of miles away, but my heart is still in Kabul. May God keep you all safe.
Also in the wake of yesterday's attack, popular musician Sulyman Qardash tweeted (@crackintheradio):
BE GONE TALIBAN.
Journalist and poet Lina Rozbih-Haidari asked [fa] for people's thoughts about the attacks, in a post on her official Facebook page:
نظر شما در مورد حمله بر عمارت ریاست جمهوری و کشته شدن تمام مهاجمان چیست؟ این حمله در حالی صورت میگیرد که نماینده خاص ایالات متحده در امور افغانستان و پاکستان به کابل سفر کرده است
What is your opinion about the attack on the presidential palace that resulted in the death of the insurgents? The attack took place while the US's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan arrived in Kabul.
Hundreds of angry Afghans commented on the post. Khurshed Aftab stated [fa]:
Let's break the taboo and cry out loud that there is no need to make peace with terrorists. We are prepared to fight them for our values. They will ask, don't you wish for peace? I want to have the courage to say that I do not want peace with terrorist because he does not know the meaning of peace.
محمدامین حنیف argued [fa] that Taliban are becoming increasingly powerful.
نمایش قدرت طالبان است . آنها دیگر واقعاً قدرت حمله به هرجا را در هر موقع که خواسته باشند دارند . همانطوریکه نتیجه انتخابات پاکستان را با ترور و انفجار به نفع طرفداران تندرو خود تغییر دادند در افغانستان هم به همان اندازه قدرت دارند و حتی در ارگ هم نفوذ دارند و مردم آزادی خواه با این گروه نبردی سختی در پیش دارند
This is the sign of Taliban's power. They truly have the control to attack anywhere at anytime they want. Just as they changed the Pakistani elections’ result with terror and attacks for the benefit of their extremist supporters, in Afghanistan they also have the same power, as well as influence over the presidential palace. Supporters of freedom [Afghan people] will have a tough battle ahead.
Hanif Bahman highlighted [fa] that:
در حالیکه دفتری برای طالبان،در قطربا حمایت امریکا تا سیس شده، حمله امروز خندیدن به ریش امریکاوسیلی محکمی به دولت افغانستان بود. این حمله نشان داد که طالبان به مذاکرات و گفتگوهیچ ارزشی قایل نیستند
While the Taliban headquarters was established in Qatar with the support of the United States of America, today's attack was a slap to the faces of the US and Afghan governments. This attack showed that  the Taliban do not value any kind of negotiations or peace talks.
Karzai was expected to announce a road map for peace talks with the Taliban on June 25. But now those plans are hanging in the balance.
Linking to a recent article by the Wall Street Journal, Vali Nasr's (@vali_nasr) wrote on Twitter:
Taliban Attack Presidential Palace…to encourage or discourage Karzai on peace talks? http://on.wsj.com/15BdK3O
Fawzia Koofi, the female MP recently profiled on Global Voices, told the Tokyo-based current affairs publication The Diplomat:
[The Taliban] is misusing the political privileges it has gotten by opening an office in Doha. The office is in a very rich nation. It has given the armed insurgent many political privileges that they have used as leverage for terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. [The Taliban] is psychologically affecting the lives of the people and creating confusion at a time when there is a need for clarity…There should not be any doubt in anybody’s mind that the peace process cannot be successful unless the Taliban abandons violence, severs itself from Al Qaeda and is honest in its approach. Their present strategy will bring some Taliban to power, but it will not bring peace in the country
Global Voices articles on the current political situation in Afghanistan can be found here, here, here and here.

author: Samea Shanori


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Amnesty Report Accuses Spanish Government of Obstructing Justice · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

