Stories about Human Rights from January, 2012
Cuba: Human Rights Double Standard
Lilianne Ruíz, blogging at Translating Cuba, compares a television spot “that shows a series of watercolors of butterflies from one of the five officials of the Interior Ministry imprisoned in the United States…with the stories that are told of Cuban jails, especially for political prisoners who, ever since their detention,...
Russia, Syria: Anti- and Pro-Assad Facebook Comment Attack
Facebook pages of some Russian media outlets (e.g., Afisha, Bolshoi Gorod, Esquire Russia, Channel 1, MTV Russia) were deluged with copy-pasted comments [ru, ar] from users who appeared to be supporters of the Syrian opposition earlier today. An excerpt from a typical comment [ru, ar]: “Syria's regime is killing people...
Macedonia: “Conformism, Hypocrisy and Opportunism”
Human rights activist, journalist and artist Xhabir M. Deralla candidly expressed his view on the role of the civic sector in contemporary Macedonia: “The choir of indolent subjects stands mute. As media get quieter, the stench of the decay prevails. The civil society forgets that media are civil society, too....
Bangladesh: Protest Against Criminalization For Archiving A Banned Book
Hana at Unheard Voice highlights a petition by twenty human rights activists, academics and members of the Bangladeshi civil society in which they protest the arrest of a Head Teacher for having a copy of Taslima Nasreen’s ‘Lajja’ in the school’s library.
Pakistan: Moral Policing of Dating Couples Gets TV Show Axed
In a recent live Pakistani television show, a group of middle aged women were seen scouring the parks of Karachi to hold accountable the couples dating without their guardians' knowledge. Protests mounted on social media which led to the firing of the anchor and removal of the show from the network.
Cuba: Pope's Visit & Human Rights
In the wake of more repression against Las Damas de Blanco, Uncommon Sense thinks “that the pope should postpone his visit until human rights conditions improve in Cuba.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Abuse of Trust
The TnT River says of an incident in which a teacher allegedly stuck a student's head in a toilet bowl: “This is another case of child abuse which comes in a different form and from an institution entrusted with the education and all-round development of this child.”
Iran: Asylum seeker committed suicide
Several bloggers reported [fa] that Mohammad Rahsepar committed suicide in a refugee camp in Germany. The blogger says that “rich Iranians, politicians in exile,…should help these asylum seekers who live in terrible camps.”
Cuba: No Political Reforms
Cuban bloggers discuss the national Communist Party conference, which took place this past weekend.
Malaysia: Temiar Blockade and Indigenous Rights
Eight indigenous peoples were arrested in Malaysia for attempting to set up a blockade and prevent loggers from entering their village. The villagers are against the agricultural project of the government which would require the cutting down of forest trees in their ancestral land. Human rights lawyers, activists and netizens react .
India, Bangladesh: Cattle Trade And Border Killings
The New Horizon thinks that cattle trade is the major root cause behind the regular border killings at India-Bangladesh border.
UK: #TwitterKurds Organize First Social Media Gathering in London
A group of Kurdish Internet activists that have been organizing around the #TwitterKurds hashtag on Twitter have come together for the first Kurdish Social Media Gathering earlier this month in London. The event was live streamed and joined in via Skype and YouTube by those who could not be there physically, although there were participants who had traveled from as far as Australia to participate.
Saudi Arabia: A Family Living in a Cemetery
A Saudi family has been saved from homelessness and destitution thanks to a three-minute movie shot by young Saudi film maker Bader AlHomoud. Haifa Al Rasheed tells us how in this touching post.
Ethiopia: Standing With Ethiopia's Tenacious Blogger
Standing with Ethiopia's jailed blogger: “It would be hard to find a better symbol of media repression in Africa than Eskinder Nega. The veteran Ethiopian journalist and dissident blogger has been detained at least seven times by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government over the past two decades, and was put...
Pakistan: Hate Campaign Against Ahmadis In Rawalpindi
Naeem Shamim reports that “Banners and posters containing hate content and threats against Ahmadi Muslims are being displayed at many significant places” in Rawalpindi city near the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
Slovakia: Roma “Apartheid” – and New Housing?
According to this report [en], a US-based Hindu group was shocked by the “maltreatment” of the Roma in Slovakia, calling “to end Roma apartheid.” At the same time, the Slovak government announced [en] a new wave of social housing construction for the Roma, expecting that “the number of illegal Roma...
Cuba: The Cardinal Rule
In the context of the country's upcoming papal visit, Angel Santiesteban writes: “What we Cubans have to achieve won’t come from anyone’s visit, nor from the ‘peace concert’, although it had good intentions, nor from the ‘U.S. blockade.’ It will come the day we demand what belongs to us by...
Trinidad & Tobago: Child Abuse
Guanaguanare hopes that the story of Josiah Governor, the child who was beaten to death, will “motivate us to be more humane in the way we treat our children”, while TnT River blogs about Everton Vasquez, a minor who “hanged himself after receiving a beating from his grandmother.”
Brazil: A View from Aboard on Pinheirinho Eviction
Jimmy Greer, an activist and sustainability consultant for I-See Global based in London, writes about “the brutal eviction” of Pinheirinho, in Brazil as “another example of a skewed approach to governing that is at odds with an active, connected and changing society that demands more from its elected officials.”
Brazil: Indigenous Leader Criticizes “Developmentism” Policies
Brazilian blogger Julio Carignano, from the blog Sítio Coletivo, interviewed [pt] a former indigenous Guarani chief, Teodoro Tupã, who criticizes the policies of progress and “developmentism” towards indigenous peoples – particularly on issues concerned with health and land.
Brazil: Military Police Asks “Understanding” on Pinheirinho Eviction by E-mail
Brazilian blogger Conceição Oliveira republished [pt] an e-mail sent by the Military Police of São Paulo trying to explain the actions on what became known as “Massacre of Pinheirinho“. The police complains of “misleading statements that have been spun by people not involved with the real democratic values”.
