Archive for
February 7th, 2007
Stories
Press freedom watchdogs slam Maldives
Major international press freedom watchdogs have recently slammed the Maldives for the Indian Ocean country’s bad record in press freedom.
Reporters without Borders (RSF) has criticized the Maldives for violations of press freedom in its 2007 annual report.
Information Minister, Mohamed Nasheed, who in May 2006 met members of an international mission of which Reporters Without Borders was a member, said the broadcast sector would shortly be liberalised and that laws to protect press freedom would be adopted before the end of the year. Unfortunately, the end of the state monopoly on radio and television has been postponed and the government had a draconian law on defamation adopted by decree. As a result, 38 requests made to the authorities to set up privately-owned radio and television stations have gone unanswered.
The government headed by the immovable Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has been in power since 1978, has therefore failed to honour all its promises in relation to press freedom which were set out in the “road map” for democratic reform. Moreover, police continue to harass and sometimes imprison pro-opposition journalists.
English PEN has expressed concerns about state prosecutions against journalists working for Minivan Daily and Minivan News.
Minivan Daily journalist Fahala Saeed has been sentenced to life in April 2006 for drug-trafficking charges which is believed to have been fabricated. There are pending law suits against (more…)
Turkey is Typing….
Hrant Dink is still very much present in the Turkish blogosphere this week, and while I don't wish to present a case of Hrant Dink overload, part of today's post will feature a short follow-up and then we can have some fun.
Turkish Torque summarizes the future situation of Turkey by commenting on its present:
As the first month of the year is over, the road ahead looks like a tough one for Turkey. This is the year in which many Turkish leaders and decision makers may end up aging prematurely.
Domestically, the economy seems to be doing fine and actually, from an employer's point of view, it is one of the brightest stars over the Turkish landscape….
Politically, though, it's a whole different ball of wax.
Almost every foreign policy issue presents tough challenges to cope with, even further complicated by the two important elections ahead (Presidential in May, and General in November). The assassination of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink threw another monkey wrench into the equation that Turkey did not need at all. When it rains, it pours, as the saying goes.
Turkish-Armenian relations are obviously at an all-time low with the strong resurgence of the “Armenian genocide” issue in the aftermath of the Dink murder. Many observers expect the U.S. Congress to pass an “Armenian genocide resolution” this year.
Cyprus continues to bleed with no relief in sight….
Erkan, from Erkan's Field Diary reports on the scandal that is being caused in Turkey with the posing of pictures with the police and the gentleman accused of killing Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. The implications of these photos (does this mean that the police were supporting this man's actions? what does this mean for Turkey's public face?) are still in discussion in Turkish and International circles. For excellent commentaries on this, I refer you to The White Path for multiple articles on the current political situation. And Mavi Boncuk helps to continue the coverage by giving historical information posts on the Turkish-Armenian situation, including links to US documents on the subject. (more…)
Government Minister Suing Bahraini Blogger
Google Search churns out nearly half a million entries in 0.04 seconds when you enter Bahrain and censorship in that white space we all run to when our memory fails us.
Scary? Not really, because so far the government's censorship efforts have not totally shut up all those who want to freely express their opinions. With all the country's newspapers implementing ridgid self-censorship, citizens have turned to blogs, which have mushroomed overnight. But with a system bent on ensuring that ‘thou shall not speak your mind unless we say it is OK', even personal blogs have to be registered with the kingdom's Ministry of Information - a rule which is yet to be implemented.
With the war on personal blogs in full throttle, authorities are also minding the world wide web. So far, online forums, the website of a local human rights organisation and that of a political society have been shut for breaking the rules of what many describe as being an oppressive Press and Publications Law. Also, three bloggers were detained briefly for operating a popular Arabic language online forum, which is still blocked in Bahrain.
China: A far out tribe
A lot can be said of the recent phenomenon in China of outdoor enthusiasts finding each other through forum-type websites, only meeting in person during the regularly-scheduled camping or hiking trips many of which bring out hundreds of their members, and where this movement overlaps with China's blogging movement.
For Cat989-based journalist-blogger Two Keqi(2可器), the great outdoors are never too far from his blog, and here's his post [zh] on a recent trip he took into the far-flung forests of Southwestern China's Guizhou province to get some offline time, and what he found there.
Moldova: “Wall Art” and Other Photos
Flickr user dittaeva, of Leikanger, Norway, traveled around Moldova with his brothers in the summer of 2006 and has photographed this mosaic on the way from the Chisinau airport to Colonita. The face on the wall appears to be that of poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.
More Moldova trip photos (254) by dittaeva are in this photoset.
There's also a separate collection from the war museum in Transnistria, a territory within Moldova that has been de facto independent since September 2, 1990, but whose “legal status continues to be an issue of contention.” Here's dittaeva's introduction to the set:
These are photos from the war museum in Bender, Transnistria, Moldova. I tried to cover more or less the whole exhibition. We were let in on request and had a friendly but serious guide speaking in russian, which Daria very professionally translated into english. I also have a small book from the mueseum at home.
Remember that Transnistria is ruled by a quasi-communist dictatorial regime, which know how to do propaganda (just take a look at www.pridnestrovie.net).
(A Wikipedia article on the war between Moldova and Transnistria is here.)
Links for Wed, 2007-02
The State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT) last month announced rules requiring China's major television stations to broadcast only “main theme” television during prime time hours. Ming Dynasty 1566 is one of the main theme.
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated an interview with the T.V programme director, Zhang Li, from The Economic Observer which tells the production process of the historical drama.
Pestcentric discovers that, due to the recent football scandals in Italy, Hungary (together with Croatia) may have a chance to win the bid to host Euro 2012: “Sure, Hungary has seasonal rioting, but it should be brought to the attention of those voting that there are no public holidays tied to a revolution in the summer months.”
Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar points out that the Hungarian government is suggesting the wrong motivation for studying English: “[…] achieving the rather lofty (and therefore completely unmeasureable) objective of increasing the ‘mobility of upcoming Hungarian generations' and improving ‘their options on the labor market.' Think about the logic of that statement. If everybody, as the government wishes, learns English, then the mobility and options on the labour market remains exactly as they are now; we’ll just have higher qualified street-cleaners that are able to watch BBC World.”
Hungarian prime minister recently compared the Hungarian and British health care systems. Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar responded with a mock comparison - and here's the first item: “In Hungary, the patients have to bring their own toilet rolls.”
“Since the riots last September, Kossuth ter - the square where parliament is situated - has been closed to the public. […] On Friday, the opposition party thought it would be a good idea to remove the barriers themselves,” writes The Hungary Years. Pestcentric also covers the initiative.
Itching for Eestimaa has moved to live in Estonia: “So we are finally here in our new home of Tartu, Estonia. I've been here many times before, but never to live. In the past my “home” in Estonia was in Tallinn. Now I will get used to living in Tartu, which is a university town, and largely devoid of the large crowds of wandering Brits in search of their next drink.” He posts two entries of observations of everyday life in Tartu and Estonia - here and here.
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