Archive for
June 3rd, 2009
Stories
Tanzanian blogger faces jail term over manipulated photographic images
The Nairobi Chronicle reports that a Tanzanian blogger faces jail after publishing manipulated photographic images depicting Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete engaging in lewd sex acts.
According to Habari Leo , a Tanzanian newspaper[sw] the country’s police are seeking help from Interpol in tracing the owners and publishers of the blog.
Ze utamu (www.zeutamu.com), probably Tanzania's most controversial blog, came to the limelight by publishing a mixture of Tanzanian Diaspora gossip, nude and sex photographs of well known people as well as name-and-shaming articles. While it attracted many readers, the blog has also attracted criticism.
Some bloggers are of the opinion that the authorities did not care when posts about ordinary citizens were posted at ze utamu. A comment from a blog post at Watanzania Oslo blog that posted the Habari Leo article about the police hunt for ze utamu blog owners says:
Mtandao huu wa ze utamu umkuwepo kwa muda mrefu sana na watu wengi wasio na hatia (raia wa kawaida) wamedhalilishwa sana kupitia mtandao huo kwa picha zao kuwekwa bila ridhaa yao. nyingi ya hizo picha ni za utupu na hata zile ambazo siyo za utupu ziliwekwa bila ridhaa ya wahusika. hivi kuwekwa picha ya rais Kikwete ndo kile chombo kinachojifanya cha usalama kinakurupuka kuwasaka wenye mtandao? […]unafiki mkubwa na ufisadi aina nyingine huu. kudhalilishwa ni kudhalilishwa, ama iwe ni raia tu, kiongozi wa kawaida na hata rais.
That point was also raised by Happy Katabazi :
… wiki hii katika mtandao wa www.zeutamu.com mtandao ambao umejipambanua kwa ajili ya kupachika picha za utupu za watu wa kada zote na wanaotembelea mtandao huo huchangia mawazo yanayohusu maisha binafsi ya faragha za watu…
Na wakati mtandao huo ukiendelea kujipambanua mamlaka husika zimekuwa zikiukenulia meno mtandao huu hadi wiki hii ulipotundika picha ya kumdhalilisha rais wetu, ndipo mtandao huo umedhibitiwa kwani hivi sasa hata ukiufungua haufunguki.
And while the site became more popular, authorities [have been done little] until this week when they posted a degrading photograph of our president, and now the site is under control, even when you click the page won't open.
During the heyday of ze utamu some bloggers started campaigns to stop the blog, like the Anti-utamu [sw].
As the police search continues and despite having many readers before its disappearance, bloggers and readers who have openly come out to support Ze Utamu owners can hardly be found - at least at the time of writing this post.
Bolivia: Farewell to Aymara Hip Hop Artist Abraham Bojorquez
The sudden death of Bolivian hip-hop artist Abraham Bojorquez was especially hard on residents of El Alto, the city from which he hailed. A victim of a traffic accident involving a bus, Bojorquez left behind many fans around the world, but also left behind a legacy filled with memories and lyrics that reflected on the struggles and the hopes of a young city that has been through so much. Many Bolivian bloggers knew him well and in the weeks following his death shared their condolences and stories of how much they respected this artist.
Photo of Abraham Bojorquez by Wara Vargas / www.lamalapalabra.tk and used with permission.
A blogger from El Alto, Alberto Medrano of Letras Alteñas [es] remembers the first time he saw Bojorquez perform in Rio Seco in El Alto and how “many young people were left impressed with his cadenced rhythm of “Hip Hop” with an Andean flavor and with content of political protest and revolution, calling for justice for the bloody events of “October 2003.”
The events of October 2003 played prominently in the lyrics of Bojorquez. During that difficult time in El Alto, approximately 70 residents died during a conflict with the Armed Forces. The events have since become a rallying cry for those demanding justice.
In the early 1990s, Bojorquez emigrated to Brazil where he worked in a textile factory, but at the same time was introduced to hip hop. When he returned to El Alto, he started the group Ukamau y Ké and often rapped in the native indigenous language of Aymara. According to Cristina Quisbert of Bolivia Indigena [es], Bojorquez had “a particular style of combining hip hop with social order content and with valuing the Aymara culture, and won a place amongst the Alteño youth and in the places where he took his music and song.”
