Global Voices » Poland

Ukraine: Yulia Tymoshenko's Plight and Euro 2012

Veronica Khokhlova — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:12:02 +0000

There must be some corners on the web (e.g., here and here) where football fans are still having apolitical discussions of the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, scheduled to take place in Poland and Ukraine from June 8 to July 1. For the past few weeks, however, the upcoming sporting event has featured prominently in arguments and discussions among those who seem more interested in the Ukrainian and European politics than sports.

Earlier this month, several European politicians, including the EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, announced their plans to boycott Euro 2012 in protest against the imprisonment of ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko. However, there is no consensus among the EU officials yet on whether “to call a political boycott of the Ukraine half of the Euro 2012 football championships.”

Tymoshenko's arrest came on August 5, 2011, a little over a month after the beginning of her first trial on June 24. She was kept at Kyiv's Lukyanivska Prison (GV texts about this facility are here and here) until December 30, when she was transferred to the Kachanivska Penal Colony in Kharkiv to serve a seven-year sentence for exceeding her powers as Prime Minister. Reports of Tymoshenko's health problems and her 20-day hunger strike have dominated the recent coverage of her case. On April 19, another trial of Tymoshenko began in Kharkiv, but she refused to attend it. The hearing of this second case, in which Tymoshenko is charged with evading taxes in the 1990s, has been postponed until late May.

While the preparation for the tournament in Ukraine was marred by a number of other controversies (e.g., the cruel treatment of stray animals; accusations of hotel price gouging; and, of all things, the threat posed by the “beautiful Ukrainian women”), this latest international scandal seems to have done the most harm to Ukraine's image so far.

On May 3, the Economist asked readers in an online poll if they supported the calls to boycott the games held in Ukraine:

The apparently brutal treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko, an imprisoned Ukrainian opposition leader, has led to calls for European leaders to stay away from Ukrainian matches in the upcoming Euro 2012 football tournament, which the country is hosting jointly with Poland.

The Economist agrees with these calls. Do you?

Of the 1,834 votes cast so far, 68 percent are in favor of the boycott and 32 percent are against it.

Odessablogger - who believes that “the football is the wrong stick to hit Ukraine with given the need for EU personalities to interact directly with the Ukrainian people” - recounted some of the examples of sports and politics “colliding” in the past, and quoted from the April 28 Der Spiegel interview [en] with boxer and politician Vitali Klitschko, who opposes the boycott of Euro 2012:

“[…] This tournament is the biggest sporting event in the history of Ukraine. It has to happen. It is even an excellent opportunity to draw the world’s attention to the maladministration in our country. […]”

Odessablogger also noted Yulia Tymoshenko's stance on the boycott:

[…] In case you are wondering, the current position taken by Ms Tymoshenko herself over the matter, is that there should not be a boycott because of her, and that the Ukrainian people should see the EU leaders in Ukraine as it will encourage them to look to the EU rather than think they have been written off. […]

Marek Siwiec, a Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament, explained on his BlogActiv.eu blog why he did not support the boycott:

[…] In Poland we need to understand (and I repeated it many times) that the football championship for Ukrainians is a national question – a source of pride, regardless of political views. Ukrainians deserve to have this tournament in their country in an atmosphere of festivity, in spite of all. […]

[…] Besides, as a whole political class, just as we act together in defence of Yulia Tymoshenko, in this case we should separate sport from politics. If there was somebody in Poland who would like to take this opportunity to rob something from Ukrainians, I warn – the political costs in the mutual relations will be long lasting and serious. […]

Jonathan Hibberd of Chicken in Kiev wrote about Germany's stance on Euro 2012 in Ukraine:

Merkel boycotts Ukraine? Business as usual.

Germany has been boycotting Ukraine's interests for some time. […]

[…] Germany should in fact, albeit indirectly, accept some responsibility for what has happened here since 2010. As one leading commentator said a couple of years back, it would have meant an awful lot if Chancellor Merkel had come to Kiev and made a speech in support of Ukraine's European ambitions. Don't forget how narrowly Tymoshenko lost the Presidential election. German endorsement of a European and Euro-Atlantic choice for Ukraine might well have been enough to swing the election for her, but instead it was held against a background of resignation, that Europe didn't want Ukraine and rapprochement with Russia was paramount. Merkel was not there for her then. […]

At OpenDemocracy.net, Valery Kalnysh, deputy editor of the Kommersant Ukraina newspaper, shared this possible explanation for the German leader's position:

[…] But why, on the other hand, is Germany so active in taking up the cudgels against Ukraine? During the course of a conversation, a German journalist commented ‘It’s quite easy for Merkel to attack Ukraine and demand respect for human rights. Unlike Russia, you have no oil or gas and you’re not as strong and influential as China. It’s convenient to criticise Ukraine and it does great things for [her] popularity rating.’ […]

LEvko of Foreign Notes explained “why Ukraine's Euro 2012 [would] not be as big a success as hoped”:

[…] In previous tournaments, in my experience, many fans have made an extended holiday of their visits to countries hosting such events; days between matches being spent on the beach, sightseeing, etc. etc. In countries such as Austria/Switzerland or Portugal, where tourism is highly developed, this was an attractive proposition..but, no disrespect intended…Kharkiv? Dontesk?

Europe is currently in the deepest economic crisis since WW2. There is little cash around..not enough to pay the Ukraine's rip-off hotel prices.

Then there's the Olympic games in London later in the year - an attractive draw for sports fans.

