The official image of the President of the Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari by Bayo Omoboriowo via Wikimedia Commons, May 29, 2015, (CC BY-SA 4.0). The Nigerian government announced on Friday that it is shutting down the country's Twitter, days after it deleted a dangerous tweet by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari who claimed that the government will use force against the Igbo tribe. Despite the removal of the tweet, the message continued to circulate on social media, recalling the pain of the civil war that killed more than one million people. But the tweet prompted a movement on social media to stand up for Igbo ethnic Nigerians. In a series of tweets published on June 1, 2021, Buhari is threatening to deal with Nigerians from the eastern part of the country in the language they understand, referring to the civil war in Nigeria between 1967-1970 against the independence movement of the Republic of Biafra, southeast Nigeria. The tweet was written after a series of attacks against the government and security forces in the area, which is accused of having a military group linked to the Biafra Residents (IPOB), a movement that wants Biafra to remain independent. The group has denied responsibility for the attack, according to Voice of America. Many of those who showed lack of discipline today were young to understand the damage and destruction of people's lives during the Self-Defense Movement in Nigeria, Buhari said in a tweet that is now deleted: Photo of Buhari's tweets The tweets responded to Buhari's apparent anger at the country's headquarters, the country's capital, Abuja, about the direction of the attacks against election officials. I think we have enough opportunities. They said what they want, but now they want to destroy the country, he said, pointing to the people who want to separate them: Buhari speaks in his mouth Buhari, a former general, was in jail during the civil war in Nigeria. The violent war resulted in the deaths of more than a million Igbo and other residents of the East, according to Chima J. Korieh, a professor of African History at the University of Marquette in the United States. For many Nigerians, the liberation war in Biafra, generally, is considered a tragic incident, but for the Igbo people who fight for independence, it remains a turning point for their lives, says Nigerian writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani. (Note: The author is from the Igbo ethnic group.) The Twitter policy on hate behavior blocks tweets that promote violence and threaten people based on race, race, nationality. Such tweets, such as Buhari, are filtered by the company or users are forced to delete content against the policy. Lai Mohammed, Nigerian media minister, described the removal of the president's tweet by the social media company as a scandal: Twitters Mission In Nigeria Is Suspicious, Says Lai Mohammed pic.twitter.com/6hbAKsnjVM Tweets with threats still appear online A study by social media expert Digital Africa Research Lab (DigiAfricaLab) shows that Buhari's threatening tweet still appears on several accounts two days after it was deleted by Twitter, after being quoted by other users: More than 30 minutes after Twitter deleted Nigerian president @MBuhari's tweet for violation of the law, the tweet has still appeared on many accounts because of being quoted! With access to different account accounts via different devices, DigiAfricaLab could see more than 17,000 tweets shared by users before the social media company did not delete the tweet from the account of @MBuhari and @NGRPresident, both verified Twitter accounts used by President Buhari. In addition, DigiAfricaLab could click and share President Buhari's tweet deleted. Ignored tweets may continue to be seen by Twitter users because the application used by Twitter (API) depends on other networks that link Twitter data to URLs. Another reason, according to J. D. Biersdorfer of New York Times, is that deleted tweets may still be found and appear in search results until the website is updated with a new tweet on the account's main page. A reaction to the hashtag #IAmIgboToo The tweet of President Buhari sparked a heated reaction from Nigerians tweeting, which broke the headlines with the hashtag #IAmIgboToo to express their grief. Similarly, Nigerian Twitter users from different ethnic groups also used Igbo names as a way to stand with the Igbo people. The analysis conducted on June 4, 2021 by Global Voices using Brand Mentions showed that in seven days, the hashtag #IAmIgboToo was registered 508 times, used 319,200 times, reached 457,500 people, and shared 313,100 times on Twitter and Instagram. Photo of the words mentioned in the hashtag #IAmIgboToo Human Rights Activist Aisha Yesufu using the name Waigbo Somtochukwu, which means joining me to commemorate God and criticizing how President Buhari threatened Igbo people saying the attack on Igbo is a attack on me: My name is Aisha Somtochukwu Yesufu. Any response to the Igbo people is to me. Attacking the Igbo people is attacking me. I denounce the 1967 threats from President Buhari to the Igbo people No Nigerian is more than any Nigerian A musician and musician Jude Abaga (M.I Abaga) expressed his desire for the country to continue in front of these hate speeches: The description that Nigeria takes the Igbo people is farming and leaves the same unchanged view. #KomeshaSars warrior Rinuola [Rinu] Oduala, using the name Kigbo Ochiaga, meaning the head of the military, remembered the tremendous contribution of igbo women to Nigeria's history, recalling Aba Women's March in November 1929: I remember Aba Women's March where at least 25,000 women protested against colonialism. I come from the same area of women with this privilege, born with courage & courage against years of violence and impunity. My name is Rinu Ochiagha Oduala #Igbo Blossom Ozurumba, Global Voices English translator, noted that threats start with the loss of human dignity: When it comes to human dignity it is easier to remove the moral woes about murder, racism or torture because of ethnic identity. If they are not human, it is easy to justify violence against them. To promote dignity, according to Ozurumba, makes it easier to avoid moral prejudices and acts of murder, discrimination, or torture because of their ethnicity. Photo by makeitkenya, CC PDM 1.0 On March 27, a heated discussion erupted on Kenyan social media over the statements made by three radio broadcasters during the morning Breakfast Show. The broadcasters were discussing a continuing court case involving Eunice Wangari, a woman who was thrown out of a 12th floor building by a man who had ties to her. On Twitter, angry Kenyans harassed presenter Shaffie Weru, Joseph Munoru, and Neville Muysa for their remarks on the case of sexual harassment, and called the presenter victims. Shaffie insists that the woman was pulled out of the 12th floor of a building in Nairobi after saying no to a man is because she moved away and was free so she could be put in such a situation. What a hell! This case has divided netizens as some of them agree with the broadcasters. Although the three were fired by the radio station, it revealed how Kenya's gender equality has grown to women. There are about 21.75 million internet users in Kenya, or 40 percent of the country's population according to data released by DataReportal in 2021. About 11 million people are social media users, up by 2.2 percent compared to the year before. According to another report by the Global Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), the number of mobile phones are nearly equal to women and men with a five percent difference between men who own or have access to communications than women, in three Kenyan Internet users one is a woman. As few on the ground, women in Kenya are often targeted for cyberbullying. And although in 2018 a law against cyberbullying was passed in a country that defines attitudes like collaborating with others in a way that could cause fear or fear of violence to them or damage or loss of their property with a maximum of up to 10 years in prison, many netizens are still on the rise. Below we tell you about two other famous events that occurred in the past 12 months when social media has been used as a platform for violence against women in Kenya. A sickle-cell virus In March 2020, Brenda Iyv Cherotich became Kenya's first HIV positive. After he died he came and explained his trip as the world began to understand the new virus. But Cherotich was not received as warmly as he expected. After conducting a press conference in April 2020, she faced online violence and annoyance from Kenyan On Twitter (also known as #KOT, a term used often to describe active Kenyan Twitter users participating in informal discussions or offline discussions) who sought to humiliate and ask the truth about her story. Other online harassment involved her personal life, personal conversations and photos spread widely online, perhaps after being shared by her friend or friend. Her hair looks like the virus itself After disappointment, Kenyan health minister Mutahi Kagwe came out to defend Brenda, calling for the arrest of the rapists and described them as a shameful attempt to destabilize the government's efforts to fight the virus. Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe told police to charge social media users for harassing Brenda And that wasn't the end, another victim recently hit the #KOT attack: TV host Vyonne Okwara was targeted after defending Brenda and supporting the minister's proposal to punish cyberbullying. I do not agree with Yvonne Okwara. Your information is not relevant. It is vibrant and rising to the heavens. Where was your voice when your fellow women sprayed a MENS (Lonyangapuo) nude and shared his nude photos? This is a toxic substance Okwara criticized the violence for targeting women. He said Brian Orinda, the three survivors of the virus, who was present during his recovery trip with Brenda, had not received the same reaction. This sparked tears of angry cartoonists who had their day on Twitter attacking Okwara. The use of a gender identity card all the time. Women should protect their dignity first. Sharing images like these and participating in them is also a violation of morality. The bad and ugly situation from Okwara. So bad, you wonder if the virus burned the brain. The men's sex was online yesterday. He has quickly gained approval by choosing on that. At the beginning of the year, the spokesperson of the House Kanze Dena was also affected by Kenyan sexual harassment. When he grew up holding a press conference at the event, online violence damaged his body due to his intensity. It quickly became a discussion on social media, with some Kenyans and media outlets defending Dena. He is so dark, so long, so short! Who set the standards for how women are supposed to look? Why is it our problem that @KanzeDena has added credibility? Yes, she is a new mother, but she doesn't pay for anyone! Let's have a rest! This is a new low we must refuse The Elephant, one of Kenya's largest digital magazines, found that social media spheres both in Kenya and the world have become borders of poisonous and harassment. There is no doubt that social media has become a key tool for social and educational development, especially for women. Many women have built their own businesses online and, in this process, have learned how to connect with others. Many find customers to buy and sell their products online. Others have platforms for participation, leading to hundreds if not millions of social businesses that are not only encouraging economic growth but also empowering young men and women. They have also learned how to improve their entrepreneurship online. Probably, social media has become a great platform for business. This is important for economic development and recognition of women. Source, The Elephant. It seems that for women to engage in real-time conversations on issues that affect their lives, the Internet must be a more safe place than ever. A rainbow flag. Photo by Marco Verch on Flickr, CC BY 2.0. The Caribbean countries, one after another, have been reforming their laws to promote more equality for those who love interracial sex by eliminating the colonial clauses that prevented racial interference. In 2016, it began in Belize. Two years later, Trinidad and Tobago followed, although the move has not been translated into legal reforms. Three years after the court declared that the laws are in violation of the constitution, Trinadad and Tobago seems to be on the way to change the rules of the Equality Act (EOA) related to homosexuality. The law is described as, to prevent some forms of racism and to promote equality among people with different backgrounds. For that purpose, the Free Trial Commission and the Free Trial Court were established to address these issues but until now, they are unable to address racial discrimination against homosexuality. The existing laws address gender, race, race, ethnicity, religion, marriage status, or disability in employment, training, education and so on. The pressure to change the current law was increasing after the Scotiabank in Trinidad and Tobago announced on April 14 that it will expand the range of health services for employers in a single-sex relationship, in the same way as for employers in a mixed-sex relationship. The announcement sparked a heated discussion in the country and was also echoed by the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) and Ian Roach, Chairman of the Better Deal Committee, who was quoted in a discussion with Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday newspaper saying: It is a good move for the private sector and particularly for banks, which has a wide range of employers. It is important that others took advantage of this measure, despite what the law requires. Government Attorney Faris Al-Rawi said he has been inspired by the move by the Scotiabank to protect people's rights and that the doors are open to do whatever it takes to eliminate various forms of racism in the country. Al-Rawi's position seems to change according to his position after the 2018 High Court verdict; just after an unconstitutional decision was made, the government announced its intention to appeal. While Trinidad and Tobago has made a lot of progress in eliminating various forms of racism, but when it comes to the issue of racism against homosexuals, the fear of homosexuals using religious arguments has not changed much. With the reaction of citizens to the announcement of the Scotiabank's announcement on social media platforms like Facebook, the opposition was strong. Meanwhile, homosexuals continue not only to deal with racism, but also with violence, many of which end up with death. In the recent incident, the death of Marcus Anthony Singh, a gay party member in the area where he lives, sparked widespread online discussion about the difficulties homosexuals face in terms of their security and violence. Many of the conversations have been held through Twitter Spaces, a voice-sharing platform that facilitates discussions and safe education. While the Attorney General Al Rawi has not given a formal date for the changes to the law, for homosexuals and their associates, hope remains that the measures taken by private companies like the Scotiabank are not long enough to be taken by the government, and finally bring a positive change to the entire community. Duval, a French engineer and founder of Gaël Institute. Photo used with permission. For Internet companies and technology companies, online data collection has become their main source of income. However, this form of income puts users at risk as it appears in frequent cases of commercial censorship, widespread misuse of information and abuse. Is there a better way to improve the privacy rights of Internet users? Companies such as Google and Apple have invested in gathering daily reports of their customers, especially via mobile phones, and the integration of various uses used regularly such as calendars and agendas. Several usages have been tracking the real place, and on the other hand health and sports usages are focused on collecting information about customers' interests. It is believed that these information are collected and edited in order to convince and give users what they need immediately. However, the fact is that Internet users and technology users do not know that they are reporting freely without any payment. Advocates such as Austrian citizens, Max Schrems, have expressed their concerns about the use of internet and technology to earn income from their customers' data. He highlights the dangers of repeated violence and violations of the right to privacy law. One of these events may have been well explained through a Facebook scandal known as Cambridge Analytica case where the Cambridge Analytica consulting firm collected 87 million Facebook users without their consent to help presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump earlier this year. Schrems says he warned Facebook representatives about the events of the Cambridge Analytica data collection, however, he did not convince them to act: Facebook representatives without a word said that in their opinion, when you use a certain owner's platform you have allowed them to share their accounts (via mobile phones and other devices) to collect user data. However, why don't you tell me about the right to privacy online when you don't have anything to hide? Activist Edward Snowden responded to this question in a Reddit discussion in 2015: Thinking that you don’t have anything to do with privacy online because you don’t have anything to do with freedom of expression because you don’t have anything to say. The real impact of media platforms French computer engineer and data analyst Gaël Duval has been active in the maintenance of computer systems including Mandrake, a Linux operating system that everyone has the right to improve and use with others. Duval decided to create a system that helps provide a safeguard for mobile data: /e/OS. Global Voices spoke to him to learn how information technology affects people's lives, opportunities and its impact. Here is his perspective on the development of the news technology: This is a political question. I personally have mixed feelings about news because I always have a lot of concerns about technology. However, sometimes I feel tired, I remember those times when you need to call, you go to a special place. Probably it was a very beautiful life and a very quick life. Young people may wonder that, until I reached 5 years old, there was no phone or TV. There is a time when I think that I lived a different world, and which is now not entirely. On the other hand, it is