Brazilians all over the world, as well as citizens from different countries, have mobilized online and organized protests in various cities like Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Buenos Aires, among others, in support of the community of Pinheirinho. The settlement was recently evicted with extreme violence by the Military Police of São Paulo and the Civil Guard in the city of Sao Jose dos Campos, in what became known as the “Massacre of Pinheirinho.”

Teacher Lúcio Flávio de Almeida comments:

Os lutadores e lutadoras do Pinheirinho foram desalojados e vivem uma situação muito difícil, extremamente difícil. No entanto, sua luta, que é nossa luta, continua. Sob certos aspectos, cresce e deve crescer ainda mais.

The citizens were organized under the motto “We are all Pinheirinho” on Facebook, in blogs and on the streets. The movement, in a letter released by the blog Vi o Mundo, explains:

Pessoas em várias cidades do mundo estão agindo em rede para mostrar sua indignação pelos acontencimentos no Brasil. São brasileiros e pessoas de várias nacionalidades buscando pressionar para que a situação das famílias em Pinheirinho não caia no esquecimento facilmente.

Activist Erick Cristiano produced a video with pictures of various events around the world and posted it on YouTube:

“Eu sou do país dos Pinheirinhenses” (I am of the country of the Pinheirinese) is the motto of a group of activists who put out the Tumblr “What is your country?”, which now has dozens of videos of people declaring their solidarity with the people expelled from Pinheirinho like the following uploaded by user engenhoso:

On January 27, a group of Brazilians protested in front of the Brazilian Embassy in Madrid, capital of Spain, with a great banner and a flag of Brazil.

"Solidarity with Pinheirinho. Brazilians in Madrid". Protest in Madrid. Photo by Fábio TQrz, used with permission

The group also released a letter of complaint, in Portuguese and Spanish, questioning the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, and Minister of the Special Secretariat of Human Rights, Maria do Rosário, requesting action regarding the homeless of Pinheirinho.

Protesters talk to the secretary of the embassy after the ambassador refused to receive them. Photo by Fábio TQrz, used with permission

Protest in Lisbon. Photo by Soraya Barret, used with permission

Protest in Lisbon. Photo by Soraya Barret, used with permission

"We are all Pinheirinho". Photo by Christian Russau, used with permission

"São Paulo: Stop the politics of sanitation". Photo by Christian Russau, used with permission

Protest in Paris. Photo by Dudas Bastos, used with permission

A Facebook group was created where one can read in French, a manifesto in solidarity with Pinheirinho. Daniel Ybarra, on Facebook, announced that the letter sent by the group to the Brazilian Embassy would be sent to the Brazilian government.

Protest in Paris. Photo by Maite Weill, used with permission

Another protest was also held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where at least 30 people engaged in the march from the “Obelisco”, singing all the way.

Protest in Buenos Aires. Photo by Victoria Vajda, used with permission

Photo by Rodrigo Tomazini, used with permission

Filmmaker Pedro Rios Leão ended his hunger strike after 11 days. The activist Alysson Bordi joined him but had to suspend the strike after being referred for medical care in a health clinic on February 7. The activist, however, wrote a manifesto in which he gives the reasons for the end of the strike and asks for support for the cause.

On Sunday the municipal guard of the city of Rio de Janeiro tried to remove the strikers and other activists who were with Pedro:

Pessoal, ontem a guarda municipal gentilmente atendeu a pedidos e chegou para nos remover. Depois de puxar cacetete, ameaçar muito nos agredir, resolveram só nos deixar ao relento. […] Na confusão perdi meu celular e algumas outras coisas. O acampamento ficou desbaratado e os ânimos devastados. No sol, e no pior ponto da greve, eu comecei a passar muito mal.

Firefighters and military police officers on the eve of going on strike in the city supported the hunger strike of Pedro, that completed 11 days on Wednesday, February 8, when it came to an end:

11 dias sem sentir gosto nenhum, 12 quilos a menos no meu corpo. Espero que sirva para alguma coisa. Não peço desculpas pelo transtorno. Isso foi só uma tentativa.

Activists support the hunger strike of Pedro Leão. Photo by Pedro Leão, free use.

On February 2, a great act took more than 5,000 people to the streets of São José dos Campos to protest and show solidarity with the residents of Pinheirinho.

Meanwhile, fundraising campaigns are oganized and it is immense the pressure on politicians to take a stand in relation to the disproportionate violence and on the help the evicted families need.

Written by Raphael Tsavkko Garcia · Translated by Raphael Tsavkko Garcia · View original post [pt] · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

Coming Out, a St. Petersburg-based LGBT rights NGO, wrote this about the possible consequences of the law's adoption:

[…] If this law is passed, Russian LGBT will live in fear of punishment just for being open about sexual orientation in their social environment. It paves the way to legalized discrimination, justifies violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Moreover, under the pretense of protecting minors, this law in fact will lead to further isolation and greater number of suicides by homosexual adolescents in a country that is already leading in the numbers of teenage suicides. […]

The article cited above also has photos and video from a mini-protest that took place in front of St. Petersburg's Legislative Assembly building on Feb. 8. One protester, who ended up being detained by police, held a poster that said, “Hitler started with anti-gay laws”:

British author and actor Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) posted this comment on Twitter, referring to the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who was homosexual, and linking to AllOut.com's appeal, “TELL RUSSIA: NO GAY GAG ORDER”:

Hell's teeth. Something must be done to stop these fantastical monsters. Will talking about Tchaikovsky be banned? http://www.allout.org/en/actions/russia_call

LJ user arzamaskaya ended her post about the lawmakers' initiative with this serious-sounding mock appeal [ru]:

[…] Somebody, do introduce sanctions against us [Russia] at last.

A protest sign outside the Russian consulate in London reads: "Council of Europe Must Defend Russian Gay Rights. Suspend the Russian Vote." Photo by MELPRESSMEN MELPRESSMEN, copyright © Demotix (1/07/11).

LJ user mc-leesnick linked to a Russian-language news item about Stephen Fry's reaction, adding [ru] that Russia, among other things, is also a country where “concrete facts of election fraud are declared 'speculation' before an investigation begins” and where “stealing from the state budget isn't punished but encouraged.”

In the comments section, a rather typical exchange took place between the author of the blog and a reader:

plurlife: There are, of course, many other problems that no one is taking care of. But here we are talking about propaganda and underaged [kids], so to me everything seems logical enough. If you want to love someone of your own gender, do so, but don't make noise about it in the streets and don't hold gay parades. This, however, has to be in the subconscious, not in the legislation.

mc_leesnick: Listen, what's the problem with gay parades? Seriously: what is the problem?

plurlife: The problem is that children see it, they live with it and learn from it, and it becomes normal for them. And the problem is also that after gay parades, mass beatings of such “fun guys” takes place, which is also not very normal - people shouldn't be beaten up because of their orientation. I'm not a homophobe, or whatever you call it, I just don't understand why it is necessary to loudly announce that you're a homosexual, a transsexual, a lesbian, a drag queen? Do not try to convince people that it's normal - no matter how much they want it, it's never going to be normal. […] I don't call it a disorder and I don't think they should be locked and re-made, […], it's just that I don't see a point in such demonstrations - only problems. If even just [a Muslim prayer performed in public causes people to overreact], then what do you expect from homosexuals with their parades.

Another reader, LJ user kuzyabuster, echoed Stephen Fry's irony - and mentioned the lack of adequate response from the city authorities to the truly serious and often life-threatening problem that St. Petersburg's residents have to face every winter:

I can imagine trucks taking out of St. Petersburg the works of [Yukio Mishima], Stephen Fry, biographies of [Alexander the Great], Tchaikovsky, Oscar Wilde […]… Would be better if they were taking snow and icicles out…

Russian journalist Yelena Kostyuchenko is not new to explaining the LGBT community's legal demands to her less knowledgeable compatriots. In May 2011, she wrote a powerful and popular post [ru] about her reasons to attend Moscow Pride 2011, and Global Voices translated parts of it in this text about yet another annual attempt to hold the event.

