With a great majority of voters for candidate Hollande in the Presidential elections hailing from in the Overseas regions, French-Caribbean bloggers were impatient to see which French Guyanese, Martinican or Guadeloupean politicians would be assigned a key government ministry.

Prior to the official announcement on May 16th 2012, a Guadeloupean blogger at Indiscrétions thought it was unlikely that Christiane Taubira would get any major position [Fr]:

Christiane Taubiraby, image taken from her own blog. Photo by Jean Francois Robert. Visit Taubira's blog @http://chtaubira.tumblr.com/

La guyanaise Christiane Taubira, qu'on a entendu et réentendu en boucle sur les médias oraux nationaux le 10 mai, pourrait être ministre. Un ministère symbolique, tout comme sa présence d'ailleurs. Car, malheureusement, on ne donne que des fonctions symboliques aux ressortissants d'outre-mer quand on les prend au gouvernement. A quand un vrai ministère, comme le Budget ou l'Agriculture ?

This time around things are different and as Martinican Bel Balawou announces [Fr]:

Christiane Taubira originaire de la Guyane, a été nommée ministre de la justice et garde des sceaux dans le gouvernement de Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Guyanese blogger at Blada reposts [Fr] some of the official messages sent to congratulate the newly-appointed, but expresses, nevertheless, some mixed feelings:

Deux raisons de faire sauter les bouchons de champagne sous les palmiers… ou d'avaler cul sec un bol de vinaigre lorsqu'on a une haute idée de ce que peut être la justice.

Official government publicity photo of George Pau Langevin taken from her profile on the website of the French National Assembly (http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/)

Among these well-acclaimed assignments, reactions to the appointment of Victorin Lurel to the Ministry of the Overseas Departments is discordant. Guadeloupean blogger at Carib Creole News publishes a post entitled “Victorin Lurel, Last Minister of the Last Colonies [Fr] in which he denounces the inconsistencies of the new Minister:

Lurel ministre, qui s’en étonne ? Personne. Lurel ministre des « outremers» (à CCN nous disons des Dernières Colonies : MDC) c’est la big surprise. Notre ex président de Région avait toujours clamé urbi et orbi, qu’il ne souhaitait surtout pas, ce ministère qu’il considérait comme « dévalué ».
Sa « préférence » allait vers l’agriculture ou les collectivités territoriales. Mais il semble bien que Lurel n’ait guère eu la possibilité de choisir.

In this same post, CCN reminds his readers that since the 2009 social crisis in Guadeloupe, Lurel who was then member of the left-wing parliamentary opposition to Sarkozy's government, never stopped tackling the numerous causes of the discontent (prices, employment, status of Creole language, education and vocational training and governance) and condemning the policies enforced by the government then. He wonders how the new minister is going to solve the problems he once pointed at.

Victorin Lurel; photo taken from his Twitter profile @VictorinLurel

Regarding Lurel's appointment, Bel Balawou publishes no personal comment but reposts a letter [Fr] from Patrick Karam, a Guadeloupean-born former junior minister in Sarkozy's government, who unexpectedly expresses his complete support to his former rival, Victorin Lurel.

Le plus compétent et populaire des ultramarins, qui fut de tous les combats en faveur des outre-mer, l’homme qui a tenu bon face au LKP pendant la crise de 2009 et dont le comportement irréprochable et courageux avait été salué par le Président de la République Nicolas Sarkozy […]

These inconstencies are also pointed at by Martinican blogger at Montray Kréyol, who publishes a letter from Victorin Lurel, in a post entitled “The Contortions of Toto” (Toto being Lurel's nickname in his native Guadeloupe) [Fr]. In this letter, Lurel, before being appointed, legitimizes President Hollande's choice to honor French stateman Jules Ferry on his inauguration day. The choice was judged awkward and Lurel's support even moreso, since Ferry was the well-known advocate of the French colonial expansion.

Martinican blogger at Bondamanjak humorously wonders [Fr] why no Martinican-born politican was appointed in this new government.

Le hic dans cette histoire c'est que la Martinique, terre d'Aimé Césaire… creuset de la démocratie participative est étrangement absence de cette réunion de compétences.

Visit French mainstream online magazine, Le Nouvel Obs, to see the new faces of the French executive [Fr].

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In March the charity Oxfam International gave a dire warning in a press release:

Yemen is at the crossroads of humanitarian catastrophe international aid agency Oxfam said today in reaction to new figures from the World Food Programme, which showed a radical increase in the number of people facing severe hunger in the country. The new figures indicate that 45 percent of the population in Yemen do not have enough to eat - more than 10 million people, with half of these people severely food insecure and in need of urgent emergency aid.

However, mainstream media is more interested in the existence of Al Qaeda in the country, supposedly justifying the US drone war.

Yemeni Mohammed Adel Alamer tweeted in dismay:

@M7mmdAdel: 10 million Yemenis facing #famine in Yemen! The world only cares about #Qaeda and #DroneStrikes them and to hell with the 10 million

Oxfam offered more figures:

@Oxfam:.@WFP [World Food Programme] reports #Yemen food insecurity levels have doubled since 2009. Today 5 million people go hungry so often that it affects their long-term health

Yemen has had massive food security problems for years, and Al Jazeera English recently produced two videos highlighting how the ongoing political turmoil has aggravated the situation and is putting the lives of many children at risk.

British-Yemeni blogger Omar tweeted Al Jazeera's photo of a severely malnourished child:

@OmarMash: ‘The tiny bodies are still breathing' - Babies starve in Yemen's hospitals, he's a lucky one, he made to the hospital.

Severely malnourished Yemeni child, Sana'a, Yemen, April 2012. Image by Al Jazeera (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Yemeni blogger Afrah Nasser wrote a post entitled “Hunger in Yemen”:

Food crisis is increasingly becoming epidemic in Yemen. Reports of starvation and malnutrition among children in Yemen have been gripping headlines for a while. Last night [April 27], UNICEF spokesman Mr. Mohammed al-Asaadi spoke to al-Jazeera about this issue and said, “Around 1 million children are food insecure and malnourished. At least 120 thousand under-5 children may die between now and the end of 2012 if no action is taken.” […] I wonder what the government is doing exactly to tackle this issue. It's really sad that politicians in Yemen could ignore the children's plight.