However, it was the coverage by the blog La Mala Palabra [es] that provides much of the follow-up after his death and the subsequent displays of homage and remembrance by many who knew Bojorquez. The blog publishes pictures of the wake and funeral that show the outpouring of sympathy from those that knew him well, and those that simply admired his work. At the wake, many friends and family came to pay their respects:
Su familia está destrozada y era obvio: el humilde hijo de migrantes campesinos (su familia es oriunda de Sapahaqui, provincia Loayza de La Paz) había logrado salir adelante pese a haberse criado solito, quedó huérfano muy tierno, cuando apenas tenía 4 años. Le vendría una vida jodida, en la calle, con tragos, con drogas, con pandillas, con cuates, con el trabajo esclavista en Brasil… Sus primos, sus tíos y allegados se sorprendieron el poder de convocatoria de Abraham porque cosechó con ese carisma astral-andina a montón de cuates y cuatas. Y ese fue uno de los valores que todos coincidían en destacar.
(…)
Varios tomaron el micrófono para recordarlo, para despedirlo, para decirle la buena gente que era, que es, que seguirá siendo.
His family is devastated and it was apparent: the humble son of peasant migrants (his family originated from Sapahaqui, in the province of Loazya in La Paz) was able to get ahead even though he was raised by himself, became orphaned at a young age, when he was only 4 years old. A very difficult life soon followed, in the streets, with alcohol, drugs, gangs, with pals, and with slave-like work in Brazil…. His cousins, uncles and close friends were surprised to see the power that Abraham had to bring people together because he used that Astral-Andean charisma with many friends. And that was one of the qualities that many agreed upon that he had.
(…)
Many took the microphone to remember him, to say goodbye, and to say how good a person that he was, that he is, and that he will continue to be.
La Mala Palabra [es] also writes about the burial that took place in the public cemetery in La Paz, and which attracted a wide variety of admirers, friends and fellow musicians. With such a diverse group, there was a slight disagreement on how to best pay their last respects:
Palabras póstumas, voces quebradas, cuates que alentaban a cambiar la actitud porque el Abraham hubiera deseado buena onda en su entierro. Lo despidieron sus cuates hiphoperos que escupieron su flow jodidas por las lágrimas. Un charango y una quena hicieron de coro y también los de la Saya Afroboliviana pusieron su canto, uno muy lastimero mezclado con resignación.
(…)
Antes de que el féretro ingrese al nicho hubo una singular disputa. Mientras uno de los familiares se puso a rezar, fue recriminado el hecho de que Bojorquez no era católico y que con el silencio debería respetar la memoria del finado. Sin embargo, otros presentes dijeron que el Abraham hubiera respetado la forma de pensar distinta y diversa a la suya, pues creía en la integración de todos. Todo un dilema.
Posthumous words, broken voices, and friends who encouraged a change in attitude because Abraham would have wanted a good mood at his burial. His hip-hop friends said goodbye with a rap jumbled with tears. A charango and a quena provided the chorus and even the Afro-Bolivian saya provided their song, one of pity mixed with resignation.
(…)
Before the coffin entered into its niche, there was only one dispute. While one of his relatives started to pray, he was reproached because Bojorquez was not Catholic and the memory of the deceased should be respected with silence. However, others who were present said that Abraham would have respected the different and diverse beliefs of others, because he believed in the integration of all. It was a complete dilemma.
Video spot of a public service campaign against noise pollution. Performed by Bojorquez's group Ukamau y Ké in Aymara with Spanish subtitles
Nevertheless, words of sympathy from all across Bolivia continue to arrive from fellow musician, such as Ronaldo of Animal de Ciudad [es] from Santa Cruz. Bojorquez had performed across Latin America and had shared the stage with many well-known artists like Manu Chao and Bersuit Vergarabat. Finally, the blogger Pez Fumador [es] sums up his feelings after learning about his death:
No suelo ser muy expresivo en los momentos de dolor, pero la súbita partida de Abraham Bohórquez ha rajado algo en mi alma. Un joven trovador con muchas propuestas, con una lectura justa y visionaria de muchas cosas en nuestro país, el Ukamau y Ké me permitió conocer las vetas políticas y estéticas del hip hop en nuestro país. Además, me ayudó a tender puentes urgentes con mi hija… para poder seguir avanzando en este mundo cruel. Realmente una pérdida jodida para muchos… escuchando las canciones de Abraham, aprendimos sobre la realidad de los jóvenes, de la lucha contra el racismo y de muchas contradicciones nuestras y tuyas también.
Guatemala: The Murder of Father Rosebaugh in the Ixcán
One week after the murder of Rodrigo Rosemberg and the infamous video, as well as the subsequent protests dubbed the “white tsunami,” another violent murder took place in El Ixcán, Guatemala. Armed men intercepted the car carrying 5 missionaries on their way to a meeting. Shots rang out and a Congolese priest, the Rev. Jean Claude Nowama was seriously injured and a priest from the United States, the Rev. Lawrence Rosebaugh was killed. The incident brought an end to the life of Rosebaugh, who is best remembered as a champion of non-violence and peace during his years serving in Latin America.
Photo of Father Lawrence Rosebaugh and used with permission by Pastoral Social del Ixcán
Fellow priest from the same order and blogger, Joaquín Martínez Vega of Postulación General OMI [es] remembers Rosebaugh:
Ironías de la Vida: el P. Lorenzo Rosebagh, OMI, que siempre caminaba a pie o en bicicleta (incluso desde Estados Unidos a Brasil) para ir al encuentro de sus predilectos: los niños de la calle y los afectados por el Sida, fue asesinado en un coche. Iba al volante de una furgoneta, con cuatro misioneros más que acudían a una reunión con sus hermanos, los oblatos de la Delegación de Guatemala.
Life is ironic: during his life, P. Lorenzo Rosebagh, OMI, who always walked or rode on a bicycle (even from the United States to Brazil) in order to to reach his favorite groups to work with: street children and AIDS patients, was murdered driving a car. He was driving a van, traveling together with four other missionaries, to attend a meeting with their peers, the OMI from the Guatemalan delegation.
Father Lawrence Rosebaugh and used with permission from the Arca community.
Rosebaugh has been described as “A friend of the poor” by the blog of the Arca community in Spain. During his 74 years on the earth, he had protested against the Vietnam War and advocated for the less fortunate during the civil war in El Salvador. In addition, he protested against nuclear weapons, against the School of the Americas, and had landed in prison several times because of his pacific resistance. He chose to return and work with the poor in “El Ixcán” in Guatemala. In his autobiography he wrote:
De vuelta a los Estados Unidos, después de haber estado con los pobres y haber experimentado sus condiciones de vida, me siento como pez fuera del agua. Suspiro por el día en que pueda volver a Guatemala.
Back in the United States, after being with the poor and experiencing their life conditions, I feel like a fish out of water. I dream of the day that I can return to Guatemala.
The Ixcán Region by Turn the City and used under a Creative Commons license. http://www.flickr.com/photos/smilegonesour/2869466038/
The community of Playa Grande Ixcán located in El Quiché, which Rosebaugh chose to work with is often complex and dangerous. However, its landscape is beautiful and its people are welcoming, but have had a difficult history during the armed conflict. Many of the communities that live there belong to different ethnic groups, and each has a different meaning for the name of their region based on the language, as explained by the blog Seguimiento Consultas [es]:
Para los kaqchikeles el termino Ixcán significa Mujer Serpiente o Madre Serpiente, haciendo referencia a la forma de serpiente que toma el río Chixoy y el río Ixcán en su trayectoria por el Municipio y dentro del territorio mexicano. En el idioma Canjob'al, Ixcán significa tierra de muchos relámpagos y muchas lluvias, seguramente haciendo referencia a esta característica del Municipio sobre todo en el inicio de la época de lluvias.
For the Cakchiquel the term “Ixcán” means Serpent Woman or Serpent Mother, and it refers to the shape of Chixoy River and Ixcan River in their paths across the village and inside Mexican territory. In Q´anjob´al language, it means the land of thunder, since electrical storms are characteristic of the village during the rainy season.
This area was hit hard during the Civil War. Ten years ago, the United Nations Comission declared that the State had committed crimes against humanity [es] in the Ixcán area and that those responsible should be prosecuted. Many of these crimes were committed against members of the Catholic Church.
James Rodríguez of Mi Mundo explains about the Catholic Church's historical presence in this region and the communities' resistance against State-sponsored repression:
During the mid 1960's, several government and church-sponsored programs were developed in order to colonize the densely forested region of Ixcan. Covered by a thick jungle, Ixcan is located on the northern third of the department of Quiche, bordering with Chiapas, Mexico. During the beginning of the 1970's, the efforts to populate the region gave birth to the five communities that together once formed the Great Ixcan Co-Op of Various Services: Mayalan, Xalbal, Pueblo Nuevo, Cuarto Pueblo, and finally Los Angeles. “In 1975,” however, “a gradual process of militarization spread across Ixcan, which coincided with the beginning of activities by the Poor Peoples Guerilla Army (EGP) in the region.”
In 1982 the repression [by the army] against the communities in Ixcan rises massively in scale due to the new counterinsurgency policy implemented by the military. Known as the Scorched Earth campaign, the new strategy dictates the complete extermination and destruction of entire communities so as to defeat the guerrilla [by wiping out what was perceived to be their base structures]. It is under this new policy that the Cuarto Pueblo massacres take place, surely the ones with the most historical impact in Ixcan.”
The Catholic Church has played a protagonist role throughout Ixcan’s history: during the 1960’s and 70’s, several of the colonization programs were sponsored by it. In addition, thanks to the support of Monsignor Julio Cabrera, previous Bishop of Quiché, a loan from CARITAS was granted which allowed the community to buy the former San Isidro Ranch in 1996, known today as the Community Primavera del Ixcan.
Now years later, another type of crime is responsible for the death of Father Lawrence, in what is being described as a robbery or carjacking. Eight other people were murdered in the same area in less than a month, according to Combate Virtual [es], a blog that republished a communique from the Guatemalan Syndicate Union of Workers that is demanding justice for these recent deaths.
Chinese people's reaction to North Korea missile test
While the international society is working hard to maintain the security and peace on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea has conducted the second nuclear test on 25 May and launched several missile tests the following days. As the Chinese government has been in good relation with North Korea, it would be interesting to see the mainland Chinese people's opinions on the recent North Korea’s military provocation.
Yide, a mainland blogger predicted that China would not show a strong military alliance with North Korea as it did during the Korean war. He listed out three reasons as below:
1）與美國再度軍事對抗不符合大陸的核心利益，大陸早就步入了以經濟建設為中心的軌道，實行的是市場經濟，並實現著與世界經濟之融合。大陸的經濟已與美國的經濟密不可分，兩相依賴；其政治權威之的合法性很大程度上依賴于持續繁榮，而繁榮能否保持則在於能否進入美國市場。
2） 自中韓建交之後，北韓便認為中國背離了傳統的社會主義軌道，兩國在意識形態領域出現著巨大分歧，諸多大陸資深評論家已對北韓持嚴厲批評的態度。如張璉瑰 說：“相對於穩定而言，我更關心的是朝鮮半島的無核化。我們的鄰國進行核子試驗不符合中國的利益。”、張玉山則說：“北韓已成為中國的一大問題。它已成為 世界上一個危險的角色。”
3）中韓兩國高層領導多次互訪，並在國際多邊活動中會晤，增進了相互理解和信任，推動了兩國關係的發展。…相比之下，大陸與北韓2008年經濟貿易額僅20多億美元，不足中韓數字的半個零頭。
金正日政權抱著“會哭多鬧得奶吃”的邏輯行事，不顧大陸之感受，逼奧巴馬讓步，這次大約再也不靈。如今的現實是：朝核問題已經成為中國身邊的火藥桶。
Kim Jong Il is indeed following the logic of “crying over spilled milk” to push the Obama’s administration for more concession regardless of Chinese government's standpoint. However, this tactic can no longer work. Now the fact is: the Korean nuclear problem has become the barrel of gunpowder next to China.
Another Chinese blogger in Shangdong was outraged by North Korea's nuclear test. As she shared in her blog,
正当国际社会最近一在努力争取恢复朝核六方会谈的时候，朝鲜忽然反其道而行之，于5月25 日再次进行地下核试验。到这则新闻时，我真的无语了 。 无赖！ 当前的朝鲜局势看上去是稳定的，但朝鲜拥有了核武装之后，其局势或稳定或动荡，最大的承受方就是中国。当然，朝鲜之所以发展核武器，公开目标是指向美国，日本和韩国，但在客观上，她是中国周边地区的新隐患
On the Qiangguo forum, an official website which is run by China’s state owned The People’s Daily, netizens spelled out their anger over the nuclear test in the comment section:
Fengfeng diandian sen wrote,
朝鲜是唯一依靠别国的经济援助试验核武器的国家。也是是唯一在人员密集区进行核爆炸的国家。中国试验地点在新疆罗布泊无人区，而法国是在国外的一个荒岛，由于造成附近土著人患有原子病，要求赔偿的呼声一直缠绕法国政府。而朝鲜试验地点竟在中朝边境地区….
这种以邻为壑的行为实在令人失望！要知道中国几乎是朝新在世界上仅存的朋友，每年向它无偿提供了大量的石油、粮食。只是靠中国不断的输血朝鲜才能勉强维持至今。但是朝鲜未别国宝贵的援助用于民生，却直接威胁援助国的安全。
Another comment said,
朝鲜核动作，其出发点是要美国的承认，其宿命是核绑架中国
Fiji: ‘A Christian state'?
Fiji’s government has canceled this year’s conference of the Methodist church, claiming the week-long meeting would foster instability.
The move was announced from a statement from government police and military forces, arguing that “inciteful issues are going to be discussed at the conference.”
Fiji’s Methodists gather each August at a different location to take part in choral competitions, collect money for the church’s work and discuss social and political issues.
Church leaders hoped to gain an audience to plead their case with Commodore Frank Bainimarama, the country’s military and political leader (and practicing Methodist). Bainimarama, who told Church leaders no conference until politics leaves their pulpits, came to power in a 2006 coup that dissolved parliament and what he termed the corrupt and racist pro-indigenous Fijian government of Laisenia Qarase, also a practicing Methodist.
The coup was immediately criticized by Fiji's Methodist church, the largest spiritual group in the country, comprising 35 percent of the population, where nine out of ten members are indigenous Fijians. However, some other Christian denominations (like the Catholic church) and some Hindu and Muslim groups at least initially supported the new government’s promise to make life easier for the country’s poor and help heal the rifts caused by racial tensions.
That is not to say the Methodist church’s hierarchy has always opposed military interventions on Fiji’s governments. Before Bainimarama’s December 2006 takeover, Fiji’s previous three military coups – all taking place since 1987 – were carried out under the banner of ethnic Fiji nationalism and supported by at least some members of the hierarchy of the Methodist church. (At least one commentator argues that since the 2000 coup that deposed the government of an Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, the Church has changed its approach toward furthering indigenous rights through destabilizing coups. )
Many think Fiji’s deep-seated political troubles started when British colonial rulers began importing workers from the Indian sub-continent to toil in Fiji’s burgeoning sugar and copra plantations. Yet more than a few scholars will argue religion is a major, if not the major, cleavage between Fijians and Indo-Fijians. Indigenous Fijians began embracing Christianity 180 years ago, after the first missionaries appeared on the islands. The country’s ethnic Indians are largely practicing Hindus, with 15 percent Muslims and six percent identifying themselves as Christian.
The government’s decision to cancel the Methodist conference is another chapter in the dispute between the two parties. Methodist church hierarchy has continually opposed the People’s Charter for Change, the Bainimarama regime’s blueprint for creating a more racially inclusive Fiji, saying the government’s lack of popular support forbids it from concerning itself with constitutional changes. (Former members of the Qarase government attempted to debate the Charter at during last year’s Methodist conference.) The government has argued in the past that church leaders deliberately mislead parishioners by bringing up emotional themes like the government would like to change land ownership laws allowing non-ethnic Fijians to purchase land.
On April 10, Fiji’s President nullified the country’s constitution and provided the Bainimarama government with a five-year mandate. A few weeks later, authorities arrested and held for two days a high ranking member of the Methodist Church, Rev. Manasa Lasaro, for calling for elections and a return to democratic rule. (Church hierarchy also argued for returning to the now-defunct 1997 constitution, a free and independent media and for the government to abide by a court ruling – now invalidated — that declared that Bainimarama came to power illegally and should step aside.) It was during this time, the government warned the Methodist Church against attempting to cause instability, claiming it would defer the conference indefinitely.
As one could anticipate, the conference’s cancellation has become an emotional topic among bloggers, who are debating the role religion plays in the country.
From Soli Vakasama
This move just proves the monster despotic p ig and his illegal regimes loss of moral standing, not only in Fiji but the rest of the world.
P ig Bhainimarama and the illegal regimes reckless threats toward innocent citizens of Fiji is a sure sign of immense insecurity on their part.
After all, what could a group of Methodists and their choirs, that could hardly be described as dangerous or even mildly violent do or say that we and the rest of the world are already aware of about the cowardly p ig and his cowardly army and coup apologists.
The bipolar despotic p ig controls the stupid army and preserves power by lavishing favours on the barmy army officers and police chiefs whose hands are so steeped in blood that regime change would be their own nemesis.
From Soli Vakasama Worldwide Movement:
Bainimarama has shown by his actions that he relies on his own personal wisdom and power and the might of his Police and army. The true might of any nation is not in its army or weaponry, not in its firepower but in Godes power. The future of Fiji lies in the Church standing up to do God’s work of salvation and implanting God’s truth, justice, freedom and love in the nation.
It is quite clear from the detention of Rev Lasaro and the demands now being placed on the Church by the Bainimarama government and the Police and military that they do not respect the Church, the freedom of belief, and the duty of the Church to be God’s voice of truth, justice, peace and compassion to the nation. Bainimarama is now laying down a challenge to the Church, as the Caesar’s have done in early Christian Rome and oppressive regimes have done to persecute the Church through the ages.
Come what may, the Church will stand firm in its belief that God is the ultimate authority; it derives its courage from the fact that despite suffering and His death at Calvary, Christ has risen triumphant.
From Semi Meo, writing at Raw Fiji News.
The Dictator must have amongst his advisors seasoned theologians who convincingly quantified the possibility of “inciteful issues are going to be discussed at the conference” of Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma.
This Dictator and the IG must be told that the very ethos of their political and so called legal existence is contrary to the every fundamental tenets of the Christian faith that turned us away from eating each other toward eating outside our species….opps…did not consider pro-IG theologians may be some Pentecostals churches, some Muslim theologians, Hindus, Buddhist and Military’s own cadre of padres.
Since when has this slayer of political democracy, destroyer of social cohesion and robber of economic independence and prosperity promoted himself as supreme spiritual mediator between the rest of us and deities we respectively esteems?
More than a few support the cancellation of this year’s conference.
Kalougata, from Fiji Board Exiles:
I've said it before, the Methodist Church of Fiji stopped being a “christian church” became a “political party” long ago. Now they are about to reap what they have sown. They have long ago changed from planting the seeds of Jesus and the teachings of the Bible to planting the seeds of politics, power, and money grabbing. All pathetic earthly endeavors. The Methodist hierarchy depends on the HUGE amounts of money they raise from the annual conference to line their pockets (it sure hasn't gone to their hospital, they depend on the govt. for that money).
Again, Fiji Board Exiles. This time Alohabula1
Now if you go back to your school books I am sure you will recall the Great Schism and other events that separated religion from politics. There was a good reason for that obviously, because often politics are polar opposites of religious practices everywhere in the world. We all wish it weren't but politics sometimes ends up being the “hatchet man”.. No matter what religion a person embraces the concepts are pretty much the same. When religion and politics mix you get the Crusades and Jihads etc and all matters of dastardly deeds in God's name…
There are a lot of choices being made in Fiji, right now and I seriously doubt that God is going to come down and strike the present administration with pestilence, death or a rain of frogs. If HE were to do that he would have done it to some of the members of previous administrations many of whom quite happily indulged in the Seven deadly sins and broke a few of the commandments like lying, stealing and lots of coveting in the parking lots and other romantic locations.
In a post written when Reverend Lasaro was imprisoned by the government written by IslGirl in Real Fiji News:
Are we heading towards a Christian state? Ratu Soqosoqo a Kadavu chief said before the 2006 election ‘if we cannot make Fiji a Christian country the we chiefs should make our territories and everyone in them Christians’
One man one vote is obviously and alien concept for the Methodist church as they are dictating to their members what they will and will not accept, democracy is long dead in Fiji. And for all other citizens of Fiji understand this, the Methodist church is blackmailing its followers and amounts to nothing short of management by fear on behalf of the leaders of the church.
The real battle in this lies between the military and removing the SDL/Methodist power base that was leading this country to ruin.
Methodist Church and the [former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase’s] SDL party are one and the same, they do not want a democratically elected government, they do not want reforms and they most certainly do not want the one man one voting system, as this will mean the end of their power base in Fiji.
From Fiji: The Way it Was, Is and Can Be:
The Christian, and particularly the Methodist, church occupies a unique position in Fiji. It is the repository and major beneficiary of both Fijian traditional values and a colonial heritage that entrenched those values. The Church, respect for chiefs and “being Fijian,” and the State are seen as one. Attack one and all could collapse. A major reason why some Fijians oppose Bainimarama, and what he says he's trying to achieve, is because he has “detached” the state from this trilogy, and in so doing has threatened their privileged position, and the perks that go with it.
Such people (the so-called Taukei element within the church) hold that their church and their values are the only true values in Fiji (non-Chistians presumably have no worthwhile values.) They are lukewarm to the ecumenicalism of Interfaith Search Fiji and the Fiji Council of Churches. They were instrumental in founding the racial, “born again,” fundamentalist Assembly of Christian Churches in Fiji (ACCF). Unlike most Methodist leaders in other countries, they have no honest interest in democracy (or civil rights) except when it suits them to uphold their position.
Many people have good reason to oppose Bainimarama but these people are not among them. They oppose Bainimarama for exactly the same reasons they supported the Rabuka and Speight coups: to retain power and privilege in the name of protecting ethnic Fiijian rights.
Niger: Widespread opposition to president's bid to extend rule
Tensions are on the rise in Niger as President Mamadou Tandja moves forward with a referendum that, if passed, would allow the 71 year-old leader to modify the constitution and extend his 10-year rule.
Mamadou Tandja, President of Niger since 1999, wants to amend the constitution so he can stay in office.
Last week, Tandja dissolved the National Assembly following a ruling by Niger's constitutional court that holding such a referendum would be a breach of his oath of office, and thus illegal. Monday, a demonstration in Niamey, the capital, turned violent when security forces fired tear gas on protestors, while in Dosso, 140 km to the west, protesters set fire to vehicles. An array of opposition parties, unions and NGOs have announced massive demonstrations and strikes for June 7th.
It was difficult to find citizen media, blogs, or online forums within Niger discussing the referendum, however bloggers in neighboring countries like Burkina Faso and Chad are closely watching as events unfold.
tchad futur writes:
Ces derniers temps, dans la plupart des pays d'Afrique, les modifications constitutionnelles sont à la mode, se réalisent malgré l'opposition des sensibilités socio-politiques et au gré des dirigeants.
Le Niger, pays qui a donné l'exemple d'une bonne léçon de la démocratie avec la réalisation de sa première alternance politique et démocratique, est happé par ces révisons constitutionnelles au nez et à la barbe de l'opinion internationale.
In most African countries, constitutional modifications have become the fashion, for the pleasure of the leaders, in spite of opposition from socio-political elements.
Niger, a country that, with the realization of its first democratic handover, has become an example of democracy, is mired by these constitutional revisions, right under the nose of international opinion.
So far, Libyan president Moummar Kadhafi is the only head of state to publicly support the referendum. Both the US and Canada have spoken out against it. tchad futur predicts France will stay quiet given the uranium deal the French company AREVA signed with Niger in January.
En Afrique, les révisions constitutionnelles ne font pas avec la volonté du peuple mais au gré des puissances étrangères, dont les intérêts doivent être garantis au détriment des valeurs démocratiques ou des droits de l'homme baffoués.
