Stories about Freedom of Speech from September, 2009
Sri Lanka: Testimonies Of Detained IDPs
GroundViews posts two short testimonies on the plight of IDPs released from Menik Camp. The testimonies highlight “significant challenges facing reconciliation and resettlement in post-war Sri Lanka and the urgent need for psycho-social counseling”.
Kuwait: Blogging under the Spotlight
Kuwaiti blogging came under the spotlight during a workshop organised by IREX entitled The Role of Blogging in Kuwait. Global Voices’ Kuwait author Abdullatif AlOmar, who was a panelist at the event, has more.
CEE: History, Nationalism and Identity
Marietta Le of Remainder of Budapest writes about issues of history, nationalism and identity in Hungary and other states of Central and Eastern Europe.
Bangladesh: Banning Of Adult Websites
Joruri Khobor posts a hilarious take on the news that the government of Bangladesh has banned 84 adult websites that featured “well-known Bangladeshi celebrities in obscene poses”.
Guinea-Conakry: 58 Killed By Army
International news sites, French radio [fr], BBC Africa, Twitter [fr], journalists, NGOs and political leaders report of on armed forces shooting on unarmed crowd in Conakry, Guinea capital, today on sept.28th a number of 58 protesters, wonded or dead, were evacuated to the main hospital in Conakry. The crowd was...
Egypt: Another journalist to be deported
"Your name [is] on the computer." With those words Cairo-based Swedish journalist and blogger Per Bjorklund is being turned away from the Cairo Airport, where he landed a few hours ago. Egypt's bloggers are angry and speaking up against it.
China: Censorship arms race escalates
Rebecca MacKinnon sums up the recent censorship measures in China, including the launching of new surveillant software and the recent attack of major censorship circumvention techniques and technologies.
Hungary: Political Talk Show Taken Off Air
GV Author Marietta Le of Remainder of Budapest and Eva S. Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum write about Nap-kelte, a morning political TV talk show that was taken off air last week, some 20 years after its launch in 1989.
Israel: Palestinian TV Comedy Wins Applause from Bloggers
“Country on a String,” a new Palestinian comedy that aired during Ramadan, is being hailed by Israeli bloggers for its creative irreverence. Tamar Orvell of Only Connect writes: “I salute my brave Palestinian cousins who pick up pens, not guns, and who look within and without in a bid for...
Israel/Palestine: Mocking Qaddafi on Wikipedia
Qaddafi = dog? Mu-ha-med of The Traveler Within reports: “I don't what was it that ticked an anonymous user to edit his Wikipedia page, changing the Libyan leader's name in Arabic from “Muammar Al-Qaddhafi معمر القذافـي” to “DOG كلب.”
Sri Lanka: Suppression Of Media Freedom
Concerned Citizen comments on the media freedom in Sri Lanka at Groundviews: “despite vehement denials, it is obvious that the government is guilty of suppression of media freedom and dissent through intimidation, threats, violence and extrajudicial acts which have seriously affected their credibility both nationally and internationally.”
Iran: Green rage against Ahmadinejad in New York
Protesters against Iranian human rights violations and election irregularities demonstrated against Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York City, as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly.
USA: Clashes with Police at Pittsburgh G-20 Summit
Citizens published photos and videos of clashes between protesters and police during the G-20 meeting of world leaders in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this week.
Cuba: underground punk
Octavo Cerco posts video and photos from a concert by a Cuban underground punk band. “It looks like this year Porno Para Ricardo has broken its record of concerts given, that happens when the authorities assume you do not exist publicly.”
Serbia: Gay Pride Parade Postponed
Sinisa Boljanovic writes about the cancellation of the gay pride parade in Belgrade and reviews bloggers reactions to statements made by politicians and ultra-nationalist groups regarding the event.
Egypt: Blogging Farouk Hosni's Defeat
Egypt's Culture Minister Farouk Hosni has kept bloggers busy over the previous few days. His failed bid to secure a seat at the helm of UNESCO has polarised the blogosphere, with some even cooking up conspiracy theories to justify his defeat.
Cuba: activist arrested and released
Uncommon Sense reports the arrest and subsequent release of Cuban activist and journalist Belinda Salas Tapanes in Havana. “Salas is president of the Federation of Latin American Women (FLAMUR), one of the more effective opposition groups in Cuba.”
Iran: “Bloggers persecuted”
Reporters Without Borders informed us that Ali Pirhasanlou (Alpar), one of the first journalists to start blogging in Iran was arrested last week. This organization adds that Iranian authorities continue to persecute the bloggers.
Iran: Shiva Nazar Ahari, Iranian blogger freed
According to several Iranian news sites Shiva Nazar Ahari, a female blogger and human rights activist was freed after being imprisoned for about 100 days in Tehran.
Serbia: No Gay Pride This Year
Belgraded, Cafe Turco, Balkan File and Anegdote write about the cancellation of this year's gay pride in Belgrade.
Latvia: Security Police Questions Blogger
Free Speech Emergency in Latvia highlights the case of a Latvian blogger who “harshly criticized the Latvian state and government as being little more than a rapacious mafia and has said in some posts that revolutionary violence against such a system would be justified” – and was later questioned by...