Omar tweeted:

@OmarMash: The #YemenFoodCrisis is only going to increase in severity if not immediately dealt with by international donors, the Yemen government and the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council].

He added:

@OmarMash: I have a horrible feeling that in 6 months time the #YemenFoodCrisis will at its peak, only then will the world's attention be focused.

London-based Yemeni Loubna Maktary urged immediate action to be taken to save Yemen's dying children:

@LoubbyM: Children in Yemen are dying of HUNGER!!! Stop ignoring them. Yemen is not a political problem, it is a human catastrophe #YemenFoodCrisis (:

It is hoped that the food crisis will be discussed at the Friends of Yemen Conference in Riyadh on May 23. UNICEF has called for children to be kept at the centre of the conference's security and political dialogues.

To learn more about Yemen's food crisis read this Storify.

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A day after President Sata swore in the tribunal headed by Malawi high court judge Lovemore Chikopa, Zambian high court judge, Flugence Chisanga, ruled against it in an injunction in a move that inevitably pitted the judiciary against the executive.

President Sata swears in Malawian Judge Lovemore Chikopa to head the tribunal probing three Zambian judges. Picture courtesy of State House via Zambian Watchdog

Ms Justice Chisanga said:

Upon hearing counsel for the applicants and reading the affidavits of Judges Mutuna and Kajimanga respectively, it is hereby ordered that the applicants be and are hereby granted leave to apply for judicial review.

And it is further ordered that the leave so granted shall operate as a stay of the decisions of his Excellency the President to appoint a tribunal, to suspend the applicants and any adverse measures against the applicants in relation to the performance of their Constitutional duties as duly appointed Puisne Judges pending determination of this matter or further direction by this court.

Justice Minister, Sebastian Zulu, quickly issued a statement that was placed on the state house website saying the judiciary was panicking, ordering the Solicitor-General to overturn the ruling:

I have ordered the solicitor General to immediately have that stay revoked on the ground that under section 16 of the state proceedings Act. An Injunction may not be granted against the state.”
“An Order of stay is in fact a mandatory injunction which is ordering that the  tribunal should not take off, That is what the law does not allow. It (law) doesn't allow such an order as far as I a[m] concerned.

Zulu also told a press briefing that the court’s decision was illegal and amounted to a direct attack on the president’s decision.

One of the three suspended judges, High Court Judge Philip Musonda. Photo courtesy of statehouse.gov.zm.

Ruling in the matter after the application by the State to have the injunction against the tribunal dismissed was set for hearing on May 24.

The matter also engulfed the Chief Justice whom the University of Zambia Students Union called upon to step down.

Netizens have followed this matter keenly on social media forums.

Ms Justice Chisanga won kudos for her courage. Commenting on a related post on Zambian Watchdog, Solicitor wrote:

What a galant lady this Chisanga is she. Fearless and sticks to then law without looking at who is involved. this how judiciary should be. The weak judges must learn from this judge who can’t succumb to executive presure. I hope she will be the next chief justice after [Enerst Sakala] as she will uphold the rule of law. Pf cadres on blogging should stop trivializing such bluntant abuse of eecutive powers by its president and some of those in his party. Zambia doesn’t belong to MCS nor to his party and the likes of membe and Nchitos but to all of us.We need a relaible judicial system which will defend the rights of fair justice for every one without looking at the faces of those involved and this is what lady Chisanga has just demonstrated…

MUKUKA MBULU – AYANGA NA MAKA on the development under the same story wrote, wrote:

The measure of any Judiciary is whether it can stand the pressure from the Executive and in this case Judge Chisanga has more than redeemed the Juciary. The measure of any corruption fight is whether you can confront and arrest not just your enemies but also your friends and in this case Mr. Sata has failed completely by refusing to confront his friends to compel them to pay back the K14bn owed to DBZ or even to talk about it. Contrast this to what the President would have said and done if the K14bn was owed by Henry Banda. The Corruption fight is DEAD because it is targeted only at enemies and this case proves it. Thank you Judge Chisanga. The coutry owes you the same way it owes Christon Tembo who gave up the Vice Presidency of Zambia to fight the Chiluba Third term bid while the same Mr. Sata was supporting Chiluba.

In one exchange between two tweeps, the following was gleaned:

@munshyamunshya: My advice to Zulu & Co. don't pick a fight with the entire judiciary.

@imatambo: @munshyamunshya: are the supreme court judges above the law? In the interest of separation of powers they should be checked by the executive

@munshyamunshya: @imatambo No, judges aren't above law. And so when they are corrupt you report them to ACC and Judicial Complaints commission!

One sceptic tweep doubted the authenticiy of the judicial review:

@sandaykc: @Zambia_Reports @missbwalya @gndhlovu @the_josephk @VOAAfrica Good attempt for judicial review but we all know by now this is all academic.

Written by Gershom Ndhlovu · comments (0)
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President Sata recently sued United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema, the Daily Nation newspaper, radio station Hot FM and University of Zambia lecturer Cholwe Beyani for defamation of character and demanded to be paid K1.2 billion or US$ 266,667 in damages.

Artistic depiction of Michael Sata as Zambia's Black Moses. Image source: 90 Days Countdown Facebok group.

President Sata also indicated that he wanted Hichilema to retract the defamatory story published in The Daily Nation newspaper edition of May 16, 2012, in which the paper quoted the opposition leader as saying Sata awarded a K600 million contract to his friend to renovate State House.

The Lusaka Times story quotes the letter to the Daily Nation as saying:

We have been retained by Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata, the current president of Zambia and of the Patriotic Front political party, to act for him in a matter concerning your defamation of him in the article in the Nation Newspaper edition published on 8th of May, 2012 (Vol. 2, Issue 175) entitled ‘Sata Shielding Crooks.’

President Sata also demanded a retraction, an apology and K500 million from a University of Zambia (Unza) lecturer Cholwe Beyani for defamation who for saying the removal of lawyer Vincent Malambo from representing the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) was an attempt by the head of state to shield his friends from prosecution.

