Archive for
March 22nd, 2007
Stories
China: Homeowners hold their ground
How does China's landmark, much-blogged about new property law relate to the average citizen? An illustration comes with the decision by two residents of central China's Chongqing Municipality to hold their ground when the land upon which the house they purchased had been sold, then dug up, by a developer which then successfully had the courts rule to evict her and her co-habitant, Yang Wu.
Part Two: Inside the school of the Egyptian blogosphere
Source: original image from Baheyya (photoshopped), text in Arabic from Misr Digital
(Read Part One of this article here)
In order to better understand this highly organized Egyptian blogosphere and how bloggers perceive their role in this new, turbulent phase in their country's history, on March 15, 2007, I talked to three young Egyptian bloggers and activists: Rami Siam, Arabesque and Amr Gharbeia.
Sami Ben Gharbia: What is the secret behind the strength and vitality of Egyptian blogs when compared to other Arab blogs?
Rami Siam: I believe that this strength is due to the attachment of Egyptian bloggers to reality, on the one hand, and their attachment to one another, on the other. Their attachment to reality has made them expose a lot of facts which the authorities have worked hard to hide, thereby making bloggers comprehensive media organisations which walk on two legs and observe and follow up through words and photographs political, social and cultural developments, without any additives. This is not all. They also analyse situations and offer alternatives. A quick preview of Egyptian blogs proves how bloggers have provided an alternative constitution, an alternative flag and an alternative national song. They have also covered important incidents like the sectarianism strife, sexual harassment of women, presidential and legislative elections as well as the clashes with the judges. Bloggers have also provided innovative literary and cultural developments online, which the current corruption has prevented from being portrayed in the normal channels. They have tackled all these issues with constructive criticism in the hope of contributing to real change. (more…)
Part One: Inside the school of the Egyptian blogosphere
Source: original image from Baheyya (photoshopped), text in Arabic from Misr Digital
It is being made clear almost daily that the dynamism of the Egyptian bloggers isn’t just online; the country's activist bloggers are also highly engaged on the street as well. They've been playing an active part in the pro-democracy reform movement which is contesting Mubarak's long reign; they're present at almost every sit-in and demonstration, supporting the Kifaya National Movement for Change and using blogs, text messaging, videos and photos to expose police abuses during rallies, and even inside police stations.
In other words, the Egyptians aren't merely sitting in front of their computer screens, blogging about the change they'd like to see happen — they are deeply committed to being a part of the process. By acting as watchdogs on the government and on the country's mainstream media, they have gained credibility beyond their local audience and attracted the attention of regional and international media that is following their every move. (more…)
Arabisc: Rebelling Bloggers from Syria to Tunisia
Ever heard of the rebellious bloggers? Well, this is what some bloggers in the Middle East refer to themselves because they are breaking the norm - speaking their minds on blogs without censorship or editing but paying the price for the consequences of free speech later on.
Tunisian blogger Sami Ben Gharbia, who is also Global Voices Online Advocacy Manager, is one such blogger. Living in exile in The Netherlands, Ben Gharbia was invited to Dubai to take part in a television programme on Arab bloggers, following a surge in interest in the phenomena after Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabeel Sulaiman was sentenced to four years in prison because of posts he wrote on his personal blog.
Ben Gharbia, who spoke along with Syrian blogger Roukana Hamour and Egyptian blogger Rami Seyyam on the programme, gives us his take on that interview here.
The blogger admits he was enchanted by meeting the other two fellow bloggers more than appearing on the silver screen and preaching the viewers about the importance of blogs and citizen journalism.
فالسيدة ركانة حمّور تم اختطافها من منزلها خلال شهر رمضان الفارط و سيقت بملابس النوم في الشارع مكبلة بعد أن شهر في وجهها و وجه أبنائها الصغار السلاح الذي كان يحمله عناصر الأمن الجنائي.
