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February 10th, 2009

   

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Egypt: More activists and bloggers arrested

Egyptian bloggers continue to be targeted by the police and authorities. In less than a week, two more bloggers have been arrested. Our first story began when a group of 14 activists from Egypt, the US, the UK, Spain, Poland and France marched “to Gaza” in solidarity with Palestinians. State security cracked down on the march, abducted the activists as well as the foreign reporters, taking them on a ride around Cairo then leaving them, either in the desert or at the police stations.

All the activists were released except for Egyptian-German activist and blogger Philip Rizk. He was “kidnapped” by the authorities without a charge, without letting anyone know his whereabouts and without allowing him to see or speak with his lawyer, family and friends.

It was not long before police tried to take Magdy Rizk, Philip's father; and after he refused going with them, the state security actually broke into Philip's house.

Above is an update posted by Droubi on Jaiku yesterday.

You can read the detailed account of Rizk's kidnapping by an eyewitness, Sara Carr. Also, for continuous updates about Rizk's status and other related news, follow Delicious bookmarks, Benwhite, Free Philip website and Facebook group. More updates in Rizk are also found on Twitter here.

Palestinian blogger Laila El Hadad, comments on Rizk's arrest saying:

Here it is worth noting of course that Philip is not alone in his arrest. Every day dozens of Egyptian activists are arrest, taken to undisclosed locations, and tortured by the Egyptian secret police. As recent as last week, more than 50 members of the Muslim Brotherhood organization were also detained after a recent Gaza rally, and more than 500 in the past month.

The second arrest, according to Kareem Atef [Ar] and The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and Global Voices Advocacy, targeted Diaa Gad, who was detained from in front of his house on February 6:

Egyptian police attack and kidnap blogger

The officers were in a car owned by central security before they broke into his house. Dia' Eddin Gad is author of the blog Sawt Ghadib or An Angry Voice http://soutgadeb.blogspot.com. The police did not reveal the reason behind his arrest or where he was being detained.

Egyptian activists and bloggers are calling for the release of Rizk and Gad, as well as other bloggers behind bars, through new and innovative ways. However, the situation stays the same and the crackdown on bloggers continues.

Jordan: Clothes, Logos and Traffic Violators

Do the colours you wear reflect your personality? The Arab Observer brings up this issue in a rather interesting post:

I usually wear a trendy jeans with a colorful shirt. A couple of years before, at college time, my choice of shirts colors was limited in few dull colors. At that time, grey, black, and blue were the only common colors for men. Later on, when Bossini, Pull n Bear and Zara brought colors to our wardrobes, a lot of young men of my age were reluctant of picking up on the new found colors for dark dull ones were still part of the norms and perceived to be part of their masculinity. Men shouldn't wear red or pink, this is still alive in the perception of many of us. For those of the new generation, the rebellious ones, who wanted to say that they don't really stick to the norms of our society and follow the traditional intake of what we wear, colorful shirts became a trend.

Our style and fashion communicates where do we want to belong to the world, some people develop a sweet addiction to the latest trends of fashion around the globe. Styloholic is a new fashion blog for style fans. Glamour seems to be the styloholic writer statement of belonging. I am usually not a fan of fashion blogs, but this one is quite interesting. Check it out here.

Lass brings up the Amman city logo, which Global Voices reported on when it was still in its development stages, now that it has been selected:

The city logo is something that is linked to a city like a name to a person, it is a signature, an identity, and most importantly it should represent a mega entity, not a singular perception. It is something that shouldn't be put together haphazardly, fortuitously or without deep thought and consideration. It certainly is not an art work assignment, or a graphic design contest. A city logo is official, formal, or at least that's how it is known to be.

Changing the logo of the city is an effort that GAM should be applauded for for sure. But decisions are responsibilities, and that responsibility should be handled with ultra proficiency. I hope that they can be more sensitive towards creating a life-long legacy, rather than the flashy temporary brain storming oddities, that we seem to adore in Amman nowadays!

And kinzi brings up an important issue for Jordan, and that is traffic violations, which yields many deaths annually:

Am I missing something here? An important detail? Some cultural cue? Some tradition that went under my radar?

Traffic violators cause trouble for everyone on the roads. They should have to pay for it.

But of course, I guess we wouldn’t want anyone having to own responsibility for their own bad behaviour, it might be shameful.

