27 February 2011

Stories from 27 February 2011

Bangladesh: On Meherjan

  27 February 2011

RealTime Bangladesh joins in the debate regarding the controversial big budget Bangladeshi film “Meherjan”, which was withdrawn from the theaters by its distributor.

Cambodia: Who Ordered the Blocking of Opposition Websites?

  27 February 2011

Since January, certain anti-government websites have been inaccessible in Cambodia. Service providers blame it on technical issues while the government claims it does not promote censorship. But media groups leaked a government letter asking companies to block critical websites.

Libya: Fear and Chaos at Tripoli Airport

  27 February 2011

Fear, chaos, hysteria and despair - all these words have been used to describe Libyan capital Tripoli's airport over the past few days. Since uprisings began against the country's leader Colonel Muammar Al Gaddafi on the night of February 16, 2011 (#Feb17), Libya has been in a state of uncertainty.

China: 50 Cent Party's Fake Retweet

  27 February 2011

Several Chinese online activists have noticed that the 50 Cent Party has adopted a new tactic in creating fake retweets of prominent online opinion leaders. China Media Project has a brief account of the situation. Rebecca MacKinnon wonders if Twitter abuse team can deal with the problem of fake retweets.

Azerbaijan: Great People's Day

  27 February 2011

Activists in Azerbaijan have opened a Facebook page, 11 March – Great People's Day in Azerbaijan / 11 Mart – Böyük Xalq Günü, to attract support for their plans to protest after being inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

Azerbaijan: Join Us

  27 February 2011

Pro-opposition activists in the Armenian Diaspora are starting to use rap music to communicate their message ahead of next week's demonstration in Yerevan while youth movements in Azerbaijan have long been doing so. Uploaded to YouTube in October, one example is Shirbənd with Bizimlə ol (Join Us) as opposition groups...

Egypt, Serbia: Protesters Trained by ‘Otpor!’

  27 February 2011

In an interview [MKD] for Vest daily, Ofelija Gadzevska-Sadek, a Macedonian living in Egypt, said that two leaders of the April 6 movement said on local TV that they'd been trained by Otpor! in Serbia. The main lesson by veteran activists, who helped overthrow Milošević in 2000, to the Egyptian...

Armenia: Rapping the Revolution of Reform

  27 February 2011

Even if the use of social media ahead of an opposition rally scheduled to mark the 3rd anniversary of bloody post-presidential clashes which left 10 dead remains low, some activists are at least using the new online tools at their disposal. In particular, those behind a Facebook page to increase...

Angola: Mysterious call for youth revolution

  27 February 2011

“Agostinho Jonas Roberto dos Santos” (clearly a composite of the names of deceased Angolan figures) created a website [link now broken] with a call for Angolan youth to revolt on March 7. Subsequently a Facebook page appeared. The online home of this mysterious group/individual moved [Pt] in recent days due...