Global Voices » Belgium

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.

African Soldiers on the Champs Elysees on Bastille Day

Mialy Andriamananjara — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:20:35 +0000

RTL Info writes about France's invitation to former colonies to parade on the Champs Elysees on July 14, Bastille Day.

“Des détachements de treize pays africains (Bénin, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, République centrafricaine, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritanie, Niger, Sénégal, Tchad et Togo) défileront aux côtés de l'armée française sur les Champs Elysées. En Belgique, la participation de militaires congolais au défilé de la Fête nationale, le 21 juillet, un moment envisagée, a été annulée à la suite du tollé déclenché par une déclaration faite en mars par le ministre de la Défense, Pieter De Crem.”

“Thirteen african countries (Bénin, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, République centrafricaine, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritanie, Niger, Sénégal, Tchad et Togo) will parade beside the French army on the Champs Elysees. In Belgium, participation of Congolese soldiers at the national day parade, July 21, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Congo's independence, has been cancelled after the vehement protests following the declaration in March of the Belgian Minister of Defence, Pieter De Crem.”

Hubert Falco, secretary of state for veteran affairs, explains :

« Le président de la République a invité nos partenaires africains à ouvrir le défilé », a-t-il déclaré mardi au musée de l’Armée, à l’hôtel des Invalides de Paris. Il inaugurait un cycle d’hommage aux anciens combattants africains intitulé « Force Noire - Tirailleurs 2010 » qui comprendra, outre le défilé, la publication d’un manuel scolaire sur ce thème et des expositions.

« La présence de détachements des forces armées africaines sur les Champs-Élysées, leur défilé devant leurs aînés, anciens combattants de l'armée française, sera une image forte de cette année 2010 », a avancé Hubert Falco. « Pendant cent ans, depuis la création des premiers corps de Tirailleurs sénégalais par Napoléon III en 1857 jusqu'aux années 1960, ils ont servi la France avec loyauté, courage, abnégation », a-t-il ajouté.

La « Force noire » était le surnom donné aux troupes coloniales par le général Charles Mangin. Ces troupes étaient également appelées Tirailleurs sénégalais, bien qu’également originaires de plusieurs pays, aujourd'hui la Mauritanie, le Mali, la Guinée, la Côte-d'Ivoire, le Niger, le Burkina Faso ou encore, entre autres, le Bénin et le Tchad.

“The President has invited our African partners to open the parade.” he announced tuesday at the Museum of the Army, at the Invalides of Paris. He opened a cycle of hommage to former African soldiers entitled “Black Forces - Tirailleurs 2010″, which comprises, the parade, but also publication of a school textbook on the theme and other exhibits. ”The presence of African armies on the Champs Elysees, them parading before their elders, veterans of the French army, will be a strong image of the year 2010″ Hubert Falco supposes. During 100 years, since the creation of the Tirailleurs senegalais by Napoleon III in 1857 until the 1960s, they have served France with loyalty, courage, abnegation”, he added. The “Black Force” was the nickname given to colonial troops by the general Charles Mangin. These troops were also called Tirailleurs senegalais, even though they came from many countries, nowadays called Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Niger, Burkina Faso, and among others, Benin and Tchad.

Out of 14 countries to which invitations were issued, only Cote d'Ivoire declined, as reported on Afrik.com :

“Les Forces armées nationales de Côte d’Ivoire ne prendront pas part au défilé militaire prévu le 14 juillet à Paris, avec la participation des troupes des anciennes colonies africaines de la France, lit-on sur Abidjan.net. “Le président Gbagbo a tranché, nos troupes ne participeront pas au défilé du 14 juillet. Elles ont d’autres occupations au moment où la Côte d’Ivoire est en guerre”, a expliqué samedi l’ambassadeur de Côte d’Ivoire à Paris, Pierre Aimé Kipré. Il a également rappelé les contentieux qui opposent les deux pays depuis le début de la rébellion, en septembre 2002, notamment la destruction en 2004 de la flotte aérienne ivoirienne par les forces françaises et la mort en 2005 de plusieurs citoyens ivoiriens fauchés par des balles françaises.”

