Global Voices » Protest

Russia: State TV Justifies May 6 Police Violence, Cites Spanish Bill Criminalizing Online Protest Organization as Example

Veronica Khokhlova — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:42:31 +0000

In the final segment of the report [ru] on the May 6 protest in Moscow, which ended in clashes with riot police, the Russian state-owned Channel 1 mentioned, among other things, a Spanish draft law [en] criminalizing online organization of public protests, as an example of the “much tougher” treatment of protesters by the “colleagues” of the Russian law enforcement officials “in the countries with the so-called established democracy.”

India: Crackdown on Tamil Nadu Anti-Nuclear Plant Protests

Rezwan — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:49:02 +0000

Concerns have been sparked that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) currently under construction in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, India, may have similar vulnerabilities to the ill-fated Fukushima nuclear power plant of Japan. Activists fear that in the case of an earthquake followed by a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, there could be an accident similar to the radiation leak at the Japanese coastal nuclear plant last year.

Construction started more than a decade ago and KKNPP is expected to be in operation soon. S. P. Udayakumar of the voluntary organisation ‘People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy' (PMANE) lists 13 reasons why the activists and locals do not want the power plant to start. He stress that:

More than 1 million people live within the 30 km radius of the KKNPP which far exceeds the AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) stipulations. It is quite impossible to evacuate this many people quickly and efficiently in case of a nuclear disaster at Koodankulam.

Protest campaign against Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant. Image courtesy Kracktivist, used with permission.

Protest and arrests

Shedding a light onto the government crackdown on the protesters, Kracktivist cites:

Between 10.9.2011 and 23.12.2011, police had filed 107 FIRs (field investigation reports) against 55795 people and “others,” among whom 6800 have been charged with “sedition” and/ or “waging war against the State.”

In March 2012, police arrested approximately 200 anti-nuclear protesters objecting the resumption of work on one of the two 1 GW (gigawatt=1000 megawatt) reactors, a day after the local government restarted work on the project. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has also been filed against KKNPP at India's Supreme Court. Amnesty International has written a letter to the Prime Minister expressing their dismay on the detainment of the protesters. However, there were also rallies and protests in favor of commissioning the nuclear power plant.

The protests continued as the ‘People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy' (PMANE) recently launched three campaigns against the Kudankulam Nuclear power Plant, reports Kracktivist:

Collection of signatures by villagers who oppose the nuclear plant and surrender of voter identity cards will be observed in 60 villages belonging to three neighboring districts while [a] ‘respect India’ campaign will be observed throughout the country.

On May 9, around 23,000 people belonging to nine villages in Tamil Nadu surrendered their voter identity cards to draw attention to the continuing ignorance of the peaceful protest against the KNPP. The government did not take it lightly; Kracktivist also reported that thousands of police personnel were deployed near Idinthakarai village and a crackdown seemed likely.

According to a press release, “The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) called off the planned event at Idinthakarai on May 10, 2012 as the District authorities have clamped down prohibitory orders such as 144 in and around Kudankulam area”.

Protesters on hunger strike. Image courtesy DiaNuke/Aaam Janata, used with permission.

However, some 9,000 people still participated in a sit in, with several hundred on an indefinite fast. The hunger strike has been going on since last month. DiaNuke/Aam Janata has posted some
pictures from Kudankulam which depicts women on hunger strike and villagers living under constant fear.

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Ms. Jayalalithaa, has vowed that the plant will start to function soon. Anuj Wankhede at DiaNuke invited a debate with Dr. M R Srinivasan, the former chief of India’s Atomic Energy Commission on whether the Kudankulam reactors are really the “safest in the world”, as claimed by the authorities.

The anti-Kudankulam activists are willing to end their protest if the government meets their demands.

Bangladesh: Bloggers March for Murdered Journalist Couple, Demand Justice.

Aparna Ray — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:06:03 +0000

Three months have passed since the murder of the journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and his wife Meherun Runi. Till date, the police have been unsuccessful in discovering any clues or leads that would help them to solve the case. In the early hours of 11th February, 2012, the couple was found brutally murdered in their West Rajabajar apartment in Dhaka. The Bangladesh High Court has expressed dissatisfaction with the progress (or lack of it) of the Detective Branch (DB) of police investigating the murder. The case has since then been transferred to the anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit - Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The bodies have already been exhumed for a repeat postmortem. However, till date, there has been little progress in the investigation.

Bloggers have once again taken to the street, demanding justice for the murdered couple. On 11th May, 2012, they organized a protest in front of the public library in Shahbagh, Dhaka. This was their fourth protest gathering. In the video below, bloggers can be seen singing a protest song.

Another video shows bloggers holding a candle light protest, demanding justice in the Sagar-Runi murder case:

In the beginning, the police tried to prevent the protest rally by bloggers by parking their vehicles at the protest site and not giving permission for electricity connection at the venue. Later the bloggers conducted the protest by singing without the use of microphones. Sohel Mahmood informs us [bn] about the day's programme:

নানা বাধা ডিঙিয়ে হয়ে গেলো বাংলাভাষার ব্লগারদের প্রতিবাদী সংগীতের আয়োজন। পুলিশের “কমিশনারের অনুমতি লাগবে” টাইপের বক্তব্য, বিদ্যুতের লাইন টানায় বাধা আর সন্ধ্যার কিছু ভাগে “হঠাৎ বৃষ্টি”। তবে, সব বাধা ডিঙিয়ে প্রতিবাদী এই সংগীতে যোগ দেন ব্লগার, সাংবাদিক, ছাত্র-ছাত্রী আর সাধারণ মানুষ।

Crossing various hurdles, the Bangla bloggers conducted their programme of singing protest songs in public. Comments by the police commissioner that “permissions will be required”, not allowing the required temporary electricity connection at the protest venue, and even sudden rains during part of the evening, nothing could stop the bloggers, journalists, students and ordinary citizens from showing solidarity and participating in singing the protest songs

Police using barricades to prevent journalists from entering the Home Ministry premises. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (15/05/2012)

Demanding the immediate arrest of the murderers of Sagar and Runi, journalist associations announced a gherao program to be held at the Home Ministry premises on 15th May. Bloggers too joined this protest programme. The police cracked down on the protesters. Quite a few photographs of police preventing the protesters from approaching the Home Ministry premises have been uploaded on the We Demand Justice for Sagar-Runi Facebook Page. At the end of the day's event, the next steps and upcoming protest programmes were announced. Among the future protests being planned by journalists and bloggers are the following:

১. ২০ মে থেকে ১৫ জুন পর্যন্ত সবগুলো মিডিয়া হাউসে সভা-সমাবেশ।

২. ৫ জুন জাতীয় সংসদে গিয়ে স্পিকারের কাছে সাগর-রুনি হত্যাকারীদের গ্রেফতার ও বিচার দাবিতে স্মারকলিপি প্রদান।

৩. ২৬ জুন প্রধানমন্ত্রীর কার্যালয় অভিমুখে পদযাত্রা।

৪. এরপরও সাগর-রুনির হত্যাকারীদের গ্রেফতার ও বিচার না করা হলেও দেশের সব সাংবাদিক কর্মবিরতি কর্মসূচি পালন।

1. 20th May to 15th June - Public meetings at all the media houses
2. 5th June - March to the Parliament and submit a memorandum to the Speaker of the House, demanding arrest and trial of the killers of Sagar-Runi
3. 26th June - Protest march towards the Prime Minister's Office.
4. If the administration still fails to deliver justice, all journalists across the country will stop work and undertake a ‘pen down' programme.

