Stories about War & Conflict from September, 2010
Mexico: Indigenous Community San Juan Copala Ordered to Evacuate
Kristin Bricker explains that, “Authorities of the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala, Oaxaca, have ordered the total evacuation of the town, which has been under siege since February of this year. The authorities issued the order when alleged paramilitaries raided San Juan Copala and said that they would massacre...
Chile: Police Break up Display of Mapuche Flag During Bicentennial Celebrations
Montserrat Nicolas shares a citizen video of an incident during the bicentennial celebrations; the video shows police breaking up a display of a Mapuche flag and apprehending those involved.
Honduras: Video of September 15 Protests in San Pedro Sula
Hibueras [es] shares a video of the September 15 protests led by the Resistance Front, showing how police responded to what the narrator in the video calls a peaceful protest.
India: Wither Kashmir? Or Is Reconciliation Possible?
The Indian central government has sent a fact-finding delegation including lawmakers from all major political parties to mitigate the bloodshed and tensions in the Jammu and Kashmir region. The Indian blogosphere has finally woken up on this issue and bloggers are sharing messages of hope, reconciliation, integrity and peace.
Lebanon: Remembering Sabra and Shatila
“‘History is written by the victors’ wrote Winston Churchill. We emerged from civil war with a slogan of exhaustion: ‘No victor, no vanquished.’ How do we write our history? We don't know,” concludes Oussama Hayek in a post about his memories and thoughts on the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian Camps Massacres which...
South Korea: Pulling Out Four Teeth to Evade Military Obligation
Pulling out one's own teeth is considered one of the most gruesome and painful acts one can do onto oneself. In South Korea, where military service is mandatory, an allegation that a Korean singer had pulled out at least four healthy teeth in order to avoid conscription has dominated the headlines for several weeks now.
Japan, China fishing boat row: a war of words
Just as the Diaoyu Islands row between Japan and China intensifies over the detention of a Chinese fishing captain, whose detention has just been extended by a further 10 days, a war of words has broken out between prominent bloggers Yoshikazu Kato and Zhang Wen. Yoshikazu Kato, bilingual in Japanese...
Lebanon: Bloggers with Battle Scars
“It was always embarrassing to attend Arab bloggers’ conferences as a “Lebanese” blogger. Everyone else had real battle scars… So we really had nothing to contribute to discussions of activists who really put their neck on the line facing Arab tyrants,” wrote Jamal who was commenting on the arrest of...
Lebanon: Civil War Missing Revisited
Twenty years have passed since Lebanon's warring factions called it quits. Not soon after, all grievances and memories of the bloody Lebanese Civil War were swept under the carpet. But for some with missing relatives and loved ones, the wounds are still bleeding, according to bloggers.
Russia: A New Gang War?
In Moscow's Shadows writes about the possible consequences of the attack on the mafia boss known as Ded Khasan in Moscow.
Russia: Vladikavkaz Market, Sept. 12
Twenty-one photos from the Vladikavkaz market, three days after the Sept. 9 terrorist attack – by LJ user farniev-kostya (RUS).
Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Fragments
A video of everyday life in one of the richest diamonds mines area, Kono District, in Sierra Leone.
China: Fishing boat captain detained, protests planned
More than a week after a Chinese fishing boat collided with Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats in territory disputed by governments of those two countries and the Chinese captain was detained, anger in China shows little sign of abating soon, and a number of protests are planned for this weekend.
East Timor: Providing Spaces for the Memory
Crowd map Hanoin: Remembering Timor was recently launched aiming to collaboratively collect memories of colonialism, occupation and independence of East Timor. A blog post explains the need to “share, corroborate and expand on the limitations of the colonizer’s narrative” and suggests that Hanoin can be used as a cry for...
China: Han Han on Daiyu Islands
Julian Smisek translated prominent blogger Han Han's recent post on Daiyu islands incident. (via DANWEI)
India: Kashmir Is Burning…Again
Violent protests in Indian administered Kashmir started today after a report of a Qur'an desecration in Michigan, USA emerged. At least 18 protesters have been killed and scores were injured. Bloggers and Twitter users discuss whether the protests were purely because of anger over the burning of Qur'an or outbursts of their demand for freedom from India.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Backseat musical musings… and ethnic conflict
With the broadcast media heavily controlled in both Armenia and Azerbaijan there are few avenues left for independent journalists. Bloggers in both countries, however, react to a video posted online.
Georgia: Crossing into Abkhazia
drugoi [RU] posts an account of crossing into the breakaway territory of Abkhazia. Recognized by only four UN member states since the 2008 Russia-Georgia war over South Ossetia, the post also includes photographs.
Guinea: Violent Confrontations in Conakry Prior To The Second Round
The Guinee libre [fr] website reports that violent confrontations occurred over the week-end in Conakry as the second round of the presidential elections approaches (scheduled for September 19th but probably temporarily suspended). The violence opposed militants of the Rassemblement pour le peuple de Guinée (RPG) and the militants of the Union des forces démocratiques de...
Armenia: Army Hazing
Unzipped comments on a video originally posted on YouTube showing what appears to be hazing in the Armenian military. Taken down after 246 Facebook shares and 669 comments, it has since appeared on Daily Motion. Given other cases of deaths and mistreatment in the army, the blog says that the...
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Social Networking and Conflict Resolution
Global Chaos details the hacking of the personal Facebook page of one young ethnic Armenian by someone presumably in Azerbaijan. Although new and social media tools are increasingly being used in peace-building initiatives to resolve the long-running conflict between the two countries over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, the...