On February 8, following the St. Petersburg vote, Kostyuchenko (@mirrorsbreath) had a quick - and also quite typical - Twitter conversation with user @vakurov (Aleksandr Vakurov, who describes himself as a “psychoanalyst” and “business consultant”), parts of which are translated from Russian below:

@vakurov: […] What's wrong with it? It's the propaganda that's getting banned, not homosexuality.

@mirrorsbreath: […] Propaganda of homosexuality doesn't exist. In reality, the law stops the work of LGBT organizations, introduces censorship into the mass media and culture.

@vakurov: […] Obviously, I'm not getting something. Don't I have the right to protect my children from the harmful homosexual ideology?

@mirrorsbreath: […] Homosexuality doesn't have an ideology. It's a trait that 5-7% of the population are born with. Relax.

@vakurov: […] No problem. Just don't spoil my appetite. Many people have bad breath - and they aren't demanding special rights.

@mirrorsbreath: […] You are very spiritual, I can see it right away. We do not need special rights - we need equal rights. Do you feel the difference?

@vakurov: […] What inequality are you talking about? Then how about the rights of pedophiles, drug traffickers, rapers, drug addicts? о_0

LJ user vg36 believes [ru] that the new law, if adopted, might affect not just the local LGBT community, but members of the opposition in general:

Until the Russian Federation has learned how to block internet access, the law banning [”gay propaganda”] is ridiculous. But does anyone seriously think that it only targets the Russian LGBT community? […]

They used to send [people dressed up/posing as gays] with rainbow flags to opposition rallies in order to discredit the protesters. Now it turns out that most protesters do not mind rainbow flags - so this will be done [fake gays will be sent in] in order to detain and fine [the protesters]. […]

But the opposition has been asleep, as usual, and/or didn't realize that this was another weapon against them. Or they were afraid to oppose a law that might possibly be very popular with the masses, afraid to defend the freedom of speech of an unpopular group. Well. With the opposition like that, [it's not surprising] we get laws like this and the situation in the country is the way it is.

Written by Veronica Khokhlova · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

In the riots that followed, Nasheed's supporters torched and destroyed a number of police stations, courts, local council offices and other public buildings. Scores of police officers were hurt in the violence too.

Earlier in the day, in a meeting of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the party which won the first multiparty election of the Maldives in 2008 and brought Nasheed to presidency, the deposed President announced that his resignation on Tuesday was coerced.

“We will come to power again,” Nasheed said. “We will never step back. I will not accept this coup and will bring justice to the Maldivians.”

Police charge teargas on protesters. Image by anonymous photographer, used with permission.

Nasheed and his supporters then marched through the capital Malé and faced a line of police behind shields near the island's main square, just next to military and police headquarters. The protesters threw bottles and stones at the police while the police fired teargas canisters into the crowd. The confrontation between the two sides ended in a brutal crackdown by police, leading to blood-soaked protesters being rushed to hospitals. Among those hurt were members of parliament and senior leaders of Nasheed's party.

FreedomWatchMV has posted this video of the confrontation between the security forces and protesters.

Another video shows police dragging an MP and Nasheed out of a shop after dispersing the crowd. Nasheed was released after a debate between the policemen about whether he should be arrested or not. This video shows a blood-soaked man narrating how the police beat him up.

Yameen blogs about the events that took place in Malé:

There is a brutal, concerted effort by the runaway police department to crush protests by supporters of President Nasheed, following his release today.

I have personally witnessed the heavy handed tactics employed to combat MDP activists, energized by the release of President Nasheed earlier today after yesterday's coup d'etat that forced him to resign.

Tear gas was used indiscriminately on Orchid magu near the Supreme court building. Two people were beaten up and lay motionless on the street for a long time before they were dragged and shoved into an ambulance.

Then I saw a police jeep speeding into a crowd of protesters. A police jeep. Absolutely reprehensible.

Police brutality on protesters. Image by anonymous. used with permission.

Muju Naeem ponders if the Maldives has turned into a military dictatorship:

So if President Waheed did not give the order, then we can safely assume that the security forces were acting on their own. What this means is that we have incidentally slipped into a military/police dictatorship where the executive is there only in name only.
Maldives has become a police state.
Maldivian Twitter users have started using 3 hashtags to tell their story. Please follow;
1. #maldivespolicestate
2. #mvprotest
3. #mvcoup

Following the events in the capital, Nasheed's supporters responded by rioting in outer islands, setting police stations on fire, throwing stones at policemen on duty and burning down courts and several other public buildings. In a number of islands they drove the police out and seized the police stations.

Maldivians and foreigners are tweeting about the new wave of violence that has gripped the holiday haven.

foram divrania tweets:

@divrania: Peace to Maldives..ur too beautiful for politics and violence.

Nattu tweets:

@reallynattu: “@hisherm: I don't support any political parties. I support Maldives.” Including Me!

There is an eerie calm in the islands and the capital on Thursday as people remain tense about what could happen next. In a press conference, the commanders of the police and military assured that order will be restored and promised to investigate the previous day's violence.

Speaking to journalists at his residence, Nasheed said he was forced to resign by some military personnel as the country's police force mutinied against his rule. Calling for fresh elections, he vowed to come back to power and reassured that he has no intention of grabbing power through street riots. He also condemned the acts of violence his supporters had committed in various islands.

Written by Saffah Faroog · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

The recent record of forced eviction, which grabbed global attention, happened in Borei Keila, located opposite Bak Tuok High School in central Phnom Penh. This community is home to roughly 1,776 families, including 86 families with members who are HIV positive.

A press statement issued by human rights organization Licadho gives a brief history of the struggle of the residents of the community to assert their land and housing rights:

Demolition in Borei Keila. Photo from blog of Faine Greenwood

Villagers first settled on the land, which was the site of a police training facility, in 1992.

In early 2003, a “land-sharing” arrangement was proposed for Borei Keila, which allowed a private company to develop part of the area for commercial purposes while providing alternative housing to the residents on the remaining land. The idea was hailed because rather than being evicted, villagers would receive compensation for their land in the form of apartments in newly-constructed buildings.

In June 2003, Prime Minister Hun Sen authorized a social land concession for approximately 4.6 hectares of Borei Keila (30% of the total 14.12 hectares of land). Construction giant Phanimex company was contracted by the government to construct 10 apartment buildings on 2 hectares of land for the villagers, in return for obtaining ownership of an additional 2.6 hectares for commercial development.

By May 2007, the Phnom Penh municipality had allocated apartments to only 335 families, including 14 HIV/AIDS-affected families. More than 100 other families, their houses demolished to clear space for new apartment buildings, were left living under tarpaulins in squalid conditions.

In June 2009, 20 HIV affected families in the community were forced to leave their homes and were relocated to Tuol Sambo village of Khan Dangkor, about 20 kilometers outside of the capital. This was strongly condemned by both local and international rights groups as the relocation site was not suitable for human habitation. Moreover, those with HIV were isolated in a remote part of the area which made them more vulnerable to discrimination and social stigmatization.

This case was amply documented in a human rights portal, Sithi.

Phan Imex, the company whose contract with the government was to build ten apartments for villagers, managed to build only eight buildings leaving roughly 300 Borei Keila families excluded from the original agreement. Last month, the company demolished the houses of these ‘excluded' residents with the help from the armed forces. The demolition and dispersal became violent.

Immediately after the incident, a joint statement was issued by several civil society organizations which strongly condemned the violent destruction of the homes:

The destruction of these homes marks yet another sad turn for a development that was once promoted as a model alternative to the eviction and off-site relocation of the Phnom Penh's urban poor.

