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Peru: A Minister's Departure & War with Chile?

Palacio de Gobierno, Lima, Peru

The political event of the week was, without a doubt, the case of Interior Minister, Pilar Mazzetti, who was forced to resign exaggerating the value of patrol cars for the police. The press played an important role in this, not only by dedicating their front pages to the story, but also by pressuring the administration into make the minsterial change. It finally led to the minister's resignation, although it is still left to doubt whether the resignation was obligated or not.

Bloggers' opinions on the matter are varied. For example, Milanta writes that “Mazzetti has balls” [ES] for how she confronted the Problem. In blog Andando sin Caminos, who was in favor of the minister's resignation from the beginning, posted three times on the topic: first when the minister declared that she did not want to step down in “The minister who didn't want to leave“; then when then minister brought up her resignation in “The minister who didn't know whether to leave or not“; and finally “The minister left at last“. The Political Wizard has summary of almost everything that happened at the public level in “Holy oils for Minister Mazzetti,” and in Blog del Paki, although they agree with the resignation, they don't hold the same opinion conerning the treatment given by the press has given him: “Enough paranoia, no?“

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The Balkans: Bloggers Discuss the ICJ Verdict

Veronica Khokhlova · 15:30 · Eastern & Central Europe

lingua → zht · zhs

On Monday, after nearly ten months of deliberation, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre was an act of genocide, but that the pattern of the atrocities committed by Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-1995 war (which claimed more than 100,000 lives) was “too broad” to qualify for the definition of genocide. The ICJ also decided there was no sufficient evidence to pin the blame on Serbia.

Below is a selection of responses to the ICJ verdict by the Balkan and international bloggers writing in English.

On the eve of the verdict, Eric Gordy of East Ethnia posted this detailed analysis of what there was to expect from the ICJ and how the decision could influence the region's politics:

[…] This type of business will always be implicated in day to day politics. The Serbian Radical Party wants the country to quit the UN in the event of a guilty verdict. Afghanistan's parliament has passed a resolution granting amnesty to a whole hatful of powerful war criminals. And the general assembly of the state of Virginia has passed a resolution apologizing for slavery. Insistence on denial or opening up the books are pretty much the only options available. Time does not make anything go away.

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Madagascar: Expulsions in France questioned

Lova Rakotomalala · 08:24 · Sub-Saharan Africa

lingua → fr · mg

kid
(courtesy of sarkostique)
Stemming from ongoing racial tensions and amplified by the riots of last summer, fear of immigrants led the French ministry of homeland security to crack down on illegal immigration. Immigrants of Malagasy origins were also affected by the new emphasis on expelling any immigrants without proper accreditation. The haste with which the legal processes were expedited was a major concern for many bloggers. Here are the views and testimonies from Malagasy bloggers on these issues. For instance, Blog d'Hiver points out that:

Depuis quelques années, la chasse aux sans-papiers se résume donc par un objectif chiffré – 25.000 expulsions par an – qui s’impose aux Préfets et aux services de police. L’expulsion des familles fut la grande nouveauté de 2006 : en coffrant « en bloc » des parents et leurs enfants, cela permettait d’expulser toute une famille et de marquer 4 ou 5 points sur les 25.000 à atteindre. L’exercice s’est avéré plus compliqué que prévu car des citoyennes et citoyens français – outrés de voir des policiers venir arrêter des écoliers à l’école ou des enfants en centre de vacances – ont pris leur courage à deux mains (l’aide aux sans-papiers est désormais passible de prison) pour prendre la défense de ces familles. C’est le cas du Réseau Education Sans Frontières.

For a few years now, the hunt for illegal immigrants is summed up by a clear target number- 25,000 expulsions/year- that is imposed on province governor and police stations. The expulsion of entire family was the big novelty of 2006 [note by editor: election year] was to arrest “block” of parents and children so that the 25,000 will be easier to reach. The case got a little complicated when French citizens-outraged to see policemen come to school and summer camp- rose to the occasion and defended these families. It is the purpose of “Education without Borders” network

Malagasy are well aware that there are immigration laws to abide to. However, specific cases of expulsions have left many bloggers shaking their heads in disgust. For instance, Harinjaka notes:
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Sudan: Diversity And Identity Crisis

SudaneseDrima · 08:14 · Sub-Saharan Africa

lingua → fr · zhs

Many of the posts on the Sudanese blogosphere during the past 2 weeks discussed Sudan's diversity and also revolved around the issue of identity. Sudanese Thinker had an interesting post entitled “Sudan: Arab or African?”