Haiti: Fanmi Lavalas and the next elections

Last weekend, the Haitian blogosphere was buzzing about the exclusion of political parties from the April 2009 Senatorial elections by the Conseil Electoral Provisoire or Temporary Electoral Council - and on Friday January 6th, the CEP published a list of the candidates for the next democratic parliamentary elections in Haiti. Vario Sérant presents in Alterpresse [Fr] a list of the rejected candidates:

Autre candidat évincé : le PDG de Cœurs Unis David Chéry qui était en lice sous le parapluie de l’Alliance pour l’avancement d’Haïti (ALAH).

Fin de course également pour le dirigeant du Front pour la reconstruction nationale (FRN), Guy Philippe.

Another rejected candidate is the CEO of “Coeurs Unis” David Chéry, who was enlisted with “Alliance pour l’avancement d’Haïti ” (Alyans).

It is also over for the leader of the “Front pour la reconstruction nationale” (the National Reconstruction Front), Guy Philippe.

In the list published by the Temporary Electoral Council, only two thirds of the candidates enlisted were accepted into the competition, but the most surprising thing has been the rejection of all the candidates of Fanmi Lavalas. The famous Radiokiskeya talks about this decision here [Fr]:

Le Conseil Electoral Provisoire (CEP) a publié dans la nuit de jeudi à vendredi la liste des 65 candidats, sur un total de 105, admis à participer aux sénatoriales partielles du 19 avril 2009.

Aucun des candidats des deux listes de Fanmi lavalas (parti de l’ancien président Jean Bertrand Aristide) n’a été retenu. Les deux listes avaient été soumises par deux factions rivales de Lavalas.

Late on Thursday night, the Temporary Electoral Council published a list of 65 candidates out of 105, who are allowed to run for the Senatorial by-elections on April 19th 2009.

None of the candidates from any of the two Fanmi Lavalas (party of the former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide) lists were kept in. Both lists were presented by two rival branches from Lavalas.

Many reasons have been put forward to explain this total rejection, like this one from radiokiskeya:

La plupart des candidats évincés par l’institution électorale ont dû faire face à des allégations d’implication dans des activités criminelles et dans le trafic illicite de la drogue, formulées par le Réseau National des Organisations de Défense des droits humains (RNDDH), la Police Nationale d’Haïti (PNH) et la Justice.

Most of the candidates rejected by the Electoral Council were accused of being involved into criminal affairs and illegal drug trafficking, either by the national network of human rights watchdogs, Haiti National Police and Justice.

In HaitiRectoVerso, Decky Lakyel reports on the statement of Frantz Verret, president of the Electoral Council, as he explained the decision to reject all Lavalas candidates [Fr]:

‘On a tenu compte des dossiers soumis par chaque candidat', ajoute t-il. ‘Les candidats de Fanmi Lavalas n'avaient pas l'attestation de leur parti', explique t-il refusant de faire des commentaires sur les problèmes internes du parti d'Aristide.

‘We only considered the applications submitted by each candidate,' he added. ‘The candidates of Fanmi Lavalas did not present any documentary evidence from their party', he explained without commenting on the inner problems of Aristide's political party.

But it is in the last part of this same post that one of the most controversial explanations can be found [Fr]:

‘Nous avons appliqué la loi électorale et la constitution', assure M. Verret pour qui tous les acteurs doivent faire des efforts pour respecter la première loi électorale d'Haïti. Par ailleurs, le président du CEP souligne que le chef de l'état n'a, en aucune manière, influencé la décision de l'organisme électoral.

‘We have abidden by the electoral law and the Constitution,' swears Mr Verret, who thinks that all the protagonists have to strive to respect the first electoral law of Haiti. Besides, the president of the Electoral council stresses that the Haitian President [René Préval], has not, in any way, swayed the decision of the council.

The fact that Verret denies the influence of the President is not coincidental, since many think that it was done against former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

The rejection of the 40 candidates (among which 11 are from Lavalas) has triggered several reactions - and quite important ones at that - as we can read from this thread on Forum Haiti [Fr/Creole]. According to radiokiskeya, who was quoted many times, both the USA and Canada [Fr] have expressed their discontent at the supposedly biased rejection of some candidates:

Janet Ann Sanderson Ambassadeur USA en Haiti […] souligne que dans les Etats démocratiques ‘les élections honnêtes et démocratiques sont inclusives et non exclusives' et doivent aider à ‘l’unification de la démocratie' à travers l’implication de tous les principaux partis politiques.

Janet Ann Sanderson, Ambassador of the USA in Haiti […] insists on the fact that in democratic states ‘honest and democratic elections are inclusive and not exclusive' and aim at supporting ‘the unification of democracy' thanks to the involvement of all main political parties.