The statement accused the police of doing nothing to stop the violent demolition of homes:

The demolition was carried out by Phanimex employees and paid workers alongside an excavator, which crushed houses before residents had the opportunity to clear out their belongings. The process was overseen by over 100 mixed police forces who arrested and detained eight community representatives, including one minor who were taken to the main police commissioner and three bodyguards who were taken to an unknown location. Police also fired tear gas and live ammunition on the residents of Borey Keila.

Human rights monitors on site witnessed workers using a jackhammer to break up a large rock surrounding a group of police officers, who then took the stones and threw those at residents. Some also attacked residents with sticks. At least 12 people were injured including one policeman, some seriously.

Human Rights Watch reported that more than 64 people were injured and eight residents were detained:

“State security forces that were present used tear gas and rubber bullets against the residents, and both sides threw rocks, sticks, and bottles. More than 64 people were reportedly injured. The authorities arrested at least eight of the residents, one of whom was released on bail on January 18 while seven remain in detention. These eight residents, including two children, have all been charged under both article 218 (“intentional acts of violence with aggravating circumstances”) and article 504 (“obstruction of public officials with aggravating circumstances”) of the Cambodian penal code.

After the dispersal, there have been a series of peaceful protests by the community demanding the intervention of national government officials. They want the government to halt the demolitions and to release the detained protesters. A letter was also sent to to the Cambodian Prime Minister urging the leader to resolve the Borei Keila issue.

Early this month, about 100 residents from Borei Keila and 50 from Beoung Kak who were marching on Monivong Boulevard were blocked by more than 100 riot police personnel and a violent clash took place. Witnesses saw the police pushing six women into a police van, according to an article reported by the Cambodia Daily.

The arrested six female protesters were released after an overnight detention. City Hall then defended its action to arrest the female protesters

Phnom Penh Capital Hall has no other choice but to take an appropriate counter measure in order to maintain public security, safety and order for people in Phnom Penh so that laws can be effectively enforced as a principle of the rule of law can be applied.

Land grabbing has also spurred the rise of activism in many rural and urban communities. In one instance, land rights activists organized an ‘Avatar' rally to oppose the planned destruction of a forested area. The issue also prompted several groups to highlight the suffering of women and children during evictions

It gave the women a platform where they could tell the world about the suffering involved in forced evictions and sent a clear call to government officials to take immediate action on the ongoing scandal of forced evictions and land grabbing in the country.

Written by Sopheap Chak · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

They call themselves “the children” of 15M despite the fact that the majority of them far exceed the age of 60, they are retired, they are “iaios” (grandparents, in Catalan) and they are veterans of long-term activism.

Celestino Sánchez, Antonia Jover, Adrián Rísquez, and Rosario Cunillera are some of the members of the the “Iaioflautas,” a collective that emerged in Barcelona last October alongside the camping grounds in Plaza Catalunya.  Its objective is to support the youth in their own way. But the fight, they assert, is the same: “for a dignified democracy by name and social justice against conspiratorial bankers and politicians.”

The “iaioflautas,” whose name was invented in solidarity with the “perroflautas” (gutter punks) — a derrogatory term with which the president of Madrid used to refer to the young occupiers — combine some of the methods they used in the anti-Franco, labor union, local or leftist fights with their learning about new technologies. To summarize, they organize a “direct action” in the street once a month, almost in secret, and do not announce it on their Twitter account, @iaioflautas, or blog [es] until it has already begun. That way, they avoid problems with the police.

The first event took place in November, when they occupied a Santander Bank office in Barcelona.  The most recent one, called “Operation #RebelionBus,” occurred on Wednesday, February 1. Some 70 “yayos” (grandparents) arranged to meet in the very center of the Catalan capital and “hijacked” a bus in protest of the abusive increase in public transportation fares.

They chose Line 47, in reference to the missing bus driver and syndicalist Manuel Vital [es] that hijacked a bus on this line in May of 1978 to demonstrate that he could get to his neighborhood. The following is part of a series of tweets that they started writing a few days before with the help of young activists:

January 30:

@iaioflautas: #eldía1F los @iaioflautas vamos a hacer algo muy loco. (puenting…como que no). Filosofía #occupy 99% ¿Le dais un meneito? Gracias!

@celescolorado: Miércoles 1 por la mañana nueva travesura de @iaioflautas, síguenos

January 31:

@iaioflautas: Tic-tac, tic-tac…cuenta atrás para una travesura más. Será #eldia1f ¡especuladores, os vais a enterar! Somos el 99%. No olvidamos.

February 1:

@iaioflautas:  En marcha! Hoy será un día largo. No olvidéis el bocadillo, medicaciones varias… Hoy entramos en acción. ¡Atentos!

@iaioflautas: Calentando motores, q frío que hace!

@iaioflautas: Hemos ocupado un autobús, el 47, en pl. Catalunya. Somos más de 70 @iaioflautas, la acción ha empezado, seguidnos en #rebelionbus

@iaioflautas: [Calle] Industria con Sardenya. Que se escuche: rechazamos las reducciones de tarifas y el plan de recortes salariales #rebelionbus

@iaioflautas: Aquí podéis ver algunas fotos de #rebelionbus. Vamos por Ronda Guineueta. Estamos ocupando el bus 47 http://www.iaioflautas.org/2012/02/operacio-rebelionbus/

@iaioflautas: Bueno, el trayecto de ida ha acabado. Ahora, volviendo para la Plaza Catalunya. Sobre las 12:30 haremos una asamblea allí #rebelionbus

@iaioflautas: Final del trayecto mañanero de la #rebelionbus. La lucha continúa con #yonopago esta tarde. pic.twitter.com/8GaRmzSw

@celescolorado: En la asamblea final en pz. Catalunya @iaioflautas hemos cantado el cumpleaños feliz a un compañero, Manolo González cumplía 80 años

And here is the video that @15Mbc_tv recorded and edited:

The #RebeliónBus operation had been prepared a week before, during a meeting I attended.  I had been following the Iaioflautas for some time online, and I wanted to get to know them.  There they finalized the details of the action and began planning the “prank” that they will carry out in March.  This is part of what some of them told me:

Celestino Sánchez, 61 years old:  

Celestino. (Screen shot taken by the author)

El 15M representó para gente como nosotros una especie de aire fresco. La situación ha cambiado y hay un nuevo escenario y tenemos que volver a aprender. Eso no quiere decir que nuestro pasado no sirva, pero las cosas son diferentes. Por ejemplo, hace diez años era impensable que se convocara a través de las redes sociales la ocupación de la plaza Catalunya. Se decía que la gente joven no hacía nada, y hace, hace mucho. La gente de las generaciones futuras vivirá peor que la del pasado, ese es otro cambio. Lo que creo que no ha cambiado son los objetivos: una sociedad en las que las personas podamos vivir libremente, que tengamos vivienda, transporte, que estudiemos. Eso lo queríamos hace treinta años y ahora también, sigue siendo vigente. 

Antonia Jover, 72 years old:

Antonia. (Screen shot taken by the author)

Me gusta mucho esta forma de lucha, porque pienso que es una forma directa y, además, responde a la concepción que siempre he tenido de la democracia. La democracia es poder del pueblo, ningún gobierno puede ser democrático, porque los gobiernos son represivos. La verdadera democracia está en el pueblo y en la vigilancia del pueblo de que los gobiernos cumplan lo que prometen. Los iaioflautas podemos aprovechar las experiencias que teníamos del franquismo. Entonces los que queríamos una sociedad democrática teníamos un enemigo común, el franquismo, un sistema bárbaro y represivo. Y ahora, ¿por qué no hacer una misma experiencia de la unidad contra los especuladores y los financieros? Nos afecta al 99% de la población y sólo es el 1% el que se beneficia. Ésta es la idea.”

