Stories about Governance from March, 2008
Slovakia: Newspapers Protest Imposition of Interactivity
Information Policy links to a story in the International Herald Tribune on the protest of Slovak newspapers against the new requirement “to print responses by people or institutions to any news article even if the published information were true.”
Czech Republic: Micro-Fee vs “Micro-Bribe”
The Economist‘s blog, Certain Ideas of Europe, reports from the Czech Republic on how “charging patients a small sum for visits to publicly funded doctors” has more or less eliminated “micro-bribing.”
Romania, Hungary, Austria: Marshal Antonescu; “Political Irrelevance”
At A Fistful of Euros, Douglas Muir writes about Marshal Antonescu of Romania, and Alex Harrowell writes about an “outbreak of arseholes in Central Europe.”
Bulgaria: Against Internet “Bugging”
This year, the Bulgarian government has issued a decree, which, among other things, allows the security services to gather from each internet user the data about who they have written to, who is on their contact lists, what instant communication agents they are equipped with, when they used them and the precise manner of using them. The majority of internet users in Bulgaria interpreted it as an encroachment on their civil liberties. Yavor Mihaylov reports on Bulgarian bloggers' attempts to resist the government's initiative.
Brazil: March for the end of the Gaza Strip
“It is said that each Palestinian expelled from their land – and not just since 1948, when it the state of Israel was created – keep a key which they always carry with them. This is not the key for their car, office or a shed lost somewhere between Jordan,...
Mozambique: Protests againt cost of living in Africa
Carlos Serra [pt] reports some more protests against the increase in the cost of living, this time in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, where food prices have gone up. The sociologist-blogger forecasts these may not be the last ones: “I remember similar manifestations taking place recently in Cameroon, Burkina Faso and...
Uzbekistan: Presidential Daughter Establishes Think-Tank
Mansurhon tries to understand the purpose of the Center for Political studies founded by Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov and rumored successor of the country's leader.
Afghanistan: Hazara People Want Justice
Mohammad writes that representatives of the Hazara ethnic group in Afghanistan arranged a large demonstration in Kabul on March 29, to stop migration of nomadic tribes that threatens agricultural sector in their provinces.
Brazil: Blogs banned from the 2008 elections
Brazil is warming up for local elections later this year, but the Supreme Electoral Court has just passed regulations that have raised eye-brows throughout the blogosphere: only candidates' purpose-built web pages will be allowed. Blogs and 'social web' facilities have not been subjected to a more comprehensive legislation and as a result these are now left in limbo. Will the netizen be silenced?
Belarus: Freedom Day Protest
On Tuesday, March 25, police broke up an opposition rally in the capital of Belarus, beating protesters with truncheons and detaining dozens of people. Veronica Khokhlova translates two bloggers' first-hand accounts and a foreign political analyst's view on the Belarusian opposition's strategy.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: New UNESCO Heritage Site; New Cross Memorial
Elia Varela Serra reviews bloggers' reactions to one of the main news in the Bosnian blogosphere this week: the addition of the Višegrad stone bridge to UNESCO's World Heritage List. Also, she reports on the controversy caused by plans to build a memorial to the Serbian war victims in Sarajevo.
Ukraine, Poland: Tusk Visits Kyiv
Leopolis reports on Donald Tusk's visit to Ukraine: “The biggest development of the trip was the signing of a cross-border visa agreement for small-time Ukrainian traders living 50 kilometres from the border.”
Romania: Corruption
Public Policy Watch – Politici Publice in Moldova writes on the issue of “high-profile corruption” in Romania.
Belarus: Emanuel Zeltser's Detention
Eternal Remont links to a new blog whose aim is to draw attention to Emanuel Zeltser's case: FREE Emanuel Zeltser and Vladlena Funk – Illegally Imprisoned in Belarus Since March 12, 2008.
Russia, U.S.: A Foreign Policy View
Valery Dzutsev offers a view on why “there is so much tension between the US and Russia.”
Macedonia, Greece: More on the Name Dispute
More on the Macedonia-Greece name dispute – at Halfway Down the Danube and Foreign Policy Blog.
China: Responses to the Dalai Lama's appeal
As Lhasa has supposedly quieted down, the anti-CNN.com crowd has gone off the deep end, that might be worth exploring more. The death threats they've been making towards Western media representatives stationed in China certainly haven't gone unnoticed. On Mutant Palm blogger Davesgonechina's list of links chosen in a move...
Peru: Puno Leader Seeking Greater Autonomy for Region
The Regional President of Puno, Hernán Fuentes, has called for increased financial, administrative and political autonomy for one of the poorest regions of Peru. Some local bloggers agree that Puno needs more help in order to combat its high rates of poverty, but wonder whether Fuentes is just following from Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez' playbook, but also note that seeking autonomy is not new within Peru's history.
Pakistan: A new accountability bureau
Changing up Pakistan analyses the newly elected Government's decision to set up a brand new Accountability Bureau.
Iran: Save nature please!
Okay4u, a blogger from Iran, has published several photos from northern forests of Iran. The blogger says that this part of country can become a tourist attraction but Iranian authorities do not care about it.
Iran:Police brutality in photos
The Iranian police launched a huge operation to “elevate security in society” last year. The police arrested, tortured and humilated many people who were called “thugs”. Jomhour has published several photos of this operation.