[…] But the tsunami of bad press in Europe's mass media over the Tymoshenko affair will be the final turn-off. Fans will rather stay at home, or, at best, fly in and out for matches, just like they do for European club matches.. […]

Olga Mrinska of Regional Accents reflected [uk] on the Euro 2012 boycott scandal in the context of the general social and political situation in Ukraine:

[…] The repressive race aimed at the opposition leaders has reached its apogee in the past year, and domestic politics has become the center of attention of world leaders. […] Today's Ukraine is, above all, associated with the jailed opposition, lack of freedom of speech, kleptomaniac and lying officials. Our president must have naively (???) believed that [it's possible to endlessly mislead these “spineless” European leaders and feed them with “mañana” [empty promises] at any mention of the democratic reforms - the leaders who live in ordinary houses in the city center (Germany), ride bicycles (the Netherlands), fly regular commercial flights (Finland) and have incomparably fewer guards that he does (choose any EU country).] And when these Europeans have finally stood up […], [the Ukrainian leaders began talking] of the Cold War era and bias. In my opinion, this is a lousy excuse…

The problem isn't with the Europeans, but with the Ukrainians - the voters who have brought to power people without the intellect, without a strategic vision and without the belief in the better future for the country and its people. The problem is with the so-called elite that, just like those hotel owners, lives only in the present, without giving any thought to the future.

Despite the avalanche of negative information about Ukraine in the world media, justified in most cases, we still have a chance to [show Ukraine in a positive light] to those football fans who would attend the Euro. Out people are the last frontier and the last hope. The end result and the final assessment of the event depends on their open-mindedness, decency and hospitality. […]

Finally, a few words about the aspect of Euro 2012 that has gone largely unnoticed - [the view that the Ukrainians themselves have of the event]. Five years ago, we were promised an ocean of private investments, a new and shining infrastructure that would serve host cities for decades, an influx of tourists and billions for the economy. Instead, residents of Kyiv and other cities have experienced mainly negative consequences - destruction of parks, totally dug-up cities, closed streets, altered public transportation routes, […], growing prices, etc. […]

Video: Nonprofits Show Their Work Through Award Winning Videos

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 23:59:17 +0000

Winners for the 6th Annual doGooder Non Profit Video Awards were announced on 5 April, 2012. Following, the winning videos for the 4 different categories: small, medium and large organizations and best storytelling, and the 4 winning films in the fearless category.

For the wmall organization award, the winner was Protect the Defenders, an organization that honors, supports, and gives voice to people serving in the US military services who have been raped or sexually assaulted by fellow service members.

For the medium organization award, the prize went to Solid Women, a video made by Fonkoze, Haiti's largest microfinancing organization which shows the impact the organization's programs has had on 5 different women.

The large organization award went to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's video on a new medication to treat CF which is benefiting some patients, although efforts are still needed to find treatments for other patients.

Best video storytelling was to the World Memory Project's video on how information is helping Holocaust survivors get some closure as they are able to discover what happened to their loved ones during the World War II. In the video, Sol discovers what happened to his father after they separated the day before the liberation.

Four separate grant money awards went to the most fearless videos in the contest. Real Stories of Addiction and Recovery, The Story of Cholera, Not Acceptable R-word PSA and the story of Robert, a homeless man.

Poland: The ‘Web Kids' Manifesto'

Claudia Parra — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:21:04 +0000

Originally written by the Polish photographer and poet Piotr Czerski [pl] (see Wikipedia for his biography in Polish), the ‘Web Kids’ Manifesto‘ is now appearing on the web in many other languages since its publication on February 11, 2012, in the Polish regional newspaper, Dziennik Baltycki.

The manifesto expresses the sense of community of a whole generation born alongside the arrival of the networks and Internet. It also proclaims the affinity of young people around the world with the emergence of an original global culture and the desire to participate in the circulation of cultural goods, beyond the legal or geographical frontiers arbitrarily imposed.

According to Czerski, the manifesto is evidence of this generation’s desire to distance itself from the power relations inherited from the established authorities [pl]:

Piotr Czerski, author of 'Web Kids" Manifesto'. Photo from his blog, under licence CC 3.

Nie ma w nas tej wynikającej z onieśmielenia pokornej akceptacji, jaka cechowała naszych rodziców – przekonanych o nadzwyczajnej wadze spraw urzędowych i odświętnym charakterze interakcji z państwem. Nie czujemy tego respektu, który brał się z odległości między samotnym obywatelem, a majestatycznymi szczytami „władzy”, majaczącymi gdzieś pośród mgieł.

There is not a trace in us of that humble acceptance displayed by our parents, who were convinced that administrative issues were of utmost importance and who considered interaction with the state as something to be celebrated. We do not feel that respect, rooted in the distance between the lonely citizen and the majestic heights where the ruling class reside, barely visible through the clouds.

This generation opposes private interest groups’ institutional regulations and the control these groups exert over personal information and common cultural goods. It also expresses its need for transparency, freedom, and a “true and real democracy” [pl]:

Być może nie nazwaliśmy tego dotąd, być może jeszcze sami nie zdajemy sobie z tego sprawy – ale tym, czego chcemy, jest chyba po prostu prawdziwa, realna demokracja. Demokracja, o której być może nie śniło się nawet waszym publicystom.

Perhaps we have not yet given it a name, perhaps we are not yet fully aware of it, but I guess what we want is real, genuine democracy. Democracy that, perhaps, is more than is dreamt of in your journalism.

It is a demand more current than ever within the context of the opposition to the ACTA agreement, where the risk of curtailing freedoms is intensely perceived, especially in Eastern Europe [fr].