Spain: The “Indignados” of the 15M

Elizabeth Rivera — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:17:56 +0000

The date for the first citizen protest in Barcelona to celebrate the first anniversary of 15M (May 15th) was on Saturday 12M (May 12th) at 6pm in Catalunya Plaza. Sixty-one year-old Mari Ángeles left her place in El Prat, a neighborhood close to the airport within the city limits. With a group of neighbors, she took the banners they had prepared and rode the bus to Spain Plaza. There they met other members of the “southern column” which had already marched for a couple of hours starting at Cornellà near mid-day.

Miguel Ángel. Photo by Lali Sandiumenge.

Miguel Ángel, 44 years old, joined the protest when it was passing by Esplugues. Sixty-nine year old Josep Maria did the same when it arrived to the Les Corts neighborhood. Karlos, also 44, stepped in carrying a backpack with all the necessary items to camp at the plaza until 15M.

All except Karlos, who lived in Mexico some years and supported the Zapatista movement, had never been involved in any social or political activity before 15M. Since May 15th, 2011, they haven't stopped. Mari Ángeles is a member of the platform El Prat against cuts [ca] that denounces the austerity measures with which the Catalan government is amputating the welfare state; Miguel Ángel belongs to Aturem Eurovegas [ca] (Stop Eurovegas) to prevent the multimillionaire American mogul Sheldon Adelson to transform Llobregat river delta into a huge and complex casino and entertainment compound. Josep Maria has signed in recently to Iaioflautas, a group of retired workers hardened by the anti-Franco, left-wing, union struggle.

Karlos has found an escape valve. “I'm living this wake up with a lot of hope,” he said. “We, the restless people, were in a helpless situation and with 15M we found each other.”

Josep Maria. Picture by Lali Sandiumenge.

There are many reasons why people have taken action, but the main one is - and everybody agrees - that the situation has to change. “The prospect is raw, more than ever with so many cuts in Catalunya, we'll see how this ends,” said Miguel Ángel. “I have neighbors that are agonizing. If we keep going this way, there's going to be a civil revolution.”

There's no need to ask Josep Maria what he's thinking: the banners that cover his body are very eloquent. “We denounce is that in our society nobody cares about inequality and that the 1% and 99% is not about entelechy,” he commented to sum it up explaining that has researched and asked about the income levels of Spanish people - without success - to elaborate his own Lorenz curve. The outrage is so high, he added, that he doesn't rule out camping and spending the night at the plaza even though he is not young enough to be sleeping out in the open on top of anything.

There are also personal reasons. Miguel Ángel, a creative, lost his job at the Spanish auto-maker Seat four years ago and he hasn't been able to find another one. His strike subsidy is over and he's been struggling to live with what is left from his compensation.

Mari Ángeles. Photo by Lali Sandiumenge.

Mari Ángeles was forced to take an early retirement a year ago from a private health company. Her pension doesn't even reach 500 Euros free of taxes and it is not enough to live with her son, a grown man, so now they share his home. “My son is at the strike. He's studying English like crazy so he can look for a job outside in England or Canada,” she explained, although she interrupts herself often to join the chants her companions make to the cars that get impatient with the protest: “Don't look at us, join us!” Josep Maria, on the contrary, has a good pension. “If the distribution of wealth was more just, I would end up losing,” he declared while walking to Catalunya Plaza without hurrying, but also without pausing.

Desi (left) and Raquel collecting signatures for ILP. Photo taken by Lali Sandiumenge.

When it arrived to Catalunya Plaza, at the end of Grace Roadway, the protest converged with other columns that arrived from other parts of the city and beyond. At that spot, Desi and Raquel, 33 and 31 years-old respectively, installed a portable table to collect signatures to support the Popular Legislation Initiative (ILP) promoted by the Plataform of Mortgage Victims (PAH) [es] that is fighting for the approval of a law that rules a retroactive payment.

Both are dressed up in the green t-shirts that distinguish this group with the name of one of their main campaigns: Stop Evictions. Raquel also voluntarily participates in PAH since she took part of an action to prevent a family from her hometown to be evicted. Desi is one of the victims: it's been six months since she cannot pay the mortgage and there's no way to reach an agreement with the bank to hand in the apartment in exchange of the debt that adds up to almost 250,000 Euros.

Yo no encuentro trabajo y mi marido, tras estar en el paro, cobra ahora 1.200 euros al mes, y tenemos que pagar casi mil de la hipoteca. Tenemos dos hijas y tenemos que tirar adelante. Gracias a la PAH vamos haciendo, la unión hace la fuerza.

I can't find a job nor my husband, who after being on strike now receives 1,200 Euros monthly and we have to pay almost a thousand for the mortgage. We have two daughters and we need to keep at it. Thanks to PAH we are succeeding, together we strive.

Just in front of us a women is performing an act of protest. She has photocopied one of the movement's flyers (”If you pay your debt, let them pay your mortgage”) and has placed herself in front of a wall that protects a building under construction that says “The drums of rebellion are sounding.” Maria, that's her name, is 56 years-old and has been there for a couple of hours standing without moving, silent and with her face covered with the paper. The protesters pass by and stare at her, clap, and leave her alone. Photographers and tourists stop, take pictures and walk away. She holds on. She works at a nearby office and joined the protest after work. “I've photocopied the flyer and I now I'm with them, we are all part of the same package”, explains.

Voy a casi todas las protestas, no por mí, sino por mis hijos. Hemos luchado mucho por lo que tenemos y ahora se lo están cargando. Ya no reconozco a esta España.

I attend almost all the protests, not for me, but for my children. We have fought for what we have and now they are taking it away. I don't recognize this Spain.

Picture by Lali Sandiumenge.

Taiwan: Could the Future Be Nuclear-Free?

I-fan Lin — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:26:41 +0000

Since the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in March 2011, 53 out of the 54 nuclear power plants in Japan have been shut down for security checks. On May 5, 2012, the proportion of Japan's energy supplied by nuclear power reached zero for the first time in 42 years, following the shut down of Tomari’s Unit 3 in Hokkaido. Although the Japanese government is currently seeking to restart some nuclear power plants, local representatives still have serious concerns regarding their safety.

In Taiwan, many people have also started talking about the possibility of moving towards a nuclear-free future. The Taiwan Environmental Protection Union [zh] is optimistic about the nuclear-free movement in Japan, as quoted in Coolloud.org:

日本從去年311之後，國內核電廠陸續關閉，至今尚未發生缺電問題，如果可以熬過今年夏天不需核電，日本將真正進入無核國家。

After the earthquake of March 11, 2011, the nuclear power plants in Japan have been shut down one by one. So far they have not had any problems with electricity shortages. If they can survive this summer without nuclear energy, Japan could really become a nuclear-free nation.

Anti-nuclear energy protest in Taipei, March 11, 2012. Photo contributed to this post by James Yang under CC: BY-NC-SA

Su Huan-Chi, a candidate for chairperson with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), also stated [zh] in Plurk, a popular social media website in Taiwan, that:

如果我當黨主席，一定先推動核四北北基宜四縣市地方公投廢核四！

If I were elected as the Party chairperson, I would campaign for a referendum to stop the four nuclear power plants in Taipei city, New Taipei city, Keelung and Yilan.