Adrián Rísquez, 77 years old:

Adrián. (Screen shot taken by the author)

En los iaioflautas me siento muy bien. Llevo cinco años encerrado en la Federación de Asociaciones de vecinos hablando de la sanidad sin salir a la calle y como nuestra trayectoria fue en la calle, dentro de los locales no me aguantaba. Con los iaios hacemos lo que me gusta, en la calle, porque lo hicimos en aquellos tiempos y lo estábamos echando en falta. Decíamos que era necesario que la juventud saliera a la calle, pues ya está en la calle y ahora lo que tenemos que hacer es estar con ellos, que ellos aprendan de nosotros y nosotros de ellos. No se puede estar en casa porque las cosas que tenemos no las hemos conseguido en casa. La sanidad pública se consiguió en la calle y tenemos que conseguir en la calle para que no nos la quiten.

Rosario Cunillera, 66 years old:

Rosario. (Screen shot taken by the author)

Todo empezó cuando fuimos a la plaza Catalunya a ver a los jóvenes y saber qué pensaban. No entramos en su lucha, porque, para mí, era totalmente diferente a cuando vine a Barcelona, a los 18 años, a luchar contra Franco. Pero fue un impulso nuevo. Ellos van a encontrar su forma de luchar, pensé, con el Twitter y todo esto. Y me apunté a los iaioflautas y cada vez que hay algo de los jóvenes, procuramos ir. Los jóvenes del 15M nos han dado un poco de ilusión y eso es algo que nos faltaba a la gente mayor.

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

Written by Lali Sandiumenge · Translated by Marianna Breytman · View original post [es] · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

Memeburn reported:

The Virgin Active franchise of gyms has reopened an investigation into a racist incident which allegedly occurred during a class at one of its clubs, following pressure on social media.
The incident in question reportedly occurred late last year. During a spinning class one member allegedly took offence to another’s enthusiasm calling her a “bloody k*****, a cockroach and a selfish bitch”.

The woman had reportedly been shouting “Yebo” (meaning “yes” in a number of South Africa’s indigenous languages) as the instructor put them through the various exercises.The two parties were then supposed to meet up, with the man being ordered to apologise to the woman. He then reportedly said that he would not be able to make the arranged meeting.

According to the woman, however, the man saw her at the club on the day in question but refused to speak to her.
Speaking to national newspaper The Star, the woman said that Virgin Active’s disciplinary committee had repeatedly questioned her account as her alleged attacker was a lawyer and that if she was found to be lying her gym contract would be terminated.
Virgin Active’s Karen Gordon, meanwhile, told The Star that “the member that allegedly misbehaved also received formal correspondence…which included a final warning”.

That, it seems, is where Virgin Active would have left the matter had it not received national media attention.

@ComicalTshepo at a Virgin Active Gym in South Africa Virgin Active waiting for the moment to shout 'YEBO' (a Zulu word meaing Yes). Photo courtesy of @ComicalTshepo.

Media reports resulted in an outcry on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, Virgin Active backtracked and decided to re-open the issue. This also resulted in other people coming forward about similar incidents.

Even Virgin Head, Richard Branson decided to respond:

We do not condone any form of discrimination at Virgin - especially racism. We are taking this incident extremely seriously and intend to look at all the facts to reach the right outcome for all parties concerned. Ross Faragher-Thomas, Virgin Active South Africa’s Managing Director, is investigating the whole incident personally and is meeting the two members next week to make sure we look at the facts and are fair to everyone who is involved. A meeting was also conducted with both members on Saturday, and the member apologised to the other.

However, we do not condone members or anybody else abusing each other in any way and intend to reinvestigate this incident fully.

I have been to South Africa on many occasions and been inspired by the many wonderful people I have met there. As Jonathan Jansen said: “My South Africa is…often unseen, yet powered by the remarkable lives of ordinary people. It is the citizens who keep the country together through millions of acts of daily kindness.”

We intend to get to the bottom of this incident and I want to repeat that we will not tolerate any form of prejudice.

Facebook users commented on Virgin Active Facebook page following Richard Branson statement. Anne Barker responded:

I don't think your response is strong enough Mr Branson. Your MD here should have spoken up straight away, suspended the manager of the Sunninghill and blocked the membership of the person who spoke so shockingly to a woman. The millions of acts of kindness become nullified by one racist bigot.

Khanyisa Vuyokazi Mbassa felt that:

Apartheid still lives in this country, all the that the democracy did was to give Black south africans freedom to retaliate without fear of being incarcerated.

The South African blogosphere was not behind. Kaloo5 note that:

So Virgin Active were rather inactive in their response and handling of the matter, possibly hoping that it would simply go away. Kudos to Liz Hleza for insisting her story be told, and not taking the abuse lying down.

Tarryn observed that the incident was not about race:

The fact remains. This was about inappropriate behaviour, not about race. It’s sad how easy it is to start a racial war in this country. More tolerance, people. It’s the only way we’ll survive.

Pierre De Vos looked at the incident from a legal and constitutional perspective:

However, regardless of whether one follows the stricter definition of discrimination provided in the definitions section of PEPUDA or whether one follows the provisions of section 7, the Virgin Active gym might well be found guilty of unfair discrimination.

Meanwhile we await word from Virgin Active to see whether the publicity might have shamed it into taking this reported incident as seriously as it deserves. If it does not, Hleza might well want to take both the abuser and Virgin Active to the Equality Court.

On Twitter @PabiMoloi said:

@PabiMoloi: I'm proud that the Mama spoke up about the racist attack at Virgin Active. There is still deep racism in South Africa. Don't be fooled.

@Eusebius felt that:

@Eusebius: The acid test of whether you TRULY ‘get race' is whether you got angry as you read that article about the racism incident at Virgin Active

@KimSchulze urged virgin active members to protest:

@KimSchulze: I would like to urge every virgin active class-taker tonight, to yell out “YEBO!” in protest against the forty other Spinners who failed to

Some users such as @ComicalTshepo took up the challenge and decided to yell “Yebo” in protest:

At a spin class at Virgin Active waiting for my big moment to shout ‘YEBO'. Wish me luck

@anele wanted to know the culprit's name:

@anele: Dear Virgin Active, as a kaffir I would like to know this guys name just so us kaffirs know to not make the mistake of dealing with him

Written by Ismail Dhorat · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

Buenos Aires. Diciembre 23, 2011. Mi nombre es Luis Alberto Spinetta. Tengo 61 años y soy músico. Desde el mes de julio sé que tengo cáncer de pulmón. Estoy muy cuidado por una familia amorosa, por los amigos del alma, y por los mejores médicos que tenemos en el país. Ante el aluvión de información inexacta, quiero aclarar públicamente las condiciones de mi estado de salud. Me encuentro muy bien, en pleno tratamiento hacia una curación definitiva. […]

Luis Alberto Spinetta, by Facundo M. Nívolo. Image licensed by Creative Commons license Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

In January, Spinetta was admitted to the Cemic Institute to undergo surgery for intestinal perforation due to diverticulitis, a diagnosis unrelated to his cancer. On January 30, after 25 days in hospital, he was discharged and was able to go home.

On February 8, just over a week later, “El Flaco” died at home, surrounded by his children: Dante, Catarina, Valentino and Vera,  according to [es] the Argentine newspaper Telám. And it was his children themselves who started a wave [es] of messages full of melancholy, sadness and pain, expressed on the social network Twitter. [translator's note: all Twitter links are in Spanish]

Dante (@dantespinetta), in a brief but very profound tweet said [es]:

Te amo por siempre Papá.

While Valentino (@Leeva_) posted [es] on his account:

T amo papá, siempre vas a estar en mi alma y mi corazón.

Quoting a line from her father, Catarina (@Cataspinetta) also tweeted [es]:

‘No habrá un destino incierto, ni habrá distancia que pueda alejarme de ti…' Amor eterno a mi Padre♥

Reactions on social networks

The hashtag #chauflaco [goodbye Flaco] quickly became a trending topic, gathering the tweets of those users wanting to express their emotions with the news of the death of a musician with one of the longest careers in Argentine rock:

User Paula Castro (@_paucastro) reflected:

La tristeza de decir #chauflaco .. Gracias x tanta poesia!

