Archive for
June 5th, 2009
Stories
Peru: Clashes Break Out in the Amazon Region
The continuing tense situation in the Amazon Region of Peru has taken a turn for the worst and has become unbearable in city of Bagua. Reports coming from that area are truly alarming: RPP says: Emergency in Bagua: Police are killed and residents destroy buildings [es]. El Comercio reported that demonstrators burned government buildings [es], as well as the Apra political party headquarters in Bagua Grande. There are no official reports of deaths of indigenous residents, but SERVINDI does mention: Peru: 20 Awajún-Wampis indigenous die during conflicts in Bagua [es].
Photo of Conflict in Bagua by TV Cultura and used under Creative Commons license. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tvcultura/3597959493/
These protests are a continuation of the demands from indigenous communities, who are concerned that the government will take away their lands that are believed to be rich in minerals and oil. As a result, more than 2,000 indigenous residents have been blockading the highway in the area of Devil's Curve in Bagua Grande for the past week and a half, according to Enlace Nacional [es]. As a result, supplies have been running out in the area.
One of the indigenous leaders of the protest group, Alberto Pizango, called a press conference and stated that the Peruvian government has committed genocide with the murder of his indigenous brothers and sisters. Bloggers and twitterers from across the country are quite concerned and have been tuning in to the recent developments.
Many twitterers are following along to reports from the area, and providing their own opinions about the situation using the hashtag #Bagua:
Jonathan Sanchez @Maskus:
Pizango no quiere responder por los policias muertos ni la quema de locales #bagua
#Bagua recuerdan lo que sucedió cuando sacaron a invasores de los bosques de pomac? será que hay “infiltrados”? o policia solo dispara?
Javier Vargas @javier_vargas:
Si los nativos no están armados, ¿quién mató a los policiías? @Peru21pe #Bagua
Para Alan lo de #Bagua es pura manipulación de los enemigos extranjeros del país. “Quieren ver al Perú arrodillado” Alan dixit
Miguel Angel Tavera pe1us0:
Ya no hay medicamentos en el hospital, falta de sangre y muchas necesidades más, necesitan mucha ayuda en Bagua Grande.
In the blogosphere, Isabel of Las Burbujas Recargadas [es] writes:
Esto va a acabar mal. De hecho, ya está yendo bastante mal. Entre Brack, que ya se vendió descaradamente, y Pizango, a quien no le importa mandar a su gente a que la maten mientras él se esconde haciéndose el interesante, no veo ninguna remota posibilidad de entendimiento. Mientras, ¿alguien se preocupa por algo más importante que la politiquería y el dinero, o sea, por LAS VIDAS de los nativos y de sus familias? Claro que tienen derecho a protestar y defenderse, pero cerrando caminos y sitiando a poblaciones urbanas (como Yurimaguas), no se van a ganar el apoyo de nadie. Lo único que van a ganar es el odio y la marginación de parte de sus propios paisanos: están acentuando la división nativos-mestizos,
This will end badly. In fact, it is already going pretty badly. Between (Environmental Minister Antonio) Brack, who has already sold out, and (indigenous leader) Pizango, who does not mind sending his people off to be killed, while he hides, I do not see any remote chance of understanding. Meanwhile, does anyone care about anything more important than politics and money or for the lives of the indigenous and their families? Of course, they have the right to protest and defend themselves, but by blocking roads and placing urban populations under siege (such as Yurimaguas), they are not going to win the support of anyone. The only thing that will gain is the hatred and marginalization from their own countrymen: they are deepening the divide between indigenous and mestizos
Paco Bardales of Diario de Iqt [es] compiles a list of links and will continue to update his blog:
Desafortunado o no, el conflicto amazónico ha tomado un cariz trágico y sangriento. Los sucesos de Bagua han desbordado, mucho más allá de lo permitido. Hasta el momento, el enfrentamiento entre habitantes de la zona y miembros de la Policía, en la llamada Curva del Diablo (luego de que se quemara la gobernación del lugar), están dejando un saldo no confirmado aún de 28 civiles muertos y 10 policías.
In addition to the conflicts in Bagua Grande, clashes are taking place in Jaén in the department of Cajamarca. Several twitterers have been posting news heard on the radio. With the seriousness of the situation, many Peruvians are wondering what will happen next.
Ghana: Speculation, excitement and hopes over Obama's visit
Just over six months since a change in Ghana’s administration following peaceful elections in December 2008 and, coincidentally, six months since the highly-publicised change in the US administration, the President of the USA, Barack Obama, will touch down in Ghana for two days in early July on his first official visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office.