Sata also filed a defamation suit against Hichilema over alleged defamatory remarks the UPND leader made when he featured on Hot FM’s Hot seat live programme on April 26. President Sata is demanding K500 million as compensation.

Sata in his suit also also demanded another K500 million from Hot FM Radio as the publisher of the alleged defamatory remarks and for the radio station to retract the defamatory remarks made by Hichilema.

According to instructions sent to his lawyers Ituna Partners, Hichilema has been given 7 days to apologize and retract the statements he made.

On May 11, the offices of international lawyer Robert Amsterdam, representing former President Rupiah Banda’s son, Henry, wanted in Zambia for questioning on allegations of various crimes that may have been committed during his father’s reign, received correspondence from President Sata’s legal representatives threatening litigation and demanding compensation in response to public statements made by Mr Amsterdam on the PF’s government’s pursuit of political opponents.

Said the sharp-tongued Amsterdam (this author has interviewed him before):

President Sata’s crude efforts to silence and bully opponents with threats and intimidation will not work, and we would in fact welcome the opportunity to lead a serious public debate on the unlawful conduct of this administration… As a public figure, I had no idea that President Sata was so sensitive to criticism, but given this government’s stance toward freedom of the press, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

While President Sata is suing citizens, he himself is constitutionally immune from civil and criminal prosecution as head of state. Netizens have added their voice to the President suing his critics.

Commenting on the Zambian Watchdog, Mambwe wrote:

Close friends of Sata (Guy Scott, GBM, Kambwili) should pluck up some courage to advise their President that his Republican status does not allow him to behave like an ordinary man in the streets of Lusaka, Kitwe of Ndola where he can exercise the luxury of making money by sueing percieved enemies to courts. A President must learn to absorb cruel and well-meaning criticism from the public. The Speakers Corner in London’s Hyde Park have preserved such a facility where the Queen can be criticised severely. If Sata is sensitive to honest criticism, then he must resign, declare to forego his presidential immunity and face his colleagues on a level playing ground. His lawyers will have to fight it out with other sharp-shooting talented legal minds.

Advocate wrote:

If the nation had to sue for the unfulfilled promises within 90 days,how many cases could there be.I thought a President should have thick skin to critism and other comments.There should be a well designed system to rebut various accusations inorder to inform the public about the truth.That is what leadearship is all about.Are people expected or forced to be quite even if they suspect something has gone wrong within the Executive.Dictatorships start this way.

Written by Gershom Ndhlovu · comments (0)
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While the Uludere (Roboski) bombing is still in the news headlines today, interest has been focused on the government's silence and the ongoing investigation, and the human side of the tragedy has been neglected.

However, last week poet and author Bejan Matur visited the region and posted her impressions on her Twitter account [tr], in both her poetic prose and photos.

A mother at her son's grave.

@bejanmatur: bugün geldim roboskiye ve gidemedim. yaslı kızkardeşlerin sesleri bırakmadı beni…

@bejanmatur: roboskide gece;sınıra düşen top sesleri, F-16 ucusşları ve bütün gün mezarlıkta ağıt yakan kadınların anlattığı ölü oğullar. ahh yeter mi?

At her brother's grave.

@bejanmatur: o kadar uzaktık birbirimizden. o kadar yalnız kendimizle…

@bejanmatur: Tum bunlar olurken butun gece ve gun roboskide top sesleri dinmedi. helikopterler, karsi tepelerden yukselen dumanlar arasinda yasanan hayat

His look…

@bejanmatur: 'Aile ici siddet nasil korkuncsa bizim cocuklarimiz da bu seslerle buyuyor' diyor biri roboskideki top seslerini kastederek.

@bejanmatur: Olumden duyduklari aciyi azaltacak tek sey sorumlularin cezalandirilmasi cunku!

To live and to die at Roboski.

Beklemeyi bilen kan,
Taş olmayı da bilir.
Dünyada olmak acıdır. Öğrendim.

Bejan Matur was born in 1968 in an Alevi Kurdish family in the city of Marash in southeast Turkey. As well as being a poet she is a newspaper columnist and runs a cultural foundation in Diyarbakır.

All photos courtesy of Bejan Matur.

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Israel is currently home to about 45,000 asylum seekers; over 80% of them are from Eritrea and Sudan, who are barred from gaining refugee status in Israel. Instead, the refugees receive a conditional temporary release, until their deportation is possible. Currently, since such deportation would endanger the lives of the asylum seekers, it is illegal according to both international law and Israeli law.

The Israeli government insists that the asylum seekers are in fact illegal economic migrants and refuses to grant them any rights. Top Israeli officials, including the Minister of Interior Eli Yishai and Prime Minister Netanyahu have consistently claimed that the refugees pose a demographic threat as well as a threat to Israel's national security.

Following the two incidents of rape, Yishai said in an interview that “most African infiltrators are are involved in crime” and stated that the solution would be to lock up all refugees and deport them. However, police statistics show that the general crime rate in Israel is more than double that of Africans in Israel.

Racist graffiti in Hativa neighborhood, southern Tel Aviv. The graffiti reads "Sudanese go home" and "Price tag". Photo courtesy of Alon Sherf.

Blogger Shooky Galili has written [he] about the government's policy of sending the refugees to the poorest neighborhoods of Tel Aviv the moment they get out of detention (which they enter after crossing the border with Egypt):

Sigal Rozen, a prominent refugee rights activist from the Hotline for Migrant Workers (whose employees last week received death threats for assisting refugees), described the consequences of this incitement:

For the residents of southern Tel Aviv, where most of the refugees are concentrated, official crime rates undoubtedly do not matter. Their subjective feelings of fear are understandable. The irresponsible statements of senior police chiefs, together with the media coverage of actual incidents and the speeches of ministers and MKs, lead the residents to believe that almost all Africans walking the streets are criminals. This belief, and the fact that the streets of their neighborhoods are indeed filled with African newcomers, leads residents of the neighborhoods to the painful conclusion that the authorities are abandoning them. But this discourse has dangerous implications. In the last month, the number of hate crimes carried out by Israelis against Africans has risen tremendously. Multiple Molotov cocktails were thrown into houses of Africans in southern Tel Aviv on two separate occasions, a week apart.

