Zimbabwe: WOZA protests failures of unity government By: Violet Gonda, SW Radio Africa, May 18, 2009 Over 1 000 members of the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise took to the streets in four separate demonstrations, that merged at the government complex in Bulawayo on Monday. WOZA spokesperson Annie Sibanda said the aim of the protests was to highlight the failures of the first 100 days of the power sharing government and the fact that very little progress had been made in the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans. She said the demo went very well and there were no arrest. http://www.swradioafrica.com/news180509/woza180509.htm
Zimbabwe newsman ready to try again By: Robyn Dixon, LA Times, May 18, 2009 Barnabas Thondhlana, who worked for the independent Daily News before it was forced to close in 2003, prepares to launch NewsDay, the first major test of media freedom under the new unity government. Boss Barns, as he's fondly known to his colleagues and drinking pals at the Quill Club, was there on the day in 2003 when armed police shut down the country's last independent daily paper, the Daily News. They ordered the journalists out and put a padlock as big as his hand on the front door. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-zimbabwe-newspaper18-2009may18,0,5314275.story
Zimbabwe: 15 MDC youths arrested By: Lizwe Sebatha, ZimOnline, May 18, 2009 Fifteen youths from the former opposition MDC formations were arrested as an attempt to form a national youth council collapsed in violence at the weekend in Zimbabweís second largest city of Bulawayo. According to witnesses elections to choose a new inclusive Zimbabwe Youth Council (ZYC) to mirror the unity government between the MDC and President Robert Mugabeís ZANU PF party had to be called off after violence broke out between the two groups. http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=4603
Shack dwellers fight demolition in S. Africa court By: OneWorld, May 15, 2009 As South Africa prepares for the 2010 soccer World Cup, the government has made plans to develop 'World Class Cities' by eliminating the 'slums' which are home to millions," explains the economic justice group War on Want. On Thursday, Abahlali baseMjondolo (ABM), a Durban-based shack-dweller movement, challenged the so-called Slums Act in South Africa's Constitutional Court, continuing its campaign for improved living condiditons and against involuntary removal. http://us.oneworld.net/article/362921-slums-act-will-displace-thousands-south-africa
The messiah within: Redeeming the soul of the Kenyan nation By: Njonjo Mue, Pambazuka News, May 14, 2009 As Kenyans struggle to find meaning in the protracted troubles surrounding their body politic, Njonjo Mue challenges the nationís youth to join an army of ordinary people to fight the good fight and to defend Kenyansí freedom, dignity, heritage and their childrenís future by engaging in brutal self-appraisal and refusing to permit decay. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/56268
AMERICAS
U.S.: New York Times falsifies Obama-Netanyahu meeting By: David Bromwich, Huffington Post, May 19, 2009 The Times made this meeting into a story about Iran. They read into Obama's careful and measured remarks exactly the hostile intention toward Iran and the explicit deadline for results from his negotiations with Iran that Obama had taken great pains to avoid stating. President Obama sounded a more urgent note about the progress Israel ought to make in yielding what it long has promised to the Palestinian people. In the Times story, by contrast, the word Iran occurs three times before the first mention of "Palestinians." Iran is mentioned twice more before the words West Bank are uttered once. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-bromwich/inew-york-timesi-falsifie_b_205201.html
Peru army moves into Amazon after tribes blockade rivers and roads By: Rory Carroll, Guardian UK, May 18, 2009 Peru's army is poised to deploy in the Amazon rainforest to lift blockades across rivers and roads by indigenous people opposed to oil, gas, logging and mining projects. The government has authorised the military to move into remote provinces where a state of emergency has been declared in the wake of a month-long stand-off between indigenous people and police. In the past two years the centre-right government has signed deals with multinationals to open swaths of rainforest, including a £1.3bn agreement last month with the Anglo-French oil company Perenco. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/may/18/peru-army-rainforest-blockades