The announcement, made in May, caused great excitement among Ghanaians at every level of society. From street traders, to young urban professionals, to the newly elected Members of Parliament, the chatter was all about one thing. All Africa quoted a car mechanic, Mr Henry Boahene, of Accra, as saying,
I will not work that weekend and I’ll do all that it takes to be among the crowd to wave at his motorcade — for me, that alone is fulfilling.
But, across the continent Africans have been asking, “Why Ghana?” Many commentators are suggesting that the choice to visit Ghana first is an explicit endorsement of the nation's recent peaceful elections and that the USA values peace and democracy above personal affiliations and more powerful nations.
In Notes from Atlanta, Nigerian blogger Farooq Kperogi, writes:
Pundits familiar with the politics and symbolism of American foreign presidential visits posit that Obama’s choice of Ghana as the first country to visit in black Africa could very well be a signal of the tenor of his relationship with Africa, about which he is yet to articulate a well-defined foreign policy.
It will be defined, they say, by a show of enthusiastic approval for countries that are adjudged to be making noticeably measurable progress towards democracy and good governance and of “tough love” to those countries, such as Nigeria and Kenya, that are adjudged as squandering their potential and being mired in the mud of corruption and inept leadership.
And he quotes the White House in a statement that underlines most commentators’ thoughts:
The president and Mrs. Obama look forward to strengthening the U.S. relationship with one of our most trusted partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and to highlighting the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development,” the White House said in a written statement.
Unsurprisingly, many suggest that Ghana’s oil discoveries will be on the agenda. Amedor of All Voices asks,
Is it for a mere visit or for America's gain especially in our newly found oil?
Whilst modest in world terms at an estimated 600 million barrels, production will begin in 2010 and revenue to the Ghanaian government is expected to exceed $1 billion annually.
A rather more optimistic Elizabeth Dickinson of the “Foreign Policy” blog asks,
Wouldn't it be nice to buy oil from a country with a relatively clean record in human rights, governance, and economic management? That's a far cry fro the United States's third-largest current supplier, Nigeria, just next door. Of course, there are worries that Ghana could fall into the same rent-collecting state model, but it seems determined to resist that slip. And maybe that would be a good topic for Obama to pointedly discuss while visiting.
One would expect the President to raise this issue. Even a perfunctory glance of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index in any year shows a strong correlation between corruption, conflict and oil rich developing nations such as Chad, Sudan, Nigeria and Angola.
Certainly bilateral trade, whether obtaining a share of oil production or other goods and services, will be on the agenda. And Ghanaians, like much of Africa, would prefer trade over aid. The Ghanaian foreign ministry was quoted in All Africa:
We should try to push ideas to get the international institutions to modify their conditions and processes in our favour so that we can trade, rather than always asking for aid.
The ministry must presume that the USA possesses the clout and motivation to influence those institutions. Trade or aid? Either way, how an enhanced bilateral relationship with the USA may transform living standards for the average Ghanaian earning less than $2 a day, well, only time will tell. Certainly peace and good governance—before and after oil starts flowing—must prevail no matter who buys the oil.
Kazakhstan: “Statistical Error”, a new corruption scandal
Yesterday the Kazakhstani court sanctioned the arrest of Nurman Bayanov, the Deputy Chairman of the Statistics Agency on charges of misappropriation of the funds, assigned to the national census [ru]:
“There was total of $7.6 million allocated for the census. As a result of investigation it was determined that in fact only $2.2 million were spent for this purpose. The remaining funds were plundered”.
Furthermore, another Deputy Chairman of the Statistics Agency and two prominent businessmen - one of them, Serik Turzhanov, is the Vice-President of Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a well-known public person - were arrested too as accomplices.
On this subject Megakhuimyak wonders [ru]:
If out of $7.6 million allocated for the country population count there were $5.4 million stolen, how would the measurement error change (usually it is around 2-3%)?
This news wasn’t a surprise for pycm [ru]:
Well, it could be expected, taking into account the way how poorly the census was held this year.
He also recollects:
Besides, we are 72 years away from 1937 [the peak of J. Stalin repressions]. 72 is six multiplied by twelve. Isn't there some mystical recurrence and regularity?