Nevertheless, not everyone is so optimistic about the nuclear-free development in Japan. bluesystem [zh] is worried how far Japan can go after shutting down all their nuclear power plants:

廢核絕對可以推! 只要不影響經濟下滑. 不過這真的會很拼…

Of course we can campaign for a nuclear-free Taiwan - as long as this move does not make the economy worse. However, this will be difficult.

核能的問題不只是使用其它能源來替代, 而是「能源自主性」的問題. 一旦重要的能源來源被別國控制, 那這個國家等於廢掉一樣! 這問題要怎麼解決? 除非能源自主率能提高吧~…那大家都廢核, 請問天然資源是不是大家一起搶? 假設台灣也搞廢核的話,能源來源方面搶得贏中國跟日本嗎?

The issue at stake regarding the use of nuclear power is not only about finding alternative energy. It is a matter of ‘energy autonomy’. If the major energy source is controlled by other countries, this country is doomed! How can we solve this problem? Only if we can increase our energy supply can we campaign for nuclear-free living. Are we ready to compete for natural energy resources? If Taiwan shuts down all our nuclear power plants, can we outbid China and Japan in the competition of energy resources?

Anti-nuclear energy protest in Taipei, April 30, 2011. Photo contributed to this post by James Yang under CC: BY-NC-SA

Despite the aforementioned worries, thousands of Taiwanese people protested against nuclear power on March 11, 2012, the first anniversary of the earthquake in Japan. Shuchuan, an independent environmental reporter, explained [zh] why she thinks Taiwan can and should give up nuclear energy:

福島核災打破核能安全神話，只要一次災害就足以毀掉所有。…我們還有選擇時，沒有理由不去思考任何不必使用核能發電的可能性。

The Fukushima nuclear power plant accident destroyed the myth of nuclear safety. We see that one accident can destroy all we have…We have no reason not to think about the possibility of giving up nuclear energy when we still have a choice.

以台灣目前核電佔總發電量不到兩成，但備載容量卻超過25%的情況下，廢不廢核並不是「能不能」的問題，而是「決心」。

In Taiwan, the proportion of electricity supplied by nuclear power is less than 20%, but our spare capacity is more than 25%. Under this condition, nuclear-free is not an issue of ‘can or cannot’, it is an issue of determination.

台灣政府還預估未來用電要再成長38%，只要不歸零思考、不檢討自己的浪費行為、不思索更聰明的用電方式，發再多電都不夠用。

The Taiwanese government estimates that we will need 38% more electricity in the future. If we do not go back to to the fundamental problem and review our energy consumption pattern and use electricity in a smarter way, there will never be enough for us even if we manage to generate more.

過去一年台灣政府已有改變，馬總統宣布核一、二、三使用年限到期不再延役，這是一個進展。然而對於核四依然繼續投入經費不願放手，核廢料無能力處理，卻一再強調核安的可以控制。然而，福島核災近在眼前，繼續說「核能安全」也已經沒有意義、且完全沒有說服力，終歸而言，台灣政府對核災還是沒有覺悟。

In the past year, the Taiwanese government has changed. President Ma claimed that our first, second, and third nuclear power plants would not extend their operations after reaching their shelf life. We have made some progress. However, the government is not willing to give up the fourth nuclear power plant and is throwing more money into it. The government does not know how to deal with the nuclear waste, but they keep claiming that they can promise the safety of nuclear power plants. Nevertheless, when we think of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, we can see that this is nonsense and it is not convincing to talk of the ‘safety of nuclear power plants’. In the end, the Taiwanese government does not seem aware of the possibility of nuclear disasters.

而這個歸零思考，理應是站在「廢除核電」的基礎上，重新去思考其他的能源方式，而如果其他的能源暫時無法完全取代，我們應該如何節能，以因應發電不足的情況。也就是說，思考自己的侷限，然後做出改變。

We should support the fundamental standpoint of a ‘nuclear-free Taiwan’ and explore the use of alternative energy. If we do not have enough alternative energy to replace all the nuclear-derived electricity we are using now and in the near future, we need to reduce our usage of electricity to avoid shortages. In other words, we need to think about our limits and make the change.

This post was sub-edited by Jane Ellis.

Russia: Duma Deputy Wants Criminal Liability for Extremist Tweets

Kevin Rothrock — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:42:31 +0000

Yesterday, on May 14, Aleksandr Khinshtein [en], a Duma deputy and member of United Russia ('the party of power'), wrote a letter to Yuri Chaika [en], the Prosecutor General of Russia. In that letter, Khinshtein noted the “recent sharp rise in the number of calls for acts of violence against state officials and police officers” appearing in online social networks. Twitter and Facebook, he argued, “have effectively transformed into an instrument to coordinate the actions of extremists, becoming a channel for the dissemination of detailed instructions to their supporters.” The letter begins [ru]:

Прошу Вас принять меры к владельцам и пользователи аккаунтов в различных социальных интернет-сетях (русскоязычные сегменты Twitter и Facebook), активно содействовавшим в организации массовых беспорядков 6 мая 2012 года в г. Москве.

I ask you to take measures against the owners and users of accounts on various online social networks ([such as] the Russian language segments of Twitter and Facebook), who actively administered the organization of mass unrest on May 6, 2012, in Moscow.

Khinshtein added that bloggers are also using these services to advocate violence against “the legally elected President” and Russia's “constitutional order.” (Twitter user Lucius Aevus, for instance, wrote [ru] on April 24, “Buy weapons, stockpile food, join up, and kill Putin.”) Khinshtein called specifically for (1) the prevention of the further spread of such illegal, extremist online appeals, (2) the criminal prosecution of individuals who use social networks to disseminate extremism, and (3) any other measures legally necessary.

Screenshot of Khinshtein's official Duma webpage, 15 May 2012.

Hours after news of this petition caused a stir in the media, Khinshtein responded by publishing the full text of his letter to Chaika, claiming [ru] that his initiative is not a plea for political censorship. Khinshtein did not, however, publish the supplementary materials he attached to the letter, where he cataloged dozens of examples of bloggers advocating illegal activity. The list, to which online newspaper Gazeta.ru has access and has graciously summarized [ru], focuses on nationalist and liberal democratic oppositionists — some anonymous and others well-known.

First on the list is self-described “ultra-right” anonymous blogger odinzavseh (”one for all”), whom Khinshtein links to soccer hooligans, like the ones infamous for inciting a small ethnic riot in Moscow in December 2010. On Twitter, odinzavseh has called on protesters to beat up Putin-supporters and public figures Sergei Minaev and Konstantin Rykov. He also allegedly encouraged oppositionists to attack government buildings with Molotov cocktails on the night of May 8. Both these tweets were later deleted, though evidence of the former can still be found [ru] on Yandex. In what seems particularly outrageous to many bloggers, Khinshtein has claimed, as well, that retweeting (reposting another user's message) also carries criminal liability. Odinzavseh, for instance, retweeted user LailaMooore's call [ru] on protesters to slash the tires of police vans and bring weapons to protests.

Not one to exclude Russia's homegrown social networks, Khinshtein also cited “The Moscow Front,” a nationalist group based [ru] on VKontakte that advocated attacks on government buildings near Chistye Prudy on May 7. As soon as these allegations went public, the group published its thanks to Khinshtein for the “free publicity.” Several members immediately posted anti-Semitic comments, complaining, for example [ru], “You know, Khinshtein's Jewish snout pisses me off.”

