Archive for
June 4th, 2009
Stories
Sri Lanka: A Suppressed Nation
According to channel 4 approximately 20,000 people have been killed in the final battle between LTTE and Sri Lankan army. There are reports that from more than 300,000 IDPs ‘13,000 people are missing from their camps in Sri Lanka‘. Innercitypress, an UN watchdog, comments that this information is being downplayed by UN.
‘Aid workers forced to leave Sri Lanka under strict new visa rules‘ says a Timesonline report dated June 3, 2009. While access to many IDP camps are still not possible for the international journalists and aid workers, and the information are being suppressed, it is hard to hear the voices from these IDP camps.
IDP Camps in Sri Lanka, Image by Foreign and Commonwealth Office, used under a Creative Commons License
Regini David, a human rights, women and workers' rights activist, has been working with vulnerable people for the past 23 years. In her blog, ‘Unheard Voices‘, she has started writing about the very unheard voices from Sri Lanka, voices of the people she worked with. Her extensive experience includes her work in ‘Poorani Women's Centre', Jaffna, Sri Lanka. She chronicles one of her personal experiences in ‘Our lost dark nights of war in Sri Lanka: Women and rape‘.
One day Pat Ready and I went to the army camp and informed Captain George that we are a non-violent group and his soldiers should not come to our centre, especially inside without permission. Pat told him that she will be traveling to Colombo and asked him to tell his army to not to come to our centre or frighten the women who are living there. She informed him that if proper action is not taken, she would report to the International Community. He agreed and came to see and toured the centre.
The day Pat left, Captain George came to our doors at late night, drunk with his gun slung over his shoulder. We had hired a new administrator from Jaffna University. As soon as we saw Army Captain and his gun, many women and my sisters who came to visit the centre on that day and my grandmother hide themselves under the bed and in rooms. The administrator and two other women tried to talk to him while the Tamil armed group who came with him waited outside. I hid myself behind the front door. The administrator started to talk. George was asking all the questions as he pretended not to know any information about the centre. He requested her to take him to show the place that we are going to use for nursery which was filled with bushes and was dark. The administrator started to shake and cry but her feet were moving. I know why he asked her and what he wanted. I came out and said “Hi Captain George! Why do you want to see again. You came here before and were informed that you and your group cannot come here. Why are you here?” He was startled to see me there. He said that he was just checking to see if we are all safe. I said if there were any problem, we would inform and requested him to leave. He left. Even though I was so terrified and shaking, I had to do this to save our sisters and me. I felt very strong at that time even though I did not belong to the same status as Dr.Rajini and Pat and was very young at that time. I spoke out for the first time against an army and have never seen even my mother or neighbours challenge the army.
That night, we slept in one of our neighbor’s house. The old woman had asthma. So many boots walked in the SARUHUKAL (dry leaves) and kicked Poorani’s doors throughout the night. The sound squeezed our hearts. The old women, our neighbour’s asthma started acting up and she could not breath. She was making so much noise, we had to hold her mouth and block her breathing on and off to save all of us. That night our eyes did not close. I can not explain the fear and sorrow till the boots and the smell left us that morning.
She continued:
We learnt when we hide we get assaulted, so we decided to stay together but they the terrifying men selected us by the look of our body and asked to go to the rooms for check up with them. With their gun inside our mouth they tested if our breast are bombs or if we carry guns in our vagina. Our voice were blocked inside the gun barrel stuck inside mouth. Our body become the frozen ice as blood became frozen inside our body as our eyes were looking for help. There is no rule or hands to wipe our tears of blood. We let our entire body to be frozen. There are so many tests happened to my friends and sisters like this but we keep quite and only told our mothers.
Worse is that these women will continue to be affected by their experiences, says Regini:
It did not stop. We, as women carry the dirt feeling and effect with us everywhere we go. I have counseled many women who do not want to let their husbands touch their bodies. And their voice is again buried within themselves as they were afraid that they would be abandoned by their husbands and society.
