· December, 2012

Stories about Protest from December, 2012

Rohingya Refugees Rejected by Singapore

  23 December 2012

Singapore turned away 40 Rohingya shipwreck survivors who were rescued by a Vietnamese ship. Singapore netizens and human rights groups reacted strongly to the decision of authorities to send away the refugees.

Massive Police Presence on “Friday for Detainees” in Saudi Arabia

  21 December 2012

Shortly after the arrest of Suleiman al-Rashoudi, the head of independent human rights organization Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), anonymous activist group @e3teqal [which translates to detain] announced that today, December 21, will be a “Friday for Detainees” and called for country-wide sit-ins. Despite heavy police presence, many were able to protest in the country where demonstrations and sit-ins are banned.

Video Plea for Public Toilet Facilities in Jharkhand, India

  20 December 2012

Amit Topno, a ‘Video Volunteers’ community correspondent reports that the residents of Nichitpur village in the Indian State of Jharkhand do not have any working public toilet. The villagers plea to the local authorities via this video to ensure that proper toilets are installed.

Tempers Flare As Court Frees Dagestani Boxer Who Killed Russian Teenager

RuNet Echo  20 December 2012

Rasul Mirzaev, a 26-year-old mixed martial arts world champion from Dagestan, is a convicted killer. His victim was a 19-year-old Russian man, Ivan Agafonov, whom he murdered in a scuffle outside a nightclub in August 2011. On November 27, 2012, a Moscow court let him walk free, after a little more than a year in custody. The RuNet has responded with often vehement emotion.

Caribbean: What Happened in 2012 (Part 2)

  20 December 2012

The first part of this post observed that in the Caribbean blogosphere, the year was punctuated by hunger strikes - the first in Cuba and the second in Trinidad and Tobago. Part 2 of the regional blogosphere's 2012 summary recalls other issues that got Caribbean netizens talking - from the Olympics to the need for greater political transparency…

Reflections on the Croatian Generals’ Acquittal

  20 December 2012

Alan Jaksic of Balkan Anarchist posts a follow-up to his initial comments on the Nov. 16 reversal of the convictions of the Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač: […] So do I still consider last month’s acquittal at the Hague a “disgraceful acquittal”, an “outrage” and an “insult to...

Caribbean: What Happened in 2012 (Part 1)

  19 December 2012

This year, events in the regional blogosphere were curiously bookended by hunger strikes. Part 1 of this 2012 recap takes a look at the topics that most shaped online discussion in the Bahamian, Cuban and French-speaking Caribbean blogospheres.

Argentina: Remembering December 19, 2001

  19 December 2012

From Argentina, blogger Rafael, on Fin del capitalismo ¿salvaje? [The end of the wild? capitalism] remembers some of the events [es] occured on December 19, 2001: On the night of [December] 19, that bastard [former Minister of Economy, Domingo] Cavallo had already resigned, then came the tear gases at the...

The Spanish Government's “Boomerang” Hashtag

  19 December 2012

On December 12, the People's Party (PP) of Madrid decided to launched an information campaign on healthcare reform, creating the hashtag #quenotelienconlasanidad [#dontletthemscrewyouonhealthcare] on Twitter. Thousands of netizens took advantage of the campaign to flood the PP's hashtag with tweets, making it a trending topic for reasons very different from those originally intended by its creators.

Hungarian Students Call for Nationwide Strike

  18 December 2012

Hungarian high school and college students, who are demanding that the government set university admission quotas to a reasonable level and help those from lower income households to access higher education, are calling for a nationwide strike on Wednesday.

Japan: Signature Campaign Calling for the Release of Anti-Nuclear Scholar

  18 December 2012

An online signature campaign has been launched to call for the release of Masaki Shimoji, Associate Professor of Economy at Hannan University, who has been arrested by Osaka police on December 9 for his campaign to oppose city plans to incinerate imported earthquake debris contaminated by nuclear leak in Fukishima.

Bahrainis Protest on National Day

  17 December 2012

December 16 and 17 are official holidays in Bahrain. The first day is National Day and the second is to celebrate the accession of King Hamad. Unofficially, December 17 is also Martyrs' Day - a day to remember the scores of victims who have lost their lives over the years as Bahrainis continue to struggle for their political rights. While many celebrated, others took to the streets to protest as turmoil continues to rock this restive Arab state.

Immigrants March for Equal Rights in Brazil

  17 December 2012

On December 2, a protest organised by foreigners residing in São Paulo took to the streets demanding full access to basic rights like health, security and decent work. The participants were Latin Americans and Africans who live in the city, and are fighting for their rights to be recognised by the Brazilian state.

Minister Wert Sparks Humour on the Net

  15 December 2012

An article on online newspaper Núvol with the title “Send up #Wert” [ca] collects discussions, cartoons, jokes and word games inspired by statements and the education law reform proposed by Spanish Minister José Ignacio Wert.