He was responding to a question posted on Sudan Watch:

Since Sudan belongs to both the African Union and Arab League, I wonder if Sudanese women see Sudan as an African or Arab country.

Sudanese Thinker argues that Sudan is an Afro-Arab country:

Is Sudan an African or Arab country? In other words, are we Sudanese, African or Arab? It’s a tough question to answer for the simple reason that I’m only given the option of choosing between “Arab” or “African”. I don’t see Sudan as being either one or the other. There are about 600 tribes in Sudan. Yes, that’s right, 600 tribes! Ethnically, some are African, some are Afro-Arab and the few remaining others are Arab. Therefore Sudan is an Afro-Arab country.

He concludes, however:

As I’ve presented, ethnically speaking we Sudanese are mainly African but culturally we’re more Arab than African (thanks to Arabization). So, which one do we belong to more? Which one do we choose? In order to give an answer, I have to ask another question. Which one plays a bigger role in forming one’s identity? Would that be ethnicity or culture? For me, the answer is ethnicity.

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Arabisc: A Pictorial Tour of North Africa

Amira Al Hussaini · 02:09 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → fr

Moroccan Village

There is one word to describe this picture taken by American blogger Cory Driver, who is based in Morocco, and it is wow! Not being a photography critic, however, I am reserving my exclamation for the amazing work Driver is involved with in Moroccan villages, including that of Tattiwin, located near the mountain range you see in the photograph above. To read more about his efforts, see what he does to collect books for a literacy programme in another village here.

Driver's fellow American R Andy (I don't know if they are connected), also keeps a blog, which highlights his adventures in North Africa. He is, for instance, seen here, dressed up as Santa Claus, and practising his headstand in the Sahara desert. Like Driver's blog, Andy's posts offer us a fabulous photo album and a wonderful insight to life in Morocco as well as the customs and traditions of its people. (more…)

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Taiwan: Name-rectification Debate

Portnoy · 00:12 · Taiwan (ROC)

The two terms “Taiwan” and “Republic of China” ( R.O.C.) has been intertwined together for the last decades. However, after several elections, with the switch in ruling parties from the pro- Chinese- unification party KMT to the pro- Taiwan- independence party DPP, these two terms are now at the focus of political controversy.

With its pro-Taiwan-independence tendency, the ruling party DPP has been promoting the “Taiwan identity”. For example, the authority has taken actions in modifying the high school history texbooks, in particular sections related Taiwan's relationship to China and Japan. Another action is the removal of bronze statues of Chiang Kai-Shek, Taiwanese ex-president from 1950 to 1975 who viewed by many Taiwanese as a dictator. Name-rectification is a recent project. The so-called “name-rectification” means governmental organizations and institutions officially change their names from Chung-Kuo (China, 中國) or Chung-Hwa (the Chinese nation, 中華) to Taiwan (台灣). For instance, ChungHwa Post Co., the nation's postal service, has just switched its name to Taiwan Post Co., and Chinese Petroleum Corp., the largest oil refinery, has its new name as CPC Crop., Taiwan.

There are varied opinions among Taiwanese bloggers: timing and the motive of the authority to promote the name-rectification project is in question and has attracted heavy criticism. Although some support the name-rectification, the legitimacy of the means to approve the name-rectification is still under debate.

Supporters claim that the name-rectification contributes to commercial benefits. Mark says:

請注意，重點是：然而帶有「中華」、「中國」商標的台灣申請人，迄今未曾有核准案例，即使該商標已長久使用而具有顯著性者仍無法獲得註冊。所以，該不該正名，從商業利益角度，當然應該正名。

The point is that no trademark registration with Chung-Hwa or Chung-Kao applied by Taiwanese applicants has been approved so far, albeit the trademark has been used for a long time. Therefore, for business consideration, of course, the name-change is a right thing should have been done.

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