Washinton Post's Emily Wax wrote ‘Privacy Goes Public in Sri Lanka - During Military Checks, Modesty Is a Casualty‘ in March, 2009 confirming about these violations in the name of control. Alex Crawford of Sky News, UK wrote of ‘Claims Of Abuse In Sri Lankan Refugee Camps‘ on May 21, 2009 with an accompanying video.
Regini David, in her post titled ‘Buried for years in our backyards: Stories of Rape, Hunger, and Death from SriLankan Tamil Women‘ talks about her personal experience in a camp in the childhood and how these stories are buried:
I became an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) when I was just 13 years old. Our house was bombed out. We did not know where to go. We ran and ran. The stench of corpses was everywhere. They were not just dead bodies. They were my uncles, sisters, friends and neighbours.
[..]
The Sri Lankan Government told the world that my uncles are safe… The Sri Lankan government told the world that my sisters did not get raped. They told the world that it was not true. But the truth is they are all gone.
Our stories are buried in our backyards, but our nights are full of these stories.
Protesting the silence of international community Britain's Tim Martin, a former aid worker has been on a hunger strike for the past 15 days in London, which has gone almost unreported in the mainstream media.
The war has ended but threats to free speech still persist in Sri Lanka. A reputed journalist Sunanda Deshapriya quotes ‘Reporters Sans Frontiers' in his post titled ‘Journalists trying to cover fate of Tamils threatened, obstructed- RSF‘. Meanwhile, J.S. Tissainayagam, mentioned by President Obama in a statement released on May 1, 2009 in honor of World Press Freedom Day still languishes in jail.
Another Sri Lanka journalist, ‘a Sinhalese this time was attacked‘ says CPJ - Committee to Protect Journalists. A Sri Lankan rights group had also received some threats the day after the journalist was attacked. ‘Stark warnings for those seen traitors in Sri Lanka‘ says Reuters.
Innercitypress ‘reports that‘ UN was unhappy with the reporting on Sri Lanka by the press, particularly Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and Inner City Press and planned to take actions.
So do all these impact on the normalization of the situation? Udara Soysa comments that the Sri Lankan Govt's conduct on IDPs will determine the future Sinhala-Tamil relationship‘.
Myanmar: Collapse of an Ancient Pagoda
An ancient pagoda collapsed while it was going under renovation, killing at least 5 people, injuring many workers and pilgrims.
Collapsed Danoke Pagoda (from New Era Journal)
The 180-foot Danoke Pagoda is situated in Dala Township, which is across the Yangon River, in Yangon Division. The pagoda was originally damaged during Cyclone Nargis, so it had been going under renovation.
Just on May 7th, 2009, there had been an umbrella-hoisting ceremony at Danoke Pagoda, which was attended by military leader Senior General Than Shwe's wife.
The New Era Journal reported:
An old woman who lives in Danoke Village near the pagoda said, “What happened was around 2pm, the hti-taw (ornamental finial of the pagoda) collapsed first, yet there was no strong wind blowing. At that time, the renovation team on scaffolding tried to adjust the collapsed hti-taw again. About 10 minutes later, I heard a roar and the whole top part of the pagoda collapsed, raising dust and everything turned black. I was lucky, but one of my sons who was working injured his skull, and another son had a bruise on his shoulder and a backache.”
Eyewitnesses said there were about 100 people at the pagoda at that time, including the pagoda renovation team, and those who volunteers at the pagoda on Saturday and Sunday. Among them were navy officers who were volunteering at the pagoda, and many of them were also injured.
An eyewitness said to New Era Journal:
“The pagoda was going through its final stage, ready to be covered with gold leaf, so there were a lot of people on the scaffolding. So it was difficult to jump down and escape. There are at least 50 people still trapped under the rubble. About 50 injured were carried off as in-patients to hospitals.”
A red-cross volunteer at the scene said:
“So far, there have been 5 deaths. The bodies have already been carried out. There are still people who are buried and we're trying to save them.”
