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The Week that Was - Bolivian Blogs

While President Evo Morales is away participating in various international settings, developments back in Bolivia continue down the road of uncertainty and unpredictability. After attending the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Havana, Cuba, Morales took the podium at the United Nations General Assembly. Much of his content focused on the controversial policies related to the coca leaf. The speech was available online via a webcast on the UN website. Miguel Buitrago (MABB) was one Bolivian blogger who followed along and observed that Morales “was much less eloquent than Mesa” (his predecessor) and that at times it was difficult to follow his train of thought. Hugo Miranda of the Angel Caido (ES) blog saw it another way and came away impressed.

Evo Morales es Evo nomas en Estados Unidos o en el Chapare, y ayer lo demostro una vez mas que es un gran Lider que no le tiene miedo a nada, que dice lo que siente, que no necesita que le redacten los discursos, que no agacha la cabeza ante nadie, no se sere sincero nunca vi algun discurso de otro presidente boliviano en estas instancias, lo unico que me enteraba por la prensa es que solo intervinieron pidieron cosas, y mesuraron su discruso, y hablamos de Tipos preparados como Quiroga, Messa y Sanchez de Lozada.

Evo Morales is simply Evo, no matter in the United States or in the Chapare. Yesterday, he demonstrated that he is a great leader because he is not afraid of anyone, says what he feels, and does not need anyone to write his speeches. He doesn’t lower his head to anyone, even though I have not seen other (Bolivian) presidents’ speeches, but via the media I learned that they just asked for things and measured their words. I am referring to educated types such as Quiroga, Mesa and Sanchez de Lozada.

One of the biggest items in the news was the resignation of Andres Soliz Rada, the Minister of Hydrocarbons, who may be considered the father of Bolivia’s most recent nationalization. Officially, Soliz Rada resigned for personal/health reasons, but many, including some anonymous members of the MAS party indicated that he was acting on his own and may have acted a little too radical potentially chasing away potential investment. The acceptance of the resignation was made during a time when the Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera was acting President while Morales was abroad.

Jaime Humérez Seleme of Boliviscopio (ES) indicates that it was obvious the resignation was not due to any personal health reasons, but because he felt “deauthorized” by the Vice-President after the Ministerial Resolution, which excluded Petrobras (Bolivia’s largest investor in the Hydrocarbons field) from refining and commercializing in Bolivia, was “frozen.” The anonymous blogger who writes at Morir Antes Que Esclavos Vivir (ES) does not believe that Garcia Linera acted on his own and attempted to override any of Morales’ decisions, but rather it was a case that Bolivia does not want to lose out on any potential markets.

However, Miguel Centellas, a political science professor and blogger at Ciao!, wonders whether there might be an impending split between Morales and Garcia Linera. Some internal critics have blamed “blancoide mestizos” (individuals of whiter mixed-race) of obstructing the master plan. Some can speculate that this list includes Garcia Linera, who has a very short history with Morales. Centellas lists two scenarios that involve a radical split in the pair and could cause even more internal strife. Or as Centellas writes, “but, of course, I could be completely wrong.”

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Eastern Europe: Video documents homophobia on the rise

Sameer Padania · 12:30 · Eastern & Central Europe

lingua → zht · zhs

The latest twist in the long-running saga of anti-gay violence and state oppression took place yesterday in Moscow, as an appeals court upheld the earlier lower court ruling to ban Moscow's Gay Pride March in May 2006. The gay rights activists who brought the case will now attempt to challenge the rulling in the European Court of Human Rights, and they say they expect to win.

As GVO's Eastern and Central Europe Editor Veronica Khokhlova reported in May 2006, Moscow's Mayor, Yuri Luzhov, banned the Moscow Gay Pride march from taking place. The religious leaders of Moscow met - on the one issue they could agree - to back his decision and called for violence against anyone who tried to march - a call that was unfortunately heeded. The video below - apparently uploaded to YouTube from a Russian anarchist site - doesn't directly show the violence that took place, but does give a very immediate sense of the atmosphere in Moscow that day, and of who was involved:

Just as sites like YouTube can be used as a dissemination tool for less savoury content, they can also be used as a tool for solidarity and support, and potentially as evidence. In the case of anti-gay violence, users have tried to upload their own footage (as with the videos in this post), and, where first-hand footage is not available, they have uploaded clips from their local TV news (here's a clip from Serbian TV's coverage of the 2001 Gay Pride in Belgrade).