Technology writer Federico Wiemeyer (@wiemeyer) recalled a verse by Spinetta:

“Si no canto lo que siento me voy a morir por dentro” #ChauFlaco

Pablo Ferreyra (@PabloRFerreyra) mourned:

Murió el mejor músico argentino. El que más voy a extrañar. Barro tal vez, flaco. #ChauFlaco

User Bruno Vaccotti (@peztresojos) quoted Spinetta to explain popular sentiment:

“La gente está incluida en el alma. Yo soy toda la gente” #elflaco dixit. Por eso hoy, todos morimos un poco. #chauflaco

Paula Zuviría (@pau_apichela) related an anecdote:

Mama entra llorando a mi cuarto y me dice: Porque no me contaste que murió Spinetta ? #chauflaco

User Cecilia Ann Tosh (@_CeciliaAnn) reflected:

Por qué se puede estar acongojado por la muerte de alguien que no conociste? Porque su obra enriqueció tu ser. #ChauFlaco

Messages from Twitter netizens are flowing [es] in at a rate that probably won't slow down in the coming days or weeks, which is understandable since Luis Alberto Spinetta is considered by many the greatest exponent of music in Argentina. And while such a statement is completely subjective, it is undeniable that his work has greatly influenced the work of many musicians, and his legacy will always be part of the heart of Argentina and Latin American culture.

“And this is always true, whether you are staying or you are going.”

Written by Natán Calzolari · Translated by Betsy Galbreath · View original post [es] · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

This case has sparked another round of debate on the controversial national security law, which prohibits “acts benefiting the enemy” without specifying what constitutes such acts.

Controversial tweets

Park Jung-geun, 23, was detained last month, but the incident actually goes back to September 2010, when police raided his photo studio in Seoul. According to one news report [ko], Park, from 2010 March to January 2011, with his two Twitter accounts (@seouldecadence, @dprkdecadence), retweeted about 102 messages originally tweeted by North Korean Twitter account @uriminzok. He also tweeted 30 links that led to North Korean video content.

Twitter profile image of user @windburial, the user switched to this image created by Park in order to show his support to Park.

The overall number of Park's “problematic” tweets is 384, which is only about 0.5 per cent of his entire tweets. In his trial, these tweets were depicted as “an expression of an agreement with the enemy's (referring to North Korea) propaganda” and were accused of “promoting the enemy's messages”.

Park claimed his retweets were a joke made to lampoon the North Korean regime and explained that the misunderstanding rose from reading his tweets out of context.

For instance, Park tweeted a tweaked image of a North Korean poster (see right). Using a typically North Korean poster, which are usually aggressive, warmongering and whose major color is red, Park replaced the soldier's face with his own face and the rifle with a bottle of whisky.

In another example, Park compared himself to North Korea's new heir, Kim Jong-un, since like Kim, he had ‘inherited' something from his father, which in Park's case is a photo studio.

South Korean media silence

What has baffled South Koreans however, is that although the police raided Park's studio last year and there has been quite strong opposition against the case online (including the creation of Internet photo memes of Park), recent updates have mostly come from the international media. Until local media reported about this unusual flow of information, Park's indictment was fairly new to the South Korean general public.

Hong Sung-soo (@sungsooh) tweeted [ko]:

“北 풍자한 박정근이 이적행위?”…외신 일제히 비판 : bit.ly/yK0WtI 뉴욕타임스, 워싱턴포스트, AP, AFP, UPI, CBS, MSNBC, 더 오스트레일리안, BBC… 외신보도 슈퍼 그랜드슬램 달성!!

A journalist from progressive newspaper, Huh Jae-yeon (@welovehani) tweeted [ko]:

우리만 보도안하고 있음

A Twitter account has been set up to support Park (@freepark_bot), summarizing[ko] in just one sentence what his real charge is:

박정근의 죄목: 트위터로 이것저것 한 거

Internet photo meme

Here are some of the meme photos produced back in September 2011, consolidated by Wiki Tree: firstly, starting with Park's original Twitter profile photo:

Park's original Twitter profile image, Image from his account @seouldecadence

Profile image of Twitter user @blu_pn. Posted on Wiki Tree site, CC

The image above shows Park's image with him holding a large blue pen. The tweet [ko] read:

Some of the messages from the Wiki Tree link [ko] read…

Twitter user @yawoori [ko]:

우리 모두는 박정근이다!

Twitter user @Chocoberryp [ko]:

프로필 제 사진 아닙니다. ‘국가보안법 위반'이라는 이유로 박정근님에 대한 압수수색에 항의하는 의미에서 수많은 사람들이 프로필에 박정근을 자처하고 있습니다.

Various Internet meme photos of Park Jung-geun, Posted in the Wiki Tree site, CC

Twitter user @Solidaritat [ko]:

이토록 많은 박정근을 죄다 가두지는 못할 것이며, 또 이토록 많은 박정근으로 인해 그 한 명의 박정근은 반드시 자유로워질 것이다. 필시 그리될 것이다.

Rights advocates, including Amnesty International, released a statement to voice worries that the law “has a chilling effect on freedom of expression in South Korea” and “is used not to address threats to national security, but instead to intimidate people and limit their rights to free speech”.

Park's socialist party filed an online petition [ko] denouncing such decision as “an abuse of the national security law which is an icon of the military, authoritarian regime era”.

The remaining problem is that still a considerable number of Korean public are in support of this controversial law under which a considerable number of innocent citizens have been arrested and detained. Kim Nakho (@capcold), who has a Twitter profile photo that tweaked Park's profile image, tweeted [ko]:

어처구니없는 박정근 구속…보다 그에 관한 외신보도 때문에 급 조명받는 시대착오 국보법. 이왕 관심 가진 김에, 왜 그게 지금껏 살아있는지에 대해도 관심을. 국보법 없으면 국가보안 망한다 믿는 평범한 많은 이들의 학습능력 결여된 지지 말이다.

Written by Lee Yoo Eun · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

Anna Har is the director of Pusat KOMAS (Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat) Community Communication Centre, and she explains the role video has in their outreach programs where they produce resource materials, facilitate processes, organize communities and give media training on the topics of  non-discrimination, citizenship and voter education, as well as grassroots advocacy:

KOMAS is not a video production house nor do we specialise in producing films; rather, we see it as part of the strategic and creative use of media tools for the advocacy of human rights.

Freedom Film Fest by KOMAS

Between Love and Race is a short film focusing on racial discrimination, produced by KOMAS on 2006. In it, Angela and Rashid face backlash from friends and family because they've decided to date each other. Angela's parents object because they wanted her to date a Chinese boy,

Rashid's mother wishes he dated a nice Malaysian girl, as do Rashid's friends. Angela's friend Yati at least speaks Mandarin since she went to a Chinese school, so even among Yati's friends, Angela is singled out for not speaking her family's language.

Angela comes to discover that through labels, stereotypes, discrimination and expectations on race and love, what maters is how she and Rashid feel about each other.

In addition, KOMAS has also been running the human rights documentary festival FreedomFilmFest in Malaysia since 2003.  The festival includes a documentary film competition where a first time film maker can pitch a proposal that they'll be able make into a documentary if they win, video workshops and film screenings; and it has become a platform for showcasing human rights documentaries  that may not have enough commercial backing or space in mainstream media to get otherwise exposed.  The 2012 FFF will be on the subject of Democracy, with the slogan of “Democracy – Who is the boss?”

The 2011 festival trailer gives us a perspective on the types of issues and topics the film festival promotes:

One of the 2011 winners of the documentary competition include Afiq Deen, who directed Huruf J, a short documentary on the hardships and discrimination faced by divorcees in Malaysia. A society that sets them apart for their condition, debt, poverty and a legal system which is unable to enforce fathers' financial obligations with their children are some of the hurdles these women have to face when trying to move on with their lives. The film includes some subtitles and audio in English.