very exciting when we try to capture what we can do with the presence of new technology, such as contacting someone from a different part of the world through high quality videos and seeing non-fueled cars heating our heads with dangerous gasoline. For those who remember, taking a look at the nostalgic moments of the digital era, we are currently facing a high risk of predictability in the news industry. A study conducted in 2018 involving children’s literacy problems and the progressive use of mobile phones, found that excessive use of mobile phones leads to several problems including Addis Deficiency Syndrome (ADD) and sonna. A study published in 2020 by Common Sense Media found that 50 percent of young people in Los Angeles state said they wouldn't sleep without their mobile phones. The consequences of using these technologies have recently been revealed by reliable sources in the Netflix episode The Social Dilemma, which describes the testimonies of former employees of major companies such as Google, Twitter and Facebook who describe how they have created a barrier to censorship for income. Some governments have tried to tackle this problem by improving the law to raise awareness of users and increase accountability for the companies. In 2018, the European Union (EU) passed the GDPR. The law has added several restrictions on access to information including the immediate consent of users about their information and the request of companies to remove these information after three years without approval. The law also imposes a high fine for those who do not respect these regulations. However, its implementation faces a lack of administrative capacity in government authorities, and it also prohibits only EU member states. A tool to enable the use of information technology In the face of the current situation, Duval was determined to create tools that allow people to take responsibility for their own information, as he explains: Our motto is that your information is yours, because our information is our property, and for those who think it shouldn't be that, they don't want freedom and peace, or they own a content-based business - because personal information can help sell content at a lower price. This is how the system he created works: /e/ is a digital messaging system that doesn't filter any information (to Google) as you filter, where you are and which takes into account the privacy of the user. The system does not encrypt in any way personal information. You also provide basic online services such as email, encryption, calendar, encryption all related to the mobile phone system. Duval says that, when it comes to personal data, Google and Apple have similar objectives, these data comes from Google’s business model, which roughly depends on 8 to 12 billion annually to install Google’s app on iPhones and iPads. Duval added: In iPhone, a user sends about 6 MB of his data to Google, a day. It is double the number sent by Android users. However, Apple's internal system has been closed down, and the lack of transparency in the inside. They should only believe them. We, for our part, have the opportunity to change our privacy policy: all /e/OS and online storage technologies (used in the development of this system) are free. The system can be questioned and evaluated by experts. In the face of increasing use of mobile phones, it is clear that only law does not suffice in building awareness and giving users the right tools and knowledge to protect their information and here is the need for digital tools that help users become more accountable. Information and knowledge are important in protecting against the spread of HIV/AIDS. Photo shows Kenyan health workers educating the public about the virus. Photo: Victoria Nthenge and Trocaire has CC BY 2.0 license The launch of the HIV vaccine in Kenya has been plagued by accusations of corruption, nepotism and corruption that have left many poor and elderly people waiting long distances outside public hospitals during the country's third ebola epidemic and death toll. Meanwhile, hundreds of Kenyans pay up to $100 to be named early, as explained in several Kenyan online accounts and international media. In March, Kenya purchased more than 1 million bottles of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine through the World Health Organization’s Global Vaccine Access Program, which is organized by the World Health Organization through a program called COVAX. The receiving of these donations started a campaign for free admission in public and private hospitals. The delivery of these medicines was divided into three stages: health workers and immigration officers, more than 58 years old and vulnerable people, and other people living in vulnerable conditions such as those living in non-official residences. The country expects to receive 24 million dollars through COVAX. According to The Washington Post, Kenya plans to earn 50 percent of its citizens by June 2022 through partnerships between the COVAX project and aid from other countries. In a press release, UNICEF Kenyan representative Maniza Zaman congratulated the arrival of the first vaccine in Kenya. Following the arrival of these gifts, UNICEF and its partners applaud COVAX’s promise to ensure that people from poor economic nations are not left behind in this international humanitarian rescue mission, he said. However, the three-year plan was weakened after the exercise began because of the last minute decision to cancel the second half of the program as a way to deal with the third wave of infections, political interests in conflict, and the government failing to communicate and inform citizens. In a post questioning what is happening in Kenya's vaccine expansion plan, Patrick Gathara, a Kenyan writer and political cartoonist who has won various awards said: In a loud voice and personal voice, politicians argued that they should be given priority to build trust in citizens, although the Ministry of Health has already reported no opposition to the ban. Since the government failed to explain its plan to the public, there was a lot of debate about where and when people are expected to stand on the ground. Despite the government's guidelines to prioritize those under the age of 58 years old, Kenyan media reported that businessmen and politicians under the age of 58 have been receiving services illegally, showing the enormous lack of money. Meanwhile, the elderly Zambians, who don't have a network of helpers and non-profits, seem to be sitting on the streets everyday from 11am, and end up being asked to go back another day because the medicines are gone, according to a story published by The Washington Post. They have another door for their friends, Mary Njoroge, 58, one of the teachers, told The Washngton Post. With no one to help you complete the process, what will you do? The same incident was reported in another government hospital by @_Sativa, a Kenyan Twitter user living in Nairobi, who is also a Kenyan. On his Twitter account, he explained what his grandfather met, a former graduate of more than 60 years old. While the elderly waited on the road, the clergyman called names and the young people came in front and went on to get a hug. When his aunt asked what is going on, the nurse gave him a phone number where he could use money, he said on Twitter. Following reports of increasing awareness of the campaign, Kenyan Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe told the media: I think we have come to a point where we have created a sense that anyone can go to a screening center and get a service. I want to put this in perspective, those who provide a healthcare service will make a census of every drug they have and that the drugs used must be checked by the appropriate person. The President of the National Democratic Party of Kenya Alfred Obengo called on Kenyans not to stand in the spotlight. explaining how Kenyan government could avoid ambiguity in implementing the plan, Gathara concludes his post saying: We could avoid this stigma if the Kenyan government and its international partners, including the World Health Organization and Western governments, would work with Kenya as a foundation for this program and not a slavery-driven colonies. It is very sad for Kenyans, their colonies have no other way to do so. In December last year, the world focused on Argentina where abortions were legally allowed in the country. But how are girls and women forced to be parents in other parts of the world? Watch or listen to Global Voices Insights (broadcast live on April 7, where our South American editor Melissa Vida talks about pregnancy rights with the experts and activists: Debora Diniz (Brazil): a cultural scholar who runs research projects on bioethics, women's rights, human rights and health. He teaches at Brasilia University, but also researches at Brown University, and is a rights activist. His documentary on abortion, equality in marriage, government division and religion and research on seli mundu has received national and international awards and competed in various competitions. Joy Asasira (Uganda): a Ugandan advocate for Africa's maternal health, Human Rights, and gender issues and a global advocate for advocacy, campaigner, and activist and consultant for planning and planning. Joy was awarded by the Ugandan Law Society (ULS) the Best Women's Lawyers for 2018/2019 and recognized as the world's leading woman in Human Rights in the World Health Conference at Stanford University in 2017. Emilie Palamy Pradichit (Thailand): founder and director of Manushya, which started in 2017 (Manushya is a Sanskrit word for Man), aimed at mobilizing the power of local communities, particularly women human rights advocates, so that they can fight for their rights, equality and social justice. Emilie is an international human rights lawyer who specializes in social justice. R Umaima Ahmed (Pakistan): independent journalist. He was initially Editor-in-Chief for The News on Sunday and The Nation. R Umaima has experienced over 10 years of online and online content experience. He has focused on digital security, women and animal rights. He is also Global Voices author. Dominika Lasota (Poland): a 19-year-old social justice activist who is also part of the Fridays For Future and Women's Strike movement. Mobile phone service provider waiting for customers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Under the content regulation of the 2020 regulations, freedom of expression has been barred by a high price and the government's authority to remove unauthorized content. Photo by Fiona Graham/WorldRemit on Flickr, CC BY SA 2.0. This post is part of UPROAR, a project of Small Media Initiatives asking the government to address digital rights challenges in Universal Periodic Review (UPR). At the beginning of March, when Tanzanians started questioning health and where President John Magufuli is, many citizens used social media to ask questions and express concerns. In response to these questions, the government threatened to arrest any person who used social media to spread fake news about the president. Government authorities returned to Tanzania's Cybercrime Act 2015 and Electronic and Postal Communications Act (EPOCA) passed in 2020 to explain the possibility of arresting and detaining those who violated these laws. This was a continuation of the government's action, which has repeatedly used online crime laws and online content regulations to restrict and enforce digital rights and freedom of expression in Tanzania. On March 17, former Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced on national television that John Magufuli has died. A few days later, Hassan was sworn in as Tanzania's sixth president. At that time, at least four people were arrested in various parts of the country for spreading false rumors about health and where Magufuli is. Many are now wondering whether Tanzania will revise its regulations on online content after Magufuli's rule, or whether these laws will continue to be used until 2025 until the rest of Magufuli's term completed by President Samia Hassan. In March, Innocent Bashungwa, Tanzania's Minister of Information, Culture, Art and Sports, warned the media to avoid spreading rumors about Magufuli, who was not public since February 27. Also, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mwigulu Nchemba, also sentenced netizens to prison for spreading false information, referring to Article 89 of the Penal Code and Article 16 of the Cybercrime Act. Police Chief Ramadhani Kingai expressed his intention to know the Gambian Twitter account, which has long been accused of blasphemy by the government. Human rights activists have denounced the actions by government officials and the stigma surrounding these regulations and the threats associated with their implementation. Online Content Regulations: More digital rights violation For more than a decade, Tanzania has enjoyed a strong internet and a huge growth in communication and technology. Despite this development, the government has been imposing controls on companies and discussion platforms and therefore independent media fail to compete in terms of the type of comments published and its representation. The Internet has created a new platform online for young Tanzanian bloggers and activists who use social media to voice their voices, but the government does not agree with this new reality. In 2010, Tanzania published the Electronic and Postal Communications Act, the first of its kind in the country. In 2018, specific regulations on online content were issued under Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) 2018. The government alleged that these regulations were intended to monitor the use of social media, particularly, to fight the problem of spreading hate and censorship online. However, these regulations were not only used against mainstream media but also against bloggers and content providers, who were surprised by a new lawsuit that required them to pay $900 to obtain a license. This also concerns anyone who prepares and broadcasts live TV or radio broadcasts online. Massive buzz broke out on social media following this sudden tax when many bloggers and content creators decided to stop their activities because of the high costs. opposition politicians and social media users criticized these regulations for blocking the freedom of social media and civil society. In 2020, Tanzania issued a new regulation of online content, under Article 103 of the Electronic and Postal Communications Act, 2020, and began operating in July 2020, and announced them through a Press Release No 538 in the Government Gazette. Some of the major differences between the 2018 and the 2020 version of the Electronic Content Regulations (EPOCA) are as follows: First, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) created new categories of fees and added small groups under online content: information & news, entertainment and education or religion, and continues to restrict private content. The Online Content Code of 2020, Section VI, Article 116: Any person who provides online services without a proper license, commits a crime and his punishment is a fine of up to 6 million Tanzanian Shillings (6 million US dollars) or a prison term of up to 12 months or all. Second, TCRA added a list of non-authorized content and included, among other things, content that encourages recording mobile phones, blocking communication, stealing data, monitoring communication, recording and interfering in communications or conversations without permission. Three, the Online Content Regulations (EPOCA 2020) have also reduced the period for which a licensed can handle content violations by suspending or cancelling an account. Under the 2018 regulations, the licensed had 12 hours to do so. But in the regulations of 2020, under Article III, Article 11, time limit was reduced to 2 hours. Ignoring this time gives the authorities a permission to intervene, or to block or delete the account. Global Voices spoke to some lawyers and human rights experts who criticized the amendments to the Content Code of 2020, saying it violates digital rights and civil society rights. They said that these regulations violate digital rights and prohibit bloggers and journalists from owning online content. The main problem here is that no warnings have been set to prevent these authorities from being abused, and in the current situation, they have a negative impact on freedom of expression in Tanzania, said one human rights expert who asked not to be known. After Magufuli: Tanzania's digital rights guarantee Under Magufuli's administration, civil society, media and digital rights have been growing rapidly due to the massive censorship, step by step, of online freedom of expression. After Magufuli's sudden death, many are now wondering about the future of digital rights in the country after six years of leadership that continues to show signs of weakness. Global Voices spoke to some government officials with a lack of names about the new regulations and the situation of human rights and freedom of expression online. One Tanzanian human rights expert told Global Voices, without explanation: These regulations are not fair because anyone can be convicted, because not many citizens understand the interpretation of these regulations. Another thought that the government considers social media a problem. He warned citizens to take a risk when speaking on open platforms because the government has legal power to access their information through the owners of the platforms. The Internet Content Regulations of the year 2020 make it impossible for a person to be identified online, under Article 9(e), Internet café providers have to register using a registered identity, a unique IP address for every computer (IP address) and a security camera to record all activities taking place in their workplaces, according to this analysis by the Tanzanian Press Council. These regulations contribute to crimes that damage people's dignity, restrict the right to identity, and impose harsh punishments for violations of these regulations and give huge authority to delete content to TCRA and other underlying bodies. Online Content Regulations (EPOCA) are contrary to international standards of digital rights. In total, these regulations guarantee freedom of expression and press freedom in Tanzania. However, the Tanzanian government is responsible for respecting and protecting the rights of journalists, civil society members, and opposition politicians, according to Tanzania's constitution and international agreements and regional agreements. These rights are important for the right to vote. Tanzania is at a digital crisis. Under Hassan's recent inauguration, the question is whether the Movement for the