Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2011 December 15

15 December 2011

Daily archive · 3 posts

Stories from 15 December 2011

Poland: Change to Drug Law, Change in Policy?

Written by Anna Gotowska · Eastern & Central Europe

On December 9, an important change was introduced to Poland's drug policy: an amendment to the law on illegal drug possession came into force, which would allow prosecutors to abandon initiation of the criminal procedure against those in possesion of drugs. Anna Gotowska reports.

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Rwanda: Tweeps Debate as President Kagame Eyes Third Term

Written by Etienne Mashuli · Sub-Saharan Africa

As debate on whether Rwanda's constitution should be amended to allow for a third term rages on, Rwandan President Paul Kagame says that citizens are free to say that they want him. British journalist Ian Birell responded on Twitter saying, "They're not free, of course, to say he should go…"

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Video: Middle East Responds to Media via Webcam

Written by Juliana Rincón Parra · Middle East & North Africa

Talk Back TV Middle East provides a way for people from in the Middle East and North Africa can talk back and give their take on state controlled television and mass media using only a webcam and computer.

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Updates from 15 December 2011

Haiti

“While over one million refugees suffered under tents following the January 12, 2010, earthquake, 128 newly constructed homes, finished in May, 2010, sat empty for 15 months,” reports Haiti Grassroots Watch, adding: “Today, the majority of these 'social housing' units are occupied, but mostly by illegal squatters…”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Belize

Globewriter notes that some of the more homophobic nations are getting “their knickers in a twist” over the Obama administration's statement at the UN “that it is standing up for the rights of LGBT people worldwide”, calling the Belizean Prime Minister “about as enlightened to human rights as a lamppost…so sad that LGBT people – the operative word being PEOPLE – have to live surrounded by such ignorance and hate.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuba

Pedazos de La Isla highlights the testimony of one of the Ladies in White who relates her experience as a victim of the “vigilance operations, brutal beatings, arbitrary arrests, deportations, and other forms of violence against those who publicly demonstrated on the streets of the island in defense of human rights…”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados

“Men again learned that no matter how badly you beat women, they can always be pressured to drop the charges. Police learned that it is useless to treat an assault on a woman seriously. The judge learned that assault charges are a waste of time when a West Indies cricketer is involved”: Barbados Free Press reports on a recent case of domestic violence.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad & Tobago

Bloggers from Trinidad and Tobago voice their outrage at a newspaper ad that claims to educate people about homosexuality, calling it “a vile advertisement that can only be described as hateful, mean spirited and a pack of lies.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana

Save Guyana reports on rape allegations being brought against the police commissioner, explaining: “The Alliance For Change…has called for [his] dismissal or at least interdiction from duty…and is viewing the matter as the first real test of the Donald Ramotar administration.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

St.Kitts & Nevis

Abeng News Magazine has an update on the St. Kitts debt default, here.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Brazil

Global Voices author from Brazil, Raphael Tsavkko writes about A new era of political activism for the ESPAS Conference on ‘Global Trends 2030′, organized by the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS).

• Sara Moreira

Honduras

As we reported earlier, Honduran journalists protested against violence in front of the presidential palace this week. Bloggings by boz adds that “protesters ended up clashing with police and military forces guarding the palace and were eventually dispersed with tear gas. President Lobo defended the actions of the security forces, insisting the protesters were not peaceful.”

• Silvia Viñas

Uruguay

Alvaro Fagalde blogs [es] about Uruguayan cinema. He says “Whisky” is without a doubt the best Uruguayan film, but criticizes that some believe all films have to follow that style. He argues that Uruguayan films don't need a lot of money, advertising, or a foreign cast; Uruguayan cinema, in his opinion, needs imagination, confidence, and professional screenwriters.

• Silvia Viñas