With the online premiere of the documentary, the FreedomFilmFestival is asking you to view and review the documentary so they can add the opinions on their site.

Written by Juliana Rincón Parra · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

The automatic system for measuring pollution, located in the center of Skopje, caused quite a stir when it reported alarming levels of air pollution last year.

Some observers related the presence of the cancerous PM10 dust particles to the government-funded construction boom in the Center municipality, which had been turned into a giant construction site through the Skopje 2014 project. The surrounding area is also an epicenter of the activities of the so-called “urban mafia” that uses connections within the local government to change zoning laws and convert public parks, parking lots and small houses to huge and profitable apartment blocks, office spaces and shops.

The “Skopje Breathing” online system [mk], owned by the City of Skopje, stopped functioning at the beginning of January 2011 (1, 2; mk), after several media outlets (1, 2, 3, 4; mk) reported that the air quality was still poor. The webpage displayed this text: “Software upgrade is under way. The application will soon be available.”

Screen shot of Skopje Breething monitoring system, which is 'in construction' since early January 2012.

GreenBox blog posted [mk] the following:

Would you like to know about the quality of the air in the center of Skopje? Then you need to put on your snow shoes, parka, hat, scarf and gloves and trek to Macedonia Street to check the information by looking at the display near the Šmizla [equivalent of the Valley Girl or Barbie-girl stereotype] statue. The website “Skopje Breathing,” which published a live data feed until Christmas [old calendar = Jan 7], is still not working, and most likely will not work in the future.

Air pollution measuring station (right), Šmizla statue (left). Photo by GreenBox blog, republished with permission.

The environmental lab of the company Farmahem, which maintained the system for a year, confirmed that the issue at stake is more than a software upgrade. Their contract has expired, and the City of Skopje has not initiated a renewal. Farmahem allegedly wanted to upgrade the system with a public archive with the measured data, but now the citizens need to turn to the city government, which decides the destiny of this online transparency tool.

The City of Skopje representatives seem totally uninterested in ensuring that the publication of the air quality data online continues. The [City of Skopje's] spokesperson Nedelčo Krstevski says that the website appeared thanks to the initiative and goodwill of the company.

“The website was not ours. At the moment we cannot say whether it depends on us or on Farmahem. For us the important thing is that the measuring stations work and that the citizens can get air quality info from displays on the devices,” Krstevski said.

The City representatives admit that for the “Skopje Breathing” to continue working they would need to start a public procurement procedure, which, according to them, was very complicated and included a public tender. They do not know if that is going to happen.

“I cannot tell you anything now, neither that the site will exist, nor that it won't exist,” said Krstevski.

Through “Skopje Breathing” the citizens learned that the air pollution in the capital was up to 10 times higher than the maximum allowed by law. This resulted in recommendations not to go out at all. After the public pressure forced the city government and the Ministry of Environment to send inspections to the nearby industrial plants, the levels of pollution temporarily dropped. According to the research [mk] by the Institute for Public Health, Skopje could avoid 117 deaths and 420 cases of serious illnesses per year if the concentration of dust dropped by a third of the current levels.

Written by Filip Stojanovski · comments (1)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

La Prensa [es] reported:

Luego de múltiples quejas de los usuarios que han intentado comunicarse con personas en la zona del oriente chiricano en donde está cerrada la vía Interamericana las telefónicas comunicaron que el servicio está suspendido por orden de las autoridades competentes.

Previous experience and the apparent inability of the government to negotiate prompted fears of an inevitable confrontation. On Sunday, the Twitter account of the National Police of Panama (@protegeryservir) [es] reported that it had successfully obtained the release of the “kidnapped” and therefore the re-opening of the Panamericana road.

COMUNICADO N.1: Informamos a la ciudadanía que en 1hora30minutos se logró rescate de todos los secuestrados en Vía Panamericana…

The lack of communication by mobile phone meant that news of the events spread slowly and somewhat strangely. Many rumours surrounding the time and the means taken to open the road spread on social networks. Later on the police confirmed on their Twitter [es] account that a man had died in circumstances which remain unclear:

COMUNICADO N.2: Se confirma el fallecimiento de ciudadano identificado preliminarmente como Jerónimo Montezuma, se investigan las causas…

The opening of the road by force did not bring an end to the problem, but instead unleashed chaos not only on the Panamericana but also in other areas of the country where different groups and unions grouped together to show support for the indigenous people. The violence with which events unfolded was criticised and social networks were filled with photos and videos showing images of the police intervention.

YouTube user hjuonnieful uploaded the following video showing police repression in a hospital on February 5:

On Monday, February 6, streets were closed at various points around the country. The indigenous people also became violent and burnt [es] at least two police stations. Soon a propaganda war began in which the police denied what was being shown in the media and the security minister Raúl Molino criticised the lies which were being told.

The Panamanian blogger “Puppetmaster” complains about this in his blog Oye-pty [es]:

¿Cuál es el afán de la Polícia Nacional, nuestra principal institución de “seguridad”, de desmentir los enfrentamientos entre indígenas y unidades ARMADAS mediante su cuenta de Twitter @ProtegeryServir cuando en realidad si están ocurriendo?  Gracias a Dios la histeria “inncecesaria” que quieren hacer ver que la población crea queda evidenciada en imágenes captadas por los reporteros gráficos, en este caso el excelente trabajo de Eliezer Oses del diario La Estrella en las que se puede ver a un uniformado haciendo uso de su arma de reglamento, aún cuando la Policía lo niega.

In the same way, Joao Q. in his blog Mediocerrado [es] criticises the way in which the security minister has communicated events, and in passing, makes reference to a scandal over the purchase of “overpriced” speed cameras:

Un hombre muere en las protestas. Testigos dicen que de un tiro. Otros tienen evidencias de casquillos de 9mm. Las enseñan en las pantallas. Frente a cámaras de televisión. Ministro niega todo uso de armas de fuego en protestas. Alega que las 9mm no son armas de reglamento policial. Llama mentirosos a los que han hablado de casquillos de este tipo de armas de guerra. Ministro sostiene cara de sarcasmo burlesco mientras dice todo esto en cadena nacional. Su grotesco peinado –black-and-white-pepelepú-style– lo sostiene un fijador muy caro que compró en Italia con dinero de cuestionables fuentes. Uno puede imaginar cosas entre tanta incertidumbre. Pero hay radares que lo indican.

However, there are also those who condemn the behaviour of the indigenous people, as is the case of Luis Felipe Manfredo (@luismanfredo) [es] who suggests that if mining doesn't destroy Panama, the indigenous will:

creo antes ke tal vez lo haga la mineria la destruccion, los mismos indigenas desean destruir a Panama.

Some have also shown their support for the actions of the National Police. For example Clemente Yoell (@CYoell07) [es] thanks the police for fulfilling their constitutional duty:

@protegeryservir ESTAN HACIENDO LO QUE POR LEY LO DEBEN HACER! Felicidades!

On Tuesday, February 7, feelings were still running high although the negotiations which the Panamanians hoped would bring peace had begun.

The indigenous leader Silvia Carrera (@CaciqueGeneral) [es] reported on the beginning of the dialogue with the mediation of the Catholic church on her Twitter account.

Estamos iniciando dialogo con el gobierno en compañía de Monseñor Lacunza y el Padre Adonaí

C. Bernal (@cacike1976) [es], who describes himself in his biography as “A ngäbe father, husband, and someone who is proud of where he comes from”, comments in two Tweets (1 [es], 2 [es]) which forgive the president and ministers for the damage done but which state that it must never be forgotten.