Revolution will continue to silence and restore digital rights in the country? Editor's note: The author of this post has requested that his name be known for security reasons. Tanzania moving forward was not easy, when President John Magufuli came to power in 2015. His slogan was Just Work, displayed in green and white, the colors of Tanzania's ruling party, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi, led by Magufuli. Photo by Pernille Baerendtsen, used with permission. Thousands of people are gathering in sports stadiums, airports and roads, in various parts of Tanzania, where the body of President John Pombe Magufuli was evacuated from Dar es Salaam to allow citizens to be honored for a week in Dodoma, where the government headquarters, Zanzibar, Mwanza and Chato, his home, along the Victoria River, where he will be buried. Magufuli was announced to die at 61 years old on March 17, in a speech by former Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan, broadcast on national television, which ended several weeks of speculation about the health of the president and where he is. He was allegedly dying of heart disease: A statement of the death of the President of the Republic of Tanzania. The sudden death of Magufuli, however, left Tanzanians, and others, wondering the future of politics and governance in the East African country. On Friday, Hassan was sworn in as Tanzania's sixth president, writing the history of being the first woman to be president of Tanzania, the second woman born in Zanzibar which is part of Tanzania, and the first Muslim woman to take the country's highest position. Under the Tanzanian constitution, Hassan will serve the rest of Magufuli's five-year term ending until 2025. In this short video, widely shared on social media, Hassan raises any doubts about her ability to lead as a woman: For those doubting that this woman could be the president of the Republic of Tanzania I would like to tell them that the man who stands here is the president. I would like to reaffirm that the sitting president of the Republic of Tanzania is a female president. While Tanzanians were mourning Magufuli and continuing to reflect on the rapid changes, many seem to be optimistic about Hassan. opposition politician Zitto Kabwe, leader of the ACT Wazalendo party, hopes for Hassani's legacy in activism and work as a civil society member. The great story of President @SuluhuSamia in 20 minutes narrated by himself. He says he was an activist. He was a civil society person. Thank you Chambi for doing this. It doesn't stop listening. While Hassan is more known as a patriot, calling for unity and peace in this transition period, Magufuli is also known as bulidoza, the name he received as the Minister of Infrastructure to recognize his ability to ensure roads are constructed. Celebrating Magufuli Kanga remembers the late John Magufuli, Tanzania's fifth president, who died on March 17, 2021. RIP our father / We will remember you forever / We will remember you our hero Many Tanzanians and Africans generally remember Magufuli on social media both bad and good. The bad and bad of Magufuli cannot be summed up with the same intensity, and that means that the memory he left behind has a lot of ambiguity but a lot of meaning. Both the supporters and supporters of Magufuli are not going to agree and the discussion will continue for years. Magufuli gained popularity in the first days of his presidency for his promises to fight corruption aggressively. His efforts to establish large projects aimed at improving infrastructure and industrial development fueled the hopes of many Tanzanians to self-reliance after many decades of international aid. In April last year, according to Magufuli, Magufuli rejected a $10 billion (US$) loan from China for a major port project being projected in Bagamoyo near Dar es Salaam, saying he is the only fisherman to agree with these terms. This banner calls for President Magufuli to go to the elections last year. It reads: You promised you did We thank you. It is filled with photos of Magufuli's achievements in road construction, airline purchases, bridges and modern roads. Photo by Pernille Baerendtsen, used with permission. His stand against corruption also attracted Western countries, and the media at the beginning published his stand in a positive light. For some, Magufuli is remembered as a true African man and a defender of African interests. Others remember him as a powerful president who focused on patriotism more than anything else: I have been following Tanzania mourning John Magufuli. We opposed his dictatorship and criticized him for his ignorance of science, but clearly, by seeing people standing on the road, he was popular. However, Magufuli's regime was brutal and threatened human rights and freedom of expression. For more than six years, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Global Voices and others have been monitoring the decline of civil and human rights protection. Tanzania fell sixth in the Freedom of Expression Index that measured democracy and freedom between 2020 and 2021. When the Parliament was debating the Political Rights Act in January 2019, a law which was rejected for more political parties, was interpreted as a bad sign when a gun was seen inside the parliament building. Magufuli's administration several times used different laws such as the Electronic and Postal Communications Act (EPOCA), or the Cybercrime Act (EPOCA), or the Cybercrime Act to silence dissent and free expression. The various regulations of the year 2020 aimed at blocking citizens from spreading news that could cause violence or violence and content that contains information about floods or dangerous diseases without being verified by the government through its top officials. Citizens couldn't talk about the earthquake that hit the coast last month, despite news of a massive earthquake in the country a few months later. And during two weeks of rumors about Magufuli and his health earlier in March, at least four people were allegedly arrested for tweeting about the president's disease. Or died of the virus? Magufuli is said to have died of a heart disease which is said to have been receiving treatment for 10 years. But Magufuli's sudden death left many wondering whether he had been sick of the virus (UVIKO-19). For many in West Africa Magufuli will be remembered for denying the presence of the virus in his country. When the disease entered Tanzania, the government took a stand and provided guidelines to fight the spread of the disease, but afterwards, Magufuli has repeatedly considered the restriction of people to continue their activities as a major economic threat than the virus. He often opposed international guidelines on health principles such as wearing a hijab, avoiding riots and shouting, urging citizens to depend on natural medicine as a alternative. After Magufuli blocked the announcement of the latest cases of the virus last April, he insisted that the virus has failed with the power of prayer. Later, he declared that Tanzania has no virus. Although it is hard to say how much the virus affected Tanzania, what we know is that the virus did not leave. When the new eruption of the virus took place in January, many Tanzanians shared their testimonies on social media telling their experiences with the virus. Understanding that they could be arrested for discussing the virus, the discussion went under the name of new nimonia and the challenges of survival. But Magufuli continued his anti-corruption stance in a speech he made at his home in Chato, on January 27: If a white man can come up with a fever, he would have discovered a fever; a fever cause; and now he would know a malaria cause; and now he would have a fever. This statement could be considered as removing Magufuli's predecessor, President Jakaya Kikwete, who served as a world ambassador at the beginning of 2016. Last month, Magufuli finally declared that his country has a virus, urging Tanzanians to wear their own clothes. Critics say Magufuli's move to change the mindset about the virus was a result of the death of Zanzibar's Deputy Secretary General Seif Sharif Hamad. Several top officials from a wide range of prominent politicians close to Magufuli have died of the disease. While groups of people are gathering to pay their last respects to the president, on the other hand his death has made some damage. Shortly after Magufuli's death, journalist Elsie Eyakuze appeared on social media to talk publicly about the lives that have been in the face of the epidemic in Tanzania, when the president showed his intention to ignore the virus. In a long tweet, he said: Now. For the real story I have been at a loss to tell for too long. #uzi. In March of 2020, the epidemic of the virus started to escalate worldwide. Tanzania wasn't left. But in April of 2020 we discontinued all efforts to control the spread of the disease in the country. In his last tweet, he said: Is he dying of the virus? Yes, certainly. That and that. And they. Tanzanians. And elsewhere. But not those you want to talk about? They are not the Story itself. It is part of the story. A friend is looking for you. Can you? Will we be able to make this happen between us? Please do so. I will do that. Next. In a public letter to Magufuli, Eyakuze explains the shifting of Magufuli's stance, but uses a tool to understand the other's feelings, a tool that seems to win Magufuli himself once again and apologize. Tanzanians agree with the controversy and gravity of Magufuli's death and the memory he left behind while their eyes closed to look forward. Who has the power to decide what appears and what appears on the web? This is the key question raised by activist and writer Jillian C. York in her new book Silicon Values,* which is expected to be launched on March 23, 2021. On Wednesday, February 10 at 2:00pm GMT, Jillian meets Global Voices Managing Director Ivan Sigal for a video chat about her book, which, as she explains in the dictionary, seeks to document the history of how big Silicon Valley communication platforms have created their own unique system, a system that governs how we communicate online. Jillian, Director of International Freedom of Expression at Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a popular member of Global Voices, where she fights to write about digital freedom and freedom of expression in the Middle East context. The show is free and open to the public and will be streamed live on Facebook Live, YouTube, and Twitch. We are pleased to see you join us on Friday, February 10 at 2:00pm GMT (click here to see the time related to the place)! * Buying this book through this link will help contribute to Global Voices. A young man watching his mobile phone in Tanzania, December 9, 2018. Photo by Riaz Jahanpour, for USAID / Digital Development Communication via Flickr, CC BY 2.0. The first cases of the virus were reported in Tanzania at the beginning of March, 2020. However, after the figures continued to rise to 509 cases and 21 deaths in late April, Tanzanian government declared no cases of HIV in June. Meanwhile, Kassim Majaliwa, the country's prime minister, told the parliament that there were only 66 cases across the country, but did not give further details. Since then, the government has been silent about the virus and political statements denying the presence of the virus continue to be made without any reports of cases or deaths. Today, many activities continue as normal, including the tourism sector in Tanzania, which attracts thousands of visitors to the country through unhygienic airports. The Zanzibar Airport received the lowest score of two stars in a health and security survey conducted by Skytrax Monitoring the Safety of Airports against HIV-19, the only accurate test to confirm the measures taken by airport authorities to ensure safety during the disaster. According to the Skytrax report, two newly diagnosed South African tuberculosis patients were confirmed to travel to Denmaki on January 19, from Tanzania. The most anticipated music festival that is being held once a year, Voices of Busara, will take place in the middle of February in Zanzibar, under the initiative of the European Union in Tanzania and some European Ambassadors in Tanzania, during a time when the country faces a growing epidemic of the new virus spreading in UK, South Africa, and Brazil. On January 24, the Catholic Cathedral of Arusha issued a letter of warnings to its clergymen against the presence of HIV in Tanzania, calling on its clergymen to follow all necessary health measures to protect and spread the virus to churches. Although records show that Tanzania has fewer cases than other countries, the government's silence on the numbers of HIV has raised concerns among health professionals and human rights activists, who have been blocked from speaking and discussing HIV on social media. The country issued a 2018 version of Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations (Online Content) in July, banning content containing information related to a dangerous or dangerous earthquake in the country or anywhere with the permission of the authorities. Although early prevention measures were taken, now schools, universities, offices, and other social activities are back to normal. However, the virus continues to circulate in the country. President John Magufuli has expressed concern over the quality of bicycles and the trust of his clergymen after a secret testing of elephants and pigs revealed that they had a virus. The president said that issuing these statistics was unreasonable and shortly later, he resigned Nyambura Moremi, director of national health infrastructure, for allegedly publishing the results of the tests. The ministry’s emergency response team was also destroyed. In June, Magufuli thanked God for leaving the virus out of Tanzania, following three days of national prayers. He made the announcement public at a Sunday vigil, in front of a crowd of prayers, demanding that God has responded to their prayers. Magufuli praised the believers for not wearing scarves, along with a call from the World Health Organization to encourage people to wear scarves to prevent the spread of the virus. Magufuli, nicknamed bulldozer for his aggressive anti-corruption stance, was elected for the second time in October 2020 in a controversial election against the opposition. Before the election, Tanzanians were surprised by the shutdown of social media where all major social media platforms including Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter were shut down. Currently, many Tanzanians cannot access Twitter without using a VPN. For more than five years, Magufuli's administration has violated the freedom of democracy and civil society as well as restricted freedom of expression and the right to access information on digital platforms. Following the government's strong stance to avoid the existence of HIV, Tanzanians are not allowed to report any numbers of HIV that the government has not verified, implying that ordinary people including journalists and health professionals are not allowed to comment on HIV on digital platforms or access important information. The right to access the HIV report has become a privilege for some classes of people, according to a local hospital doctor who spoke to Global Voices on condition of anonymity, fearing being expelled. Unlike other countries with special teams working on the HIV/AIDS report, Tanzania has a website with a few updated information about HIV/AIDS. The warnings against the presence of the HIV virus seem to be accepted by many Tanzanians, including health professionals, who ignore important steps to take notice such as wearing a mask and avoiding riots. Global Voices visited several hospitals including Muhimbili, the government admission hospital in Dar es Salaam, the country's cultural capital, and Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in Dodoma, the country's political capital, and witnessed a few warnings to counter the spread of the virus. People are allowed to enter the hospitals without wearing a mask, there are few surgical instruments and handcuffs and those where there are no water or broken, as seen, for example, in Muhimbili women’s emergency room. While Magufuli's administration has not expressed concern about the impact of the virus on the daily lives of citizens, many ministers of his government and its departments agree that it exists. Tanzania's Finance Minister urges its employees to take strict steps to protect themselves from the virus, while saying Tanzania is not immune from the virus. Photo by Mwananchi. For example, when Magufuli was inaugurated for the second time last year, government authorities took a lot of warnings against HIV-19, encouraging all attendees to check their body temperature and shave their hands in special places with water and soap. On January 25, Tanzania's Finance Minister Dr. Philip Mpango urged his officials to take a stand against the virus and at the same time criticizing the presence of the disease in Tanzania, during his meeting in Dodoma, where his political headquarters are based. Many internal experts are afraid of speaking, fearing action. Global Voices spoke to a health analyst who believes that Tanzania may be facing a second wave of earthquake but thought the people were taken away from this information. The expert did not want to be named, fearing action. Another health expert told Global Voices without a name that people should know the status of the virus so that they should take steps to protect and prevent the spread of the virus to their communities. He said that keeping people behind bars makes their work difficult but he believed that Tanzanians will try to protect themselves by taking all measures as advised by the World Health Organization (WHO). He told Global Voices: Politicians have taken over the whole issue of HIV and are playing a dangerous game, but when people begin to die they will start shutting down health workers. Another doctor who spoke to Global Voices in an excuse of not mentioning his name said that although there is hope to be a cure, the Tanzanian government's statements denying the presence of the disease will slow its spread, because the government has not taken any action to locate it on the global market, instead of going to farm medicine. In December 2020, Minister of Health Gerald Chamii expressed concern over the global censorship, telling East African magazine: It did not take even six months to get a cure or cure for a disease. We have struggled ourselves since the explosion began, I am not sure if it is safe to bring the protection and distribute it to the public without doing medical tests to prove its safety to our people. Finding information is a crucial issue for democracy