Probably strengthened by this external support, Lavalas has decided to appeal the Electoral Council decision, even though the Council has announced that its decision is final:

Le porte-parole de l’institution électorale, Frantz Bernadin, a cependant fait savoir vendredi à des journalistes que le CEP, étant le contentieux électoral par excellence, sa décision concernant les candidats admis est sans appel.

The spokesman of the Temporary Electoral Council, Frantz Bernadin, informed the journalists on Friday [Jan. 6th] that since the Council is the ultimate electoral appeal court, its decision concerning the enlisted candidates cannot be appealed.

Battisti: The Italo-Brazilian Imbroglio over Shadows of the Past

Brazil and Italy will meet in a football game today in London. The friendly match is far from having the importance of other disputes in the past, world cup decisions included, but the mood built around the game has set the national blogospheres on fire — see Global Voices.

After weeks of cross-Atlantic brouhaha, some bloggers are starting to wonder how and why the case has gone so far. Is the Brazilian Government's decision to grant political refugee status to Italian felon Cesare Battisti really worth of such attention?

What elements could be at play to bring forth those remarkable outcomes, such as the minute of silence from the Ministers of European Parliament in a session last week in honor of Battisti's alleged victims from 30 years ago, or the farewell of an Italian-born journalism icon in Brazil over the heated national debate on the case, and also Italy's recall of their Ambassador in Brasilia? The Italian government went as far as threatening to call off the friendly game, leading Brazilians to sense a blow out of proportion. Berlusconi is the one to blame.

Celeuma injustificada a criada pelo “caso Battisti” e a atitude de bufão tomada pelo governo chefiado por Silvio Berlusconi. Pelo menos aproveitei a chance para estudar sobre o tema antes de me arriscar a escrever algumas linhas. A maioria dos analistas não faz segredo da passionalidade de suas analises e transformaram o caso numa disputa partidária, ou pior, futebolística.
Brasil vs Itália - Dissolvendo No Ar

Gratuitous altercation is the one created by the buffoon government headed by Silvio Berlusconi over the “Battisti case”. At least I took the time to study the subject before I ventured to write a few lines about it. Most analysts are open about the passion on their analysis and transformed the event into a partisan dispute, or worse, a football match.
Brasil vs Itália - Dissolving in the Air

A Itália, hoje, vive o governo histérico de Berlusconi. É o dono da grande rede de televisão italiana, é dono de jornais, é dono de times de futebol. Ou seja, é o dono da Itália. E é nitidamente fascista, xenófobo, racista.
A HISTERIA DE BERLUSCONI E A SOBERANIA BRASILEIRA - Blog de Luís Antônio Castagna Maia

Italy, today, is going through the government of histrionic Berlusconi. He owns the huge Italian TV network, owns newspapers, owns football teams. That is, he is the owner of Italy. And he is clearly fascist, xenophobic, racist.
Berlusconi's Hysteria and the Brazilian Sovereignity - Blog de Luís Antônio Castagna Maia

The Italian reaction now is very different from last year's, when the French government refused to extradite Marina Petrella, a former Red Brigades terrorist who was informed of the decision at her hospital bed by Carla Bruni herself. This time with Brazil, Ms. Sarkozy had to come out to dismiss any connection with Cesare Batistti, which ended up bringing more spice to the story.

Many blogs mention that the main source of the Italian enrage this time was the terms used by the justice minister Tarso Genro to announce the asylum grant, declaring that Battisti was a victim of political persecution and that his life might be at risk if he were returned to his homeland.

Mais do que a decisão em si, o que provocou a violenta reação do governo italiano foram os termos utilizados pelo ministro da Justiça, Tarso Genro, para negar o pedido de refugio, aceitando as alegações de Battisti, segundo as quais correria risco de vida e de perseguição política caso voltasse à Itália.
Battisti e Rother: a arte dos tiros no pé - Balaio do Kotscho

More than the decision itself, what provoked the violent reaction of the Italian government were the terms used by the Minister of Justice, Tarso Genro, to deny the Italian request, accepting Battisti's allegations that he would be risking his life, or suffering political persecution if he were to be returned to Italy.
Battisti and Rother: the art of shooting your feet - Balaio do Kotscho

