Stories about Human Rights from March, 2009
Serbia: “Ten Years of Nothing”
Paul Currion of The Unforgiving Minute posts his thoughts on the 10th anniversary of NATO bombing of Serbia.
Serbia: More on NATO Bombing
Belgraded links to blog coverage of the 10th anniversary of NATO bombing, including his own 2006 post: “In the beginning, the first few days, it was scary because nobody knew what to do in this situation. This was the kind of things you only see on movies. The sirens go...
Tunisia: Dismissed Student Activists on Hunger Strike for the Right to Education
A total of 158 Tunisians and their friends from around the world went on hunger strike for a day today (March 26) in solidarity with five students who have been on hunger strike since February 11 in Tunisia. The initiative has been orchestrated on a Facebook group [Fr] as a symbolic form of support to the students, who are members of Tunisian Students' Union (UGET), and who have been suspended from university for their activism on campus.
Pakistan: Persecution of Religious Minorities
Rumbold at Pickled Politics comments: “Before the latest round of violence, the situation was already bad for minorities in Pakistan. But now increased numbers are fleeing as more of them are targeted by religious extremists.”
Palestine: Testimonies Regarding Israeli War Crimes in Gaza
Bloggers in Gaza have not been surprised by the testimonies of Israeli soldiers documenting war crimes they committed or witnessed during the recent attacks on Gaza - or by any of the other stories now being reported regarding the Israeli military's conduct.
Iran: A Christian Blogger arrested
According to several sources an Iranian Christian blogger was arrested in the city of Isfahan in Iran about one month ago. He is a convert from Islam and he used to write about Bible in his blog.
Colombia: Searching the Bodies of Murdered Indigenous
The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia publishes on its blog the route [es] the humanitarian minga is following since Monday in order to recover the corpses of the indigenous Awás murdered by FARC in February.
Mexico: Unsolved Feminicide Along the Border
Violence along the United States - Mexico border has reached staggering levels. The killings in border cities like Ciudad Juárez has already totaled 400 in the first two months of 2009. More than 370 women have been murdered in the cities of Juárez and Chihuahua “without the authorities taking proper measures to investigate and address the problem.” This crisis, often called feminicide, has been a cause for organizations and blogs to take to the internet to help raise awareness to the plight of the victims and their families.
Cuba: Antúnez Update
Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense says that the Cuban authorities have “taken its fight with…dissident Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez) to a new, more frightening level.”
Caucasus: Pitiful democracy
Writing on the International Federation of Liberal Youth blog, Bart Woord sums up a month of traveling in the South Caucasus by saying that democracy and governance are in a pitifully depressing state in all three former Soviet republics.
Iraq: Six Years On
It's the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war and while bloggers remember the past, few seem to look to the future anymore. Salam Adil reviews the Iraqi blogosphere for reactions.
Serbia: Remembering NATO Bombing 10 Years Later
On March 24, 1999, NATO forces began attack on Serbia and Montenegro. The bombing went for 78 days. A few thousand people were killed, many buildings, bridges, railroads, roads and factories were destroyed. Also, many people still experience mental and psychic effects of the fear they had been through. Ten years later, Serbian bloggers are reminded of those terrible days. Below is a selection of some of their journal notes and recollections from the beginning of the war.
Palestine: A Mother's Pain
In Gaza, Lebanese activist Natalie Abou Shakra tells the story of a mother who took part in a protest for the release of her son, a political prisoner in the Nafha top security prison in Israel, whom she hadn't seen for 25 years; on her way home from the protest...
Cuba: Antúnez Surrounded
Uncommon Sense and Octavo Cerco share their thoughts on reports that the Cuban police “have surrounded the home of Cuban dissident Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez), who for more than a month has [led] a hunger strike to protest abuses by the Castro dictatorship.”
Cuba: Detainees Freed
The previously detained Cuban photographer and musician have been released – Sunrise in Havana has the details.
Belarus: Death Penalty and the EU
Vilhelm Konnander writes about death penalty in Belarus and how it should affect the EU leaders’ approach to the country.
Serbia: More on 10th Anniversary of NATO Bombing
More coverage of the 10th anniversary of NATO bombing of Serbia: Balkan File; Bill's Blog; Gray Falcon; and Nothing Against Serbia.
Cuba: Reports of Detainment
Both Uncommon Sense and Sunrise in Havana blog about reports that a photographer and a musician have been detained in Cuba “after offering their show of solidarity in Placetas for political activist Jorge Luis Garcia Perez (Antunez).”
Cuba: The Black Cuban Woman
Havana Times republishes a mainstream media news article on a black, female Cuban blogger who writes about gender, sexual diversity and racism.
Serbia: 10 Years Since NATO Bombings
A Yankee-in-Belgrade writes about the NATO bombings of Serbia that started ten years ago – and posts a picture from that time.
Palestine: Robbed of a Childhood
Gazan blogger Ayman Quader describes the plight of children who are forced to work because of the desperate economic situation in the Gaza Strip: “It is true that Palestinians have honed a collective resilience in the face of historic hardships. But this strength should not be sentimentalized. Children, who remain...
