31 May 2011 | Egypt, Middle East and North Africa
In post-revolutionary Egypt, freedom of expression is yet to be a given.
On 15 May, for instance, scores of protesters commemorating the Palestinian exodus of 1948 near the Israeli embassy were beaten and shot. At least 350 were injured and 160 arrested and transferred to military prisons. They were charged with “destruction of public property with the intention of attacking the embassy; creating mayhem; use of force against public servants (police and armed forces); endangering the public and public transportation means; joining a gang with the intention of harming social peace”.
Several of those detained have been released on probation, ranging from six to twelve months after being sentenced by a military court. Some remain in prison.
Since the end of Mubarek’s reign in February, there have been 5,600 such military trials sentencing civilians. That estimate is already couple of weeks old, said Human Rights Watch’s Heba Morayef. The number today is probably much higher.
The interim government claims its heavy-handedness is necessary to control saboteurs and criminals who have sought to take advantage of the lax security climate in the aftermath of the revolution as the police forces are replaced by an army untrained for urban policing tasks. In reality, army firepower has been directed, at times with fatal consequences, towards civilian protesters.
On 22 May, the army issued a statement accusing “some foreign elements claiming heroism and nationalism of issuing false statements developed by their sick imagination to incite against some members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) leadership and to create discord between the army and the people.” The communiqué goes on to warn that “those external elements” are sending their followers to infiltrate “the free revolutionary demonstrations” in order to instigate a clash between the people and the security forces — a declaration widely seen as a veiled threat.
But this was not much of a deterrent for Egyptians.
On 23 May, more than 370 bloggers defied a journalistic ban on broaching the subject of the army and heeded a call to write a post “evaluating the performance of the SCAF as the ruler of the country, with the aim of providing constructive criticism.” They criticized military trials for civilians, the emergency law, and the ruling junta’s failure to prosecute members of the old regime. On Twitter, the #NoSCAF hashtag was assuredly the most widely used all day, and served both as a repository for vocal objections and an increasingly loud call for action.
A massive protest scheduled last Friday, 27 May, was met with the most unexpected reaction from the army: the army issued its communiqué number 58 declaring that “the armed forces have decided not to be present in the protests locations to avoid such risks (of division between people and army), counting on the revolution youth who will take over the organising and defense” — that is, since you’re protesting our behaviour, we won’t be protecting you from any potential attack. The protest nevertheless went ahead as planned, peacefully; and the message would’ve hopefully reached the ears of the SCAF.
29 May 2011 | Iran, Middle East and North Africa
Eight years ago my colleagues and I set out to see what school life was like for 11-13 year olds around the world. I went to Iran, and spent several days with girls at a Tehran school. The building was a large house, once home to a wealthy Iranian family — I speculated they were possibly living in exile since, or forced into smaller accommodation, or perhaps the father was imprisoned or killed, if they had a son he may have been sent to the frontline during the Iran-Iraq war, or been lucky enough to flee the country if he was under 13 — the age of conscription. These houses were taken over by the revolutionary guard in 1979 and 1980 and such scenarios were common.
The school day began in the school courtyard — once the garden — the girls standing in rows in their black uniforms, for assembly. A large swimming pool stood empty along the left hand wall and the inside walls were covered in the regime’s flags. I stood to the side as the girls repeated the morning prayers and anti-West chants coming from a loudspeaker. I watched their faces, finding the same playful expressions of my own school assembly days. The focus may have been different but the distracted anticipation towards the day, best friends by our sides, was the same.
I saw many unfamiliar and disconcerting things while visiting the school, most notably a point system that was at play: The family living room remained furnished with a majestic Persian carpet but the room now served as the school’s prayer room. Girls removed their shoes at the door and entered at their own chosen time during different free periods throughout the day. For each visit to the prayer room they were awarded individual points, accumulated to be able to participate in fun school activities. But what I left the school with, was a sense of proximity to the outside world. The girls’ favourite stories were the Harry Potter books — in translation in the school library — their idea of beauty was Jennifer Lopez, the questions they asked me were those of girls at the cusp of puberty. Trends and fashion seep through even the most austere structures.
Earlier this month Jack Kirby wrote in Guardian Weekly about how the regime controls usage of the English language and the Western culture it provides access to, in Iranian schools and the rest of society.
Now a recent documentary gives us fresh insight into the daily lives of teenage girls in an Iranian school — from surface constraints and pupils being suspended for plucking their eyebrows, to a more important rare glimpse at the girls’ thoughts and ideas. Director Nahid Rezai was herself a pupil at the school 25 years ago and goes back to introduce herself to the pupils there, reflecting on her dreams and aspirations then, and asking the girls where they would like to be 20 years from now. More a series of vox pops commenting on every aspect of life, the film is exceptional viewing for anyone interested in the individual psyches of young women in Iran today. Watch it in five 10 minute parts here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLTNZJNP_MY
27 May 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Just hours after the PROTECT IP Act passed unanimously in the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon placed a hold to prevent it from reaching the Senate. Wyden argued the legislation was an “overreaching approach to policing the internet.” The act was introduced two weeks ago and authorises the government to use court orders to prohibit internet search engines from displaying sites that violate intellectual property laws. It would also force internet providers to block “rogue” sites offering pirated goods.Media groups fighting for anti-piracy protection have largely praised the legislation.
27 May 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
The European Commission’s plan to tackle internet copyright infringements, such as illegal media downloads, would require internet service providers to work with the entertainment industry to monitor content. Critics fear this could lead to censorship and over-monitoring. BEUC, the European Consumers’ Organisation said, “Such practices would turn ISPs into some sort of Internet police that monitors the online behaviour of users and enforces copyright legislation. Fundamental rights of users will be jeopardized, namely the right to privacy and the right to due process.” Just last year, a judge ruled in Australia that an ISP company was not responsible for illegal downloading, stating that “If the ISPs become responsible for the acts of their customers, essentially they become this giant and very cheap mechanism for anyone with any sort of legal claim.”
