Stories about Human Rights from March, 2011
Uganda: Is the Anti-Homosexuality Bill Dead?
Mixed news is coming from Uganda on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill [AHB]: “On the one hand its been said the Bill is dead and on the other it will still be debated in Parliament.”
Uganda: Anti-Gay Bill Finally Dead?
David Badash wonders whether Uganda's “Kill the Gays” bill, internationally-denounced legislation that would have prescribed all Ugandan gays to be put in jail for life, would have required reporting to the government anyone suspected of being homosexual within 24 hour, is finally dead.
Brazil/Argentina: LGBT advocates repudiate death threats
The Federación Argentina LGBT (Lesbian Gay Transexual and Transgender Federation of Argentina) repudiates [es] the death threats addressed to the federal deputy Jean Wyllys – the first assumed homossexual to enter the Brazilian Parliament.
Ukraine: Myroslava Gongadze on Media Freedom
Viktor Kovalenko writes about the views of Myroslava Gongadze – who is the widow of the slain Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Gongadze – on the freedom of the press and other issues in Ukraine.
Palestine: Biggest Escalation of Violence in Gaza since Cast Lead
The Gaza Strip is lately experiencing the largest escalation of violence since Cast Lead operation in 2008-2009 that claimed lives of more than 1,400 Palestinians, among them over 350 children. On the night of March 22, 2010, Israel started military operations that led to the bloodiest day in Gaza in two years. Palestinian bloggers and tweeps react to the clashes.
El Salvador: 31 Years Since the Death of Archbishop Oscar Romero
“On March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot and killed while saying Mass at the chapel of the Divina Providencia. Romero had spent the last two-plus years of his life as Archbishop working tirelessly to prevent the country from falling into open civil war,” Mike explains at Central American...
South Sudan: A wrong start for Africa’s newest country
Maggie Fick believes that Africa’s newest country, South Sudan is starting off on the wrong foot: “There has been heavy fighting between the Southern army and an intractable local rebel movement, clashes between fractious units of the northern Sudanese army deployed in the south, an ugly police abuse scandal, and...
Gambia: I set limits on press freedom
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh says he sets press freedom limits in the country: But press freedom has limits, Jammeh said, and it is he who sets those limits. “One freedom I will never give you is the freedom, the liberty to write whatever you want that you know is not...
Cuba: Whither the Internet?
“A ghost runs around Cuba: the Internet ghost”: Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado explains.
Cuba: Courage of Journalists
“There are currently no Cuban independent journalists in the Castro gulag…” but that doesn't fool Uncommon Sense into thinking that there is a free press.
Indonesia: Torture and human rights
Blogger donnyputranto urges Indonesian authorities to stop treating torture as a regular crime since it's a serious human rights violation.
Syria: Horror Mounts as 150 Protesters Reportedly Dead in Daraa
Alarming news from Syria has dominated my Twitter timeline, with reports of up to 150 people allegedly killed by security forces in Daraa, in southern Syria, where anti-regime protests continue. Earlier estimates of six people killed as Syrian police attacked Al Omari mosque to disperse protesters are now being questioned, as reports of more doom and gloom start to seep out of the town, where communications, including phone and Internet, have been cut off.
Syria: Reports of Mass Killings, and a Blogger and a Journalist Disappear
The crackdown on protesters in Daraa, Syria continues. At dawn, a special army unit reportedly killed at least six people during an attack on Al Omari Mosque to disperse protesters using the mosque as a gathering place. At least one blogger has been arrested, while another is missing. Anas Qtiesh has the story.
Haiti: Developing Aid
“The agenda of development aid should not be set by people so far removed from the uncertainty of life that has dominated human existence for the majority of time”: Throwing Down the Water wants to get everyone speaking the same language.
Trinidad & Tobago, Dominica: Position on Gender Equity
Globewriter on the UN Joint Statement on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: “The English Caribbean (including T&T which continues to betray its alleged commitment to human rights) was notably absent except for Dominica. I can only surmise that the normally homophobic Dominica either had a coup or someone pushed the...
Cuba: The “Nays” Have It?
Iván's File Cabinet says that he will “believe in the Socialist democracy, as advocated by the regime in Havana, when you see a negative vote.”
Côte d'Ivoire: “Why is no one intervening in Ivory Coast?”
Violence continues in Ivory Coast. Charles Blé Goudé has called for the Young Patriots, supporters of the outgoing president, Laurent Gbagbo, to enlist in the army. Now thousands of young men have turned up at the headquarters of the Ivorian Army in the capital Abidjan. Having seen how the United Nations agreed on a military intervention in Libya, some Ivorian netizens are wondering how far the situation is going to degenerate before the international community intervenes.
Brazil: Obama's Visit Marked by Protests, Repression and Criticism
Intended to be a party, US President Obama's first visit to Brazil was marked by the controversial decision for his country to intervene militarily in Libya, in addition to the "covering up" of the favelas and protests followed by violent police repression.
China: VPNs don't work
Many Chinese netizens expressed their frustration on the blocking of VPNs in China since last week. Chinaren is among one of them.
China, Tibet: Should Tibetans Have Protested in 2008 or Not?
High Peak Pure Earth translates Tibetan writer Woser's reflection on the 2008 Tibet protest.
Côte d'Ivoire: After Failed Mediation, Is the Worst Yet to Come?
The meeting of five African Union (AU) heads of states about Côte d'Ivoire's state of electoral deadlock made it briefly possible to believe for a short while that a détente in the country's political crisis was within reach. Alas, this mediation, called by many the "last resort meeting", seems to have failed, after incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo's representatives rejected the panel's conclusions.