Venezuela: Some media hail everything the opposition does By: El Universal, May 18, 2009 Gabriela RamÌrez, the Venezuelan ombudswoman, proposed on Monday to revise the radio and TV media whose editorial policies "damage the state and create anxiety." RamÌrez thinks that it is possible to review the licenses granted to radio and TV stations involved in abusive acts and practices against the provisions of the concessions, DPA reported. Her warning came amidst tensions related to impending penalties against private TV news network GlobovisiÛn, which is accused by Venezuelan authorities of conspiring and promoting "media terrorism." http://english.eluniversal.com/2009/05/18/en_pol_esp_ombudswoman:-some-me_18A2334527.shtml
Hunger strike over, Cuban plans new protest By: Frances Robles, Miami Herald, May 15, 2009 The Cuban activist who gave up solid food for nearly three months in a protest over prison and housing conditions ended his hunger strike Thursday, and vowed to launch an in-your-face campaign against the government that does not damage his health. Former political prisoner Jorge Luis ''Ant˙nez'' GarcÌa gave up eating Feb. 17 in a quest to force the government to fix the house his sister lost to a hurricane last year and improve his brother-in-law's prison conditions. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/1049326.html
Guatemala: For democracy to flourish, it has to be a culture as well as a process By: Isabel Hilton, openDemocracy, May 15, 2009 Behind the high walls of a hotel in Antigua, democracy did a little redefining of its own. It was precipitated by an event unusual even for Guatemala: the distribution at the funeral of a murder victim of a video in which the deceased, a respected lawyer, accused the president, his wife and his secretary of organising not only his own murder ñ he was shot on the streets of Guatemala City while riding his bicycle on Sunday - but the murders earlier in the year of two of his clients. http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/email/isabel-hilton-unknown-com/2009/05/15/for-democracy-to-flourish-it-has-to-be-a-culture-as-well-as-a-process
Colombia: Victims of state crimes speak out By: Constanza Vieira, IPS, May 14, 2009 In the midst of civil war and repression in San Vicente del Cagu·n, a municipality in southern Colombia, local communities and activists continue to hold forums to draw attention to human rights abuses. What keeps them going? The same answer came, separately, from two local community leaders: "Because there are only three possibilities - either we are ëdisappearedí or killed, as is happening now. Or they throw us in jail, like they have already done." http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46845
ASIA/ SOUTH ASIA
Sri Lanka: New non-violent group should replace LTTE- Tamil leader By: Dipankar De Sarkar, World Latest News, May 19, 2009 A new democratically-minded and non-violent group is needed to win the aspirations of Tamils in Sri Lanka following the defeat of the LTTE, a leading member of the Tamil diaspora in Britain said Monday. ìAt the moment, there is mourning everywhere among the (Tamil) diaspora, but once we have had time to mourn and hold our memorials, we should sit down and chalk out the way forward,î said Thaya Idaikkadar, chairman of the British Tamil Councillors and Associates (BTCA). http://www.worldlatestnews.com/world-news/new-non-violent-group-should-replace-ltte-tamil-leader
Young Pakistanis take problem into their own hands By: Sabrina Tavernise, NY Times, May 18, 2009 A group of young Pakistani friends, sick of hearing their families complain about the government, decided to spite them by taking matters into their own hands: every Sunday they would grab shovels, go out into their city, and pick up garbage. The students were inspired by the recent success of the lawyersí movement, which used a national protest to press the government to reinstate the countryís chief justice, and their rush of public consciousness was irrepressible. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/world/asia/19trash.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
Malaysia: 'When all else fails, we will turn to people's power' By: Humayun Kabir, Malaysiakini, May 18, 2009 Pakatan Rakyat will turn to the 'peopleís court' for judgement after all avenues are exhausted in their endeavour to dissolve the state legislative assembly and call for fresh state elections. Pakatan Rakyat Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin told Malaysiakini: 'We will turn to the people's court if all our options to dissolve the assembly fails.' http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/104572
