· April, 2007

Stories about Protest from April, 2007

China: Not to Buy Apartment Campaign Ended

  26 April 2007

Zou Tao, a Shenzhen citizen who has launched the “Not to Buy Apartment Campaign”, has sold his property in Shenzhen, returned to his homeland in Hunan and become a peasant. Although many were looking forward for a relaunch of the campaign, Zhang hua however commented that such campaign wouldn't help...

Arabeyes: Palestinian Jordanian Anyone?

Jordanian blogger Hareega is furious that people avoid discussing racism in his society. He is particularly angry about the discrimination Jordanians of Palestinian origin go through in a country he claims they have helped build and project to the level it is today. يبدو أن الناس بشكل عام تتفادى الخوض...

Ukraine: Chernobyl

  25 April 2007

MoldovAnn takes photographer Michael Forster Rothbart along on a trip to the Chernobyl-affected areas and posts an account that's both informative and poignant, and comes just days before the 21st anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl Catastrophe: “I felt very sad walking around, looking at the crumbling walls, thinking of everything...

Ukraine: “Maidan 2.2″

  24 April 2007

Taras of Ukrainiana got soaked in the rain last Friday on his way to “Maidan 2.2″ and didn't really expect many opposition supporters to show up at the rally at Kyiv's European Square. But – “not only did the sun come shining brightly, but so did the Orange crowd. I...

Lebanon: Anti-Semitism, Fist-Fights, etc

Check out the following topics freshly picked from the Lebanese blogosphere this week: an intense argument between American University of Beirut professors, sectarian polarisation in Lebanon and the Virginia Tech shooting which claimed the lives of 33 people, including two of Lebanese origin.

Bahrain: Violence Begets Violence

Violence in Bahrain and clashes between demonstrators and riot police were the focus of a television programme which Bahraini blogger emoodz watched for an hour before realising it didn't satisfy his quest for learning the reasons behind this escalating stand off. “Needless to say, I had to sit along a...

Kyrgyzstan: Protest's Final Day

  24 April 2007

Mirsulzhan Namazaliev reports from the scene on the final day of Kyrgyzstan's protests. In the wake of the dispersal of protesters, the government has been harassing opposition members and opposition publications. Azamat reacts with a call for President Bakiev to leave the opposition alone and get back to work.

Bolivia: Restrictions on the Import of Used Clothing

  23 April 2007

Beginning on April 21, the Bolivian government placed restrictions on the import of used clothing. After an agreement was reached with this sector, the deadline soon passed much to the pleasure of national companies that produce new clothing. Mario Duran of Palabras Libres [ES] speculates that the deadline will not...

Egypt: Worldwide Free Kareem Rallies

World-wide rallies to pressure the Egyptian government to free jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabeel Sulaiman are being planned on April 27, announces Free Kareem. “While we appreciate the support provided by organizations worldwide, everyone is participating first and foremost as a civilian, not necessarily as a member of a particular...

Egypt: Royal Wedding Bells

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia reports a new union in Egypt. “I think I didn't post the merry news concerning the Royal sorry the republic marriage of Gamal Mubarak and Khadija El-Gamal. Well the merry news was that the marriage will be held in Sharm El-Shekih presidential palace ..on the 4th of...

China: Protest against Bill Gates

  23 April 2007

A rare protest at Peking University for free software when Bill Gates was handing out certificates to a line of students – from People's Republic of…

General Strike in French Guiana

  21 April 2007

A general strike in French Guiana caused interruptions in power and transportation services, but no disruption of the French presidential campaigns since all campaigning must stop several days before the ballot (Fr).

Online Freedom for All: Some cases worth supporting

  21 April 2007

In my last article, “Lessons from the Free Kareem campaign”, I talked about campaigning and why some jailed and persecuted bloggers and online writers are winning sympathy, while others have difficulty attracting the attention of the public. I also discussed the logic behind the success or the failure of campaigning,...

Russia: “Protesting the Protesters”

  20 April 2007

Scraps of Moscow links to a few anti-opposition pieces and observes: “Of course this is not a real, capable, popular opposition. Of course Putin is supported by the majority of Russians, with some justification given Russia's recent economic good fortune. But none of this means that people engaged in a...