Por mais que insista que a decisão do Brasil foi soberana, é sabido que Tarso não consultou o Itamaraty antes de resolver. E enfiou na cara da Itália e do governo do tosquíssimo Silvio ,Berlusconi uma justificativa dura, nada diplomática e desnecessária. A França obviamente desconfia das mesmas possibilidades que afligiram o pimpão ministro da Justiça. Mas preferiu se referir às condições de saúde de Petrella, em vez de criar caso por nada. Diante disso, a mesma Itália recuou. Parece razoável que a mesma decisão soberana que Tarso defende seja acompanhada do tensionamento das relações pela Itália, que viu um ministro de Justiça brasileiro pela primeira vez questionar a justiça dos outros. Molecagem de segunda categoria. Um bom exemplo de como uma decisão justa pode ser prejudicada por quem não sabe respeitar a soberania alheia.
Tarso errou (mesmo) com Batistti - Blog do Savarese

Although we can insist that the Brazilian decision was sovereign, it is known that Tarso did not consult the Foreign Ministry before making his decision. And he threw in the face of Italy and Berlusconi's government some though arguments, not diplomatic and totally unnecessary. France obviously holds the same suspicions that afflicts the strident Minister of Justice, but preferred to refer to the Petrella's health conditions, instead of creating a case for nothing. Thus, forcing Italy to retreat. It seems reasonable that the same sovereign decision that Tarso upholds elevates the tension in relations with Italy, which saw a Brazilian Minister of Justice for the first time questioning the justice system of other country. A case of second class contempt. A good example of how a fair decision can be undermined by those who do not know how to respect the sovereignty of others.
Tarso has failed (indeed) on Batistti - Savarese's Blog

Football is not the only strong link between Brazilians and Italians. There are many other cultural interfaces, and also the fact that Brazil is home for the biggest Italian community outside Italy. In the present case, it seems that this proximity has ignited a complex chain reaction over unresolved issues from both countries' past: the “years of lead“.

In Brazil, where armed groups fought against the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 until 1985, an amnesty law resulted that neither security officials accused of torture nor those involved in violence against the state faced prosecution. Italy is proud of having maintained its political institutions during its ‘anni di piombo‘ (1970-80), but many aspects of the period seems to be shrouded in mystery.

A key figure in this debate here in Brazil turned to be Mino Carta, the Italian-born journalist, publisher and writer that helped create 3 of the 4 main magazines currently published in the country. Known as an independent and authoritative voice, and also a close friend to President Lula, he has used his blog to vigorously attack minister Genro for his stance and declarations on the Battisti episode. Last week, in a last post where he declares having lost faith in journalism, and in Brazil, Mr. Carta closed his blog and announced his silence at Carta Capital, the magazine.

Telefona Jean-Paul Lagarride de Darfur. Pergunta: “Vem cá, o Tarso Genro quer declarar guerra à Itália?” “Talvez”, admito. Segue-se o seguinte diálogo.
Ele – Além de jurista, trata-se de um professor de história e ciências políticas. Um mestre.
Eu – Você acha?
Ele – Claro, acaba de dar à Itália uma aula de democracia. Como o Brasil saiu dos seus anos de chumbo? Com a lei da anistia. A Itália, até hoje, não fez a sua lei da anistia.
Eu – Deve ser porque a Itália não teve um general Golbery.
Ele – Pois é. E como o velho Golba fez à Itália.
Eu – Quem sabe o nosso Tarso não tenha percebido que há chumbo e chumbo?
Lagarride e Tarso Genro - Blog do Mino

It is Jean-Paul Lagarride on the call, from Darfur.
Question: “Hey, Does Tarso Genro wants to declare war to Italy?” “Perhaps,” I admit. Here is the following dialogue.
He - Besides being a lawyer, he is a professor of history and political science. A master.
I - You think?
He - Yes, just gave Italy a lesson of democracy. How has Brazil came out from their years of lead? With the law of amnesty. Italy has so far not made their own law of amnesty.
I - Must be because Italy has not had a general Golbery [mastermind of the Brazilian redemocratization process].
He - Yeah. And how the old Golba did to Italy.
I - Maybe our dear Tarso has not noticed that there are lead and lead?
Lagarride e Tarso Genro - Blog do Mino