Thailand: Activists protest against Suu Kyiís trial in front of Burmese embassy By: Usa Pichai, Mizzima, May 18, 2009 International and Thai activists gathered in front of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok and urged the Thailand Government as well as ASEAN to take action against Burma. Members of the Peace for Burma network and Amnesty International, Thailand, gathered in front of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok, and urged the United Nations Security Council, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to demand the release of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. http://www.mizzima.com/news/regional/2152-activists-protest-against-suu-kyis-trial-in-front-of-burmese-embassy.html
Burma opposition leader Suu Kyi placed on trial By: Daniel Ten Kate and Ed Johnson, Bloomberg, May 18, 2009 Myanmarís opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial today accused of breaching her house arrest order as the junta moves to put her in jail before next yearís election, pro-democracy campaigners said. The military regime deployed hundreds of riot police and militiamen around Insein Prison in the former capital, Yangon, for the hearing, said Khin Ohmar of the Thailand-based Burma Partnership. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aCqtADDzCxgE&refer=home
China: ìGorbachev meets Deng in Beijing, protests growî ñ anniversary article By: China Digital Times, May 17, 2009 This year marks the 20th anniversary of the nationwide, student-led democracy movement in China, and the subsequent June 4th military crackdown in Beijing. To commemorate the student movement, CDT is posting a series of original news articles from 1989, beginning with the death of Hu Yaobang on April 15 and continuing through the tumultuous spring. From the May 16, 1989 New York Times: "Deng Xiaoping and Mikhail S. Gorbachev shook hands today to signal the formal end of three decades of hostility between China and the Soviet Union." http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2009/05/gorbachev-meets-deng-in-beijing-protests-go-on/
China: All eyes inward By: Sonia Kolesnikob-Jessop, Newsweek, May 16, 2009 Until recently, the way Chinese artists got famous was to talk politics. Though still hot, those new-wave artists are giving way to a very different group: the "me-first" generation, whose members talk about each other and themselves. Born in the 1980s under China's one-child policy, they were still children during Tiananmen and are much less interested in politics and far more concerned with individuality. http://www.newsweek.com/id/197893
Burma: After years of isolation, a dissident still torments her tormentors By: Seth Mydans, NY Times, May 15, 2009 ìWhy are you so afraid of us?î Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called out, taunting the military government of Myanmar as thousands of rapturous supporters listened in the rain, whistling and cheering from under a sea of black umbrellas. That was 13 years ago, during a temporary period of freedom from house arrest, and Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi was putting into words the dynamic that has kept her under detention for most of the past two decades. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/16/world/asia/16myanmar.html?_r=4&partner=TOPIXNEWS&ei=5099
China: Beijing dissident Jiang Qisheng taken away for interrogation, second time within two months By: Chinese Human Rights Defenders, May 15, 2009 At about 5:40 in the afternoon on May 15, officers from the National Security Unit under the Haidian District Public Security Bureau in Beijing summoned and searched the home of Dr. Jiang Qisheng, a former 1989 prisoner, dissident writer, and vice-chairman of Independent Chinese PEN. According to Jiang's wife, Zhang Hong, police displayed a summons notice and a search warrant, and confiscated his computer, books, and most recent manuscripts. http://crd-net.org/Article/Class9/Class10/200905/20090518230218_15467.html
Burma: Growing restrictions on free flow of information By: Reporters Without Borders, May 15, 2009 Reporters Without Borders condemns a new wave of obstacles that Burmaís military government has imposed on Internet usage as well as its expulsion of two American journalism teachers on 6 May. It is getting steadily harder for Burmese to send emails or access websites while all means of communication were cut yesterday around opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyiís home. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=31352