The above quotes from New Era Journal article were translation done by the author. The original article was written in Burmese language.
Cuba, USA: OAS Says “Yes”
After 47 years, the Organization of American States has lifted its ban on Cuba's admission to the group, with most member states restoring ties with the island nation. The United States, which still maintains a trade embargo against Cuba, was the notable exception, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham-Clinton advocated for democratic and human rights reforms in Cuba as pre-requisites to the island's readmission. But the opinions of other hemispheric leaders, some of which were previewed at the recent 5th Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, won out. Cuba is free to be part of the OAS - despite its leadership's statements suggesting that it has no interest in returning. A few bloggers are making their feelings known…
Circles Robinson, writing for Havana Times, says:
Hillary Clinton left San Pedro de Sula, Honduras for Egypt on Tuesday wondering whether her lobbying effort on behalf of the Obama administration to keep Cuba suspended from the Organization of American States (OAS) would work. It didn’t.
The message from Honduras was that there is no reason to keep Cuba out, leaving it up to the government of Raul Castro to decide when and whether the island chooses to resume active membership.
In a related matter, El Salvador restored diplomatic relations with the Cuba on Monday, leaving the US as the only country in the Western Hemisphere without normal ties with the Caribbean island.
The Cuban Triangle quotes the full text of the adopted OAS resolution, while Along the Malecon gives a comprehensive overview of the positions of different member states. Quoting Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who commented, “The Cold War has ended this day in San Pedro Sula. We begin a new era of fraternity and tolerance”, the blogger quips:
If there is a new era of brotherhood, I'm not so sure it's reached every corner of Washington - or South Florida.
As if to confirm his suspicions, diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense has the last word:
The OAS readmits Cuba…and yet all those Cubans whose names are on the right sidebar of this blog remain in prison.
As a region, Latin America has made tremendous strides towards democracy over the past couple of years. Only one country - Cuba, which for much of its Castro-era history has tried to undermine its neighbors - is ruled by an unelected dictatorship, when that sort of tyranny used to be more of the norm in the hemisphere.
But with its decision Wednesday to readmit Cuba, the Organization of American States betrayed those in their respective countries who sacrificed so much to accomplish that progress towards democracy.
There's a lot of change, some of it maybe warranted, in how the world, including the United States, is dealing with Cuba. But until there is change in Cuba, and by Cuba, it all rings quite hollow and smells quite awful.
The OAS' open door may still prove to be a moot point: it all depends on whether or not Cuba chooses to walk through it.
Brazil: Land reform or deforestation boost for the Amazon?
National land will be donated to Brazilians in a program called ‘Terra Legal' (Legal Land), a package of measures to boost the government-backed redistribution of land and to establish rules for those who have lived and cultivated national land without being its legal owners.
The bill passed through Brazil's Chamber of Deputies last month and was approved in the Senate last night. It now heads for the President's signature. If approved, the move will grant land title to 300,000 properties illegally established across some 600,000 square kilometres of protected Amazon forest.
The rules set by Provisory Measure (MP) number 458, signed by Brazilian President Lula da Silva in February 2009, target mainly areas of the so called Legal Amazon – Brazil's largest socio-geographic area – raising major concerns and coming in for significant criticism from different groups within society.
On one hand, government members say that the project is going to help the forest out of deforestation; on the other hand environmentalists argue it is going to benefit land owners only, and that it will be the last straw for an Amazon rain forest already on its way to destruction.
