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March 03 2012
Iran: Election cartoon
Nikahang, a blogger and leading cartoonist, has published a cartoon on former Iranian president,who reportedly voted in parliamentary elections.
March 02 2012
World: Global March Against the Syrian Dictator
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
In March 2011, when Syrians started taking to the streets to demand freedom and justice, it was hard to imagine that a year later the regime would have killed thousands of people and tortured and arrested countless others. The city of Homs has been besieged since the beginning of February and suffers an unprecedented crackdown against its entire population, with a death toll of 100 every day. While international powers have not agreed on the need to pressure the Assad regime, global citizens solidarity with Syrians has been increasing and it will likely garner more support now that we are reaching the anniversary of the Syrian revolution.
An initiative called Global March for Syria aims to take people from all over the world to the streets on March 15, 16 and 17 in support of the Syrian people's struggle. The campaign is explained in a video called “Against a dictator” that has been widely shared online.
Marches for Syria are already planned in 16 cities, and the list keeps growing every day. Activists have created a Facebook event with information on the different marches, where they encourage citizens worldwide to stand with Syria against oppression:
One year since the Syrian revolution began. One year of violence against peaceful protesters and innocent civilians. One year of bloodshed. And one year of a brave stance against great evil, but the Syrian people have vowed to never stop until the fall of the regime, until they gain freedom and dignity. On March 15-17, 2012 let's stand with Syria against oppression and take a moment to remember the thousands of lives sacrificed since March 15, 2011.
The list of marches (please add yours to the Facebook event and as a comment to this post) are as follows:
Toronto - Canada; Washington DC - USA, Ottawa - Canada, Calgary - Canada, Montreal - Canada, Chicago - Illinois, US,
London - UK, Geneva - Switzerland, Seine - France, Paris - France, Paris - France, Bergen - Norway, Zürich - Switzerland,
Germany - Munich, San Francisco - USA and New Zealand.
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
Palestine: Youth Activist Fadi Quran Released From Israeli Prison
Palestinian Youth Activist and Stanford Alumnus Fadi Quran. Photo by Jeff Mendelman. Used with permission.
Palestinian youth activist Fadi Quran was released on bail from an Israeli prison. The news was welcomed by dozens of Twitter users who expressed great joy.
On Twitter, Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab reacts to his arrest:
@daoudkuttab: Israelis threw @fadiquran an American Palestinian nonviolent activists deep in Israel with 2 other Palestinians. No US murmur !!!. #freefadi
Quran was arrested in Hebron on February 23rd - the day of his birthday - after allegedly pushing an Israeli police officer. At the time of the arrest, Fadi and his peers were protesting against the closure of Shuhada Street in Hebron, one of the city's main thoroughfares, on which Palestinians have been forbidden to walk or drive on for over a decade.
A video of Quran's arrest was uploaded on YouTube by the New York-based Institute for Middle East Understanding:
Social media networks quickly picked up on Quran's arrest. On Friday, a Facebook page Free Fadi Quran was created. Quran's friends and supporters also changed their profile pictures on different social media platforms to show solidarity. And on February 26th, Quran's Stanford colleagues created the website freefadi.org to raise awareness about his arrest. On Twitter, news about his arrest and later on his release was tweeted under the hash tag #FreeFadi.
Stanford student Lila Kalaf's online petition was created on change.org to call for his release.
Fadi Quran was one of the members of the nonviolent freedom rides organised in November 2010.
Palestinian Freedom Riders
The movement was modeled following the 1963 freedom rides in the United States against racial segregation. In this case, Palestinians protested against apartheid which prevents Palestinians from traveling freely to Jerusalem from West Bank.
Iran: “Should We Vote Again?”
The Islamic Republic is preparing for parliamentary (Majlis) election on Friday, March 2, 2012. It is the first national election since the controversial 2009 presidential election and subsequent mass demonstrations. While several opposition groups have called for boycotting the election, the Iranian state is employing anti-Western propaganda to bring citizens to the polls.
Setare Iran has published [fa] a poster with an image of Neda, a young woman killed during protests, with a slogan that says, “I do not vote.”
Neda: I do not vote
The blogger says:
Beyond the question of whether taking part in this election is useful or not, how can someone go to the polls after all these martyrs and with thousands of innocents imprisoned? This election on Friday will not honour our votes. It is a test for a regime who considers that the intelligence of the people is non-existant. Neda's innocent gaze does not let us to sell our honour to a dictatorship.
Azarakan says [fa]:
Contrary to the regime's propaganda that says Western countries will attack Iran if people do not vote, boycotting the election makes the regime understand it does not have any legitimacy. It forces them to stop challenging the international community with its nuclear program.
A 1-minute film recalls that members of parliament backed backed the last fraudulent election, and brought economic misery to the country.
The final message of the video questions, “Should we vote again?”
