Stories about Digital Activism from June, 2011
Belarus: Report from Another Non-Violent Protest Event
Belarus Partizan publishes [ru] a detailed report (with photos and videos) on another non-violent protest action (#2906v1900 [ru/by]) in Belarus that took place on June 29, 2011. Police assisted by 3 buses of civilian police helpers (‘druzhinnik‘) and 2 BTRs detained nearly 100 participants. The next action organized by the net-based “Future...
India: The Future of Wikipedia
Wikipedia celebrated its tenth anniversary this year, and almost 100 cities and towns in India registered to host celebrations, the highest number of any country. This year the Wikimedia Foundation will open its first office outside the United States, in an Indian city as yet to be announced. Global Voices has spoken to Tinu Cherian, an active Wikipedian, about Wikipedia in India.
Macedonia: Spin of the Day
The blog Spin of the Day [mk] documents various attempts to taint the protests against police brutality by the Macedonian government officials and their media handlers.
Macedonia: Taboo on Protesting Against Police Brutality
Ribaro wrote [mk] that public figures and music “stars” of Macedonia act as if the protests against police brutality are taboo, evidenced by their lack of participation offline and online. Later he reported [mk] that immediately after tweeting about this article, 17 Twitter users unfollowed him (according to FriendorFollow.com).
Senegal: The Protests Will be “Twitterized”
On June 23, 2011, Dakar's streets were stormed by protesters. Their goal: derail the electoral reform that would allow the election of the president with 25% of the votes in the first round and would also propose a dual ticket with a vice-president, much like the American electoral system. The protests succeeded in getting the bill withdrawn - and Twitter played a significant role.
Iran: Solidarity with Hunger Striking Prisoners
Protests were organized in at least 25 cities around the world on Saturday June 25, 2011, to show solidarity with the approximately 18 political prisoners who are on hunger strike at two Iranian prisons. The prisoners began their hunger strikes to protest the death of two political activists, Reza Hoda Saber and Haleh Sahabi.
Russia: Propagandist Videos Against Alexey Navalny Flood RuNet
Anti-corruption blogger Alexey Navalny publishes [ru] examples of propagandist videos against him. One video claims [ru] (150,000 views) Navalny is mentally ill and needs help from a Dr Kurpatov, famous TV star. The other [ru] (152,000 views) – that Navalny is an American spy literally filled with dollars. Both techniques...
France-Senegal: Anti-Wade Demonstrators Arrested by French Police
Senegal is eight months from its presidential elections in February 2012. The country's civil society has already protested against various attempts by the incumbent president, 85 year-old Abdoulaye Wade, to hold on to power.
South Korea: Hunger Strike at Temple
Yoosung Enterprise's listed workers went on a hunger strike at Jogye temple. Moon Yong-min (@yasangmin) tweeted photos of the protest. About 500 workers had been staging demonstrations since mid-May after wage negotiations broke down.
Armenia: Animal Activists Demand End to Stray Dog Killings
In the last few days animal activists are making unprecedented use of social media in the South Caucasus by demanding that the inhumane killing of stray dogs end by flooding the Yerevan mayor's Facebook page with requests and appeals.
Iran: Greens, Democratization and the Aging Demon
Two years after the protest movement erupted in Iran, the Internet plays not only a vital role for circulating information, but also in stimulating internal democratization within opposition movements through checks and balances. Fred Petrossian reports.
Haiti: Helping to Stop Human Trafficking
Stanley Lucas blogs about how the effects of 2010's earthquake have affected Haiti's “significant child trafficking problem” and offers a few suggestions to “guide government officials and organizations working on anti-trafficking initiatives.”
Cuba: Methodist Pastor Replaced
“When Cuba is free, those who accommodated, appeased and apologized for the Castro regime to preserve their own standing will not be absolved”: Uncommon Sense blogs about the actions of Cuba's Methodist Bishop, who reportedly replaced one of the church's pastors, allegedly “because of his good relations with Cuban dissidents.”
Brazil: Despite Protests, Government Insists on Belo Monte Dam
There are recent developments in the controversy regarding Belo Monte Hydroelectric Plant and its dams, the world's third largest project in terms of energy capacity, which is to be built in heart of the Amazon. On June 1, Belo Monte's license for construction was approved. On the web and on the street, citizens call "Stop Belo Monte".
Lebanon: Bloggers Fight Negative ‘Looks Like Beirut’ Jibe
We've all heard it before. Perhaps at the glance of an untidy bedroom, or even on a television sitcom, the ‘looks like Beirut' jibe has widely become a common phrase to denote a chaotic mess. A Twitter and blogger stir was caused last week when a headline in Australia's The Age newspaper invoked the infamous phrase.
Azerbaijan: Bakhtiyar Hajiyev Video Campaign
Supporters of Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, the Harvard graduate, parliamentary candidate, Facebook activist and Amnesty International prisoner of conscience recently sentenced to two years in prison on what human rights groups consider to be politically motivated charges, have launched a video campaign calling for his release. Details of how to participate in the...
Cuba: Women in the Cuban Blogosphere
Yasmín S. Portales has been posting her research [es] on women's voices in the Cuban blogosphere.
Haiti: BBBC Benefits in Question
An interesting post on Bill Clinton's housing initiative, Building Back Better Communities (BBBC), which “seeks to construct housing projects across the nation of Haiti”, but upon closer examination, “seems as though the initiative won't live up to its name and in fact will build worse communities than even before the...
Trinidad & Tobago: Progress for Gay Rights
gspott says that the President's assention to the Data Protection Act is “of great significance to gay, lesbian and bisexual communities in Trinidad & Tobago” as it “provides heightened protections for ‘sensitive personal information’, which is defined to include one’s ‘sexual orientation or sexual life’.”
Egypt: Commemorating the Struggle Against Systematic Torture
As the world marked the International Day against Torture that falls on June 26, eyes were on Egypt where the struggle against citizen abuse has been particularly significant.
Jamaica: Call for End to Anti-Gay Violence
Labrish remembers the life and work of her cousin, who was murdered on account of “his outspoken efforts to bring about an end to homophobia in Jamaica”, saying: “It is beyond time that the appalling homophobia that is a blight on certain parts of Jamaican society come to an end.”