And that solidarity and support may well be needed. Human Rights First, a US-based organisation, released a report earlier this year citing an increase both in rhetoric and in hate-crimes of a homophobic or racist nature in Russia (PDF) over the past year. But it's not just Russia where this is a trend. Since the accession of 8 Eastern European countries to the EU in May 2004, the spotlight has come to rest increasingly on the rise in official, or state, homophobia across Eastern Europe.

The most high-profile manifestation of this is how governments handle Gay Pride marches - which are now held all over the world - in which lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT organisations march to commemorate LGBT rights, and to celebrate LGBT pride.

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Thailand: Situation on the street

Enda Nasution · 12:06 · East Asia

lingua → zht · zhs

Thailand under military rule day one looks like a regular day here albeit there were fewer people on the street.

Banks and schools are closed, and most of the offices too.

Internet and cellular connection are all fine. CNN and BBC broadcast were blocked until this afternoon, but then has been available since.

After trying to figure out what is really going on in Bangkok, I decided to look and see it for myself.

All malls and shopping are open. Siam Paragon the newest and biggest Bangkok malls looks normal. MBK the favorit shopping place for tourists is open, although they are closing sooner than usual, citing a possible curfew that might be enforced.

Public transportation are all normal, buses, taxis, motorcycle taxi, the subway and sky train station (Bangkok MRT) are all functioning as they suppose to with minimum sight of the military personnel's.

Jewie on his blog Lost in Translation posted Happy Military Coup mentioning how everyone seems to be happy.

The TV interviews with common people seem to contradict the expected situation of a military coup. Some on TV even said why the military had taken so long to react to Thaksin. Other seem pretty happy about the coup and they had been expecting it. On the streets, civilians are enjoying the holiday. Bringing food and water to the soldiers, photo taking session, flowers presented to soldiers. I have not seen any news report of anyone against the coup so far. It seems like it’s an all against Thaksin thing now.

Michelle on Brit in Bangkok calling this an Excellent News for Thailand:

Thaksin has been a HUGE problem to Thailand for well over a year now. A new election was coming up next month and Thaksin WOULD DEFINITELY have been re-elected because uneducated Thais in the mostly Northern provinces would vote for him. (Thaksin has given money to many of the poor for years, technically buying votes).

And Metroblogging Bangkok citing poll result how people feels about this coup:

According to a popular public opinion poll, the Dusit Poll [figures not exact as I couldn't here correctly]

83% the people approved the “peaceful” coup as a way to calm the political situation in Thailand.
17% disapproved….

I continue my quest for tanks from Siam Area to Rachadamnoen Nok (Outer Avenue) that is the center of government administration.

Most Government departments, U.N. and ESCAP organizations as well as Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, the parliament house are also situated on this road

As I arrived, I saw that there were no blockade anymore. The people were crowding the tanks and Humvees, distributing roses and mostly trying to take pictures together with the military personnel's.

There were celebration atmosphere in the air, where everybody like take part of this special day.
Peter, wrote on this forum describe the Thai people reaction of this coup as cool detachment. Other than in the Rachadamnoen area, you can not tell that there is coup going on in the country.

The temporary government has promised that there will be a civil government in 2 weeks period and has come up with new general election date to be held in October 2007
Tomorrow (hopefully) will just be a regular day.

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Ted Turner on the U.N.: Spoke but didn't listen

Rebecca MacKinnon · 11:24 · United Nations

Turner

On Tuesday afternoon in New York, Georgia Popplewell, Alice Backer, Kamla Bhatt and I did our best to ask questions on behalf of the world's blogosphere at the Reuters “Newsmaker” conversation with Ted Turner, who gave $1 billion to set up the U.N. Foundation ten years ago.

The bloggers participating in the conversation - on their own blogs as well as live in the IRC chat - were generally disillusioned and skeptical about the U.N.'s ability to solve the world's problems. Many were concerned that Turner is wasting his money on needless bureaucracy and a dysfunctional organization whose governance structure is an increasingly illegitimate Cold-War era holdover. But Turner was adamant that his money is well spent.

It's worth noting that when Reuters host Paul Holmes said we would take questions from bloggers, Turner rolled his eyes.

Is the Mouth of the South more interested in talking than listening?

How interested is he, really, in listening to the voices of people who are on the receiving end of the U.N. projects and missions he helps to fund - and in taking their criticisms seriously?