Ana Cotta/Used with permission
Ana Cotta/Used with permission
Ana Cotta/Used with permission. A series of photos titled: "The beginning, the middle and the end"
Provisory Measure 458 allows the Government to transfer, without official bidding, up to 1.5 thousand hectares of its properties to settlers of the Legal Amazon areas. In a report published on Amazonia [pt], a website specialized in forest matters, Flávio Bonanome points out some problems:
Contrariando as últimas declarações polêmicas do Ministro do Meio Ambiente, Carlos Minc, que colocou a Medida Provisória 458 como uma “Vitória Ambientalista”, o especialista em ocupação humana e conflitos agrários na Amazônia e professor do Departamento de Geografia da Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ariovaldo Umbelino de Oliveira, criticou a medida e afirmou que “A MP fere o princípio constitucional de função social da terra” (…)
Durante sua exposição, que durou cerca de 30 minutos, Oliveira criticou também os projetos fundiários do governo na Amazônia Legal. “O Estado não deveria alimentar assentamentos na Amazônia. Não há esta necessidade. O problema é que o Estado não criou mecanismos para regular suas próprias terras. Estão ao sabor das elites”, afirmou o pesquisador.
During his presentation, which lasted 30 minutes, Oliveira also criticised the Legal Amazon, the government land program. “The State should not encourage settlements in the Amazon. There is no need for this. The problem is that the State has not created mechanisms to rule its own lands. It has been up to the elite to decide”, said the researcher.
Ana Cotta/Used with permission
For some analysts, the main problem with the law is that it does not differentiate between those who want to work on the land; settling down and moving in with their families - typically low profile rural workers such as “posseiros” (peasant squatters); and those who only want to speculate on the land, getting as many plots as they can and then selling them at high prices. There are also “grileiros“, land-grabbers who make use of violence in order to not be informed against when breaking laws.
Former Environment Minister (2004-2008) and PT Party Senator for the Brazilian state of Acre, Marina Silva has written articles and voiced her concerns in an interview for Notícias da Amazonia [Amazonia News, pt] which has been reproduced on some blogs. She says:
Primeiro, dificilmente a pessoa vai declarar que a posse é ilegal, que a ocupação não foi mansa e pacífica. Outro aspecto é que, para passar a terra pública para um particular, há dois requisitos constitucionais: quando se trata de altíssima relevância social e quando cumpre com a função social da terra. Os que entraram ilegalmente e usaram violência não cumprem a função social, e quem tem posses e não há nenhum problema social a ser atendido também não cumpre esse preceito.
Além disso, foi estabelecido que, após três anos, pode haver a venda da propriedade. Isso cria uma espécie de processo de enxugar gelo. Quem assegura que ele não vai grilar nova terra para, daqui a alguns anos, outra MP legalizar o acesso novamente?
Furthermore, it has been established that after three years, the land can be sold. This creates a law with no practical effects. Who can be sure that those who benefit are not going to sell (“grilar”) the land they receive, and then, in a few years, another law will legalize it?
Marina Silva continues in the same article:
Quem estuda a situação fundiária sabe que, no caso da Amazônia, em menos de dez anos a terra é novamente concentrada nas mãos de poucos. Há um processo muito grande de concentração, até mesmo em projetos de assentamento. E também sabemos que há a figura do laranja, que divide uma propriedade com o cunhado, com o vaqueiro…
Ana Cotta/Used with permission
The Provisory Measure has been modified and approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The MP will still need Lula da Silva's approval or veto. As it is now, MP 458 modifies the legislation governing 64.7 million hectares in the Legal Amazon throughout 436 municipalities. Currently, the government will give ownership to others using the following criteria of land dimension: donating for up to 100 hectares; selling at a symbolic price for 101 to 400 hectares; and areas of between 401 and 1500 hectares will be on sale according to market price, with up to 20 year debt payoff.
Ironically, Katia Abreu was the Senator appointed to lead the MP through the Congress. She is the leader of the rural group, which deals with land owner and farmers' interests in the Senate. Elected by the State of Tocantins for the DEM Party, Abreu wants to increase the size of land that one person will be able to claim through MP 458, a move that has been criticized by many bloggers, such as Cândido Neto [pt]:
Aliás, a MP é problemática desde a origem. Afinal, a legislação agrária já permitia regularização de áreas até 500 hectares individualmente e outras formas de destinação com áreas maiores para populações tradicionais na Amazônia.
