Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2008 March 05

5 March 2008

Daily archive · 7 posts

Stories from 5 March 2008

EU: Towards a European Global Online Freedom Act

Written by sami ben gharbia · Western Europe

The European Parliament has passed a proposal (571 in favor, 38 against) to treat Internet censorship by national governments as a trade barrier. The proposal was submitted by European Parliament member (MEP) Jules Maaten of the Dutch conservative VVD party. The proposal will now pass to the European Council. If adopted as a European Union (EU) law, the proposal could have an impact on future trade negotiations between the EU and governments engaged in Internet censorship.

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Armenia: Samizdat & the Internet

Written by Onnik Krikorian · Central Asia & Caucasus

After a 20-day state of emergency was declared in Armenia when clashes between security services and the opposition broke out on the streets of the capital, access to the media has been severely restricted. According to presidential decree, local media outlets can now only publish official news and political propaganda is banned. However, the situation has created an unprecedented opportunity for bloggers to move in to fill the gap.

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Korea: Religious Encounter on the Subway

Written by Hyejin Kim · East Asia

Religious issues always generate a lot of opinions from Korean netizens. One person's experience on a subway with a Buddhist monk has gained a lot of attention in the last week on a popular Korean website.

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South Africa: Another Manto Blunder…

Written by Muhammad Karim · Sub-Saharan Africa

The controversial South African Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who you might remember a couple of posts back as being under fire for her antics…is back in the spotlight, this time bloggers are venting anger at an address she gave to the presidential task team on traditional medicine.

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Protests over high prices strike Burkina Faso

Written by John Liebhardt · Sub-Saharan Africa

Although somewhat overshadowed by the larger – and more dangerous –demonstrations in Cameroon last week, at least four cities in Burkina Faso also witnessed strikes over skyrocketing prices that descended into violent demonstrations.

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Kyrgyzstan: From Santamania to “Subbotnik”

Written by Asel · Central Asia & Caucasus

During the last two weeks, the Kyrgyz blogosphere has come up with a bunch of interesting articles, funny and witty comments along with bright photos of Santa Claus First Winter...

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Colombia: The Unsettling Conflict with Ecuador and Venezuela

Written by Juliana Rincón Parra · Latin America

Colombian bloggers are closely following the events unleashed by the Colombian army's incursion into Ecuadorian territory. Fear of war is palpable throughout the discussions on the legitimacy of the attack and its repercussions, the unveiling of computer files establishing nexus between the Ecuadorian and Venezuelan governments and the FARC and the knowledge of 50 KGs of Uranium that the FARC allegedly has.

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Updates from 5 March 2008

Armenia

Blogian reflects on the recent political unrest in Armenia. The blog blames both the government and the opposition for clashes at the weekend which left at least eight people dead and criticizes the mindset which now exists that has turned Armenians against each other.

• Onnik Krikorian

Armenia

Blogian posts some disturbing photographs of the celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the Turkish liberation of Erzurum. Claimed by both Armenians and Turks, the city featured re-enactments of the hanging of Armenian bandits which were viewed by children. The blogger notes that even nationalist Turkish newspapers were critical of the celebration.

• Onnik Krikorian

Brazil

Professor Antônio echoes in his blog[PT] the statement allegedly made (in spanish) by FARC's High Command in face of what they call “the assassination of Raul Reyes”, one of the political group's leaders, and several other people in an attack by the Colombian army some days ago.

• Daniel Duende

Nigeria

Grandiose Parlor writes about rigging in gurbenatorial elections in Nigeria: “The Mimiko legal team revealed how the voters’ register was manipulated and filled with fictitious names and photos by the ruling party PDP during the gubernatorial election last year.”

• Ndesanjo Macha

Kenya

Daudi asks his readers to vote for ushahidi.com: “I have lost count of the number of radio and print interviews that have come my way because of interest in the project. Now Ushahidi needs your help again. Ushahidi has been entered in to the $100,000 Netsquared Mashup Challenge for further development. This is big in very many ways. It helps secure the future of the project and it helps secure the independence of the project, it allows the project to grow beyond Kenya, it give the opportunity for a powerful and increasingly necessary tool to achieve its potential.”

• Ndesanjo Macha

Kuwait

From Kuwait, Cat Eyez (Ar) writes about wanting to retire from work.

• Amira Al Hussaini

Nigeria

Timbuktu Chronicles writes about the first online bookstore in Nigeria: “Emmanuel Magani and Debola Omololu are the founders of Debonair Publishing, an online bookstore ,a first for Nigeria.”…A fully integrated online bookstore.”

• Ndesanjo Macha

Bosnia Herzegovina

Pure Intent describes what it takes to get registered as a foreigner in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

• Veronica Khokhlova

Russia

LJ user oleg_panfilov (of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations) reports (RUS) that Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov has joined the Russian Union of Journalists. LJ user timur_aliev, on the other hand, has quit as the editor of the Chechen Society newspaper to become Kadyrov's aide. (The Chechen Society is no longer being published (RUS), and its website is no longer there.) [Update 03/06: Kadyrov lasted for one day and then was expelled from the Union, in order to prevent other prominent members from leaving in protest. It also appears as if it wasn't his initiative to join, but that of the Union's Chechen chapter.]