Stories about History from April, 2009
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Bihac
Travel report and pictures from “Bihac and surroundings” – at Bosnia Blog.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: 1,000 More Srebrenica Victims To Be Buried July 11
1,000 new funerals of victims of the Srebrenica massacre have been scheduled for July 11, 2009, Srebrenica Genocide Blog reports.
Haiti: Senate Elections
Alice Smeets posts a series of photographs of Haiti's senatorial elections this past weekend, while My Life, an Open Book… says: “It turned out to be a terrible election…not because people were killed, but because the voice of the people was not heard.”
Ukraine: Ceramics Museum; Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
The Uncataloged Museum reports on a trip to the National Museum of Ukrainian Ceramics in the village of Opishne, in the Poltava region. Chernobyl and Eastern Europe posts a 2006 video from a Pripyat.com editor's trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
Peru: Recent Paleontological Discoveries
El Pensieve de Dinorider [es] posts links to various articles about recent paleontological discoveries across Peru.
Iran: Diplomats walk out at Ahmadinejad's speech
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today made headlines once more, when he referred to Israel as a “racist state” during a address at United Nations conference on racism in Geneva, Switzerland. Delegates from several European nations walked out of the conference in protest at Ahmadinejad's remark. Jomhour has published the following video...
Americas: 5th Summit Reactions
The much-hyped Fifth Summit of the Americas is now over, culminating with the Hemispheric leaders' adoption of the Declaration of Commitment of Port of Spain - albeit with one signatory - the Prime Minister of host country Trinidad and Tobago, who purportedly signed on behalf of all participating leaders. This signaled to many a clear lack of unanimity on the final declaration, hardly surprising given the differing agendas of the 34 participating nations. Bloggers were quick to post their impressions of the three-day engagement.
Haiti: Election or Selection?
Repeating Islands reports that Haiti's Senate elections this past weekend were “marred today by sporadic violence, forcing authorities to cancel polling in parts of the country”. Pwoje Espwa notes: “Fanmi Lavalas (ex-President Jean Bertrand Aristide's political party) will not be in the race due to not being able to satisfy...
Jamaica: Perspective on Pirates
Jamaica-based blogger Annie Paul happened to be reading a manuscript about pirates at a time when “the pirates of Somalia were rousing international consternation by capturing a US ship and holding its crew hostage” – and she shares an alternative perspective on this age-old profession.
Morocco: On “Jewish Morocco”
Morocco has a long relationship with Judaism; during the spread of the Roman empire, a number of Jews settled in what is modern-day Morocco. Over time, relations between Morocco's majority Muslim population and its small Jewish population have ranged from very good to heavily strained. Following the creation of the state of Israel, the vast majority of Morocco's Jews emigrated (approximately 15% of Israeli Jews are in fact of Moroccan descent), however, approximately 7,000 Jews reside in Morocco today. Moroccans are often quick to point out that the king's top adviser, André Azoulay, is Jewish.
Peru: Recovering Memories of the Amazon
Historical records and memories of the Peruvian Amazon are often locked up in the archives of governmental offices or other non-governmental organizations, and often never seen by the general public. Now through the use of the internet, many of these publications, photos and videos are being shared with the world, which allows those living in the present to see how things have changed.
Serbia: Thoughts on Doubt and Faith
Orthodox Christian believers will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 19. On this occasion, some Serbian bloggers posted their thoughts about different legends and dogma related to Jesus Christ. Sinisa Boljanovic has translated two of these posts.
Haiti: Mounting Tensions
The Haitian Blogger identifies what he calls “the Forces aligned against Haiti's political, agricultural and economical sovereignty”, while My Life, an Open Book… is concerned about the mounting tension on the island in anticipation of this weekend's elections.
Macedonia: Alexander the Great as Media Bait
For several years now, the Macedonian traditional media have have been involved in relentless promotion of all and any claims related to Alexander the Great deemed "positive" in terms of generating public approval and more readers/viewers. Such coverage tends to grow more bizarre, as shown by recent events.
Syria: Killing the Intifada
“On this day Khalil al Wazir fell under a hail of bullets as an Israeli death squad attacked his home in Tunis. The Zionist state mistakenly believed that by killing him they would kill the Palestinian Intifada but, more than twenty years later, the Palestinian people are still resisting,” writes...
Cuba, U.S.A.: Play Ball
“The ball is in Cuba’s court after Obama threw it yesterday, as he announced new flexibility in his policies toward Cuba”: From Havana, Generation Y says: “The game would become more dynamic if they let the Cuban people take hold of the erratic ball of change. Many would kick it...
Azerbaijan: Operatic Sheki
Sheki, Azerbaijan says that while the government has started to publicize the history and culture of her country abroad, there is still much to discover. For example, she reports, the first female opera composer in the Orient was not only Azeri, but also came from her home town.
Armenia: Obama, Turkey and… Unzipped
Unzipped comments on recent reports that Armenia and Turkey might be close to finalizing the first stage of a deal to normalize relations. In particular, the blog gives its own opinion on how the long-running dispute over the massacre and deportation of as many as 1.5 million Armenians from the...
Cuba, U.S.A.: Extending an Olive Branch?
The Obama administration yesterday announced some key changes to U.S. policy designed to "reach out to the Cuban people in support of their desire to freely determine their country’s future." While the policy shift allows for a lift on travel and remittance restrictions and paves the way for greater telecommunications links with the island, some bloggers are concerned that the measure has not gone far enough...
Bangladesh: Celebrating Bangla New Year
ASM Rahat Khan posts pictures of the Pahela Boishakh (Bangla New Year) celebrations and comments [bn]: “after seeing all these colors who will say that Bangladesh is a land of struggles and have nots.”
Algeria: Bouteflika Takes On Third Term
On Friday, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected for a third term in office, extending his already ten-year tenure. Along with former Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem, Bouteflika changed the constitution to remove the presidential term limit, a revision that was approved by the Council of Ministers in November 2008. According...