The Ivorian army will not participate in the military parade organized on July 14 in Paris, with the participation of other former African colonies of France, one reads on Abidjan.net. President Gbagbo has decided, our troups will not participate in the parade of July 14. They are otherwise occuped at this time when Cote d'Ivoire is at war”, has explained Pierre Aime Kipre, ambassador of Cote d'Ivore in Paris. He has also reminded the contentious issues opposing the two countries since the beginning of the rebellion, in september 2002, notably destruction in 2004 of the Ivoirian Air force fleet by French forces, and numerous Ivorian citizens' death in 2005 under French bullets.

On Jeune Afrique, Deb comments:

“Mais pourquoi meme défilé en france.. on dit le cinquantenaire d´independance des pays africains et non de l'europe..franchement .Comme si apres 50 ans l´afrique n´est pas capable de feter son anniversaire seule sans impliquations exterieurs.. la CI ny participeras pas, oui j'en suis fiere…”

But why even parade in France… One says this is the Fiftieth anniversaries of African countries, not European ones… Frankly… As if after 50 years Africa is unable to celebrate her anniversary alone, without external interference. Cote d'Ivoire will not take part in this parade and I am proud of it…

For others, this African Bastille Day reflects the ambiguity, the impasse of French politics towards Africa.

On lemonde.fr, one reads:

“que fête-t-on ? A l'évidence, le bilan de ce demi-siècle d'indépendance pour les peuples concernés n'est glorieux ni pour la France ni pour les Etats africains. Rend-on hommage aux sacrifices des tirailleurs coloniaux des deux guerres mondiales ? Pas de quoi pavoiser non plus, puisqu'il a fallu la récente décision du Conseil constitutionnel pour que le principe de l'égalité des pensions des anciens soldats africains et français soit enfin reconnue. Quant au défilé sous l'Arc de triomphe d'armées africaines dont certaines ont participé récemment à de sanglantes répressions, il apparaît pour le moins ambigu.”

What is one celebrating? Evidently the results of this half-century of independence for involved people is not glorious for France, nor for the African states. Does one honor the sacrifices of colonial soldiers under the two world wars? Nothing to be proud of either, because the recent decision of the Constitutionnal Council was sorely needed for the recognition of the principle of equality between retirement benefits for African veterans and French veterans. And seeing African armies parade, under the Arc de Triomphe, some of whom have recently participated in bloody repressions is at the very least ambiguous.

The ambiguity is a common theme reprised across African bloggers.

Joachim Vokouma on lefaso.net:

“A vrai dire, de nombreux Africains s’interrogent sur le sens de la participation des troupes africaines au défilé du 14 juillet. Faut-il rappeler les horreurs, les massacres et les assassinats qui ont jalonné l’occupation coloniale ? Que célèbre t-on ?

La fin du mépris, des humiliations et du paternalisme ? Une Humanité enfin réconciliée ? Que le cinquantenaire des indépendances soit l’occasion, pour ceux dont l’humanité avait été mise entre parenthèse durant l’esclavage et la colonisation, de faire le point sur ce qu’ils ont fait de leur liberté recouvrée est sans doute plus que nécessaire.”

Many Africans wonder about the opportunity of African troops participating at the July 14 parade. Must one recall the horrors, massacres, murders that punctuated colonial occupation? What is one celebrating? The end of contempt, humiliations and paternalism? A finally reconciled Humanity? May the fiftieth anniversary of independances be the opportunity, for those whose humanity was put in between parenthesis during slavery and colonization, to deliberate on what they have done on their recovered freedom.

Image found at www.ldh-toulon.net/spip.php?article297

Mampouya, a Congolese blogger:

“Ce 14 juillet donc, les naïfs spectateurs français s’apprêtent à applaudir ce qu’il faut bien appeler des milices d’Etat (en tout cas au moins pour le Congo Brazzaville) sous couvert d’armées nationales. Prudent, le gouvernement français a pris grand soin d’éviter que les organes de presse “hostiles” rencontrent les membres des détachements militaires invités. Il y aurait-il des choses à cacher ?”