Time passes, impunity remains, the new Amnesty International (AI)  report [es] published on June 17, 2013, analyses the investigation of crimes committed during Spain's Civil War and the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
AI accuses the Spanish government of protecting the impunity of the crimes committed during this period. The report's introduction makes the following hardline statement:
En este informe, Amnistía Internacional constata que el comportamiento del estado español parece estar orientado a buscar que se garantice la impunidad de los crímenes de la Guerra Civil y el franquismo. Así se deduce del rechazo de los jueces españoles, amparados por el Tribunal Supremo, de investigar, y la falta de colaboración del Gobierno y de la Fiscalía con la justicia argentina (como se explicará), para que otros países puedan investigar estos crímenes.
In this report, Amnesty International asserts the behaviour of the Spanish government is aimed at ensuring impunity for the war crimes that took place during the Civil War and under Franco. It's the only deduction we can surmise as to why judges -most notably those on the Supreme Court- have refused to investigate cases and the general lack of collaboration from both the Government and the Attorney General with the Argentine judiciary (explanation to follow), so other countries might investigate these crimes.
The report accuses the government of hindering and even preventing proper investigations of the crimes committed during the Franco era. The Spanish newspaper Público [es] detailled five ways in which the government is obstructing investigations:
Cover image of the Amnesty International report.
1. El gobierno de España se entromete y no colabora
2. La justicia no investiga
3. La fiscalía facilita afirmaciones falsas
4. España no ha firmado aún su adhesión a la Convención sobre imprescriptibilidad
5. Se mantiene vigente la Ley de Amnistía de 1977
1. The Spanish government obstructs and refuses to cooperate
2. Courts refuse to investigate
3. The Attorney General enables false testimonies
4. Spain still hasn't become a signatory of the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
5. The 1977 Amnesty Law has not been repealed.
Ignacio Jotvis, author of the report, asserted during the presentation of his report that Spain's Judiciary has systematically impeded investigations of these crimes being conducted in Argentina, specifically citing how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prevented Argentine judge María Servini [es] from taking victims’ official statements via videoconference.
Director of Amnesty International Spain Esteban Beltrán said, “Spain is making a vain attempt to turn the page having not even read it.” El Boletín [es] published further details shared during the report's presentation:
(…) la organización detalla que, de los 47 casos de víctimas del franquismo derivados de la Audiencia Nacional a los juzgados territoriales, se habían archivado al menos 38.
Amnesty International has found that at least 38 of the 47 cases of violations under Franco's rule referred from the National High Court to regional courts have been closed.
Though long past, the violations committed during the Civil War remain a very sensitive topic within Spain. The numbers of those that actually lived the war -which took place from 1936 to 1939- are now few, but there is no lack of Spaniards who grew up with a keen awareness of a family member's suffering as a result of absuses from one side or the other. It is then no surprise that the subject continues to be a controversial and divisive one, commonly resulting in a nasty debate whenever it appears in a newspaper.
One of the most routinely cited criticisms of these investigations is their limited representation only includes Republican victims. On a Huffington Post article [es], reader Elpaisdelamagia commented:
Crímenes hicieron los dos bandos, ahora solo se habla del franquismo. Lo peor de un país una guerra civil, la lucha de hermanos contra hermanos…
Los dos cometieron crímenes e injusticias, cuando se llegó a la democracia, lo que se intentó es llegar a la reconciliación, no se puede vivir con odio y resentimientos (…).
Crimes were committed by both sides, even though now we only talk about those done by the Nationalists and Franco. The worst thing for a country is a civil war, brothers fighting against brothers…
Both are guilty of crimes and injustices. When democracy came, it did its best to bring reconciliation with it. We cannot live with this kind of hate and resentment (…).
Some take issue with the country extending necessary resources searching for mass graves and classifying human remains during such an economic crisis as the current one. They contend it is futile to investigate crimes that took place more than 70 years ago when it is not even possible to prosecute the culprits because they have already died. Reader Mike Hammer commented on the Público site:
Mas que impunidad, los presuntos responsables ya han entrado en la eternidad. Los argentinos que parecen estar dispuestos a meter las narices en el tema deberían recordar lo inútil que resulta “gastar pólvora en chimangos…”
More than impunity, those allegedly responsible have already passed. The Argentines that are so willing to stick their noses in the middle of all this should remember how futile it is to “beat a dead horse…”
Excavation of a mass grave in Lerma (Burgos). Foto taken from the website “La amapola libertaria”.
But there is a strong community backing the families of victims, who maintain their right to know what happened to their families, recover their remains and give them proper burials. On the blog Cosas de Antonio we read:
No se ha de pretender más que dejar las cosas en su sitio, que la historia diga la verdad de los hechos y que los muertos de las cunetas y de las fosas comunes sean enterrados y honrados como se merecen, (…)  por darles el mismo trato que se les ha dado a los otros contendientes y por merecerlo desde el punto de vista humano (…).
We should try to set the record straight, make history tell the truth about what happened, and provide the dead in ditches and in mass graves the burial they deserve, (…) give them the same that has been given to other fighters, it's the least they deserve from a humanistic point of view (…).
Mercedes Pinto[es]  left the following comment on the blog:
Yo creo que posicionarse en uno u otro bando para rescatar la memoria histórica también es un error. La guerra siempre la gana un bando, pero la perpetran dos. Hubo muertos en los dos lados (una de mis tías abuelas fue quemada en un convento, su padre murió en Paracuellos y el hermano de su madre a manos del ejército de Franco. ¿No es una locura?) (…)
I think to firmly position yourself on one side or another of history is a mistake. One side always wins the war, but two perpetrate it. There were deaths on both sides (one of my great aunts was burned in a convent, her father died in Paracuellos and her uncle at the hands of Franco's regime. Isn't that insane?) (…)
Journalist Olga Rodríguez (@olgarodriguezfr) tweeted this on the subject:
@olgarodriguezfr: A quienes se niegan a condenar el franquismo: Las heridas solo cicatrizan cuando se las trata. Por eso la impunidad marca tanto este país…
@olgarodriguezfr [es]: To those who want to refute the condemnation of the Franco regime: Wounds only heal when treated. This is why impunity is marking this country so deeply…
“We compensate for historical memories with an Alzheimer judiciary.” Cartoon by El Roto published on the website Federación Estatal de Foros por la Memoria.
On 26 May the Platform for a Truth Commission, comprised of more than 40 different groups and high-profile supporters, convened in order to “construct a memory of the victims that coincides with the official memory by the State and close, once and for all, open wounds.” According to the website periodismohumano [es]:
La Plataforma [por la Comisión de la Verdad] piensa llevar el asunto ante las instituciones internacionales como el Tribunal de Derechos Humanos y Estrasburgo. También al Parlamento Europeo pero con la finalidad de que lo que se apruebe en Europa, tenga legalidad en España
The Platform [for a Truth Commission] wants to bring the matter to international institutions like the Court of Human Rights and Strausborg. And to the European Parliament because in the end what is passed in Europe has legal implications in Spain.

author: Lourdes Sada


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Are Chinese Netizens a Bunch of Losers? · Global Voices
Abby Liu

According to the 2013 China New Media Development Report released by China's News and Communications Research Center under China’s Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the majority of Weibo users are a group of “low age, low education level and low income” urban dwellers. According to the translation from Offbeat China, the report concluded that:
While acknowledging Weibo’s contribution to anti-corruption efforts, the report also claimed that among the 100 hottest topics on Weibos from January 2012 to January 2013, rumors were observed in 1/3 of them.
However, many netizens doubted about the research results. Read more from Offbeat China.

author: Abby Liu


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Bottling Happiness in Lahore and California · Global Voices
Sahar Habib Ghazi

California-based Pakistani blogger Noorulain Noor writes a hauntingly beautiful blogpost about her desire to bottle her happy moments from California and her childhood in Lahore, Pakistan.
If only there were a way to bottle up happiness. Then I would grab some from the air, pluck small droplets of it, gingerly, and pour them in a bottle.
..
I would have all kinds of bottles containing all kinds of happiness then. The happiness of walking barefoot on a beach at Half Moon Bay, far enough from the icy water of the Pacific that it doesn't touch my feet, but close enough to smell the ocean. The happiness of jasmines blooming on ordinary streets of Lahore, full-mouthed, drooping, their fragrance almost tangible. The happiness of the cool stone floors of the Lahore Fort and that of taking my shoes off and feeling it strong and stoic under my feet. The happiness of running across the roof-top in fierce monsoon downpours in the summers of my childhood and that of eating sliced oranges on the same roof-top on dry, sunny winter afternoons. The happiness of looking at the Golden Gate Bridge from a distance, the topmost spires hiding behind floating clouds that sometimes look like scattered petals of a jasmine plucked from Lahore. The happiness of having looked at the Badshahi mosque, no clouds covering its minarets, but majestic all the same. The happiness of my baby's untamed giggle and mother's startling poetry.
Follow Noor's blog, Gol Gappay, Little Things That Matter as she vividly remembers her past in Pakistan, while writing about her current life as an immigrant in the US, balancing work and motherhood, and conquering her kitchen.

