· February, 2013

Stories about History from February, 2013

China: Cultural Revolution Murder Trial

  26 February 2013

The trial of an elderly man named Qiu accused of murdering a doctor during the Cultural Revolution has generated discussions about the cultural revolution in China. China Media Project has translated the comments from Chinese social media and traditional media.  

Macedonian Anti-Fascists Protest Against Harassment

  24 February 2013

On Feb. 16, World War II veterans and their supporters protested against the forced neglect of the Allied Forces' achievements (which include the founding of the Macedonian state), and the continuous harassment of the veterans' organization by the current government at all levels. Filip Stojanovski reports.

A First for Africa: Ex-Dictator to be Judged on the Continent

  22 February 2013

A new court system, the Extraordinary African Chambers has recently been set up to allow the first ever trial of one of its own dictators on the continent. The tribunal to judge Hissène Habré, former president of Chad, opened in Senegal on February 8, 2013. Human Rights Watch has been working since 1999 with victims of the ex-dictator, currently in exile in Senegal, in order to bring him to justice.

Bengali Language History Not Lost on Youth

  20 February 2013

Farah Subhan at Amader Kotha highlights how Bangladeshi youth feel about 21 of February, the day commemorating the martyrs of the Bengali language movement, also known as the The International Mother Language Day.

Tajik Civil War ‘Will Continue’

  16 February 2013

Unless ALL the sides [that fought against each other in the 1990s] admit their fault and say, "Yes, we did kill, we did start the conflict," the civil war will continue... It looks like we are ashamed of admitting that we are all to blame for the bloodshed.

Memorable Moments from the Brazilian Carnival

  16 February 2013

The importance of Carnival in Brazilian culture cannot be overplayed. Love it or hate it, the Party has bestowed joy on its anonymous masses, fired up those with an opportunistic unbridled penchant for the pursuit of fame, and destroyed the reputation of public figures who have lost all reason and personal boundaries. Check out the following for some magical, shameful, irreverent, controversial and entertaining flashbacks from this important Brazilian extravaganza.

Tibetans Rap for Respect

  13 February 2013

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a bold new rap song called “RESPECT” by young Tibetans who call themselves “Sheep Droppings”. The song is an angry rant against a TV drama produced by China Central Television called “Tibet’s Secret”. It is first uploaded onto Chinese video-hosting site Youku.com around February...

When Uncle Matt Went to Albania

  13 February 2013

Matthew Pointon of Uncle Travelling Matt shares this detailed, six-part account and photos of his travel in Albania in 1996 and 1999: […] The Land of the Eagle is little known even in Europe and that’s a shame since it has some incredible scenery, friendly people and fascinating history. […]

Bangladeshi Women Join Shahbag Protests in Remarkable Numbers

  11 February 2013

Extraordinary numbers of Bangladeshi women have joined the groups of protesters occupying the capital city Dhaka's Shahbagh intersection demanding capital punishment for war criminals. The movement, spearheaded by bloggers and online activists, is seeking the death penalty for those who committed crimes against humanity during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

Praising Lenin in Tajik Poetry

  11 February 2013

Glorifying Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, was a popular theme in Soviet literature. Kimiyoi Saodat (The Chemistry of Happiness) blog traces [tj] the Lenin-praising tradition in Tajik poetry, from the prominent poets of the Soviet period to some contemporaries. More than two decades after independence, debates persist about...

In Pictures: The Protesting Crowd In Shahbag

  10 February 2013

Last Friday, 8th of February, 2013, hundreds of thousands of people started to gather since morning in Shahbagh's Generation Square in solidarity with bloggers and online activists’ ongoing protests. Arif Hossain Sayeed shares pictures of this mass gathering in Bangladesh capital Dhaka.

The Romanian-Hungarian “War of the Flags”

  8 February 2013

Hungarian Spectrum writes about the ongoing diplomatic confrontation between Romania and Hungary, sparked by the Romanian authorities’ ban on flying the flag of the Székely Land, an ethnic Hungarian enclave currently demanding territorial autonomy within Romania.