Dass noted that [ru]:
When a top-ranking official in our country is accused of corruption, abuse of power, theft etc., some people automatically start assuming that this person is a political prisoner. They think: “Why is it exactly this man, who has got targeted, if everybody there [in power] do the same?”. It is no wonder that from this point of view any real anti-corruption action would be perceived as redistribution of assets or crackdown on dissent.
At the same time thousand-pa pessimistically notes [ru]:
The state machine's entire mechanism is now involved in repressions, and any hint of misdoing is considered as a “Hunt!” signal. And once “Hunt!” has been said, nothing can stop executors from punishing the object. The power punishes as enthusiastically, as it plunders the budget. What else can you expect from the country where “law and order” is just a fig-leaf that covers huge interests of a small group of majors?
Also posted on neweurasia
Middle East: Bloggers React to Obama's Address
From being described as the “self-appointed world leader” to questioning his choice of speech venue to choosing to turn a deaf ear to his speech, blogs across the Middle East are reacting to US President Barack Obama's policy speech on the Middle East just delivered in Cairo, Egypt.
After listening to the speech, Stiletos in the Sand, an American based in Saudi Arabia, writes:
54 minutes and 22 seconds .. of my life I can never get back. Speech in Cairo by the jeja is here in four separate parts. Really no reason for any other leaders of the world to continue ruling their own little domains. The jeja seems to have it all under control and will be the first, self-appointed, world leader from hereon out. Oh, sure. He says everything he has aspirations for, that he thinks can be achieved in the world, will need to be done “together.” Don't believe him for one single skinny second. If his lips are moving, he is lying. Hoo Boy.
Syrian Khaldoun Jarbou too wasn't impressed but writes:
I don’t see any thing new in Obama’s speech, more than that, anyone who kept up with his campaign he/she will notes that this speech is a collection of what he had said before in his way to the White House, but how ever I have liked his choosing of some words. I mean in that Violence and Extremist instead of Terrorism and Terrorist.
Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif wonders out aloud on the speech venue:
I keep asking myself why did Obama choose the most repressive regimes in the Middle East to honour not only with his presence, but also to use as a launchpad for his Utopian vision of a peaceful and democratic Middle East? A vision that will continue to remain as illusive as a desert mirage for us Middle Eastners.
Then I try to select an alternate of the 22 Arab countries where he could have used instead, but I fail to find a single one which could be worthy of such an occasion.
On the speech itself, Al Yousif adds:
Regardless, he touched the perennial issues; Palestine through to women’s rights, freedom of expression to democratic governments and of course the rejection of terrorism and freedom of belief. Points which generally have been raised by every single American president - and world leader for that matter - albeit without such eloquence and empathy - but so far without any concrete steps to see through their resolutions. Somehow a “shared interest” creeps in and all those promises get shelved or forgotten to be revived upon a new ascension to a throne.
Writing at Mideast Youth, fellow Bahraini Esra'a explains why she did not tune into the speech:
As an Arab and a Muslim, there was nothing much I can benefit from what Obama has to say. I’m so tired of these tedious speeches and words and praises and promises that no one, including the target audience, ever lives up to. Despite not watching this speech due to lack of interest, I sat down on Twitter and was franly disgusted at the hype, the way people were mindlessly cheering his words on, as if they don’t understand the sources of our issues to begin with. Suddenly Obama was here to “fix things,” while reducing our problems to the size of a footnote.
I support Obama, at least in comparison to his war-mongering colleagues. But we don’t need his leadership, or anyone else’s for that matter.
In Israel, writing at South Jerusalem Gresghom Gorenberg notes how the speech has changed history:
Barack Obama likes to change what history means, and that’s a very good thing.
Today, for instance, marks 42 years since the Six-Day War began. Ever since then, the term “June 4 lines” has referred to the on-the-ground border between Israel and its Arab neighbors on the eve of the war - not the lines marked on maps, but the lines marked by forward military positions. On the Syrian front, for instance, the actual positions lined up with neither the pre-1948 international border between Palestine and Syria, nor with the 1949 armistice agreements. The small distances on the ground make for big problems in peace negotiations.
As of yesterday, however, June 4 means something entirely different. It now refers to the day on which Barack Obama chose to speak in Cairo. “June 4 lines” henceforth mean the line of thinking that the president laid out for reconciliation between the U.S. and the Muslim world, and along the way, between Israel and the Palestinians.
On the speech, Gorenberg writes:
His message to us was very, very basic Obama: First, I acknowledge your history. Second, it’s time each of you recognize the other’s side history, that you stop thinking that somehow by admitting the other’s side suffering you’ll erase your own. And now that you’ve acknowledged history, stop holding on to it as if electricity were running through it, as if your hand can’t let go. Move forward. Turn history into history - the text explaining how we got here - and stop treating it as an ever-repeating present.