author: Sahar Habib Ghazi


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Caribbean: Snowden Raising Spectre of “Monster Under Bed”? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean bloggers continue to follow developments in the Edward Snowden case – some view him as the whistleblower who is championing freedom of the Internet, while others maintain his disclosures have overstepped security boundaries.
Cuban diaspora bloggers appeared to be firm in their opinion that Snowden was wrong to have leaked the information.  The Cuban Triangle, for instance, noted yesterday that:
It appeared that Edward Snowden, the rat on the run for divulging U.S. government secrets, might depart Russia for a life of political asylum in Ecuador, making a brief stop on our favorite island.
(Update: President Putin confirms that he’s in Russia and won’t be extradicted.)
The post speculates over the possibility of Snowden seeking refuge in Cuba:
The reason Snowden is having to hop-scotch around the world is that the United States has agreements with many countries that would require them to turn Snowden over.  And in the absence of agreements, we have relationships with many countries that are sufficiently strong that they would be open to a request from Washington.  Add up the two categories of countries, and Snowden’s options narrow.
The United States and Cuba do have an extradition agreement in force, dating from 1904.  But it is a dead letter because neither side has honored its terms for years.  From the first weeks of Cuba’s revolution, the United States refused to hand over persons sought by Cuba, and Cuba has fugitives from U.S. justice that it has refused to hand over.
Since extradition agreements are based on reciprocal obligations, and since the United States thinks little of Cuba’s justice system, it is unlikely that the United States would seek to revive an extradition agreement with Cuba.  Even in cases where we have agreements, some do not apply to all crimes.
It ends by asking:
But what if we did negotiate with Cuba?  Each side would carve out exceptions from the obligation to extradict, and the agreement might exclude past cases such as Luis Posada Carriles and JoAnn Chesimard.  Even if it’s an agreement full of holes, it would be worth it if it complicates the life and travels of the next Edward Snowden.
Babalu Blog, meanwhile, refers to what it calls “Edward Snowden's whirlwind tour of the world's most repressive tyrannies and most blatant violators of individual rights”.  The blog also speculates about a possible Cuba destination:
Snowden is very likely on a Havana-bound flight from Moscow where the criminal Castro dictatorship will no doubt greet him with open arms. They will also quickly take possession of his luggage, laptop computers, computer storage devices, documents, and anything and everything else he has on him. From there, he is possibly heading to the Cuban colony of Venezuela and finally settling in Ecuador, another Cuban proxy.
Snowden may be safe from the American government for now, but if he thinks the U.S. is bad, wait until he gets a load of his hosts.
When it comes to Snowden, however, Jamaican diaspora blogger fyrfli has concerns that are much more personal:
With all the talk of Manning, Snowden and the like, I am increasingly aware of all the knowledge I have about how technology works. And I don’t particularly want to be caught in the fallout.
She explains how this has affected her blogging:
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t necessarily believe anything I have to say is criminal. Nor do I believe that anything I have said here is likely to net me an espionage charge. I am not into treason. But what I do have to say is sometimes controversial and plenty unorthodox. The result is the silence you have been observing on this blog for months now. I just don’t want what I have to say going down in internet history. I now write, again, in paper journals. Anonymity online is a thing of the past.
The post continues:
The truth is that no matter what you have to say – whether it is to disparage the latest bikini fashion…or commentary on the latest political nightmare that is racism or potential treasonous acts by so-called ‘whistle-blowers’ – it will be stored on a server somewhere. Accessible by all manner of people with all kinds of agendas. People have an unattractive way of showing their bigotry and will use anything they can get their hands on to persecute those of us who speak our minds.
Everybody is entitled to speak their minds and be allowed to do so without persecution. Yet that is not what is happening. This so-called ‘free speech’ is being attacked from all quarters these days. No one is immune.
The Snowden case has stirred up some of her deepest fears:
The internet has become that dark space under my bed for me. I don’t want to be caught saying things that can and will be used against me…I don’t want to feel the urge to scream bloody murder when the lights go out because of some unnameable monster who is likely to take my words and twist them to their own advantage. I don’t want to be afraid. And thus, I continue to be quiet.


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Jamaica: Working for Women?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica Woman Tongue takes a closer look at an antiquated law that restricts women working at night.  “It looks like progress,” she says, “but there’s definitely a downside to freeing up women for night work. It’s not all about emancipation.


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Japanese Official Suspended Over Twitter Comment · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