Pueblo ngäbe perdona y no le desea mal a RM (Ricardo Martinelli), su equipo d ministros, unidades policias q asesinaron a nuestros hermanos y a los miles q …

The ngäbe people forgive and wish no harm to RM (Ricardo Martinelli), his team of ministers, the police units who assessinated our brothers and the thousands who…

Nos odian,menosprecian x reclamar lo justo y x el solo hecho d ser ngäbes,perdonados, pero QUEDA PROHIBIDO IGNORAR Y OLVIDAR las injusticias.

By the February 7, a second death was added to the total, a young man of 16 years old, although at the time of writing this post the causes of death are unknown, as La Prensa [es] reports:

Juan José Ibarra, padre de crianza del menor de edad que murió en un incidente confuso en el corregimiento de Las Lomas, provincia de Chiriquí la noche de ayer, pidió este martes, 7 de febrero, que se investigue la muerte de este menor de 16 años.

Finally, at 6pm on Tuesday, February 7, the government gave in to the demands [es] of the Ngäbe Buglé, prohibiting the use of the region for the exploitation of minerals or water. The Panamanians now ask themselves if such doubt and death were necessary in order to reach this agreement. Karla Acedo (@karla_acedo) [es] remains hopeful that a lesson has been learnt:

Ven? eso es sentarse a dialogar, ahora tomen nota y apliquenlo siempre

Written by Ariel Moreno · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [es] · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

In light of new reports of state-sanctioned actions against members of Las Damas de Blanco Last weekend, diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense suggested that:

Pope Benedict XVI should postpone his planned visit in late March to Cuba. The visit was part of a quid pro quo between the regime and the church, but continued repression of women trying to go to Mass should not have been part of the deal.

The blogger also posted a link to an e-Petition soliciting signatures from people who agreed with the postponement of the pontiff's visit “until human rights conditions improve in Cuba”.

Pedazos de la Isla echoed this concern, as he reported on “another Sunday of repression”:

Just weeks before Pope Benedict’s visit to Cuba in March, another Sunday on the island- February 5th 2012- was marked by an excessive level of violence on behalf of the dictatorship against the peaceful Resistance, for simply trying to attend church.

In the city of Holguin, 5 Ladies in White were brutally arrested around 9 in the morning as they tried to reach the Jesus Christ Redeemer of Men Church.

The post went on to detail the kind of violence some of the women testified about:

In Guantanamo, 11 Ladies in White were able to make it to church, despite a constant vigilance. Another 20 Ladies in White assisted mass in the Santuary of El Cobre in Santiago de Cuba. 16 women were arrested as they tried to get to that mass, however, according to the Twitter account of Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia (@jdanielferrer). Among those arrested, according to his Twitter, were Oria Casanova who was “violently arrested, dragged, and beaten by 4 oppressive agents” and Liudmilla Cedeno who was victim of “sexual harassment in the cell where she was being held”. Ferrer Garcia denounced, also through his Twitter, “that is how the henchmen who sustain the Castro brothers are- they beat, sexually assault, and harass defensless women in Cuba”.

The blogger ended by saying:

In Cuba, the Ladies in White and other pro-democracy activists will continue marching, whether Pope Benedict publicly speaks out for them or not.

Speaking out for the Ladies in White is one issue, speaking with them is another. Capitol Hill Cubans reported that:

Last week, the Vatican confirmed meetings with Cuban dictators Raul and Fidel Castro during Pope Benedict XVI's March visit to the island.

Meanwhile, Cuba's courageous Ladies in White have been told to stand idly by as the Pope's agenda is “very heavy” (apparently from meeting with dictators).

How has the Castro regime received this news?

With impunity, of course.

babalu also commented:

Apparently, the Vatican has set aside time during the Pope's visit to Cuba in late March to have the pontiff meet with dictators Fidel and Raul Castro. However, they are not sure if the Pope will have time to meet with the Ladies in White, devout Catholics who are suffering repression, intimidation, beatings, humiliating sexual assaults, and death at the hands of the Castro dictatorship for trying to attend mass every Sunday.

Is it me, or do the Vatican's priorities appear to be backwards?

Iván García, meanwhile, wrote a thoughtful post on “the flirtations of Castro with the Vatican”:

It has been a formidable spin. Pure political juggling. A future strategy.

After a stormy and hostile period against the priests, Catholics and of other religions, where not a few went to jail or were imprisoned in labor camps, Fidel Castro changed his policy of confrontation. It was because of the rise to power by popular and democratic vote of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1971, that Castro was restated his strategy of gunfire toward the Vatican.

Latin America was and is the region with the greatest number of Catholics worldwide. The bearded commander realized at once that any revolution, whether through elections or armed uprising, should begin by acknowledging the role played by priests, bishops and cardinals in a new proposal for social change and advocacy of the always excluded in the hemisphere.

And he began to design a new ideological castling. The Fourth Congress of the Communist Party in 1991, he accepted as members believers of any denomination.

He realized that to subvert, ideas were more important than bullets. And if these ideas were proclaimed from the pulpit…so much the better.

The post continued recounting the chain of events that will culminate in next month's papal visit:

After Castro was on the threshold of death in 2006, his brother, General Raul Castro, took the reins of power and further paved the way to Rome.

When the a political prisoner Orlando Zapata died on February 23, 2010, as a result of a prolonged hunger strike, and the civilized world launched a major campaign against the regime in Havana, due to excessive repression against opponents and the Ladies in White, Castro II knew immediately who to call.

And he called Cardinal Jaime Ortega…The Cardinal would become key political chess piece for the Castro brothers. He was the partner par excellence between government, the militant Ladies in White and the Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. The talks allowed the release of dissidents who had remained behind bars since the crackdown of March 2003. Someday we will know if Ortega is driven by the hope that the situation in Cuba will lead to a democracy, or other pressures have led him to play a role that some exiled opponents see as cowardly.

What intrigues local observers is whether the conspiracy with the Cuban Catholic Church and the Vatican could lead to a democratic state of law. Or is just a ploy to gain time and give a wider social space to Catholicism in education and health, sectors facing hardships due to the widespread economic crisis in the nation.

Church and state, at least from the Cuban blogosphere's perspective, seem to be irrevocably intertwined.

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

In a statement published on its Facebook page, the office of the presidency denied that President Moncef Marzouki, filed a lawsuit against state owned media for referring to him as ”Interim President”.

The statement came in reaction to an article published by Al-Sabah newspaper, claiming that on February 13, a court in Tunisia will issue a verdict about the use of the term “interim” by the state media when referring to the current President Moncef Marzouki and his government.
According to the same source, a lawyer lodged a complaint to the court of first instance of Tunisia, claiming that the use of such a term does not have “a legal basis”.

This is not the first time that the use of term “interim” sparks a debate in Tunisia. Back in January, the Minister of Provisional Justice, and spokesperson of the government, criticized Tunisian media for the use of the word “interim”, claiming that it does not adapt to the current situation”.

In reaction to the complaint a photo with the term "interim" in different languages was created. Image posted to Facebook.

Here are some reactions from the Tunisian Twittersphere, when the news (which then turned out to be rumors) about the President's lawsuit first emerged.

@Tanbirat: Au fait monsieur @Moncef_Marzouki je voulais juste vous dire que vous êtes notre président PROVISOIRE de la république !

@Emnabenjemaa: #Dilou ministre provisoire dans un gouvernement provisoire avec #Marzouki président provisoire

@ahmedchaabane: عجبا في حكومة مؤقتة تقلقها كلمة “مؤقت” أكثر مما يقلقها المليون بطال… #tunisie #tngov #marzouki

@funnypurp: @Moncef_Marzouki et moi je vais porter plainte pour publicité mensongère après avoir voté CPR…

Indeed, those who do not feel at ease with the term “interim”, believe that this government is not interim because it was formed following free and fair elections. On the other hand, the opposition in Tunisia has fears that the current government might stay in power too long - although Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has recently declared that Tunisia will hold parliamentary and presidential elections within 18 months.