Cambodia: Activist parliamentarian may drop lawsuit against Prime Minister By: Chhunny Chhean, Global Voices, May 14, 2009 Mu Sochua is an internationally recognized activist and Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) member of the Cambodian National Assembly. She recently filed a lawsuit against the country's prime minister, Hun Sen, for defamatory comments he made in April 2009. Subsequently, Hun Sen filed a countersuit against Mu Sochua, also for defamation. Mu Sochua was recently a guest on VOA Khmer, where she announced that she would consider dropping her lawsuit. ìTo protect the country, if both sides agree to withdraw the complaints, I agree,î Mu Sochua said. http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/05/14/cambodia-activist-parliamentarian-may-drop-lawsuit-against-prime-minister/
Chinaís coming struggle for power By: Kerry Brown, openDemocracy, May 14, 2009 A senior official told me: "There is now a very active power-struggle going on in the upper reaches of the party". True, the party has many problems to tend to, and the last thing it wants is a large, open, and heated fight. The game-plan will be to keep the political competition and personal rivalries as far out of public sight as feasible. But the differences between the figures now jostling to replace the current president and prime minister - Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao - may make that unrealistic. http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/china-s-coming-struggle-for-power
CENTRAL ASIA
Uzbekistan: Prominent lawyers to lose their licenses for unprofessional performance By: A. Volosevich, Ferghana, May 18, 2009 Prominent Tashkent-based lawyers that protected independent journalists, human rights activists, opposition members, religious leaders and sufferers of illegal actions, will lose their licenses for the reason that they failed to pass ìmerit rating", conducted by the authorities. They both are experienced lawyers with many years of experience. They have been put on the black list of ruling elite long ago since they were brave enough to show the complex nature of many criminal cases. http://enews.ferghana.ru/article.php?id=2534
Turkmenistan grants mass prisoner pardon By: Isabel Gorst, FT, May 17, 2009 The president of Turkmenistan pardoned 1,671 prisoners on Friday, in a move that appeared designed to appease international concern about the countryís abysmal human rights record. The amnesty, granted on the eve of Turkmenistanís day of National Revival and Unity, was a ìtribute to the ancient humanitarian traditions of the nation enshrined in the constitution,î Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, Turkmenistanís president, told state television. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cb0ee1b0-4168-11de-bdb7-00144feabdc0.html
Outcry in Azerbaijan after student protest broken up By: Sabina Vaqifqizi and Shahin Rzayev, IWPR, May 15, 2009 Activists in Azerbaijan have accused police of acting illegally in their heavy-handed break-up of a student protest at the weekend, when 50 protesters were detained. During the protest on May 10, angry students in black shirts disrupted the Holiday of Flowers, a Baku commemoration of the birth of Azerbaijanís ex-president, Heydar Aliev, prompting the police crackdown. http://www.iwpr.net/?p=crs&s=f&o=352520&apc_state=henh
EUROPE
Belarus: Mikalai Autukhovich on hunger strike in prison for a month By: Charter '97, May 18, 2009 The political prisoner started his hunger strike on April 16, demanding to send the case to court as soon as possible or to release himself, Uladzimir Asipenka, and Yury Lyavonau from custody. Mikalai Autukhovich's condition deteriorated on April 29, and he was taken to a jail medical unit according to lawyer Pavel Sapelka, who saw his client last week. http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2009/5/18/18301/ Photo: Leaflets about hunger strike of Autukhovich disseminated in Minsk http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2009/5/18/18315/
Russian riot police arrest gay protesters By: Guy Faulconbridge, Reuters, May 16, 2009 Dozens of riot police broke up a gay rights demonstration today before the Eurovision Song Contest final in Moscow, grabbing protesters and throwing them into police cars and a waiting bus. Those arrested for taking part in the small demonstration, which had been banned by city authorities, included British and Russian campaigners. "There is no freedom for gays in Russia," British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell shouted as police bundled him away. "We call on President (Dmitry) Medvedev to meet with us." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russian-riot-police-arrest-gay-protesters-1685872.html