Professor Moshe Negbi wrote on the 7th Eye blog about the role of the Israeli media [he]:

Injury of Eritrean man attacked by two Israelis holding broken bottles and a knife. Photo by Sigal Rozen on Facebook.

Yossi Gurvitz, leading Israeli leftist blogger, commented:

When the Israeli media reports a rape by “foreigners,” it engages in dog-whistling. It informs its readership that something much worse than rape took place: the defilement of the blood and honor of the Jewish people, the defiling of the honor of a daughter of Israel.

On his blog Room 404, Ido Kenan reported on the racist comments [he] posted by some Israelis in response to police requests for help in locating a five-year-old Eritrean girl who went missing (and was later found) in southern Tel Aviv:

Quick to joke about anything, Israelis on Twitter also commented on the growing wave of racism toward Africans:

Ayelet quipped:

Erez Raviv joked:

Written by Elizabeth Tsurkov · comments (0)
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The Indeni plant is where imported crude delivered via the Tazama pipeline is processed into finished products; diesel, petrol and kerosene. Zambian citizens are incensed by the fact that President Michael Sata’s PF government donated five million liters of fuel to Malawi barely a month ago. This seems to evoke feelings of bitterness especially in those who did not vote for the president during the previous elections.

Fuel cans. Image by Stanley Kubrock from eufrika.org (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).

The Zambian Watchdog reports:

The crude oil importation deals entered by the PF government are finally being felt in various parts of the country through fuel shortages.
In Kabwe, motorists have been queueing for Petrol and Diesel for four days now whilst brothers and sisters in Malawian are enjoying the abundant fuel ‘donated’ by the generous neighbouring PF government in Zambia.

The story continues:

Sources in the Ministry of Energy have told the Watchdog that the situation is likely to worsen as the ship carrying crude oil imported by the PF government suppliers has not docked in Tanzanian port of Dar-es-Salaam forcing the Indeni plant to shut down the refinery on Monday.
The PF [ruling Patriotic Front] government is giving a few litres of fuel to selected oil marketing companies for the Zambia consumers and industries as they also have to fulfil the fuel promise to Malawi ‘within 90 days’.

Supporters in a truck celebrate the victory of opposition leader Michael Sata as he was sworn in as the fifth Zambian president. Image by Owen Miyanza, copyright Demotix (23/12/2011).

Rio, Zambian Watchdog reader, responds:

It is not only Kabwe; some filling stations in Ndola have either no diesel or Petrol: I filled up my fuel tanks for the cars to be safe!

Another reader, Kapyololo, thinks that fuel shortages is a sign of poor governance:

Now fate is catching up with these PF goats. they thought things will be well with them when they secretly donate five million liters of fuel to Malawi. we call this carelessness. Jesus in the bible was very clear when he said do not give food meant for children to dogs otherwise your children will die of hunger. what now, fuel shortage is looming in the country. will Malawi give us our fuel? even the alleged cheap fuel which this kabimba with his mathani crookman are planning to bring in the country is not enough. come on people, lets not experiment with governance.it is costly.
don’t say kapyololo did not warn. we saw this comig

Czar has a logical explanation:

PF’s lies are what got them into government. Those of you who believed their lies and voted en mass for them should swallow your pride and admit you got it wrong. Mismanagement is the order of the day. Politics done to appease kaponyas (hustlers) will not develop this country.

Royd Moonga shares his displeasure on Zambian People’s Pact Facebook group:

WHAT A PRESIDENT :Shamelesly Kabwe hit wth FUEL SHORTAGES barely a month with PRESIDENT Sata shocking 5m litres of Fuel donation to Malawi!

Royd's sentiment is echoed by a few others such as Timothy Tslubaby Chimpangu:

it was sad,i was in kabwe that day,it was hell,we were buying fuel from the changanyas.shame on this man with his decisions.

Archritius Mwanakayaya says:

the man is shameless,the economy is hanging due 2 lack of direction by this govt

Mubiana Sitwala disagrees:

Before you call anyone shameless, identify, understand and analyse. If the issue is country wide your concern can be genuine, but this is an issolated case of Kabwe. Find out if the shortage is caused by the donation of fuel to Malawi. May i beg you to be rational in your attacks on the president.

Kanyanja writes on his Facebook wall:

The crude oil importation deals entered by the PF government are finally being felt in various parts of the country through fuel shortages.
In Kabwe, motorists have been queueing for Petrol and Diesel for four days now whilst brothers and sisters in Malawian are enjoying the abundant fuel ‘donated’ by the generous neighbouring PF government in Zambia.

Gift Mbewe reminds Zambians that this is not the first time Zambia experiences fuel shortages:

Its not the first time this is happening. It used to happen even in MMD. But the point to note is that so far no change, still the MMD mentality.

The 5 million litres of fuel were donated by Zambian government following the death of Malawi's president Bingu wa Mutharika.

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The agreement came a day before the 64th Nakba Day on May 15, an annual day of commemoration of the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of Palestinian villages and cities following the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.

The agreement consisted of five main provisions:

The prisoners would end their hunger strike following the signing of the agreement; there will be an end to the use of long-term isolation of prisoners for “security” reasons, and the 19 prisoners [currently in isolation] will be moved out of isolation within 72 hours; family visits for first degree relatives to prisoners from the Gaza Strip and for families from the West Bank who have been denied visits based on vague “security reasons” will be reinstated within one month; the Israeli intelligence agency guarantees that there will be a committee formed to facilitate meetings between the IPS and prisoners in order to improve their daily conditions; there will be no new administrative detention orders or renewals of administrative detention orders for the 308 Palestinians currently in administrative detention, unless the secret files, upon which administrative detention is based, contain “very serious” information.

Awareness about the hunger strike reached a peak in the days before the agreement was announced. On Facebook there was a huge public display of support as thousands of users changed their profile picture in solidarity with the 2500 Palestinian prisoners. The pictures showed blindfolded Palestinians in prison uniform.

Solidarity on Facebook. Image posted by ‏@tounsiwaftakhir.

