Stories about Human Rights from November, 2011
Cuba: News, 24/7
Cuba will apparently soon have a 24-hour news channel; Regina Coyula says: “Despite so much supposed information, we are the most disinformed people in the world.”
Greece: 2 Wheels, 610 Kilometres
Spyros Karatzoulis from Florina, Northern Greece, intends to start a bike marathon from Florina to Athens, in order to reach the Ministry of Education; his goal is to protest the lack of special school infrastructure in Florina for 33 disabled children (aged 14-28 years). On his blog [gr], he describes...
More Pressure on the Chinese Government, Not Less
Chinese Human Rights Defenders argued against the “quiet diplomacy” approach put forward by Chen Min in New York Times on November 16, 2011 by looking into the case of blind activist Chen Guangcheng in Shangdong.
Cuba: Photos of Violent Arrests
Uncommon Sense weighs in on photos showing the violent arrest of “two Cuban female activists, Yris Pérez Aguilera and Donaida Pérez Paseiro, as they tried to leave Yris’ home in Placetas so she could see a specialist for treatment of head injuries she suffered during a beating by a police...
Cuba: Siding with Syria
Bloggers comment on Cuba's opposition against a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Syria for human rights violations, here and here.
Pakistan: Plans to Filter Around 1,500 Words in SMS Traffic
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is the center of attention of the country's social media junkies and human right groups these days, for its infamous leaked list of banned obscene words and phrases for SMS traffic. Pakistani bloggers react.
Cuba: Blogger and Scholar Ted Henken on New Media in Cuba
Ellery Biddle interviews City University of New York (CUNY) Professor of Sociology Ted Henken, a Cuba expert who is the author of El Yuma, a blog that explores social currents in contemporary Cuba and closely follows the Cuban blogosphere.
Maldives: Reactions To Defacing Of Monuments
Some SAARC countries have sent monuments to Maldives to celebrate the SAARC summit this year. Maldives’ religious party Adhaalath had called for removal of these alleged idols. Sri Lankan blogger Indrajit Samarajiva shares his reactions on the desecration of the Sri Lankan and Pakistani monuments.
Chile: Domestic Workers Protest Demanding Dignity at Work
Domestic workers protested demanding dignity at work on Sunday, November 20, in Santiago. The blog Centros Chilenos en el Exterior [es] posted a video of the march produced by Prensa Opal [es].
South Sudan/Sudan: Refugee Narrates Her Emotional Story
Amanda Hsiao talks to Miriam, a Sudanese refugee in Ethiopia. The post is part of a series based on Enough interviews with Blue Nile refugees in Sherkole refugee camp and Kurmuk, Ethiopia. Details of these testimonies are impossible to verify, but accounts Enough heard have been generally consistent.
Cuba: Ladies Detained Again
The Ladies in White were once again attacked this weekend as they tried to attend Mass, babalu reports; two of the group's members are allegedly “still being held in a Castro prison.”
Cuba: Overseas Voting
“The attention with which the Spanish community on the Island follows the Spanish electoral process is surprising,” says Generation Y, suggesting that “among voters here there is a clear intention to push the policies of Madrid’s Moncloa Palace so that, in turn, something will move in the Plaza of the...
Russia: Kostroma Police Closes Discussion Board For Criticising Governor
The server of the Kostroma-based discussion board “Kostroma Jedis” (jedi.net.ru) had been confiscated by the police on November 16, 2011 (see police acts here [ru] and here [ru]). The website, which audience was about 12,000 visitors daily, was taken by the police ‘as an evidence’ in the investigation of libelling...
Russia and Tajikistan: Pilots Sentenced and Migrants Deported
Two Russian pilots have been sentenced in Tajikistan, meanwhile in Russia 300 illegal Tajiks have been arrested for deportation. Is there any connection? Ekaterina reports.
Belarus: Petition to Halt Execution of Minsk Subway Blast Convicts
Over 18,000 people have already signed the “Innocent until proven guilty! 15 days left to stop the Belarussian executions” petition, posted on The Petition Site, demanding to halt the Nov. 30 executions of two Belarusian men, Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzislau Kavalyou, who were found guilty of the April 11 explosion...
Ukraine: Netizens Appeal to Lithuanian President to Postpone Her Visit
Ukrainian netizens drafted an open letter to the Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, asking her to postpone her visit to Ukraine, currently scheduled for Nov. 22, the seventh anniversary of the 2004 protests known as the Orange Revolution, and explaining that a court's decision to ban citizens from gathering for commemorative...
Liberia: Giving Free Press a Second Chance
The judgment in the controversial media closure case in Liberia gave justice a rare opportunity to prevail. On November 7 the Liberian government shut down three media houses for allegedly spreading hate messages likely to incite violence.
Tunisia: Execution of a Tunisian in Iraq Divides Netizens
The execution of Yosri Trigui, a Tunisian convicted of terrorism, in Iraq has divided Tunisian netizens. A terrorist who deserves what he obtained, or a young victim of manipulation, and a trial that did not meet international standards? Read Afef Abrougui's round up of reactions from Tunisia to find out.
UAE: Female Twitter User Rowda Hamed Summoned for Interrogation
Female Twitter user Rowda Hamed, from the UAE, tweeted saying that she has been summoned for interrogation. She is one of the few Twitter users from the country who support five detained activists who recently went on hunger strike.
Trinidad & Tobago: A Father's Rights
Jumbie's Watch “adds his voice” to that of a Trinidadian father who was not allowed to stay in the hospital overnight with his sick son, saying of the powers-that-be: “They find ways of justifying any and everything without referencing policy and behaviour against some higher guiding principle, or logic.”
Cuba: Censorship in Film Festival
Generation Y says that the International Festival of the New Latin American Cinema, which takes place in Cuba next month, “has been losing ground in the cultural life of Havana”, partly because of censorship.