Georgia: Villagers want jobs, not protests By: Molly Corso, EurasiaNet, May 15, 2009 Kiosk owner Dali Maghlabeli makes just two lari per day - a little over $1 - from the snacks and inflatable balls displayed in her tin hut on Georgiaís main East-West highway. For Georgiaís assertive opposition, people like Maghlabeli are targets of opportunity. But so far, Maghlabeli and others from the ranks of Georgiaís impoverished have shunned opposition efforts to recruit them for the campaign to force President Mikheil Saakashvili from power. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav051509a.shtml
Violence marks preparations for Armenian poll By: Rita Karapetian, IWPR, May 15, 2009 Ofeliya Margarian, a 54-year-old activist for the opposition Armenian National Congress, says young men wearing dark glasses, ran at them as they approached the headquarters of the governing Republican Party on May 11 in the suburb of Avan. She and other women tried to stop their attackers from hitting the men in their group, but ended up targets themselves. It was a nasty sign of how the race to win the first election to be mayor of Yerevan has sucked in the countryís major political parties. http://www.iwpr.net/?p=crs&s=f&o=352518&apc_state=henh
U.K.: Time for Magna Carta 2.0 By: Guy Aitchison, Thomas Ash, and Claire Coatman, OurKingdom, May 13, 2009 Few legal documents resonate in the collective consciousness like Magna Carta. Nearly eight hundred years on, it is an idea we aim to draw inspiration from in an open and democratic way. We want to make Magna Carta 2.0 a call to people and organisations of all political persuasions across the country to put a stop to the threats to our liberty, clean up the way we are governed and ensure that the state respects the people. http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/ourkingdom-theme/ourkingdom/2009/05/13/time-for-magna-carta-2-0
MIDDLE EAST/ NORTH AFRICA
Iran: Pro-reform daily closed one day after bringing out first issue in five years By: Human Rights Watch, May 18, 2009 Reporters Without Borders condemns the pro-reform daily Yas-e-noís closure on 16 May, immediately after it brought out its first issue in five years. The mouthpiece of the Participation Front, the main opposition party, it was closed on the orders of the Commission for Press Authorisation and Surveillance (an offshoot of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance) at Tehran prosecutor general Said Mortazaviís request. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=31357
Human rights groups urge Jordan to scrap NGO law By: Israel News, May 18, 2009 International human rights groups are urging Jordan to scrap proposed amendments to a law that would restrict activities of non-governmental organizations in the kingdom. The Human Rights Watch and Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network say the amendments would increase the government's control of NGOs working in Jordan and give authorities access to their finances without cause or judicial warrant. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3717722,00.html
Pakistan: Journalists prohibited from Swat Valley By: Shayne R. Burnham, Impunity Watch, May 18, 2009 Journalists are fleeing the northwest region known as the Swat Valley due to fighting between the Taliban and the Pakistan military. A military-imposed curfew has caused most newspapers to stop publishing. Human rights groups urge the Pakistani government to provide journalists with security to remain in the area and with permits so that they can report past curfew. http://www.impunitywatch.com/impunity_watch_asia/2009/05/journalists-prohibited-from-swat-valley-pakistan.html
Turks rally against government By: Al Jazeera, May 17, 2009 Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have rallied in the streets of Ankara, the Turkish capital, to reaffirm their support for the country's secular system. At least 20,000 people gathered in the centre of the city on Sunday, carrying Turkish flags and pictures of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/2009517124249804123.html
First women win seats in Kuwait parliament By: Robert F. Worth, NY Times, May 17, 2009 Women won four seats in the Kuwaiti parliamentary elections over the weekend, a historic first and one of several electoral surprises that appeared to reflect a deep popular frustration with the political deadlock in the oil-rich gulf state of Kuwait. Liberal Kuwaitis celebrated the landmark with fireworks and parties after the elections on Saturday. Women gained the right to vote and run for office in 2005, but none had been elected until now. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/world/middleeast/18kuwait.html?_r=2&ref=world