Also gracing the list is Mikhail Svetov, Twitter user msvetov, a Russian student living in Japan, who has been an active virtual participant in the opposition protests. During the May 6 “Million Man March” at Bolonatia Square, Svetov tweeted:

Не выбрасывайте омоновские шлемы в реку, надевайте их на себя. Это броня, она вас защитит от полицейских дубинок.

Don't throw the police helmets into the river: wear them yourselves. They're armor, and will protect you from their nightsticks.

and:

Отнимайте у ОМОНа щиты, каски, дубинки, это уравнивает ваши шансы. Не нападайте на них, но отнимайте амуницию.

Take away the police's shields, helmets, nightsticks — this evens your chances. Don't attack them, but take away their ammunition.

Khinshtein also accused oppositionists Vitaly Shushkevich and Artem Chapaev of online extremism. On May 7, Chapaev tweeted:

Думаю, частью стратегии должна стать дальнейшая радикализация масс, чтобы перейти к тактике ощутимой городской герильи.

I think that further radicalization of the masses should become a part [of the opposition], in order to transition to urban guerilla tactics.

That same day, Shushkevich used his Twitter account to encourage [ru] protesters to bring coins to Chistye Prudy and throw them at police and “Nashists” (members of the pro-Kremlin youth). He also reposted several unsavory messages from Twitter users gruppa_voina, ponny1, papumaria, and moskless, including calls to spread the fear that “Moscow is out of control.”

The always irreverent artist collective Gruppa Voina [en] responded in typical fashion, quipping [ru] that its followers would soon be confronted by Khinshtein himself:

Друзья, вы все шутки шутите - но не забывайте - за КАЖДЫЙ РЕТВИТ с вас спросит @khinshtein в комнате допросов ближайшей к вашему дому тюрьмы

Friends, you're all having a laugh, but don't forget that for EVERY RETWEET Khinshtein will question you in the interrogation room of the prison nearest to your home.

Petr Verzilov, husband of Pussy Riot's imprisoned Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and a Voina member, sarcastically welcomed [ru] Khinshtein's efforts, saying that criminalizing retweets could become the “next step in the development of civil society and legal consciousness in our country.”

Aleksei Navalny is also on Khinshtein's list — included for a May 3 tweet [ru] that joked about burning down the Mayor's office. Navalny quoted the text of a Sergei Udaltsov tweet, altering the final line into a mock appeal for arson:

Чиновники из мэрии вышли на связь, обещают в течение часа согласовать марш. Если обманут – сожжем мэрию.

Officials from the Mayor's office have been in contact. They promise to approve the [May 6] march within an hour. If they're lying, we'll burn down city hall.

In reality, Udaltsov had written [ru]: “If they're lying, we'll make an announcement through the orgkomitet.”

Some RuNet voices have insisted that Khinshtein is asking the Prosecutor General to do something fundamentally beyond its legal authority, and is only causing a stir to grab a moment's publicity. In a series of identical tweets addressed to prominent RuNet bloggers, Yuri Suetin posted the scan [ru] of a letter from May 2011, where the FSB informs a certain Dmitri Goriugin that Russian law enforcement agencies are incapable of deleting or banning posts from Twitter. (Goriugin had apparently complained about personal insults directed at him, published online by pro-Kremlin blogger fritzmorgen — an account that ironically Twitter has since suspended.) Other users, however, were quick to point out that Khinshtein is citing anti-extremism laws that carry far more extensive police powers than Criminal Code 130 (to which Goriugin appealed).

Russian politician, Yuri Chaika, 8 December 2009, photo by Russian Presidential Press and Information Office, CC BY-SA 3.0; Wikimedia Commons.

Khinshtein's appeal to Chaika coincides with a draft project [ru] introduced to the Duma yesterday by United Russia deputies. The project denounces protesters who attacked police at Bolotnaia Square on May 6, and advocates criminal prosecution of those “responsible.”

The state's response to Khinshtein's letter will be an interesting test of the lengths to which the Kremlin is prepared to pressure oppositionists in their use of online social media. Services like Twitter and Facebook are widely credited with energizing the protest movement — indeed, the feasibility of recent mass demonstrations seems to have required these instruments. Likewise, heightened public scrutiny on the extremist content of oppositionists' blog posts and tweets will test the maturity and accountability of a space that until now has hosted language often violent and legally dubious according to Russian legislation.

India: Entertainment Industry Seeks Court Ban on Torrents and Vimeo

Aparna Ray — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:45:08 +0000

Since the beginning of May 2012, some ISPs across parts of India had been quietly blocking access to the popular video sharing site Vimeo as well as various torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay, KickAssTorrents, BitSnoop etc.

According to media reports, this is because a film production house, namely Reliance Entertainment, has (once again) obtained a preemptive ‘John Doe‘ order from the Delhi High Court, prior to the release of some of their upcoming big budget films. The Company insists that this has been done in order to ‘prevent film piracy'.

Vimeo and Pirate Bay facing censorship in India. Graphic by author.

However, there was some confusion about the news because not all ISPs were seen to block access to the aforementioned sites.

On his blog Share Press, blogger Varma provided some more details:

As of now most of the Reliance Communications broadband visitors who try to access the blocked sites are redirected to a custom page saying “The site has been blocked as per instruction from DOT” message when browsing the above file sharing sites.

[…] There has been lots of Govt and private agencies looking for ways to block all illegal site access through internet. Their has been specific orders for all majors ISP’s in the country to block access of users to this website by taking appropriate steps like DNS name blocking on ISP level, IP address blocking via routers, and DPI based URL blocking.

Message that was appearing when trying to access sites like Vimeo on some ISPs like Reliance. Image by Share Press. Used with permission

Twitter has been abuzz with reactions and vehement protests against the blocking of the file sharing sites.

@lleshShah: I can not access #Vimeo.com. The emerging face of #censorship by #Govt of India… http://pic.twitter.com/eT8FRrPD

@ajantriks: has @vimeo been blocked in #india or only i am getting crazy error message? @anjakovacs @jackerhack @zainabbawa @geohacker

@jackerhack: @ajantriks Blocked on Reliance and maybe other networks. Reliance got a court order to block piracy before a film release @vimeo @anjakovacs

@kaustubh4evr: Vimeo Blocked in India Along with BitTorrent Sites: Censorship, at the behest of movie studios or music labels, … http://bit.ly/LepfJ4

@mihirfadnavis: Terrorism? Food shortage? Power cuts? Corruption? NO SIR, Vimeo is by far the biggest threat to India!

@varunasingh: @relianceworld Whatever you are doing is pathetic and against the motives of the internet.

@_anshulk: Blocking vimeo is stupid #reliance #censorship #india

@wewakesaynoy: For those of you using Reliance internet: they have blocked TPB, Vimeo & will follow with others. Do you really want an ISP that does that?

@TheBigGeek: @vimeo blocked by #reliance and not by #Bharti and #Tata #VSNL #CRAZY how can a DOT order be only for one ISP :****

The hue and cry over the blocked sites appear to have had an impact. The sites have been unblocked on the Reliance ISP, as this Facebook message by Chai Kadai informs us:

Vimeo is back on for us. Yay! Maybe Reliance Communications got some sense into its head or people found some other ways to download the movie. Whatever the reason. For now, happy to have Vimeo. Still don't understand how they got to block it in the first place.

