Stories about Protest from August, 2010
Venezuela: Franklin Brito Dies After Several Hunger Strikes
Franklin Brito, a farmer who had been on a hunger strike since July 2009, died from a respiratory arrest in a military hospital on Monday night. Brito had lived through several hunger strikes protesting the confiscation of his land. Venezuelans reacted to the announcement of his death through Twitter and blogs.
Cuba: Same Old Song
The imprisonment of three Cuban dissidents who were during a protest at the University of Havana proves to Uncommon Sense that “despite its release of some dozen members of the ‘Group of 75′ prisoners, the Castro dictatorship has not changed.”
Russia: Bloggers Outraged by Putin's Interview
Recent interview [RUS] of Vladimir Putin to Kommersant newspaper outraged many bloggers. They accuse Putin of a lie [RUS], ignorance [RUS], deliberate substitution [RUS] of the terms “police state” and a “state governed by a rule of law.” Other bloggers condemn [RUS] his attitude towards protesters: “You went out [on...
Taiwan: 250000 Facebook users against inadequate court sentence
More than 250 thousand facebook users join together to condemn the recent court sentence that put a rapist in jail for only 3 years and 2 months, much shorter then 7 years and 10 months charged by public prosecutor[zht]. In the verdict the judge claimed that because evidences show the...
Taiwan: Students ask for more rights
A team of university student representatives from various universities and colleges established their official blog[zht] and published the 2010 evaluation result of students’ right in universities. They criticize some universities for opening courses just to ask students to do what employees should do, enforcing students to go to military courses, and...
Costa Rica: University Students Protest Budget Agreements
Some University of Costa Rica students took hold of the social sciences building in protest of the budgetary agreement that was reached between the government and university officials where a 7% budget increase was agreed upon after negotiating the original 4% the government proposed.
Colombia: Cat Launching Video by Radio DJ Causes Outrage
A video uploaded by DJ Yohan Melguizo on popular social network Facebook two months ago is causing outrage among animal lovers in Medellin, Colombia.
South Korea: Extras Went On Strike
In South Korea, about one hundred extras from movies and soap operas went on strike, protesting over low pay and verbal abuse in the work place, South Korea's Segye [kr] reported.
Russia: Mari Paganism and Charges of “Extremism”
OpenDemocracy.net reports: “In their remote forest republic 400 miles east of the Moscow, the pagan Mari people are once again being harassed by the authorities. […] Ethnically kin to the Finns and Hungarians, their profoundly ecological religious worldview challenges Russian-led designs on their republic’s natural resources.”
Palestine: Abu Rahmah convicted of incitement for non-violent protest
Strong international, European, Arab, blogger, Twitter and media condemnation followed the conviction of non-violent Palestinian peace activist Abdallah Abu Rahmah, sentenced to prison by Israeli military court. Gabriel Nada rounds up reactions in this post.
Russia: “Jailbird Moms”
A Good Treaty writes about two Russian “jailbird moms” – Anna Shavenkova and Yulia Kruglova: “Two court cases in recent weeks have given Russia’s bruised citizenry a few additional reminders that the world is a cruel, extremely stupid place to live. Both these cases involve mothers of young children, but...
Russia: Khimki Forest and Bono's “Intervention”
Natalia Antonova comments on Bono's role in the resolution of the Khimki forest situation during his visit to Moscow earlier this week: “There was an “intervention” on behalf of Bono in regards to the destruction of the Khimki forest? Where is the evidence of this intervention?”
Cuba: Double Standard
“On one hand they release some dissidents from prison, on the other those who attempt to say ‘I disagree’ get shoved behind bars”: Crossing the Barbed Wire comments on “the double standard policy assiduously practiced by the government as part of its greater foreign policy.”
Iran: Jailed blogger Goudarzi receives NPC award
The National Press Club has announced the international recipient of the 2010 John Aubuchon Freedom of the Press Award is Iranian blogger Kouhyar Goudarzi, who is being held in Tehran's Evin Prison–notorious for its torture of detainees.
Chile: Strong Citizen Response Against Thermal Energy Project
The approval of a thermal energy project sparked a strong online and on-the-ground citizen response; the plant was to be built near the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve and Punta de Choros, a small beach town known for its natural beauty and rich biodiversity. The announcement mobilized unprecedented numbers of protesters in one of the most successful instances of online organizing carried out in Chile.
Russia: Noize MC's New Song
RFE/RL's The Power Vertical writes about rapper Noize MC's new song: “After spending 10 days in jail for performing a song mocking police at a music festival in Volgograd, the irrepressible rapper has released a new [song and video, RUS] — mocking the police.” Robert Amsterdam's blog calls the new...
Russia: Kaliningrad Politics
RFE/RL's The Power Vertical and A Good Treaty (here and here) cover the Kaliningrad governor situation.
Puerto Rico: Live Blogging About Teacher Strike
Michael Castro announces in his blog Poder 5 [es] that he will be live blogging from a teacher strike in San Juan. He is also tweeting about the strike at @MichaelDCC.
Iran: Blogger May Face Charge of ‘Waging War Against God’
There is a growing concern that Shiva Nazar Ahari, a jailed human rights activist and blogger may be charged with moharbeh (waging war against God/enmity against God) in an upcoming trial. In Iran, this can carry a death sentence.
India: Deadly Journalism
Sans Serif reports that two journalists of an Indian TV channel in Ahmedabad instigated Kalpesh Mistry (29) to set himself on fire to protest his harassment by police so that they could film him. Kalpesh died in the hospital after suffering 90% burn.
China: Fujian Netizen, Fan Yanqiong, Released from Prison
The last of the Fujian 3 netizens still in prison, Fan Yanqiong, was quietly released today on medical parole with nearly a year remaining on her sentence. Watch He Yang's new documentary on her story, as well as that of netizens You Jingyou and Wu Huaying, below the jump.
