Stories about Governance from February, 2011
Maldives: Abolishing the Government Bond system
Hassan Ziyau asks whether abolishing the Government Bond system in Maldives would be a wise decision.
Iran: A Blogger Who Prayed to See Protesters Beaten
After widespread protests in Iran on February 14, Iranian cyber-activists flooded the internet with videos, photos and tweets from the demonstrations. Meanwhile, a different interpretation of events exists on the internet too. Iranian pro-government Islamist bloggers are also prolific when it comes to sharing their thoughts online.
Philippines: Laptop registration proposal
Tonyo Cruz from the Philippines gathers online reactions to the proposal of a government agency to require the registration of laptops to prevent cybercrimes.
Haiti: Preventable Suffering
“The earthquake did not kill people. Bad buildings killed people. Lack of medical care killed people. Lack of infrastructure killed people. Lack of caring government officials kill[s] people”: Dying in Haiti is convinced that “most Haitian suffering is not necessary and is preventable in the first place.”
Cuba: Damas de Blanco Attacked
Bloggers discuss the latest crackdown on Cuban dissidents.
Turks & Caicos, Barbados: Disappearing Blog
The tcipost blog “disappeared overnight without notice”; Barbados Free Press comes to the rescue.
Jamaica: Nothing for the Youth?
“We too busy having dramatic, Days-of-our-lives type enquiries to stop for a minute and realise that this year, more than any other year to date, is all about us. It's about the African people. It's about youth”: Ruthibelle is dismayed that the UN International Year of Youth is not being...
Singapore: “Flawed” immigration policy
Sgpolitics.net comments about the ‘flawed’ immigration policy of the Singapore government which favors the hiring of more foreign workers at the expense of its local workforce.
Malaysia: Rally against ‘racist’ book
A rally was held by Malaysian Indians in Kuala Lumpur to protest the continuing use of Interlok novel in schools. The controversial book, according to protesters, discriminates against the Indian community.
Argentina: Hackathons and Budget Transparency in Bahía Blanca
As we have witnessed in the last month, there are moments in civic life that drive citizens to change and challenge institutions, to create solutions and to express their concerns about things that matter. In a short interview with Renata Avila for the Technology for Transparency Network, Manuel Aristarian, an...
Central African Republic: Are citizens better off without elections
Louisa writes a report about elections in the Central African Republic: Though it would be an overstatement to say that Central Africans would be better off without elections, it is hard to see how elections contribute to making people's concerns heard and responded to by capital-based leaders who like to...
Africa: Let's Talk About African Governments
lgazissax discusses African governments: “The uprisings in northern Africa and the Middle East had gotten me wondering about certain things I’d read about problems of African government in general, and I wanted to see how they played out in different countries.”
Zambia: Minister Uses Facebook to Announce Government Policies
Zambia’s education minister Dora Siliya who is also ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) spokesperson, has in the last few months used Facebook to make important government policy announcements as well as party matters.
Russia: Police Receives Right to Close Websites Without Court Order
Starting March 1, 2011, new law “On Police” [RUS] grants Russian police the right to order the heads of hosting companies to terminate the activity of those Internet resources that infringe Russian or International law or endanger individual or public security. Previously, police needed a court order to close a...
India: The Future Of Delhi
Sharad Kumar describes the future of the mega city Delhi as he sees.
Mexico: Kidnapping Case Affects Diplomatic Relations with France
Relations between Mexico and France have been strained due to the kidnapping conviction of French national Florence Cassez in Mexico City. Cassez was arrested in 2006, accused of kidnapping charges and sentenced to 60 years in prison.
Cambodia: Who Ordered the Blocking of Opposition Websites?
Since January, certain anti-government websites have been inaccessible in Cambodia. Service providers blame it on technical issues while the government claims it does not promote censorship. But media groups leaked a government letter asking companies to block critical websites.
Azerbaijan: Join Us
Pro-opposition activists in the Armenian Diaspora are starting to use rap music to communicate their message ahead of next week's demonstration in Yerevan while youth movements in Azerbaijan have long been doing so. Uploaded to YouTube in October, one example is Shirbənd with Bizimlə ol (Join Us) as opposition groups...
Armenia: Rapping the Revolution of Reform
Even if the use of social media ahead of an opposition rally scheduled to mark the 3rd anniversary of bloody post-presidential clashes which left 10 dead remains low, some activists are at least using the new online tools at their disposal. In particular, those behind a Facebook page to increase...
Lebanon: March Against Sectarianism #Feb27 #uniteLB
Lebanese activists are marching today, Feb27, at noon, to demand the end of the confessional system that rules Lebanon. The activists are using this Facebook group to organize. The Unite Lebanon hashtag #uniteLb is also used for Twitter updates.
Angola: Mysterious call for youth revolution
“Agostinho Jonas Roberto dos Santos” (clearly a composite of the names of deceased Angolan figures) created a website [link now broken] with a call for Angolan youth to revolt on March 7. Subsequently a Facebook page appeared. The online home of this mysterious group/individual moved [Pt] in recent days due...
