Global Voices » Belgium

Germany: #Blockupy Protests Against Pan-European Austerity

Sara Moreira — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:16:32 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis

‘Blockupy‘ protests against “the widespread impoverishment and denial of democratic rights occurring in the Eurozone as part of a global systemic crisis” shook the financial epicenter of Europe - Frankfurt - last week.

Following the global action days on 12 and 15 May, 2012, (12M and 15M), activists from across Europe were called to converge in Frankfurt in an international solidarity demonstration. The ultimate goal was to blockade the European Central Bank (ECB) and other crucial global capitalism institutions. On May 4, however, the Frankfurt Municipal Department for Public Order announced that all actions planned were deemed illegal, except for a rally on Saturday, May 19.

Occupy Frankfurt in front of ECB. Photo shared by Roarmag.org (copyleft).

Still, thousands of activists decided to take a stand against the ban and claim the constitutional right “of unarmed assembly, without either prior registration or permission”.

While international mainstream media didn't give much attention to the events, online social networks buzzed with citizen reports on the mobilizations that occurred under massive police presence and repression.

On Twitter many videos and photos were shared under the hashtag #Blockupy. Netizens and collectives from different countries, such as Occupy Brussels and Belgium, livestreamed the protests, marches and assemblies, as well as the cultural program and diverse debates on labor, ecology, economy among others.

“Demonstrate for the right to demonstrate”

Blockupy started on the same day that newly elected French President Hollande met Chancellor Merkel [fr] in Berlin, May 16. Meanwhile in Frankfurt, the police complied with the order of eviction of the seven month long Occupy Frankfurt settlement around the Euro sign near the ECB headquarters. The blog Critical Legal Thinking, which had a comprehensive coverage of the four days of protest, described the city as “effectively in [undeclared] State of Exception“.

Police intercept three Berlin buses on the way to #Frankfurt. Photo by @Blockupy on Twitter.

On May 17, a bank holiday, as mainstream media directed the spotlight to the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble - who was awarded the Charlemagne Prize for his major role in the definition of the austerity policies mostly imposed on the periphery European countries - buses filled with activists from different cities heading to the anti-austerity demonstration in the center of Frankfurt, were stopped from entering the city and escorted back by the police.

Despite the attempts of intimidation, around 2,000 activists managed, at least for a few hours, to occupy the historic Roemerberg square where the city hall is based, and which represents the birth of democracy in Germany.

Blockupy protesters take action against banking and finance system. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Stoesser, copyright Demotix (May 17, 2012).

The square was soon surrounded by the riot police:

Protesters sit down and lock arms in opposition to police presence. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Soesser, copyright Demotix (May 17, 2012).

At the end of the day riot police evicted the square with violence, as different photo reporters [de] illustrated:

A protester is detained by police. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Stoesser, copyright Demotix (May 17, 2012).

The detention of at least 400 protesters of different nationalities triggered solidarity protests in different cities across Europe:

Embassy of Germany in Rome - Protest against repression and arrests in Frankfurt during the protests against the crisis. Signs against the Rome-Berlin axis, the ECB and Merkel. Photo by Simona Granati, copyright Demotix (May 18, 2012).

A video report by Finnish user of YouTube sydansalama1, with interviews subtitled in English, sums up the events of the day:

The staff of banks were told by their employees to take the day off or work from home to avoid having to come into the city on Friday, May 18 - the day when the blockade to the financial district was expected to take place. However, as Jerome Ross from Roar Magazine wrote the night before, “Frankfurt [is] on lock-down as over 5,000 police [are] deployed in an unprecedented operation to keep protesters out of the city and away from the banks”:

as the activists here prepare to physically block the headquarters of the European Central Bank, the police already seems to have done the job for them.

"I block! You too?" Photo by ateneinrivolta on Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0).

That day, international mainstream media reported on Goldman Sachs being hired by the Spanish government to evaluate banking conglomerate Bankia, taken over by the state earlier in May, and also about rumors of a referendum in Greece to ballot the membership in the Eurozone. In Frankfurt, while banners read messages of support to the European southern countries (such as “We are all Greeks“), the city remained “affected by massive police presence, identity checks and road blocks“.

When the legal day for protesting finally arrived, May 19, around 20,000 protesters (according to the police, or more than 25,000 according to the organization) rallied the city center.

Blockupy Demonstration in Frankfurt. A large banner held up by protesters reads: 'International resistance against the Austerity Imposed by the Troika and Governments.'. Photo by Michele Lapini copyright Demotix (May 19, 2012).

Blockupy Frankfurt: More than 20,000 against financial crisis politics. International participants in the demonstration. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Stoesser copyright Demotix (May 19, 2012).

Blockupy demo (May 19, 2012). Photo by strassenstriche.net on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).

John Halloway, writing for the Guardian, described Blockupy as “a glimmer of hope in times of austerity“, and argued that it would bring momentum to “explosions of creative anger that will follow”. International policy analyst Vinay Gupta, finalizes:

Those people in the streets rioting, the protesting classes, are fighting not for internal political change within their own countries, but (whether they know it or not) for a re-arrangement of the political balance of an entire continent.

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

Belgium: Video Shows Campaign to Curb Texting and Driving

Juliana Rincón Parra — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:43:43 +0000

The Impossible texting and driving test is part of a campaign to raise awareness to the dangers of texting using mobile devices while driving in Belgium. Several young people doing their behind the wheel driving test were surprised to know there was a new test section requiring them to text while driving. The dashboard cam tells the story of how these young people faced this new part of the test.

France: The Presidential Election Through Foreign Eyes

Jenny Sin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:27:47 +0000

While the French are preparing to choose a president in the upcoming weeks, French voters overseas and the foreign online media have reacted as the first round poll came to an end. Some peculiarities of the French electoral process, such as the ban on posting polling estimations in the media before 8 pm on election day, were intensely debated.

Drawing of Petar Pismestrovic in Austria shared by @alissabernathy on Twitter

Ban on tweeting election results before 8pm, even abroad?

In France, Law No. 77-808 of July 17, 1977 on the publication and dissemination of opinion polls [fr] prohibits the broadcast of the first estimates, before 8pm. With the ubiquitous rise of publications online, this ruling quickly became problematic to implement. Tefy Andriamanana, from Madagascar, summarizes the complexity and challenges of applying this law [fr].

