· April, 2013

Stories about Politics from April, 2013

Yemeni General Apologizes for 1994 Civil War on Facebook

Waving flags of a country that once existed, thousands assembled in former cities that used to make up South Yemen on 27 April 2013, to commemorate the day the north declared war on their people and occupied their land, nineteen years ago. The same day, the President's chief military advisor issued an apology on Facebook for all "unjust wars" declared by former President Saleh's regime.

EU Seal Ban Maims Indigenous Way of Life in the Arctic

  30 April 2013

A European Union court in Luxembourg has upheld its ban on the commercial trade of seal products despite a challenge from Canada's Inuit and several Canadian lawmakers that it cripples the indigenous people's ability to make a living.

Open Letter to Blogger Yoani Sánchez

  29 April 2013

Journalist and Global Voices author, Leila Nachawati, writes an open letter [es] to Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez, who has been touring the United States, Latin America and Europe talking about Cuban technopolitics. Sánchez has been embraced by some, and criticized by others during her voyage. In her open letter, the Spanish-Syrian...

Impartial Justice Wanted in Côte d'Ivoire

  28 April 2013

Human Rights Watch reports that there is still work to do to achieve impartial justice in the post-2010-11 elections crisis in Côte d'Ivoire: The ICC’s one-sided approach has legitimized the same approach by Ivorian judicial authorities and undermined perceptions of the ICC’s impartiality.  

Surprise Candidates for Madagascar Elections

  28 April 2013

Update:  Here is the full list of the 49 candidates [fr] for the presidential elections. It does not include the current president of the transition. As the deadline to submit candidacies for the Malagasy presidential elections ends today (28/04), a few surprising candidates have allegedly come forth. While the earlier candidates...

Was Kyrgyzstan Ready for ‘The Vagina Monologues'?

  27 April 2013

Amid vocal protests from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Culture, a local activist group performed the play 'The Vagina Monologues' in the capital of Kyrgyzstan in March and April. The play by an American playwright and feminist about female sexuality and experiences earned mixed reactions from the Bishkek audience.

Afghan Leader's ‘Brothers’ Carry Out a Deadly Attack

  27 April 2013

In early April, Taliban insurgents stormed an Afghan court, killing and wounding dozens of people. While the Taliban admitted its responsibility for the deadly attack, President Hamid Karzai blames the incident on "foreign" Taliban and holds that local insurgents had nothing to do with it. Many ordinary people in the war-torn country are unhappy about Karzai's "soft" stance on the Taliban, whom the Afghan leader often calls his "brothers".

RSF Addresses the Situation at Ukraine's TVi Channel

  27 April 2013

On April 26, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a statement [en; fr; uk – .pdf] on the situation at the Ukrainian TV station TVi: Reporters Without Borders condemns the sudden change of management at the opposition TV station TVi, announced three days ago, and is disturbed to learn that ensuing...

Indigenous People Occupy Brazil's Congress Over Land Rights Bill

  26 April 2013

The occupation of a plenary session of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies by around 300 indigenous people, on April 16, have caught congressmen by surprise and have put the spotlight on proposed amendment to the Constitution number 215, which transfers the power to demarcate indigenous land from the Executive to the Legislative power.