· March, 2006

Stories about Human Rights from March, 2006

Fouad Al-Farhan: We Have to Move On

If you have been following Global Voices for more than six months, then you probably have read the name of Fouad Al-Farhan in this space several times before this one. Actually, one of my posts here back in October 2005 featured a post by Al-Farhan, when he left a meeting...

Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

This week is a week of rememberance. It is the third anniversary of the start of the Iraq war and the Iraq bloggers are commenting on the hopes at the start and their feelings for the future. It is also the 18th anniversary of the Halabja massacre. And the burning...

Belarus: Protest Stories and Conversations

  23 March 2006

For the past four evenings, thousands of people have been gathering at Kastrychnitskaya (Oktyabrskaya) Square in Minsk, Belarus, to protest the fraudulent presidential election, demand a new vote and support the opposition. The crowd thins as the night arrives, but a few hundred young activists stay on in a small...

Belarus: The Purpose of the Protest in Minsk

  22 March 2006

Ivan Lenin at Rush-Mush translates a Belarusian LJ user's eloquent explanation of what the protest in Minsk is about: “The current resistance is a note of protest. A revolution probably won't happen. But there is a hope that the authorities will remember the tents on the square, next time they...

Ukraine: Anti-Lukashenko Rally in Kyiv

  22 March 2006

LJ user samuel_smith posts photos from a rally (RUS) that took place in front of the Belarusian embassy in Kyiv today. The protesters mocked the recent election in Belarus by casting ballots that had no alternative candidates on them, thus giving Aleksandr Lukashenko 183% of the vote. They also went...

Iran: Sufis under Pressure

Akhbar Sufi (Sufi news) is a new blog which is talking about Iranian Sufis’ problems with Iranian government. Akhbar Sufi (Persian) says in Semenan decision has already been taken to destroy Sufis’ worshiping building as it was done in Qom.

Japan, China: Organ Market

  22 March 2006

OhmyNews! reports that a growing number of Japanese are seeking organ transplants in China, where lax regulations and a high number of executions make organs available for desperate buyers.

Hong Kong: Glutter on Hao Wu

  22 March 2006

Glutter is in shock over the detention of Beijing or Bust blogger and documentary film-maker Hao Wu (Wu Hao in Chinese), with whom she took part in a BBC World Service panel discussion on censorship in China. She posts a transcript of the discussion.

Nepal: Racism

  21 March 2006

Bahas on the prevalent forms of racism in Nepal - “Racism in Nepal particularly affects members of the Dalit and indigenous as well as refugees and other ethnic communities.caste-based discrimination has been recognized as a critical problem worldwide, with particular impact in South Asia.”

Nepal: No Justice

  21 March 2006

United We Blog! reports – “In a bizarre case, policemen arrested a justice-seeking policeman from the library of Kantipur Publications”

Belarus: Coverage of Belarus by the Western Media

  21 March 2006

br23 blog reports on the coverage of the events in Minsk by the Western media: CNN is doing a good job, but the Russian-language EuroNews’ coverage is full of distortions, as usual. Also, the German foreign minister says “there should be a dialog with Alexander Lukashenka (!)”

Belarus: Opposition Leaders Break Up

  21 March 2006

Ivan Lenin of Rush-Mush comments on the recent breakup between the two opposition leaders, Milinkevich and Kozulin: “Milinkevich has got a wonderful opportunity to create a change, thanks to the courage of the thousands Belarusians who braved the very real threats from Luka and the cold; the tens of thousands...

DRC at a Boiling Point

  21 March 2006

Over at UDPS Liege, blogger J. Kayembe Tshipamba lists (FR) all the reasons why he believes the DRC is headed towards an era reminiscent of the Mobutu years: free speech issues as evidenced by the repressed March 10 opposition protest; the presence of Rwandan mercenaries; the parcelling of the DRC...

Iranian New Year

Today Iranian all over the world will celebrate NEW YEAR (1385), Norouz. It is fascinating to see that many bloggers remember political prisoners, blogger or not. Two Iranian reformist politicians & bloggers, Mostafa Moin & Mohammad Ali Abtahi, just posted a short happy New Year message on their blogs. Moin...

DRC: Street kids

  21 March 2006

Adventures of a Retired Armchair Traveller reports on street kids in Kinshasa and points to an article which writes that the children are…”being beaten, abused, starved, thrown out of their homes which brings all the hardships and dangers of living on the street, at least in part because fear of...

Belarus: Students Face Expulsion

  21 March 2006

LJ user lipski reports (RUS) that photos from the Oktyabrskaya Sq. protests have reached the dean's office of Belarus State University's history department: two students from the department are on these pictures, and faculty members are now considering expelling these students. Also, dean's office of the geography department demands lists...

Belarus: ‘Tent City’ Photos

  21 March 2006

LJ user litota posts March 20-21 photos from the ‘tent city’ at Oktyabrskaya Sq. in Minsk: Kozulin negotiating with the police; warming up with hot tea; greeting passangers inside public buses; delivering the tents and running away from the police; WC in a tent set up over a sewer hole;...