This July 15, the unsuspecting French onlookers are getting ready to applaud what one must call state militias (at least for Congo Brazzaville) masquerading as national armies. The French government has carefully avoided inviting “hostile” media organizations, and they will not meet with military guests. Are they hiding anything?

Joachim Vouakoma again on watching armies with sinister acts parading on the Champs Elysees :

« Verra t-on défiler toutes les armées y compris celles qui ont commis des massacres ? », interroge une journaliste allemande.

Allusion aux massacres de 150 civils commis par l’armée guinéenne fin septembre dernier dans le stade de Conakry. Jacques Toubon qui est tout sauf un néophyte en affaires « françafricaines », feint pourtant l’ignorance, botte en touche et renvoie la question à son auteur : « Pourriez-vous me dire quelles sont les armées qui ont massacré ou qui massacrent ? ». Il finira par révéler que de toute façon, ayant pris son indépendance en 1958 après son refus du référendum de la même année, la Guinée ne faisait pas partie des invités. Au Niger, où un coup d’état a mis fin à la dérive autoritaire de Mamadou Tandja, Paris espère que des élections seront organisées d’ici juillet. Quant au président malgache, c’est en catimini que Jacques Toubon l’a rencontré à Paris et son cas est pour le moins embarrassant.

Will we see armies parading including those who committed massacres, asks a German journalist. Reference to the massacres of 150 civilians committed by the Guinean army end september in the Conakry stadium. Jacques Toubon is all but a newbie in Francafrican business, and feigns ignorance, asks the question back “Can you tell me which armies have massacred or are massacring”. He ends up revealing that after getting its independence in 1958 after having rejected the referendum the same year, Guinea will not be part of the guests. In Niger, where a coup d'etat ended the authoritarian drift of Mamadou Tandja, Paris hopes that elections will be organized by July. As for the Malagasy President, Jacques Toubon met with him in secret in Paris, and his case is at the very least embarrassing.

Alain Rajaonarivony, a Malagasy blogger :

Une quarantaine de militaires de la Grande Ile qui doivent défiler pour le 14 juillet sont depuis hier à Paris. 36 officiers malgaches ont été décorés pour «service rendu à la France». 8 militaires français ont reçu en retour des distinctions, on ne sait trop pourquoi. Roindefo Monja a profité de son séjour hexagonal pour déposer une gerbe au monument des soldats malgaches morts pour la France, au Bois de Vincennes. Et le ministre de l’Education est en train de détricoter complètement les réformes de Marc Ravalomanana pour s’aligner sur le système français. On revient aux trimestres au lieu des bimestres, et au Lycée, on aura désormais les filières S (scientifiques) et L (littéraires) comme en France. Quand on vous dit que tout va bien… !

About forty soldiers of the Great Island who will parade on July 14 have arrived in Paris yesterday. 36 Malagasy officers have been decorated for “rendered services to France”. 8 French soldiers have received in return mentions, one does not really know why. Roindefo Monja (Note of the author : former Prime Minister) has taken advantage of his stay in France to place flowers at the monument of Malagasy soldiers fallen for France, at the Bois de Vincennes. And the minister of Education is busily dismantling Marc Ravalomanana's reform to align the Malagasy educational system with the French one. We are back to trimesters, no more semesters, and we will have now S (Scientific) and L (Literary) high school diploma fields. When I told you everything is all right…

Others wonder why Black African countries are the only one parading:

sans revenir sur les détails du débat, la question à laquelle la France et ses partisans africains ne peuvent pas répondre, c’est de savoir pourquoi c’est l’Afrique Noire seule qui est invitée à cette cérémonie et non pas le Maroc, la Tunisie, l’Algérie, le Vietnam pour ne citer que certaines anciennes colonies françaises?
Cette cérémonie ne commémore pas notre indépendance mais bel et bien notre dépendance. C’est simplement insultant pour les peuples Africains.

Without rehashing the details of this debate, the question that France and her African partners cannot answer is why is it that only black African countries were invited to this ceremony and not Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Vietnam among the former French colonies? This ceremony is not to commemorate our independence but actually our dependence. This is just plainly insulting for African people.