As lawyer and famed French blogger Master Eolas explains on his blog, this method should also apply to the publication by French surveys in the foreign media [fr]:

Notons qu’ainsi rédigée, la loi interdit de faire un rappel de l’évolution des intentions de vote des candidats après vingt heures mais avant minuit le jour du scrutin, même une fois les bureaux de vote fermés et les estimations proclamées. C’est une pure maladresse de rédaction, mais la loi est la loi, je fais confiance au parquet pour être ferme (..) Les article 113 du Code pénal posent les règles d’application de la loi pénale française dans l’espace (pas au sens de “Des cochons dans l’espace”, mais dans le sens de sa territorialité). Ces règles sont les suivantes : la loi pénale française s’applique à toute personne se trouvant sur le territoire français, quelle que soit sa nationalité. Une infraction est réputée commise en France dès lors qu’un de ses éléments constitutifs est commis en France. On assimile au territoire française les bateaux battant pavillon français et les aéronefs immatriculés en France (article 113-4). Quand les faits sont commis à l’étranger, la loi française peut leur être applicable, à certaines conditions. Sans rentrer dans les détails, qui feront les tortures des étudiants de L2 de droit, la loi pénale française s’applique à l’étranger quand l’auteur est français, ET, condition cumulative, que les faits constituent un crime…

Note that written as it is, the law prohibits an overview of the evolution of the candidates' voting intentions after 8pm, but before midnight on polling day, even after the polls are closed and the estimates are proclaimed. This is pure awkwardness of writing, but the law is the law, and I trust the prosecutor to be firm (..)Article 113 of the Penal Code [fr] sets forth the implementing rules of French criminal law in the area (not in the sense of “Pigs in Space” [fr], but in the sense of its territoriality). These rules are: French criminal law applies to any person on French territory, whatever their nationality. An offense is considered to be committed in France as long as one of its constituent elements is committed in France (Article 113-4 [fr]). When the acts are committed abroad, French law can be applicable to them, under certain conditions. Without going into details, which will torture L2 law students, French criminal law applies abroad when the author is French, AND, cumulative condition, when the acts constitute a crime…

Many French abroad are surprised at this law and ask what would constitute a violation of this law. Paul asks [fr]:

créer un compte twitter qui vous envoie automatiquement les résultats (en avant-première) en DM n’est donc pas délictueux, puisqu’on reste dans la communication privée ?

Should the creation of a Twitter account, that automatically sends you the results (advance access) in DM, constitute a crime since it remains in private communication?

Joe poses the following hypothesis [fr]:

..Un agent provocateur Bordure, depuis son ordinateur de Szohôd (donc en Bordurie) décide de poster à 18h30 les premières estimations qu’il aura entendues à la radio Syldave sur un forum public, par exemple dans les réactions du blog d’un célèbre avocat blogueur Français…

L’agent Bordure ne risque rien (si j’ai bien compris la démonstration du Maître), mais est-ce que le responsable Français du forum peut être inquiété ?

An agent provocateur from Borduria (ed's note: made up country), since his Szohôd computer (thus in Borduria) decides to post, at 6:30pm, the first estimates that he will have heard on the Syldave radio on a public forum, for example in the reactions of the blog of a famous French lawyer blogger…The Bordurian agent does not risk anything (if I fully-understood the Master's demonstration), but is it the head of the French forum who may be worried?

Campaign Poster by JC Benoist on Wikimedia CC License -3.0-BY

Foreign internet users find that French law is rigid and outdated. Trésor Kibungala, a native of DR Congo blogs on North Africa [fr]:

Seulement voilà, depuis 1977, les choses ont changé. Les nouveaux médias sont arrivés et cette loi paraît inadaptée à la nouvelle donne. Déjà, les pays voisins de l’Hexagone ne se priveront pas de rendre public les résultats de la présidentielle française avant la messe de 20 heures. RTBF par exemple a déjà annoncé qu’elle dévoilera les résultats du scrutin à 18 heures 30 (..) Sur les réseaux sociaux, pas sûr non plus que les twittos obtempèrent. Certains ont commencé à mettre en place le dispositif Radio Londres. Une chose est sûre : on va bien rigoler ce dimanche sur twitter, facebook et autres. Mais, chut !@Tresor_k ne tweetera pas non plus les résultats avant 20 heures ! Rendez-vous sur les ondes de #RadioLondres.

The only problem is that, since 1977, things have changed. The new media have arrived and this law seems inadequate to the new circumstances. Already, the neighbouring countries of the Hexagon do not shy away from publicizing the French presidential elections results before the 8 o'clock mass. RTBF, for example, has already announced it will disclose the poll results at 6:30pm (..) On social networks, it is uncertain whether the Twittos will obey. Some have begun to set up the Radio Londres system [fr]. One thing is certain: we will have a good laugh this Sunday on Twitter, Facebook, and other websites. But, hush! @Tresor_k [fr] will not tweet the results before 8pm! Visit #RadioLondres.

Thus, Radio Londres, is the common thread on Twitter to comment on the elections in coded language without the risk of breaking the law. Radio Londres refers to a few minutes of daily program broadcast [fr] on British radio, BBC, to the first resistance fighters who had fled the German occupation entitled “The French Speaking to the French” [fr]. The meanings of the coded messages used during the resistance [fr] can be found on doctsf.com, including the famous “Wound my heart with a monotonous languor,” which announced the landing.

International issues in the French elections

Foreign media watch the the elections in France with great interest and respond to the 1977 Act. Jean-François Munster in Belgium does not understand [fr] why we still have this measure, he says:

Une loi complètement obsolète à l’heure d’internet et des réseaux sociaux et qui profite aux médias étrangers, dont Le Soir, qui diffusent les premières estimations sur leur site internet dès qu’elles sont disponibles – à partir de 18h45 – alors que les médias français doivent rester muets. (..) Les médias (français) respecteront la loi. Cela ne les empêche pas de dire tout le mal qu’ils en pensent. « Cette loi est ubuesque sur le fond, dénonce Thierry Thuillier. Aujourd’hui, une information produite est une information diffusée. Il faudra impérativement la dépoussiérer ».

A completely archaic law in today's internet and social network era, and benefits foreign media, including Le Soir, which broadcasts the first estimates on their website as soon as they become available - from 6:45pm - while the French media must remain silent. (..) The (French) media will obey the law. This does not prevent them from saying all the bad things that they associate with it. “This legislation is ludicrous on its merits, denounces Thierry Thuillier. Today, generated information is disseminated information. It will be essential to bring it up to date.”

However, it could be that foreign media are prosecuted for any distribution that violates French law. Boris Mahenti reports that [fr]:

La Commission de contrôle va plus loin et menace de poursuivre les médias belges et suisses qui diffuseront les résultats de la présidentielle dès 18 heures. “Si une information est diffusée sur le territoire français, alors le média tombe sous le coup de la loi française. Les médias belges et suisses sont susceptibles de poursuites.”

The Audit Board goes further and threatens to sue the Belgian and Swiss media that will disseminate the presidential elections results as early as 6pm. “If information is circulated in French territory, then the media is punishable under French law. Belgian and Swiss media are subject to prosecution.”

Presidential campaign in Antananarivo by the French Legislative from Abroad on Facebook

The African continent did not dwell on the controversy of the dissemination of poll results prior to 8pm, rather, it focuses on the election results' long term consequences for the continent. In Kenya, Global Voices translator [fr] Laila, is excited to be able to vote in Nairobi, Kenya:

@hardcorekancil: Bureau de vote de Nairobi: A 10h30, plus de 100 électeurs avaient déjà voté. Le bureau est ouvert de 8h à 18h. #présidentielle2012

@hardcorekancil [fr]: Nairobi's polling station: At 10:30, more than 100 voters had already voted. The office is open from 8AM to 6pm. #présidentielle2012

In Madagascar, the candidates' campaigns were going door to door. Legislative French from Abroad's Facebook profile says [fr]:

La démarche du porte à porte est inédite à Madagascar. Nous avons suivi une équipe en campagne vers Ivato puis à Tsaralalana. L’accueil est réceptif. Les franco-malgaches sont d’abord surpris puis ravis que l’on s’intéresse à eux et que l’on prenne le soin de venir chez eux pour leur parler et les inviter à une réunion de quartier..