In the IRC chat, Neha Viswanathan asked Turner who he represents: “Where does he gather his agenda from? Who does he identify with - America or the third world?” Turner responded that he represents “humanity.” There was much applause. But does he really listen when many members of that “humanity” want to tell him what they think of his efforts?

Our impression from this one encounter was that that Turner isn't really a listener. He wants CNN to report more international news, but if the voices of the people he aims to help are not sufficiently grateful, he did not seem inclined to adjust his views or plans.

Before the event began, Global Voices' new Sub-Saharan Africa editor Ndesanjo Macha set the tone with lyrics from the Fela Kuti song, “Beasts of No Nation,” in a post titled Dis-United United Nations. Ndesanjo writes: “Will they listen? Perhaps as they did in Rwanda! And now in Darfur. And many more other places. You know what I mean.”

Iraqi blogger Salam Adil wrote a post titled: “UN - What's the point? A message to Ted.”
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Thailand: Coup Update

Preetam Rai · 05:31 · East Asia

Thailand Sep 19 Coup
Picture from HelloonEarth2006

It was a holiday today in Thailand after the military ousted Prime Minister Thaksin's government last night while he was away in in New York. There are no reports of violence and people are venturing out in the streets.

Stickman has pictures from Bangkok this morning and describes the situation on the ground

The atmosphere was not really what I had expected. While tanks and armed soldiers are never the most comforting sight, they seemed to be relaxed, and no-one seemed to be too tense. For sure, it did not seem like they were on high alert or anything like that. Soldiers wandered around casually, chatting to each other, and many had the famous Thai grin from ear to ear.

The coup seem to be enjoying the support of Thai people

A lot of the soldiers were given flowers by the onlookers, many also offered cold drinks. Without exception, everyone seemed to be in favour of the coup. Many people wore yellow, showing support for The King and all of the soldiers wore a yellow ribbon, not only on their person, but on their guns. All military vehicles and tanks also had a yellow ribbon - signifying their loyalty to The King.

There are more pictures at 2Bangkok.com)

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Africa: Reactions to Pope's remarks

Ndesanjo Macha · 02:03 · Sub-Saharan Africa

A speech by Pope Benedict XVI in Germany last week has received mixed reactions in the African blogosphere. The speech has generally provoked outrage in the Muslim world. The Pope quoted Byzantine Emperor Manuel II saying,
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

Kenyan Entrepreneur writes in defense of Islam and reminds us of violence against the African people by the West during the colonial period:

Islam is not a violent religion. Individuals have used Islam to pursue their own violent agenda's. The same thing has happened with christianity. The Europeans used Christianity to colonize Africa. They stole our land, killed us and turned us into indentured servants, all in the name of “Jesus”. If you don't believe me, just ask Cholomdeley how his “ancestors” acquired all that land in Laikipia. [Note: Laikipia is a district in Central Kenya]

Naijaman wonders why the remarks by the Pope have become such an important agenda for the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf:

The president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf has gone to the UN to request a ban on the “defamation of Islam”! Next the president of India will be calling for a ban on the “defamation of hinduism”! How sad that the quotes of the pope in far away Germany has become the most important “agenda” on the mind of the President of Pakistan, an illegitimate coup plotter who should be more worried about the pervasive poverty, illiteracy and joblessness in his country. Here is a man presiding over a country that presently harbours arguably the most wanted terrorist of all time, here is a man who presides over a nation that is fast becoming a top exporter of “home-grown terrorists”, here is a man who should be more worried of the growing insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan thnaks to the Taleban, yet here is a man who is more worried about those who “defame Islam”.

In another post, Naijaman sees the violence that has resulted from Pope's remarks as a clear indication that terrorism is not a reaction to injustices in places such as Palestine:

Now they have simply revealed what we knew all along, that terrorism was not really about “palestinian injustice and deepseated wounds” but about a covert attempt to conquer the world for Islam!

It is easy to cite “injustice” as excuses for attacks against the west but how true is this? Are these really altruistic motives? The recent threat from al-qaeda to conquer Rome and hoist the flag of Islam over Europe is clear sign that the fight is not really about Palestine, injustice or US policy but about a crusade to conquer the world for Islam. Why is France under threat? What excuse have the terrorists to attack Rome, Italy, Germany and other European nations? Was India a participant in the palestinian injustice? What about Java and Spain? Did they also partake in bombing Lebanon?

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