· May, 2013

Stories about Politics from May, 2013

African Union Celebrates 50th Anniversary

The African Union (AU), the single largest organization of states in Africa, marked its 50th anniversary from May 25 to 27, 2013 at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, sparking debate among Africans throughout the continent over the organization's relevance and effectiveness.

Is There Still a President in Madagascar ?

  31 May 2013

Patrick Rajoelina argues that [fr] by law, if the president of the transition Andry Rajoelina still wants to run for the upcoming presidential elections in Madagascar, he can no longer be president, according to the road map signed by all Malagasy political parties in 2011. The current prime minister Beriziky stated...

Macedonian Journalist's Arrest Stirs Protest

Macedonian journalists gathered [mk; video and text: sq, mk] in front of the Criminal Court in the capital Skopje today to protest against the arrest of their colleague, Tomislav Kezarovski, according to this note [en] posted in the Macedonian Facebook group titled “Journalists and citizens in defense of the right...

Tajik Constitution's ‘Fairy Tales’

Mardikornoma blog comments [tj] on the constitution of Tajikistan, suggesting that it has become more of a fairy tales book than the country's supreme law: As I skim through the pages of Tajikistan's Constitution, I cannot help thinking that this document must be from some other country.

VIDEO: Brazil's Police Intimidate Indigenous

  30 May 2013

Video [Audio and subtitles in Portuguese] recorded by the native Paygomuyatpu Mundurukku shows soldiers of the National Force verbally intimidating his tribe on the area of Belo Monte dam.

Alleged South Korean Tax-Evaders Revealed

  29 May 2013

South Korea's independent investigative journalism site, NewsTapa, together with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), released its initial list containing names of South Korean corporate moguls who allegedly have founded paper companies in the British Virgin Islands to avoid tax. Net users in Daum Agora filed an online petition [ko] calling for severe punishment on...

Campaign to Liberate Oscar López Rivera

  29 May 2013

The campaign for the liberation of Puerto Rican independence fighter Oscar López Rivera has intensified. During 32 years López Rivera has been imprisoned in the United States charged with “seditious conspiracy” and “conspiracy to escape” for which he received a 70 year sentence. He is now 70 years old. The...

Rebels in Thailand's Troubled South Make Public Debut on YouTube

  29 May 2013

In Thailand's southern borderlands where various Muslim rebel groups have led a deadly nine-year insurgency, the majority of the violence has remained anonymous, committed without any one group coming forward to claim responsibility, make demands, or put a face to the conflict. That is until one of the insurgent groups released a rare video introducing their movement.

Service Sector Salaries in Hong Kong

  29 May 2013

The problem of income disparity in Hong Kong has been very notorious. “Hong Wrong” highlighted the average salaries of those who are working in the service sector to help people understand who are the exploited in the wealthy global city.

García and Toledo: Two Former Peruvian Presidents in Trouble

  28 May 2013

In recent weeks, former Peruvian presidents Alan García and Alejandro Toledo have been accused of being involved in cases of illicit enrichment and corruption. However, some believe that these accusations are meant to push them away from the political scene and prevent their participation in the upcoming presidential election.

LGBTQ Rights in Puerto Rico Slowly Improve Step by Step

  28 May 2013

A battle is currently unleashing in discussions over LGBTQ rights in Puerto Rico. In recent weeks both advances and setbacks have been seen. Groups in favor of LGBTQ rights and Christian fundamentalist groups intensely lobby to influence the Legislature.

Why Parastatals Have Failed in Zambia

  28 May 2013

Elias Munshya, a Zambian lawyer and paster, explains why parastatals have failed in Zambia since independence: Parastatals have never made a profit since 1964. Parastatals have been run not on a business model but on a political model. Parastatals have not had professionals running the boards but they have been...

From Guinea to Italy to France and Back: An Interview with Blogger Abdoulaye Bah

  27 May 2013

Global Voices author and translator Abdoulaye Bah, originally from Guinea, is a retired Italian citizen who has worked for the United Nations. He now splits his time between Rome and Nice. We spoke with Bah about his life, from his experience hiding in a bathroom to enter Italy without the proper papers, to his marriage in the Vatican, from his blog to his multi-belief family.

YouTube Blocked in Tajikistan After Video of President Dancing Goes Viral

  27 May 2013

As tensions surrounding elections slated for November continue to poison the political mood in Tajikistan, a video of President Emomali Rahmon singing and dancing at his son's wedding has gone viral, giving opposition figures yet another reason to criticize the excesses of the ruling family and the Tajik authorities yet another reason to block the video-sharing platform YouTube. The wedding took place in 2007, but the video was uploaded to YouTube on May 18, 2013.

Yemen: Two Men Killed for Overtaking a Sheikh's Wedding Convoy

Two young Yemeni men were killed last week for bypassing a wedding procession of a Sheikh (tribal leader) in Yemen's capital Sanaa. Khalid Al-Khateeb and his friend Hassan Aman were driving in their car when they came across a tribal wedding procession and were shot to death for over-taking the convoy. The wedding convoy belonged to Sheikh Ali Abd Rabo Al-Awadhi, a member in Yemen's Islah party and a member of the National Dialogue. The murder sparked an outrage among netizens and activists.

Demanding Transparency is Not a Crime

  27 May 2013

A number of citizen right advocates issued a public statement demanding the release of 10 citizens who were arrested for demanding officials to publicly disclose their personal assets. Seeing Red in China has translated the joint statement into English.