The door to door approach is unheard of in Madagascar. We followed a campaign team to Ivato, then to Tsaralalana. The host is responsive. The Franco-Malagasy are surprised at first, then delighted that we are interested in them and that we take the time to come to their homes to talk to them and to invite them to a neighborhood meeting..

In Ivory Coast, Théodore Kouadio takes the pulse of Franco-Ivorian voters. He reports some voters' voting intentions [fr]:

« Moi, j’ai l’habitude de voter socialiste, car ce sont eux qui sont sensible à la cause des minorités en France. Mais surtout à la situation des noirs. Mais je vais voter Sarkozy », explique Cissé Mamadou, un sexagénaire. Pour lui, c’est sa manière à lui de merci à Nicolas Sarkozy pour son implication dans la résolution dans la crise post-électorale en Côte d’Ivoire, qui a fait 3000 morts officiellement. Noel Koffi, installé dans la zone depuis 2 ans, mais de nationalité française est du même avis. Pour lui, ce serait une bonne chose que le Nicolas puisse rester au pouvoir pour accompagner les autorités ivoiriennes dans la reconstruction et dans le processus de réconciliation nationale.Dan Emmanuel, lui est alarmiste. Il pense qu’une défaite de Nicolas Sarkozy au soir du 7 Mai va être catastrophique pour le gouvernement ivoirien en place.

“I'm used to voting socialist because they are sensitive to the cause of the minorities in France. But especially to the situation of the black community. But I am going to vote for Sarkozy,” said Cissé Mamadou, a man in his sixties. For him, it is his way of saying thank you to Nicolas Sarkozy for his involvement in the resolution in the post-election violence in Ivory Coast, which resulted in an official death toll of 3,000. Noel Koffi, who has been living in the area for two years, but of French nationality, agrees. For him, it would be good if Nicolas could remain in power to accompany the Ivorian authorities in the reconstruction and process of national reconciliation. Dan Emmanuel is fearmongering. He thinks that a defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy on the evening of May 7th is going to be catastrophic for the Ivorian government in place.

Geostratégie publishes an interview with Charlotte Sawyer [fr] entitled “From France-Africa to France without Africa” and conversely she affirms:

L’Afrique a, surtout, appris une chose : qu’on ne pouvait plus faire confiance aux Français, devenus détrousseurs de grands chemins et grande compagnie. Enfin, à peu près tout ce qu’on voudra, sauf l’ami et le protecteur dont rêvaient encore certaines capitales africaines.(..) Demandez donc aux Maliens ce que vaut l’égide française ? Quant aux Ivoiriens, beaucoup se demandent ce que vous avez fichu dans leur capitale..

Africa has, above all, learned one thing: that we could no longer trust the French, who became highway robbers for large companies. Finally, they became almost anything you want, except the friend and protector that some African nations were hoping for (..) So ask Malians what's the use of being under the good grace of France ? As for the Ivorians, many wonder what were your mandate for intervention in their capital city..

Finally in Germany, Daniel Dagan gathers some funny German cartoons [de] on the French presidential elections.

European Commission's ‘Clash of Civilizations' Video Blunder

Jane Ellis — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:17:56 +0000

A video parodying the film Kill Bill and building on a “clash of civilizations” theme has been made by the European Commission (EC) to promote enlargement of the European Union to young adults. However, the video was pulled on March 6, 2012, after it made the rounds online and was subject to virulent accusations of racism.

The removal did not prevent the controversy from inflaming blogs and social networks. At the time of writing, the clip is still available for viewing on Daily Motion [fr] and YouTube:

News website 24heures.ch [fr] described the scenario of the video in detail:

Une jeune femme blanche de peau dans une combinaison qui fait penser à celle d’Uma Turman dans le film Kill Bill de Tarantino, fait face à chaque adversaire mâle arrivant dans l’entrepôt où elle se trouve. L’un est visiblement originaire d’Asie, l’autre d’Inde et le dernier, du Brésil. L’Europe face aux puissances émergentes? Leur attitude est agressive quand la jeune femme ferme les yeux et se dédouble plusieurs fois pour former un cercle autour des combattants, tout à coup doux comme des agneaux.

La symbolique lourdingue du clip se termine par un slogan affirmant: «Plus nous serons nombreux, plus nous serons forts». Juste avant, le cercle de femmes vu d’en haut s’est transformé en un drapeau étoilé de l’UE.

A young Caucasian woman wearing a bright yellow outfit similar to that worn by Uma Thurman in the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill stands up to each male adversary who enters the warehouse she is in. One man is clearly of Oriental origin, another seems to be either Arabic or Indian, and the last appears to be a dreadlocked kickboxer. Is this supposed to represent Europe's opposing emerging powers? The body language of the men is aggressive until the young woman closes her eyes and multiplies herself several times, creating a circle around the fighters, who are all of a sudden docile as lambs.The clumsy symbolism of the video ends with a slogan declaring: “The more we are, the stronger we are”. Just before this statement, the circle of women viewed from above has transformed into the starred flag of the EU.

The website comments:

L’incroyable de cette histoire, c’est qu’il y a eu probablement plusieurs hauts-fonctionnaires bruxellois qui n’ont simplement rien vu d’offensant dans ces images. En ligne hier sur quelques sites d’information, ce clip-vidéo a été retiré en début d’après-midi et la campagne annulée.

The incredible thing about this story is that there have probably been several senior officials in Brussels who simply didn't see anything offensive in these images. This video was online yesterday on several news websites, but it was taken down early afternoon and the campaign cancelled.

The Facebook [fr] page of the Parti des Indigènes de la République quotes an article from Regards.fr [fr], the “anti-capitalist monthly”:

Ce stupéfiant petit film, bourré de stéréotypes racistes et essentialistes a été pensé, réalisé puis mis en ligne le vendredi 2 mars par les communicants de la délégation générale de l’élargissement de l’Union européenne de la Commission de Bruxelles. Face au tollé soulevé, il en a été retiré le mardi suivant, 6 mars. Le temps de faire un petit buzz sur Internet mais sans que la presse, en tout cas française, n’en fasse vraiment ses choux gras.

This astounding little film, full of racist stereotypes and clichéd characters, was conceived, created, then put online, on Friday 2 March, by representatives of the EC general delegation for the Enlargement of the European Union. Faced with growing public indignation, it was taken down the following Tuesday 6 March. Time enough to create a little buzz on the Internet but without the press, in any case, the French press, really making the most of it.

At the other end of the political spectrum the interpretation is different. Jean-Patrick Grumberg, for dreuz.info [fr] states:

Je trouve cette vidéo mensongère, mais pas raciste. Mensongère car je ne vois pas ce que l’Europe fait pour se protéger de l’invasion islamiste, mais je vois, au contraire, ce qu’elle fait pour la favoriser. Je ne vois pas ce que l’Europe fait pour se protéger contre l’immigration d’Africains, mais je vois ce qu’elle fait pour la favoriser, et je ne vois pas en quoi la Chine, que les dirigeants Européens ne cessent d’appeler au secours pour renflouer leurs caisses, représente un danger.

