Stories about War & Conflict from June, 2010
Kyrgyzstan: “I Call It a Massacre!”
English-language coverage of the situation in Kyrgyzstan – at neweurasia.net. Kyrgyz blogger writes: “Call it whatever you want, but I name it a massacre of Uzbeks in Osh and Jalalabad (Kyrgyzstan), which is, at the moment, still going on and the Interim government headed by Rosa Otunbaeva cannot do anything...
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Conflict Voices
In the 16 years since a ceasefire agreement put the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh on hold, successive attempts to broker a final peace have faltered. Could blogs and other online tools now offer alternative voices the opportunity to have their opinions on the conflict heard?
Global Voices: We are listening
Soon after Israel's deadly raid on a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza, one post on Global Voices sparked furious critique on Twitter. Tarek Amr in Egypt summarizes the debate.
Mexico: Drug Cartel-Led Protest Paralyzes Monterrey Metropolitan Area
Last Wednesday, after the leader of drug trafficking band Los Zetas was captured, members of this drug cartel paralyzed the Monterrey Metropolitan Area with blockades in 20 different locations using their juvenile recruits who threatened bus drivers and civilians to leave their vehicles crossed through the streets.
Brazil/Israel: Open letter to the Israeli government
“Now, after the coward attack in international waters carried out by Israeli military against the fleet of humanitarian aid to Gaza” says Maria Frô [pt], “again [the movie-maker Sílvio] Tendler manifests” in an open letter to the Israeli government.
Brazil/Palestine: The Rose of Gaza
Georges Bourdoukan presents [pt] us with a beautiful poem in honor of the victims of the war and continuous violence in Gaza.
Russia: Mysterious Death of a Soldier in the Far East
Alexey Navalny, famous anti-corruption blogger, posted a shocking video [RUS], depicting an observation of Roman Suslov's dead body. According to Russian military officials, Suslov committed a suicide during the transfer to Far East military base, though his family and independent journalists suspect [RUS] he was tortured and later murdered by military...
Russia: Far East “Partisans” – Nationalists or Corruption Fighters?
Maxim Sviridenkov posts the recording of the coversation with Vladimir Savchenko [RUS], father of one of the members of the Primorsky krai [EN] partisan group. The “Partisans” were claimed to be a nationalist cop-killing gang [EN], although Savchenko says they “went to the woods” because of the police corruption and...
Rwanda: Following The Peter Erlinder Case
Editions Sources du Nil has been posting several updates about the arrest of US citizen Peter Erlinder on May 28th, charged with denial of genocide (fr). They report that his detention has been prolonged and that he seems to be weakened since his arrest (fr).
Chad: Regional Conference on the Issue of Child Soldiers
A conference on the prevention of enrollment of child soldiers took place in Ndjamena (fr). Mak reports that there are between 7,000 to 10,000 child soldiers in Chad (fr).
Russia: Prosecutor's Office Forces Provider to Close Website
Prosecutor's office of Zabaikalsky region [EN] demanded to block [RUS] the website of newspaper “Russkoye Zabaikalie” (previously available at www.srn.megalink.ru), whose content has been officially recognized as “extremist.” Earlier, the newspaper's editor was given a 1-year suspended sentence [RUS] for xenophobic and anti-Semitic articles.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Reflections on conflict and displacement
In a guest post on the blog of Global Voices’ Caucasus editor, The Caucasian Knot [EN/AZ/RU], Zamira Ayan Abassi reflects on life as an ethnic Azeri refugee from Armenia as a result of the conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh as well as her desire for...
India: Conflict in Meghalaya
Dinesh Wagle pens an in-depth analysis of what he feels are the reasons behind the ever-widening conflict between Khasis and Nepali migrant workers/Gorkhas in the North-Eastern Indian State of Meghalaya.
South Korea: Netizens Question Cause of Cheonan Tragedy
Ronda Hauben from Ohmynews blogs about south Korean netizen's doubt about the cause of Cheonan Tragedy and government's move to invite bloggers and twitterers “to dispel any doubts among the young that North Korea was behind the deadly attack”.
Israel: Pixies Pull Show Stopper
In the wake of mounting international criticism and condemnation of Israel’s clash with activists intent on breaking the blockade on Gaza, the Pixies, a veteran rock band, have canceled their concert in Israel. Nicole Hyman follows the debate on the link between music and politics on Twitter.
Sri Lanka: Mass graves are nothing new
MCM Iqbal at Groundviews tells us why he feels that unearthing of mass graves in Sri Lanka fails to surprise any longer, and that more such discoveries cannot be ruled out.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Finding mutual ground online
As Global Voices looks back at the success of a Rising Voices project, Ceasefire Liberia, a citizen media site dealing with conflict and reconciliation, activity in the same area is starting to be noticed in the Caucasus. New and existing projects working towards establishing dialog and eventual peace in the region are starting to use new and social media in their activities.
Egypt: Protests and Policy Changes After Flotilla Raid
News of the flotilla raid in Gaza has sparked an uprising in Egypt. Thousands of Egyptians protested both Israel's actions and the stance of their own government earlier this week.
Algeria-Morocco: Online Initiative to Reopen Borders
A group of Moroccan and Algerian citizens have launched an online campaign for the reopening of the borders and rapprochement between their neighboring countries. Relations between Algeria and Morocco have been strained by their contention over Western Sahara and their borders have been closed since 1994.
USA: American student loses eye in West Bank protest
One of the many protests that erupted after Israel's deadly raid on the Turkish aid convoy ended in tragedy for a 21-year-old American student, Emily Henochowicz, who was protesting in the occupied West Bank, at the Qalandiya checkpoint on May 31.
Maghreb: Overwhelming Support for Flotilla Activists
The global outcry following the deadly Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla has been reflected on streets across the world and throughout the Internet, on social networks and personal blogs. Hisham looks at reactions from the Maghreb in this post.