· April, 2009

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from April, 2009

Australians divided by Durban II boycott

  23 April 2009

The decision by the Rudd government of Australia to boycott the United Nations Conference on Racism in Durban was a controversial one. GV author Kevin Rennie gathers reactions of Australian bloggers.

MENA: Reflections on Durban II

  22 April 2009

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech, and the way European Union representatives reacted to it at the United Nations Conference on Racism in Geneva (Durban II), has stirred debates among bloggers across the Middle East. Eman AbdElRahman sums up reactions in this post.

Rwanda: The unresolved FDLR issue

  22 April 2009

Last January the conflict in North Kivu shifted once again with the arrest of CNDP rebel group leader Laurent Nkunda in Rwanda and the entry of the Rwandan national army (RDF) into the DR Congo to root out the FDLR rebel group in joint operations with the national Congolese army (FARDC). As Rebecca Feeley of the Enough Said blog explains, the Congolese Minister of Defense, Charles Mwando Nsimba, even went so far as to say that the FDLR threat had been “neutralized.”

Martinique: Homage to Aimé Césaire

  17 April 2009

Today, Martinique celebrates its greatest personality, the self-entitled “Nègre Fondamental”: the late author and politican, Aimé Césaire. Montray Kréyol [Fr] publishes three posts about his life, accomplishments and homages paid...

Macedonia: Alexander the Great as Media Bait

  16 April 2009

For several years now, the Macedonian traditional media have have been involved in relentless promotion of all and any claims related to Alexander the Great deemed "positive" in terms of generating public approval and more readers/viewers. Such coverage tends to grow more bizarre, as shown by recent events.

China: A hoax related with gender and race

  16 April 2009

Fauna from ChinaSMACK translates and explains in detail an Internet hoax that a Zhejiang University Girl rebuking her professor's comment by saying that she likes dating foreigners. The hoax touches...

Azerbaijan: Operatic Sheki

  15 April 2009

Sheki, Azerbaijan says that while the government has started to publicize the history and culture of her country abroad, there is still much to discover. For example, she reports, the...

Fiji: The calm after the storm?

  15 April 2009

Last week Fiji's President nullified the constitution, fired the entire judiciary and appointment himself head of state and the armed forces. He then re-appointed the military-backed government of Frank Bainimarama. Bloggers of all stripes are now sifting through the debris of a completely changed political landscape – one that will see the Bainimarama government remain in power until at least 2014.

Sri Lanka: On Allegations By The Diaspora

  14 April 2009

The Blacklight Arrow comments: “the diaspora, organized and spurred by LTTE front organizations, chants its mantra of concentration camps and Sri Lankan government genocide of the Tamils, ignoring the fact...