This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.

Written by Afef Abrougui · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

This isn't the first time a Moroccan Internet user has faced such charges. In 2008, Fouad Mourtada, a young engineer, was sentenced to three years in prison for impersonating the king’s brother on Facebook. An international outcry and a campaign of support forced the authorities to release Mr Mourtada a month after his arrest.

Walid Bahomane's arrest is the first since a constitutional reform last summer (theoretically) revoked the “sacred” character of the monarch. The king is still, however, the focus of a great deal of devotion in the country.

A copy of the police report filed against Mr Bahomane emerged on the Internet, revealing a first: according to the document, items seized by the police are “two Facebook pages (sic) containing phrases and images insulting the sacred values, and an IBM computer.​​”

Copy of the police report filed against Mr. Walid Bahomane as posted on Facebook.

Despite calls for his release the judge decided to send Walid to a juvenile detention facility near the capital pending his trial. A group of netizens have reacted to the arrest of Mr Bahomane by creating a support group on Facebook called “Mohammed VI, my freedom is more sacred than you!”, where members are invited to publish and share cartoons of the king.

Cartoon representing King Mohammed VI posted on Facebook

The group's preamble reads [ar]:

هذه مجموعة تضامنية مع الشاب وليد بحمان، 18 سنة، معتقل بسجن الأحداث بسلا بتهمة إهانة قداسة محمد السادس على الفيسبوك. فلنثبت لمحمد السادس أن حريتنا أقدس منه

Zineb El Ghazoui, a co-creator of the group, writes on her blog [fr]:

[cette arrestation bat] en brèche la propagande de l'Etat marocain autour du changement et des prétendues avancées démocratiques.

On Twitter, some are timidly following suit. Musique Arabe tweets [fr]:

@MusiqueArabe Opération soutien à Walid Bahomane - publions tous sur nos profils la caricature de notre choix.

Despite the recent constitutional reforms in Morocco the regime does not seem prepared to tolerate any violation of its red lines. In July 2011, a few days after the adoption of the new constitution, a French newspaper, Le Courrier International, was censored [fr] in Morocco because it contained an irreverent caricature of the king.

The independent press has often suffered the wrath of the regime when it dared tackle the sensitive subject of the monarchy. So much so that the Internet seems today the last frontier where most Moroccans can still exercise their right to free expression.

Something Moroccan netizens seem to be fully aware of, inspired by the Arab spring, they seem determined to close ranks and show solidarity with Mr Bahomane.

As a result, exercising censorship will be even more difficult for the regime.

Written by Hisham Almiraat · comments (1)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

Yemen's Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was unanimously nominated by parliament as the only presidential candidate for Yemen's February 21 elections, has kicked off his campaign. Ironically, its motto is ‘Together to Build the New Yemen' when many Yemenis were excluded from the US/United Nations-backed power transition deal brokered by neighboring Gulf countries.

Those who welcomed the election believe that voting is a step in the right direction for Yemen, to start a “new page” and “avoid getting into war”, albeit under the same regime and using a line that was overused throughout the year of revolution in Yemen.

Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi's campaign poster

The election supporters want Hadi to gain more than 4 million votes because that's what outgoing President Saleh got in the previous election, believing that would give Hadi “more legitimacy”, although he would be president regardless of the vote as per the the GCC brokered deal implementation mechanism, since he was already handed the executive powers.

Tom Finn, a freelance journalist based in Yemen, tweeted:

@tomfinn2: Though there's only 1 candidate most Yemenis I know are pretty positive about the elections, lots of talk of ‘turning a new page'.

He then added:

@gregorydjohnsen @adammbaron A large majority won't vote but I still think there'll be a bigger turn-out than expected..

He estimated the vote turnout to be as low as 15 per cent.

This video which is part of a series posted by YeElection on behalf of the Supreme Committee for Election and Referendum to promote the electoral campaign indicates that every voter has one vote and encourages people to cast their vote, yet it fails to mention that there is also only ONE candidate.

Many neitzens have questioned the point of the election, and thought it ought to be called an appointment or selection instead - since he is the vice president anyway and it is natural for him to rule during the transitional period. They also have argued that there was no need to waste funds on the election campaign and monitors, which are pointless since the result is known beforehand.

Whether Hadi gets one vote or five million, it will not change the outcome, especially when the necessary funds could have been allocated for the relief of other more pressing issues in Yemen. They could have gone to organizations which combat hunger in Yemen and some even suggested that part of of it could have gone to the families of the martyrs and treating the injured.

Facebook pages in Arabic and English were set up by activists to reject and boycott the elections.

Journalist Brian Whitaker tweeted:

@Brian_Whit: An “election” that allows only one candidate is not a real election bit.ly/AflZtW #yemen

He points in his blog:

The “election” itself is illegal and invalid because the Yemeni constitution states very clearly that there must be more than one candidate. Even Saleh accepted that principle in two previous presidential elections (while of course ensuring that opposition candidates never stood a chance of winning).

Here are some of tweets over this very controversial subject.

@The_Wadi tweeted an article that represented both views:

What do Yemenis think of the election? “We'll vote to avoid war.” “Why are there elections if there's no competition?” bit.ly/w2r1PC

@ginnyUK, associate fellow at Chatham House, who runs Yemen Forum, tweeted a genuine concern that many have:

lack of detailed planning for post-Feb 21 military restructuring, national dialogue, constitutional reform gives pause for thought #Yemen

Yemeni @SummerNasser added:

I guess it's up to citizen journalists to write up on the 'selection' (election) in #Yemen..

And Gregory Johnsen, a PHD candidate in Near Eastern studies and close observer of Yemen, tweeted:

@Gregorydjohnsen: Yemen's one-man presidential campaign brought to you by the US and the GCC.

He replied to a tweet teasingly:

Early polls suggest Hadi the favorite RT @Yemen411 Countdown for elections in #Yemen: 15 days & 18 Hours

And replying why there weren't other candidates, he responded:

@abuaardvark Others couldn't get parliamentary support to get on ballot - GCC deal has Hadi taking over, begs the question: why an election?

Adam Baron, @adammbaron, a freelance journalist currently in Yemen, noted:

@abuaardvark @gregorydjohnsen id say b/c elex mean sharia dostooria [translation: constitutional legitamcy], but a 1 man election is actually in violation of #Yemen's constitution

And Iona Craig, @ionacraig, the Times correspondent in Yemen mockingly tweeted:

Remind me. What's the point in having an election campaign when you're the sole candidate and there's no minimum turnout requirement?

@alruwaishan added:

You can argue a lot of things, but one man running against himself being an election is not one of them. #Yemen's “election” is ridiculous.

@al_masani replied:

@alruwaishan when ali saleh was prez AT LEAST he had a candidate running against him. things went from bad to worse 1 candidate? #yemen

@Brian_Whit wondered if Saleh was planning a comeback:

Could Saleh do Putin's trick? RT @ginnyUK: who will replace Hadi as VP when Hadi becomes president? #Yemen

And @SummerNasser concluded with a very likely scenario which many Yemeni would definitely reject:

Let me just give you all a heads up. Hadi will be in place, then in the future Ahmed (Saleh's son) will take over. Mark my words. #BFEY #Yemen

Many Yemenis believe that taking part in this election is pointless since the election results are pre-determined, as was the imposed GCC deal and the immunity it granted Saleh. They doubt that it will bring about any real change in Yemen in the foreseeable future with Hadi, another military man replacing Saleh, and thus that there is no prospect of the civil state which the revolution demanded, especially with Saleh's family still controlling the military apparatus and his regime still intact.

And as @abubakrabdullah points in his post in the Guardian's live blog:

Either way, an end to clashes and the provision of regular electricity, gas and water are more eagerly anticipated in Yemen than an election right now.

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.

Written by Noon Arabia · comments (0)
Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper