Stories about Human Rights from May, 2008
Malawi's Ex-President Under House Arrest
Following recent reports of alleged coup plotters, police picked up and put Malawi's former president Bakili Muluzi under house arrest. Lilongwe-based Journalist Bright Sonani gives eyewitness accounts as events unfolded at Kamuzu International Aiport in Lilongwe where Muluzi was picked as he arrived from a trip from the UK.
South Korea: Disrespect for Police
Korea Beat translates a local newspapers article which explains the phenomenon of disrespect for the police in South Korea.
Sudan: Stranded Palestinians
Sudanese blogger Yahya Jaser Mohammed [Ar] sheds light at the plight of Palestinians stranded in Sudan – and who cannot return to their homes.
Philippines: Human rights blog
A group blog, Slaughter of Innocents, was launched to document extrajudicial killings in the Philippines
Malaysia: Blogs and websites under investigation
Nobody and The Bolehland reported that 22 websites and blogs have been investigated by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission “for airing false, pornographic and baseless allegations.”
Israel: Shekels Friendly to the Blind
“Israeli currency has been accessible to the blind since 1975,” reflects Josh of Blogs of Zion, responding to a US federal court cases arguing that American money discriminates against the blind. Unlike US dollars, Israeli paper money has raised vertical and horizontal lines that help blind people differentiate between bills.
Australia: Ethnic Macedonian Protest
S.M. of Macedonia: Cradle of Culture, Land of Nature posted photos and videos from the recent protest of over 30,000 ethnic Macedonians in Australia, who demanded that their government stop using derogatory prefixes when referring to the Republic of Macedonia and ethnic Macedonians.
Cayman Islands: Not Here?
Cayblogger responds to a mainstream media editorial by examining the Cayman Islands’ attitude towards homosexuality and crime: “There have been, what… five murders in Cayman this year to only one ‘gay kiss?’ Which means that we, as a society, are less tolerant of a gay kiss than of a murder.”
Nigeria/South Africa: Nigeria vs South Africa
Nanja Boy writes examines the fate of Nigerians in the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa: “Lest we have forgotten, Nigerians economy now harbors the best of their businesses. For goodness sake, the lists of Nigerian-based multinational companies wholly owed or controlled by South Africa people or government is far...
Jamaica, Caribbean: No gays in Golding's government
Bloggers around the Caribbean respond to Jamaican prime minister Bruce Golding's assertion that there is no room in his Cabinet for homosexuals.
Iran: 10 Christians were arrested
Schrr reports[Fa] that 10 Iranian Christians were arrested in Shiraz today. It seems all of them are Ex-Muslims and they can face death penalty.
The Victimization of Egyptian Women and Children
Fantasia's World raises crucial issues that hold back the Egyptian society all together; namely women's rights, violence against women and children, and the general misconceptions of male-female relationships in the Egyptian society and in the Arab world. Marwa Rakha zooms into a new post which discusses how Egyptian women and children are being victimized by traditions, law, and the Muslim Brothers.
Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria: Zorba the Greek
Greater Surbiton quotes from Nikos Kazantzakis‘ “Zorba the Greek”: “Given current Greek policy toward Macedonia, it is illuminating to read the words that Kazantzakis placed in the mouth of this most popular of Greek fictional heroes when the latter described his role in the Greek struggle to colonise Macedonia […].”
Poland: Irena Sendler Obituary
Edward Lucas reposts the obituary of Irena Sendler, saviour of children in the Warsaw ghetto.
Tunisia: Special needs card
Tunisian Trap Boy [Ar] suggests issuing every Tunisian citizen with a card for people with special needs, saying that such a card would give his people more rights if the United Nations 50-clause declaration of rights for this category were implemented, than what they are getting right now.
Ukraine: A View From Crimea
Last week, Ukraine banned Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov from the country, after he called for Russia to take ownership of Sevastopol, a Ukrainian Black Sea naval port. The incident received much coverage in the Russian and Ukrainian media and blogs. Below is one more post, written by a Russophone resident of Balaklava, a Crimean town that has an official status of a district of the city of Sevastopol.
Russia: Guest Column by Andrei Nekrasov
At Robert Amsterdam's blog, a guest column from the Russian filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov.
Estonia: “Asymmetrical Bilingualism”
Itching for Eestimaa writes about “asymmetrical bilingualism” and the Estonia report by Doudou Diene, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Jamaica: Homophobic Talk?
The Jamaican Prime Minister's comments on BBC‘s HARDTalk programme spur blogger Francis Wade to make a few comments of his own: “Golding…candidly responded that he would not have a gay person in his cabinet. His distaste and contempt seemed palpable to me. I imagined Jamaicans looking on with pride…I imagined...
Hong Kong: Private Deal Against Basic Law?
Luke pointed out that the private deal between Hong Kong government and the Time Square property management concerning the Time Square public space may have violated the Basic Law [zh], which protects freedom of expression and gathering.
Slovenia: The Diaspora vs Croatia
Sleeping With Pengovsky writes about the Slovenian Diaspora: “You see, people of Slovenia and Croatia lived in peace throughout history. We may say bad things about each other, but in the end Slovenes like Croatian seaside and music and Croats like Slovene mountains and shops. And both hate each other’s...