Of course, not all Iranian bloggers share the same opinion on the election. Ahestan considers that problems do not get solved by not taking part in the election because the political participation of the people can be a strong answer to enemies (”a fist to their mouth”). “If they [enemies] encourage people not to vote, then why should the Islamic Republic not encourage them to vote?” he says.
To vote or not to vote, may finally not be the question, since some analysts predict the government will report a turnout of 60 percent or higher, regardless of what happens on Friday.
February 29 2012
Iran: A pro-animal blog was filtered
Sepehr Salimi writes another pro-animal and pro-environment blog got filtered in Iran.Dadkhahi Heyvanat az Ensanha (animals ask people for justice) used to write about pets.
February 28 2012
Palestine: “Diwan Ghazza” and the Gaza Book Club
This post is the first by our new author, Palestinian blogger Yasmeen El Khoudary, in which she introduces an initiative set up by a group of bloggers in Gaza called Diwan Ghazza.
It's quite surprising to see that people are quite surprised to hear that there's a book club in Gaza, but I guess that's exactly why we started Diwan Ghazza. Let me tell you our story.
A group of my friends and I are fed up with the way the world regards Gaza (with the usual media coverage on the negative side of life here) and disregards the other face: the historic, the beautiful, the educated, and the inspirational. We decided that Gaza is a city no less capable than other cities, and the fact that we have gone through so much should add to our credit. Gaza breeds thinkers, and the only thing it teaches them is that they should do the thinking themselves. There are no cultural centers, theatres, cinemas or updated public libraries in Gaza, but that wasn’t going to stop us.
So we decided to put our thoughts, time and energy into creating a group that we would be proud of belonging to. Its quite funny actually, that whenever people ask us what “Diwan Ghazza” is, our answer, “we're a group of friends interested in knowledge and in improving Gaza's image in the world”, they don't get it. How can we not be a registered society or an NGO?! Why are we not asking for funding?! How can you not have an office!?
But Diwan Ghazza is much simpler than that. We're not willing to be subject to boring NGO or donor regulations. Why should we seek to become “officially registered” and ask for donations when we can do great work without any money?
Our first activity was the first Gaza Tweet-Up in July 2011, which gathered about 30 tweeps from Gaza, many of them meeting for the first time. We discussed everything from our role and responsibility as Gaza Tweeps to future activities by Diwan. Later, we organized an online tweet up with Frode Mauring, Special Representative of the Administrator in the occupied Palestinian territories. We also organized several meetings between youth activists in Gaza and UNDP and other diplomats, including a diplomatic and cultural mission from Sweden.
Simultaneously, in July 2011 I became the Gaza Coordinator for the amazing Palestine Writing Workshop. We organized several writing e-workshops (generously hosted by the British Council), which were attended by an array of students and professionals who greatly benefited from the experiences of renowned authors from around the globe. Later, we started the Gaza Book Club chapter with two novels: “Zabelle” by Nancy Kricorian and “The Road from Damascus” by Robin Yassin-Kassab. We also had a very insightful discussion about Zabelle with Nancy Kricorian after reading the novel, and are looking forward to a discussion with Robin Yassin-Kassab soon!
The Gaza Book Club
Our group started growing, and more and more people became interested in Diwan Ghazza and in the book club. But we didn't want to limit ourselves to English books or to novels, or to a small group of people. Neither did we have an updated library or bookstore option. Thus, we decided to start the Diwan Ghazza Book Exchange Club. And we did.
Our first meeting was in January, and was attended by 18 people, and yielded over 25 books. From books about Gaza's Christian history, to a translated Norwegian novel “Hunger”, by Knut Hamsun, to Charles Dickens, to Sahar Khalife, the books were a beautiful assortment. We met again last week, with more people and more books (we did not count, but the pile was HUGE). This time, Ahmed Matar's poetry, fresh books about the Egyptian revolution, and Paulo Coelhos' books were among the collection. We swapped books again, but were left with a huge pile. Thankfully, the place that hosts our events, Almat'haf Hotel (Gaza's first museum of archeology and cultural house) offered to host our mini library in the hotel's business center. Anyone who's interested can check out our virtual shelf on Good Reads but our only condition is that you write a book review!
And by doing that, we are slowly building a model to show that a LOT can be done in Gaza without any donations. All you need is genuine commitment and mutual interests. I hope I was able to answer your questions about Diwan Ghazza, our book club and on how we're attempting to restore our Gaza, to which Choricius of Gaza (491-518 AD) [pdf] once belonged, and established Gaza's School of Rhetoric - a beacon of knowledge during Late Antiquity!
About Diwan Ghazza: we are a group of friends who seek to show the world a better image of Gaza (an image that exists, but has been ignored for so long), by: empowerment through knowledge and by providing a venue for youth to speak out about Gaza's forgotten face. As for our name, the diwan in Palestinian culture is the guesthouse of families, where relatives and friends gather to talk and discuss issues. Our Diwan is a venue for exchanging and discussing ideas, thoughts and knowledge. For more information, see our website, and Facebook page.
