Stories about Politics from April, 2020
From Brazil to Kosovo to the Philippines, confined citizens protest from their windows
People all over the world have been banging pots and pans to attract the attention of politicians and decision-makers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new cross-regional anti-disinformation initiative launches in the Balkans
The network includes members from North Macedonia, Greece, Serbia, Kosovo, and Albania, and will work in cooperation with similar groups from other neighboring countries.
#IdentityMatrix: a Twitter conversation on identity and digital rights in Africa
Activists from Burkina Faso, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, will lead a social media conversation in their mother tongue on the intersection of languages, ethnicity and digital rights in Africa.
Philippine police dismantle anti-mining barricade amid COVID-19 lockdown
"My heart bleeds for our brave men and women of Didipio who had to suffer and be arrested for expressing their resistance against mining, a great menace to Mother Earth."
Police violently break up protest by healthcare workers in Balochistan, Pakistan
Medical professionals staged a protest in Baluchistan Province in Pakistan to demand Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to remain safe from coronacirus transmission from patients and they were arrested.
Online journalist detained for quoting Cambodian prime minister’s advice on COVID-19
"The Covid-19 crisis must not be used as pretext for getting rid of journalists who do not blindly toe the government line."
Kyrgyzstan's civil society mobilises to fight COVID-19
As Kyrgyzstan struggles with the economic fallout of the coronavirus, ordinary citizens are organising on an impressive scale — delivering food to the poor and surgical masks to doctors.
Cameroon battles COVID-19 alongside separatist war and strained health care system
Cameroon has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the region. As the virus becomes a reality, citizens must adjust to this new threat amid the ongoing separtist conflict.
‘Export restrictions’ prevent US ventilators from reaching Barbados — but citizens question tactics
The news invoked a strong reaction from Barbados's health minister, who later toned down his response, saying, “‘seize’ might not have been the correct word”.
India's COVID-19 lockdown leaves vulnerable populations to fend for themselves
While the government has guaranteed essential services to be exempt from the lockdown, poorer sections of the population have been left in the lurch even in the capital.
Impact of COVID-19 containment measures on human rights and civil liberties in the Middle East
COVID-19 measures in the MENA region have especially targeted some of the most vulnerable groups such as detained human rights defenders, migrant workers and independent media.
Serbian government revokes controversial COVID-19-related decree used as pretext to arrests journalists
Public outcry after arrest of journalist embarrassed the Serbian government, which revoked its decree aimed at centralizing flow of information about COVID-19 epidemic.
Is India fighting COVID-19 the ‘mass surveillance’ way?
"There isn’t enough information available on what data will be collected, how long will it be stored and what uses it will be put to."
April Fool’s Day, COVID-19 and Trinidad and Tobago’s ‘recalcitrant minority’
Who would ever have predicted that a speech made on April 1, 1958, would reverberate in April 1, 2020 through a speech made by another leader in the same political party?
Guyana: Timeline of an election impasse
The results of Guyana's 2020 general election have now been delayed by a month. Here's a quick look at what has happened over the time period.
The most critical lesson we've learned from the COVID-19 outbreak is the importance of free speech
As COVID-19 continues to spread, there is pressure in Hong Kong to silence discussion of the disease and punish doctors who are raising the alarm about its origins.