I find this video dishonest, but not racist. Dishonest because I do not see what Europe is doing to protect itself from the Islamic invasion. On the contrary, I see what Europe is doing to encourage it. I do not see what Europe is doing to guard against African immigration, but I see what it is doing to encourage it, and I do not see in what way China, who European leaders incessantly call on for help to bail themselves out, represents a danger.

A still from the offending European Commission video

On Twitter reactions have been varied and often impassioned:

@LauraLardy: L'UE fait la promotion de la guerre des civilisations et du racisme…

@LauraLardy: The EU is promoting a war of civilizations and racism….

@sergiomarx: La video de la Commission est-elle vraiment raciste ? Ou est-ce que le racisme ne serait pas plutôt dans l'oeil du spectateur ?

@sergiomarx: Is the video by the European Commission actually racist? Or could the racism instead be in the eye of the beholder?

Could this affair become a textbook example for EC trainees? The blog Décrypter la communication européenne [fr] explains the key points of this “conflict of interpretation” while listing the press articles covering this story:

Le communiqué officiel signé par le Directeur général de la DG Élargissement justifie la diffusion de la vidéo en expliquant que la cible a laquelle la vidéo était destinée avait réagi positivement lors des tests de pré-lancement :
“C’était un clip viral, ciblant à travers les réseaux sociaux, un public jeune (16-24) qui comprend l’intrigue et les thèmes des films d’arts martiaux et de jeux vidéo. Les réactions de ces publics ciblés ont en effet été positives, tout comme celles des focus groupes sur lesquels le concept avait été testé.“

The official communication signed by the Directorate General for Enlargement justifies the distribution of the video while explaining that the target audience of this video had reacted positively during pre-launch test screenings:
“It was a viral clip targeting, through social networks and new media, a young audience (16-24) who understand the plots and themes of martial arts films and video games. The reactions of these target audiences to the clip have in fact been positive, as had those of the focus groups on whom the concept had been tested.”

The conclusion of the blog agrees with the opinions of most Internet users [fr]:

Quoique la Commission européenne ait reconnu qu’il y avait un problème avec la vidéo controversée en choisissant de la retirer ; la divergence d’interprétation avec les médias sur la raison du retrait montre que la Commission reste sourde à l’accusation d’absence de clairvoyance quant à la potentielle lecture raciste de la vidéo.

The European Commission has acknowledged that there was a problem with this controversial video by choosing to take it down. However, the differing interpretations by the media on the reason for its withdrawal show that the Commission is turning a deaf ear to accusations of lack of foresight regarding the potential for a racist interpretation.

France: The Human Rights Film Festival Awards

Claire Ulrich — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:07:48 +0000

Youphil [fr] published the full list of the recent 2012 Human Rights Film Festival awards in France [fr]. This year, the jury award went to an investigation documentary, Affaire Chebeya: un meurtre d'Etat? [fr] (The Chebeya case: murdered by the State?) by Belgium director Thierry Michel on the murder of human rights activist Floribert Chebeya in 2010, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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].

Belgium, D. R. of Congo: Miss Belgium 2012 on Gay Marriage

Abdoulaye Bah — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:24:18 +0000

The website Congo LOL reports that “On twitter, the hastag #plusoumoins (#moreorless in english) has created quite a buzz (in DR of Congo). The reason ? The answer given by Miss Laura Beyne (Miss Belgium 2012) on a question on gay marriage. “I think they [homosexuals] are human beings (…) they can do “more or less” whatever they want. I am “more or less” in favor of gay marriage. ”

Eurozone Crisis: Where Will the Economy Go?

Evan Fleischer — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:27:59 +0000

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

Economists would be hard pressed to forecast the future of Europe's bailouts and the consequences of the current financial crisis. While opinions differ, reactions abound online to try to make sense of what future awaits for the Eurozone.

Where is the economy going? That question was put to Maria Karchilaki, a Greek journalist and the Foreign Desk Anchor/Correspondent for MEGA TV. She replied:

@karhilam: @efleischer I don't know, really. I'm not optimistic, though. This is an economic Katrina and we are still in the middle of it.

Euro coin. Image by Civitas (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

None of the region’s biggest banks pass a stress test. BNP Palibras has slashed its exposure to Italy and Greece, as has RBS, even though it is apparently awash with liquidity. Dexia, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole, and HSBC are seeking to cut their exposure.

France is planning to cut 20% of its budget deficit, Ireland is planning 12.4 billion in budget cuts and ECB (European Central Bank) interest rates are being kept at 1.25%.

On the micro level, people are not in a charitable mood, one retired truck driver in Greece went so far as to tell The New York Times:

[I am] impressed that the people have not yet stormed into Parliament and burned the politicians alive — like a souvlaki [type of kebab].

The question, “Where will the economy go over the next two months?” was put to the following reporters and Twitter users before the resignation of former Greek Prime Minister Papandreou and former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi.

Efthimia Efthimiou, a Greek journalist, writes:

@EfiEfthimiou: @efleischer … difficult to say right now. Things r changing from hour to hour …

Yannis Koutsomitis, another journalist, replied:

@YanniKouts @efleischer There is a strong possibility that political logic will prevail in Italy and Greece in the next few days. That could calm markets for a while. If political turmoil in these countries continues there's a real chance the euro zone crisis will climax with unpredictable outcomes.

Right now the outcomes are pointing in this direction: John Reed of The Financial Times writes that Italian tyre producer Pirelli has “drafted a contingency plan that factors in a 10 per cent drop in car sales and 20 per cent fall in truck sales globally. That would be a drop as big as that seen after Lehman Brothers’ collapse.” (Though that's emphasized as a worst-case scenario.)

Meanwhile, a WikiLeaks cable written in 2010 began to get to work on (if it's necessary) how one might go about declaring a ‘Eurozone Chapter 11‘.

Douglas Fraser at the BBC discusses what would happen if multiple defaults were in the cards:

If Greece, Portugal and Ireland hit that level of default, half of German banks' capital buffers are gone, a third of Belgium's and a quarter in France and the UK.

But there are indirect effects as inter-bank insurance and lending unravels, and that wipes out 100% of German banks' core tier 1 capital.

Belgium's left with only 7%, France with 25% and the UK with 50%. Britain would take a hit from Ireland in particular, but RBS and Lloyds Banking Group have already written down a lot of their exposure.

And what about adding Italy and Spain? The figures are eye-watering.

The direct effects would require governments to recapitalise German and French banks with 125% of their current core capital, meaning nationalisation.

…

But add in the indirect effects, and you find it would require 275% of German banks' core capital, 270% in Belgium, 225% in France and 130% in the UK.

At that point, Germany is only able (it would hope) to meet the bailout requirements of its own banks, while it is every other eurozone country for itself.

On another FT blog, Alan Beattie writes that:

[…] if the ECB can’t bring itself to bail out Italy direct (sovereign credit risk, no expertise in setting lending conditions) it could in theory, according to Article 23 of its protocol, lend vast amounts to the IMF

The IMF would then set about bailing out Italy (which Megan Greene sees as on the cards ('bail-in'), as does The Economist to a degree), which at the end of it all - amongst all this information - is better than nothing.