Additionally, almost instantaneous updates on the strike were provided on Twitter under the hashtag #PalHunger. Palestinian blogger and activist Linah Al Saafin confirmed that Thaer Halahleh, a prisoner on hunger strike for 77 days, ended his strike following the agreement:

@LinahAlsaafin: BREAKING: #ThaerHalahleh's father just called me; told me Thaer has agreed to end his hunger strike on the morning of 15/5 Tears #PalHunger

Nevertheless, only two days after the agreement there was a general call to continue supporting the hunger strike, because administrative detention had not ended. The director of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Sahar Francis, explained in an interview conducted by Electronic Intifada:

The success in this hunger strike doesn’t mean that the problem of the Palestinian political prisoners has reached an end, and they would be now living in perfect conditions, no. As well, the changes with administrative detention — until we get to monitor it on the practical level, we have to wait and see how it would work.

It is now apparent that a number of prisoners have resumed their hunger strike protesting Israel’s continued mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners, such as holding them in isolation.

Learning from the Palestinian hunger strikers: dignity first. Cartoon by Carlos Latuff.

Addameer provides constant updates on Twitter about prisoners. On May 17 it tweeted:

‏@Addameer_ps: Ahmad Sa'adat was taken out of isolation today after over 3 years and moved to Shatta prison

@Addameer_ps: As far as we know, there are at least 4 hunger strikers now: #MohammadTaj, #MahmoudSarsak, #AkramRikhawi & #MohammadAbdelAziz

@Addameer_ps: Because he's still on hunger strike, #MahmoudSarsak is not even guaranteed release date of 22 Aug (next date of judicial review)

An agreement may have been reached, but the Palestinian prisoners will not rest until their demands are met. They are ready to strike again if the agreement's terms are not implemented.

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According to some analysts, the cause of the decision was Father Gaston's stance on homosexuality and civil unions. Cardinal Cipriani is well-known for his conservative position on matters such as birth control, homosexuality, civil unions, etc.

Father Gaston has embraced various fair causes, most related to poor and extremely poor people.

He has served as Chairman of the Consensus-Building Board on the Fight Against Poverty, and as such, he also participated in the National Agreement. He also acted as commissioner for the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Archdiocese of Lima issued a statement [es] regarding Father Gaston's situation:

[…] para realizar trabajo pastoral en una determinada jurisdicción, requieren que el Obispo, Ordinario del lugar, les otorgue las respectivas Licencias Ministeriales (cfr. canon 265).

2. En ese sentido, el Obispo Ordinario del lugar, por motivos suficientes y anteriormente advertidos al Superior Mayor de la respectiva comunidad religiosa, puede disponer que un sacerdote religioso no trabaje pastoralmente en su jurisdicción eclesiástica. Ello, que es lo que ha ocurrido con el Padre Jorge Gastón Garatea Yori, SS. CC., no suspende o prohíbe al sacerdote religioso el ejercicio de su ministerio sacerdotal en otros lugares.

The website ACI Prensa [es] cites an unnamed source and explains that the process against Father Gaston was made according the due process. This source explained:

Existe en todas las diócesis un tribunal sinodal, que examina a todos los que piden las licencias ministeriales, y todos los sacerdotes -diocesanos y religiosos-, están sometidos al examen sinodal previo a las licencias ministeriales”.

Por ello dijo que “cuando el Obispo toma una decisión, en este caso de no renovar las licencias ministeriales, previamente ha tenido que pedir informe a este tribunal sinodal y también a su senado, que es el colegio de consultores. No es una decisión personal, previamente ha tenido que cumplir todo un procedimiento“.

The site later adds:

Indicó además que el P. Garatea ha tenido “un sinfín de pronunciamientos contrarios (a la doctrina católica) explícitamente aunque hoy quieran maquillarlo”.

“No sólo es lo último del ‘matrimonio gay’, que lo dijo y ahora pretende decir que se refería al contrato civil. En su momento dijo ‘matrimonio gay’, y si dice ahora que se refería al contrato civil, en la práctica es lo mismo. Lo único es que está maquillando una doctrina que va en contra de la Iglesia“, afirmó.

[…]

Sin embargo, indicó que las autoridades eclesiásticas no revelarán los motivos por los que no se renovaron las licencias porque el derecho canónico pide que se guarde “absoluta reserva por la dignidad, honor y fama de esa persona.

The blog Pastores y líderes publishes [es] the explanation of Father Jose Chuquillanqui, episcopal vicary of the Archbishopric of Lima:

[…] no renovación de licencias ministeriales al padre Gastón Garatea no ha sido una decisión tomada de un día para otro, sino tras un proceso de diálogo y advertencias.

Por ello, dijo que a Garatea “se le ha llamado la atención desde hace seis años” por sus opiniones polémicas, y que el cardenal Juan Luis Cipriani ha sostenido constantes conversaciones y diálogos con el supuesto afectado.

“No podemos juzgar abruptamente y decir que ha sido una decisión intolerante e impronta. Se le pidió que tenga cuidado en sus expresiones”, dijo Chuquillanqui en RPP.

Meanwhile, Twitter is abuzz with comments using the hashtag #GastonGaratea [es]:

Eduardo (@edurpeque) [es] expresses surprise:

Q #Cipriani no le haya renovado el permiso a #GastonGaratea me parece hasta benigno,no creen? Raro es q no lo haya recriminado o excomulgado.

‏@eromanp [es] is ironic:

El padre Gastón #Garatea ha recibido la mejor carta de recomendación que pueda existir: #Cipriani le ha prohibido ejercer su labor pastoral.

Victor Mantilla (@yourjournalist) [es] recommends:

Cierto, no olviden el #FF para #GastónGaratea y el #ReportSpam para Juan Luis.

Elí Castelo R. (@primerafuente) [es] wonders, a little annoyed:

Buenos dias, siguen con lo del Padre #GastonGaratea. Que lo resuelvan los catolicos y no los convenidos. Parece lo mismo, pero no es asi.

Santiago Correa Jara (@SantiagoCorreaJ) [es] adds some international context:

Que feo día en #Perú. Expectoran al Padre #GastónGaratea y fallece #DonnaSummer. A veces la vida, por mas que protestemos NO TIENE SENTIDO!!