The manifesto’s original version in Polish: ‘Mi dzieci sieci‘
English: ‘We, the Web Kids‘
French: ‘Nous les enfants du Web‘
German: ‘Wir, die Netz-Kinder‘
Spanish: ‘Nosotros, los hijos de la Web‘
Estonian: ‘Meie, võrgulapsed‘
Swedish: ‘Vi, nätbarnen‘
Czech: ‘My, děti Sítě‘

This manifesto and the reactions it has sparked off everywhere in the world in such a short time, are proof of the desire for freedom, democracy, and transparency that deeply questions our societies. This desire is expressed by those who, from now on, are the willing protagonists of globalization, and who will be the critical citizens of the web over the next decades. The tide has turned, no doubt about it.

Hungary: An Eventful Celebration of the National Holiday

Marietta Le — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:30:47 +0000

Last week, Hungary celebrated the 164th anniversary of the 1848 Revolution. On March 15, 2012, the opposition elected a rapper as the ‘alternative president' - while the prime minister compared the country to a frog jumping out of a pot of hot water at the very last moment - and a group of far-right protesters broke into the office of the International Monetary Fund. On March 16, a techno party was held at Budapest's Heroes' Square. On March 17, new members of the Hungarian National Guard took their oath at the same location.

Before the national holiday of March 15, the Hungarian media devoted some coverage to the news of the Polish and French supporters coming to attend the demonstrations. Véleményvezér blog posted [hu] about this with the title, “March 15: thanks but we don't want to import protesters!”:

[…] It looks like the Hungarian national holiday's commemorations will turn into real international events. Gazeta Polska, a right-wing weekly, reports under the title of “A Long Voyage to Hungary” that several thousands Poles are traveling to Hungary to rally for Viktor Orbán. French left-wing intellectuals have published a public invitation that says it's a cause of conscience to come to Hungary and attend the Milla protest against the ‘nationalist' Fidesz government. […]

Guest representatives of the two nations attended the day's two largest events. The Poles mainly attended the official governmental celebrations and the main event in the afternoon of March 15, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke. The French guests mainly attended the largest opposition demonstration together with the citizen movements.

The latter was organized through the Facebook group ‘One Million for the Freedom of Press in Hungary‘ (the English mirror page is here), often dubbed as ‘Milla'. Milla started their event also in the afternoon, with a speech by Dopeman, a popular rap musician, who had successfully re-positioned himself from a popular musician to an artist expressing the opinion of a strong citizen opposition by publishing an explicit song partly using the words of the Hungarian anthem [hu].

Starting from the national holiday of October 23, Milla has been running a highly criticized and incoherent contest for the ‘alternative president' position - which Dopeman ended up winning. (They admitted on their blog [hu] that the contest's process was not perfect.)

The rapper cited the many problems of the Hungarian society in his opening speech [hu] on March 15, also quoting his own lyrics about the struggles of living in Hungary. Afterwards representatives of those social groups that have been affected by the current government's politics - students, journalists, members of the civil society organizations, etc. - also spoke.

At the same time, in front of the Hungarian Parliament, PM Orbán compared the Hungarian society's loan-taking to a frog that feels comfortable in a pot of slow-boiling water until it's almost too late.

His criticism of the EU was highlighted by the international media, and here is what Eva Balogh had to say about it on her blog:

[…] As for the current political atmosphere in Europe Orbán lashed out with a few harsh words on that topic. Hungarians understand that “the European Union is not an alliance of saints but they cannot watch with folded arms while some political and intellectual trend forces an unholy alliance on Europe.” […]

By the end of the Milla event, a far-right group ‘Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement‘ (the name refers to the 64 counties that existed before the Treaty of Trianon, a resentful memory in the Hungarian history) rallied at the same place, generating a conflict which was solved by the presence of the police. The youth movement then went to the local office of the International Monetary Fund, where they wanted to hand in a petition to the representatives of the organization, and when they were told they could not do it, they lit firecrackers inside the building. Egyenlítő blog recorded their actions and shared the video on YouTube.

March 16 was still about celebrating the 1848 revolution, but some Budapest youths decided to do it their own way. ‘More Techno To The Parliament‘ is a movement opposed to the current political situation, but is reacting to it by using some key terms of political speech. They hold parties on national holidays where they talk about the ‘techno question' and promote the idea of a 'state techno radio', not missing out the issue of the need for professional speaker systems and a DJ in each village. This time the party was at Budapest's Heroes' Square:

On March 17, also at Heroes' Square, some 130 people took an oath [hu] as new members of a paramilitary group called the Hungarian National Guard. The ‘guardists' have become popular in the past few years in Hungary, but because of their radical activities the core group,the Hungarian Guard, had been banned. Similar groups re-appeared in some villages in northern Hungary (Global Voices posts about this are here and here), threatening the Roma population with their presence.

This video shows the anti-far-right protesters, too, holding posters saying ‘No Garda', ‘No Racism'.

Europe: Will ACTA Treaty Pass After Protests?

Danielle Martineau — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:09:08 +0000

[All links forward to French articles unless stated otherwise.]

As of the end of the month of February 2012, the mobilization efforts of Internet users against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) [en] were still going strong. In fact, they may have begun to bear fruit.

By including infringements against the author's rights in its scope, this international treaty, which addresses intellectual property rights, also affects Internet content.

The ratification debates which were placed on the European Parliament's agenda on February 29, were put on hold in expectation of the opinion of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The issue of the treaty's conformity with European Community law was brought before the court on 22 February by the European Commission.

No ACTA - Strasbourg. Photo by Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Taurillon, the “magazine of young Europeans -France” describes “Europe's about-face on ACTA“:

Si l’avis est négatif, l’ACTA n’a plus aucune chance en Europe. Mais en cas d’avis positif, le recours à la CJUE représente le double avantage de redonner au traité une certaine crédibilité, et de repousser son adoption à une époque suffisamment lointaine pour que la polémique se soit tassée et que l’opinion publique regarde ailleurs.