A Japanese reconstruction official in charge of helping victims of the 2011 post-tsunami meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant has been taken off duty after sharp-eyed journalists unearthed tweets he wrote insulting area activists.
Written under a pseudonym in March 2013, the grumblings of Yasuhisa Mizuno, a councilor at the Reconstruction Agency, are only now coming back to haunt him.
The initial attention came from citizen media outlet OurPlanetTV, which has actively covered post-disaster Fukushima and kept an eye on government accountability. OurPlanetTV attended a seminar on March 7, 2013 hosted by concerned citizens and experts on potential health risks from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In the following video from the seminar, participants question government officials about reliable medical measurements of the health effects of living in the disaster-stricken area:
After speaking to the crowd at the seminar, Yasuhisa Mizuno made the following remark on Twitter [ja] under the pseudonym “ninja rider”[@jp1tej] in which he referred to the attendees using offensive language. Mizuno later deleted the Twitter account on June 13.
@jp1tej: 左翼のクソどもから、ひたすら罵声を浴びせられる集会に出席。不思議と反発は感じない。感じるのは相手の知性の欠除に対する哀れみのみ。
@jp1tej: Attended a meeting only to be booed by shitty leftists. Somehow I don't feel angry, instead I pity them for how unintelligent they are.
In April, OurPlanetTV made an information request in order to cross-reference Mizuno’s business trip record with the tweet. Finding correlation between his tweets and his travel, they were able to confirm that “ninja rider” was actually Mizuno grumbling on duty.
Major newspaper Mainchi Shimbun published a front page story [ja] in the morning paper on June 13, headlined “Reconstruction Agency Official's Offensive Tweet”, earning the matter even more attention. Faced with the scrutiny, the Reconstruction Agency held a press conference the next day, with its senior vice-minister apologizing for Mizuno's inappropriate comment on Twitter:
On June 21, the Reconstruction Agency announced [ja] that it had suspended Mizuno from duty for 30 days.
OurPlanetTV published the detailed archive [ja] of Twitter comments made by Mizuno, from the tweets he published under his real name on his first day at the Reconstruction Agency on August 17, 2012, to the subsequent posts he made under a pseudonym that he began using in October to, among other things, complain and sigh about his tiring work. This archive gained 19,000 likes on Facebook and many users have commented on the issue.
Some users sympathized with Mizuno and commented [ja]:
@sighrancor: 左翼のくだり以外何が問題なのか分からない。 匿名でガス抜きも許されないのか。
I don't see any problems other than his “shitty leftist” comment. Shouldn't this guy be allowed to get rid of stress under a pseudonym?
@hiroharu_minami :「王様の耳はロバの耳～～～」に近い話じゃなぁ。　ツィッター（てかＮｅｔ一般）は愚痴ツールには向いてないんだよね、拡散力強すぎて。 「左翼のクズ」も発言自体は「ネトウヨ」並にありふれ過ぎて、気軽に使っちゃったんだろうな。　俺も左翼にはクズ一杯いるよなと思うので、この役人にはちょっと同情覚えるわ。
This reminds me of the story of “The King [Midas] Has Donkey Ears”. Twitter, and the Net in general, is not the best place to grumble because of its characteristic of amplifying powerfully. The word “shitty leftists” is as common and used as “netouyo [online right-wingers]“, so he blurted it out like everybody else does. I sympathize with him because I feel there certainly are many shitty leftists.
Keigo Takeda, the former editor of Newsweek Japan, criticized [ja] the press for making personal attacks over the gaffe:
@KeigoTakeda: 個人的にはOurPlanetTVの記事 http://ow.ly/lYXE7 や1面で追いかけた毎日新聞、掲載し続けるヤフーは、公務員とはいえ「気に入らない考えを持つ人を攻撃している」ようにしか見えない。メディアスクラムによる公開リンチでしょ
@KeigoTakeda: It seems to me that the media; OurPlantTV that archived the detailed post, Mainichi newspaper covered it on the front page, and Yahoo!JAPAN keeps covering the issue; are practicing just another form of public lynching, and forming media scrum only to make personal attacks on an unfavorable public figure.
But the issue is not about what he said on Twitter, wrote Kenichiro Kawasaki, an attorney and co-founder of  Save Fukushima Children Lawyers’ Network [ja]. On his blog, he argued [ja]:
水野参事官個人を叩いても仕方ない （中略）昨年6月21日に成立した原発事故子ども・被災者支援法は，自民党から共産党まで全会派賛成で成立した全会一致の法律。しかし，1年近く経ったいまも法定の「基本方針」の素案すら作られておらず，店晒しの状態が続いている。（中略）ツイッターへの彼の書き込みの内容は確かに不謹慎だし残念な内容だが，本質はそこではなく，彼が「支援法の基本方針を作らない」ことで「被災者・避難者の生活を追い詰める」ことに加担してきたことこそが問題。
There's no use in personally attacking the councilor Mizuno. […] The Assistance for Children and Nuclear Disaster Victims Act was established on June 21, 2012, the Diet passed the bill with all parties unanimously; from Liberal Democratic to the Communist Party. Yet after almost a year, there's not even a draft of a basic guideline [for the implementation of the law], and the law is just warming the shelf […] I am disappointed by his inappropriate comment on Twitter, but the heart of the issue should be directed towards the fact that Mizuno has done little to help the victims by not making the basic guideline for the Assistance Act, and rather his actions have victims with their backs up against the wall.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Mexican Reporter to US Colleagues: Investigate Corruption · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“The battle we have at hand is not only for freedom of expression. It is for peoples’ right to be informed.”
Mexican journalist Marcela Turati delivered a keynote speech at the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, where she “asked American journalists to investigate corrupt government officials, local drug dealers and money launderers here to help complete the puzzle,” as Alejandro Martínez explains for The Knight Center's Journalism in the Americas Blog. You can read her full speech here.


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Peru Celebrates the Festival of the Sun · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

More than 64,000 people celebrated Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun, at Saksayhuaman archaeological park, about 15 minutes from the city of Cusco.
The staging of Inti Raymi started at the temple of Coricancha with greetings for the Sun, and then it continued at the Main Square. It culminated in Saksaywaman with the ceremony itself.
The Inca, escorted by his wife (known as coya) and an entourage of more than 200 individuals, entered at around 2 PM into a platform set in the middle of the park, after walking across the stone fortifications. Diverse ceremonies were then held, like the rite to the chicha de jora [es], the fire and the sank’u, the Andean people's main meal.
Overview of Inti Raymi. Photo by Ayla Zanini on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
June 24 marks the Southern Hemisphere's winter solstice; the shortest day and the longest night of the year. During the Inca era, the winter solstice marked the start of a new year, and according to 17-century writer and historian Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, it was the main celebration of the year.
In Cusco today, however, the date is more a show for tourists and also for locals, who consider the event a point of reference of their local conscience that stirs up enthusiasm and massive participation.
The website Toustodo's Blog explains [es] the following about the solstice:
Astronómicamente el solsticio es el momento en que el Sol alcanza la máxima declinación Norte (23° 27’) o Sur (-23° 27’) con respecto al ecuador terrestre.
En el hemisferio Norte el Sol alcanza el cenit en el solsticio de invierno al medio día sobre el Trópico de Capricornio, sucede el 20 o 21 de junio. En el hemisferio Sur el Sol alcanza su cenit al medio día sobre el Trópico de Cáncer, el 21 o 22 de junio.
Los solsticios se originan por la inclinación del eje de la Tierra sobre el plano de su órbita.
Astronomically, the solstice is the moment when the Sun reaches the highest declination North (23° 27’) or South (-23° 27’) in respect to the terrestrial equator.
In the Northern hemisphere the Sun reaches its zenith during the winter solstice at noon over the Tropic of Capricorn , which happens around June 20 or 21. In the Southern hemisphere the Sun reaches its zenith at noon over the Tropic of Cancer on June 21 or 22.
Solstices are originated by the inclination of the Earth's axis over the level of its orbit.
The blog Medios Alternativos shares part [es] of Inti Raymi's history:
Desde la conquista española, la ceremonia fue suprimida por la Iglesia Católica y la sociedad andina que celebraba la fiesta del sol fue desmembrada. El Inti Raymi fue entonces olvidado, hasta mediados del siglo XX cuando, como expresión de un gran movimiento de revaloración de la cultura nativa en el Perú, fue vuelto a la escena.
[…]
El Inti Raymi en tiempo de los Incas era una ceremonia religiosa, ahora es una representación de teatro, sin embargo esta expresión genera un sentimiento de identidad en el pueblo […]. La versión está expresada en el idioma original, quechua, con su correspondiente traducción al castellano para facilitar una mejor comprensión.
After the conquest by the Spaniards, the ceremony was suppressed by the Catholic Church and the Andean community that used to celebrate the sun festival was split up. Inti Raymi was then forgotten, until the mid 20th century when, as an expression of a great wave of revaluation of native culture in Peru, it was restored.
[…]
During the Inca era, Inti Raymi was a religious ceremony, now it is a theatrical representation, however, this expression generates a sense of identity in the people […]. The version is expressed in its original language, quechua, with a corresponding translation to Spanish for a better understanding.
On Twitter there were also comments related to the Festival of the Sun, like this one by Kristell PerezAlbela (@Kristellpa):
@Kristellpa: Quisiera estar en el #IntiRaymi !!
@Kristellpa [es]: I wish I could be at the #IntiRaymi !!
User SanBlasSpanishSchool (@SanBlasSpanish) expressed with enthusiasm:
@SanBlasSpanish: Yesterday was Inti Raymi, hope you all enjoyed it!
Meanwhile, Val (@Vientino) shared the beginning of the celebration:
@Vientino: Desde el amanecer de ayer se celebró la fiesta del sol, el Inti Raymi, en las estepas y las serranías de los Andes.
@Vientino [es]: From yesterday at dawn, the Festival of the Sun was celebrated, the Inti Raymi, at the plains and the highlands of the Andes.
Anyel (@AnyelZae) referred to the preference some parents have when choosing their children's name:
@AnyelZae: Pucha aveces los padres estan estresados cuando escogen nombres a sus hijos #intiraymi x ejmplo ..
@AnyelZae [es]: Gosh, sometimes parents are stressed when choosing a name for their children #intiraymi for example…
From Argentina, Ralph H (@lopezraulh) shared how he celebrated the date:
@lopezraulh: Ayer en el trabajo festejamos el Inti Raymi. Con apacheta [montículo de piedras] y ofrenda.
Así nomas de particulares somos.
@lopezraulh [es]: Yesterday at work we celebrated Inti Raymi. With apacheta [stone mound] and an offering.
That's how particular we are.
Lastly, ronaldchamat (@ronaldchamat) tweeted about the excitement of having experienced Inti Raymi:
@ronaldchamat: Hace 5 años estuve presente en el #IntiRaymi, qué privilegio haber estado en ese lugar en ese preciso instante http://elcomercio.pe/actualidad/159…
@ronaldchamat [es]: Five years ago I was at the #IntiRaymi, what a privilege having been there at that precise moment http://elcomercio.pe/actualidad/159…

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Podcast: Chinese Dissident’s NYU Departure · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Sinica Podcast hosts New Yorker correspondent Evan Osnos who talks about Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng's departure from NYU, how the Snowden affair may or may not affect Sino-American diplomacy, and his forthcoming book about his experience in China.


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Russian NGOs Learn to Invest in Paper Shredders · Global Voices
Daniel Alan Kennedy

