Stories about Freedom of Speech from March, 2006
Belarus: First Detainees Released
Ivan Lenin of Rush-Mush reports on the first prisoners being released from Belarusian jails.
Belarus: Lukashenko's Disappearance and Other News
Andrei Khrapavitski, br23 blog and TOL's Belarus Blog write about reports of the first March 25 casualty, Milinkevich's visit to Poland, Polish ex-ambassador's hospitalization – and Aleksandr Lukashenko's disappearance.
China: Democratic diaspora
“Who even knew that the [Chinese Democratic Party] existed?” asks Michael from The Opposite End of China, in the midst of a trip back home. “I returned to the Chinese consulate in New York today to pick up my visa. Somehow – during the hour or so that I was...
Trinidad & Tobago: Shouter Baptist Liberation Day
JT at the Caribbean Beat Weblog explains the origins of Shouter Baptist Liberation Day, which was observed yesterday in Trinidad and Tobago with a public holiday.
Belarus: Prison Journal
Ivan Lenin at Rush-Mush links to an English translation of a Belarusian protestor's jail journal. (Written by LJ user forion in Belarusian, translated by LJ user kapitan-tanaka.)
China: Yahoo! in China
Today is Pick On Yahoo! Day at Asiapundit with “one of the most-biting attacks on the company and co-founder Jerry Yang that I have yet read,” up first.
Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere
Mohsen Al-Awaji was freed after 11 days of detention, and Aya thinks this action by the government is a tangible lesson for Saudis: “Don’t you dare to criticize the government because we are capable, at any time, of stripping you from your freedom and dignity.” Riyadhwai seemed happy about the...
Belarus: Anti-TV Flash Mob
LJ user litota_ posts photos from a flash mob that took place at Oktyabrskaya Sq. in Minsk yesterday: to protest the lies of Belarusian state TV, a group of young people put scarves over their eyes and pretended to watch the news broadcast on a huge screen above.
Belarus: Ex-Ambassador Maszkiewicz Hospitalized
19. People's Blog on Presidential Election reports (RUS) that Mariusz Maszkiewicz, former Polish ambassador to Belarus, has been moved from prison to a hospital, possibly for emergency treatment of a heart attack. Maszkiewicz was jailed for his participation in the March 25 protest rally in Minsk and subjected to harsh...
Czech Republic: Havel Denied Entry Into Belarus Embassy
br23 blog reports on how Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic, was denied entry by the Belarus Embassy in Prague when he wanted to deliver a letter of protest. The incident reminded him of 1979, when Tom Stoppard and Harold Pinter were protesting his own imprisonment, but were...
Moroccan Arabic blogs opt for the sarcasme and CAIR dare to defend a Christian convert
Moroccan bloggers who choose to blog in another language(Arabic) than Arabic are facing a new wave of criticism(Arabic). “Why don't you blog in Arabic?” (French) Is a question they had to answer last week, and as I told you in my latest roundup, they were many to justify(French) their choice...
DRC: A Chat with Blogger Tony Katombe
Anthony Mica Katombe (Tony for short) is a blogger from the DRC who’ll “turn 39 April 13”. He has a degree in English and African Cultural Studies Education from a Congolese University. He owns Le Blog du Congolais and co-edits Le Prince du Fleuve Congo, a group blog. On the...
Cuba: US foreign policy and internet access
US blogger Boz disagrees with US policy as regards Cuba, but isn't in favour either of the internet access restrictions Cuba places on its citizens.
Belarus: Diary of a Protester
Rush-Mush links to a LiveJournal translation of the diary of Dasha Kostenko, a Minsk protester who has recently been sentenced to ten days in jail.
Belarus: Letter From Female Prisoners
LJ user kapitan_tanaka translates a letter written by Valyantsina Palyavikova and Larysa Bukholenka, two female prisoners who were jailed for their participation in the post-election protest in Minsk.
Belarus: Election Fraud Video
German-language Media-Ocean switches into English to write about a short video from a polling station in Belarus, which conveys repressive atmosphere during the count and shows how one observer, despite being barred from the table with stacks of bulletins on it, catches a violation that could've benefited Aleksandr Lukashenko, the...
China: Detained Activist Released
Zeng Jinyan, wife of AIDS activist Hu Jia—detained last month during a nation-wide hunger strike in protest at the government's alleged hiring of thugs in February to beat up a civil rights campaigner in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong—posts on her blog Searching for Hu Jia that after forty...
China: Checking communist vernacular
China Confidential‘s Confidential Reporter notices an increasing intolerance of left-wing language on the internet in China. “From Marx to Mao, communist keywords constitute potential red flags in the eyes of the hyper-sensitive e-police—thousands of trained analysts armed with the latest (American made) censor- and spy-ware,” the post says.
Tourism, Islamic Vietnam & Blogs
IranMehr (Persian) talks about tourism industry problems in Iran. He writes despite country’s attractiveness such as historical monuments, ancient villages, ecosystems…He talks also about government’s politics to attract 20 million tourists to Iran whose share of global tourism revenue has been less that 1 percent. According to him: “How Iranian...
Poland: Solidarity 25 Years Ago Isn't Today's Belarus
The beatroot writes about “the difference between [Poland's] Solidarity twenty-five years ago and Belarus today”: the difference is in “imagination, organization and ultimately, Solidarity.”
Belarus: Analysis of Situation
Tobias Ljungvall sums up last week's events in Belarus and makes some forecasts.