If the opinion is negative, ACTA no longer stands a chance in Europe. However, if there is a positive opinion, appealing to the ECJ would mean a double advantage by giving the treaty a certain credibility, and also pushing back implementation to a time that is far enough away when public debate has settled down and the public's attention is focused elsewhere.

Jérémie Zimmermann, co-founder and spokesperson for la Quadrature du Net urges on the European deputies:

Les eurodéputés doivent résister à la stratégie de la Commission européenne, qui cherche à gagner du temps et à transformer le débat en une simple discussion juridique, et pour cela continuer à travailler au rejet d’ACTA. ACTA vise à imposer une tendance pour une politique globale du droit d’auteur qui est toxique pour l’Internet libre et pour les libertés. Le Parlement européen est le dernier rempart : il doit agir et adopter une position claire et forte, faute de quoi il laissera le champ libre à la Commission pour imposer une répression inacceptable.

The Eurodeputies must resist the European Commission's strategy of attempting to gain time and turning the debate into a simple legal discussion, thereby continuing to work towards ACTA's rejection. ACTA aims to impose a tendency for a global policy of author's rights that is toxic for the free Internet and for freedom. The European Parliament is the last line of defense: it must act and adopt a firm and clear position, otherwise it will leave the field wide open for the commission to impose an unacceptable repression.

For trucbuntu, there is no question of remaining passive while waiting for the Court to adjudicate:

Les citoyens de toute l’Europe peuvent contacter leurs représentants dans les commissions Commerce International (INTA) et Industrie (ITRE), qui se réunissent cette semaine pour discuter d’ACTA, et leur demander de continuer à travailler au sein de leur commission pour le rejet d’ACTA.

Citizens of all of Europe were able to contact their representatives in the International Trade (INTA) and Industry (ITRE) Committees, who met on February 29 to discuss ACTA. Many citizens requested their representatives to reject the proposal.

The website of the European Parliament explains the procedure and the issues of the treaty [en] that are under scrutiny, and has published ‘What you should know about ACTA‘ [en], a page of questions and answers. The ACTA workshop of the European Parliament has been the object of a storify [en] made by the Parliamentary services (link via Global Voices contributor Asteris Masouras [en]).

The organization AVAAZ submitted a petition to the European Parliament on 29 February with 2.4 million signatures against ACTA. The petition is still open:

Nous sommes vraiment proches de la victoire — notre pétition forte de 2,4 millions de signatures a ébranlé les responsables politiques partout en Europe et stoppé les censeurs. La Commission européenne est à présent en position de faiblesse et espère que la Cour de justice donnera son feu vert au traité ACTA en lui soumettant une question juridique très limitée qui recevra certainement une réponse positive.Mais si nous faisons résonner nos voix aujourd'hui, nous pouvons faire en sorte que la Cour examine tous les impacts légaux du traité ACTA et publie un avis qui fera toute la lumière sur cette attaque contre nos droits qu'est ACTA.

We are really close to victory — our petition, with 2.4 million signatures has shaken up those politicians in charge throughout Europe and stopped their censors. The European Commission is currently in a position of weakness and is hoping the Court of justice will green light the ACTA treaty by bringing before the court a very limited legal question, that will without doubt receive a positive response. But if we make our voices heard today, we will be able to get the court to examine all the legal implications of ACTA and publish an opinion that will bring to light the real attack against our rights that is ACTA.

No ACTA - Strasbourg. Photo Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Anti-ACTA parties continue to strengthen their resources. New protests were set for 10 March, and torrentnews gives a list, with this appeal:

La liste n’est pas exhaustive, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour la compléter ;)

si certains se sentent l’âme d’un reporter- photographe en herbe, nous recherchons également des personnes pour faire un petit article photo du déroulement de la manif, rien de bien compliqué, comme fait ici pour Nice, Marseille,Bordeaux et Strasbourg.

The list is not exhaustive, do not hesitate to contact us to complete it ;)

If any individuals see themselves as budding photojournalists we are also looking for people to do a small photo story on how the protest unfolds, nothing too complicated, as it happens in Nice, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Strasbourg.

For details on the elements of the debate, see also these linked articles from the Tribune on February 29, and Myeurop, on March 3. On Global Voices, see the laws SOPA/PIPA that set a precedent in the USA, here [en] and here [en]. Since the beginning of the protests, ACTA seems to have lost a lot of political momentum.

The title of this post is inspired by the end of the article “La liberté sur Internet : le filtrage de la discorde” which was published by the Institute of Research and Legal and Information studies and Communication (I.R.E.D.I.C.). It puts into perspective Internet blocking and debates the adoption of ACTA.

The original article in French was published on March 4. For background on the ACTA proposal, more articles can be found here [en].

Poland: Szczekociny Train Crash, Yet Another Tragedy

Veronica Khokhlova — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 23:38:30 +0000

Polandian writes about the reactions to the March 3 deadly train crash in Szczekociny, Poland: “When the comments were gathered from the prominent politicians, one that stood out was [PM] Donald Tusk saying something like ‘…This is the worst disaster since… the last such tragedy'.”

Poland: Gossip Portal Accuses Mainstream Media of ACTA Ignorance

Kasia Odrozek — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 03:32:58 +0000

In what kind of country are we living and how pathetic are the media here, if an article like this had to be written by an Internet portal with a poodle in their logo?

With these humble words a popular Polish gossip portal, Pudelek, decided [pl] to join the ACTA discussion with a post on February 10, 2012, accusing the Polish mainstream media and local celebrities of missing the point and of ignorance in the debate about the controversial legislation.

