12 April 2011
Stories from 12 April 2011
Belarus: Beyond Bomb or Blast
Even before the smoke from Monday's Minsk Metro blast dispersed, the dual question of: "What is to be done? - Who is to blame?" arose in the Belarusian blogosphere. Two major strands of thought dominate, blaming either President Lukashenko or the political opposition, although a deeper sentiment of sympathy for the victims seems to unite the people of Minsk.
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Uganda: #walk2work Arrests Spur Hunger Strike, Future Protests
Rather than backing down after the arrest of two Ugandan opposition leaders for staging a "Walk to Work" protest against high fuel and food prices on Monday, Ugandan activists have responded by announcing a hunger strike and planning more demonstrations.
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Peru: Reactions Following the First 2011 Electoral Round
After celebrating the elections in Peru, the results indicate a second round between Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori. Bloggers, candidates, and analysts coincide that the result is principally a "vote of punishment" for the economic policies managed by governments in recent years, that have fomented growth and created a new economic prosperity that does not reach everyone.
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Colombia: Citizens Reject Proposal to Reform Higher Education Law 30
Colombian President Santos' proposal to reform the Higher Education Law 30 has not been received well. Despite some accepting it, the loudest voices heard, online and in the streets, have been the opposition. This past April 7 a national march was held; at the same time, netizens share their concerns on blogs, videos, web pages and other social media.
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Fukushima: Public Criticism and a Rising Anger
Open protests against Tepco as operator and the government as monitor had been relatively muted until recently, but this has now changed. For many foreigners however, used to much bigger numbers of demonstrators in their own countries, doubts remain. Why do Japanese people seem so reluctant to criticize the company and industry responsible for this man made disaster and the government which let it all happen?
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Côte d'Ivoire: Laurent Gbagbo's Fall
On April 11 2011, Laurent Gbagbo was arrested at his residence in Cocody, with his wife, Simone, and their close entourage. The crisis that plagued the country has now seemingly found its epilogue. The sequence of events that led to Ggagbo's arrest was documented in details by online videos and intensely commented on the web.
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South Koreans Baffled By Five Consecutive University Suicides
South Koreans are buzzing over recurring suicides which occurred in one prestigious university. The school's unique penalty tuition system which was adopted by the president of the school also went under fire for driving students to extreme stress, even to the death.
Egypt: “We are all Maikel Nabil”
The sentencing of blogger Maikel Nabil to 3 years in prison by a military tribunal in closed session for criticizing the army, two days after a bloody crackdown in Tahrir Square, has Egyptian netizens in an uproar, exercising their newfound free speech rights while seeing them being threatened
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Cambodia: Songs About Facebook
In Cambodia, Facebook is not yet considered a threat by the government. Politicians led by Prime Minister Hun Sen (who has been in power since 1985) have created their own Facebook pages where they interact with Cambodian citizens and netizens. There is however, a newer interesting Facebook trend in the country: Cambodians are creating songs about Facebook.
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==> As Africans we need to let go of our victimhood, inferiority complex & acceptance of the mediocre. We deserve...