Written by Gabriela García Calderón · comments (1)
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The violent dispersal of the Red Shirt protest contributed to the unpopularity of the government in 2010 which was at that time headed by Abhisit Vejjajiva. Abhisit’s party lost in the elections last year. Thailand’s incumbent Prime Minister is the younger sister of Thaksin.

Photos of the event last Saturday are available on Facebook and Flickr. Here are some photos:

Thousands attended Red Shirt rally in Bangkok. Photo from @RichardBarrow

Red Shirts rally. Photo from Facebook page of Richard Barrow

Red Shirts demand justice. Photo from Facebook page of Richard Barrow

Red Shirts program in the evening. Photo from @aleursic

A video clip of Robert Amsterdam’s speech during the rally. Amsterdam is the lawyer of Thaksin. Some netizens are critical to the activities of the Red Shirts:

@Rom Senakant: sad group of people… They thought they are fighting for just cause but actually they are the being used by a crony ex PM Thaksin or Thug-Sin

@ric_lawes: Reds calling for Justice http://bit.ly/Jv8Ien - simple fact - reds lay siege to the city and 91 people died. No reds no deaths.

@Agam_T: Today, I'm celebrating 2nd anniversary of the END of #RedShirts arson and violence. May19th was the day we got our city back.

Thaksin’s appeal for unity is interpreted by some people as betrayal to the cause of the Red Shirts who are still demanding justice for those who were killed in 2010:

@freakingcat: Are the Red shirts in Ratchprasong so brainwashed and cheered to Thaksin's betrayal speech. 93 died for the greed of the billionaire

@steviegell: Both Thaksin & his sister turned their backs on the red movement. Robert Amsterdam is trying to hide that fact from the reds. Bad form.

Tammy attended the rally and commented about the lack of change in Thailand’s politics:

I just got back from the 2 year anniversary of the crack-down on the Red Shirts protest at Rajprasong, that 2 years ago caused bout 100 civilian death

The new constitution is poised to disappoint those who are looking for democracy, the lese majeste law, the root cause, of many injustices in Thailand, will likely be the same. The death and imprisonment of political prisoners, looks like it will be un-accounted for and not re-solved.

Meanwhile, a government investigation body concluded that state forces are responsible for the deaths of 25 people in the 2010 crackdown.

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Around 1pm Sunday afternoon internet users in Pakistan started facing the blockage, and flooded Herdict Web with reports of blockage across all ISP:

traceroute twitter.com
traceroute: unknown host twitter.com

HerdictWeb : Raw Data Feed

Express Tribune through its sources claimed that the block was due to a blasphemous cartoon competition:

Express News correspondent Suhail Chaudhry had reported that the access to Twitter was blocked due to an ongoing “competition” of Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) caricatures. This move was made, keeping in mind the “emotions of the masses” reported Chaudhry.

Aamir Atta of ProPakistani also confirmed via his sources:

We have got the confirmation that decision for blocking Twitter was taken yesterday on account of Draw Mohammad Day, during a meeting held at Ministry of Information Technology and chaired by Raja Parvez Ashraf, Federal Minister for Information and Technology. Meeting was attended by MoIT members, PTA and other concerned stake holders. A source who is directly aware of the meeting told ProPakistani that it was decided that Twitter will remain blocked on May 20th, 2012 to avoid any possible access of blasphemous content to Pakistani internet users.

While I opined in my personal blog that it was PTA merely testing their new url Filtering service:

My gut feeling is that PTA is just testing their URL Filtering system, we had reports of them testing some image servers on facebook last week, and it disappeared by the evening. PTA choose Sunday to avoid any legal backlash exploiting the courts day off.

Ingrid Luden on TechCrunch wrote ‘Sure, Draw Something. Just Not The Prophet‘:

Pictures of the Prophet Mohammad have always been a highly contentious issue — they’re not explicitly prohibited in the Qu’ran but many Sunni Muslims forbid the idea, while others do not seem to mind as much. Among the latter group are those who feel that banning such images is a restriction on freedom of expression.

Farieha Aziz comments on BoloBhi:

Speaking to Dunya TV, Minister for Information and Technology, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said Facebook complied with the government’s request to remove blasphemous content, but Twitter refused. According to Yaseen, PTA simply passed on the orders to the ISPs and has no knowledge of how long the website is likely to remain blocked.

BytesforAll also talked about Raja Pervaiz Ashraf ordering the block on Twitter due to blasphemous content:

Late last night, the newly appointed Minister for Information Technology, Raja Parvez Ashraf spoke to the media showing his concerns about the blasphemous content on different websites and threatened that Twitter will be banned soon if the company did not comply with the government’s orders. Within half an hour of this statement, past midnight, an official directive was issued to all Internet Service Providers in the country and Twitter started disappearing from Pakistani Cyberspace starting 10 a.m. today.

Dawn.com quotes Chairman PTA Mohammed Yaseen saying that they tried to negotatiate with Twitter to remove the content:

We have been negotiating with them until last night, but they did not agree to remove the stuff, so we had to block it

By around 10pm, roughly nine hours after the ban started suddenly the block seemed to have been removed which resulted in tweets by Rehman Malik, Interior Minister claiming responsibility for the unblocking of Twitter:

@SenRehmanMalik: Dear All yes I spoke to PM and informed how people are feeling about it.PM ordered to reopen the twitter.I also spoke to Raja pervez abt it

Reporting the opening of the internet blockage ProPakistani narrates:

However, as per our sources, ban was lifted before time due to bad name the incident had earned for Pakistan, especially in foreign media.

While Fiza Batool Gilani the daughter of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also laid claim for the Prime Minister to have restored the twitter connection.

@FizaBatoolGilan: The Prime Minister has ordered the IT Minister to restore Twitter service in Pakistan

@FizaBatoolGilan: @abidbeli- I was with him when he ordered & I'm tweeting while sitting in Pakistan . So that's confirmation enough :)

The netizens fear that with this incident the PTA successfully tested their url filtering service which may threaten freedom of speech in the future.

Written by Teeth Maestro · comments (1)
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Lack of public interest?

