Stories about Protest from July, 2010
Cuba: Future of “Las Damas”
Now that certain political prisoners are being released in Cuba, Along the Malecon wonders about the future of Las Damas de Blanco: “In what form will [the group] continue to exist? How many members…will drop out once their love ones are freed?”
Iran: Bazaars Closed for Business as Merchant Strikes Continue
Merchant strikes in the main bazaar of Tehran have entered a second week in protest of higher taxes. Several citizen journalists reported this event, while official media keeps silent and tries to ignore one of the most important strikes in 30 years.
India: From Stone Pelting In Kashmir Streets To Facebook Protests
Indian administered Kashmir valleys are boiling over tensions and rage against Indian security forces over killing of a number of young protesters. An SMS ban ensued to stop rumors and Kashmiri youths are increasingly relying on social media tools to share news and carry on with their protests amidst crack down on them.
Brazil: Electoral Blogsphere Censored
Censorship in the Brazilian blogsphere is an extremely sensitive issue due to a dictatorship past when it was legal. As the presidential elections of 2010 approach, the siege tightens and bloggers react.
Senegal: Protests Against Frequent Power Outages
Public demonstrations were organized last week in Senegal to protest against load shedding by Senelec (the national electricity company). Rignese who works for Seneweb.com has posted the following videos: the first from Mbour where the mobilization started [fr] and later in Dakar [fr].
Southeast Asia: Sex and web censorship
Regulating internet content today is viewed as an anti-democratic practice but Southeast Asian governments seem able to justify it by invoking the need to save the young from the scourge of indecent sexual behavior.
Croatia: Official Zagreb Protest Blog
We don't give Varšavska is a blog in Croatian and English set up by the civic activists who object to usurpation of public space in Zagreb with latest information about mass arrests from the perspective of protesters.
Croatia: Protests Continue Following Mass Arrests
Protests in Zagreb continued in spite of the attempted crackdown on Thursday. Croatian state TV reported [CRO] that police arrested 142 protesters so far, including some who returned to the controversial construction site after being released from detention. Marcell Mars, one of protest leaders, scheduled [CRO] a rally and march...
Croatia: Police Breaks Up Peaceful Protest in Zagreb
Croatian police broke up a peaceful protest against usurpation of public space in the center of Zagreb and arrested at least 11 civic activists. Once again, Twitter is the main source of immediate info and photos (#Varsavska).
Equatorial Guinea: Portuguese as its Third Official Language
An online petition [pt] against the entry of Equatorial Guinea to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) has been launched by Portuguese and Mozambican organizations. Brazil and São Tomé & Príncipe [pt] support President Obiang intentions. In case the country is accepted, Portuguese will become its third official language...
United Kingdom: Video Tagging to protest Nokia's Actions in Iran
Reverse the Wave is a blog by Ms.Deena DeNaro-Bickerstaffe, an artist who is “video tagging” public buildings with documentary footage from the Iranian election protests in 2009 to draw attention to Nokia's sale of technology used for surveillance by the Iranian government.
Iran: Strike in Bazaar
Several bloggers such as unity4iran reported that a strike in Tehran's main bazaar in protest against higher taxes has entered its second week. You can see photos of closed shops here.
Russia: Picnic at Putin's dacha
LJ user na6ludatelb tells about [RUS] a visit to Putin's old dacha outside of St. Petersburg, forming into a crowd of local dacha owners using their right to public property, and posts plenty of commemorative pictures.
Cuba: True Freedom
Uncommon Sense applauds the political prisoners who “refuse ‘freedom’ if it means having to leave Cuba” saying: “They are the ones who are truly free.”
Brazil: Prejudice against Paraguay in the Media
A diplomatic incident between Brazil and Paraguay broke out in the same day that the latter was eliminated from the World Cup. In focus is a prejudiced video report about the participation of Paraguay in the Cup, which was broadcasted by a Brazilian television channel, Rede Globo's SporTV.
Russia: From National Bolshevik to Another Russia
Ilya Yashin of El pueblo unido jamás será vencido comments on [RUS] the formation of Eduard Limonov's new party Another Russia after his old party – the National Bolsheviks – was banned, and argues that Limonov is doing a mistake. Another Russia was also a coalition of opposition parties and...
Cuba: The End of the Beginning
Even as Guillermo Farinas ends his hunger strike, another Cuban political prisoner begins his own.
Peru: Emergency in Huancavelica Caused by Mine Tailings
The Opamayo River in the Huancavelica region was contaminated with mine tailings when a deposit suddenly yielded and its contents spilled on the waters of the river, which is already quite contaminated because of the mining activity in the area. This caused protests from the residents of the affected communities. Some bloggers also gave their opinions on the incident.
Cuba: Hunger Striker Ends Protest
The Cuban Triangle reports that political prisoner Guillermo Farinas’ hunger strike is officially over. 1Click2Cuba also comments.
Brazil: Yellow Whistles Warn about Global Hunger
The 1 Billion Hungry campaign was officially launched in Brazil on July 1st. The purpose of this global initiative is to put pressure on politicians to combat hunger. Bloggers have started to debate hunger and to raise concerns on this subject, while trying to virtually catch the attention of audiences.
Cuba: Ready for Release?
As news circulates of Cuba's intention to release 52 political prisoners, Guillermo Fariñas, who has gone on a hunger strike to protest the detainment of 25 prisoners of conscience that he says "the homeland needs as leaders", is reportedly close to death.