Reached by email, RTE's Paul Cunningham said, in answer to the question “Do you have any hope that the ECB might use its position as a central bank to encourage growth instead of austerity?”, that (posted with permission from the sender):

The new ECB President, with the interest rate cut, has illustrated that he's prepared to be pragmatic. There was a question if Mr Draghi might have felt the need
to prove his Germanic credentials by holding off a rate cut until December, on the basis that inflation was above 2%. . The fact that the cut happened at his first meeting
would suggest he is his own man. The debate as to whether or not there ever should have been a rate increase will rumble on for years.

On the wider issue of the ECB's role, it would appear that the President will continue to follow JCT in buying-up bonds in the secondary market, but not in the volume to
alleviate the crisis. There is nothing to suggest that Draghi is prepared to allow the institution become the Lender of Last Resort. In my view, this can only change when
Germany changes ie when the crisis develops to such an extent that the German taxpayer is faced with the ultimate crisis - if we stick to our principles on fiscal control,
the euro collapses.

It's often argued that when Europe is faced with a crisis, it needs to stand at the brink before the deal is done. This time it seems to need Germany to stand at the cliff edge
- if the euro goes, the DM will return, and - immediately - it's export led economy will be in danger. Who will buy their goods when the price has ballooned due to the DM?
Sooner rather than later, deeply-held principle is about to crash against the reality posed by the volatile bond markets.

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

Global: Interview on NATO's Evolution

Solana Larsen — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:00:43 +0000

We Magazine's Ulrike Reinhard interviews NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, Dr. Stefanie Babst on video about the “we” in their work, and how NATO has evolved over time as an organization - touching on globalization, gender equality, multi-national defense spending, political leadership and communication.

Syria: World Cities Rally Against and For Bashar

Thalia Rahme — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:23:19 +0000

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

As the death toll in Syria increases, the International Community is running out of patience and hardening its tone against Syrian president Bashar Al Assad demanding for change and reforms. Abroad the diaspora has also been involved actively since the beginning of the protests in March 2011. Almost all cities around the world have witnessed rallies and demonstrations, some asking Assad to leave, and others declaring their dying love for him.

From San Francisco (11 June, 2011) and Chicago (July 3), to Washington DC ( 23 July), the US capital, where people chanted: ‘‘Leave Leave Bashar” in front of the White House; almost all big cities in the US witnessed opposition gatherings manifesting their solidarity with the people of Daraa, Homs and Deir el Zor among others.

Here is video uploaded by AhmedIbnAlsham on August 6, where protesters where carrying a poster representing Hafez and Bashar Al Assad and written on it: ”Like father, like son”:

Assad also has his supporters in the US like in California (April 3). Chicago too, held another pro-regime rally on April 3 and June 10 while defenders of the regime met in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York (May 1) to assert their love to their leader.

Wave of rallies hit Latin America as well. On June 26, Syrians in Santiago, Chile, chanted “El Pueblo Quiere Bashar el Assad” or ”The People Want Bashar Al Assad”, as we can see in this footage by Zaizuni:

We move to Europe and start with London (June 18) where Syrians called Assad an assassin, to Brussels (July 23), the headquarters of the European Parliament, to Milano in Italy (12 and 17 July). There, potesters, it seems, are no longer satisfied with reforms or even the call for the toppling of the regime. They want to bring it to trial.

Here's a video by Hazem Daoudi, taken in Geneva on August 6, Switzerland, facing the UN Headquarters:

France which is home to a large Syrian community has been witnessing continuous demonstrations, like in Strasbourg on 2 and 16 July, and this two-week sit-in, facing Place du Châtelet in Paris. YouTube user Mesudh75, posts this video showing a peaceful protest in front of the Syrian consulate and the Syrian Cultural Center in Paris:

In Germany, people took to the streets in Leipzig (July 7), Berlin (July 23) and Bonn on August 6 and August 8, not to forget Munich where on that same day, where this video from HutaafElhurriyyeh shows Germans showing solidarity with Syrians and singing the Syrian National Anthem:

Close to Munich, in Vienna, Austria, another protest took place, where this footage was taken and posted by AhmadSouri during a demo on August 9, in front of the Syrian Embassy:

Anti-Bashar protests also took place in Ukraine (April 22) Romania (June 30), Russia (July 31) and Greece (August 2), calling for the end of fascism:

In Turkey, protesters gathered in front of the Iranian embassy in Istanbul on August 5, denouncing the Islamic Republic stance towards the protest. They were joined on August 7, by members of the Felicity or Saadet party in front of the Syrian Consulate as we can see in this video by khaled111h:

But Assad can also rely on his supporters in Europe, who consider him as the only guarantee for stability and security in Syria. The streets of Paris, France, witnessed severaldemonstrations on June 11 and July 3 , 4 11 and 12 .

Diaspora in Odessa, Ukraine, flew balloons with the Syrian flag on June 4 for Assad. Others marched on June 6 in Kazan City in Russia for the same reason.

Syrians in Armenia also portrayed their support to their president on March 2011:

Despite the turmoil and unrest in the Arab world, and its own inner revolution, its capitals were keen on showing their solidarity and compassion with the Syrians.

This is Tunis on August 6, in a video by wadoodfreesyrian where people were chanting:” Syria is Free! Bashar get out!”:

In Egypt on August 1, OmawiTV shows angry people following the Hama Massacre and calling for the expulsion of the Syrian Ambassador:

In Lebanon, the situation is a bit delicate due to the complex relation between both countries. Quite often, opponents and loyalists of the Damascus regime clashed and the army had to intervene to separate both parties. The latest rally in solidarity with the Syrian people was held on Monday, August 8 in Martyrs Square in Beirut. This was a gathering which was attended by a lot of intellectuals, journalists and activists among which we note the presence of prominent Lebanese composer and singer Marcel Khalife. You can check Mahmoud Ghazayel's photos of the event, on Facebook.

Participants were chanting “This a shout from Lebanon - Calling for Human Rights”:

Jordanians conducted Taraweeh, the nightly Ramadan prayers, on August 2 in front of the Syrian Embassy as we can see in this video taken directly from the scene of events by Basemaggad. Bassem recorded another video in August 8 too.

Similar rallies took places in the Gulf monarchies cities, like in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, on August 8, where we can hear people shouting “Syria is for us and not for the Assad Family”:

Here is another video from Jeddah at night on the same day by hama19822011:

In Kuwait (August 5 and 7) and Bahrain (August 5, 8 and 9, protesters are demanding the expulsion of Syrian Ambassador from both respective countries and the freezing of the bilateral ties with Damascus. Protests were attended by several political figures and members of both parliaments.

This video by daraahoran shows people in Kuwait in front of Syrian Embassy, calling for the overthrow of the Baath party.

Syrians and Bahrainis rallied in Manama on August 9, chanting“Daraa, we're with you, till death !”

We conclude our round up in the Australian continent, where seems the Assad opponents and partisans also voiced their support and vice versa.

In Auckland, New Zealand, approximately 200 people gathered in protest against the regime for killing innocent Syrian civilians on July 30.

Demonstrations were also held in Sydney, Australia, on August 2 against the regime:

In another demonstration in Sydney on April 3, protested to say that ”Bashar is the best president in the whole Middle East and the world there will be no one like him”.

Protests against the Syrian regime, are penciled in for London, Paris and Tunis tomorrow (August 13).

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

Thumbnail and featured image ‘Protest to support Syrian opposition at State Department - Berlin', by Thorsten Strasas, copyright Demotix (06/08/11).

