23 March 2014

Stories from 23 March 2014

Tor Users on the Rise in Turkey

Human rights and ethics advocate Frederic Jacobs notes that the number of people using Tor is on the rise in Turkey: Tor usage is peaking in Turkey. > 35 000 connecting. More expected for the next few days. pic.twitter.com/1c7AOflm7h — Frederic Jacobs (@FredericJacobs) March 23, 2014 Turkey has just banned Twitter.

A Telethon to Save Russia's Independent TV

RuNet Echo  23 March 2014

Russia’s only independent television station, TV Rain, is on its last leg. Following what appears to have been an orchestrated campaign to rob the channel of its cable and satellite distributors, advertisers have run for the hills and the station is being evicted from its Moscow studio at Red October...

Trinidad & Tobago: Equal Justice?

  23 March 2014

The issue for me is equality before the law – and too often…average people come to understand that ‘when you’re big’ you are above the law or will be treated less harshly. Jumbie's Watch blogs about two recent incidents that leave him concerned about justice in Trinidad and Tobago.

Misogyny Masquerading as Gender Equality in Barbados?

  23 March 2014

After questionable statements on gender violence from a public official in Barbados, CODE RED says: The Bureau of Gender Affairs has a mandate for ensuring gender equality. It is precisely because of that mandate that Bureau staff should publicly distance themselves from statements that are sexist, deliberately inflammatory and unsubstantiated.

Contraception Woes For Sri Lankan Women

  23 March 2014

Journalist, photographer and blogger Meg at Life in Lanka blog reports that in remote Sri Lankan villages some women do not have a say in what type of contraception they use. Their husbands were not keen on using condoms and preferred that their wives used contraception instead; so the inexpensive,...

Malaysia's Water Shortage is a Natural and Man-Made Disaster

  23 March 2014

Water shortage has been reported in Selangor, Johor, Negri Sembilan, and Kedah in Malaysia. The Sin Chew Daily explains the cause of the problem: …the drought and water shortage in the Peninsula are both natural and human-induced disasters. The government as well as the people have an inescapable responsibility. Over-emphasising...

State of Literature in Post-Dictatorship Myanmar

  23 March 2014

Writing for The Dissident Blog, James Byrne reviews the status of Burmese literature in the post-dictatorship era in Myanmar: When I was in the country last year there were poems being read about the Arab Spring. There were others about the harsh treatment of Burmese farmers. There were satires about...

The Utopia that We Are All Sudanese

  23 March 2014

Dalia Haj Omar discusses ‘The Utopia that We Are All Sudanese’: Following the sad events of March 11, at the University of Khartoum, GIRIFNA did what it usually does. It issued a brief statement based on eyewitness accounts of its members about the death of student Ali Abbaker Musa. And...

Cambodia Government Accused of Suppressing Public Protests

  23 March 2014

Human rights group Licadho reported that the Cambodian government organized several counter-protests to undermine peaceful protests last year: If 2012 was the most violent year ever documented in terms of authorities using lethal force against individual human rights defenders, 2013 saw the Cambodian authorities turn that force towards public protests....