By: Mizzima, June 11, 2009
British Members of Parliament on Tuesday discussed Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial, calling it an ‘injustice’ and vowed to continue to strongly support the restoration of democracy and human rights in Burma. Initiated by Alistair Carmichael MP and Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Burma (APPB), the debate was held in the main Chamber of the House of Commons.
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French President: Burma blocks call to detained opposition leader
By: VOA News, June 11, 2009
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he tried to telephone Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi but was prevented by Burma’s military government. Mr. Sarkozy made the statement Thursday in Paris at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
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Russia: Theater of the absurd
By: Galina Stolyarova, TOL, June 11, 2009
Virtually all election campaigns in Russia over the past eight years have been marred by resonant scandals revolving around the same topic: opposition candidates crying foul at what they see as restricted access to the media for anyone who raises his voice against the authorities, versus a generous avalanche of promotion for those backed by the people in power.
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Belarus: Religious freedom survey
By: Geraldine Fagan, Forum 18, June 11, 2009
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s repressive religious policies remain unchanged, Forum 18 News Service finds in its survey analysis of freedom of religion or belief. As one Belarusian Protestant notes, “They have created conditions so you can’t live by the law. We would need to close half our churches in order to operate technically in accordance with the law.”
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Italy: Students protest at Gaddafi visit
By: BBC News, June 11, 2009
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been heckled by students at Rome University, where he was taking part in a debate. Italian students jeered, let off smoke bombs and hurled paint, in protest at his human rights record and a deal with Italy to return African migrants.
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A wake-up call for Georgia, Ukraine – and the West
By: Denis Corboy, William Courtney, and Kenneth Yalowitz, CS Monitor, June 10, 2009
The West has a large security and economic stake in the outcome of a little- known crisis in Georgia and Ukraine right now. The Rose Revolution in Georgia in 2003 and later the Orange Revolution in Ukraine raised high hopes around the world for democracy in the former Soviet Union. But since then democratic forces – torn by personal animosities and corrupt interests – have put the future of both countries at risk.
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Armenia: Opposition looks for a new strategy
By: Haroutiun Khachatrian, EurasiaNet, June 10, 2009
Defeated repeatedly at the polls, the Armenian National Congress, Armenia’s largest opposition movement, finds itself on a slippery slope and is struggling to gain traction. Angered by alleged election violations ranging from bribery to physical intimidation, the opposition movement has opted to boycott the council and to take its complaints to court.
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Norway: Women speak out at global forum on freedom of expression
By: Rachael Kay, International Freedom of Expression eXchange, June 10, 2009
“The thing (the authorities) are most angry about is my voice,” says Philo Ikonya, president of PEN Kenya. Ikonya has been involved in a number of protests and political readings recently and was arrested and severely beaten in police custody this past February. Ikonya was one of four extraordinary women who met across a table at a “Silenced Women’s Voices” panel on 4 June in Oslo, Norway at the recent Global Forum on Freedom of Expression.
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Belarus: Jailed US lawyer begins hunger strike
By: Reuters, June 9, 2009
A U.S. lawyer serving three years in a Belarussian jail for industrial espionage has begun a hunger strike to prompt authorities to review his case under a recent amnesty law, his lawyer said on Tuesday. Emmanuel Zeltser, 55, was arrested last year at the height of a diplomatic row between Belarus and the United States which led to the expulsion of the U.S. envoy in March. Zeltser was convicted in August.
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MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA
Iran: Poetic justice of a green revolution
By: Pepe Escobar, Asia Times Online, June 12, 2009 From the moment cool, calm, collected Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi went all rhetorical guns blazing against President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in a debate on national TV, not only Iran but the West seem to have woken up and joined the fun. Mousavi now has a clear shot at winning the most important election in the 30 years of the Islamic Revolution in voting on Friday. Read full article… Neither free nor fair, elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran Iran’s presidential vote is free, fair only on the surface Lebanon: Video – Youth launch newspaper challenging politics and media
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OCEANIA
Maldives: Ex-president says government is “regressing”
By: Maryam Omidi, Minivan News, June 10, 2009 Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has said the incumbent government is regressing from the democratic ideals established under his rule and has called on parliament to hold the government accountable through legislative checks and balances. Writing on the fifth anniversary of his reform agenda, Gayoom stated the government has “scant regard” for the constitution and rule of law, has attempted to undermine independent institutions, and has exercised censorship and control over the media. Read full article…
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The free market’s marked men, from the Niger Delta to the Amazon
By: Amy Goodman, Huffington Post, June 9, 2009 Ken Saro-Wiwa and Alberto Pizango never met, but they are united by a passion for the preservation of their people and their land, and by the fervor with which they have been targeted by their respective governments. Saro-Wiwa was executed by the Nigerian government Nov. 10, 1995. Pizango this week was charged by the Peruvian government with sedition and rebellion, and narrowly eluded capture. Read full article… The missing link of democratization
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Peru: Protect indigenous rights – Save the Amazon!
By: Avaaz, June 12, 2009 Peru is witnessing violent clashes between indigenous groups desperately trying to protect the Amazon and the government, who has pushed through legislation allowing intensive mining, logging and large scale farming in the rainforest. Sign the urgent petition below and support the courageous struggle of the indigenous peoples to protect the Amazon! Read full article… Burma: 64 words for Aung San Suu Kyi
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The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict is pleased to circulate this daily selective digest of world news related to past, present and potential nonviolent conflicts, including active civilian-based struggles against oppressive regimes, nonviolent resistance, political and social dissidence, and the use of nonviolent tactics in a variety of causes. We also include stories that help readers glimpse the larger context of a conflict and that reflect on past historical struggles.
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