Stories about Protest from January, 2010
Iran: Two Bloggers in Danger of Death
Two Iranian bloggers, who are also human rights defendants, are behind bars under serious charges. Mehrdad Rahimi and Kouhyar Goudarzi have been accused of wanting to wage “a war against God,” and charged as being “Mohareb” (enemies of God). Their charges are similar to those against the two men who were executed this week in Tehran.
Russia: Opposition Blogger Finally Gets Permission To Leave Country
An opposition blogger Oleg Kozlovsky tells his story [EN] on how his blog helped his to finally receive a passport allowing him to leave Russia. The country's Federal Security Service (FSB) refused to issue a new passport to Kozlovsky but quickly changed its decision after he published a blog post...
Iran: Green Tune to Support Protest Movement
A ring tone for a song which motivated young Iranians to go to the front and fight during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s is making the rounds again in solidarity with the opposition. Hamid Tehrani reviews the reactions of bloggers to the 'Ey Iran' song.
Uruguay: President-Elect Mujica Tackles Botnia Issue Before Taking Office
Uruguayan president-elect Mujica is trying to negotiate a deal to end the blockade of the bridge between Argentina and Uruguay, which has been blocked over a pulp mill plant that environmentalists and local residents say cause contamination.
Egypt: The Right to Speak Up
Egyptian bloggers and activists held a conference on January 22 in defense of their right to speak up after more than 20 Egyptian bloggers were arrested when their train arrived in the village of Naga Hammady where the Coptic massacre took place. Marwa Rakha sums up their reactions to their detention in this post.
Haiti: Security vs. Relief?
More than two weeks after the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, and despite an international outpouring of aid, thousands of affected Haitians in and around Port-au-Prince have received little or no relief assistance. Some Haitians and others on the ground suggest that exaggerated concerns about security and violence may be hindering relief efforts.
Belarus: Politics and Economy Update
Belarus Digest reports on the ongoing political repressions in Belarus; the governement's plan “to introduce censorship on the Internet about a year before the next presidential election”; the new price of Belarusian entry visa (if issued at the airport) – 180 euro; and Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, which...
Russia: Lyudmila Alexeyeva; “Zhivago's Children”
IZO links to a New York Times’ profile of the 82-year-old Russian dissident Lyudmila Alexeyeva (who blogs in Russian at http://lm-alexeeva.livejournal.com/) – and to a review of Vladislav Zubok's Zhivago's Children: The Last Russian Intelligentsia, posted at Languagehat.
Brazil: The National Program for Human Rights – Part 1
Controversy has erupted following the proposal of a legislative reform package that decriminalises abortion and criminalises homophobia, bans religious symbols from public spaces and calls for a truth commission.
Australia: An Australia Day of Celebration and Protest
Celebrated on January 26, this year's Australia Day was characterized by an increase of flag-waving patriotism. However, the day was also commemorated with the Great Australian Internet Blackout, where Australians protested the government's plan for an internet filter.
Japan: Peace walkers
TenThousandThings from Kurashi reports on a 4-month peace walk from Okinawa to Tokyo calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
South Korea: Mediact to be dismantled
Mediact, South Korea's first public media center, will be dismantled in 1st of February under the Lee Myung Bak's government (more from interlocals). A petition has been launched to save the center.
College Students Protest on Japanese Employment @ TOKYO
Spurred by a protest late last year by a small number of college students in Hokkaido Prefecture, a number of students in Tokyo organized for a demonstration protesting against Japan's employment system. Coming together under the name “College Graduates Protest on Japanese Employment @ TOKYO” (就活くたばれデモ＠TOKYO [ja]) , the organization...
Sudan: Man throws shoe at Omar al Bashir
Ayaa writes about a man who threw his shoe at the Sudanese President: “One of the most offensive and humiliated action in the Arabs and Muslim culture is to throw a shoe at someone, let alone that some one is a head of the country.”
Vietnam: Long prison terms for ‘democracy activists’
Four ‘democracy activists’ in Vietnam were sentenced to long prison terms for subversion. The four dissidents are advocating social change through non-violent means.
Hungary: The Invisible Marsh
Marietta Le reports on the story of one of Hungary's most successful citizen campaigns, whose goal is to save an endangered marsh by preventing an allegedly illegal expansion of a shopping center.
Iran: Iranians commemorate Neda's birthday
Iranians inside and outside the country remembered Neda Soltan's birthday. Neda was shot dead by Basij militia on June 20, 2009, during a protest against the presidential election results that declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad president. Her death was captured on video and uploaded to the Internet. She died with her eyes wide open, and her last moments transcended citizen media to mainstream media, reaching millions of people.
Israel: Activists and bloggers protest against deterioration of human rights
As activists are rounded up and arrested on the ground, Israeli bloggers and Twitter users turn to the Internet to fully employ alternative media platforms to influence public opinion and public opinion and struggle for democracy, writes Carmel L. Vaisman, who also updates us about Israel's new biometric law.
Video: Drug legalization and life post-prohibition
There are groups of people advocating for the legalization of drugs, but what would that actually mean? From Hungary to Colombia, from youth to teachers, from cops and clergy, individuals and groups are taking to citizen media to put forth their arguments regarding this potentially controversial subject.
Japan: Differing viewpoints on the US base relocation issue
The southern Japanese island of Okinawa, the first colony of Japan in the 19th century and the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the WW2, has become in the past months both the symbol and the object of a diplomatic dispute between Japan and the U.S. It began...
Poland: Government Approves Proposal to Create Registry of Banned Websites and Services
Sylwia Presley posts an update on the Polish government's controversial decision to create a Registry of Banned Websites and Services, and on the Polish netizens' ongoing protests against Internet censorship.