Senegalese historian Fadel Dia on his blog:

:

“le minimum serait d’exiger que la France fasse auparavant ce qu’elle n’a pas fait en 1960 : solder ses comptes à l’endroit de ses anciens combattants d’Afrique, qui l’avaient servie et s’étaient sacrifiés pour elle. Les soldats que Paris se propose d’inviter en 2010 sont les héritiers de ces combattants oubliés dont ils doivent porter les revendications et auxquels la France peut rendre justice, définitivement et solennellement, pour boucler un demi-siècle d’occasions manquées.

…

Si les soldats africains doivent défiler à Paris le 14 juillet 2010, alors que ce soit plutôt les éclopés et les survivants de 39-45, d’Indochine et d’Algérie, pour étaler aux yeux des Français leurs illusions perdues et leur détresse de serviteurs mal récompensés. Il est temps, enfin, que la dette du sang que leur doit la France cesse d’être un « contentieux », pour devenir le « gage d’une histoire commune », que les Tirailleurs Sénégalais ne soient plus, comme le craignait Senghor, des « morts gratuits », que les Français réalisent qu’il ne s’agit pas ici seulement « d’un devoir de mémoire » mais « d’un devoir d’histoire et de vérité » selon le mot du député socialiste Alain Rousset.”

The minimum would be to demand from France that she does what she did not do in 1960 : to settle her accounts towards the African veterans, who have served her and sacrificed themselves. Veterans that Paris invites in 2010 are the heirs of the forgotten veterans whose demands they should endorse, and to whom France can render justice, definitively and solemnly, to bring an end to this half century of missed opportunities. If African soldiers must parade in Paris on July 14 2010, it must be as survivors and war wounded of 39-45, of Indochina and Algerian wars, to showcase to the French their lost illusions and their distress of ill rewarded services. It is time, at last, that the blood debt owed by France ceases to be a “contentious point”, to become “a token of common history”, that the Tirailleurs Senegalais will not be, as Senghor feared, “gratuitous dead”, that the French realize that this is not only a “duty of memory”, but also “a duty of history and truth”, as told by the socialist parlementarian Alain Rousset.

Macedonia, Belgium: Endangered Democracy

Filip Stojanovski — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:59:16 +0000

Macedonia in EU blog commented [MKD] on the article by Brussels-based journalist Tanja Milevska published in the Belgian [FRA] and Macedonian [MKD] press, advocating that with Belgian Presidency, the European Union must take active steps - primarily providing a date for the start of the EU membership negotiations - to counter the rise of eurosceptic nationalism and fear in Macedonia.

D.R. of Congo: The Murder of Human Rights Activist Floribert Chebeya

João Miguel D. de A. Lima — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:21:45 +0000

The year of 2010 is turning into quite an eventful one for Africa and not only because it's the first time an African country hosts a Football World Cup. Throughout the year, six francophone countries are expected to hold presidential elections and as many as 17 countries are celebrating 50 years of independence: 14 are former French colonies, two were ruled by the British and one country is a former Belgian colony, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). But the celebrations in the DRC in June 30 are taking an uncertain path as the murder of human rights activist Floribert Chebeya is raising more than a few concerns.

The leader of the human rights organization La Voie des Sans Voix (The Voice of the Voiceless), Chebeya was found dead on June 2 under suspicious circumstances. According to Amnesty International, on June 1, Chebeya had been asked to pay a visit to Congo's Inspector General of Police, General John Numbi. He sent a text message to his wife stating that he was at the police office, waiting to meet the chief. Hours later, he sent another message to say he would make a quick stop at the University before going home, and that was his last message. On the following day, passers-by saw his body in the backseat of his car in a suburb of Kinshasa. Some of his clothes were removed and there were traces of female hair and used condoms found inside the car. His driver had disappeared and there were no signs of visible wounds or bullet holes, although there was blood inside his orifices.

For the past 3 weeks, Chebeya's death served as a catalyst to expose the D.R. of Congo's internal situation. The investigation of his murder is giving more weight to the ongoing denunciation of killings, rapes and other violations of human rights, most of them motivated by the conflict over the country's mineral wealth, which also occurs in other French-speaking African countries.