Meanwhile, on February 11, ACTA protesters took the streets in many European countries, including Poland.

It has been almost three weeks since January 24, when Polish netizens started their protest - which soon turned Europe-wide - against the international agreement that, according to them, presents a threat to Internet freedom. Numerous Internet initiatives [pl] and massive live protests on the streets of many Polish cities induced a debate [pl] about the “generation acta” and their motivations.

While major information services published political analyses and focused on the events that shaped the debate (e.g., Anonymous attacks [pl] and deputies of a certain party wearing [pl] Guy Fawkes masks in the parliament), the most popular Polish gossip portal decided to speak up [pl] on the “real motives of the raging young people” in an article called, “ACTA: How celebrities lost contact with reality”:

The biggest Polish gossip portal decided to speak up for young people. Screenshot of http://pudelek.pl

So let's write about what is not being spoken out - about what is the real reason for the protest and anger that suddenly surprises everybody now: the Internet “piracy” for private use is today the only way for millions of young Poles to live at least a bit like their collegues from Western Europe. To have access to culture, entertainment, to be able to watch a movie on the computer with the girlfriend. This is actually not only a Polish problem. This is a problem of the whole young population in Europe that doesn't have any chance to do a career like their parents did and buy the same apartments they once bought. Everyone who went lately to Italy, Spain, Portugal or even France or Great Britain and took a look at something more than monuments, knows that. In Poland, where almost everything is more expensive than in the West and salaries are three times lower, it is especially visible, like looking through a magnifying glass. But for some people it is apparently not clear enough, even after massive demonstrations with -10°C cold.

The portal criticises some celebrities for their statements about the protests and for defending radical copyright and calling file-sharing a “theft” - while being so well off with money. The authors also ask [pl] why the media coverage of the movement isn't big enough considering such a massive scale of the protests:

Why aren't TV stations shouting about it? 30,000 people chanting, jumping on frost in Krakow! What happened in the last years that, according to them, was more important than this?

The portal recalls [pl] a couple of YouTube videos showing the recent protests, stressing that these are just a few examples out of many, many more. Here is an example showing 30,000 protesters in Krakow, uploaded on YouTube by skitowiec on January 26:

These are just a couple of videos. Do they make you reflect? If somebody doesn't appreciate this, belittles it, it means that he's completely not up-to-date and doesn't understand what actually happened here. What does this civilisation offer to young people if it takes cheap culture and entertainment away from them? Does it offer a good job? Perspectives? You got to be kidding me.

The reaction to the post was enormous: the article has reached nearly 7,000 supporting comments and 8,000 shares on Facebook. The compelling post caused also an immediate reaction from the mainstream media. A journalist from Gazeta.pl [pl], Pawel Wronski, published a mocking article titled, “On the barricades with a poodle” [pl], in which he stressed the tabloid character of the medium and its attempt to comment on a serious matter. The reaction of the readers in the newspaper's forum was devastating [pl] for the journalist.

Pudelek itself answered [pl] with another post:

It's hard to accept the truth, especially when it comes from a pink gossip portal. But what does it have to do with anything? It's just about millions of people who can read it now. Because it's not our own opinions we wrote down here. We wrote down what you [readers] have been sending to us in thousands of emails. […] The problem is that we wrote the very thing that you [the media] were afraid to write […]. How can you be sure that you're expressing somebody's voice, that you can look down on millions of our readers with distaste and that you are an authority for anybody? Do you think that smart people don't read gossip?

Aleksandra Jabloonska supports [pl] Pudelek's post on Facebook and talks about her experience:

I'm impressed that somebody finally had the courage to write it - it's just a pity (no offense) that it had to be the editors of “Pudelek” and not “the free TV and facts for people.” I will give a real-life example: I'm studiyng film and theater. We are required to know all the film history. If I had to watch legally all these movies that they need me to know, I would have to spend [too much money]. But that's not a problem for the state or the university as long as I have internet access - because they assume that I can afford it. I wonder how they imagine such education after implementing ACTA, if the university is not able to make these materials available and the state doesn't give a damn. It's sad, really sad.

Young Poles protest against ACTA but also against the everyday reality. Image by Alexey Sidorenko, used with permission.

Karolina, for whom the article was the first she read on a gossip portal, comments [pl] under the post:

For the first time I've read an article on “Pudelek.” A wise and balanced text. A text describing the world of celebrities whose only contact with poverty is limited to attending a charity gala. It's a weird country, Poland.

Martyna Tina comments [pl] on Facebook:

I was very happy to see that you took our opinions under consideration and wrote about the ACTA problem. Because although this doesn't concern only young people, the older didn't make the effort to read even a bit. They watch TV and there of course the cameramen film in a way to show the least people (seriously!) and they don't say: Poles went on the streets - but they say: somehow not so many people showed up for the protest. They marginalise the problem, labelling it to youth, to the internet, to pirates, to thieves. Thieves are the big corporations, bankers and dishonest politicians.

Blogger niekontent doesn't believe in charitable intentions of the gossip portal and reminds [pl] them that the mainsteram media actually provided a pretty big coverage on ACTA:

Here is the news: with all my respect for the talented editors, but “Pudelek” doesn't touch upon such topics as ACTA unless they become relevant (meaning “interesting,” meaning “clickable”) for the street. This is the logic behind a service that achieved a huge success based on this simple mechanism.

A truth hard to deny, but still, the immense reaction to the post on a portal that normally writes about movie stars' break-ups and best Grammy outfits, should make the media reflect on their overall condition. Are they mirroring the voice of the young generation, are they able to listen? To some extent, young Poles consider the protest an occassion to express their anger against the political elites and the reality they have to live in day by day.

