Stories about Politics from March, 2009
Afghanistan: Scandal with the Attorney General
Azar Balkhi writes that Abdul Jabar Sabit, Attorney General of Afghanistan and a Muslim, has been caught dancing drunk at a party in Kabul.
Ukraine: Relations With Russia and Romania
Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop writes: “While Russian strategists declare Ukraine “a failed state” on the verge of losing its sovereignty, some Romanian officials and media are suggesting that only part of Ukraine, with its capital in Lviv, can ever come under the alliance’s euroatlantic umbrella.”
Estonia: Lennart and Arnold Meri
Itching for Eestimaa writes: “One Meri cousin, Lennart, just had an airport named after him to coincide with the annual foreign policy conference that bears his name. […] The other Meri cousin, Arnold, spent his twilight years on trial for the deportation of the men, women, and children of Hiiumaa...
Hungary: Ferenc Gyurcsány, Part I
“The rise and fall of Ferenc Gyurcsány, Part I” – at Hungarian Spectrum.
Palestine: Commemorating Land Day
March 30 is Land Day, on which Palestinians everywhere, but especially those within Israel, commemorate the day in 1976 when six unarmed Palestinian citizens of Israel were killed by the Israeli army and police during protests against land expropriation. The day has become a way to mark the struggle of the Palestinians to hold onto their land, when demonstrations take place as well as other events. Palestinian and pro-Palestinian bloggers around the world have observed the occasion.
Ecuador: Heading to the Polls Yet Again
In less than a month, approximately 10.5 million Ecuadorians will head to the polls yet again. After approval of the new Constitution last September, elections to select the president, members of the legislature and other local authorities are scheduled for April 26. The current president, Rafael Correa, has announced his intention to run, where he is favored to win.
Palestine: The Changing Face of Jerusalem
Ned, who lives in Ramallah, writes about the changes he has seen taking place in Jerusalem: “Israel is clearly trying to change the whole face of Jerusalem, making it more Jewish than it has ever been. In the process, thousands of Arabs are losing their right to live in the...
Trinidad & Tobago: Identifying the Problem
Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, This Beach Called Life thinks that the biggest problem with UDECOTT “isn’t that the public thinks it is a corrupt organization…[it's] that the masses who screamed about the corruption with the Piarco Airport Terminal are now silent and indifferent about UDECOTT.”
Barbados: Animal Cruelty
Barbados Free Press republishes a letter from an “irate hiker” whose group discovered the body of a dog that was hanged from a tree: “The RSPCA was notified. Their response was ‘write a letter to the newspapers’. Where is the the ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ in such a response?...
Jamaica: Going to Calabash
Jamaican Geoffrey Philp and Life, Unscripted, on the Rock are pleased to report that the Calabash International Literary Festival is back on.
Armenia: Blogger Interview
The DOTCOM project which brings together Armenian, Azeri and U.S. teenage bloggers has now updated its interview with Arzu Geybullayeva with one conducted with Global Voices Online's Caucasus Regional Editor Onnik Krikorian. In particular, the potential for blogs and online social networking sites to cross geographical and geopolitical divides is...
India: Arguments Against The Third Front
Solitary Reaper analyzes the election manifesto of the Third Front, a political alliance contesting in the upcoming Indian elections 2009, and comments: “here are a few people talking about taking India back to the stone age.”
Sri Lanka: New Dissent Voices
ICT For Peacebuilding (ICT4PEACE) blog features two new dissent websites, which are voicing critical perspectives on the current affairs of Sri Lanka.
Azerbaijan: Blogger Interview
Dotcom, an online project which has participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan and the United States, has published an interview with Azerbaijani blogger Arzu Geybullayeva on blogging and citizen media. In particular, she talks about her work on gender issues and media freedom as well as about her blog, Flying Carpets and...
Digital Civil Society Campaigns in the 2009 Indian General Elections
In my first post for the Global Voices special coverage on the 2009 Indian general elections, I had analyzed how Indian politicians and political parties are using internet and mobile tools for election campaigning. In this post, I'll detail how civil society groups in India are using digital tools to run voter registration and transparency campaigns in the run up to the elections.
Thailand: New look and agenda for government-run TV channel
Everytime the government changes in Thailand, the new government comes and changes the programs and format of a public TV station. Now that a different party is ruling the country, is it time to ‘change' the shows of the TV station again?
Iran: “Ahmadinejad, the most active President”
Mosalmane Irani, an Iran based blogger, calls [fa] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,the most active President in the world. The blogger says Ahmadinejad has visited 32 countires and delivered 950 speeches.
Armenia: Questions linger after post-election unrest
tzitzernak2 comments on the deaths of three opposition supporters during the 1 March post-election clashes last year. The blog says that although their deaths were caused by improperly fired gas grenades used by only four policemen, those responsible have not been identified let alone suspended from duty or prosecuted.
China: Chinese Al Jazeera?
Mutant Palm is pretty sure that China can't create a Chinese Al Jazeera. Why? read this.
Russia: The Oligarchs’ “Debt-Go-Round”
Copydude writes that Russia's “debt-go-round has become so huge and interwoven that it seems to be taking all the oligarchs down together”: “For the most part though, it’s looking like the end of era – and a very short list of Russians on Forbes next year.”
Hungary: Avoiding an Early Election?
Hungary Economy Watch writes that “Gyurcsány plans to use the constructive vote of no-confidence to install another Socialist-led cabinet, and his government […] appears to have resorted to this unusual maneuver for one simple reason: to avoid an early election.”