At 3AM, on Saturday, June 22, 2013, Russian riot police and private security raided the offices of one of the country's oldest human rights organizations, the “For Human Rights” group [ru]. Those inside, including the group's leader, Lev Ponomarev, and the chairman of the liberal opposition party “Yabloko,” Sergei Mitrokhin, were forcibly evicted from the premises. Both Ponomarev and Mitrokhin claimed to have received cuts and bruises from the rough handling of the police. According to the authorities, For Human Rights’ lease expired in February and that the Moscow Government, which owns the building, did not wish to renew it due to unpaid rent.
The authorities claimed the organization had received ample warning and requests to leave the premises, but had not complied.
Lev Ponomarev speaks to journalists, as city authorities raid his downtown Moscow office, 21 June 2013, screenshot from YouTube.
Some liberal oppositionists were quick to paint this as yet another example of Russia's growing clampdown on non-governmental organizations. For Human RIghts is one of Russia's oldest and most widely known rights organizations and its founder's activism goes back to the late Gorbachev years. Oleg Kozyrev made an explicit link [ru] between the raid and the anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union.
Сегодня ночью, демонстративно в день и час годовщины Великой Отечественной войны, полиция и непонятные ЧОПовцы зачистили офис старейшего российского правозащитного движения “За права человека”.
Мы все знаем, почему это произошло. Потому, что это старейшее движение. Потому, что работающее и помогающее людям движение. Потому, что влиятельное.
Мы все понимаем, каким способом это сделали. Сперва массовой атакой в СМИ. Потом законами об НКО. Потом наездами прокуратуры и блокированием финдеятельности. И далее, лишив денег, создали формальный повод для выселения.
This evening, deliberately on the very day and hour of the anniversary of the “Great Patriotic War,” the police and unknown private security contractors purged the office of the oldest Russian human rights movement, “For Human Rights.”
We all know why this happened. Because it's the oldest movement. Because it's a movement that works with and helps people. Because it's influential.
We all understand how this was achieved. First, mass attacks in the media. Then, the laws on NGOs. Next, investigations by prosecutors and injunctions on financing. And later, having taken their money, [the authorities] created a formal reason for the eviction.
Not everyone agreed on this point, as wealthy socialite and occasional oppositionist Ksenia Sobchak demonstrated [ru]:
Собственник имеет полное право не продлевать аренду. По Любым своим соображениям. Это Его (собственника) право. Не вижу проблемы.
The owner has the full right not to extend a lease. For any reason they want. It's their (the owner's) right. I don't see any problem.
President Barack Obama meets Lev Ponomarev at the Parallel Civil Society Summit. Metropol Hotel, Tuesday, July 7, 2009, in Moscow, Russia. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza, public domain.
Soon, however, the question of the eviction and beating of Mitrokhin and Ponomarev was overshadowed by revelations from Maxim Mischenko, a 35-year-old former Duma Deputy in United Russia and founder of the pro-Putin youth movement, “Young Russia.” Mischenko announced online that his organization had recovered sensitive documents that Ponomarev had allegedly attempted to destroy. Writing on LiveJournal, Mischenko explained [ru] how his people came by the documents:
Сегодня была самая короткая ночь в году. Годовщина трагических событий начала Великой Отечественной Войны. Главной темой в твиттере стала тема выселения Льва Пономарева и его фирмы… Муниципальные депутаты и активисты общероссийского движения «Россия Молодая» стали очевидцами этих событий. Сергей Полозов случайно услышал просьбу забарикадирровашихся правозащитников уничтожить пачку документов. Проследив за посыльным, он сумел найти эти документы в мусорном контейнере в одном из соседних дворов.
Today [June 22] was the shortest night of the year. The anniversary of the tragic events of the start of the Great Patriotic War. [And yet] the main theme on Twitter became the eviction of Lev Ponomarev and his enterprise… Members of the local assembly and activists from the all-Russian movement “Young Russia” [ru] were eye-witnesses to these events. Sergei Polozov [ru] happened to overhear a request from the human rights defenders to destroy a bag of documents. Following the person they sent out [to do this], he managed to find these documents in a rubbish container in one of the neighboring courtyards.
Mischenko provided scans of the documents he claimed to have found (which appeared both in English and Russian), including one to US President Obama [ru], asking him to say if he personally considered For Human Rights to be an “American agent.” Mischenko uploaded a 20-minute video [ru] (see below) depicting Young Russian activists discussing their findings, with the documents laid out in front of them. On Twitter [ru], Mischenko also claimed that the documents prove For Human Rights had received at least 100,000 USD from the US [ru], was working with LGBT groups and foreign embassies [ru], and attempting to convince major international companies like Coca-Cola not to do business with pro-regime television station NTV [ru].
Liberals were quick to disparage the “discovery.” Roman Dobrokhotov tweeted [ru]:
Ничего компрометирующего в документах они, конечно, не найдут. Но могут найти имена правозащитников работающих, скажем, на Северном Кавказе
Of course, they're not going to find anything compromising in the documents. But they may find the names of human rights defenders working, say for example, in the North Caucasus.
One user, helen20011 [ru], pointed out that Mischenko's very interest in these documents showed that the whole ordeal was about politics and not rent:
штурмовики отдали документы ЗПЧ кремлевским гопникам. Вот прямое док-во что ночной штурм был погромом
The raiders gave over “For Human Rights” documents to the Kremlin scumbags. This is obvious proof that the nighttime raid was a pogrom.
For Eduard Limonov, however, the alleged revelations weren't entirely unsurprising [ru], particularly following a story in 2012 claiming Ponomarev had met with an official from the Japanese Embassy and was accused of plotting the return of the Kuril Islands to Japan in exchange for financing:
Лёва Пономарёв всё время искал денег. Я далёк от мысли, что он искал денег для самого себя. Он искал денег для организации, для оплаты оффиса в престижном центре Москвы, для оплаты сотрудников и оргтехники. Как для блатных бизнесменов дорогой автомобиль, офис стал для Пономарёва признаком статусности и авторитета.
Leva [a slightly mocking diminutive] Ponomarev was looking for money the whole time. It's hardly my opinion that he was looking for this money for himself. He was looking for money for the organization, to pay for the office in Moscow's prestigious city center, to pay his colleagues and for IT. Just as a blatnoi businessman needs an expensive car, the office became for Ponomarev a sign of status and authority.
There's little indication For Human Rights has committed any crime, according the documents Mischenko has posted online. But the move has put Ponomarev and his supporters on the back foot again, turning what should have been a propaganda victory into a PR quandary. For Human Rights’ current troubles offer a simple lesson for other NGOs in Russia: pay your rent on time and invest in a shredder.

author: Daniel Alan Kennedy


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Southeast Asia: The Great Haze of 2013 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Since last week, a thick haze has enveloped Singapore and some parts of Malaysia caused by forest fires mainly in Indonesia. The haze brought air pollution levels to a record high in the region. Malaysia placed two districts under state of emergency while Singaporeans were advised to remain indoors.
During emergency situations, the sharing of correct information has proved to be useful in minimizing or preventing further casualties. To help people cope with the impact of haze, online tools were developed like the Haze Action Online which provides information on the steps carried out by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to combat transboundary haze pollution. Meanwhile, the regional haze map shows the extent of the haze disaster in Singapore and Malaysia.
Southeast Asia's Regional Haze Map
In Singapore, netizens are using the Twitter hashtag #sghaze to monitor and document the spread of haze. The N95 mask finder is a crowdsourced platform that helps consumers find affordable and reliable N5 face masks. The wearing of face masks is advised as protective measure against the haze.
The SG Haze Rescue asks people to donate N95 masks, volunteer, or share a shelter:
#SGHazeRescue is a community of Singaporeans offering air-conditioned spaces to individuals and families without such privileges. You can offer anything from a sleeping bag, couch, to a guesthouse
On the part of the government, the National Environment Agency has launched several online portals that give up-to-date information about the haze. It also published a list of clinics that offer treatment to haze patients. Meanwhile, the Emergency 101 website releases health advisories and clarifies misconceptions about the haze.
The haze has somewhat eased in Singapore but the situation remains critical. Lynn remembers how construction workers continued to work despite the city wide advisory for people to stay at home:
…there’s a group of people for whom the option to just take it easy indoors, is not available. Construction workers continue to labour through ever higher PSI (pollution standards index) readings. Despite calls from several quarters, the Ministry of Manpower has not issued a stop-work order
June finds meaningful things to do at home:
Breathe out haze.
Breathe in grace.
Regardless of how long the haze is going to linger, and regardless of the pain and inconvenience it brings, let’s choose to count our blessings and make the best of what we have, each day. (And oh, remember to stop and smell the roses no matter how hazy life gets…Well, figuratively at least.)
Eight percent per annum notes the sudden shortage of face masks and air purifiers in Singapore:
…there weren’t enough to go around. We hear stories of how poor aunties queue for an hour at Guardian pharmacy only to find out that the inventory ran out. We then activated our friends overseas to bring masks back from all over the world. Masks were running out in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia. Air purifiers ran out too.
In Malaysia, Muar and Ledang which are both located in the state of Johor suffered the most from the haze. Michael Ng is angry over the inaction of Indonesia to stop the burning of forests:
The Indonesian government can put the blame on Malaysian and Singaporean-owned oil palm plantation companies operating in Sumatra island for causing the haze but ultimately what is lacking is the strict enforcement of the environmental laws (if any exists at all) on their part.
How could it be possible for these companies to carry out their slash and burn activities with such impunity all these years if not for the lackadaisical attitude of the Indonesian government on putting its foot down.
I pity our school children and those elderly and suffering from asthma and other breathing problems. The haze has made their daily lives very difficult and uncomfortable.
Kuo Yong Kooi thinks the long term solution is to rethink the economic development model:
…the open burning in Indonesia is directly causing the haze problem at the moment, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many issues here that needed to be factored into the haze equation.
Fact one is that we are rampantly clearing the precious lungs of the earth which is the rainforest and substituting it with monocrop palm oil plantations.
We need to shift our paradigm away from this current development model to be able to resolve this problem.
anilnetto received a report about the burning in a plantation near Muar which could have worsened the haze:
The general consensus was that they bore the brunt of the smoke billowing in from Sumatra – but local plantation burning in Johan Setia near Port Klang and in Mukim Air Hitam near Muar may have aggravated the smog.
Charles Santiago, a member of Parliament, proposes to investigate companies which have violated environment laws:
We do not need to leave it to Indonesia alone to monitor, regulate or prosecute errant companies. Malaysia can keep a close watch on Malaysian companies in Sumatra and charge those that flout laws, for these companies have committed nothing less than a crime against humanity.