Blogger niekontent finds [pl] the discussion somewhat sad:

It's sad how much Gazeta Wyborcza, one of the most important representatives of the so-called “old media,” stopped to understand the young generations of Poles, those who grew up with the internet. What is worse, sometimes I'm afraid that Gazeta Wyborcza (generally speaking, not individual people) stopped to understand what internet is about. […] It's sad that one of the most aggresive and uncompromising tabloids, which “Pudelek” is, became an authority for a mass of young Poles. […] What is also sad is that the voice of “Pudelek” in this debate sounds just stronger, more honest.

Slovakia: Stop ACTA Protest

Tibor Blazko — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:07:22 +0000

An anti-ACTA rally took place in Bratislava on Feb. 4. On the protest's Facebook page [sk], nearly 7,500 people wrote they would attend, and over 3,800 wrote they'd “maybe” attend. The weather was cold and windy; the recent news from Poland, which has postponed the ratification of ACTA, was good; and it's unlikely that anything will be approved before the Slovak early elections in March. As a result, only 500 people or so showed up for the rally [sk; photos; video]. This week, a number of Slovak and Czech politicians announced they were in favor of postponing the ratification of the controversial treaty.

Poland: Government Will Sign ACTA Despite Massive Protest

Kasia Odrozek — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:30:10 +0000

“The Acta agreement in no way changes Polish laws or the rights of internet users and internet usage” - despite a massive Internet protest and controversies around the secret manner of negotiations, the Polish Minister of Administration and Digitisation, Michal Boni, admitted after a meeting with Prime Minister Donald Tusk that the government would sign the anti-piracy agreement ACTA on January 26, as planned.

In an interview with a radio station, Boni said [pl] that it was impossible not to sign the agreement, because it was too late: Poland joined the negotiation process in 2008 and all the other European countries have already signed it. He added that Poland “should attach a clause to the treaty that would show how we interpret these articles”.

Boni had promised [pl] broad public consultations during the European ratification process. Several Polish NGOshave expressed [pl] their disappointment with the government's stance on ACTA and appealed to change the decision.

Since January 21, online hackers calling themselves Anonymous have been attacking and shuting down government websites almost constantly, in a chaotic protest against the plans to sign the international treaty on Thursday.

User @Anonymouswiki owns up to the web attacks on the websites of the prime minister, the parliament and other government entities. Screenshot: Twitter @Anonymouswiki

Although the hackers still enjoy strong support among netizens, and the attacks were one of the reasons the mainstream media picked up the topic of ACTA, the group also faces criticism from key Polish tech-bloggers.

Maciej Gajewski from Spidersweb calls them [pl] “crying kids worried for their mp3″ and regrets that they became the face of the protest giving the government officials an argument against the movement:

Critics, mistrust and suspicion is one thing, but panic, mumbling and spreading disinformation is another thing. Looking at some finds on the biggest Polish social news platforms, looking at the comments of some readers, I get the impression that the lion's share of the protesters have no idea what ACTA is about. They've made up fantastic stories and are passing them on. The mass is getting crazy “Impale PM”, “Let's burn the Minister on the stake!”, “They will all lock us down in prisons!”. And then also Anonymous, who just make the whole protest look ridiculous in the eyes of mature older voters.

900+ Polish websites go dark on January 24

"This is what the Internet might look like very soon. NO to ACTA" - over 900 Polish websites decided to go dark on January 24 in protest against the treaty. Screenshot: http://spidersweb.pl

As opposed to the web attacks on government websites, Antyweb called [pl] on his blog on January 23 for a protest “in a cultured way, namely, a blackout” and provided a script and an instruction on how to do it. In response, more than 900 websites decided to “go dark” and display an anti-ACTA message.

Allegro, the Polish equivalent of Ebay, placed an “anti-ACTA” banner next to the company's logo. The list of the websites taking part in the protest is available here.

The opposition party, the Democratic Left Alliance, also said the government should not sign the agreement and blacked out its website [pl] in solidarity.

While the global media, with a few exceptions, keep silent about the Polish protest, national information services race to publish dozens of opinions, analyses and the latest reports on the ACTA case. In the meantime, the protest movement seems to be getting bigger and bigger: the anti-ACTA protest event on Facebook Nie dla ACTA has reached over 400,000 fans.

A real-life protest in Warsaw gathered [pl] over 1,000 people on Tuesday, and another one is being planned for Wednesday, January 25.

"Screw corporations, long live the people": many Polish protesters went on the streets on January 24. Photo by Alexey Sidorenko, used with permission.

Vagla, a popular Polish digital rights blogger, shared this hope [pl] on Twitter on January 24:

I guess that slowly people start to understand that this is not a discussion about “piracy” and “thieves” but about the direction in which our civilisation is heading.

Update:

Later on January 24, PM Tusk confirmed officially [pl] at a press conference that Poland will sign ACTA on January 26. At the same time, he stressed that the government will not give in to blackmail, meaning the earlier web attacks. Poland strives for Internet freedom, said Tusk.

Poland: Netizens Protest Government's Plan to Sign ACTA Next Week

Kasia Odrozek — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:05:06 +0000

With the world still talking about the aftermath of the SOPA/PIPA Blackout Day, Polish netizens are confronted with another backstabbing development in the fight for free Internet.

On January 19, 2012, during a meeting with NGOs and business representatives, the Polish government announced [pl] that it would sign the controversial anti-piracy agreement ACTA on January 26. While the governement calls it a success [pl] of the Polish EU Presidency, netizens are outraged with the arbitrary decision and are calling to take action against the proposal.

ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, is a proposed plurilateral agreement for the purpose of establishing international standards on intellectual property rights enforcement. According to La Quadrature du Net and other globally active digital rights organisations, such as Electronic Frontier Foundation or European Digital Rights, ACTA would impose new criminal sanctions forcing Internet actors to monitor and censor online communications. Creating legal uncertainty for Internet companies, ACTA would become a major threat to freedom of expression online and another assault against the culture of sharing on the Internet.

Image by flickr user PateandoPiedrasweb under the CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 licence.

The decision of the Polish government [pdf, pl] to sign the “European SOPA” worries [pl] blogger Maciej Gajewski from the tech website Spiderweb.pl:

Lately, one talks a lot about SOPA and PIPA bills and this is very good: in my opinion, these are the reprehensible bills and I think that the goal should never justify the means. For the Polish netizens the consequences of these two bills are negligible. If they were adopted, they would concern us only regarding the possibility to block our website for people in the USA. And that's actually it. But meanwhile, just in one week, our country, as a country subordinated to the European Union, will join the ACTA agreement. And this can hurt us. Very much.

An agreement negotiated behind the people's backs

But it's not only the content of the agreement proposal that upsets the netizens. The very secret character of the international ACTA negotiations and a stunning lack of public consultations and transparency in the negotiating process are clearly pointing to a democracy failure, according to [pl] Antyweb, a popular Polish tech-blogger:

They promised debates - nothing. They promised openness - nothing. Democracy is being destroyed, the deputies don't know what they are signing, and all this will lead to a situation when bloggers, scientists and entrepreneurs will be qualified as criminals. And if not, they will anyway walk on thin ice, paying attention not to step on a patent spot with an additinal R letter in a circle on the right side.

The digital rights blog Prawo.vagla.pl criticises [pl] the scandalous ignorance of the Polish government:

We found out that, of course, it's no longer possible to withdraw the decision about the signature of a Polish representative on the ACTA document, that this signature will be put and it will open the way to the ratification procedure. I asked the representatives of these ministries if they had any plan in case the European or the Polish Parliament would not not agree to the ratification. I heard that “it would put us to shame.” I wonder what is a bigger shame, and if it's not maybe the way of working on this kind of an international agreement where the public opinion couldn't get the public information it deserves.

In reaction to the netizens' protest, the Polish Minister of Administration and Digitalisation, Michal Boni [pl], asked [pl] the PM Donald Tusk to re-discuss the agreement before signing it. The meeting [pl] will take place on January 24.

ACTA has to be stopped

In the meantime the Polish Internet is fuming with anger. Facebook pages, such as Poland against ACTA & SOPA and NIE dla ACTA w Polsce, spring up like mushrooms and gather hundreds of thousands of netizens around the protest. On the wall of the Facebook event Nie dla ACTA, Rafal Mirski writes [pl]:

I am in favor of intellectual property protection but not with these methods! This is throwing the baby out with the bath water. You can't allow to subordinate the whole Internet to any group of interest. ACTA is forcing Internet providers to censorship! And it is in fact puzzling how fast, without any public debate, one tries to dictate some solutions. We definitely have to stop it!

Maciej Gajewski from Spiderweb doesn't like [pl] the perspective of being monitored all the time:

First of all: although I don't share anything illegal on the net, I don't feel comfortable knowing that somebody is registering my every step on the Internet. Even if it's an automatic machine. Secondly, these will cause huge costs for the providers. Our activity has to be monitored and archived. Let's prepare for a big raise of Internet prices.

Polish digital rights organisations sent an appeal [pdf, pl] to the PM, drawing his attention to the risks of ACTA. On Wykop, a Polish version of Digg, user katius posted a protest letter [pl] to the Members of the Parliament, encouraging other users to address their representatives with the issue. A series of live protest events [pl] in the biggest Polish cities are planned to take place.

A Polish blackout?

Encouraged by the SOPA/PIPA protest success in the United States, blogger Antyweb calls on his blog [pl] for a Polish blackout:

We have to arrange a specific date (pretty fast) and switch off in the Polish web whatever we can while displaying information about ACTA and about damaging democracy. We need to draw peoples' attention to the fact that this is not the way to take decisions in a modern democratic state. Americans could make it, Poles can do it as well - especially the “internet”-ones. What about Monday, [January 23]? But which of the Polish websites will give up money in the name of defending democracy and free Internet?

Also, the Polish Wikipedia community is considering a blackout [pl] and is in the process of editing an anti-ACTA manifest [pl].

Last hope: European Parliament's veto right

The whole situation looks a bit less dramatic once we consider that the Polish signature alone doesn't change anything yet. The agreement needs to be ratified by the European Parliament. Antyweb writes [pl]:

If we want to fight ACTA, then we need to do it on the European Parliament level - it is there where ACTA will have its “to be or not to be.” The EP can dismiss ACTA completely and then the bill lands in trash. Amen. But it doesn't change the fact that it is worthy to take action on January 26.

As promising as it sounds, isn't it quite dissapointing that instead of counting on one's own government to protect civil and digital rights of its citizens, one has to rely on the reason of EU politicians? Twitter user @PrzemoBrozek sums it up [pl]:

On January 26 Poland will sign ACTA. According to the agreement, Internet providers will have to monitor all users' activities. 1984 MODE ON.

Update:

On January 21, around 7 PM, Anonymous hackers have blocked access to the websites of the Sejm, the lower Chamber of the Polish Parliament, the Chancellery of the PM, the President, and the Ministry of Culture. At the time of writing this article, the websites are still offline.

Poland: Martial Law 30 Years On

Vilhelm Konnander — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:12:47 +0000

Polandian writes about the 30th anniversary of the introduction of martial law in Poland 1981, and argues that repression became a positive trigger for the popular movement against communist rule.

