· July, 2009

Stories about War & Conflict from July, 2009

Pakistan: Handling The Return Of Refugees

  31 July 2009

The Government of Pakistan has finally announced a schedule for the Swat refugees outlining their return to home. Pakistani bloggers feel that a lot more needs to be done to ensure their safety and for their rehabilitation.

Sri Lanka: The Detained Refugees

  30 July 2009

Indi.ca comments: “Sri Lankan IDPs are not displaced as much as detained. They’re being held until LTTE cadres are ‘weeded out’ or screened or whatever, which has a logic, but there’s no particular legal basis for it. That’s why I’m interested in the Fundamental Rights case filed by the family...

Belarus, Russia: Bloggers React to Graphic Chechen War Video

On July 3, Belarusian blogger Tatsiana Elavaya posted a provocative video showing the assassination of captive Russian soldiers by Chechen guerrillas during the 1999 war in Chechnya. The video had been available elsewhere before, but when Tatsiana posted it on her blog, the reaction of the Cyrillic blogosphere was unprecedented.

DRC: Rape Epidemic Fuels Fistula Cases

  29 July 2009

Ongoing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to take its toll on women's health. One consequence is more cases of a health condition called fistula, which is being caused by brutal rapes.

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Musical collaboration

Despite the unresolved conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh which has left many citizens of both countries intolerant and bitterly opposed to the other, a Baku-based newspaper has discovered a video on YouTube of an Azeri girl singing traditional mugham backed by Armenian musicians. Remy_G tweets that the...

Sri Lanka: New LTTE Blog

  27 July 2009

ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) takes a look at the blog site of S. Pathmanathan of the department of International Relations of LTTE.

Israel: Cellular firm ad stirs occupation debate

A television ad for Cellcom, the largest Israeli cellular provider, sprung an unprecedented debate on the face of the Israeli occupation over the past two weeks. The advert shows Israeli soldiers playing soccer with unseen Palestinians over the wall separating Israel and the West Bank, to the sound of popular music. The ad was accepted as insensitive at best by many Israelis, becoming an icon of blindness to the occupation in the Israeli society, writes Carmel L. Vaisman.

Palestine: No Security

In the West Bank, activist Hannah Mermelstein writes: “A friend of mine here once told me that she never feels safe, so safety is not a consideration for her in making decisions. As much as I may try, I cannot truly imagine this lack of control.”

Israel: A Belief In Coexistence – Interview With Activist Ibn Ezra

While Israel as a whole has moved to the right in recent years, there are nevertheless Israelis who oppose their government’s policies towards the Palestinians. Global Voices Online has interviewed activist Joseph Dana, who blogs at Ibn Ezra, about his involvement with the group Ta'ayush ("coexistence"), the state of activism in Israel, and using social media to get the message out.

Syria: Erdogan's Visit and Iran

Syrian blogger Maysaloon comments on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Syria. “In light of everything that has been happening recently one wonders about the timing of the visit and whether the Israelis are trying to find out Syria's position on a possible strike against Iran,” he asks.

Lebanon: No He Can't!

“No he can't!” chants Sophia from Lebanese blog Les Politiques on the controversy surrounding the release of Guantanamo Bay prisoners, following US President Barack Obama's promise to close down the detention camp.

Australia: Jakarta bombings bring personal reactions

  21 July 2009

With three Australians among the nine deaths, responses to the terrorist bombings in Indonesia on Friday 17 July were not confined to the political blogs. Specialist social network sites in Australia reacted soon after the news broke.

Sri Lanka: Deaths In IDP Camps

  20 July 2009

Indrajit Samarajiva at Indi.ca criticizes the mention of a large number of deaths in Sri Lankan IDP camps by some International media and comments: “making up very serious numbers doesn’t help anyone. It riles up some hard line diaspora elements, but it’s fundamentally a political missive, not a journalistic one.”