and development. Internet usage laws in Tanzania have been abused to silence the voices and those speaking against Tanzania’s handling of HIV/AIDS. Freedom of expression, including the right to access, receive, and share information, is protected by international law. In Tanzania, the right to information, and access to information and spreading information, is recognized by Article 18(1) and 18(2) of the Tanzanian Constitution. However, these rights seem to be more theoretical than reality. In a situation where the government denounces the presence of HIV and the existence of laws that prohibit people from sharing information and commenting on the disease, online and on the street, Tanzanians are left without basic information and many are afraid to speak. This post is part of a series of articles examining digital rights during the isolation of people inside to control the spread of HIV in nine African countries: Uganda, Zimbabwe, Msumbiji, Aljeria, Nigeria, Namibia, Tunisia, Tanzania and Ethiopia. The project is funded by the African Institute for International ICT Policy for East and Eastern Africa (CIPESA). Photo showing police training in Mozambique | Screen capture of August 19, STV Youtube, taken by owner The documents of the Mozambique police forces published earlier in August showed that 15 students had been pregnant at a police training school in Matalane, Maputo district. The documents say that the pregnancies are a result of a sexual relationship between students and students without specifying whether they were intentional. However, it is reported that pregnant students will not be able to complete their training now, and will travel back to their homes without being transported by police. Finally, the report says that the responsible students will be suspended. When asked by O País on August 8, General Police General Bernardino Rafael said that all suspects will be met with disciplinary procedures. It took a long time before the case was widely rejected on social media. Several netizens expressed their dissatisfaction with the school decision and called for justice for the women. Journalist Fátima Mimbire wrote on Facebook: The issue of Matalane should be taken seriously. I am so tired of this issue of the pregnancy of 15 students at Matalane School. This is a big thing. It is a big thing because as the documents showed the participants are students. Now a person with control over another makes a pregnancy and the result is a little process? This reminds me of a teacher who demanded sexual corruption to pay for his students to pay for them or to insult them in school because in his view they are idiots, and instead he was forced to go back to school. And there he continues his aggressiveness. Txeka, a women's rights activist, also criticized this on Twitter: Matalane Sketch Create a social justice society in protecting equal rights for citizens requires equal education and development policy that cares for the development of citizens and scientific and moral skills and patriotism. Matalane Sketch Criticizing violence against women is a common practice in a patriarchal society, known for discriminating against women and encouraging them to comply with men's demands, resulting in a higher sentence for the actions of victims and reduced the seriousness of violence. University professor Carlos Serra said: Matalane? It's a tiny piece of ice and Matalane's is ours. I imagine the day they begin to express their concerns, starting from their childhood. Also journalist and activist Selma Inocência said: Very few teachers have been taken to court, charged and sentenced. They are responsible for losing their children to thousands of girls. School is not safe place. The data shows that hundreds of girls get married in school and other roles include students, teachers and school administrators. The petition has been filed demanding punishment for the police officers responsible. So far more than 3,8000 people have been displaced. For the government this issue is fundamental and is investigated at the levels of the ministry and the head of the Mozambique Police Force. The monarchy cannot and will not tolerate such issues. The law must go on and it is for everyone. Nobody is above the law. The investigation continues by analyzing all the information in this case and taking into account the psychological and psychological condition of the pregnancies because they deserve respect for their dignity. Other case This is the continuation of violence cases faced by women in Mozambique that are not reported in the media. One of the recent cases that took the headlines is the case of Alberto Niquice, head of the Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frelimo), who faces a criminal charge for raping a 13 year-old child in 2018. Earlier this year, 30 civil society institutions in Mozambique asked Niquice to be republished after he was reelected in 2019. However, the deputy took office and is working as usual in the parliament. Another media case is about the brutality committed by Josina Machel, the daughter of the first Mozambique's first president, Samora Machel. In October 2015, Josina was beaten by her three-year-old friend Rofini Licuco with one eye strain. Licuco was sentenced to 3 and 4 years in prison and paid 300 million metric dollars (US$ 4.2 million) to Josina. However Rofino appealed and in June this year the High Court dismissed the case because there was no evidence in the case. This Valentine's Day, donate Global Voices: https://globalvoices.org/donate/ The year of 2020 has not been complete yet. In the meantime, we at Global Voices have been publishing stories from all four corners of the world, bringing our readers a global perspective on issues such as the earthquake, racial equality movement, protests in countries like Belarus and Thailand, and more, and more. The Global Voices community of bloggers, journalists, journalists and digital rights activists has been working for over 16 years to build bridges between countries and languages and defend press freedom, Internet transparency, and freedom of expression. Please Save Global Voices This Week Our work and our international writers community is evidence that human relationships regardless of their diverse backgrounds can change the way people understand the world. Please contribute today to help us continue this important work. << Join Global Voices >> December 2004. It was supposed to be a university student using Facebook, Twitter was not going to be used, strangers were still living in the shadows of fiction. Our phones weren't smart, running at the time means water and you would call a cleaner to repair, and Amazon.com wasn't able to sell some products. There were many news sites, blogs were there and did well, and we didn’t start talking online. That's where Global Voices was found. We have been there for 15 years! For the dog, that is 110 years. For Internet years, that's about 1000 years. Today we wish to use this opportunity to thank our talented authors who have spread across the world and our trusted readers and partners for giving Global Voices strength and ability to continue moving forward. Since 2004, we have helped spread the word around the world. We have published nearly 100,000 articles, and created special content designed to enable non-profit communities to use digital media and fight online rights, including a community of 51 translators who translate more than 51 languages. With you, there wouldn't be Global Voices. Help us to complete 15 more years. We all mean we need your help. The donations from individuals help us protect our freedom and enable us to make difficult decisions to grow and change. Please join us today! Change it now! Migrants crossing the border between Ghana and Togo, West Africa, on January 25, 2016. Photo by Enock4seth via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. African leaders have made a quick decision to deal with the virus. The African Center for Disease Control (ACDC) created a team for HIV-19 on February 5, before the continent had seen a single patient. Today, Africa is the world's lowest affected country with 1,093,048 confirmed HIV positives and the most interesting figures are 1,031,905 patients reported to have recovered, according to Africa CDCP. This country has less than 5 percent of the cases reported worldwide and less than 1 percent of all deaths worldwide. Now, if African countries led by the African Union are enforcing the restrictions on the virus and preparing to reopen their economy and borders, many governments are using advanced technology. The emergence of unity, of African technology that can monitor the spread and spread of the virus across the continent has led to the use of PanaBIOS, a technology supported by the African Union. PanaBIOS has developed a web-based software with analytics to follow people at risk and record samples from natural to aerials. This technology is created by Koldchain, a Kenyan investment institution, and funded by AfroChampions, a public and private collaboration designed to bring together African resources and organizations to help the development and development of African private sector. Ghana is the only country in this hour using PanaBIOS while opening its borders. PanAsos ensures passengers can use samples from other countries to comply with the requirements of a port license for the country they travel through the application-based PanaBios or by adding the data provided by the system to their travel certificates. Health officials in the port use a commercial version to verify health certificates in a equal way for all countries. The complete protection of data and privacy Africa and Africa CDCP encourages member states to share a content-based platform, PanaBIOS which will allow results across the continent to be shared. But, health statistics have raised many questions about corruption and accuracy of data. Government surveillance and reconstruction can raise fear and threaten free citizenship, particularly in a continent where only 27 out of 54 countries have strict security and privacy laws. Other countries in Africa, such as Ghana, have changed the law to give the president emergency authority to deal with the disaster by urging the telecom company to provide personal data for customers such as a user’s data, a SIM card, a money transferred to the mobile phone, money transferred to the mobile phone, letters of merchants, and addresses. To verify the security and safety of data, all the techniques used by PanaBIOS are in general data. This is a data collected and edited for analysis of data is not a personal data aimed at individuals except for tracking the accused, which will ultimately reach suspects or victims. To avoid censorship, the African Union, PanBIOS, and its affiliates must suggest how they will implement various data protection laws in different countries to protect privacy, ensure data rights and avoid commercial participation. Now, this app has no public safety policy, which describes users' rules of collecting and sharing data. The challenge is how a fair policy will meet various, national, and regional objectives of data protection laws such as the African Union Agreement on Internet Security and Personal Data Protection, the South African Development Community (SADC) regulation on Internet Security and Personal Data Protection, the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) annexation A / SA.1 / 01/10 on Personal Data Protection inside ECOWAS and the East African Community Constitution. Technology has contributed to the effectiveness of fighting the virus in Africa Despite PanaBIOS, some Afika countries have expressed a strong response to technology to counter the spread of the virus. For example, scientists from Sengali have created a vaccine costing $1 and 3D tracking of patients. Wellvis, a non-profit organization in Nigeria, created a digital testing tool to help users assess the risk of being affected by the virus according to their symptoms and history of being at risk. South Africa's government used Whatsapp to provide messaging messages to respond to common questions about fake stories, signs and treatments of the virus. And in Uganda, market women used the Bustani Market to sell their products at home with this program, then a taxi took the seller. Africa's successful control and control of the spread of the virus has been associated with the young population, the ability to monitor and monitor the dead, and the possibility of having SARS-CoV-2 syndrome among other Africans. But it is clear that technology-driven initiatives have contributed significantly to the recovery of the virus, along with leadership at the beginning of the epidemic. Solomon Zewdu, a medical assistant and Bill and Melinda Foundation, explained how, in January, when many Western countries were counting, Ethiopia began a massive offensive in AddisAbaba. Rwanda became the first country in Africa to stop normalization on March 21, and several other African countries followed this latest: South Africa implemented a strict normalization ban when it had 400 case and two deaths. (With that number of public figures, Italy had more than 9,000 cases and 400 deaths when it took action.) In contrast, the number of affected and dying Americans is six times the number of Africans. Public health experts estimated that the epidemic would affect the African continent and the lives of dead would be buried on the streets. In fact, Africa has confirmed otherwise. This story is based on Factcheck Lab, a Hong Kong based fact checking agency, and Global Voices news agency where the author is a member. On September 22, Chinese news and social media coverage quoted not only the senior scientist of the World Health Organization (SAD), Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, as the Chinese vaccine against the virus has been confirmed to have an impact. These reports and publications cite the source of a minute video produced by China television in a video-sharing program China Miaopai. This video shows a speech by SAD director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressing the importance of promoting the prevention of HIV-19, followed by Dr.Swaminathan's statements. In a CCTV video, which's short description states WHO's WHO scientist: China's vaccine has been tested for negative impact (), this is Swaminathan's report: As you know, they also have a comprehensive screening program and some of your clinical trials, this is also our interest, we follow it closely. Other organizations have confirmed their benefits from the continuing clinic trials. But the original speech of Dr.Swaminathan is republished. His final sentence, of course, started with a word if, and the background music made it feel like he said it confirmed instead of confirmed. The full statement of Dr.Swaminathan is the following : We have been involved in the discussion with China for the past few months because, as you have seen, they also have a strict screening program and many of their screenings are in advance of a clinic, this is our interest, so we are watching closely. We have had a constructive and open discussion with them and they have always stressed their continued support for infections around the world if some of their infections have passed through a series of intensive procedures [attention added]. So I think of the continuing tensions, it's still clear and we're watching many countries laugh. These statements were made at a non-public SAD Summit on September 21. The full report of the one and half hour event can be found here. The conference threatened to submit a warning about a $18 billion WHO mandate and other organizations to send the vaccine to the rest of the world. Currently, 156 countries have registered in the program; not China nor America are among them. As estimated, the CCTVT video, along with a report on news and published publications, attracted patriotic reactions. The post on Weibo and Daily Economic News has been liked by more than 337,000 people. Below are some of the most popular comments: I am so proud of my country. This is the prize for National Day and the Vuli Festival. You can't imagine China's arrogance. Welcome to my country. China has saved the world. After the investigations confirmed that the Dr.'s words were missing, the media, including CGTN and CCTV, blocked their social media accounts. Among them is the Chinese Youth Football League, whose petition was shared by Twitter user @Emi2020JP before being removed from Weibo: Tedros should be treated first. As @Emi2020JP, many tweeters believed WHO was assisting China with distorting the video, and published a comment on Tedros' sadness: Tedros is a headache! I will pay for Tedros a additional shilling! Yesterday my mother told me, the news here in the country said America would buy a lot of corn from China. I don't need to explain it.They should live in their fantasies. Good work, from preventing the spread of the virus to promotional advertising! Although Chinese publications have been deleted, graphic versions are still circulating on social media, such as this public post WeChat. Foreign media outlets in Hong Kong, such as Speak Out HK (and Today Review (), have also published information about the video. There are about 200 cases of HIV-positive samples from various phases of medical trials around the world, and many of them are written by Chinese libraries. No one has passed the 3rd round of trials right now. Protest against the death of doctor Silvio Dala in Luanda. Photo by Simão Hossi, CC-BY 3.0 Hundreds of Angolans took to the streets to protest on September 12 in Luanda, Benguela and 15 other cities against police brutality. The protest began after suspicious news broke out about the death of doctor Silvio Dala, 35 years old, who died on September 1 under police surveillance. According to authorities, Dala left his car from David Bernardino Children's Hospital in Luanda, where he works as the director of the clinic and was suspended by police because he didn't wear a cap. The doctor was taken to the Catotes police station in the neighboring city of Rocha Pinto, and when he showed signs of weakness and starting to die, he fell badly and broke his head and caused a small swelling on his head, according to the official police report. It also said that Dala died while police officers went to his hospital. The Medical Association rejected the report. The party's president, Adriano Manuel, told Voice of America (VOA) that there is a controversy in the authorities' description that shows that the doctor was killed. Manuel told German Voices (DW) that the cause of the death reported by police is not real. Any person who is a doctor and has studied medicine will know that this was not Silvio's fault. According to DW, a news