Some of the tweeple have seconded the information that the sites can now be accessed on the ISP concerned.

@crazyscorpio12: Finally! TPB and vimeo unblocked on reliance india. Whew!

@aditya_bhatt: TPB and Vimeo are unblocked on Reliance now.

However, this appears to be a temporary respite. Until their next big release, that is.

Yemen: The #NoDrones Campaign

Noon Arabia — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:55:19 +0000

Yemenis have launched a campaign on Twitter to express their condemnation of the United States' drone war in Yemen. They are tweeting under the hashtag #NoDrones, and have asked non-Yemenis to speak out and join them in their campaign.

Mai Saleh in Yemen tweeted:

@A4Mai: Take a moment and shout with us: No to the jungle law, No to the extrajudicial killings, No to the killing of innocent civilians #NoDrones

Stop drone attacks, protest sign. Image by meeshypants on Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Talal, a British-Yemeni activist in London, urged:

@25FebFreedom: #US killing innocent civilians in #Yemen in the name of “war on terror ” #StopDrones #NoDrones for God sake in #Yemen

The campaign started on May 13, the same day that President Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John O. Brennan, met with Yemen's president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and a day after a stepped-up campaign of American airstrikes reportedly killed 11 militants.

British journalist Tom Finn, who is based in Yemen, tweeted:

@tomfinn2: Yemenis launch a #NoDrones campaign on twitter as US counterterrorism czar John Brennan arrives in Sana'a… #Yemen

Mai Saleh addressed some tweets to Brennan:

@A4Mai: Urgent message to the visiting Mr. #Brennan: Take your hands off #Yemen & take your drones off our skies for good. Yemeni Citizen #NoDrones

‏@A4Mai: Dear Mr. Brennan, Your policy has proved a failure in #Pakistan, why try it in #Yemen? It is obviously doomed to fail, sincerely #NoDrones

Yemenis condemn terrorism, and they believe the use of US drones only fuels it, as blogger Atiaf Alwazir pointed out:

‏@WomanfromYemen:B/c I'm against #terrorism & #extremism, i'm also against #drones. It's counter-productive & fuels more extremism. #NoDrones #yemen #US

@womanfromYemen: We are saying #NoDrones, b/c we don't want militants in #Yemen. Drones do not eradicate militants they intensify their presence.

French journalist Benjamin Wiacek, who is based in Yemen, tweeted

@Nefermaat: #US drones and air strikes create more extremism and resentment than improving the situation: SAY NO to DRONES !! #NoDrones

He also tweeted a link about drone strikes and the civilan casualties in Yemen which are seldom reported.

Atiaf Alwazir added:

@WomanfromYemen: For every headline you read regarding “militants” killed by drones in #Yemen, think of the civilians killed that are not reported. #NoDrones

A Yemeni journalist and poet who goes by the name Sana2 Al-Yemen tweeted her contempt:

@Sanasiino: It is a disgusting thought to know US officials across the globe are playing a video game with our people in #Yemen. #NoDrones

@Sanasiino: Decreasing #AQAP support and power would need to start with a #NoDrones policy in #Yemen

And finally, Shams in Yemen tweeted a hope many Yemenis share, that the new governemnt will put an end to US drone attacks:

@shamsalshomos: I hope #Hadi does what #Saleh never did speak and act on behalf of the welfare of his people #NoDrones in #yemen

To learn more about the campaign follow the hashtag #NoDrones and read this Storify.

Spain: Arts Also Blossom in the Global Spring

Marianna Breytman — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:10:22 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

From May 12 (12M) to May 15 (15M) [es], Spain has experienced a social movement in the streets to protest the control of the banks and demand a system that is more democratic, participatory, and fair. With the expansion of demonstrations and general discontent, the 15M movement achieved its goal of growing and remaining in the street.

Citizen collectives continue to act through popular assemblies, commissions, and work groups that allow for debate on topics that affect the people and carry out acts of cooperation. Many countries have been inspired by the “indignant” Spaniards, and protests continued to demonstrate their global character on October 15 of last year, with demonstrations in over 900 cities and 82 countries. On May 12, 2012, demonstrations were organized once again throughout all of Spain and on a global level.

The arts have also blossomed with the 15M. Blog Voces con Futura [es] (Voices with a Future) publishes a large portion of the anonymous posters that have filled the plazas during the protests. The author of the blog is a Spanish designer residing abroad that wants to maintain her anonymity and dedicates her attention to the creative talent that has risen as a result of the indignant movement.

To commemorate the 15M's first anniversary, the 12M–15M events, and to invite everyone to take to the streets again, the blog # Acampadasol [es] has published a series of amazing posters that reveal many of the reasons for the protests. Here we share some of the beautiful and creative posters:

"Another world is possible"

"We remain in the squares"

"If you steal, do not govern"

"We don't want reforms…We want a different system"

All images were published under the CC BY 3.0 License.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

Spain: “Neighbor, Wake Up, Foreclosures at Your Doorstep!”

Elizabeth Rivera — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:07:01 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

In these times of severe crisis and government cuts, banks are being watched by citizens. This week's announcement of a bailout of 10 billion Euros for the Spanish bank Bankia has provoked many reactions on the web. The blog Platform for the nationalization of saving houses [es] has taken on the news:

La nueva inyección, que puede alcanzar los 10.000 millones de euros —mientras se recortan miles de millones en la Sanidad y la Educación públicas— en bonos contingentes convertibles en el Banco Financiero y de Ahorros volverá a ser insuficiente. (…)La propuesta de una banca pública bajo control democrático y gestionada con transparencia, creada mediante la nacionalización de las cajas de ahorro, no es una de las opciones posibles para resolver la actual crisis. Es la única solución porque es imposible la movilización de fondos privados en la cuantía necesaria para recapitalizar las entidades financieras españolas.

The new cash injection can reach 10 billion Euros in bonds convertible at the Financial and Savings Bank - while thousands are cut from Health and Public Education - will be insufficient (…) The proposal of a public bank under democratic control and managed with transparency, created by the nationalization of the saving houses, is not one of the possible options to solve the current crisis. It is the only solution because it is impossible to move private funds of that quantity to recapitalize Spanish financial entities.

Also, banks are responsible of a great number of foreclosures and evictions throughout Spain which reached a record in 2011. In the downtown neighborhood of Lavapiés, in Madrid, another eviction took place recently after Banesto bank and the judicial commission denied the owners the alternative of negotiating the payment or social leasing of the property. Two families from Bangladesh who bought the apartment in Fray Ceferino Street nº12 were affected after the interest rate of their loan increased and their economic and working situation worsened.

That is how the blog CIERRABANESTO [es] explains the situation in the post titled “Manual to kick out a bank out of a neighborhood”:

Como sabéis, Banesto pretende dejar a Uddin, Hafiz, sus señoras esposas y sus cuatro niñxs en la calle el próximo 9 de mayo. Sí, será la segunda confrontación entre la dignidad y la barbarie, después de que el pasado 28 de marzo Lavapiés ganase el primer encuentro. Nuestrxs vecinxs como tantxs otrxs aquí, en Españistán, escucharon el canto de las sirenas bancarias que gobiernan y se creyeron que debían y podrían tener una casa propia. Ahora están a punto de ser expulsados de esa casa con una deuda pendiente casi tan grande como el crédito original.

