Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2007 April 19

19 April 2007

Daily archive · 9 posts

Stories from 19 April 2007

Colombia: The disappointing debate on paramilitarism in Antioquia

Written by Carlos Raúl van der Weyden Velásquez · Latin America

Yesterday finally the long awaited “debate” on paramilitarism in Antioquia department, where President Álvaro Uribe was born and was Governor from 1995 to 1997, was held at the Colombian congress. There was a lot of interest on the topic, because opposition senator and former M-19 guerrilla leader Gustavo Petro had said he would reveal a list of 2,000 figures allegedly involved with paramilitarism.

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Russia: Listening In On the Police; St. Pete Rally

Written by Veronica Khokhlova · Eastern & Central Europe

Garry Kasparov’s aide, LJ user abstract2001, has posted recordings of the walkie-talkie conversations of riot police officers deployed for the opposition’s Dissenters’ Marches in Moscow on April 14 and in St. Petersburg on April 15. Also, below are some links to photos and text from the rally in St. Petersburg, which ended with the riot police attacking peaceful protesters.

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Voices from Ghana: The Black Star of Africa Eclipsed by Energy Crisis; Ghana@50, So What?

Written by Emmanuel.K. Bensah · Sub-Saharan Africa

The pomp and pageantry surrounding the celebrations of Ghana@50 may be over, but the analysis of what it means for Ghana has spawned a number of ruminations for both Ghanaian...

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Arabeyes: Thoughts on the Virginia Tech Massacre

Written by Amira Al Hussaini · Middle East & North Africa, North America

For Algerian student Nouri, who studies in the US, the shooting at Virginia Tech is too close to home for comfort. He links to the above photograph, from the Washington...

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The Moroccan blogosphere reacts to the Virginia Tech massacre

Written by Jillian C. York · Middle East & North Africa, North America

These past few days, the world's eyes have been turned toward the Virginia Tech massacre; the Moroccan blogosphere in particular notes the connection that Fox News has tried to make...

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Iran:Virginia shooting in Iranian Blogestan

Written by Fred Petrossian · Middle East & North Africa

Haji Washington[Fa] says if a Korean student had killed people in a European university as this stupid guy did in Virginia Tech, a wave of hatred would create serious problems...

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Kurdistance: A New Front in Northern Iraq?

Written by Deborah Ann Dilley · Middle East & North Africa

Oh dear, not again. While it is unusual for me to outwardly state my opinions on a subject, I can say in this instance....I am not alone in my sentiment. Once more overtures have been made by the Turkish government to intervene in Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan. Unlike past incidents where the motives haven't been as clear, Turkish threats about crossing its southern borders have been in direct reaction to statements made by the Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani: "Iraqi Kurds would not accept any foreign interference on the Kirkuk issue as it considers it an internal affair that should be resolved internally." For this story...I'll let both the Kurdish and Turkish bloggers explain...

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China: Reactions to the Virginia Tech slayings

Written by John Kennedy · East Asia, North America

While most Chinese shared the horror and grief following the slayings at Virginia Tech, one prominent blogger asks why so little attention was paid to two similar tragedies which also took place this week in China.

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Tajikistan: Cultural Faux Pas or Nation Building?

Written by Ben Paarmann · Central Asia & Caucasus

No more golden teeth, mobile phones in lecture halls, hijabs, sexy clothes - and from now on even no more Russian name endings! What's behind Tajikistan's recent flurry of cultural legislation? Are we witnessing a reincarnation of Turkmenistan's deceased dictator Turkmenbashi or simply a young nation's right to self-determination? Bloggers from Central Asia and beyond offer their opinions.

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Updates from 19 April 2007

India

DesiDabba comments on the media frenzy over a star-studded wedding. “The emphasis seems to be more on generating news than reporting news. Agreed that the marriage in first family of Hindi film industry would be a news gold mine but bombarding the viewers with the same news over and over is a little too much. Yesterday I saw a 45 minutes program dedicated to the wedding and sangeet ceremony on Star News.”

• Neha Viswanathan

Nepal

United We Blog! has a sharp-worded post on the attitude of the Maoists. The post evokes an interesting discussion in the comments space. “Because of its confusing stand, the Maoist in the past few days is behaving like an unsure and stubborn kid that is throwing everything that handy and in front of him. It is sad that the election isn’t going to happen on June 20 but to try to play politics out of this inefficiency is even more frustrating.”

• Neha Viswanathan

Bangladesh

Mash on political developments in Bangladesh. “The military strongman who has taken control of Bangladesh, Lt. General Moeen U Ahmed, is systematically purging the two most popular political parties in Bangladesh. Together these two parties enjoy overwhelming support in Bangladesh and have both held power after close elections during the past 16 years of democratic rule in Bangladesh.”

• Neha Viswanathan

Bangladesh

The 3rd World View on a young Indian politician's remarks over India's role in Bangladesh's liberation. “But hey something is missing from the picture. They have wiped out the context of the Bangladesh Liberation War and the tremendous struggle of the Bangladeshis for the independence. Needless to mention the millions of lives lost in the cause.”

• Neha Viswanathan

Sri Lanka

cerno writes with cynicism and honesty about the business of news. “Unsteady blurry shots of dull buildings become reverting. A true high for the news junkies. The get out of trouble free card for the politician facing the cameras after being caught with his pants down. The death toll is small enough for the victim profiles to be strung along for days.”

• Neha Viswanathan

France

Patrick Lozès looks back at French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy's history of controversial public statements about Africans and Berbers (Fr). He wonders if, given unprecedented levels of voter registration among French minorities, Sarkozy's strategy of playing to the far right will backfire.

• Jennifer Brea

D.R. of Congo

Citing an article in the Guardian, Forum Realiance writes that since 2002, American and European companies have been buying up the rights to the Congo's virgin rainforests (Fr), paying less than US$20 million for an area roughly the size of Great Britain.

• Jennifer Brea