Iran: Detained workers are held in solitary cells in section 240 By: Iran Human Rights Voice, May 17, 2009 A number of workers detained at events on Labor Day were transferred to solitary cells in section 240 after spending five days in the general section of Evin Prison. A number of detainees were members of metal workersí and mechanicsí unions. http://www.ihrv.org/inf/?p=2316
Reform sought amid Saudi war of succession By: Habib Trabelsi, Middle East Online, May 17, 2009 Dozens of Saudi activists, mostly women, have petitioned King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz with a ten point plan of radical political reforms that includes an elected Parliament and limiting the powers of the princes, at a time when the crown princeís ill-health is reviving the war of succession in the Kingdom. The 77 petitioners, mainly human rights campaigners, stress the necessity to ìadd an important clause stipulating the participation of an elected Parliamentî in the decisions of the body whose responsibilities include the appointment of the crown prince. http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/saudi/?id=32092
Tunisia: Ammar 404 is back and censoring blogs again By: Lina Ben Mhenni, Global Voices, May 15, 2009 After a short hiatus, the dreaded Ammar 404 has once again attacked the Tunisian blogosphere. Ammar is the nickname given by Tunisian bloggers to the censorship machine plaguing their access to the Internet and his victim this time is Zig Zag blog by 3amrouch. It seem that the blog has been censored for republishing screen shots of a Canadian newspaper which unveils a real estate transaction in which the Tunisian President's son-in-law Mohamed Sakhr El Matri bought a villa in Canada for a huge amount of money. http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/05/15/tunisia-ammar-404-is-back-and-censoring-blogs-again/
Iran: Students in Yasooj hold sit-in protest against installation of closed circuit cameras By: Iran Human Rights Voice, May 15, 2009 About one thousand students in state-owned Yasooj University held a gathering to protest the installation of closed circuit cameras, the postponement of final exams in an effort to coordinate exam times with the universities in other provinces, the poor quality of food served in the cafeteria and the stifling political atmosphere inside the university. The sit-in protest started at 11:00 am and lasted until 3:00 pm. http://www.ihrv.org/inf/?p=2308
Na'alin nonviolent resistance: Israeli actions part of systematic suppression of national struggle By: Palestine News Network, May 15, 2009 The Palestinian nonviolent resistance movement held weekly demonstrations against the Wall and settlements throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem Friday with a focus on 61 years of Al Nakba. In western Ramallahís Naíalin Village Israeli forces broke into numerous homes and overtook rooftops in order to prevent Friday prayers on threatened land, near that which has already been confiscated. http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5375&Itemid=28
Egypt: Thanks to Facebook, young women take to political activism By: Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, HRT, May 15, 2009 "Technological advances have provided a greater scope for political participation by a new generation of young women, traditionally inclined to staying in the home," Hossam Bahgat, director of the Cairo-based Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, told IPS. The phenomenon has become particularly notable since the advent of the ëApril 6 Youthí, a grassroots movement seeking peaceful political change. http://www.humanrights-geneva.info/EGYPT-Thanks-to-Facebook-Young,4448
Iraq: Trade minister drops lawsuits against two newspapers By: Reporters Without Borders, May 15, 2009 Reporters Without Borders welcomes Iraqi trade minister Abdelfalah Al-Soudaniís decision to withdraw the lawsuits he had brought against two independent daily newspapers, Al-Mashriq and Al-Parlament, over articles linking him directly to cases of alleged corruption. The minister had been demanding 150 million dinars (95,000 euros) in damages from Al-Mashriq and 50 million dinars (31,500 euros) from Al-Parlament. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=31254