Chebeya's family wanted to arrange the funeral exactly for June 30th 2010 as a sign of protest, but due to pressure from the government and diplomats, the family later agreed to change [fr] the date for June 26.

A human rights activist since the early 1990's, Chebeya was honoured by international organizations and by display of protests worldwide. In June 8, an open letter signed by more than 50 international organizations was addressed to President Joseph Kabila, urging him and his administration to set forth an independent investigation of Chebeya's murder. The Congolese diaspora in Brussels organized a manifestation in front of the DRC embassy [fr]:

Video of the Manifestation for Chebeya in Brussels

Authors of the blog Friends of Congo published a timeline in June 24 with the latest events surrounding the case and declared:

We are outraged by the loss of Floribert Chebeya, a champion for human rights and justice in the Congo. Indications are that the repressive Kabila regime is increasingly extinguishing the voices of the people as the regime looks to maintain power by any means.

Last year, the organization Human Rights Watch published a video on youtube, very critical about the DRC's situation in the field:

Democracy in Congo, by Human Rights Watch

In February of 2010, Amnesty International published an article about persecution, threats and illegal detention of human rights activists in the DRC, which mentioned Floribert Chebeya, who had been a victim of threats, illegal arrest and detention before.

For the Congolese diaspora in Brussels, June 30, 2010 is a day of protest. Since March 2010, groups have been organizing a rally to take place through the city's streets to reach the embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo with a massive protest. They are calling it “No Kabila Day” [fr], in a clear message against President Kabila and his administration. The mobilization now counts on the Congolese diaspora in Lausanne (Switzerland) and in London (UK) [fr] for similar events on the same day.

One of the leaders of the mobilization in Brussels states [fr] the goal of the protests in her blog:

Nous voulons protester contre le régime dictatorial, génocidaire, terroriste de Joseph Kabila et organiseront jusqu'à son départ, chaque 30 juin, jour anniversaire de l'Indépendance du Congo, un NO KABILA DAY pour rappeler à l'opinion publique mondiale la dangerosité que représente ce dictateur pour la Population Congolaise mais également pour les Populations d'Afrique Centrale et du Monde. Nous espérons rassembler plus d'un million de personnes à travers le monde.

We want to protest against the Joseph Kabila's regime of dictatorship, genocide and terrorism and we will organize every June 30, on the day of Congo's independence, a NO KABILA DAY until he leaves office, to remind the world public opinion of the danger this dictator poses to the Congolese population, the peoples of Central Africa and of the world. We expect to gather more than a million people throughout the world.

Blogger Jason Stearns of Congo Siasa posted in June 9:

So has this changed with Chebeya's murder? It's too early to tell, but it does come at a very sensitive time, just weeks before the anniversary celebrations and just before the IMF decision on Congolese debt. Also, it may open up a rift within Kabila's inner circle if John Numbi, the head of the police, is prosecuted for the murder.

In the midst of this web of connected events, and now just a few days before the 30th of June, the twitter user Kambale hopes Chebeya is not quickly forgotten by the Congolese and sends out his message:

Amazing that Congolese have forgotten Floribert Chebeya so quickly and are back watching the World Cup. Freedom is not given, it is taken!

Worldwide: Demonstrations for Palestine

Eman AbdElRahman — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 04:32:58 +0000

Roba from Jordan published pictures from different demonstrations world wide against Israel's last attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, in Holland, Greece, Egypt, United Kingdom, Lebanon, Pakistan, Malaysia, Sweden, France, Turkey, India, Italy, Canada, Spain, Belgium, United States, Bulgaria and Austria.

Reactions to the Greek Financial Crisis and the IMF from the Africansphere

Lova Rakotomalala — Sat, 15 May 2010 20:26:40 +0000

The challenges facing the Greek economy and the ensuing intervention from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help withstand further damages from the fall-out look familiar to many African bloggers. During previous crisis, the IMF was involved in proposing structural adjustments to struggling African economies, with various outcomes.
Reactions from African bloggers range from cautionary tales from past experiences to lessons that ought to be learned for their own regions.