Our team is composed of 5 ambitious Palestinians from Gaza, Ola Anan, Jehan Al Farra, Bashar Lubbad, Omar Ghraieb, and Yasmeen El Khoudary.
Cross-posted from Yasmeen's blog, Gaza, out of the blue.
February 25 2012
Iran: Another blogger was arrested
Nama Jafari,blogger and journalist was arrested. He was editor of a cultural site. He also wrote a book called “a gathering in solitary confinement”.
February 23 2012
Iran: Letter from Jailed Blogger Details “Blue Sky of Pain”
Dr. Khazali with his daughter
Dr. Mehdi Khazali, a jailed Iranian blogger, publisher and government critic, wrote a letter this month from prison describing a “blue sky of pain” of his first-hand experience with the injustice of jails in Iran where prisoners face torture and arbitrary death sentences.
Khazali's daughter (see photo) and wife were briefly arrested too.
Mehdi Khazali's letter was published in his personal blog (some activists pass on passwords to their blogs and Facebook accounts before they lose access themselves).
He writes [fa]:
One person was sentenced to death for receiving a fake one and half sentence email. What I see with my own eyes is that prisoners have no rights in revolutionary courts. Many have no rights to legal defense, nobody has the right to read his or her own file to be able to defend him or herself… You can't even read the court's sentence for you before you are forced to sign it.
The blogger adds:
Three prisoners who were in my cell were sentenced to 17 years in prison in a trial which lasted just two mintues. One of them has been on hunger strike for 10 days now… Three Christians are in prison too, just for their faith.
Khazali says prsioners who escaped mass executions in 1988 and remain alongside him in prison, and have told him about coffins (some prisoners were put in coffins as a torture) and iron cages.
Khazali wrote the letter to Ahmad Montazeri, the late Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri's son. Ayatoolah Montazeri criticized mass executions and revealed some information on this topic.
February 22 2012
Egypt: Finding a job you enjoy?
Egyptian blogger Cinderella Nabil blogs [ar] about her refusal in accepting any job just for the money.
Saudi Arabia: Facebook Page Calls for Protest
A Facebook page [ar] has been created calling on Saudis to protest tomorrow (Thursday) and on Friday against financial and administrative corruption, the jailing of activists and the lack of justice, among other grievances. The page details are being circulated via Twitter by bloggers. Previous calls for protests in Saudi Arabia have failed to materialise into large scale demonstrations.
Tunisia: Court Quashes Verdict Ordering the Filtering of Pornography
Today, the Cassation Court of Tunis (highest court of appeal) threw out a verdict to censor pornography on the Internet. On May, 26, 2011, a court of first instance issued a ruling ordering the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI), to filter X rated websites. On August, 15, 2011, the ruling was affirmed by the court of appeal.
Outside the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI) in Tunis, Tunisia by Jillian C. York
Today's verdict was welcomed by netizens, supporting an absolute net freedom.
Reporters Without Reporters Tunisia office, was the first to report the court's ruling:
#ATI - la cour de cassation casse le jugement et renvoie le procès en appel.
The news quickly spread, and reactions via the micro blogging website, Twitter started pouring in. Here is a selection of reactions:
@RODE86: Ya7ya el 3adl! Ya7ya el 3adl!
@HBHassine: je suis heureuse qu on reconnaisse enfin que les Tunisiens sont adultes et responsables! #contrelinfantilisationdesTunisiens #ATI
@yassine95140: La bonne nouvelle, qu'on soit pour ou contre la décision de la cour, c qu'on a la preuve d'1 séparation réelle d pouvoirs. #ATI #TNAC #TNGOV
Others have aired more suspicious and careful views.
@El_7oss: Ces connards de la cassation pouvaient aussi casser le jugement sans renvoyer en appel #ATI
@Selim_: bien. Mais c pas fini
@omessaoud: Le renvoi de l'affaire #ATI en appel à nouveau est un renvoi de responsabilité pas une victoire. #free404 #tunisie #censure
Syria: Call to Free Human Rights Detainees
Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi appeals to supporters to exert pressure on the Syrian government to release her colleagues at the Office of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression in Damascus. Ghazzawi herself was among those detained when the centre was raided on February 16. She has since been released.
Iran: Enviromental blogs under fire
Sepher Salimi, a leading environmentalist blogger writes about filtering of several green and environmenal blogs in recent years.
Syria: Citizen Journalist Rami Al Sayed Killed in Homs
Citizen journalist Rami Al Sayed, whose videos and live-streaming of the bombardment of Homs showed the world the daily carnage in Syria, was killed yesterday, reports Ahmed Al Omran, on the NPR news blog.