Está claro que o ministro Tarso não erra ao dizer que a mídia nativa está sempre a agredir o governo de Lula, e contra esta forma desvairada de preconceito CartaCapital tem se manifestado com frequência. Ocorre que, ao referir-se à extradição negada a mídia está certa, antes de mais nada em função dos motivos alegados, a exibir ao mundo ignorância, falta de sensibilidade diplomática e irresponsabilidade política, ao afrontar um estado democrático amigo. De todo modo, Battisti transcende sua personalidade de “assassino em estado puro”, segundo um grande magistrado como o italiano Armando Spataro, para se prestar a uma operação que visa compactar o PT e empolgar um certo gênero de patriotas canarinhos. Isto tudo me leva a uma conclusão desoladora, embora saiba de muitíssimos leitores generosos e fiéis: minha crença no jornalismo faliu.
Despedida - Blog do Mino

It is clear that Minister Tarso is not wrong when he says that the native media is always attacking Lula's government, and CartaCapital has frequently denounced this form of frantic prejudice. But in relation to the denied extradition the media is right, first and foremost because of the alleged reasons, and also for the display of ignorance to the world, the lack of diplomatic sensitivity, and the political irresponsibility of confronting a democratic friend state. Anyway, Battisti transcends the personality of a “killer in pure form,” according to the great Italian magistrate Armando Spataro, and serves well to the political operation that aims to unite the PT [Lula's party] and excite a certain kind of ‘canarinho' patriots. The whole thing leads me to a bleak conclusion, although aware of the many generous and loyal readers: my belief in journalism has failed.
Farewell - Blog do Mino

Cesare Battisti is inprisoned in Brasilia waiting for the final decision of the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF). An important piece of the process is a letter from Francesco Cossiga, the hardline interior minister of the 1970s, confirming that Battisti’s crimes were indeed political in nature. In a recent interview on IstoÉ magazine, which was broadly reblogged by those following the case, Battisti urges his home country to review what really happened back then.

“Acho que o gesto do ministro Genro foi de coragem e de humanidade. A decisão é muito importante não só para mim, Cesare Battisti, mas para a humanidade. A Itália precisa reler a própria história. Nós estamos dando à nação italiana a possibilidade de reler sua história com serenidade, humanamente… Naquela época, a tortura fazia parte do cotidiano da Itália. A Itália tem de reconhecer isso. Mas não pode. Porque a Itália é Europa. E a Itália não pode admitir que nos anos 1970 viveu uma guerra civil.”
Cesare Battisti - “Por que tudo isso comigo?” - Blog do Se

“I think Minister Genro's gesture was one of courage and humanity. It is a very important not only for me, Cesare Battisti, but for humanity. Italy needs to reread their own history. We are giving the Italian nation the opportunity to read their story calmly, humanely … At that time, torture was part of daily life in Italy. Italy has to recognize that. But it can not. Because Italy is Europe. And Italy could not accept that in 1970 they went through a civil war. “
Cesare Battisti - “Por que tudo isso comigo?” - Blog do Se

Navigating through the Brazilian blogs covering the episode, it is easy to find opinions that mirrors what the main media vehicles are publishing. Results of a recent pool at Globo.com shows 80% of disagreement with the Brazilian government decision to grant refugee to Mr. Battisti. Still, there are some interesting takes on the contradictions evoked by the different political solutions carried out by Brazil and Italy to resolve their political wounds of the past, and how to deal with the contradictions posed by today and tomorrow.

A grande imprensa se refere ao ‘terrorista Battisti' como se tivesse agido ontem, mas estamos falando de coisas acontecidas entre 30 e 40 anos atrás. O ministro Tarso Genro tem razão ao dizer que a imprensa teve comportamento diferente quando ele propôs a rediscussão da punição aos torturadores. Aí disseram que era coisa do passado… Ele é acusado de ter tomado uma decisão política, mas seguiu o que o STF já tinha decidido sobre isso. Um dos críticos do ministro foi o governador Serra, que se mostrou escandalizado com Battisti, mas na última eleição apoiou Fernando Gabeira, que sequestrou um embaixador americano, mas não é considerado terrorista.
Fascistas italianos e mídia brasileira mentem sobre Batistti - Bahia de Fato

The mainstream media refers to the ‘terrorist Battisti' as if he had acted yesterday, but we are speaking of things happened between 30 and 40 years ago. The Minister Tarso Genro is right to say that the press showed a different behavior when he proposed a debate on punishment of the torturers. At that moment they said it was a thing from the past … He is accused of having taken a political decision, but he followed what the STF had already decided on such cases. One of the minister's critics was governor Serra [from Sao Paulo state, the opposition main candidate for the 2010 presidential elections], who displayed his shock about granting refugee to Battisti, but in the last election supported Fernando Gabeira, who kidnapped an American ambassador, but is not considered a terrorist.
Italian fascists and Brazilian media lie about Battisti - Bahia de Fato

Por fim, uma pergunta básica, incontornável: qual é a motivação do governo italiano? Por que tanto empenho em botar as mãos num personagem tão inofensivo, depois de tanto tempo? A resposta, ou parte dela, está na conjuntura doméstica da Itália, marcada pela crise e por uma onda de protestos em que se sobressai um vigoroso ativismo estudantil. Berlusconi e seus aliados reagem à ascensão de uma esquerda não-domesticada sacudindo o espantalho dos “anos de chumbo”. A histeria em torno do caso Battisti, manipulado para criar uma anacrônica associação entre os “radicais” de ontem e de hoje, nada tem de irracional. Ao contrário, dá respaldo a um discurso em que o prefeito fascista de Roma, Gianni Alemanno, acaba de declarar que “o movimento estudantil italiano (seria) dirigido por 300 criminosos da universidade La Sapienza”.
A mídia contra Battisti - Entreatos

Finally, a basic unaviodable question: what is the motivation of the Italian government? Why so much effort into putting their hands on a harmless character, after so long? The answer, or part thereof, is the domestic situation in Italy, marked by the crisis and a wave of protests in which stands out a strong student activism. Berlusconi and his allies react to the rise of a non-domesticated left swinging the scarecrow of the “years of lead”. The hysteria around the Battisti case, which is being manipulated to create an anachronistic association between “radicals” of yesterday and today, makes sense. In contrast, gives support to a speech in which the fascist mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, has just declared that “the Italian student movement is (might be) run by 300 criminals from La Sapienza university.”
The media against Battisti - Entreatos

Let's hope for a good match today, where the genuine respect that people in Brazil and Italy nurture for both countrie's citizens, culture and, specially, artful football, outshines minor politically motivated imbroglios.

Italy: In Defense of the “Right to die”

UPDATE: Eluana Englaro died few hours after this post was written.

A legal battle over a young woman's ‘right to die' after 17 years in a coma has spurred both vast online commentary and activism in Italy. Mostly in defense of “Eluana Englaro's choice”, Italian netizens have signed petitions, organized protests, and made YouTube videos of their own ‘living will' testimonies, in defiance of both prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Vatican.

Eluana EnglaroEluana Englaro is a 38-year-old Italian woman who was left in a vegetative state after a car crash in 1992. Shortly before the accident, Eluana had paid a visit to a friend in a coma, and expressed to her father her firm will never to be kept alive artificially in case something similar should ever happen to her.

While lovingly caring for Eluana all these years, Beppino Englaro, her father, started a decade-long court battle to fulfill her wishes and allow her to die, even though Italian law does not recognize living wills [en]. The legal dispute eventually reached Italy's higher court and the European Union court in Strasbourg, and the final rulings supported Eluana's request to die. On Friday, February 6, her doctors began preparing to remove her feeding tubes.

Embracing Vatican ideas, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi tried to reverse the court ruling [en] by issuing an emergency decree that was quickly approved by the parliament. Italy's president, however, refused to sign it, and was supported by many legal scholars, journalists and ordinary citizens. Then, in a race against time to “save Eluana”, Berlusconi announced the immediate introduction of a “special bill” [it] that could be ratified by the parliament within one week, thus skirting the president's veto and forcing doctors to resume the feeding of Eluana. He also suggested a possible constitutional amendment, if necessary.

Rally in Milano
Photo by Radicali Milano, released under Creative Commons on Flickr.

While public events, both “pro-life” or “pro-Eluana”, were held during the weekend, a large rally is planned for Valentine's Day (February 14) in downtown Rome [now moved to Saturday February 21] against the “obscurantist dictatorship” [it] of the government initiatives. With Italy on the verge of a constitutional crisis, unprecedented since World War II, the whole country is now engulfed in heated discussions that are overflowing on the Internet.

A subversion of justice

Most bloggers see the Berlusconi move as an attempt to subvert state institutions. Mente critica [it] writes:

Sconfessare per decreto legge una sentenza definitiva di una Corte di cassazione è un colpo di stato verso uno dei legittimi poteri della repubblica. Un atto così incostituzionale che probabilmente nemmeno Franco o i colonnelli della giunta militare greca avrebbero avuto l’ardire di tentare.

Drafting an emergency decree to turn back a final sentence by a Higher Court is a coup de etat against one of the legitimate powers of our Republic. This is an act so openly unconstitutional that not even [Spanish dictator] Franco or the Greek military junta colonels would have had the guts to try it.

Random bits, un blog antropologicamente inferiore [it], after declaring his closeness to the parliament majority party, has this to say about the emergency decree:

Non siamo (ancora) di fronte a comportamenti apertamente golpisti, ma ci stiamo pericolosamente avvicinando al limite (…) ricordando al governo l'importanza della separazione dei poteri e dei meccanismi di checks and balances.

We are not (yet) facing openly dictatorial behavior, but we are getting dangerously closer to the limit. (…) reminding the government about the importance of separation between state powers and the mechanism of checks and balances.

Open World [it], quoting Berlusconi saying that Eluana Englaro in her current condition “is a person who could even have a child”, supports the need of a living will legislation and adds:

Il Governo sta autorizzando una parte molto importante dell’elettorato, quello cattolico, di diventare il padrone di uno Stato Laico come è l’Italia. Come è per Costituzione il nostro Paese è tutto il contrario di quello descritto dal Presidente del Consiglio.

The Government is authorizing a very important part of the electorate, Catholic people, to become masters of a secular state, which is what Italy is. This is also written in the constitution of our country, although it is contrary to the Prime Minister's description.

With pressure from the Vatican mounting all around, Catholic priest and blogger Paolo Padrini expresses his views on Passi nel deserto [it]:

In questo momento una sola cosa potrebbe disinnescare la miccia dello scontro sociale, oltre che istituzionale. Al più presto dovrebbero riunirsi i parlamentari cattolici di tutti gli schieramenti, presentare una legge sospensiva di ogni decisione fino ad una completa decisione circa una legge di “fine vita” che regoli anche il cosiddetto “testamento biologico” togliendo da esso ogni possibile fraintendimento pseudoeutanasico.

In this moment there is only one thing that could diffuse the bomb of a larger social and institutional clash. Very soon all Catholic members of parliament should get together and introduce a bill to suspend any action until a final decision about a law regulating the “end of one's life” and the so called “biologic testament” has been reached, in order to avoid any misunderstanding even close to euthanasia.

In Italian newspaper La Repubblica, a renowned constitutional scholar, Stefano Rodotà, has decribed the situation as a “constitutional tsunami” [it] and expressed concern [it] that “the anxiety of so many members of parliament will lead us to a shore where there is very little respect for people's rights and for their own humanity.” A commenter on this last article, 1partigiano wrote:

di nuovo il governo fa leggi ad personam, vedi il caso Eluana. La politica che deve fare leggi utilizzabili per tutti si accanisce su un fatto specifico da farne un decreto,noi cittadini dovremmo prendere coscienza di chi ci governa, della sua arroganza e ignoranza politica.

Again, the government makes laws ‘ad personam‘, see the Eluana case. Politics should produce apt laws for everybody, instead it perseveres on a single case and issues an emergency decree. We, as citizens, should be aware of who is governing us, his arrogance and political ignorance.

Online activism for “Eluana's choice”

Flickr has more than 150 pages with photos from rallies, drawings and other kind of pictures related to Eluana's case.

Facebook is a hotbed for activism: these days many people are protesting the Government actions by obscuring their profile picture, while a group supporting the Valentine's Day rally [it] in downtown Rome [now moved to Saturday February 21], quickly gained more than 2,000 members, and a petition supporting [it] “Eluana's choice” has been joined by almost 86,000 people. Several other groups are discussing the issues at stake and organizing local events - again, the vast majority supporting the court decision.

Last but not least, a campaign to email people's living will [it] directly to the labor minister is currently underway: they fill in and sign a form stating that they are against any prolonged artificial life support. Taking this strategy to the next level, dozens of people started short videos posting on YouTube [it] in which they detail their living wills. More than 100 videos are currently available, many of them with hundreds of viewers.

Also on YouTube, is the following video supporting a bill, recently introduced by Senator and surgeon Ignazio Marino, favoring the legal value of such ‘biological testaments' (or living will):

This post was co-authored by Eleonora Pantò.

Armenia-Azerbaijan: LGBT roundup

With the traditional media in the South Caucasus rarely reporting on sexual or religious minority rights maturely, blogs have stepped in to fill the gap and Unzipped: Gay Armenia continues to post LGBT news from the region. Following recent homophobic remarks from local politicians and civil society activists as well as in articles published by the local press, the blog says there is actually some good news for a change.

First up, although negative remarks continue to define the way in which the media refers to the LGBT community, one local journalist has been awarded by the British Council for an article on lesbians in Armenia.

ArmeniaNow’s Vahan Ishkhanyan placed third, with his article about lesbian Armenians “Coming out: Armenian lesbians raise the curtain”.

In 2006, he wrote an article about gay Armenian men “Love and Loyalty”: Marriage in secret, in an environment of fear

In December 2008, writing for his blog on Tert.am, Vahan Ishkhanyan discussed hypocrisy in Armenian literary circles posting an extract from never before published in Armenia gay-themed poem by prominent gay Armenian poet Yeghishe Charents.

The blog also reports that not only are some media outlets now attempting to properly discuss the existence of sexual minorities in what remains a very traditional and patriarchal country, but some university students have produced a short social ad calling for tolerance in society as part of their coursework.

Brave, tastefully made, right to the point. Well done, guys! Congratulations for this excellent work!! As far as I am concerned, you passed your tests with honors.

Unzipped: Gay Armenia links to the blog of the Pink Armenia NGO which provides a translation of the text in the video.

Being homosexual is not a choice,

- Being infected with HIV, doesn't stop me being your friend,
- By denying me, you don't help me to leave drugs
- I am a sex worker…
- My mother is the best mother in the world
- We all are equal, this world is for everybody

Of course, there are those such as Real Armenia which disagree and even go as far as reminding its readers that homosexuality is condemned in The Bible.

I am so tired of this homosexualists screeming, so far here I’am placing the text for them to keep in their memories.

[…]

If the homosexual community chooses to practice homosexuality in privacy, that is there free choice. But let such persons know for certain that the Christian Bible condemns all such practices and God will judge them unfit for the kingdom of heaven if the continue to practice and openly promote homosexual sex.

Nevertheless, Unzipped: Gay Armenia also notes that there are some signs of increased openness emerging in neighboring Azerbaijan with the first web site for the LGBT community now established.

The aim of this web site is to provide local LGBT community with the LGBT-related news, educational materials, fight homophobia in Azeri society including media, and serve as a forum for LGBT Azerbaijani people.

Among upcoming plans of the “Gender & Development” NGO is to publish LGBT magazine.

Web site will be available in three languages - Azeri, Russian, and English.

Very welcome and long-awaited addition to LGBT-related resources in the South Caucasus. Will keep an eye on it.

But perhaps the most unexpected news comes in the form of an extended post on the publication in Armenia's estranged neighbor of a book detailing a love story between two homosexuals from each country set against the backdrop of the still unresolved conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.

Alekper Aliyev, editor-in-chief of kultura.az, has published, as he put it, his “most scandalous” novel “Artush and Zaur” in Baku. It’s a gay love story between an Azeri and Armenian, a sort of partial deconstruction of Ali and Nino (a heterosexual love story of Azeri Ali and Georgian Nino) having instead Azeri and Armenian male lovers against the backdrop of the emerging Karabakh conflict.

[…]

The war separates them. Artush moved to Armenia, Zaur remained in Baku. Already adults they meet again - in Tbilisi. They indulge in memories, fall in love and even get married with the help of a Dutch pastor, a confidant of the wife of Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili …

In his interview, the author argues that Azeris and Armenians share similar kitchen, music and mentality. “Armenians are closer to us than, say, Georgians” due to the influence of the Persian culture.

Alekperov says that one of the reasons of writing this novel was to expose the absurdity of all wars in the South Caucasus a la Kusturica. He believes he has the full right to do so as he lost his older brother during the Karabakh war in 1994.

[…]

Predictably, this book caused a stir and shock in Azeri forums and blogs, with plenty of hateful and homophobic comments. Some accused the author in treason and betrayal of national interests. Others claimed (with irony) that Azerbaijan now has its very own Salman Rushdie and Orhan Pamuk.

“Who f**ked who?” – this is one of the first and apparently principal questions being discussed in forums and blogs (both Azeri and Armenian), each side wishing for ‘his guy’ to f**k ‘the enemy’. […]

[…]

If you discount the nationalities and sexuality of the main characters, the plot may seem pretty routine and unremarkable. However, against the backdrop of nationalism and intolerance in the region, the very fact of the novel that tells about the love story between an Armenian and Azeri, a gay love story between an Armenian and Azeri, makes it a double taboo breaking.

However, Unzipped: Gay Armenia concludes, in a region where homophobia, intolerance and ethnic nationalism still defines society, it remains to be seen whether any reaction against the book will manifest itself as hate attacks on the author.

“Only the bravest among us are ready to break taboos,” the blog says. “Alekper Aliyev is one of them.”