· March, 2009

Stories about Protest from March, 2009

Macedonia: Student Protest Ends in Violence

  31 March 2009

Recently, the Macedonian government decided to build an Orthodox church with public financing on the main square of Skopje, a decision that the citizens of the city disapproved of. On March 28, a peaceful protest against the construction of the church turned violent when a group of counter-protesters attempted to prevent it. Elena Ignatova reviews the reactions in the Macedonian blogosphere.

Hong Kong and the Philippines: Satire or racism?

  31 March 2009

A Senate leader in the Philippines just filed a resolution condemning a Hong Kong writer Chip Tsao for his article “The War at Home” in HK Magazine (originally published on 27 of March). Now the article has been taken down in the website but the Senate Resolution also asked the...

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.

Jamaica: Going to Calabash

  30 March 2009

Jamaican Geoffrey Philp and Life, Unscripted, on the Rock are pleased to report that the Calabash International Literary Festival is back on.

Sri Lanka: New Dissent Voices

  29 March 2009

ICT For Peacebuilding (ICT4PEACE) blog features two new dissent websites, which are voicing critical perspectives on the current affairs of Sri Lanka.

Armenia: Questions linger after post-election unrest

  28 March 2009

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.

Latvia: Data Inspectorate vs Penguin Movement

  28 March 2009

Free Speech Emergency in Latvia reports that “the Latvian Data State Inspectorate has summoned the administrator of the website of the so-called Penguin Movement to explain what it claims were violations of laws and regulations with regard to handling and protecting personal data.”

Tunisia: Dismissed Student Activists on Hunger Strike for the Right to Education

A total of 158 Tunisians and their friends from around the world went on hunger strike for a day today (March 26) in solidarity with five students who have been on hunger strike since February 11 in Tunisia. The initiative has been orchestrated on a Facebook group [Fr] as a symbolic form of support to the students, who are members of Tunisian Students' Union (UGET), and who have been suspended from university for their activism on campus.

Cuba: Antúnez Update

  26 March 2009

Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense says that the Cuban authorities have “taken its fight with…dissident Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez) to a new, more frightening level.”

Palestine: A Mother's Pain

In Gaza, Lebanese activist Natalie Abou Shakra tells the story of a mother who took part in a protest for the release of her son, a political prisoner in the Nafha top security prison in Israel, whom she hadn't seen for 25 years; on her way home from the protest...

Cuba: Antúnez Surrounded

  25 March 2009

Uncommon Sense and Octavo Cerco share their thoughts on reports that the Cuban police “have surrounded the home of Cuban dissident Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez), who for more than a month has [led] a hunger strike to protest abuses by the Castro dictatorship.”

Palestine: Resistance – Not Charity

Marcy Newman writes at Body On The Line about the importance of resistance by Palestinians, not charity from foreigners: “the use of this word ‘humanitarian,’ to me implies that palestinians are some sort of charity case who are not capable of taking care of themselves, of fighting this battle themselves…the...

Palestine: Art as Resistance

Abdelfattah Abusrour, director of Al-Rowwad Culture and Theatre Center in the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, crossposts an article he has written about the use of art as a means of resistance: “I was born Palestinian and I don’t want to do anything to change this. I was born in...

Trinidad & Tobago: Pompoms

  24 March 2009

“I thought for a second I was hallucinating. Like I think I’m hallucinating when I hear some wild rumour that Papa Patos wants to invoke the Terrorism Act during the Summit of the Americas to stop people from protesting. I mean it can’t be, can it? Cheerleaders in cricket? Why,...

Cuba: Reports of Detainment

  24 March 2009

Both Uncommon Sense and Sunrise in Havana blog about reports that a photographer and a musician have been detained in Cuba “after offering their show of solidarity in Placetas for political activist Jorge Luis Garcia Perez (Antunez).”

Palestine: Remembering Rachel Corrie

Gazan blogger Fida Qishta commemorates the death of American activist Rachel Corrie six years ago: “Every year we remember 16th March. We remember a kind, insightful, talented person committed to the plight of the Palestinian people. Her name was Rachel Corrie. … We should remember Rachel and all that she...