O aumento no tamanho de área visa atender unicamente ao setor ruralista e de grileiros, aliados do governo federal. Aliás, esta tal “regularização fundiária” nasceu com o ministro Mangabeira Unger, foi aplaudida por Carlos Minc e teve no MDA as piores idéias como a dispensa de vistorias, os títulos gratuitos e o fim das licitações em áreas de até 15 módulos. (…)
Agora, Kátia Abreu já fala em estender a área para 2,5 hectares, e ainda tornar a terra no preço “exeqüível”. São todas medidas absurdas, do começo ao fim.
The increase in the size of land only aims to meet “grileiros” and the rural sector's demands, both of them allies of the Federal Government. Actually, it was the Strategic Affairs Minister Roberto Mangabeira Unger who came up with this ‘land reform' idea, which has been acclaimed by current Environment Minister Carlos Minc and received its worst suggestions from the Agrarian Development Ministry such as the exemption of official inspection, land donations and an end to the need for bidding on areas up to 1.5 thousands hectares. […]
Now, Kátia Abreu is talking about increasing the mark area to 2.5 thousand of hectares, as well as making the land prices ‘undermost'. They are all absurd measures from beginning to end.
For the blogger from Azul Marinho com Pequi [pt] blog, Senator Abreu's ideas are harmful:
A senadora pelo Tocantins: Kátia Abreu do DEM mau assumiu a relatoria da MP 458 no senado é já inicia manobras no sentido de entregar as terras da amazônia ao agronegócio e ao capital internacional, ou seja aos grileiros das terra federais!!
There is another MP - number 452 - which has been worrying the Brazilian society because it declares that there will be no need for previous environmental assessment or official environmental inspection before the construction of roads through areas in the Legal Amazon. Both MPs (458 and 452) are part of Lula da Silva's Growth Acceleration Program (known as PAC).
A group of non governmental organizations and artists have created a manifesto called Amazônia Para Sempre [Amazonia Forever, pt], in which they appeal to the Senators not to approve these MPs. Through their website they are calling Brazilian people to sign the manifesto to be sent to the Senators by e-mail. So far, 1 million people have signed the petition.
Cândido Neto's [pt] concludes that, should the package of rules make it into law, the following will have happened:
Inverte-se a prioridade de destinação de terras públicas que é pela ordem deve ser terras indígenas, unidades de conservação e assentamentos rurais.
Ana Cotta/Used with permission
Translator of the week: Carolina Chandra Rumuat
Carolina Chandra Rumuat is spinning a new planet in the Global Voices-Lingua galaxy of languages: Global Voices in Bahasa Indonesia. Say what? In Bahasa Indonesia, the official language of no less than 237 million Indonesians. In truly globalized fashion, Carolina from Indonesia translates and nurtures the brand new Lingua website all the way from… Morocco!
Carolina Chandra Rumuat
Carolina, the West is practically clueless about your native language. What should we know ?
There are 700 or so languages in Indonesia, almost all of them living, spoken languages. In 1928, Indonesia declared Bahasa Indonesia the national language, the language of unity for everyone in this archipelagic country. Indonesian - or Bahasa Indonesia - is the fourth most spoken language in the world
How do you fit in this vast, very diverse, young country ?
In Indonesia, I'm considered three parts minority — well, at least, I was during President Suharto's New Order era: I'm a Christian Protestant, not a Muslim, I am half Chinese, and I'm a woman. I was very close to my Chinese maternal grandparents who practically raised me. Thanks to them, I learned the importance of knowledge, and that some virtues simply stand the test of time. Like, that you should be there for those in need, and be responsive to those under oppression. My grandparents are very Chinese, but luckily their life virtues didn't come solely from the Little Red Book. Sure, hard work is something they stressed, but so was the virtue of a quiet mind (a.k.a patience) I'm a nerdy type and I don't let my passions turn lukewarm. I found writing addictive. It's not just an outlet, it brings me joy. After college, I worked as a news writer in Jakarta, then as assistant journalist in a foreign news agency in Bali.