In Africa, constitutional amendments do not happen with the will of the people, but rather at the pleasure of foreign powers, whose interests must be protected, to the detriment of democratic values and human rights.
On Burkinabe news site LeFaso.net, Alain Saint Robespierre writes about Niger's “Constitutional Coup d'Etat”:
Dans cet imbroglio politique, une chose est néanmoins sûre : l’homme fort de Niamey ne reculera devient rien ni personne pour faire aboutir le projet de prolongation de son mandat à la tête du pays. Et là, pas du tout. Pour tous ceux qui croyaient le chef de l’Etat nigérien capable de faire machine arrière dans sa volonté de prolonger, au mépris de la loi, son bail présidentiel, l’heure est à la désillusion.
Nonetheless, in this political imbroglio, one this is sure: the strong man of Niamey will not retreat for anything or anyone in order to realize his plan to prolong his mandate at the head of the country. For all those who believed the Nigerian commander-in-chief capable of moving backward in order to extend , at the expense of the law, his presidential lease, we are in the hour of disillusion.
In response, a reader named koudka writes:
Pauvre de nous africains ! il faut que ça change. le peuple nigérien ne mérite pas cela. quand je pense que il y en des chefs d’état qui estiment que leur pays ne sera rien sans eux alors que depuis longtemps qu’ils sont chefs rien n’a été fait. j’ai envis de changer de planête tout simplement…
We poor Africans! This has to change. The Nigerien people don't deserve this. When I think that there are heads of state who believe their country will be nothing without them, while in all the time they have been head of state, they have done nothing. Quite simply, I want to change the world…
Laye, referring to former president Ibrahim Bare Mainassa's assassination, thinks Tandja is playing with fire, and ignoring history:
Comme quelqu’un qui m’a devancé l’a déjà dit, il y en a qui ont oublié ce que c’est que le Wankage. Et c’est clair qu’il y aura coup d’Etat au Niger, et très clair que Tandja sera tué. De tte façon il ne mérite pas mieux.
As someone noted before me, some have forgotten Wanke. It's clear there will be a coup d'Etat in Niger, and that Tandja will be killed. At any rate, he doesn't deserve any better.
And applauds those who are standing up to Tandja:
Bravo à l’Assemblée Nationale Nigérienne, à Mahamane Ousmane, à la Cour Constitutionnelle, au Président Guermakoye, à …, aux Nigériens !
Bravo to the Nigerien National Assembly, to Mahamane Ousame, to the Constitutional Court, to President Guermakoye, to…to the Nigeriens!
Traps:
Mr Tandja , ce qu’on a pas pu faire en dix ans on le fera jamais en deux ou trois ans . Il etait temps pour toi de t’en aller. Tu as insulte la democratie africaine. Mr Tandja tu aurais du donner le bon exemple a tes freres acrochards de pouvoir. Tandja . Vas t’en . Aller ouste .
Mr. Tandja, what you could not do in ten years, you will never do in two or three. It is time for you to go. You insult African democracy. Mr. Tandja, you should have been a good example to your brothers holding onto power. Tandja, get out of here. Off you go.
Links for Wed, 2009-06
The latest review of the Washington Post's Russia coverage - “Pravda on the Potomac” - at The Ivanov Report.
Ukrainiana explains “the master plan about to be implemented by opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych (PRU) and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT)”: “Imagine Obama and McCain had chosen not to run. Imagine that, instead, they had agreed to rewrite the Constitution and appoint each other president and vice president, respectively. Imagine, also, that they had bribed Congress by extending its term to 2014.”
The latest Russia Blog Roundup and the latest New Russia Blog review - at Siberian Light.
Tanvir Alim at LGBTI Bangladesh blog, a source of information about the LGBT scene in Bangladesh, writes about the observation of the International day against Homophobia and Trans phobia in the capital Dhaka.
SentientBeing creates a tag cloud of South Africa's president first State of the Nation address: “If you, like me, lack both the time and the inclination to read through and decipher the speech, have a look at the tag cloud we've created of the entire address using Wordle. The full speech can be found here on the Government website.”
A story about harvesting water from volcanic steam vents: “A unique water harvesting method has been devised in the drought ridden crater of Mt. Suswa, which is dotted with continuously puffing scorching steam vents.”
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