author: Mong Palatino


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The Bahamas: Intellectual Property & Reparations  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The amount of traditional knowledge that is stolen from our region on a daily basis is staggering.
Blogworld suggests that there is a link between that knowledge and required compensation for “the slaves and their ancestors [who] have never been paid for the generations of their labour.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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The Brazil Effect: Thousands Protest ‘For a Better Paraguay’ · Global Voices
Gabriela Galilea

Around 3000 people [es] took to the streets in Paraguay's capital to make their voices heard against Parliament, following the trend of protests in Brazil these last few weeks.
The summoning of civilians for Friday 21st June was made via social media networks, under the hashtag #porunparaguaymejor.  [“For a better Paraguay”]
The Complaints
The protest in Asunción bore two fundamental complaints.
Firstly, citizens demonstrated their disapproval at the presentation of a bill that, as was presented in the beginning, lowered the minimum required retirement age for Parliamentarians by 10 years from 15 for 100% of their salary; that which is in the region of 40 million Guarani monthly (some US$ 8,500 approximately).
After the protest, some Parliamentarians stated that it was really about a bill presented by lawmakers that would not be returning to occupy seats in the next term commencing in August of this year. According to the daily paper Ultima Hora [es], “with the amendment of the law in those provisions, [members of parliament] sought legislation for their own benefit, since with those modifications they would not have to turn 55 years in order to retire”.
“They will retire in 10 years with 100% of their salary. Take to the streets to condemn it.”
The first flyer that rapidly swept across social networks
“Not even the rain will be able to put out the fire of our indignation”
The image that appeared published in the fan page of Anonymous Paraguay in Facebook.
The second complaint is related the postponement [es] of the credit approval for the implementation of the metrobus, a new type of public transport that promises to improve the precarious conditions that are found in the current service.
“Where will the subsidy for public transport end up? No more rats on wheels” Photo by Gabriela Galilea
‘Open mic’
At 7pm on Friday, June 21, an “open mic” was set up on a roundabout in the Plaza de Armas [main square] in front of the National Congress, where those citizens brought together could express their discontent and channel their complaints.
In just a few minutes, some 50 people formed a line in order to express their complaints in front of a large crowd. The most frequent complaints that were made echoed the popular discontent with the attitude of those MPs that increased their own salaries and privileges and believe they are of “their own special breed”, as a citizen denounced.
Photo taken by Gabriela Galilea
The crowds responded chants to each of the citizens that spoke out. In the following video we can hear how one citizen said “Paraguay has no fear” during his minutes of open mic, to which the people responded with phrases such as “They must all go away, none should be left”:
These are some of the phrases that sparked a standing ovation from the crowd and echoed in social media networks: “There are 1,500,000 Paraguayans that don't know what they are going to eat tomorrow, and they [MPs] buy gold pins and retire in 10 years for 40 million [Guarani]”, “Paraguay has woken up”, “Many young people are spat out by the system”, “They are called honourable by the law (referring to a law that was introduced obliging citizens to refer to MPs as “honourable”) and they don't represent us”, “What happened in Curuguaty?” (with respect to the massacre  that left 17 dead after a police raid in the north of the country), “Where is Fonacide?” (Fondo Nacional de Inversión Pública y Desarrollo [National Fund of Public Investment and Development] created in 2012 with money that Paraguay obtained after adjusting the price of surplus energy from the Itaipú hydroelectric dam sold to Brazil).
The ‘open mic’ is already an emblem of the self-summoned citizen protests in Paraguay, those which started in 2012 with the name “After Office Revolutionary” [es] and which succeeded in stopping a multimillion budgetary increase for the contracting of political operators.
A year after the political trial that removed Fernando Lugo from the presidency, the Paraguayans took to the streets once again leaving their political parties and ideologies to one side in order to “mark the parliamentary agenda”, as one citizen expressed during the open mic session.
The open mic citizen presentations lasted about two and a half hours, until 21:30, when a group of protesters chose to march towards the Panteón de los Héroes [Mausoleum Monument of the Heroes], which caused a moments tension and the deployment of the armed national police, although no incidents were registered.
Photo taken by Gabriela Galilea from smartphone
Other Paraguayan cities also came together and took to the streets to make their voices heard, like in Ciudad del Este and Encarnación, the second and third most important cities following the capital, Asunción.
The Brazil Effect
Flyer summoning protestors in Ciudad del Este, photo shared in Facebook by the page Paraguay Reclama [Paraguay Complains]
This promises to be one of many protests that will follow the example of neighbouring Brazil, and which will be convened through social networks, according to that expressed by citizens upon closing the open mic session.
The effects of the protest did not take long in making themselves felt, as ABC Color [es] reported: “The President of the House of Representatives, Víctor Bogado (ANR [Colorado party]), assured yesterday that the bill to modify and reduce to 10 years the legislator's pension contribution will be rejected by the House”.
However, the national press has not placed much prominence on the protests in comparison to international media, such as Folha de Sao Paulo [pt] or BBC Mundo, [es] which have observed the protest with extensive coverage and images.
The Twitter account @xunpymejor has been set up in order to notify citizens of new events, share images and keep protesters informed. The account will serve as a fundamental medium of communication for the citizen-led organisations and the protesters of this movement that hope “to mark the parliamentary agenda of the new parliament that will take office in August” and have their complaints resolved effectively.