As you know, Banesto wants to leave Uddin, Hafiz and their wives and four kids on the streets on May 9th. Yes, it will be the second confrontation between dignity and barbarism after Lavapiés won its first round on March 28th. Our neighbors, as many other around here in Spain, heard the governing banks siren song and believed that they should and could own a house. Now, they are about to get expelled from that house with a pending debt almost as big as the original credit.

An evicted person from Lavapiés takes out the last furniture from his apartment. Photo by Elena Arrontes.

Last March 28, thanks to the support of approximately 80 people, the eviction was postponed to May 9, but an excessive police deployment has blocked the access to the street so the protest couldn't prevent Banesto from taking over the apartment. Even though the police and anti-riot forces (including a helicopter flying around the area) blocked the street, there were manifestations of solidarity from several support groups against the eviction.

From both sides of the street people were chanting: “What a coincidence, poverty raises as well as police expenses!”, “I would be ashamed of throwing out a family!”, “Neighbor, wake up, foreclosures at your doorstep!”, “Today it's you, tomorrow it'll be me”…

Arrival of the eviction victim with his lawyer. Photo by Elena Arrontes.

A group composed by about 20 people went to Uddin and Hafiz's apartment the night before just in case the bank and realtor decided to do the eviction in advance to the scheduled hour (8am). The solidary group had to abandon the building at 9:30 when Uddin and Hafiz, together with a lawyer from the Victims of Mortgage Platform (PAH) met with a the judicial commission to sign the eviction.

Citizens on strike, students, committed neighbors and neighbor assemblies act several times a week in cases like this and make calls to protest using social media. The PAH has made a call on its website to stop evictions in Madrid and Barcelona. Unfortunately, Uddín and Hafiz were not lucky enough and the eviction became effective, but other cases have been successful due to citizen pressure.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

Jordan: Campaign Launched Against “Rape-Marriage” Law

Ebtihal Mahadeen — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:25:51 +0000

In March of this year, 16-year-old Moroccan Amina Filali committed suicide after she was forced to marry her rapist, and Moroccans expressed their outrage at the incident. Now Jordanians are speaking up about a 15-year-old rape victim who has been married off to the man convicted of raping her, whose death sentence has been dropped as a consequence.

The sentence was dropped thanks to Article 308 of the Jordanian Penal Code that allows convicted rapists to walk free if they marry their victims. A campaign has now been launched to get the law abolished.

No to 308 campaign.

Blogger Naseem Tarawnah summarised the case that has angered people:

A 19 year old Jordanian kidnaps a 14 year old girl (with the assistance of his family) – takes her to a location where a tent was set up for him to rape her repeatedly for three straight days before the police roll in. The court sentences him to death by hanging but he manages to produce a very recent marriage certificate signed by a judge. The court then stays the execution but claims that it will be reinstated should the boy divorce her without a “justifiable cause”. A professor of sociology from the University of Jordan was widely quoted by the original article produced by Arab Al Yawm – that “women are different in nature from men” and that the girl should now make her best of the situation and play the role of a good wife, mostly by putting this whole silly rape thing behind her.

Twitter users in Jordan have condemned Article 308 and expressed their outrage at the way criminals are permitted to escape punishment while their victims are effectively punished. Activists and concerned Jordanians have been tweeting about Article 308 under the hashtag #جريمة308 (#Crime308) [ar] in order to raise awareness, and to garner support for a petition that aims to collect 20,000 signatures [ar] against Article 308:

نعلن رفضنا القاطع لما يطال النساء المغتـَـصبات من جرائم مركـّبة تحت مسمى العقوبات المخففة التي يوفرها القانون للمغتصب، ونسجل مواقفنا الرافضة لتخفيف العقوبة عن المجرمين، وتضييع حق الضحية والمجتمع تحت حماية القانون

We declare our unequivocal rejection for the multiple crimes that befall female rape victims because of the legal provisions for sentence reductions for rapists. We take a firm stance against both sentence reductions for criminals, and the dismissal of the victim's and society's rights, all under the banner of the law.

The petition also calls for stricter punishments for sexual assault and for the annulment of the category itself. In Jordan, sexual assault is any forced sexual act save for forced penile-vaginal penetration, which is the only act legally regarded as rape. Consequently, the rape of a male is not legally seen as rape, and neither is the forced penile-anal penetration of a female.

Tweets under the #Crime308 hashtag have mostly focused on the personal and social cost of Article 308 and highlighted its failings.

Zain tweeted:

@ZainMN: القوانين يجب أن تكون علاجاً لآفات المجتمع وليس تجسيداً لمفاهيم و ممارسات الظلم فيه.

@ZainMN: Laws should be a cure for society's diseases, not embody concepts and practices of oppression

Abd Ashhab wrote:

@abdashhab: جريمة 308 فن تحطيم شرف و مستقبلها البنت و كرامة عائلة و الدعس على مجتمع و بالآخر تبرئة الجاني

@abdashhab: Crime308 is the art of destroying a woman's honour and her future, as well as her family's dignity. It tramples on society and in the end the criminal is acquitted

Hadeel Abdel Aziz, Executive Director of Jordan's Justice Center for Legal Aid affirmed:

@hadilaziz:‬ لن نسمح بمعاقبة الضحية ولن نسمح بافلات المغتصب من العقوبة سنعمل على تعديل قانون العقوبات

@hadilaziz:‬ We will not allow victims to be punished and rapists to walk free anymore. We will change the penal code.

Raffoul H. Abubaida wrote:

@Raffoul: #جريمة308‬‏ معالجة ذيل المشكلة بعد الاغتصاب دون التفكير بان الاصل منع الاغتصاب ابتداءا وذلك بوضع العقوبة الرادعة

@Raffoul: [The current law] addresses ‎‫ the problems after rape without considering that we should prevent rape from happening in the first place by enforcing punishments that are a deterrent

Hadeel Maaitah tweeted:

@girl_brainy: Imagine tweeting once a day using ‫#جريمة308‬ saves one victim! Cumulative effort will save victims & save girls from becoming ones

The campaign against Article 308 was launched just weeks ago, but in this short period the campaign has had two volunteer meetings, gathered over 2000 signatures on its petition, and received considerable media coverage. Active beyond Twitter, the campaign is also present on Facebook.

Its use of social media has enabled it to get the support of prominent figures like the head of the Jordan National Commission for Women, an ex-minister, and an MP. However, Jordanian public outrage at this injustice is yet to bear fruit in the form of the abolishment of Article 308. There are high hopes this will be achieved before Jordan gets its own Amina Filali.

Lithuania: Alleged Child Abuse Case

Veronica Khokhlova — Sat, 12 May 2012 23:36:13 +0000

At OpenDemocracy.net, Violeta Davoliūtė draws attention to “some of the more sober realities of life in today’s Lithuania,” highlighting a highly publicised case of alleged child abuse that is “being played out against a background of mob rule, support from politicians and complicity on the part of the police.”

Algeria: Low Turnout in Legislative Elections

Ahmed Medien — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:25:57 +0000

On May 10, Algeria's first legislative elections since the start of the Arab uprisings were held. The National Liberation Front (FLN) and sister party the National Democratic Rally won a majority of seats, defeating an Islamist alliance.