Jamaica: High Teen Pregnancy and Sexual Violence Rates
Despite increased awareness of contraception, adolescent pregnancy continues to be a major health problem in Jamaica with 35 percent of Jamaican women having their first pregnancy by age 19. Most of these pregnancies are not planned.
In a study released in March, 94 percent of the pregnant teens interviewed said that their pregnancies were unintended. The same study showed high rates of sexual violence among pregnant and non-pregnant teens. It found that almost half of the 15- to 17-year-old female teens in Kingston, Jamaica, who were interviewed reported experiencing sexual coercion or violence. One-third of these teens said that they had been persuaded or forced to participate in their first sexual experience.
Besides forced sex, UNICEF attributes high teen pregnancy rates in Jamaica to factors such as a low rate of contraceptive use, an early age for sexual initiation, exchanging sex for resources, and poor access to information and skills on safe and responsible sex.
Thinkbass describes this scene she witnessed when working as an intern in a hospital in St. Catherine, Jamaica. She says:
“On a duty night it is a norm for me to see two or three incomplete miscarriages (we do not like the term abortions anymore)…The majority are under 30 years of age with a few being over 40 and an alarming number being under 21 years. The shocking nature of the problem is best understood in short anecdotes.
Age 16 Problem: Incomplete miscarriage
Alarming feature (AF): Asketh the stupid doctor (me) ‘What’s the name of the partner (baby father)?' A dumb stare then a mumbled ‘Zingy’. I sigh and drop the pen. ‘What’s his real name?' She looks at me then turns to her mother for help…The mother asks me to wait while she goes outside to ascertain the man’s name. Yes, you understood correctly. She does not even know this man’s name! She has been offering him her young body and his name she does not know. He is at least 30.”
Sasha D., responding to a Jamaica Gleaner blog post, shares her own story of being a pregnant teen. She says the only thing that saved her was her mother:
“At age 17, fresh out of High School, innocent to the world and ignorant of men, I found myself pregnant after partying for one single night. Boyfriend, who had been only just that, took advantage of the fact that he was leaving the island, and I was too drunk to say no! And so after 2 minutes…perhaps seconds..of ruckus…that’s exactly what it was I think….I became pregnant.
Who did I turn to? Mom! Mom was hurt, upset, angry, mad, ashamed even….but she locked it all in, and stood by me….every step of the way. And because of that I got the courage, the inspiration to move on ahead after the baby was born. I went back to school, graduated from college, and went on to University. What if Mom had turned me out? Where would I have gone? What would I have become?”
Sasha D.'s story is apparently not the norm. Only 34 percent of adolescent mothers return to school after giving birth in Jamaica. The March study adds that adolescent pregnancy also contributes to increased maternal and child morbidity and mortality, and a decreased likelihood of mom becoming gainfully employed.
Bob, also responding to the Jamaica Gleaner blog post, proposes one solution to help bring down teen pregnancy rates. He says:
“Most Jamaican parents are so ashamed of their body parts, and their sexuality that they cant discuss sex with their young teenage daughters. And they don’t know that by doing so it will come to bite them in the butt. when you don’t teach your kids how can you blame them?…i urge parent to start teaching their girl children about sex at age 10.”
Others argue that Jamaica's abortion laws need to be loosened, so women and teenage girls have access to safe and legal abortions. A blog post on The Perception and Self-Perception of Women and Their Effects on Health Globally elaborates on these laws:
“Abortion in Jamaica is still a federal crime except in some cases, (governed by an ambiguous “common law”),“(i) significant fetal abnormality; (ii) where pregnancy would represent a threat to the welfare or health of the mother and (iii) in cases where pregnancy is an outcome of rape or incest;” however, as of 2004, the third leading cause of maternal mortality in Jamaica was unsafe abortions.”
Jamaican Gordon Swaby blogs about his belief that abortion should be legalized in Jamaica. He says:
“Who the hell decides what i can and cannot do with an unborn child, it’s rubbish i tell you. So many children are being born in unprepared and immature families. These idiots prefer a child to be born and end up on the streets because their parents could not take care of them, and it’s not like the state has an effective system in place to take care of these children…if they are going to make the decision not to legalize abortion in Jamaica, don’t do it on a religious basis, do it on a logical one.”
