· March, 2008

Stories about Protest from March, 2008

Armenia: Terrorism Concerns

  24 March 2008

A new blog, khirimian's thought, responds to concerns expressed from some quarters that the radical opposition in Armenia might resort to more violent action unless their demands are met.

Armenia: Threat of Terrorism

  24 March 2008

Unzipped says he agrees with presidential candidate Arman Melikian that Armenia now faces the possibility of violent actions and terrorism by the radical opposition in light of the arrest of many of their leaders and the lack of dialogue with the government.

Georgia: Independent Media Concerns

  23 March 2008

TOL Georgia details the continuing saga of Imedi TV, a station critical of the authorities which was closed down during the recent state of emergency in the country. The blog says that the station remains closed and ownership has been transferred to a U.S. citizen of Georgian descent. The opposition...

Georgia: Hunger Strike Continues

  23 March 2008

TOL Georgia reports that a hunger strike by the opposition in Georgia continues with several people now in a critical condition. The blog examines the background to the current standoff between the authorities and the opposition in the immediate aftermath of the January presidential election and just before the May...

Armenia: State of Emergency Ended, Protests Continue

  23 March 2008

The Armenian Patchwork posts some excellent photographs of a silent demonstration staged to mourn the eight people killed during the recent 1 March riots in Yerevan now that the state of emergency in the country has officially ended. My Armenia Election Monitor 2008 also has photographs and a report of...

Armenia: Police Violence

  23 March 2008

Blogian comments on concerns raised in some quarters that a video allegedly showing soldiers firing directly at protesters during a post-election riot on 1 March has been edited inappropriately giving grounds to question its authenticity. However, the blog says, the fact that seven protesters and one policeman died during the...

India: Between Tibet and China

  22 March 2008

Over the past few day the focus of the international community is on Tibet and Chinese Government's handling of the uprising, but over in India there has been quite a bit of debate over China's actions in Tibet and the role of Tibet in India-China relationship. What should India's stand...

Japan: Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing plant fuels debate

  21 March 2008

The village of Rokkasho, situated Aomori prefecture in the north of Japan's main island Honshū, hosts a nuclear facility for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, the first of its kind in Japan. While the scale of this reprocessing plant dwarfs standard nuclear plants, most Japanese citizens have up to recently known little to nothing of its existence. This has started to change recently with demonstrations held in various parts of the country by citizen groups. Bloggers have also picked up this debate, offering varying perspectives on the costs and benefits of the latest development of Japan's nuclear industry.

China: Civilians in violence and conflict

  21 March 2008

Thugs vs. Peacekeepers or Fighters vs. oppressors; Mob vs. Protectors or Martyrs vs. killers? Before I could judge, please allow me to present some recounts of the Tibet unrest from the commons there. (As most western media had sided with Tibetans, I basically pick quotes from common Hans for balance.)

LiveJournal: Bloggers Protest Basic Account Cancellation

  21 March 2008

Yet again, LJ users are in distress. Unlike the previous times, however, the current situation involves both the Russian-language and the English-language segments of LiveJournal. It all began when LiveJournal's management announced that no account created after March 12, 2008, could be turned into a free-of-charge and ad-free Basic Account. Today, some Anglophone and Russophone LJ users protest against this unpopular measure.

Korea: Independence Movements in Tibet and in Korea

  20 March 2008

As groups in other countries support Tibetans’ rage and criticize the violence of the Chinese government, Korean netizens are also busy making signature-seeking-campaigns or boycotting the Beijing Olympics. The participants who express their opinions on the internet and put their names on the campaigns are more and more. The reasons...

Egypt: Flood the Jail with Letters

“In conjunction with FreeKareem.org, the Committee to Protect Bloggers is launching a mail campaign in support of imprisoned Egyptian blogger, Kareem Amer,” announced the Committee to Protect Bloggers. The campaign, from April 7 to 21, encourages people from around the world to send Kareem postcards and letters. Since being sentenced...

Iraq at Five: The World Reacts

Today, March 19, marks five years of "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Initially a plan to oust Saddam Hussein and "end the war before it started," the war in Iraq continues to this day, much to the dismay of many ordinary citizens around the globe. In that vein, Global Voices Online will post reactions today from bloggers in Iraq, the Middle East and North Africa, and elsewhere.

China: Patriotism triggered, though under censorship

  19 March 2008

A brief record of the Chinese public opinion on Tibet unrest. Attention: they are all found inside the Great Firewall. But I believe they stand for a considerable part of us Chinese. Their information sources on which they judge and think might be filtered, but don’t laugh at that---- before the time tells what’s true, you might also be manipulated!

Kyrgyzstan: Fed up with protests?

  19 March 2008

Kyrgyz bloggers have been actively elaborating on the Kyrgyz government's initiative to make March 24 – the day of popular uprising in 2005 – a national holiday. The amendment was made to the Kyrgyz Labor Code, according to which from now on March 24 will be officially celebrated as a...

Kyrgyzstan: Youth Is Flashmobbing in Protest

  19 March 2008

Azamat offers a photo-report on the flash-mob organized by youth activists against the Kyrgyz government. They put on masks of sheep and one of them put a mask of a bull and wore boxing gloves, representing the ruling party and the president of Kyrgyzstan.