Iran: Baha'is say jailed leaders face harsh new accusation By: Joe Sterling, CNN, May 14, 2009 Seven Baha'i leaders jailed in Iran face a possible new accusation that could lead to the death penalty, the religious group said Thursday, and a major human rights group has called for their release. The seven -- six arrested on May 14, 2008, and another arrested in March 2008 -- have been charged with espionage for Israel, propaganda against Iran, and "insulting religious sanctities," an Iranian deputy prosecutor said in February. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/05/14/iran.bahais.jail/index.html
Interview: Dr. Awab Alvi organiser of the Long March in Pakistan By: DigiActive, May 14, 2009 The Long March in Pakistan is a case study in digital activism. The campaign utilized the full range of digital tools, from blogs to social networking and citizen journalism, through the use of old and new technologies. Yet the most interesting aspect of this campaign is not in the tools themselves, but in the breadth and depth of the digital coverage. DigiActive interviewed one of the organizers, Dr. Awab Alvi. http://www.digiactive.org/2009/05/14/interview-dr-awab-alvi-organiser-of-the-long-march-in-pakistan/
OCEANIA
New Zealand group and Australian PM criticize Fiji media regulations By: Sarah E. Treptow, Impunity Watch, May 16, 2009 The Commonwealth Press Union's media freedom committee has passed a resolution criticizing the interim regime's indefinite extension of censorship in Fiji. The committee represents major media organizations in New Zealand. Tim Pankhurst, the committee chairman, says they are aware Fiji's interim regime is unlikely to take notice of the resolution. Mr. Pankhurst says the committee felt it was important to condemn the actions and to stand with the journalists in Fiji who are working under the emergency regulations. http://www.impunitywatch.com/impunity_watch_oceania/2009/05/new-zealand-group-and-australian-pm-criticize-fiji-media-regulations.html
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Video: Code of best practices in fair use for online video By: American University Center for Social Media, May 19, 2009 This video is a code of best practices that helps creators, online providers, copyright holders, and others interested in the making of online video interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use. Fair use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances. This is a guide to current acceptable practices, drawing on the actual activities of creators and backed by the judgment of a national panel of experts. http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/fair_use_in_online_video/
People power drives the eco-friendly agenda By: The Sunday Times, May 17, 2009 Despite the economic downturn and the pressure on corporate sustainability initiatives and environmental programmes, this yearís Green List has seen a significant rise in the overall green scores achieved by companies. Organisations are ensuring that green policies and practices remain a part of their activities and services even in the midst of a recession. This may be driven by a desire to cut costs, stiff competition to win contracts from increasingly green-aware clients, or the expectations and commitment of the organisationís own employees. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/related_reports/best_green_companies/article6300778.ece
NYU student protests: A digital occupation By: DigiActive, May 15, 2009 On February 18, 2009, a group of NYU students calling themselves Take Back NYU (TBNYU) barricaded themselves inside the universityís Kimmel Center for Student Life cafeteria. Armed with laptops and wireless internet connections, the group published a list of 12 demands, including disclosure of the universityís operating budget, assurance of fair labor practices for all NYU employees, the creation of a Socially Responsible Finance Committee, tuition stabilization, scholarships for Palestinian students and free public access to Bobst library http://www.digiactive.org/2009/05/15/nyu-student-protests-a-digital-occupation/
Democracy and aid: The missing links By: Anna Lekvall, openDemocracy, May 13, 2009 The relationship between aid and politics is the subject of increasing debate. For some, the political landscape in Africa is the key reason for poor developmental outcomes. For others, external-assistance interventions themselves help to sustain and perpetuate non-developmental political conditions. Several varied perspectives on the aid-politics nexus are represented in recent specialist studies. Here are just four. http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/idea/is-aid-good-for-democracy