What Salvadoran bloggers are saying — about the passing of a witness
If your only source of news was the main Salvadoran newspapers, you might have missed the story. The sole survivor of a notorious massacre of civilians during El Salvador civil war passed away on March 6. On December 6, 1981, Rufina Amaya, had somehow managed to escape from the government troops who systematically rounded up and savagely murdered the elderly, the women, the men, the children and the babies in her village, including her 8 month old child who was ripped from her arms. This war crime, known as the El Mozote massacre, led to the deaths of as many as 1000 campesinos in and around the village of El Mozote in Morazan province.
Both the Salvadoran government and the US government which was supporting the regime in 1981, denied that a wholesale massacre of civilians had taken place. After the war, the UN Truth Commission validated the details as have subsequent investigations. The story of the massacre and the subsequent denials were detailed subsequently by journalist Mark Danner.
There was one voice, which spoke simply and humbly as the voice of a witness, which ultimately allowed the truth to be known. That was the voice of Rufina Amaya.
Uganda: Why didn't Ugandan bloggers write about the nation's biggest story?
The Ugandan blogosphere was silent on the country's biggest story over the last few weeks. On March 5th, the Ugandan judges and lawyers went on strike after presidential security agents raided the High Court to re-arrest six treason suspects who had been granted bail. The suspects were accused of representing the People's Redemption Army (PRA), a shadowy rebel group that opposition candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye has been associated with.
On March 14th, several of the suspects were released after allegedly being beaten, and with the striking judiciary, marched around the High Court to cleanse it of the incident. President Museveni sent a letter to the judiciary and apologized for the incident. Why didn't the blogosphere comment on this major story? Reasons could range from fear of reprisal from the government to this simply being business as usual for the Museveni regime.
In other news, The Diocese of northern Uganda shares the lesson he learned from noticing an early morning cock fight:
The time is 7:20am, as I was cleaning the compound, I saw two cocks fighting seriously, and it drew my attention as well as the attention of my family members. As I continue watching this drama, I recalled what the leader of the LRA Joseph Kony said on the war in Northern Uganda. Kony said “Lweny wa ni obedo calo pa twong gweno, ma acel ryemo lawote, itamo ni dong kibwoyo ento koni inongo ni en ma ocako ngwec ni dok cako ryemo lawote” Meaning this war is like that of two cocks, one may be overpower and you may think it has defeated the other one, but surprisingly the one who is being chased may regain strength and come back to continue the fight.
Links for Thu, 2007-03
Ambar discusses desperately trying to feel part of the Uzbek family she married into, but constantly feeling like an outsider.
Vadim reports that Tajikistan's president wants to remove the Russian -ov from his last name, changing it to Rakhmon. Further, he wants a general return in Tajikistan to traditional national toponymy.
The CRD/TI Armenia Election Monitor 2007 says that Armenia's largest minority group, the Yezidis, are divided over the upcoming parliamentary election.
Gene Daniels says that the heavy police and military presence on the streets of Bishkek marred Kyrgyzstan's Navruz celebrations. There is speculation that the president ordered the heavy security presence to dissuade his opponents from staging protests.
Sue Sypko says that celebrating a holiday like Navruz is tough to do for a group because everyone disagrees on how to spell the holiday's name, how to decorate, and what food to serve.
Foreign Notes reports on Yuri Lutsenko's legal problems and the obstacles his People's Self-Defense Movement is facing. Also, read about Ukraine's fuel and energy minister's visit to London.
Sean's Russia Blog and La Russophobe (guest-blogging at Publius Pundit) report on the current problems at Moscow State University.
The beatroot writes about Poland's anti-abortion politicians (21 comments so far) and the country's involvement in Iraq (70 comments!).
“In what I think is a first in Egyptian political history, on Sunday 18 March, 102 opposition legislators began a boycott of parliament’s plenary sessions. The sessions are devoted to swiftly passing what the Mubarak regime is calling ‘amendments' to the 1971 constitution,” writes Egyptian blogger Baheya. “In reality, the alterations augment executive powers and constitutionalise the exclusion of Mubarak’s challengers,” writes the blogger.
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