Hollaback! Mobile Technology Against Street Harassment

Ernesto Priego — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:48:03 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

Hollaback! is a crowdsourced platform seeking to harness the power of mobile technologies to denounce street harassment. More than a tool or series of tools, Hollaback! is self-described as a “movement”:

Hollaback! is a movement dedicated to ending street harassment using mobile technology. Street harassment is one of the most pervasive forms of gender-based violence and one of the least legislated against. Comments from “You’d look good on me” to groping, flashing and assault are a daily, global reality for women and LGBTQ individuals. But it is rarely reported, and it’s culturally accepted as ‘the price you pay’ for being a woman or for being gay. At Hollaback!, we don’t buy it.

Based on the premise that “the explosion of mobile technology has given us an unprecedented opportunity to end street harassment,” the project is encouraging women around the world to use the tools available to them to share their stories and geo-locate incidents and reports.

Incorporating a smartphone “app”, YouTube videos, Google maps, a Facebook group, a Twitter account and a multi-blogging platform, Hollaback! is a call to arms that requires an active involvement from the participants, based on the clever and articulate use of web and mobile tools, but above all it is a campaign to change the cultural attitudes towards street harassment.

Hollaback! suggests several ways of getting involved. The project originated in the United States, with presence in several American cities, but local Hollaback! web sites have already been created by women in cities like London, Mumbai and Buenos Aires, and countries like the Czech Republic and France.

Hollaback! is a positive model of citizen journalism, where women with access to mobile technologies can end the silence and have their voices heard. Are you listening?

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

Europe: EU and Social Media

Veronica Khokhlova — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 02:11:09 +0000

Kosmopolito writes on the ways in which the “EU institutions [should] engage with bloggers” and on the need to have a bigger “euroblogosphere.”

D.R of Congo/Belgium: Gal draws Congo and Belgium

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:00:26 +0000

Africa is a country posts drawings about the relationship between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Belgium from the Belgian cartoonist GAL who turned 70 this year.

Francophonie: Like Fine Wine, Twitter Experience Gets Better With Age

Lova Rakotomalala — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:51:03 +0000

An unexpected but deliciously nostalgic hash tag, #jesuisvieux, has been trending on the French speaking social media scene. Since July 26th, twitter users have been going down memory lane, posting tweets relating their memories from youth with the hash tag #jesuisvieux ( I am old - men) or #jesuisvieille ( I am old - women). The timeline for the hashtag was filled with often humorous, sometimes sweet updates and provides a good snapshot of the evolution of information technology usage and its demographics.
It is unclear whether the article in the New York Times on July 15 entitled: “Aging Gracefully, the French Way” has anything to do with the twitter trend but aging is certainly on a lot of people's mind in the francophone world and they seemingly embrace it openly.
A few newspapers have collected and curated the best of them. Here is an article by Coline Bérard at L'Express.fr: “Twitter c'est pour les vieux”, (twitter is for old people in English) and Belgian newspaper Le Soir is currently posting and monitoring a live blogging session about the #Jesuisvieux hashtag on the Cover It Live platform.

Screenshot of the #Jesuistropvieux tag on Trendsmap.com

According to Hashtags.org, #jesuisvieux hash tag made up to 0.03% of tweets worldwide on July 27.
Here are a few tweets that have caught out attention:

From @JocelyneRobert in Montréal, Canada:

On ne brimait pas nos élans sexuels avec la menace des ITS mais avec la menace de l'enfer #jesuisvieille

We did not suppress our libido with the threat of STDs but with the the threat of hell #IamOld

Pierre Côté:

J'ai surfé sur le WWW en utilisant NETSCAPE #jesuisvieux

I surfed the web using Netscape

Anna Gueye from Senegal and La Hague, Holland:

#jesuisvieux il y avait des 1ères classes dans le métro #jesuisvieille

There were first class seats in the metro

slim404 in Tunisia:

Le 7 nov. 1987 j'étais content. Mon père m'a dit : “tu va pas à l'école aujourd'hui, on ne sait jamais” #jesuisvieux

On Nov 7 1987, my dad told me:” You are not going to class today, who knows what can happen.

@bravepatrie:

J'ai vu des ministres démissionner quand ils étaient mis en cause dans des affaires. #jesuisvieux

Ministers actually resigned when they were implicated in scandals

Necessepas:

J'ai été amoureuse d'Albator #jesuisvieille http://youtu.be/SpE9Yo9dmIo

I was in love with Captain Harlock http://youtu.be/SpE9Yo9dmIo

Boris:

Je me souviens avoir vu la comète de Halley #jesuisvieux

I remember seeing Halley's comet

sophiedurocher:

Dans ma jeunesse, il n'y avait pas Internet pour que des anonymes qui n'ont pas de vie déversent leur haine et leur mépris. #jesuisvieille

When I was young, There was no internet for no-life anonymous people to pour down their hatred and comtempt

Dugomo:

Voler des 33 tours, c'était quand même plus héroïque que télécharger #jesuisvieux

Stealing LP records took more guts than downloading songs

Kristalynm9:

J'ai déjà imprimer un travail de Cégep sur une imprimante a ruban de Commodore 64 a @tremblay96 #jesuisvieux

I did a print job for CEGEP on a Commodore 64 printer in @tremblay96

fastclemmy:

on est tous le vieux de quelqu'un #jesuisvieux

We all are someone else's elder

Finally Lionel suggests that one of the top contributors to the meme is Global Voices own's Anna Gueye:

lionelchollet:

L'une des toutes meilleures séries #jesuisvieux #jesuisvieille, au niveau mondial, est, sans conteste, celle d'@annagueye http://is.gd/dN00B

One of the best #jesuisvieux #jesuisvieille series worldwide is wihtout a doubt @AnnaGueye's

Egypt: Niqab ban in France stirs controversy

Marwa Rakha — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:33:07 +0000

In October 2009, the Niqab (or face cover) stirred a lot of controversy when the late Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi - head of Al Azhar and Egypt's Imam - asked a 13-year-old girl to uncover her face while he was inspecting an Azhar school in Cairo. He told her that the niqab is a tradition that has nothing to do with religion. Currently the lower house of the Spanish Parliament is debating a proposal to prohibit the wearing of body-covering burqas and face-covering niqabs in all public spaces in Spain, and the French parliament approved a ban on face veils.

According to AP:

France has Europe's largest Muslim population, estimated to be about 5 million of the country's 64 million people. While ordinary headscarves are common, only about 1,900 women in France are believed to wear face-covering veils. Champions of the bill say they oppress women.

In her interview with Broadsheet, the women’s issues blog on Salon, Mona ElTahawy explained why she supports the ban on niqab:

I support banning the burqa because I believe it equates piety with the disappearance of women. The closer you are to God, the less I see of you — and I find that idea extremely dangerous. It comes from an ideology that basically wants to hide women away. What really strikes me is that a lot of people say that they support a woman's right to choose to wear a burqa because it's her natural right.

On her blog, Mona ElTahawy linked to her appearance on BBC TV's Newsnight where she engaged in a heated argument with Syrian Professor and author of “The Quest for Meaning” Tariq Ramadan, and Nigel Farrage Member of Parliament representing the UK Independence Party.