author: Gabriela Galilea


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The Internet: A Critical Tool in the Fight Against the Death Penalty · Global Voices
Periodismo Ciudadano

[All links lead to Spanish language pages, except where otherwise noted.]
The Internet has become a critical tool for many social movements worldwide. Activists battling capital punishment have also found a platform in digital social media for exchanging ideas and circulating information.
What follows is part of a series written for Periodismo Ciudadano (PC) from the “V Congreso Mundial Contra la Pena de Muerte” (Fifth World Congress Against the Death Penalty) in Madrid, Spain. In this part, Sara Plaza Écija reports on the use of the Internet in the fight against capital punishment.
The V Congreso Mundial Vontra la Pena de Muerte collected opinions from attendees representing more than 90 countries during the four days of the conference, which focused on the importance of spreading the word about this struggle to promote awareness and sensitize the population, since, on many occasions, public opinion encourages executions. The lack of information in many countries is one of the reasons that societies support capital punishment. Organizations work to change this through campaigns, workshops, and sharing information.
The death penalty is the current reality in several countries worldwide. In order to abolish it, there is a need to to reach out to people to address the issue. In order to accomplish this, however, tools are required that can have an impact on populations and encourage people to support the cause. One of the conference workshops gathered opinions about new tools that aim for “education to abolish the death penalty” [en, fr]. Representatives of different countries discussed tools that are being used to raise awareness among people through the press or education system of their individual countries.
In order for the campaigns to be effective, there is a need to “reach more people,” as well as a need for knowledge, political education, sufficient information, and good marketing and communications strategies. “And the fundamental tool for accomplishing all of this is the Internet”, says Marianne Rossi de Francia.
The Internet as a tool for aiding Spanish prisoners on death row
“The Internet is a fundamental tool for getting the word out about Pablo's case.” These are the words of Andrés Krakenberger, a spokesperson for the Asociación Contra la Pena de Muerte de Pablo Ibar (Assocation Against the Dealth Penalty for Pablo Ibar) and for Periodismo Ciudadano. Pablo Ibar, a Spanish citizen, is currently on death row in Florida, charged with a triple murder. His family maintains his innocence.
The association's goal is twofold: first, to keep Pablo's case alive in the media, and second, to raise funds to help pay for Pablo's defense. Through the association's web page, people can send letters of support directly to Pablo. He receives them after they pass through the prison's surveillance control. “The many letters that Pablo receives help him keep a clear head, and he answers each and every one of them,” Andrés comments.
Interview with family members of Pablo Ibar (PDF)
In contrast, Joaquín Martínez is the first European to have come off death row in the United States. For three years, he was condemned to death for the presumed murder of two people. A Spanish citizen, Martínez maintains that “the Internet is one of the main reasons that the campaign to abolish the death penalty is coming to countries like the United States.”
Martínez adds that one way people can fight for abolition is by sharing news about individual cases and disseminating information. He also stresses the importance of the Internet when it comes to discussing the death penalty in any part of the world and its effectiveness in getting the word out. “Americans don't like it, but I believe this is what will end up changing North American ideas and mentality,” he claims.
Joaquín Martínez during the Fifth World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
An Interview with Joaquín Martínez (PDF)
Activists in action on the Internet
Many collaborating organizations in the fight against the death penalty participated in this Congress. They all concur that the Internet is a fundamental element in raising awareness among people, in addition to sharing information about the work they are doing. Some of these organizations are more active than others online, but they all are united in this fight. Here are some examples:
Amnesty International is one of the most active anti-death penalty organizations on the Internet. This organization carries out a series of “urgent actions” when “something extraordinary happens,” in addition to implementing “cyber-actions,” which include gathering signatures and putting pressure on political parties to gain their attention. Thanks to the pressure placed on the ambassadors of various countries, Amnesty International has been successful in staying executions, and along with the Internet and social networking, it has influence which it did not have before.
“Having two million eyes monitoring a government's activity is far more effective than just having a couple of organizations watching, and when it comes time to issue an order of execution, that government will think twice”, says Víctor Manuel, one of Amnesty International's press officers in Madrid. Additionally, thanks to these new tools, “gripping images can be brought to light that will have a greater impact on people and draw them in.”
The World Coalition Against The Death Penalty [en] is a worldwide coalition of 135 non-governmental organizations against capital punishment. The group has several campaigns in progress that deal with the death penalty. Two of those worth noting are Information on Retentionist Countries [en], an interactive country-by-country website which allows users to familiarize themselves with current situations throughout the world regarding the death penalty, and the Resources Center on the Death Penalty [en], a website that warehouses all existing information on the death penalty and allows it be shared with other organizations throughout the world. Through Twitter [en] “we share knowledge, we're very active, and we're disseminating information about the Congress in seven languages,” they state.
The Fundación Internacional Baltasar Garzón (International Baltasar Garzón Foundation) cites its belief that establishing an Internet presence is essential for all organizations working for change, in spite of their “relatively short lifespans.” “We try to reach a broad public with information about our projects through social networking, although we need more experience,” one of the foundation's leaders told Periodismo Ciudadano. “One thing we can be grateful for is that we've managed to move one of our projects forward thanks to crowdfunding,” he commented. They seek out volunteers over the Internet and believe this is a “new era” for growth and dissemination.
The organization Movimiento por la Paz (Movement for Peace) states that many campaigns currently have “less than stellar” visibility on the Internet, and it sees a need for organizations to be trained in social networking because of the “impact, speed, and ease of use in the workplace” that the new digital tools offer.
*To read the complete story in Periodismo Ciudadano, please click here.

author: Periodismo Ciudadano