source from the interior ministry says the investigation was conducted in front of the family and the prosecutor and it was determined that the doctor was not a victim of the attack. The party has said it will take the police forces into legal action. Meanwhile the Angolan government has formed a commission in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to investigate the incident. Critics do not believe the police report about Dala's death. The banners used by protesters in different parts of the city said: No more killings, You paid us to protect us, You don't pay us to kill us, I'm Silvio Dala, They killed Silvio Dala. There are also demanding that the Minister of Interior Eugénio Laborinho resign. The protest was organized by the Doctors Association in collaboration with NGOs and civil society organizations. Protest against the death of doctor Silvio Dala in Luanda. Photo by Simão Hossi, CC-BY 3.0 Protest against the death of doctor Silvio Dala in Luanda. Photo by Simão Hossi, CC-BY 3.0 Since the beginning of the epidemic in Angola, there have been several cases of police using excessive force while investigating and sometimes causing deaths. Speaking to Lusa, the dead musician Brigadeiro 10 Pacotes, whose real name is Bruno Santos, asked Lugarinho to resign and also asked the police school to improve its training system. The police force is a institution that needs to give citizens courage, but today they are scared, they are scared when they meet the police, he continued. Protest against the death of doctor Silvio Dala in Luanda. Photo by Simão Hossi, CC-BY 3.0 Many shared the protests on Facebook and WhatsApp against the incident. Activist and scholar Nuno Álvaro Dala wrote on Facebook: NATIONAL POLICY CONNECTED TO THE FALL OF DAKTARI SILVIO DALA Photographs are very strong and sharp. We must all demand justice. The country's police must pay for the crimes they have committed. Things cannot remain the same. On Twitter, Isabel dos Santos, the former chair of the Sonangol oil executive board, the daughter of former president José Eduardo dos Santos, said: #EuSouSilvioDala sábado anunciada manifestação pacífica e silenciosa por Sindicato Nacional dos Médicos de Angola (SINMEA), convidando all professionals de saúde,outros sindicatos e society civil, contra a violência policial em memória de Sílvio Dala, 12:30hLargo da Mutamba pic.twitter.com/blRs117IdY Isabel Dos Santos (@isabelaangola) September 11, 2020 #IamSilvioDala. On Sunday the Angolan Medical Association (SINMEA) announced a peaceful and peaceful strike calling on health workers, other parties and civil society organizations to protest police brutality in honor of doctor Silvio Dala, at 6:30pm in Largo da Mutamba. The title: Angolans come to the streets protesting police brutality and demanding the killings to be punished. Meanwhile, also in Tweeter Alejandro questioned the involvement of social media activists in Angola in this event: When o George Floyd was morto os Chamados Influencers Angolanos showram o suo apoio ao movement Black Lives Matter, mas com a death do Angolan medico Sílvio Dala os tais irmãos influencers não fazem Nada em relation a perda! Ale Alejandro (@AlejandroCutieG) September 7, 2020 When George Floyd was killed, Angolan social media activists showed support for Black Life is worthwhile, but in the death of Angolan doctor Silvio Dala, they don't do anything about the tragedy! Hachalu Hundessa interviewed by OMN via Firaabeek Entertainment / CC BY 3.0. Editor's note: This is a two-part analysis on Hachalu Hundessa, a popular Oromo musician whose murder has sparked religious and ethnic violence because of misinformation shared on social media. Read Part 2 here Ethiopian musician Hachalu Hundessa gained popularity for his talent and talent to introduce the public to the Oromo people. He was killed in the compound of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, on June 29. On that night at 3:30 p.m., when Hachalu climbed into his car, a man named Tilahun Yami walked to his car and shot him on his head. He was rushed to a near hospital where it was officially confirmed that he was dead. It was later discovered that the bullets damaged his internal organs. The Addis Ababa police chief reported that two accused have been arrested. After a few days the government authorities sentenced the killers and their two associates. In his death, the country has entered a difficult time to tackle the following violence. The fact is that Hachalu's murder has not been clearly revealed and its consequences, rumors started to circulate after politicians and activists put a lot of attention to the conflict between the main leaders of Oromo and Amahara, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. On his funeral, mourners took to the streets of Addis Ababa and other cities surrounding the Oromo state. The next morning the Oromia Media Network (OMN), where Hachalu held his last interview, broadcast live broadcasts on television and also on social media and showed when his jet was flown from Addis Ababa to their home in Ambo. The long-awaited announcement turned into a battleground between government authorities and opposition leaders, with discussions about where Hachalu was taken and the OMN had to cancel his broadcast; reportedly they were forced to return to Addis Ababa. Ten people were killed and several injured in Addis Ababa. The clash led to the arrest of some opposition leaders including Jawar Mohammed OMN leader and opposition leader Bekele Gerba who were charged with inciting violence. The dispute erupted further after government forces returned Hachalu's body and sent him to Ambo by helikopta, where both sides continued to clash and give the victim's family a fair funeral. After that violence and violence followed. The riots took three days to destroy some parts of the Oromo and Addis Ababa cities and the real damage is: deaths of 239 people and hundreds injured, more than 7,000 people have been arrested for causing violence and destruction of valuable assets worth millions of Birr, Ethiopian dollars. On June 30, the government tried to shut down the internet to prevent the spread of violence on social media and continues for three weeks. Several people were shot by security forces but some media sources including Voice of America and Addis Standard reported that angry groups from the Oromo ethnic group attacked people from different ethnic groups in various cities and streets in the southeast of Oromo, targeting the families of non-Muslim and non-Muslim families in the region. The biggest violence was in the Amahara-Oromo diaspora and religion may have played a significant role because of the knowledge that: the South Eastern Ethiopian community is recognized by the spread of Islam and the use of Afan-Oromo language. One farmer in the area said that we thought Hachalu was a Muoromo after watching live broadcasts showing Hachalu's funeral rituals following the traditions of the Tewahedo Ethiopian Church. According to the report, many of the victims were Amhara Christians, Oromo Christians and the people of Gurage. One suspect said that the groups destroyed and burned property and committed murder by cutting the heads and feet of the victims. The timing of a meeting While news about Hachalu's murder only appeared, a source of diaspora news reported Hachalu's death and his last interview with the OMN television station headed by Guyo Wariyo, which was aired a week before Hachalu was killed. During the interview Gayo returned to ask Hachalu a controversial question about his support for the ruling party and repeatedly insulted him when he responded. Hachalu refused to support the ruling party but also criticized conflicts and divisions in Oromo political parties, showing his freedom of expression as a musician, making him a target of online attacks until his death. However, Guyo asked Hachalu about the historical abuses committed by the Oromo people by the King Menelik II who created the current Ethiopia. Hachalu surprised many listeners when he said that the elephant sculpted by Menelik in a painting in Addis Ababa was the property of a Oromo farmer named Sida Debelle, and Menelik grabbed the elephant. The response attracted mixed reactions and criticism from many people on Facebook and Twitter. When Hachalu was killed a week later many Oromo diaspora felt that Hachalu's criticism of Menelik II shocked supporters of the kingdom and caused his murder. On social media, people reacted to what Hachalu said against Menelik, leading to a widespread spread of false information. The other part of the interview contains information about tensions and conflicts within the Oromo community. In all interviews Guyo covered Hachalu about the political shift in the country and the anti-government movement by asking questions about Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who is a oromo, and if the government has met the demands of the Oromo people since he came to power in 2018. Hachalu reaffirmed that he is not involved in Oromo politics but criticized all critics of Abiy's patriotism. He defended his position against the main opposition leaders linked to Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been close to the historic Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Front (the EPRDF). The TPLF turned into a opposition party after Abiy destroyed EPRDF. Hachalu also spoke about the political violence in the Oromo region blaming both the government authorities and the rebel group Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) as well (known as OLF-Shane). Following Hachalu's murder, the government managed to take a 71-minute interview and broadcast it to the public. The banner includes a message of the death threats used by Hachalu from the West of Oromo, where the OLF-Shane militants are operating their operations. Hachalu said he believed he would not be attacked online if he supported OLF-Shane. He directly spoke about the conflict between him and Getachew Assefa, the Ethiopian National Security Chief during the Ethiopian regime. Guyo, who announced the interview on his Facebook page saying it should be seen a few days before his release, has been arrested by police since then and the government is investigating the 71 minutes of the interview to find evidence that could help determine the cause of Hachalu's murder. Read more about the effects of Hachalu Hundessa's murder in Part II. Image from Guardian YouTube video about rape of women. The virus has affected women's rights in the Middle East and North Africa; from increasing violence in homes to losing their jobs. But there is a clear place where women are affected by violence, and this is after the shock of the epidemic and a series of challenges to deal with. In April, the United Nations announced that despite the restrictions imposed by the efforts to fight the epidemic, there are 2 million cases of rape which are expected to result in the next decade where it would be given a warning if the evacuation of the virus would not harm the planned and aggressive anti-terrorism efforts. Emptying includes removal of a part or removal of a part of the vagina, or burning a part of the vagina without any connection or a sense of infection, according to the United Nations Health Organization (WHO). This ritual is a religious and religious tradition that has roots across Africa, Middle East and Asia, and is carried out by traditional nurses, nurses using sticks, candles or bottles. Attacks, also known as surveillance, are believed to be one of the most violent crimes against girls and women, and are still reported very often in the Middle East. At least 200 million women have been affected. This is well explained by UNICEF in a video: In the Middle East and North Africa region, censorship is a problem that is mainly plaguing Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq and Djibouti. Carlos Javier Aguilar, a Child Protection Advisor, explains more, Somalia is reported to have a high number of victims of rape, with 98 percent of women aged 15 to 49 years old. In Djibouti, almost 93 percent have been affected, Egypt 92 percent, Sudan 92 percent, Mauritania 69 percent, Yemen 19 percent and Iraq 7 percent according to a report released in June by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This behavior differs according to the ethnicity, ethnicity and even the level of education in each country and in urban or rural areas. Attacks usually occur among the poorest or in families that are uneducated in rural areas. In Yemen, censorship has roots in the Pwani region but is limited to the North. In Iraq, the incident has spread widely in the north of the Kurdish province. In Egypt it is more focused on girls living in the Middle East. In Mauritania, more than 90 percent of women from the poorest families have been subjected to harassment compared to 37 percent of women from high-income families. BREAKING: More Reported Crimes The scale and scale of censorship will be ignored because of the global lack of a real representation of censorship, according to a joint report from March, approved by Justice Now, Europe's Anti-Corruption Network and the American Anti-Corruption Network. The report revealed that this culture is growing and is being practiced even in the Middle East and Asia, and the world has truly suffered from censorship. Recent research shows that kidnapping is also taking place in Iran, along with all Gulf countries such as Kuwait, the Arab Spring, Omani and Saudi Arabia. Divya Srinivasan from Usawa Sasa told Reuters that she was very surprised by the results of the small survey from places like Omani and Saudi Arabia where it is usually not the places where you might be aware of the issue of Occupy. This report was published while the epidemic is on the rise in the Middle East and was not published or translated by Arab media and social media. The lack of awareness about rape can prove that rape is not a good thing. Social dynamics In the Middle East, there are circles surrounding women's bodies where it is banned publicly discussing hidden affairs such as rape, which is based on religious beliefs, religion and culture. For example, in Egypt Christians and Muslims believe that sexual harassment makes them more attractive to their loved ones and protect them from bad things, and mothers fear that their daughters will not be married if they are rejected, according to a report on Stop Crimes in East Africa, which was launched in 2013 to raise awareness about harassment and tell the world that harassment is not only in Africa but also in many other Middle East and Asia. The organization continues to collect more information about rape and has created a tool to collect information that allows one person or groups to conduct a small survey on rape. People tend to avoid conversations and gossip when it comes to a news event like the death of a 12-year-old girl who died after being kidnapped in southern Egypt in February, where people talk. Ghida Hussein, a Egyptian student, told Global Voices that: Since we don't talk about this, it's like this problem is not completely resolved. The evacuation is taking place silently behind the closed doors. It happens away from educated cities where activists and politicians are sitting. Exit is a complex issue and if the international community provides financial support and encouragement, you won't see a society based on the male caste giving this attention. Breaking barriers and speaking about harassment makes human rights defenders attacked in hate and hatred languages. In Oman, women's rights activist Habiba al Hinai, founder of the Omani Human Rights Institute, conducted a survey in 2017 in Omani and found that 78 percent of women were kidnapped. After posting the results of his online survey, Habiba received attacks and threats: I posted the results of an online survey and the response was great. I have been attacked by religious conservatives who said rape is part of the Muslim ritual. In Omani, where the kidnapping is not officially registered, there is no protection for the victims. Habiba added this in his report: How can you tell a bride to talk about rape and then suffer all these consequences including abuse, divorce even family or relatives have you can separate him, perhaps even his husband can steal him - if there is no official support. I don't expect these women to stand up and speak up with courage and confront the society. Recovery: Easy, Doesn't Work In Yemen and the Arab League, harassment is allowed only in health institutions, but not in homes. In Mauritania, there is legal detention but not direct detention. In Iraq, censorship has been banned in the Kurdish religious province, but it is still legal in the northern region of Iraq. There have been signs of decriminalization. Eight years after the establishment of the Women's Rights Institute, Egypt rejected censorship in 2008. Sudan, in a political transition after 30 years of dictatorship, has been the first to ban censorship in April. But the implementation of the law is a huge challenge because censorship is still high and accepted as well. Although the law is not a very important tool but they are still unreliable. Nations need a national plan and strategy to be implemented including police, courts, health care providers, drivers and education to the community. A series of regional disasters and dictatorship authorities have slowed reforms which deprive campaigns and financial resources and abuse of women's rights. Now all the world’s attention is focused on the fight against the virus and its impact on economy and many programs that are directly related to women in vulnerable situations and providing social services have been suspended or perhaps not a priority. With so many poor families and so many young girls being released from school or teenager marriages, kidnapping is likely to remain unnoticed in this region. Photo by Abubakar Idris Dadiyata, used with permission from The SignalNg. Abubakar Idris Dadiyata, a prominent scholar and critic of the Nigerian government, was taken home on August 1, 2019, in Barnawa near Kaduna, North West Nigeria. A year after his murder, Dadiyata has not been found. Abubakar Idris (Didiyata) was taken to his home in Kaduna, Nigeria. His ears are still unclear. His family and friends want answers to their questions: where is @dadiyata? Abubakar is a victim of missing #DayOfDeath #BringOnDadiyata. Dadiyata was a student at the Public University of Dutsinma, in the province of Katsina. As a member of the People's Democratic Party (People's Democratic Party) Dadiyata has always clashed with members of the ruling All Progressive Congress party on social media. Read More: Anger rises over murder of a Nigerian government critic All state and provincial government institutions are not