The reason for this dearth of science blogging may be related to the uneven development of scientific research on the continent; the need for more research is well-known. B. Ruelle explains on his blog [fr]:

Le niveau de développement atteint par l’Asie du Sud-Est devrait pousser les Africains à investir dans la science et la technologie ; la science et la technologie représentent la seule voie d’évitement de la perpétuation de la faiblesse de l’Afrique dans le commerce international ; c’est aussi, dans un monde inégalitaire où racisme et xénophobie perdurent, la condition de l’affirmation de la part des Africains dans l’un des phares de la connaissance humaine.

University of Cheik Anta Diop in Dakar Senegal by Myriam Louviot (CC-License-BY).

The continent is not short on talented scientists. Bernard Kom lists a few of the mosts prominent African scientists [fr] right now, and some of them are also active on the web.

Jacques Bonjawo is a Cameroonian engineer who chairs the Board of Directors of the African Virtual University (AVU). He explains the objectives of the institution [fr]:

L’UVA a été conçue comme un système d’éducation à distance à travers Internet dont la mission est précisément de former une masse critique d’africains à des coûts faibles, grâce à des économies d’échelle ; une formation moderne et de qualité au terme de laquelle l’étudiant devient immédiatement opérationnel sur le marché de l’emploi.

Mzamose Gondwe from Malawi recognizes the need to promote more African engagement with science. That is the objective of her blog, African Science Heroes. She explains what she aims to accomplish:

 I documented in print, exhibition and film African Science Heroes, Afrrican scientists who have made considerable contributions to science. In this way I hope to generate a sense of pride in our African science accomplishments and promote public engagement with science.

African research pigeonholed? 

When scientific news from Africa makes it to mainstream media platforms, it is usually related to environmental programmes, public health or research on exotic animals. A typical story that was shared many times on various online media was the recent research publication of the mating habits of the female gray mouse lemur in Madagascar. The title itself, “Costly sex under female control in a promiscuous primate”, was bound to draw quite a bit of interest from the non-scientific community.

As it turned out, the study draws interesting conclusion about strategy for the survival of the species as Sara Reardon from Science NOW explains:

Either a polygamous lifestyle confers some unknown evolutionary advantage for females, the team concludes, or girls really do just want to have fun.

African science and engineering has much to offer in other areas as well. The blog Afrigadget highlights innovative engineering projects aiming at solving specific problems. One of these projects is biogas installations in Kenya.

Paula Kahumbu explains how piki piki (motor bikes in Kiswhahili) can help distribute dung more efficiently:

The problem I face is common to many folks around here, we rent houses but we don’t have livestock. But there are huge cattle farms around us. So Dominic came up with a solution that creates jobs and moves poop quickly and efficiently. So we went to the local juakali welder on the roadside to create a dungmobile ..a trailer designed specially for cow dung!

The Africamaat project aims to document the full history of African science and its inventors. More precisely, it adds [fr]:

Notre démarche vise donc essentiellement à démontrer qu’il est profondément arbitraire d’exclure systématiquement l’Afrique noire de l’historiographie universelle lorsqu’il est question des sciences

In this video, YouTube user White African showcases an invention by Killian Deku, a Ghanaian engineer that came up with a device to dose the amount of chlorine to add to water:

Open access to publications 

Madagascar is accustomed to have its lemur population draw more headlines that its people. However, it should not go unnoticed that the scientific blogging community there is starting to emerge. Several projects aim to collect and make available to the public all the scientific resources about the country.

Ange Rakotomalala describes the objectives of website Thèses Malgaches en ligne [mg]:

Ho hitanao eto ireo vokam-pikarohana tontosa teto amin'ny firenentsika nanomboka tamin'ny taona 2002.

The scientific community blog MyScienceWork aims to promote the culture of sharing among scientists [fr]:

Pour construire la culture scientifique de demain, la science doit devenir toujours plus multidisciplinaire. Elle doit s’adresser aux amateurs de science, au public, aux professionnels de la recherche [..] En 2011, nous avons publié les textes d’étudiants en informatique des pays d’Afrique du Nord, de chercheurs en communication d’université belge, de doctorants en neurosciences, en agronomie, d’exobiologistes de renom [..] Parce que nous croyons que la culture générale doit inclure les savoirs scientifiques, nous vous remercions chaleureusement. Faites passer le message : « partager c’est vivre ».

The final words on science in Africa belong to Cheikh Anta Diop, one of the most prominent scientists in Africa, as posted by Africamaat [fr]:

En attendant, les spécialistes africains doivent prendre des mesures conservatoires. Il s’agit d’être apte à découvrir une vérité scientifique par ses propres moyens en se passant de l’approbation d’autrui, de savoir conserver son autonomie intellectuelle

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Entitled “Lions, Warriors and Graffiti Artists: Counter-Culture in Times of Revived Antiquity”, the documentary juxtaposes (an important visual arts theory word!) information about the vigorous efforts of the government to impose new, polished classicist/baroque visual identity on the center of the Macedonian capital through the Skopje 2014 project (which features bronze lions), with interviews of people from the graffiti scene.

A co-author, archeologist Dimitrovska, wrote this [mk] on her blog, injecting a disclaimer often heard by people who dare to speak in public in Macedonia:

We made this documentary… in order to document with love part of the graffiti which disappeared or are about to disappear due to the new urban concepts implemented in our country, primarily in Skopje. The project has no political dimension, nor did we intend it to have any political connotation. This small project on Macedonian graffiti was made with modest finances, and we intended to present–without any censorship or montage of statements–the voices and opinions of the graffiti artists who shaped or are still shaping the visual part of this subculture, which is punishable by the laws but is also used (not abused) by the political class in power.

In the film, the interviewed artists also feel the need to decline any interest in political life. They talk about being torn between the threat of punishment if caught “writing” on their own (EUR 50 at least), and becoming a sell-out for commercial reasons or in local government projects, which sometimes involve co-opting graffiti artists to legally adorn specified public buildings. They also mention a quickly forming generation gap within the subculture.

