Stories about Human Rights from January, 2011
Ukraine: State’s Grip on Media Tightens, Affects Bloggers
Tetyana Bohdanova reports on the deterioration of press freedom in Ukraine, highlighting the recent case of blogger and journalist Olena Bilozerska.
Haiti: Duvalier Visit Political Red Herring?
A little more than a year after a debilitating earthquake practically leveled the Haitian capital and destroyed innumerable surrounding towns, killing thousands and leaving survivors homeless (tent cities are still full, despite millions of dollars in relief aid pledged), exiled dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier returned to his homeland. Many bloggers are still stunned at this latest political development and remain unclear as to the motive behind his visit.
Mexico: Women's Rights Activist Killed
Erwin C. in The Latinamericanist reports on the murder of women's rights activist Susana Chávez: “For many years Chavez campaigned against the unsolved murders of hundreds of women in northern Mexico. She helped create the slogan ‘Ni Una Mas’ (‘Not One More Death’), which served as a battle cry for...
Jamaica, Guadeloupe, T&T, U.S.A.: MLK Day
“Dr. King's importance lies in his challenge to expand our moral imagination”: Geoffrey Philp and other regional bloggers pay tribute to the late American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
China: No more award and prize!
It is clear that the Chinese government is not happy about the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. However, it is beyond normal people's imagination that the propaganda machine would turn its resentment into the censorship of the terms "award" and "prize".
Arab World: After Tunisia, Who's Next?
Following the events in Tunisia that forced former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country, netizens across the Arab world are asking: “are we next?”
Hungary: Protest Against Media Law in Budapest
A discussion of this past Friday's rally in Budapest in protest against Hungary's new media law – at Hungarian Spectrum.
Belarus: Mobile Operators Aid Police to Trace Protesters
Boing Boing writes that, according to an “unsourced report,” “the Belarusian mobile operators have cooperated with the country's secret police to provide a list of everyone who was in the vicinity of an anti-government demonstration; the spooks are now calling in everyone on the list to interview them about their...
Rwanda: Bloggers take on Stephen Kinzer
An article by Stephen Kinzer criticizing Human Rights Watch’s position on Rwanda was not well received in the blogosphere. In the piece, which appeared in the London’s Guardian, Kinzer laments that human rights groups are spreading what he refers to as human rights imperialism. With specific reference to Rwanda, Kinzer favors a dictatorship that allows for stability.
Kenya: 1 Million Campaign
Support 1 Million Campaign in Kenya: “…we are hoping that a simple declaration by 1 Million of Kenya's voters saying Kenya should stay in the ICC will convince parliament to stop their plans of withdrawing us from the court.”
Brazil: Police brutality during student protest
The blog Vi o Mundo [Saw the World, pt] shares a video by the cartoonist Carlos Latuff and a letter from the Workers Union of the University of São Paulo about the police brutality against students who were protesting in the streets on January 13 against the price increase of...
Saudi Arabia: Fleeing, Tunisian Ex-President Ben Ali Lands in KSA
As news surfaces that fleeing Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has landed in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Twitter users take to the platform to express their thoughts on the matter.
Rwanda: Ms Victoire Ingabire's first anniversary
http://therisingcontinent.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/16th-january-2011-ms-victoire-ingabire%e2%80%99s-first-anniversary-in-rwanda-2/first Anniversary in Rwanda: “She has been in prison for a few months now. The flame of hope and democracy in Rwanda she has enlightened, we are millions to keep it alive. We won’t let it fade.”
Rwanda: Stop misplaced attack on Human Rights Watch
Nkunda responds to attacks on Human Rights Watch: “I need to remind my readers that human rights watch has been one of the most vocal defenders of democracy in Rwanda. The organization, through the late Allison Des Forge, was the first to raise the alarm on the killings that were...
Greece: Leftist journalist “mistakenly” detained and beaten by anti-terrorist police
Radical left journalist Dimosthenis Papadatos-Anagnostopoulos was assaulted and detained during a counter-terrorism sweep in Athens. Blogger tsakthan writes [el]: “According to his testimony, he was beaten by the anti-terrorist squad near his home, shoved in a car, transferred to Police HQ, strip-searched and questioned for hours in a dark room...
South Korean Net users Brought Back a Questionable Murder Case to Police
A posting by the mother of the victim[ko] has mobilized net users to file an online petition and drawn media attention to a questionable murder case. The mother claimed her daughter was beaten to death while resisting being raped. The police has decided to reinvestigate the case.
Tunisia: Tweeting Ben Ali's Speech–Change 2.0 or Just a Show?
Popular protests in the streets of Tunisian cities have been going on unabated for the past 4 weeks. They have posed the biggest challenge to Tunisian president Ben Ali in his 23 years in power. Tonight the president delivered his third address to the nation in less than a month, promising a series of reforms. Bloggers and Tweeters have been commenting the president's words.
Pakistan: Salmaan Taseer- We Buried A Man Not His Courage
The death of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer has brought to the forefront a clear distinction, on one hand are those who endorse the assassination and glorify the assassin and on the other hand those that consider his death a setback and a national loss.
Tunisia: YouTubing the Uprising
Video-sharing portal YouTube has been blocked in Tunisia since 2007 - but that is not stopping Tunisians from sharing the horrors they are facing on the streets with the rest of the world. As the Tunisian uprising gets into its fourth week, more and more videos are being posted and circulated by cyberactivists who want to world to witness what is happening to them at the hands of the authorities.
Bangladesh, India: Human Rights Hanging On The Border Fence
Bangladeshis were shocked by widely published photographs of the dead body of a 15 year old Bangladeshi girl hanging on the India-Bangladesh border Fence. The girl named Felani was shot dead by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) while she was illegally crossing the border with her father on the way back to Bangladesh.
India: Government Monitoring of Email
Reading Cafe reacts on the news that the Indian government is seriously considering asking Google to help it in monitoring emails.