concerned about anything. Dadiyata was brutally beaten by rapists when she arrived at her home, one year ago, on August 1, 2019, reported Premium Times. Dadiyata's wife Kadija in an interview with BBC News remembered that her husband was talking to the phone while his car was still running, when she was arrested by the killers. Although Kadija couldn't hear what was being told or who was talking to him on the phone, he remembers his husband's rapists were following him and coming to home. Dadiyata's wife remained in the dormitory while her husband was taken and left by the rapists. The worst thing, is that there is no information about Dadiyata. It's sad, too, how their children continue to bury their lost father, Kadija told BBC. In search of Dadiyata, Nigerian security agencies have continued to carry out any accusations related to her disappearance. Nigeria's National Security Department, until January, refused to put Dadiyata in jail. The National Security Ministry says that since Dadiyata was taken home by armed men it doesn't mean that they are employees of the National Security Ministry. Also, Kaduna State Attorney Aisha Dikko refused to know who was or was involved in the kidnapping of Dadiyata. In any way it is contrary to the traditional view of believing that because he was taken from Kaduna, the state government is responsible, said Dikko. However, denying the involvement of the National Security and the government of Kaduna state did not remove Dadiyata’s wife and two children from her freedom. Demands for Dadiyata's release are still circulating on Twitter with the hashtag #OneYearWithoutDadiyata, a demand for his independence from Nigerians. Bulama Bukarti lamented the pain that this illegality has caused the Dadiyata family: It is surprising how a Nigerian can be lost such a way. We must continue to do all we can to connect Dadiyata with her family. There is no place for such violence. They who threatened Dadiyata will pay the price. If not now then it should be later. This Twitter user was shocked when he heard the interview of Dadiyata's wife: I was shocked to hear Dadiyata's wife interviewing @bbchausa, this morning. The only thing she wants is that the rapists should apologize and allow her son to return to his family, especially her younger children. Akin Akíntáyọ doesn't understand how Dadiyata can die without being known for a year: One question I ask is how Dadiyata and his car lost without a sign for a year again in Nigeria; and the government is not worried about it, more seeking to clean up rather than taking responsibility for him because he was targeted for their criticism? The worst is that nobody cares about finding the critic: Similarly, all state governments and provincial governments are fighting to avoid accusations of doing nothing, says Human Rights activist Professor Chidi Odinkalu in an interview with Vyral Africa: In addition to saying they don't know who they are, nobody has shown efforts to tell us what they have done to find him and how they should not be involved. This shows you how we do not have a meaning as a young citizen. What we can do is ask where is Dadiyata and why is our government not interested in him? Students in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Photo by Jeremy Weate, January 15, 2010 via Flickr / CC BY 2.0. A group of armed men stormed a high school in Kaduna, northwestern Nigeria on August 24 and killed one man and beat four students and a teacher, reported online news agency SaharaReporters. The men with weapons arrived and attacked the village of Damba-Kasaya in the government of Chikun, Kaduna state at 8.45 p.m. on a motorcycle and was reported to have killed Benjamin Auta, a farmer, according to a news outlet Premium Times. The armed men went to Prince High School where they beat Christianah Madugu and four students including Favour Danjuma, 9, Miracle Danjuma, 13, Happy Odoji, 14, and Ezra Bako, 15. Happy's father, Isiaka Odoji, told The Daily Trust, Nigeria's daily, that the rapists are demanding 20 million Naira (US $53,000) to free their children, but they are never able to collect it. The students being released were taking their primary school examination. Because of the epidemic of the virus, only graduated students were allowed back to school. The central government and the province of Kaduna remain silent about the fate of the students who were taken along with their teachers. It's a Traditional Day in Nigeria Twitter user Ndi Kato said the event is a tribute to the nation: Today in Kaduna state, the children at secondary school who were ordered to continue their studies have been kidnapped by gunmen. One person has been reportedly killed, the life of a young man has been cut short, and some have left them and maybe we will never see them again. This must benefit any nation. But it's still normal Nigerian tweeter Chima Chigozie: Some students have been taken to Kaduna, one of the men was killed during the incident. The child's life has been changed, this should have shocked the nation, but NO, this is a normal day in Nigeria. Jaja blames the politics for causing public anger and anger over the kidnapping of students: The kidnapping girls of Kaduna will not receive the care they received from Chibok girls because they first are girls and secondly Goodluck Jonathan (GEJ) is not the President. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) was President, when 276 girls from a government school were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants, from northeast Chiboko town in April 2014. The murder resulted in a globally circulating process with a hashtag #WeAreOurGirls shared by millions of people online. Read More: Nigerians celebrate the return of 82 Chibok girls in Boko Haram On February 19, 2018, Boko Haram killed 110 girls from a science and technical school in Dapchi, Yobe state, northeast Nigeria. Read More: Nigeria's female Boko Haram students are accused of dying The kidnapping of Damba-Kasaya students and their teacher is another tragic incident. The only difference is that now the ones who are responsible for this tragic event are not Boko Haram but armed militants. The genocide of Kaduna Criminal violence broke out in northern Nigeria in Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi and Katsina. ACAPS, an independent humanitarian organization, confirmed that the violence is not related to Boko Haram in the northeast: The illegal violence began as a conflict between farmers and farmers in 2011 and growd further between 2017 and 2018 involving embezzlement of animals, kidnapping for money, rape and murder. As of March 2020 more than 210,000 people have been internal refugees. rural communities are still living under the control of the army, where between January and June this year have been killed at least 1,126 people from North Nigeria. South Kaduna's villages are the most attacked villages where they have killed 366 people in the first half of the year, said the International Organization for Human Rights. Chikun LGA, the home of the detained students, has been plagued by attack from militant groups which have been plagued by rape and death and 45 communities fled their home in 2019, according to a report from the South Kaduna People's Union. South Kadunans claim that the killers are Fulani tribes who are planning to steal land, assisted by a lack of action by the central government and the province. But Kaduna's governor Nasir El-Rufai rejected the illegality to be linked to a land grab or a sectarian ideology. On August 22, Kaduna's government ordered people to leave from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, which in some areas is believed to be part of the government's plan to end the violence. However, the spokesperson of the South African People's Union, Luka Binniyat, complained that hunger also kills us because people don't go to their farms, our people have completely lost hope. Writer Henry Swapon and Attorney Imtiaz Mahmood. This link is a collection of their photos that have been widely circulated on social media. Two people were arrested on May 14 and 15 for posting their comments on their Facebook pages. The arrest has raised questions among the community on social media. The arrest of poet Henry Swapon On May 14, poet and journalist Henry Swapon was arrested at his home in Barishal, in Southern Bangladesh. He has been accused of violating Bangladesh's Cyber Security Act. As a member of a small Christian community, Swapon had previously been accused by his brother Alfred and Jewel Satkat of insulting the religious sentiments of Muslims and Christians on social media. Bangladeshi poet and editor Henry Swapan was arrested under the cyber security law! #WriterGetArrested #Bangladesh #Bangladeshiblogger #FreeExpression pic.twitter.com/MGoCec2nsR According to Dhaka Tribune, Swapon posted a Facebook post criticizing Lawrence Subrata Howlader, a Catholic Bishop of Barishal. The priest chose to perform a cultural event at one of the Catholic churches on April 22, 2019, just one day after the terrorist attack in Sri Lanka. Swapon thought that the Archbishop would suspend the festival in respect to the lives of hundreds of people who died in the attack. Some Christians complained about the language he used to the Priest and even threatened him to kill him. Swapon has been a huge spokesman on social media denouncing all kinds of corruption and corruption in their city. Netizen Swakrito Noman wrote on Facebook: In Bangladesh, a plan to attack activists by accusing them of insulting religious sentiments has become a common practice for Muslim leaders. Now we see even those of the non-Christians have started using this tactic. I think those who hate this kind of criticism are mentally ill. The government should organize treatment for these patients. We are strongly against the arrest of poet Henry Swapon and we want him to be immediately released without any restrictions. The arrest of lawyer Imtiaz Mahmood On the morning of May 15, police arrested a high court lawyer and journalist Imtiaz Mahmud under Section 2017 which is not used currently, the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology Act where one citizen, Shafiqul Islam, complained that Mahmood's Facebook cities have hurt his religious sentiments and triggered crime in the southern eastern region of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Imtiaz Mahmood received bail for the first time, but Khagrachhari Supreme Court issued a retrial against January 2019. Mahmood commented during the ethnic violence that happened after a Bengali motorcycle driver was killed in Khagrachhari, causing a group of Bengalis burning several homes and shops of residents in Rangamati neighborhood in Chittagong. Sources told Dhaka Tribune that police did not take any action to stop the incident. Hundreds of such charges were filed from 2013 to 2018, when the Information and Communication Act was replaced by the Internet Security Act. Bangladesh destabilizes social media. Police have conducted a second arrest in two days under the Cyber Security Act. Journalist Imtiaz Mahmood was arrested for a news and communication case on Monday morning. #FreedomOfExpression #ICTLawhttps://t.co/eH8H38unCr Journalist Meher Afroz Shao wrote on Facebook: He loves the mountains and people who live there. They write about their rights. I have never seen a word of violence in his writing. There is a lot wrong. There are a lot of mistakes. I believe the mistakes will be resolved quickly. PS: I have seen a lot of posts on Facebook that have a lot of racist and racism in it. If they are charged today, will the arrest warrant be issued immediately? Many netizens have denied the arrest, demanding that the law be lifted. Bangladeshi refugee Leesa Gazi tweeted: It's very sad. The Bangladesh government is not able to guarantee public security but it is trying to arrest people under the draconian Border Security Act which is contrary to the Constitution of Bangladesh. https://t.co/1sFKY10OPV Journalist Probhash Amin wrote on Facebook: After poet Henry Swapon, lawyer Imtiaz Mahmood (was arrested). Freedom of expression has been blocked. I want all evil laws to be passed. I want freedom of expression. I want Henry Swapon and Imtiaz Mahmood to be released immediately. Despite showing that the law would violate freedom of expression, Bangladesh's parliament passed the Cyber Security Act in September 2018. The law replaced a controversial Media and Technology law, which was also used as a tool to silence critics on the Internet. The law punishes some online conversations ranging from insulting messages to insulting religious sentiments and religious values including a high fine. It also provides long-term prison terms for cybercrimes causing violence in society and by collecting, sending and storage information and critical government documents through digital services. Bangladesh Editors Council said the law is contrary to the constitutional freedom, press freedom and freedom of expression. Read more: Bangladesh Freedom of expression activists say one Digital Security Act is aimed at harassment The law gives a greater power to law enforcement agencies to initiate investigations against anyone whose activities are considered to be dangerous and threatening to security. Khartoum, Sudan. Photo by Christopher Michel from Flickr under CC BY 2.0. After the coup of Sudan, Sudanese transitional authorities have signed a peace agreement with The Sudan Revolutionary Front, the main rebel group that has continued its operations even after the removal of its former leader Omar al-Bashir, last year. The historic peace agreement was signed on August 31, in Juba, South Sudan where it is supported by ethnic and international organizations such as the Congolese Republic, the European Union, Egypt and some Gulf countries. This fascinating event is also plagued by a series of historic floods that have affected some parts of Sudan, resulting in a continuing weakening economy. However, Sudanese netizens are still celebrating the news online. Sudanese blogger Waleed Ahmed wrote: Today we volunteer, we go back home. The video shows the Suda Liberation Movement (SLMAA) led by Minawi declaring a strike on December 16, 2019, in support of the revolution. mini Arko Minawi, leader of the SLMA, wrote: mini Arko Minawi. The last sign will put Sudan in a new direction, in parties and for the people of Sudan, organizations and social movements in partnership with friends and local communities. We must create a strong platform for a new history of our country. Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok welcomed the peace accord saying: I send the peace we have signed today in our country of Sudan to our children born in refugee and in camps, to our fathers and mothers who wish their villages and cities waiting for the Glorious December revolution, the promise of return, the promise of justice and the promise of development and security. The agreement guaranteed the freedom of self-rule of rebel groups in areas they occupy under the control of the central government. The agreement will ensure that one-third of the parliamentary seats are of people from rebel areas to submit their demands and concerns. The agreement also guarantees justice and equality for those who were prosecuted by the previous administration most of them Muslims or non-Arabs. This is not the first peace agreement in Sudan's history. Some netizens said peace agreements are a normal cycle in Sudan and cannot bring peace or peace. Inbal Ben Yehuda wrote: The event that happens once every 5-9 years is not a historic event, it is just a cycle. Abuja Peace Agreement 2006 Doha Peace Agreement 2011 Juba Peace Agreement 2020 Better wait before celebrating The agreement has not been completed Despite this exciting event, two rebel groups have not signed these agreements. The slma group, headed by Abdul Wahid al-Nur, and the Sudanese Liberation movement (SPLM-N), headed by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, were withdrawn because of unanswered questions about the military structure and national identity. Three days after the signing of peace agreement the Sudanese Prime Minister traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to meet with al-Hilu to discuss the conflict according to the Sudanese Resolution On Sunday, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok held a secret meeting with Abdel Aziz al-Hilu in an effort to ease the restrictions on the peace talks held by the South Sudan government. The meeting resulted in the signing of a contract that will ensure the respect of the peace accord signed in Juba. Social media in Sudan broke out with the publication of a copy of the agreement written in English, focusing on the 3rd section of the agreement on religion and nationality: a democratic nation must be displaced in Sudan. For Sudan to be a democratic nation where all people's rights are respected, the constitution must have a constitutional basis to divide justice and a nation where individual rights should be respected. Freedom of believing and practicing and religious activities should be granted to all Sudanese citizens. The government does not have a national religion, no one will be judged because of his religion. Sudan's citizens are divided into two groups on this issue: the first considers that separating citizenship and religion is fundamental in human rights; the second considers that the transitional government has no power to decide on this issue without the consent of the public through democratic elections. After the meeting, the Prime Minister's Twitter account published a copy of the contract in Arabic with its content mixed with those in English. While in English the warning is given to show that it is unacceptable to divide religion and nationality, in the Arab version suggests discussions on this controversial issue. The difference between these two versions has raised many questions about the future of the agreement. The History of Peace, The Crisis of History While peace brings joy in Sudan, the Nile River continues to sink in causing unexpected human disasters. According to the September 8 report of the National Security Council, there have been 103 deaths, 50 injuries, 5,482 deaths, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 animals dead, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 households dead, 5,482 farms dead and 4,208 barrels of fertilizer damaged by the flood. YouStorm on Twitter shared a video comparing the flow of water in Nile on July 16 and August 16: Flooding on Nile River in Sudan on July 16 compared to August 30 #Sentinel2 North Khartoum. Created by #EOBrowser @sentinel_hub #Sudanfloods pic.twitter.com/l8LRNBFY9m On September 3, the governor of the province of Sinnar, Ustadhi Elmahi Sulieman announced the threat on his Facebook page: The amount of water in Nile River this night has been increasing due to heavy rain that has caused the collapse of barriers and walls of security which are a small dam built on the rocks of the city of Singa and the Umm Benin area, and water has begun to flow into the city and residential areas. So we provide a warning to all government authorities and private organizations to come out and help save citizens as soon as possible and provide them with a safe haven, food and medical care. The situation is shocking: In the province of Sinnar | the city of Singa, the situation is tense after a flood broke its fence allowing water from Nile River to enter the city. Sudanese youth from Tuti Island built a barrier to prevent flood water from entering their island. It was a gruesome act, Hassan Shaggag told Hassan Shaggag: They will build Sudan..and they are now running for power. Sudanese people have a shortage of basic necessities such as food, gas, medicine and electricity - after six hours of electricity. Sudan's economy is now down by 202 percent, according to Professor Steve Hanke. However, the transitional government has not yet managed to control the market. Now there is a peace promise, what is the government's plan to improve the lives of citizens? Student leader Jutatip Sirikhan wearing a red shirt as a sign of a strike after his release. Photo and explanation from Prachatai This post is from Prachatai, a free news source in Thailand, edited and published by Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement. Thai Students Union President Jutatip Sirikhan was arrested on the way to school on September 1, because of participating in the massive protests on July 18. Jutatip was arrested in a car heading to a school at the Thammasat University campus in Tha Prachan in Bangkok. He opened his Facebook page at 07:50 a.m. on September 1, when civilians stopped his car and showed him a warrant. Jutatip was sent to the police station of lSamranrat. A police officer accompanied him to the station on another taxi because he didn't feel safe to ride the private car they came with. He continued to be active on his Facebook page, reading a section of The Basics translated into Thai by Thomas Paine. He was sent to the Bangkok criminal court and was granted bail and released at 11.20pm under the supervision of a lecturer from the university of Thammasat. The court did not ask him to pay immediately 100,000 baht (US$3,91) for a bail, but he was given a guarantee that he would not return the charges he was charged with and these guarantees were issued to everyone who was arrested and released. Jutatip is the 14th activist arrested for participating in the massive protests on July 18. 