Meanwhile, on his blog, Hassan El Helali hails the ban saying:

النقاب جريمة حضارية
الإنتقاب جريمة
ثاني دولة أوروبية تجرم ارتداءه

Niqab is a crime against civilization.
It is literally a crime.
This is the second European country the prohibits wearing it.

He elaborated saying:

مما يضع فرنسا على طريق أن تصير ثاني دولة أوروبية بعد بلجيكا تجعل ارتداء النقاب جريمة

This makes France the second country after Belgium that considers a face veil an offense.

He concluded his post saying:

أخيراً تعود أوروبا إلى رشدها وتعمل على إزالة القبح والدمامة والتخلف عن وجهها المشرق بالعلم والنور والحرية… يوما ما ستطبق هذه القوانين في بلادنا وتعود لنا الحضارة التي يحاول العراعير وأتباعهم المتعرعرين محوها وفرض عاداتهم وتقاليدهم الفاسدة البائدة علينا وإقناع أهلنا بأن حضارتنا هي حضارة الكفر والأوثان وإحلال “لاحضارة” الصحراء محلها باسم الدين… شراءً حيناً وإرهاباً أحياناً.

Finally Europe is coming back to its senses and it is cleaning its enlightened free face from the ugliness and backwardness that smeared it. One day those laws will be applied in our country [Egypt] and we will rescue our civilization from the fangs of the desert tribes who have imposed - by intimidation or by the power of their money -their obsolete customs and traditions on our people in the name of religion.

Joseph Mayton of Bikya Masr describes the ban as stupid:

There was a debate not too long ago in the southern part of the United States over whether a Muslim woman wearing the full-face covering, or Niqab, would be forced to remove the veil for a police officer. The case went to court and was eventually decided that if a male police officer needed to check the person’s identity they would call in a female officer to do the checking. Makes sense. It is one of the few times that the US has done something “tolerant” when it comes to Islam in the country.

So, when the French government banned the niqab, burka or whatever one wants to call the full-face covering that a tiny fraction of Muslim women across the world adorn themselves in, it is shocking that they would continue to argue it is a security risk. It simply is not. Whether we want to see women cover themselves in what liberal Islamic scholar Gamal al-Banna told me recently is an “archaic representation of a time before Islam” is another question, but when France argues the security card, they should be called out for their stupidity.

In his article, Joseph Mayton quoted Islamic scholar Gamal al-Banna who disagrees with Mona ElTahawy's stance:

Sure, there was a lot of support for the ban, from as strange of places as Muslim feminists, who argued that the ban would give women more freedom in their daily lives. It is almost hypocritical that anyone who professes to support human rights and the right to choose one’s own lifestyle to argue this, but it happened and continues today. Someone who upholds human rights and people’s right to choose, must accept that not everyone will choose “their way.” We must continue to argue against the niqab – as al-Banna says, “it is not an Islamic idea and has been incorporated by those who bastardize the faith” – but without being preachy. This is where the so-called feminists failed.

Mona ElTahawy argued her point further on the Tuesday’s edition of the Dave Ross Show and again on BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze

According to BBC's Radio 4's introduction:

France is the latest European country to talk of banning the burqa - the full Islamic face veil for women. Belgium has already voted for a ban and there's also been talk of similar laws in Holland and Spain. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe and polls there show overwhelming support for the proposal. It's estimated that around 1900 women in France wear the burqa and most do so because they want to …. For many this is also an issue of protecting women's rights; the burqa they argue, is a symbol of male oppression and as one French law maker is reported to have said, women who wear them must be liberated, even against their will.

Ahmed Zidan of Middle East Youth agrees with Mona ElTahawy and dismisses freedom of choice as grounds for wearing the niqab:

الحرية الفردية مكفولة طالما اقتصرت عادة أو سلوك على فرد أو مجموعة أفراد، ولكن إن خرجت هذه العادة من حيّز الفرد لتصبح ظاهرة عامة، كالنقاب، فيجدر بنا رصد هذه الظاهرة، وتعيين مداها، وتحجيمها وسنّ القوانين التي تحمي حرية الأفراد الآخرين، إن لزم الأمر، وهو الطريق التي سلكته آروپا مؤخرًا.

النقاب يساوي، من وجهة نظرنا الخاصة، حرية امرأة اختارت، بمحض إرادتها، أن تتّشح بالسّواد لأي سبب كان. أمّا التجرّد الكامل من الملابس، على النقيض، فهو قرار خاص بامرأة أخرى اختارت العُري.

الآن، ووفقًا لمبدأ الحرية الفردية، فمن الطبيعي أن يُكفل حرية الُعريّ إذا كُفلت حرية النقاب في المقابل. ولكن، إن كان الأول محظورًا حفاظًا على الآداب العامة، فمن الأولى حظر الآخر أيضًا حفاظًا على السلامة العامة.

Individual freedom is a given as long as it is a habit or a behavior adopted by an individual or a group of individuals; once it become a phenomenon like the niqab, lawmakers have to study it and assess its impact on the freedom of others. This is exactly what Europe is doing lately.
In our opinion niqab is a woman who freely chose to cover up in black for whatever reason. Nudity is the opposite extreme and that is also a choice of a woman who took her clothes off.

According to the above stated principle of individual freedom, if we approve of the freedom to cover up we also have to approve the freedom to undress, and if the later has been banned to preserve public morality then the former should be banned to ensure public security.

Elder of Zion raises another point when he quotes Ibrahim Hooper - a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations:

He says that the French vote is a thinly-disguised attempt to discriminate against all Muslims, not just those who wear the burqa.

“It's really a new type of law targeting a particular minority faith based on the prejudices of the majority. And my religious rights should not be dependent on a majority vote,” said Hooper.

Then he refutes Hooper's argument saying

Syria has banned the face-covering Islamic veil from the country's universities … Last January, an Egyptian court upheld a ban of the veil during university exams. And last year Al Azhar University's religious head banned the veil at all Al Azhar schools altogether.

It seems that Syria and Egypt are nervous about growing Islamic fundamentalism, as shown by a custom that is not legally sanctioned in Islam. In the words of another Al Azhar scholar, “”We all agree that niqab is not a religious requirement. Taliban forces women to wear the niqab. … The phenomena is spreading and it has to be confronted. The time has come.”

So France does not seem to be exhibiting any Islamophobia. French politicians are merely following in the footsteps of two nations whose very constitutions invoke Islam as the major source for their laws!

UNSETTLING SILENCE ON RENDING THE MUSLIM VEIL, makes ElTahawy acknowledge that

Cultural integration has failed, or not taken place, in many European countries, but women shouldn’t pay the price for it.

Still, she urges Europe's liberals and Muslims to justify their silence:

Europe’s liberals must ask themselves why they have been silent. It is clear that Europe’s political right — other countries have similar bans in the works — does not care about Muslim women or their rights.

But Muslims must ask themselves the same question: Why the silence as some of our women fade into black, either as a form of identity politics or out of acquiescence to Salafism?