The ruling FLN has dominated Algeria's political life since independence. These elections were seen as a test of the its legitimacy, and the official turnout figure of 42.9%, an improvement on the 35% turnout for the 2007 elections, was claimed by some as an endorsement for recent political reforms. However, despite the fact there have not been the kind of anti-regime protests in Algeria as elsewhere in the Arab world, there is widespread dissatisfaction with the government. Many people expressed their political dissent through boycotting the elections.

#10MaiToz: No dessert for those who don't vote. Image posted by @beautifultango7.

On election day Algerians tweeted under the hashtag #10MaiToz, “toz” meaning nonsense.

Yasmine Bouchène wrote:

@Yaspuppchen: Si dans d’autres pays, voter est un acte citoyen. En Algérie, ne pas le faire l’est apparemment d’avantage ! #10maiToz

@Yaspuppchen: If in other countries voting is an act of citizenship, in Algeria not voting is apparently even better!

Vote here. Image posted by @copi35.

There were widespread accusations of fraud and a “manipulation of the results”.

Yanis Chalouche joked:

@Mister16Five: Les actes de citoyenneté sont tellement ancrés dans notre culture et notre éducation, que même les morts ressuscitent pour voter. #10MaiToz

@Mister16Five: Acts of citizenship are so embedded in our culture and education that even the dead rise to vote.

Blogger Baki 7our tweeted:

@7our: Proverbe algérien: “c'est quand le bureau de vote est vide que l'urne se remplit”. #10MaiToz #Fraude

@7our: Algerian proverb: “When the polling station is empty the ballot box fills up.”

Bab El Oued polling station. Image posted by @LivefromAlgeria.

Journalist Borzou Daragahi noted the lack of voters:

@Borzou: Algeria: At election center in Larbatache outside Algiers city, very, very few voters; mostly elderly. Where are youth?

A citizen-driven election monitoring website was set up to report fraud. More than 150 infractions were recorded across Algeria.

In the above video [ar], a 23-year-old man called Tarek explains that the Algerian people have had enough of politicians who have failed since 1999 (when Abdelaziz Bouteflika became president) to make life better for Algerians. One of the strongest moments of the clip is when Tarek says that he'd rather be “eaten by fish than eaten by worms (poverty)”.

South Korea: Continuing Mad Cow Controversy Over US Beef Imports

Lee Yoo Eun — Sat, 12 May 2012 12:35:10 +0000

Since last week, South Korea has seen continuing protests against importing beef from the United States after mad cow disease broke out in California. The Korean government dispatched its inspection team to the US to quell the public anger incited by the government's unkept promise to halt the beef imports immediately the disease was detected. However, the inspection team's lack of control over the investigation process and the biased member selection process further deepened South Korean's distrust of the government.

South Korea's Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries sent a nine-person inspection team that checked infected cattle and meat packing facilities in the United States right after the disease was detected. They returned only to announce on May 11, 2012, there is no real human health threat posed by American beef and concluded that the country will maintain its quarantine inspections regime on the beef without halting imports, a solution that totally contradicts the government's promise made in 2008. The Korean public responded to this result with heated discussions and criticism online.

One of South Korea's prominent political bloggers IamPeter clarified [ko] the reason for public distrust of the government's version of the story:

원래 광우병 미국 현지 조사단은 정확한 실태 파악을 위해 발병 농장 방문, 사체의 조직 검사 등 모든 의혹을 밝힐 수 있는 조사를 하기로 되어 있었습니다. 그러나 지금 광우병 미국 현지 조사단은 미국 측이 허용하는 장소만 가서 구경만 하고 있습니다. 광우병 발병 현지 목장 방문은 아예 하지도 못했고, 광우병 소의 사체 조직 검사도 미국 측에 의해 좌절됐습니다. 도축장 방문도 수출용이 아닌 내수용 도축장에만 갔다 왔습니다. 결국 광우병 미국 현지 조사단이 했던 일은 아무것도 없습니다. 그저 미국이 보여주는 지정된 코스를 충실하게 견학만 하고 있습니다.

The inspection team was supposed to carry out a thorough inspection including visiting the farm where the disease was detected and having a biopsy on the dead cow in order to dispel every suspicion. However this inspection team merely toured around some places which the US side allowed them to visit. They never even made it close to the farm where the disease broke out and the biopsy was also turned down by the US. And the visit to meatpacking facilities was limited to the domestic facilities and not the one handling beef which will be exported internationally. In summary, the inspection team did nothing. They had a field trip to some spots and stayed on a travel route all planned out by the US.

A brochure of anti US beef import protest planned on May 12 (left). Image shared by twitter user @hudanchu

Sarcastic comments ridiculing the inspection team inundated blogs and the twittersphere. Lee Hyang-ah commented [ko] below a related news article:

세금으로 미국여행 잘하고왓지뭐…자기들이 미국가서 광우병조사한다고하면 아이고 오시느라고 고생많았습니다. 앉아서 커피나 먹으면서 같이 얘기해봅시다. 이럴줄알앗나?? 뭔 뜻으로 조사단을 보냇는지 모르겟다.

They had a quite a good trip to the US with the taxpayer's money. Did they really think the US would welcome them when they came over to inspect for mad cow disease? Did they really think the US would say, “What a trip you had. Come and take a seat over here and discuss this issue over a coffee”? Really? I don't see the reason for dispatching the inspection team.

A net user @555773 tweeted [ko]:

[…]농장에도 방문도 못하고 조사한 결과가 이상이 없다며 검역 강화에만 치중하면서 중단은 하지 않고 국민의 불안감만 안기고 있는 정부를 신뢰할수 없다

They (referring to the mad cow disease inspection team) did not even visit the farm (where the disease broke out). The government is trying so hard to persuade us that US beef is safe and want to focus on continuing the quarantine regime, instead of halting the imports. And this kind of behavior makes South Korean people more anxious and harder to trust the current government even more.

Baek Chan-hong (@mindgood) tweeted [ko]:

헛물만 켜다온 광우병 조사단 “미국산 쇠고기 안전” 결론…그럴거면 이메일로 조사하지.

The dispatched team's inspection was totally useless. And they concluded that US beef is safe. Is this all we can get? Then it could have been better to inspect the case via email.

Another Twitter user @korea486 tweeted [ko]:

광우병 조사단 귀국,미국 쇠고기 이상 없다고 발표했군요! 광우병 조사단? 관광단 유람단 아니였나? 이 이인간들 미국소 먹을까요? 안 먹을까요?

The mad cow disease inspection team returned from the US and announced there is nothing wrong with US beef. Did they just call themselves an inspection team? I thought they were a tour team. What do you think- will they eat US beef in the future?

Cho Neung-hee(@mbcpdcho), a producer at MBC who is also a former chief producer of investigative journalism show “PD Notebook” tweeted [ko]:

조사단장을 맡은 주이석 질병방역본부장은 지난 2008년 4월 미국쇠고기 졸속협상시 협상단 실무담당자였다. 2008년 6월에는 PD수첩 제작진을 형사처벌해달라며 대검찰청에 수사의뢰서를 제출하고 관련 진술을 한 사람으로 조사의 객관성과 공정성이 의심된다.