Poland: Prosecutor Suicide Attempt

Vilhelm Konnander — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:22:34 +0000

Michael Dembinski of W-wa Jeziorki tries but fails to understand a suicide attempt by a military prosecutor involved in investigations of the 2010 Smolensk aircrash killing Poland's president Lech Kaczynski, and causing a plethora of conspiracy theories.

COP17: Young Trackers Share Final Thoughts on Climate Change Talks

Andrea Arzaba — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:24:04 +0000

Adopt a Negotiator Project trackers updated their blogs daily during the two weeks of climate change talks at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP17, held from November 28 to December 9, 2011, in South Africa. Trackers followed negotiations from their regional perspectives, writing in languages like Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, French, Polish and English.

One of the major results of the conference was the second commitment of the Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding international treaty to reduce green house emissions. However, the commitment was weak, as major polluters like Canada, US, Japan, Russia, Australia and New Zealand refused to sign into this second period.

Climate activists and organizations of civil society were disappointed about the outcomes of the conference, especially because countries agreed to a new legal instrument that will replace the Kyoto Protocol by 2020, when urgent action is needed.

Here are were some of the most relevant conclusions written by the trackers:

South Africa tracker Alex Lenferna reports on the final events in the post “An Interim Disappointment at COP 17″:

I should be on a bus home now; instead I’m sitting in the ICC waiting for the proverbial white smoke to emerge as ministers try to bring COP17 to a close. Last night was supposed to be the closing night for COP 17, but there has been much disagreement among the global community around some very problematic texts that are being discussed around long-term cooperative action and the Kyoto Protocol…

Farrukh Zaman, following Pakistan, writes in “Decisions at COP17: Delayed or Derailed?”:

So while the delay has happened at COP17, let’s hope the negotiations don’t get derailed by postponing them till next year. But just one thing of caution, even though time has and is running out, we don’t need haste decisions; rather we want fair, ambitious and balanced package out of Durban. If that can’t happen here, then COP bis can be our last resort.

France tracker Sébastien Duyck in “Endless conference towards an agreement on never ending negotiations” concludes:

Regarding negotiations for a comprehensive agreement that would include legally binding targets for emissions reduction, the Presidency proposes yet another extension of the discussions. This approach convinces few among the observers still in the conference venue. It appears that we keep relaying on the same solutions (creating a new ad-hoc working group…), despite the fact that they have already been tested repeatedly in the past and have not delivered any successful outcome since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.

Daily Trackers meeting - COP17, Durban. Photo by Andrea Arzaba

In “Do białego rana. Noc kobiet” (”Until dawn. Women's Night”), Milosz Hordun, Poland's tracker, says:

Ta noc należy do kobiet. Po pierwsze jest Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, przewodnicząca obradom. Zdecydowanie zmęczona ostatnimi dwoma tygodniami. Stara się skutecznie prowadzić strony do celu, udowadniając że afrykański COP może być skuteczny i przełomowy. Często jednak się gubi w procedurach, musi prosić o wsparcie sekretariatu. Jest Conni Hedegaard, unijna komisarz. Także na jej twarzy maluje się zmęczenie. Widać, że trudno jest jej znosić ogromną presję psychiczną, związaną z rozbratem między oczekiwaniami wielu Europejczyków oraz środowisk ekologicznych na całym świecie a możliwościami negocjacyjnymi.

This night is a women's night. First of all, there is Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who chairs the session. She is definitively tired from the last two weeks. She does her best to lead the two sides towards a common goal, proving that the African COP may be successful and become a turning point. However, she gets lost in the proceedings quite often; she has to ask the secretary for help. There is also Connie Hedegaard - European Commissioner [for Climate Action]. Though tiredness is written all over her face, too. You can see how difficult it is for her to handle this enormous pressure as there is a gap between what many Europeans and environmentalist through the globe hope for and negotiating possibilities.

Priti Rajagopalan, from India, summarized the conference's accomplishments in the post “COP17-This is what happened“:

5.18am, International Convention Center, Durban

The verdict is out. What was accomplished at Durban.

1) Something called the Durban railtrack or trackroad ..oh, wait…platform.
2) Empty second commitment period
3) Empty green climate fund
4) Sleepy people most of whom had left by the time the final verdict was given.
5) How manipulative, apparently transparent democratic , multilateral process works.
6) People are looking for CBDR and Bali. If someone finds it, please return it.
7) Unclear mitigation target.
8) Massive failure of a peaceful kind.

To read other final posts of trackers following the United States, Mexico, Australia, China, Canada and New Zealand, among many others, visit Adopt a Negotiator Project webpage.

Andrea Arzaba participated in COP17 as a Young Tracker for Mexico [es].

Thanks to Krzysztof Pawliszak for translating Milosz Hordun's quote.

CEE: “Spotted by Locals”

Veronica Khokhlova — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 01:08:32 +0000

Spotted by Locals: Experience cities like a local features a few dozen locations, including CEE cities of Belgrade, Bucharest, Budapest, Krakow, Ljubljana, Prague, Riga, Sofia, Tallinn, Vilnius, Warsaw, and Zagreb. A random sample post from Zagreb, Croatia: Hrelić Flea Market – The Aleph of Zagreb; from Bucharest, Romania: The Haunted House – Armenian Neighbourhood; from Sofia, Bulgaria: Nissim – A True Old-School Bookstore.

CEE: A “Safe House” and an Igloo

Veronica Khokhlova — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:01:48 +0000

Polandian writes about the so-called “Safe House” near Warsaw, Poland. On Cold United, Bolot of eYakutiaposts a video tutorial on how to build an igloo.