Internet users finding help to evade the state censors By: Doug Bandow, Newsfactor, May 5, 2009 Last July, an escape hatch appeared on popular sites that offer free downloads of various software. The computer program allowed Iranian Internet users to evade government censorship. College students discovered the key first, then spread it through e-mail messages and file sharing. By late autumn, more than 400,000 Iranians were surfing the uncensored Web. The software was created not by Iranians, but by Chinese computer experts volunteering for Falun Gong, the spiritual movement suppressed by the Chinese government since 1999. http://www.newsfactor.com/news/Net-Users-Avoid-Web-Censorship/story.xhtml?story_id=03100033YPLE
IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Kuwait: Les femmes font reculer les islamistes By: Abdul Mohsen Al-Jomah, Courrier International, May 18, 2009 vec le scrutin du 16 mai, le paysage politique du KoweÔt a ÈtÈ bouleversÈ. LíÈlection de quatre femmes, pour la premiËre fois et quatre ans seulement aprËs que le droit de vote leur ait ÈtÈ accordÈ, est un ÈvÈnement historique. Líautre ÈvÈnement est le puissant message envoyÈ par les Èlecteurs aux reprÈsentants de líislam politique. Ceux-ci perdent largement de leur emprise, avec le recul, chez les sunnites, du Mouvement constitutionnel islamique [Hadas], affiliÈ aux FrËres musulmans. http://www.courrierinternational.com/article/2009/05/18/les-femmes-font-reculer-les-islamistes
Birmanie: La dame au jasmin By: Philippe Labro, Le Figaro, May 18, 2009 C'est le combat entre le jasmin et l'acier, entre la gr‚ce et l'Èpaisseur, entre le visage diaphane et exigeant de la libertÈ et le masque repu et obtus de la rÈpression. C'est le contraste absolu entre une femme seule et un gÈnÈral dictatorial. C'est l'histoire d'Aung San Suu Kyi, Prix Nobel de la Paix 1991, emprisonnÈe par Than Shwe, chef de la junte birmane. C'est une des femmes les plus cÈlËbres du monde et, cependant, l'une des moins visibles. http://www.lefigaro.fr/debats/2009/05/18/01005-20090518ARTFIG00332-la-dame-au-jasmin-.php
Petit manuel d'insurrection politique By: Nicolas Truong, Le Monde, May 16, 2009 L'Europe dÈmocratique est hantÈe par le spectre de la violence politique. Des sÈquestrations de patrons ‡ la multiplication d'Ètats d'exception, l'action violente taraude les pays de l'Union. Si sa forme politisÈe inquiËte, c'est qu'elle est dÈsormais prohibÈe par nos sociÈtÈs pacifiÈes, indiquent les contributeurs de la revue Lignes, dirigÈe par Michel Surya. Car la violence est taboue depuis Mai 68, cette fin festive de l'Histoire o˘ la France inventa la "RÈvolution pour rire" et la "Terreur d'opÈrette", ironise le philosophe Jacob Rogozinski. http://www.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2009/05/16/petit-manuel-d-insurrection-politique_1194051_3260.html
IN PAST NEWS
Video: Iran's Young Rebels By: CBC News, May 10, 2009 30 years ago they had a political revolution - but is Iran about to have a revolution of a very different kind? In an exclusive investigation, we go inside Iran to explore the secret underground world of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. Just how far can Iran's Young Rebels change the country's religious regime? http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/2009/05/051009_1.html#comments
NOTICES
Global Cuba solidarity movement By: Solidaridad Cuba, May 20, 2009 May 20th marks the 108th anniversary of Cubaís independence from Spain. Yet the struggle to realize the full blessings of independence in a modern world so fiercely desired by the Cuban people remains incomplete. For this reason May 20th, Cuba Solidarity Day, remains closely associated around the world with the legitimate aspirations and hopes of all the Cuban people, especially those who form part of a robust and growing civil society movement who most courageously resist cruel and arbitrary demands for obedience and silence. http://www.solidaridadcuba.org/eng/index.php
Video exhibition: Life in Fragments By: gate48, June 12-14, 2009, Postbus 16461, 1001 RN Amsterdam, the Netherlands Life in Fragments will present critical views on the Israeli military occupation by screening activist videos. These are short films without heroes, but with real people. With no narratives, just fragments of lived experiences. Made by human rights organizations and individual activists, both Israelis and Palestinians, these collections of citizen journalism should be seen as fragments of reality, raw testimonies told from the ground level of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. http://www.gate48.org/?page_id=93