From Bali to Casablanca, Morocco…What happened ?
In Bali, I met and fell in love with my soulmate. After a while, we had to come to terms with the fact that his business needs him to be in Morocco. Since neither of us wanted to part, I simplified the decision-making process and came with him to Morocco.
Besides this, I also learned that the media is changing quickly. Online media is no longer an alternative: it is the future. I have mixed feelings about this, but one of the good points is that at least we can spare the forests. I'm an impulsive blogger, at Between Birth and Burial, and I have huge interest in new media.
How and when did you get acquainted with Global Voices ?
My fiancé first showed me Global Voices sometime last year. I read the website and without even reading the manifesto, I knew that Global Voices embodies one of those “changes” of dynamism in online journalism. Without a second thought, I bombarded Leonard and Portnoy, heads of the Lingua project, with email pleas. I wanted to be involved because I know that Indonesians' interest in reading is low. I think that, perhaps, if news is published in their native language, their interest in international issues will grow.
President Suharto's era caused people to curb their curiosity, and now is a good time to fix that — Indonesia is one of the world's youngest democracies. That's why I sincerely feel that people should be better informed about their rights, including freedom of speech. My first translation appeared in December 2008, a few days after I officially joined. Lingua is a good platform because it encourages people not to keep their troubles to themselves, it helps them realize that in some ways our lives are amalgamated with the rest of the world, even though we speak different languages.
How did Carolina from Indonesia adapt to Morocco?
Culture shock made me slow in socializing. I landed a job about 2 months ago in an Internet start up. It allows me to learn new things about myself and how to manage people despite our cultural differences. The bright side of my job is that it allows me to meet new people and see how they see live.
Casablanca reminds me a lot of Jakarta. Big and still growing, with a cosmopolitan charm that lures people from smaller cities to try their luck here. It also has a lot of contradictions. We can see women in burqas waiting at a bus stop next to a girl wearing a miniskirt and fishnet stockings. The biggest mosque in Maghreb is only a stone's throw away from the nightlife district, which I find interesting. I haven't had much chance to travel around the country yet. The Moroccans I know say that Casablanca is not Morocco. But so far, I think Morocco is a charming country. It's not the easiest country to live in for most Asians (including myself), but all experiences are valuable. It gives me lots of material for my blog.
Please introduce us to your first volunteer translators!
Global Voices in Bahasa Indonesia currently has 4 active translators including myself. Galuh Tahtya is one of my college buddies. After moving to Casablanca, we started to swap news, and one day I told her about the Lingua project. She decided to join.
Then came Ivan Lanin, the director of Wikimedia Indonesia, who also showed interest in volunteering. We found Oktavia Sidharta through Portnoy of Global Voices in Chinese, while our latest addition, Juliana Harsianti, is also an acquaintance of mine back in Jakarta. She is currently studying in Oslo, Norway with a scholarship laureate in online media.
Global Voices in Indonesian is still a baby but we hope that it will grow as big as Global Voices in French or in Spanish. I have some plans I wish to implement soon. I want to introduce Global Voices' mission to Indonesian young minds, especially those living on the island of Bali. I also wants to get in touch with my school and bring the Lingua project to their attention. I wish to share the beauty of volunteering with youth and the Indonesian public in general. Global Voices in Indonesian is taking it one step at a time, and it's truly a labor of love.
Global Voices in Bahasa Indonesia has a Facebook page!
USA: Journalists to Stand Trial in North Korea
On June 4, two American journalists will stand trial in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) for illegal entry into the country. The two women, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both Asian-American journalists with Current TV, were detained on March 17, but despite the fame of Ling's sister (Lisa Ling, special correspondent for the National Geographic Channel, Oprah, and CNN), little attention has been paid by the mainstream media to the two women, partly due to the sensitive diplomatic situation.