Le petit nègre notices that Europe was reluctant to ask the IMF to step in during the Greek crisis. He is wondering why asking the IMF for help was such a hard decision for a European country when it seemed to be rather common event not so long ago in Africa. Here is why he thinks European countries are worried about an IMF prescription for Greece (fr):

Le twist dans le cas grec et que, comme on ne peux pas dévaluer l’Euro comme on a jadis dévalué le Franc CFA, les dirigeants européens se retrouvent contraints et forcés d’aider d’une manière ou d’une autre la Grèce

In the case of Greece, the isse is that there is a strong resistance to devalue the Euro currency as fast as it has been done before for the CFA (African Financial Community). Therefore, the European leaders find themselves cornered and forced to help Greece, one way or the other.

Similarly, Lambert Mbela also argues that given the level of the budget deficits in many European countries beside Greece, substantial devaluation should be considered for the Euro (fr):

Admettons quand même que les situations sont similaires : déficit budgétaire, endettement public, taux de chômage élevé, balance commerciale déficitaire, mauvaise gestion des finances publiques, avec comme cerise sur le gâteau, fricotage des données publiques !!!
Sérieux, si c’avait été le Mexique, l’Argentine ou le Burkina-Faso qui présentait de tels manquements, Monseigneur FMI préconiserait déjà une dévaluation « compétitive » et des programmes d’ajustement structurel afin de rétablir les finances publiques.

At least, let’s agree that the conditions are eerily similar: budget deficit, public debt, high unemployment, commercial balance in the red, bad management of public finances and top it all, tempered public data !!
Seriously, if this was Mexico, Argentina or Burkina-Faso, the mighty IMF would have already prescribed competitive devaluation and structural adjustment to help the public finances.

Éric Toussaint explains that the seemingly odd provision of IMF interventions according to regions might be a direct consequence of the fact that southern countries do not have much of a say in the decision process at the IMF (fr):

l’Afrique subsaharienne occupe une place égale à la France alors qu’elle compte 10 fois plus d’habitants. L’Afrique au Sud du Sahara ne dispose que de deux membres au sein du Conseil d’administration du FMI et ces deux membres doivent exprimer le point de vue de 48 pays [..] Vous imaginez la difficulté des 48 pays africains à se faire entendre si seuls 2 administrateurs les représentent.

Although the sub Saharan African region has 10 times the number of inhabitants of France, they have the same weight inside the IMF. The region has only two representatives on the IMF board of governors and they have to voice the opinion of 48 countries [..] One can imagine the difficulty of getting 48 countries heard when they only have 2 representatives.

Map of Vote at IMF by territory in 2006 by World Mapper CC-license

Musengeshi Katata at Forum Realisance investigates further into the reasons why the Greek crisis has gone unnoticed for so long (fr). Although the IMF recently published an optimistic report on the state of the ssAfrican region (fr), many are still skeptical because the emphasis was put on economic growth, leaving many issues still unspoken (fr).
Finally, Paul Bara at AfriqueRedaction is pessimistic about a sustainable solution to the global crisis(fr):

Notre modèle de croissance basé, sur la séquence : crédit - consommation - dette, est obsolète. En second lieu parce que les systèmes politiques et les gouvernements semblent incapables de jeter les bases d’un nouveau modèle de développement [..] Un Krach parait donc inévitable en 2010 puisque comme l’explique Kenneth Rogoff, la défaillance d’un état (ou de plusieurs) paraît inévitable : se posera alors de manière aiguë le problème d’un modèle de croissance totalement inadapté (crise systémique).

Our current growth model based on the following sequence: credit- consumption- debt is obsolete. It is not helped by political systems and governments that are seemingly incapable of posing the foundations of a new development model […] Therefore a crash in 2010 seems inevitable because, as Kenneth Rogoff explains, the failure of another state ( or several others), seems unavoidable: the problem of this systemic crisis of unfit growth model will soon become more acutely apparent.

Belgium: Comic Strip “Tintin in the Congo” Faces Ban Over Racism

Anna Gueye — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:40:05 +0000

Tintin in the Congo, the second of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé and featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero, faces ban over racism. On his blog Alain Mabanckou thinks that «Tintin must remain as a proof of the colonial spirit of the 30s» [fr].