· March, 2008

Stories about Governance from March, 2008

Bulgaria: Against Internet “Bugging”

  31 March 2008

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

  31 March 2008

“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

  31 March 2008

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...

Brazil: Blogs banned from the 2008 elections

  30 March 2008

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

  30 March 2008

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.

Ukraine, Poland: Tusk Visits Kyiv

  29 March 2008

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.”

China: Responses to the Dalai Lama's appeal

  28 March 2008

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

  28 March 2008

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.

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.