15 other participants of the protest have received the call and reported to Samranrat police station to hear their charges on August 28. Jutatip was charged with violence, violating the Penal Code and the Antiretroviral Act, among other charges. Jutatip came out of court after he was released and held a press conference. The colour can be cleaned, but we can't clean the dust I didn't want to run since then. I knew that I have a warrant and I have been waiting for arrest for a long time, but it didn't happen until today. Every time a person is arrested, there should be bad words that we did not protest peacefully. I am a student and I have been suffering from the police for months, for years. Why is there no compensation for me? Why should there be a fine for only the police who are military officers? There should be a call first, but what happened was that the police came up with a warrant to arrest me directly. It is a high level of arrogance for a student. They received me by following my phone calls from where I live. They took people to my house, my family and sent me a warrant to arrest me so we have to improve our protests. Everything is according to the constitution. We pay our taxes, we must be paid by the government not being insulted by the government. So today, I explained to me that we can do this. We must stand for our rights and freedom. Painting is also possible. Then Jutatip raised a red ribbon on his face while holding his hand above and holding three fingers in the salute of the soccer game. He said the red represents equality and justice, and they demand justice. We show that this is right, this is a kind of representation that we can do. Even if it is a rainbow today, it is a way to show that we can rainbow at any time. We can punish those who have authority because they arrest us and shoot us at any time, because they have authority. The colour can be shaded but the noise cannot be shaded. After that, Jutatip thanked the lecturer who gave him a bail and the people who came to support him and helped the crowd clean the graffiti that remained on the way to the court. We will not stop fighting until we get everything done, including the constitutional reforms and a new constitution, said Jutatip. Screen capture from YouTube video, by VideoVolunteers. This post was originally written by Grace Jolliffe and originally published by Video Volunteers, an award-winning international network with its headquarters in India. The edited version is published below as part of a content-sharing agreement. While India is undergoing a seven-term electoral period which runs from 11 April to 19 May 2019, to elect its seventh Lok Sabha, some Indian voters have faced unusual charges for boycotting the elections. Read More: All you want to know about Indian presidential elections in India In Goa, South Indian state, residents of a small village in the province of Cancona (section of the district), Marlem village refused to vote on April 23 in the third round of the general elections with claims that the government has been the problem in their village. Their main concern is that important needs and services such as good roads and clean water have never been provided by the government. Social media presenter Devidas Gaonkar, born of the Goa ethnic group Velip, shows the villagers' speeches: In this video, Pandurang Gaonkar, a resident of Marli village, said that: From Tirwal to Marlem are only three kilometers of road but they are not complete. Since today no action has been taken by the authorities. They only give us false promises no implementation. And because of that, we have not voted. Residents of Marlem Village have been living in the village for over 20 years now. In 1968, the forest ministry declared Marlem village a safe haven for elephants. This makes the construction of roads or any development work in this area difficult to implement. According to the report, the plan to deploy a reliable power plant to reach the area was approved but was blocked recently due to criticism from the National Parks Department. Another source of the frustration of the residents is the lack of good roads. A person must travel from the highway at 2.8km in a bad road that is not well maintained so that he can find his first home in the village of Marlem. Finally, supplying electricity and clean water to villagers has remained a challenge for villagers. Despite exposing their complaints regularly, but unable to respond to their demands, Marlem residents and residents from two other villages decided not to vote to draw attention to the authorities' reactions to their complaints. The electoral commission staff came to talk to us about our decision to not vote and our position is there, added Pandurang. Isidore Fernandes, a opposition leader from the Indian National Congress who is a member of the Congress of Cancona, also met with local residents. After listening to their concerns he assured him that he will help with the riot. It is important for any government to construct roads, provide electricity and water for their people. Currently all government officials have discontinued providing these services in Marlem village, Fernandes said. Breaking the elections has now become a form of a strike, although voting is not compulsory in India. Unlike Goa villages, villages in the Central Madhya Pradesh, West Madhya Pradesh, and East Odisha have been using this tactic to get their important matters to the authorities. However, no one of these strikes has been taken into account by the government. Many voters have started to use this tactic as a sign of their anger for politicians and government officials who leave their communities in their hopes of winning their votes, while failing to fulfill their promises after the election. But finally, if boycotting elections does not make a change in the society, what will the communities decide to do to get the attention of the authorities who need to hear their voices and take action? Journalist Amade Abubacar. Photo: caiccajuda/Youtube. Journalists Amade Abubacar and Germano Adriano, who were arrested earlier this year while collecting news of a military conflict in the northern Mozambique region, were released without charge on April 23, 2019. Amade, who has been contributing to news sources such as Zitamar News and A Carta, was arrested on January 5 while speaking to internal refugees from Macomia district in the Northern Province of Cabo Delgado. Germano, a journalist for the community radio station Nacedje, has been detained since February 6 and was found in detention on February 18. According to reports from the Media Institute of South Africa (MISA), Amade and Germano were charged with spreading rumors of insulting some members of the Mozambique National Army on their Facebook pages where they announced the beginning of violence in the villages of Macomia district. The journalists were released from Mieze Prison in Pemba, headquarters of Cabo Delgado and are under investigation while waiting for trial in a local judge's court in Cabo Delgado. The case is scheduled to take place for the first time on May 17. Since 2017, armed groups such as visages have been attacking villages in Cabo Delgado, burning homes and killing residents. More than 90 people have been killed since the attacks, according to police reports. Currently no group has appeared publicly to claim responsibility for the attack. In December 2018, the newspaper A Carta de Moçambique confirmed the presence of a Facebook page, which seems to be fake, which describes the attacks of armed groups in Cabo Delgado. It is not clear whether charges against Amade and Germano are related to the page. The journalists' advocacy team says there is no connection between the page or other criminal activities on Facebook. The charges against these journalists have been plagued by many concerns. After Amade was detained, police detained him under the protection of the National Guard. He was taken to a military prison where he spent 12 days without any communication and then transferred to a civil prison. The journalists were only charged on April 16, a 90 day period, in violation of the Penal Code of Mozambique, in the Abubacar case. In the continuation of the case during their detention period, all journalists were accused of criminalizing government secrets on social media and inciting society through digital means. The charges are contrary to the earlier charges, which MISA described as spreading a message of insulting some of the Mozambique citizens' military leaders on a Facebook page that triggered attacks on local villages in the Macomia district. In the 106 days he spent in prison, Abubacar experienced food shortages and lack of medical care, according to Amnesty International. His family told @Verdade that they were not allowed to visit Abubacar during his detention period. What happened to these journalists is part of the continuation of violence against media workers in Northern Mozambique. Independent investigative journalist Estácio Valoi was arrested in December 2018, also in Cabo Delgado on legal grounds. He was later released without charges, but his technical equipment remained in the hands of the army. The Call for Justice Cídia Chissungo, a activist and supporter of the #AmedeAwekweHuru campaign celebrated the news saying: #AmadeAbubacar and #GeramanoAdriano are finally RIGHT after being detained for 4 months. We're really celebrating but we'll never forget how everything started. We have always said: Media is not a crime. Thank you for supporting us in Angela Quintal, director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Africa said: Now it is to ensure that the charges are removed and #AmadeAbubacar can continue his writing career without fear of arrest. The fact is that he has resisted being detained without charge for 106 days before a bail, not a good thing he has done. He should not be punished! Photo of Iranian Revolutionary Leader Imam Khomeini on the wall of a building in Sanandaj, in the Iranian capital city of Kurdistan, appears on a wall. Photo by Jordi Boixareu. Copyright Demotix Global Voices co-founder Ethan Zuckerman describes them as examples of people who love to share their home culture with people from other communities. The idea was created through a system based on Global Voices and describes the work and culture of the community. As our work aims to bridge the gap between foreign views on Iran and realities in the country itself, Global Voices Iran has started a series of interviewing Iranian author and journalists who will do so. This workshop will be held to understand how and how these people did their work through explaining the Iranian diaspora about Iran as well as the difficulty and controversy that exists in explaining it. Golnaz Esfandiari: I think the use of social media in Iran and its benefits are growing Golnaz Esfandiari is a leading presenter at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and one of the few journalists who have focused outside Iran writing in English about the challenges and challenges of Iranian society and politics. Photo used with permission of Golnaz Esfandiari. Read more: Interview with Golnaz Esfandiari, Lingua Lingua Lingua In an interview with Global Voices, he said: I think the use of social media in Iran has grown and its benefits have also grown. Government officials have confirmed that and I also see many people in the country using social media. I think that since 2009, social media use has increased significantly. Some Iranians told me they joined Twitter after reading about the alleged Twitter Revolution in Iran. Social media helps conversations and share content that has been rejected or misunderstood and people are debating openly. They also criticize government policy and attitudes on social media. Kelly Golnoush Niknejad: You should be a journalist, a psychologist, a professor and a student of one thought. Foreign media investors in Iran, Kelly Golnoush Niknejad, is founder of Tehran Institute a news outlet affiliated with The Guardian where she writes about Iran and foreign Iranians. His project is one of the leading sources that offer different perspectives on the country's political, cultural and people's issues. Photo by Kelly Golnoush Niknejad and used with permission. Read more: How Kelly Golnoush Niknejad's Tehran Institute connects Iran to the West. In the worst view Iranian people have against Iran, he explained: When it comes to Iran, I always go back to 1979 and describe the changes made a decade after a decade to make sense of the current situation. It sometimes becomes harder for Iranians to understand what is going on in Iran now than for non-Iranians. This shows how important it is to cover Iran tight, put it in a special context for the daily lives of the people. When we come to the country with only academics and authorities this is not a fundamental or important thing for us as journalists. That's why even the most diligent people watching the news do not understand the fundamentals of Iran. Indeed if they follow the reports from Tehran Institute they will have a different view. I am Ansary: I believe women will be at the forefront of any change in Iran Nina Ansary is the author of the Lord of God: Untold Stories About Iran's Women, the first book to write about the equality of women in politics from the end of the 19th century until now. The illustration of the Book of God's Mercy The book explains how women have managed to build the current Iranian history and continue to do so, while continuing to pursue principles of their rights and equality in a society that has been decimated by nature. Read more: Interview with Iranian Women's Rights Activist Nina Ansary at the Dawn of Change in the Country Ansary said she had a positive view of Iran's future and the role of a woman in it: and it was because I saw their support. And this is because female activists didn't get the right answer: women were not allowed to be judges but are now used as judges. Women were not allowed to study some of the fields, but for years they have managed to reach out to other fields that were mostly occupied by men such as healthcare and engineering. I certainly look forward to positive things, but I believe women will be at the forefront of any change in Iran. Saeed Kamali Dehghan: They see Iran as black and white but Iran is not. It's like a wave of rain. With over 800 posts on Iran, Saeed Kamali Dehghan is the first The Guardian author who volunteered to write about Iran and is one of the few Iranians employed by a major English news company. Photo used with permission of Saeed Kamali Dehghan. His many reports are related to human rights violations in Iran, but as he said in a phone interview, the main problem for the Persian media is that they see Iran as a black and white image but Iran is not. Iran is like a glacier, spreading colors Read more: Saeed Kamali Dehghan covering Iran in The Guardian In the difficulties of writing a country with which he is emotionally connected, Saeed explains that: As an Iranian I have my feelings about the country, but when I write about it I try to sit down somewhere to avoid bias. But I am allowed to express my thoughts while writing the opposite story and have been doing something like that. I wrote about why Canada understood Iran badly and this led the former foreign minister to accuse us on his Twitter account of being used by Iranian authorities. I have been attacked by some people who have been accusing me of being employed by Iranians and some have been accusing me of being employed in the UK. I believe this is a sign that I am doing my best. Omid Memarian: Turning your anger into something to build and not taking things personally is art Omid Memarian, an Iranian journalist living in New York. Omid Memarian is a well-known Iranian journalist and now works in the US and has been covering Iranian news in both English and Jewish languages. Our Conversation wanted to learn about the differences in reporting about Iran to different audiences and his experience as a foreign and foreign journalist. Read more: Iranian journalist Omid Memarian Memarian describes his experience writing and reporting in the Iranian social community as follows: There were and are still people in Iran who believe in empowering social communities, political parties and press freedom, the Islamist government can change quickly from inside. On the other hand there are other forces fighting to prove that this is unacceptable and one way is to make the environment so vulnerable that nobody will afford to stay doing what he was doing. I encouraged me to continue doing what I was doing, writing and encouraging about things I believed were arrested and detained. Hooman Majd: Iran doesn't have a unique difference: the fact here is that many people don't know much about Iran. Now we are at the forefront of US foreign policy reforms. A few weeks into the end of Obama's administration, it is likely that the United States will end its long-term partnership with its long-time enemy, the Iranian Muslim Brotherhood. In Donald Trump's Supreme Court speech that promises to be a unique and aggressive, I think it's time to sit down with journalists and writer Hooman Majd. His books, articles and publications explain Iran's two-dimensional narrative that has widely appeared in the U.S. mainstream media during Bush's presidency, when violence against the Iranian government became a major symbol in the early 2000s in foreign policy and media attitudes towards Iran. Hooman Majd has been known as Iran's voice for Western countries. Majd's photo by Ken Browar, used with permission. Read more: Interview with Hooman Majd, a bridge between Iranian and US media. As a bad view of Iran has given a lesson since his 2008 book aimed at countering the bad views of Iran's society to American readers: Ahmadinejad was the first to be open to the media, which is the first source of negative news. But Iranian diaspora and Iranian diaspora have written a lot about their culture in recent times, and there are many trips between Iran and the US between Iranian diaspora and Iranian diaspora. Now they have a little bit of understanding and there are a lot of books. Iran is not a unique thing: but what is unique is that many people don't know much about Iran. Protesters in Rio de Janeiro: Education is our weapon.