The leader of the inspection team Joo E-suk, also the head of the animal quarantine office, was actually the one who handled the administrative stuff during the US beef import negotiation process back on April 2008. On June 2008, he even requested an investigation of PD Notebook reporters (who covered the danger of the mad cow disease) by the Supreme Prosecutor's Office and indeed testified against us. I highly doubt this investigation's objectivity and fairness.

Some news reports revealed that scientists and scholars who are against the US beef imports were excluded from the team.

The government argues the most recent case in California is a very rare atypical case and the case is unlikely to have caused by animal feed. However, another tweet [ko] by Cho made references to some US officials from the Clinton and Obama administrations who said they cannot verify for the moment whether there is any possible connection between the disease and the animal feed and they can't confirm the origin of this atypical case. Cho added [ko]:

[…] 학자들의이 반론으로 미국정부도 그 원인을 모른다고 후퇴했는데.. 유독 한국 농식품부는 사료가 원인이 아니라고 ‘추정'된다며.. 그러니 안전하다며.. 국민을 설득하려는지 참으로 안타깝군요. 사전예방의 법칙! 어디갔어?

Due to scholars arguments, even the US government have stepped back and acknowledged that they don't know clear reasons for the disease outbreak. But South Korea's Food/Agriculture Department alone ‘assumes' that the animal feed is not the cause of the problem, so it is safe. It is so pathetic to see them trying hard to persuade Korean people. Where did the rule of “Prevention” (in health policy) go in this country ?

IamPeter added [ko] after his analysis:

“정형 광우병은 없어졌다”고 했는데, 세계동물보건기구(OIE)의 2011년 광우병 통계에는 총 광우병 29건 중 정형 26건, 비정형 3건으로 나와 있습니다. […] 광우병에 대한 과학적인 결론은 100% 진실이 없습니다. 아직 정확하게 규명되지 않은 일들이 많기 때문입니다. 그렇기에 더욱 위험합니다. 과학적으로 규명되지 않았기에 위험하지 않다는 주장은 ‘바다의 깊이를 현재 모른다'라고 말해놓고, ‘그러니 빠져도 괜찮다'라는 말과 다를 바가 없습니다.

The government said that the ‘typical' disease case has disappeared. But according to OIE's [note: OIE refers to International Office of Epizootics which still known by its French acronym Office International des Epizooties] statistics on mad cow disease in 2011, among the total 29 mad cow disease cases, 26 cases of were ‘typical' and three were ‘atypical' cases […] There is no 100 percent verified scientific truth in the mad cow disease controversy yet, since there are lots of parts that need to be proven. That is what makes this situation more dangerous. (The current South Korean government's) logic is, ‘It is not dangerous since the risk of the disease has not yet been scientifically proven'. To me it seems like saying, “We don't know the depth of the ocean yet, so it is okay to fall into it”.

Spain: Many Reasons to Take to the Streets on 12M

Kathryn Morgan — Sat, 12 May 2012 01:47:37 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

In Spain on 15 May, the first anniversary of 15M will be commemorated. There are a huge number of events scheduled all over the country for the next several days. Some have already begun, like in Barcelona with the Fòrum dels Pobles (The People's Forum) [cat] which opened in Plaça Catalunya at 18:00 hrs with the aim of generating a space for debate, collaboration and sharing among different collectives who are working for change.

On Saturday 12 May (12M), protests are predicted to take place in many cities across Spain. The platform Democracia Real Ya (Real Democaracy Now) [es] and the portal Tomalaplaza (Take The Square) [es] bring together some of the initiatives from not only the local, but also the global sphere, such as videos and images:

There are many different, yet overlapping reasons to head to the streets on May 12. Spanish tweeters have been exposing these reasons for two days over the internet. The hashtags #YoVoy12M (I'm Going 12M), launched on Thursday, and #ALaPlaza (To The Square), launched on Friday, have been Trending Topics (TT) in Spain itself, but also on a globally. @mantaypeli is putting together a Storify [es] of the tweets.

Here we have a few more:

@Nofwer: #YoVoy12M: Por la busqueda de una Democracia Total! Y no este simulacro.

@Nofwer: #YoVoy12M: In search of Total Democracy. And not this sham.

@Aldana72: #M12 #12m15m: Por nuestro futuro. Por nuestra dignidad. Tenemos que ir #yovoy12m

@Aldana72: #M12 #12m15m: For our future. For our dignity. We need to go.

@qmbx: #YoVoy12M: porque será la mejor carrera que podamos hacer juntos. #15M es sentirse indignado. #12M es sentirse vendido. #12M15M es respuesta.

@qmbx: #YoVoy12M: because it will be the best path we can take together.

@pabloskybarbato: #YoVoy12M: porque no somos terroristas al decir que hay algo más en esta vida que ir cada 4 años a las urnas o ir a las urnas

@pabloskybarbato: #YoVoy12M: because we are not terrorists for saying that there is something more to life than going to vote every 4 years or going to vote

@pabloskybarbato: #YoVoy12M: porque creo que la organización y el debate de la vox populi es la única forma de sacarnos de esta y de cualquier situación

@pabloskybarbato: #YoVoy12M: because I believe that organisation and the debate of the vox populi is the only way for us to get out of this, and any other, situation.

@carlos605486545: #YoVoy12M: todavía no he visto a un político en crisis

@carlos605486545: #YoVoy12M: I still haven't seen a politician in crisis.

@juulia022: Perquè estic farta que es prometin coses que mai arriben a complir-se! #YoVoy12M #12m15m

@juulia022: Because I am sick of them promising us things that they never get around to doing.

@Jc36Lj: #YoVoy12M: por educacion por que es sano y me gusta lo publico

@Jc36Lj: #YoVoy12M: for education because it is healthy and I like it.

@julkfusion: #YoVoy12M: con esperanza, ganas de crear… Aun hay quien pregunta “por qué”?

@julkfusion: #YoVoy12M: with hope, a desire to believe… there is still someone who asks “why?”

@andergayamor: #yovoy12m: Porque llevamos en nuestro corazón un mundo nuevo que está naciendo.

@andergayamor: #yovoy12m: Because we carry in our hearts a new world that is being born.

@LauraIpunto1 Sin educación, sin sanidad, sin vivienda, sin rescate ciudadano…Españoles la democracia a muerto!!! #AlaPlaza12M

@LauraIpunto1: No education, no health service, no housing, no citizen bailout. Spaniards, democracy has died!!! #AlaPlaza12M

@iaioflautas: #Alaplaza12M: A disfrutar del solecico y el 13-14 unas partidas de dominó por la plaza entre debate y debate

@iaioflautas: #Alaplaza12M: To enjoy the sunshine and the 13-14 or so games of dominoes between debates.

@apardo: #aLaPlAzA12m: porque esto no es una crisis, es una estafa

@apardo: #aLaPlAzA12m: because this isn't a crisis, it's a fraud.

@gorriato: El año pasado con el #15M les dimos un ultimátum a nuestros políticos. Lejos de mejorar, las cosas han empeorado #AlaPlaza12M #12M15M

@gorriato: Last year with #15M we gave our politicians and ultimatum. Far from improving, things have worsened. #AlaPlaza12M #12M15M

@A_Cas: Si el gobierno no cuida de los ciudadanos, los ciudadanos cuidamos de los ciudadanos #AlaPlaza12M

@A_Cas: If the government doesn't look after its citizens, citizens will look after themselves. #AlaPlaza12M

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.