Other solutions the study suggests to combat teen pregnancy include encouraging adolescents to delay when they first have sex and discouraging multiple partnerships. It also says that gender-based violence needs to be addressed at the community level.
Thinkbass adds that women and girls also need to start respecting themselves. She says:
“There are many pregnant teenagers with their soon to be 30 year old grandmothers. There are many women on their fifth or more pregnancy and desirous of more – cause ‘di man wan’ more. A few HIV positive mothers NOT in their first pregnancy (one was in her ninth). And I am amused. For in the last hours they are all screaming and calling to God for help. One even asking what she did to deserve this! But never once have I heard any of them scream: ‘Never again. Ah doan want no more.’
When did our women become receptacles, dumping grounds for men’s sperms? When was it legalised for us to insult our bodies with effluence? When did we decide it was ‘ok’ for us to torture our flowers at young ages with penises too brutal and babies too big? When did men rule our bodies? How is it that what they want is gospel even if it means our death?”
Photo of Jamaican Girls by marco annunziata on Flickr.
Myanmar: 64 Words for Aung San Suu Kyi
Do you want to show support for Myanmar opposition leader and global democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi? A new website was launched last week where anyone from around the world can leave a 64-word message of solidarity for imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The website 64forSuu.org is named as such to mark Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday on June 19.
Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi can leave and view video, text, twitter and picture messages on the website. A sample of 64-word message of support:
“Nineteen years ago, the Burmese people chose Aung San Suu Kyi as their next leader. For most of those 19 years she has been kept under house arrest by the military junta that runs the country. We must not stand by as she is silenced again. Now is the time for the international community to speak with one voice: Free Aung San Suu Kyi.”
This brief statement was signed by many personalities and other famous names which included George Clooney, Sec. Madeleine Albright, Drew Barrymore, David Beckham, Bono, Matthew Broderick, Sandra Bullock, John Cusack, Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, Václav Havel, Helen Hunt, Anjelica Huston, Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Ashton Kutcher, Madonna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Naomi Watts.
Twitter is an integral part of the campaign:
It is the first political campaign to use twitter with an integrated website to harness the reach and influence of some of the world’s most influential celebrities. Through replies and re-tweets, the campaign message reached an estimated 5 million people through Twitter alone in its first five days.
One of those who tweeted support for Aung San Suu Kyi was Yoko Ono. The website launching was deemed successful as global leaders sent their statements of support for Aung San Suu Kyi.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is also a supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi. Check out his message on YouTube:
Brown’s 64 words of support:
“I add my voice to the growing chorus of those demanding your release. For too long the world has failed to act in the face of this intolerable injustice. That is now changing. The clamour for your release is growing across Europe, Asia, and the entire world. We must do all we can to make this Birthday the last you spend without your freedom.”
Many Southeast Asians also expressed support for Aung San Suu Kyi. From Erich Jao of the Philippines:
The free people of the world support your cause and the nobility of your sacrifice to further the freedom of Myanmar. Let this year be the last time you breathe the air of oppression and tyranny. Evil shall never thrive in light and let the world cast the spot light of truth upon your fight and let it not be delayed in acting swiftly!
Monika Neff from Malaysia left this message
Dear Aung San Suu Kyi Happy birthday,what you are doing for the People of Burma makes you a hero besides others who sacrificed their lives for their people,like Nelson Mandela and Ghandi.people like you are only a few,all we can do is show our support like this.We love you Suu Kyi,one day Burma will be free and it will be because of your sacrifice!
Picture message sent by a supporter from Thailand
I have alwys been in awe of your patience and wisdom. I pray that you will have the strength to continue to be a pillar of justice for Burma and us all. God Bless You.
64forSuu is also on Facebook. Are you ready with your 64 words of support for Aung San Suu Kyi?
Links for Fri, 2009-06
A letter on the daily life in Lipetsk - at OpenDemocracy.net.
the POLSKI blog, the beatroot, and Travels Without My Spaniel write about the 20th anniversary of the collapse of communism in Poland.
Polandian believes that “[v]isitors to Poland could use a few official warning signs to help them cope”: “Here are twelve signs I would like to see put up at strategic locations around Poland’s tourist spots.”
Polandian re-visits and photographs locations depicted in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s work.
GV Author Filip Stojanovski has surveyed some 450 Facebook users from Macedonia on whether they are clicking on the ads placed on Facebook by Macedonian companies and posted the results of the survey on his blog, Razvigor :-).
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