But on the eve of their trial, the blogosphere is abuzz with talk of the journalists' fate. U.S.-based blogger Angry Asian Man has the scoop on where to find more information on Ling and Lee:
Now more than ever, it's extremely important that people are made aware of Euna Lee and Laura Ling's situation. To learn more, visit this Facebook group, which is being regularly updated with information on what you can do to help. Spread the word. Free Euna and Laura!
Brenna Hamilton, who blogs at The Art School Girl of Doom Rides Again, pleads with readers to show support for Ling and Lee:
To show my support as a long-time friend of the family, I ask you to join me in my efforts to secure Laura and Euna’s immediate release. Due to the sensitive international diplomatic ramifications, the families have refrained from speakaing publicly on the situation.
The blogger lists a number of ways to get involved, and adds:
Whatever you do, please be positive in expressing your support. It's doesn't help Laura and Euna’s cause to engage in negative speech or activities, so I will no longer be constructing L'il Kim™ effigies and/or partaking in my infamous Photoshop defacing antics. The singular goal of everyone involved is the immediate and safe return of the two terribly missed journalists.
One of several bloggers on the Korean-American group blog Kimchi Mamas expressed her thoughts as to why the journalists' story has garnered so little attention in the mainstream media:
I know that a lot of us have been watching the news since Euna Lee and Laura Ling were captured, wondering why there haven't been substantial news reports on their plight. Yes, we understood that it's a sensitive situation, that North Korea is unpredictable and that there were surely efforts going on behind the scenes. But as news reports about an American ship captain captured by pirates and then dramatically rescued and then more recently the flurry of news surrounding Roxana Saberi's trial, conviction, appeal and release, the silence around Euna and Laura weighed heavily on my mind.
Several Facebook groups call for support for Laura Ling and Euna Lee
In addition to the blog posts, numerous groups have popped up on Facebook to express solidarity with Ling and Lee, including this one and this one. A petition has also been initiated.
Despite the outpouring of support, the media surmises that Lee and Ling will likely face harsh punishment. The New York Times states that the two women could face years in a labor camp; the LA Times suggests that such a sentence could be for up to 15 years.
For more information and updates on Euna Lee and Laura Ling, visit the Committee to Protect Journalists, where, on the recently updated article, one concerned citizen expressed the reason support of the two journalists is so critical:
Of course high risk journalism has high risk consequences. This is all the more reason that we should support Ms.Ling and Ms.Lee, and other journalists who take great personal risks to provide information to the public.
There are brave voices of activists and writers who speak from within the borders of their nations. There are also brave international journalists who bring information to the world. Both should be defended by those of us living in comfort,safety and peace.
Links for Thu, 2009-06
Profy reports that “[a]ccording to Google Squared, [president] Medvedev presumably died on the 20th of May when a famous Russian actor actually died so the search engine grabbed the mistake from all the publication that covered the actor’s death along with the fact that Medvedev commiserated on his death […].”
J. Otto Pohl links to the witness accounts of the Crimean Tatar deportations posted on the The International Committee for Crimea site.
Photos and video of yesterday's tornado near Moscow - at LJ user bukvalno's blog (RUS).
Nat blogs about Miss Liberia 200: “The long-delayed and much awaited Miss Liberia 2009 Pageant was finally staged Saturday night, May 9, 2009 at the historic Centennial Memorial Pavilion in Monrovia (at an unusual venue) with Miss Grand Bassa County (Shu-rina Wiah) being named the Queen that will ably represent the nation’s image at the upcoming Miss World Beauty Pageant…”
Shelby writes about a news website called Ceasefire Liberia where Liberians at home and in the diaspora can connect with each other.
Kenyan photographer is banned from Facebook because of statements calling for political change: “Commenting on the issue he said, “I was removed from Facebook due to controversial updates calling for political change and the youth to stop hero worshiping tribal leaders who have messed up our country.” One of his last comments before his profile was deleted was “Kenyans elect criminals to parliament all you need is money to get elected.” He had over 1,500 friends.”
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