Once again, Zidan of Middle East Youth lists eightreasons why the niqab should be banned. They are as follows:

أولًا، إن المنتقبة هي كيان بلا هوية من الأساس. وإذا كان الوجه هو الوسيط الأول الذي يمنح الغرباء، الذين نقابلهم بالمئات كل يوم في الشارع والعمل والكلية، بعض من الراحة النفسية والطمأنينة، فإن المنتقبة، على النقيض، تبعث على الهلع والريبة، كون المنتقبة لا تختلف كثيرًا عن خيمة سوداء كبيرة متحركة بلا معالم. إن كافة مهارات الاتصال تشوّه تمامًا عن المنقبات، والتي تأتي تعبيرات الوجه، “Facial Expressions”، واتصال العيون، “Eye Contact”، على رأس قائمتها. هل فكرت مرة في مدى بشاعة أن ترى الناس من خلف ستار أسود بينما لا أحد يراك؟

First of all, a woman covering her face is a woman denying her identity; a face is the first thing that inspires comfort and confidence when meeting strangers and by hiding its expressions and withholding from eye contact, a woman wearing the niqab inspires nothing but fear and distrust.

Second:

ثانيًا، من حق الفرد العادي في الشارع أن يتعرّف على هيئة الماشية بجانبه، ومن حق الممتحن أن يتأكد من هوية الطالبة، وشرطي المرور من هوية السائقة، والمريض من هوية الممرّضة.

Every individual has the right to identify whoever he gets in contact with; an examiner, a police officer, a patient - they all have the rights to know your identity.

Third:

ثالثًا، إن النقاب من شأنه أن يخلق تمييزًا واضحًا بين المسلمة وغير المسلمة، وهو زي يحضّ على الطائفية والمذهبية، وهو ما لا نتمناه على الإطلاق، خاصةً في ظل ما نسعى إليه من معالجة هذا العصب المتطرّف الذي يميّز على أساس الدين في منطقتنا ذات الأغلبية المسلمة.

Wearing the niqab will only fuel the sectarian fire; it is a form of discrimination between a Muslim and a non-Muslim woman.

Fourth:

رابعًا، إن المواطن الذي يتعامل مع دواوين الحكومة الرسمية له الحق الكامل في التعرّف على هوية الشخص المفوّض من قبل الحكومة للتعامل معه. إذن، فمن غير المنطقيّ أن تُعيّن موظفة منتقبة في جهة حكومية، فهذا بالإضافة لكونه اعتداءًا صارخًا على حق المواطن في التعرّف على من يتعامل معه باسم الحكومة، فهو ينقض دور الدولة الذي يجب أن تلعبه في عدم التمييز، بل وحظر عدم التمييز في الدواوين الحكوميّة، والحفاظ على مبادئ المواطنة. كي يكتسب هذا الفرد ثقة تسمح بالسير قدمًا في بداية التعامل مع الحكومة، سواء كان محليًا أو أجنبيًا.

Any citizen dealing with a government employee in any of the governmental offices has the right to see the face of the official serving him. It is against common sense to hire a woman wearing a niqab in a governmental position where she has to interact with the public.

Fifth:

خامسًا، إن النقاب وسيلة لقهر المرأة، وكثير من المتشددين الإسلاميين يفرضوه قهرًا على زوجاتهم وأقرابائهم. وهو ما يضع المرأة الشرقية بين ناريّ ما هي مُجبرة عليه وبين ما تريده حقًا. أو الأوقع، بين عروض أزياء جوتشي الذي تشاهده، وتتطلّع إليه، على موقع يوتيوب، وبين واقعها المضني. وهذا تمامًا ما جعل آروپا تفكر في فرض عقوبات رادعة على الرجال الذين تسول لهم أنفسهم في فرض النقاب على زوجاتهم.

Niqab is against women's rights; many fundamentalists and extremists coerce their wives and female kins to wear it as a form of oppression. This places our women between a rock and a hard place - what she is forced to do and what she really desires.

Sixth:

سادسًا، إن الفكرة الدينية البائدة القائلة بتغطية المرأة لأنها عورة وفتنة، إلى آخر هذه الأساطير، هي غير مقبولة بالمرة، بل ويجدر بالمثقفين والمتنورين، بمساعدة المنابر الإعلامية التقليدية أو مواقع الإعلام الجديد، أن يحاولوا محي هذه الخرافات من عقول الأغلبية المغلوبة على أمرها التي تسيطر عليها فضائيات عذاب القبر. وقد نُشر في الشهر قبل الماضي تقريرًا مثيرًا حول صحافية فرنسية ارتدت النقاب لمدة خمسة أيام في شوارع پاريس، حيث نقلت تجربتها بالكامل للموقع الإخباري. تقول إليزابيث ألكسندر، وهي صحافية تعمل لصالح جريدة ماري كلير الفرنسية، “شعرت أني قنبلة جنسية.” وقد دوّنت ملاحظاتها حول النقاب في التقرير، ومنها، كون النقاب رداءًا غير عمليّ، وهو يدفع للانغلاق والاكتئاب، ويجعل المرأة أكثر حساسية تجاه جسدها، بل يفصلها عنه تمامًا، ويُفقدها الثقة في نفسها أو قدراتها، ويعزلها تمامًا عن العالم بالخارج.

The archaic religious notion that claims that a woman's body is the root of all evil and seduction, and that it should be covered up is totally unacceptable. Enlightened cultured individuals should utilize mainstream media and new media tools to erase such urban legends from the minds of those who are currently hypnotized by the words of the doom and gloom preachers.

Seventh:

سابعًا، لا حرية لأعداء الحرية، هذه مقولة كلاسيكية تنطبق تمامًا على قضية النقاب، أي أن الحرية مكفولة للجميع، إلا الذين قد يستخدمون هذه الحرية للانقلاب عليها في أقرب فرصة، كالإسلاميين، كونهم المثال الأشهر عالميًا. بالإضافة إلى أن تطبيق مبادئ الحريات الفرديّة، والمشار لها في الفقرة الثانية من هذا المقال، علي أرض الواقع مسألة مختلفة تمامًا، وتتضمن حسابات لا علاقة لها بالحرية من قريب أو بعيد. وما أقصده إنه لحظة ما ترتبط قضية حقوق الإنسان بالنسبية الأخلاقيّة والثقافيّة داخل مجتمع ما، تعاني فيه فئة من ازدواجيّة ما، تتحول حقوق الإنسان لباب خلفيّ يسمح بمرور أفكار وممارسات مناهضة تمامًا للمبدأ الذي سمح بإحتوائها بداية.”

No freedom for the enemy of freedom - this is a classic saying that applies to the case of the niqab. We are all entitled to freedom of choice except those who use it to control the free choices of others; Islamists are the most famous example. They turn individual freedom into a double edged weapon and use it to fight the basic principles of human rights.

Eighth:

ثامنًا، نحن نرفض النقاب لأنه يشوّه الكيان الإنساني.

We totally reject the niqab because it disfigures humanity and the dignity of the human being.

Though supporting the ban, ElTahawy shouts foul play:

But what really disturbs me about the European context is that the ban is driven almost solely by xenophobic right wingers who I know very well don't give a toss about women's rights. What they're doing is they're hijacking an issue that they know is very emotive and very easy to sell to Europeans who are scared about immigration, Europeans who are scared about the economy, Europeans who don't understand people who look and sound different than them. They've taken advantage of this and done it very well. I'm very disappointed with the left wing and liberals in Europe for not speaking up and saying, the burqa ban has everything to do with women's rights. We are fighting against an ideology that does not believe in women's rights, and we will not allow the right wing to hijack this issue for their own purposes.