The other co-author, ethnologist Jakimovska wrote this [mk] on her blog in 2007, in a post referencing the famous scene from the film Life of Brian:

It might sound incredible, but the graffiti are - folklore! Regardless of whether they convey messages through drawing or text, the graffiti, for those who make them and those who read them on city walls, are a form of expression and communication. If you have something hidden deep inside you, something that aches and burns you, write it on the wall, and it will speak it… Some of my favorites from Skopje include “A woman is not a woman unless she's a woman,” “Thank God I'm an atheist”…

In the past, other bloggers such as Alexx [mk] or Django [mk] wrote about Skopje graffiti. The artists featured in the documentary do not have online presence on the public internet, but sometimes publish photos of their work within Facebook.

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In her first national address Joyce Banda told Parliament that  her government will repeal laws that discriminates against people based on sexual orientation.
“The indecency and unnatural acts laws shall be repealed,” she said.

A map showing penalties targeting gays and lesbians in Africa. Image source: http://ilga.org/

Malawian religious groups have made it clear that same sex marriages cannot be allowed in God-fearing and cultural strong Malawian norms. However, human rights groups argue that minority rights, including those that encourage same sex marriages, should be promoted.

A court in Malawi sentenced Malawi gay couple to jail for fourteen years 2010. This was after the gay couple, Steven Monjenza and Towonge Chimbalanga, hosted an engagement ceremony. They were immediately arrested and thrown in jail.

Netizens reacted to the news on Facebook. Khalil notes:

She dnt have a choice

Isaac disagrees:

She had a choice of keeping quiet.

Abdulmalik suggests that the move results from donor pressure:

No wonder the late President quarreled with her. She is just a stooge of the West. We don't need such stooges in Africa

Joyce Banda speaking at the DFID conference in 2010. Photo shared on Flickr by DFID under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) .

Harutizwi asks, “Where is our African identity?”:

Western nations are pressuring African nations to legalise homosexuality in exchange 4 aid. Malawi's Banda is already playing 2 the western tune. Where is our African identity? If we allow homosexuality will we ever hv a future? Ndiyani achazvara 4 the next generation? I can't even say gone 2 the dogs coz dogs hv never heard o4 that. May the God o4 heavens save mankind.

But Phetie reminds critics that Malawi's system of government and even Christianity did not come from Malawi:

Its no prblm 4 Malawi legalising homosexuality…after all almost evrythn in our system of government copies 4rm western countries…even christianity came 4rm them

Clemans congratulates the president:

Wow Banda congrats

Lyson Sibande identifies five fallacies against decriminalisation of homosexuality:

Fifth fallacy: The Bible is the ultimate judge over homosexuality

It is an absurd fallacy ever, to think that every human being believes in the Bible. In this regard, it is a total disregard of the secularism of the constitution should homosexuals’ rights be criminalized on Christianity grounds. There is no rationale behind judging homosexuals with the Bible, which they may not believe in. It is like forcing a Moslem or Hindu to swear over the Bible. Nonetheless, if homosexuality is a religious catastrophe, then denominations have the right to deal with it among their memberships within their jurisdiction.

My conclusion:
According to Christianity, homosexuality harbors grievous transgression of God’s law and is punishable by death; Leviticus 20:13, as a Christian myself, I believe this Biblical teaching is irrefutable within its domains. However, non Christian homosexuals can not be denied their rights based on Biblical dogmas. Malawi as a secular nation that upholds democracy; where discrepancy arise as such that particular religious beliefs conflict with democratic fundamentals, democracy must prevail; because democracy is for everyone while religion is for those that espouse the respective teaching. Therefore, such a gesture as condemnation of gaysim based on Christian morals would symbolize crucifixion of democracy on the cross of Christian creeds.

Seba Space, LGBT blogger from Uganda, believes that Joyce Banda's heart is in the right place:

Bless her soul for taking a lead on homosexuality. Malawi‘s president has vowed that the gay law will be repealed.

Yes, Malawi’s Joyce Banda is swimming against the parliamentary tide but her heart is in the right place so we must applaud her stance. Africa needs a lot of conviction politicians like her.

On Twitter, the news quickly attracted attention.

@mugumya: #Malawi's president #Banda wants to overturn ban on homosexuality in country. Why do I think she will lose the next election?

@femianthony: In Malawi, Homosexuality is Punishable by 14 Years in Prison

@moronwatch: @gnixon88 @Original_Cindy I'm not - just returned from Malawi where a book on the evil of homosexuality was on sale at the airport

@moronwatch: @gnixon88 @Original_Cindy I'm not - just returned from Malawi where a book on the evil of homosexuality was on sale at the airport

However, the Africa producer for BBC News, @forbeesta, says that the President's Office in Malawi has denies the reports:

@forbeesta: Malawi Pres Banda's office have confirmed to me that they object to reports that she will repeal homosexuality laws. BBC will update #Africa

Early this year, Uganda re-tabled a controversial anti-gay bill introduced in 2009 that proposed the death penalty for homosexual acts. Former Liberian first lady Jewel Howard Taylor has introduced a bill making homosexuality liable to a death sentence.

Malawi will be the first country in Africa to lift ban on homosexuality since 1994. It is outlawed in 38 African countries and it can be punishable by death in Mauritania, Sudan, and northern Nigeria.

Written by Isabella Mukanda-Shamambo · comments (2)
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From their Blog post:

During this first round of training, we focused on four topics: news writing, audio recording & editing, and broadcast. It’s been really exciting watching these students improve their skills, and learn entirely new ways to tell their stories. While KSNG’s media staff runs most of the trainings, we also invited two specialist, Aung Nai, who works for Internews and Jack Chance, an experienced radio producer and media trainer. In addition to the workshops, we are also distributing some media equipment to students, including notebooks, media guidebooks, and audio recorders.

On a past blog entry, the Karen Border News blog explains the importance of their efforts in the context of the Ceasefire talks between the Myanmar government and the Karen National Union:

Most Karen cautiously welcome the ceasefire agreement, but there is much concern for how reconciliation will affect the Karen population, especially with so many of our people now living outside of our traditional homeland in Karen State

Rising Voices is an outreach initiative of Global Voices, aimed to helping to bring new voices from new communities and speaking new languages to the global conversations on the web by providing resources and funding to local groups working with underrepresented communities. The Karen Border News is one of the 2012 Rising Voices Grantees.

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