Syria: Shock and Disbelief Over Murder of Journalists
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
Netizens covering the daily carnage in Syria on social media had to take a step back today to soak in news of more atrocities committed against humanity in the Baba Amr neighbourhood, in besieged city of Homs.
NPR media strategist Andy Carvin, who is in Tripoli, Libya, tweets:
@acarvin: I need to unplug for a bit before I say something I'll regret. I just can't take this right now. #homs #syria
He adds:
@acarvin: Killing reporters and citizen journalists won't stop us from bearing witness. You can't stop us. #syria #homs
And continues:
@acarvin: These reporters and citizen journos muster more bravery in a day than I ever will in a lifetime. I am forever in their debt. #syria #homs
While Iyad El Baghdadi admits:
@Iyad_elbaghdadi: I have to take a break and cry for a bit. See you later.
The reactions followed reports on the deaths of American journalist Marie Colvin, who works for Britain's the Sunday Times and French photographer Remi Ochlik. According to Reuters, “shells hit the house in which they were staying and a rocket hit them when they were escaping.”
Meanwhile, netizens on the ground report that a third reporter is also said to be injured, when the media centre the journalists and activists were in was attacked.
Tweets4peace accuses the Syrian regime of conducting the attack. The Twitter user notes:
@tweet4peace: We know it is regime is because these type of missile attacks have been continuous for 19 days now. Today was target on media centre #homs
The news created an out pour of sympathy on Twitter, already reeling over the world's silence at the massacres being committed against Syrians protesting against Bashar Al Assad and his regime and claiming the lives of thousands of citizens.
From Egypt, Maha Abdoelenein tweets:
@mahagaber: Utter Shock & Disbelief. Marie Colvin killed in Homs, Syria today. I worked w her extensively on all things Egypt
Diaa Hadid notes:
@diaahadid: Rest in peace Marie Colvin, Remi Ochlik, few will die as honorably, telling the world of what others sought to conceal
And Rania Zabaneh reminds us:
@RZabaneh: #Syria is becoming a deathtrap for journalists. This is OUTRAGEOUS: EIGHT journalists killed since 2012; FOUR in #Homs.
Meanwhile, CNN reporter Arwa Damon concludes:
@arwaCNN: RIP 2 our colleagues killed in #homs, the price we pay 2 shed light on atrocities, the price #syria pays everyday 4 freedom
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
Lebanon: Distortions to the Domestic Violence Draft Law
Lebanese blogger and Nasawiya activist Nadine posts a translation of Farfahinne's post[Ar] about how the law to protect women from family violence is facing horrible distortions.
Lebanon: How Facebook Makes us Miserable
Lebanese blogger Adon (at Ninar) starts a series of posts on his blog entitled “Living as a Photo: How Facebook Makes us Misrable“[Ar]. He has published four posts so far: “Can you Survive without Facebook for 30 Days?“[Ar], “Why I Quit Facebook“[Ar] and “Does Facebook really helps us to Communicate?[Part 1 and 2]”[Ar]
Lebanon: Why is Horsh Beirut Closed?
Lebanese blogger Rami(at +961) shares his opinion about the state of Beirut's public park Horsh Beirut, which has been closed for decades for unknown reasons in his latest post.
Kuwait: The Struggle of the Bedoon Takes Root Online
Since the beginning of the so-called Arab Spring, that has brought to the forefront the atrocities Arabs face at the hands of their ruling clans, Kuwait's stateless population, which number more than 120,000, has been struggling to make its voice heard.
Like protesters across the region, they too, staged rallies and demonstrations to draw attention to their condition. Known as Bedoon, which translates to without, stateless Kuwaitis are generations of people without a nationality: passports and documents we all need to identify ourselves. Thereby, they have no access to education, health care, employment and recognition in the country they, their parents and sometimes even their grandparents, were born in but where they have no citizenship or rights.
The new Bedoon Rights blog: Hightling the stuggle of Kuwait's stateless population
According to Bedoon Rights About Page:
There are at least 120,000 Bidun jinsiyya (without nationality) in Kuwait today suffering from the lack of human rights. They cannot legally obtain birth, death, marriage or divorce certificates. The same applies to driving licenses, identification cards, and passports. They do not have access to public education, health care, housing or employment. And while they face some of the state’s harshest discrimination policies, they have no recourse to the law and its courts. Simply stated, the Bidun, who are equal to about 10% of the Kuwaiti population, do not exist. They have been dehumanized and rendered invisible by government policies coupled with pervasive social stigmatization.
It continues:
This network comes as a necessity due to the lack of references in English about our cause and struggle. Stateless activists and protesters in the past few years have been harassed, arrested, mistreated, and put to trials for speaking up. The network makes sure newsletters are sent regularly to organizations and media to inform them of the situation and violations of Bedoon human rights.
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