| Photo: Marianna Cartaxo / Mídia NINJA/Used with Permission On May 15, thousands of Brazilians took to the streets in all 26 states protesting against the Bolsonaro government's austerity budget that will affect hundreds of schools and universities. In late April, Brazil's government announced the cancellation of 30 percent of what was said to be a budget that was based on water, electricity, general maintenance and research. When it comes to the total budget for higher education, the revenue could be up to 3 or 5 percent. However, the government has suspended the scholarships for the 3,500 high school students that were funded by the government. From Paulista Street in São Paulo, the civic rally center to the indigenous farms in Alto Rio Negro, near the Colombian border, people came to defend public education. In Viçosa, Minas Gerais, a group of 5,000 people marched in a tent with heavy rain. A satellite image showing a large crowd of protesters in Paulista Street in São Paulo against funding for education and scientific research.#15M #TodosPelaEducação #TsunamidaEducação #NaRuaPelaEducação #MarchaPelaCiência pic.twitter.com/BmHEYBuF9F https://globalvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/WhatsApp-Video-2019-05-15-at-21.00.30.mp4 Brazil has 69 public universities and a large number of government universities and all provide first and graduate degrees free of charge and some social services such as legal offices and hospitals. Initially, the scholarships were held in three schools but later they were extended to all other schools. Bolsonaro's education minister, Abraham Weintraub said that it is not a concession but a reduction. Weintraub explained that there are floods because public schools are as part of the damage. When asked by reporters he describes the damage when he mentioned the presence of massive social gatherings in schools and the presence of naked celebrations. Weintraub was appointed minister in April after his earlier stay was removed because of alleged conflicts. The new minister has always commented on conservative policies such as drugs being identified in Brazil as a socialism, and wants to reverse the Marx culture in schools. Some university officials have said the concessions could prevent their doors from opening up early in the second term of the year. The government prosecutor's office has released a statement to a lawyer accusing the petition of violating the Brazilian constitution. Rio de Janeiro seems HORRIBLE! Hundreds and thousands shout at Avenida Presidente Vargas night. when you enter against the budget of education and science.#15M #TodosPelaEducação #TsunamidaEducação #NaRuaPelaEducação pic.twitter.com/8MIn91crKX Scientists from University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) who research WhatsApp groups in Brazil have found that there are a lot of conversations with the app after the announcement of the budget. The study has created a tool that will monitor WhatsApp groups and be used widely by a Brazilian advocacy organization. Former researcher Fabrício Benevuto on May 8 on his Facebook page said : [Image included] non-red images/publications/events published because of their titles and subjects. There are pictures of people naked at the ceremony (who are not even at the university) and several slogans by protesters saying that it takes 12 years for students to graduate because they are taking drugs all the time. This is clearly a planned intention. In the same way of election campaigning. Who endorses this fake news factory? A post on the website Ciência na Rua (urban science in Portuguese) argues that public universities produce 95 percent of scientific research in Brazil. A study conducted by the U.S. company Clarivate Analytics in 2018 shows that among 20 top research universities, 15 are part of the government network. On the day of the protest, minister Weintraub was called to report on budget cuts in the House of Congress. Bolsonaro is an enemy of education Education is a act of love and compassion #TsunamiDaEducacao pic.twitter.com/sEEOb5wDxz Later, Bolsonaro was in Texas in the United States where he met former US President George W. Bush. When asked about the protests, the president said: It's a common thing, now, most of the people there are confused with nothing in the head. If you ask them 7 times 8, they don't know. If you know they don't know what they do, they don't know anything. It's a fool and fool who is being exploited by a minority of corrupt individuals who lead several public universities in Brazil. Ugandan journalist Gertrude Uwitware Tumusiime has experienced a lot of stress while working as a female journalist in Uganda. Screen capture from The Other Side: Gertrude Uwitware Tumusiime on YouTube. In Uganda, women who use digital media to report, comment and get information face attacks and harassment because they investigate and publish political content. Cybercrimes have become a new tool of control. Women journalists are carrying a heavy burden of gender violence online, including threats related to political reporting. The continuing threats have forced women journalists to withdraw from public discussions and leave journalistic professions more occupied by men. Read More: Benefits of being a different opinion: Uganda's two social media platforms Joy Doreen Biira, a journalist. Photo by Wazabanga via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 3.0. In November 2016, Ugandan journalist Joy Doreen Biira, who worked for Kenya Television Network (KTN) in Kenya, returned home to Uganda for a cultural celebration. While Biira was with them, Ugandan security forces clashed with the Rwenzururu rulers in the Rwenzori region in western Uganda, and their palace was burnt. The gun battle resulted in 62 deaths, including 16 policemen. Biira expressed her feelings about the military attack by posting a comment on Facebook on November 27: It is shocking what I saw today with my own eyes that part of the royal palace in my home, the Kingdom of Rwenzururu, fell on fire. I felt like I was watching the heritage being displayed in front of my eyes. On the same day, Biira was arrested and accused of sharing pictures of the horrific clash between security forces and the Rwenzururu royal guards to a WhatsApp group with many members, according to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPIJ). He also published a Instagram video of the King's statue burning and posted his story on Facebook, CPJ reported. Ugandan security forces allegedly forced Biira to delete social media posts and his digital devices were blocked, according to Freedom House 2018 report. Biira was charged with supporting terrorism by taking videos of a military attack on the royal palace which his punishment is death under the Anti-Terrorism Act if found guilty. However, one day later, he was released on bail. Biira's case prompted widespread criticism on social media with hashtags such as #FreeJoyDoreen and #JournalismIsNotaCrime. The netizen accused Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni of his silence on journalists: #FreeJoyDoreen President @KagutaMuseveni must stop the tendency to silence journalists. This is a serious human rights violation in our continent. Biira's lawyer, Nicholas Opiyo, published a tweet showing the official charges Biira faced: Joyana's debt warrant charged with helping terrorism (funny!) #journalism is not a crime @KTNKenya @KTNKenya #FreeJoyDoreen Opiyo told Global Voices that Biira's case was withdrawn from court in March 2017 after the regime conducted investigation and found no evidence for filing charges in court. Similar to other cases like these, one carries a burden on the body but feels a sense of arrogance, lack of justice, and pain, said Opiyo, who is also director of Chapter Four Uganda, a human rights organization. Opiyo added that sitting in jail for several days and enduring the pain of torture is a feeling that never comes to anyone. Attacks online It is rare for women who are facing online violence to obtain justice, and it is often difficult to ensure their complaints are addressed and investigated. In April 2017, Gertrude Tumusiime Uwitware, a Ugandan television presenter, defended Stella Nyanzi, a leading activist who criticized Museveni's government for not fulfilling campaign promises to distribute socks to poor girls. The regime forced Uwitware to delete his Twitter and Facebook posts that expressed his support for Nyanzi. He received threats on Facebook and was raped by unknown people for about eight hours, according to Uganda Human Rights Report 2017. Her rapists were allegedly asking her about her relationship with Nyanzi, beat her badly and even cut her hair. Read more: Is breastfeeding a bad word? Women's activist Stella Nyanzi continues her struggle in court Uwitware later was found at a police station in Kampala. However, the regime has not released any information until today about his detention. Political journalists especially those who focus on the opposition politics often face more threats than those who focus on other issues. But women journalists are worse because the government believes they are poorer and more easily distracted, according to Mukose Arnold Anthony, Secretary for Media Security and Human Rights at Uganda Journalists Association (UJA), who spoke to Global Voices via WhatsApp on April 3. When it comes to online sexual harassment, female journalists who refuse to remain anonymous explain that most of them are emotional, Anthony said. It is common for women journalists to suffer more psychological consequences than psychological, deprivation of their privacy, deprivation of their identity, deprivation of their ability to travel, control, and loss of property because of their work, according to the UNESCO study on freedom of expression in Africa published in 2018. And, according to a 2018 Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda survey, 12 percent of women have experienced discrimination and abuses, including death threats and arrests. Three-quarters of women journalists have experienced rights violations in the hands of government officials such as police, district chiefs and security officials. Attacks and abuse Ugandan journalist Bahati Remmy faced attacks and abuse while working as a reporter. Photo via Bahati Remmy Paydesk account, used with permission. Bahati Remmy, a Ugandan journalist who currently works in the US, told Global Voices that she left journalism in Uganda because she felt loss of interest after a tragic incident when she was covering Uganda's elections in 2016. Ugandan police arrested Remmy while broadcasting a live NBS broadcast on a private NBS channel to show the eviction of opposition leader Dr.Kizza Besigye's home in Kasangati. Remmy told Global Voices: Police blocked anxiety while blocking journalists from covering news about Besigye. Police forced me to put my fingers in their car, put my clothes on the floor and left me nude in front of a camera, according to Remmy. He was also followed and harassed by police officers on Facebook because the Ugandan government thought he had collaborated with Besigye to paint the country a picture. He told Global Voices that a text message from unnamed people appeared on his door threatening him if he refused to give a secret route to Besigye from his home. After Remmy's arrest, Uganda's Human Rights Network called for a referendum to assess the realities of the case. They asked: Ugandan police alleged that NBS broadcaster Bahati Remmy violated legitimate regulations and blocked police from doing their work so that he was arrested. Do you agree with this? Magambo Emmanuel wrote: It is a false and false reason because there is a video clip showing how Bahati was arrested. Police should not stop focusing on journalists. Davide Lubuurwa wrote: Any person trying to inform people about the situation of the country must be arrested. The biggest problem comes to Uganda recently. What disturbs me is that anyone who is trying to say something that is not in support of the current regime is considered a fool so it is best for Ugandans to resign. Many women journalists in Uganda have left the media especially those who criticize the government for fear of attack and defamation by the regime. Journalists have explained that the government and security forces call editors and advise them not to publish news that makes the government negative. Attacks are rarely reported by women, making it difficult to understand the realities of the problem. Remmy referred to the Ugandan government to the Ugandan Human Rights Commission, but until today, nothing happened about his case. The commission lacks the freedom to make decisions on the part of those who submit complaints against the government. His seven members, including his chairman, are appointed by the president, with the permission of the Parliament. They are biased, Remmy said, adding: They have a lot of arguments, and most of the cases they want to hear are those presented by the government. Many of the threats against women online are closely related to violence against them abroad. Remmy believes that the rights, status and dignity of women journalists should be taken into account at all times because attacks against women destabilize the media sector in general. When Uganda prepares to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in 2021, attacks and detention of women journalists by the government should be stopped because it affects the access to information, freedom of expression and democratic rights of Ugandans. Journalists' freedom is still a missing child in the country's system, Remmy told Global Voices. This post is part of a series called The Code of Identity: A platform to regulate online threats against freedom of expression in Africa, These petitions question hate speech or censorship on the basis of language or cultural background, false news and harassment (especially against women activists and journalists) widely online in seven African countries: Algeria, Kamerun, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sudan, Tunisia and Uganda. The project is funded by the African Inter-African Partnership for International ICT Policy for East and South Africa (CIPESA). Trees based on a 15th century wall in Kilwa Kisiwani Island, Tanzania. In 1981, the coffins of a renowned Swahili Sultan in the island were declared UNESCO World Heritage Site. Photo by David Stanley, January 1, 2017, CC BY 2.0. The editor's note: This personal post was written following a Twitter campaign organized by Global Voices Sub-Saharan Africa in collaboration with the Rising Voices Project each week, a different language activist participated in his thoughts on digital rights and African languages as part of the project, Matriki identity: A threat to censorship of online freedom in Africa. According to the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO), the diversity of languages and culture is a strategic priority for people around the world in efforts to strengthen unity and solidarity. This diversity of languages and culture prompted UNESCO to declare International Mother Language Day (IMLD) in November 1999, a day which is remembered on February 21 every year. To strengthen the IMLD, the United Nations (UN) announced the International Year of Indigenous Language (IYIL 2019, to address the dangers of global warming. Today, there are more than 7,100 languages spoken across the world, 28 percent of which are spoken in Africa only. Despite this, English is leading online in this area. Six years ago, 80 percent of the world's online content was based on English. Now, however, English content is reported to have declined to between 51 to 55 percent. The question, therefore, is: Is the decline implying that people now prefer their native language rather than English, considering that less than 15 percent of the world's population speaks English as their first language? Kiswahili: Occupation? Kiswahili is recognized as one of the official African languages, along with English, French, French, Spain, and Arab. Kiswahili is also a popular language among the member states of the East African Community (EAC). Rwanda, a member of the EAC, through its lower parliament, passed a bill to make Swahili official in 2017 along with Kinyarwanda, French and English. Despite being used for administration purposes, Kiswahili will be included in the country's education sphere. In Uganda, in September 2019, the government approved the establishment of the National Assembly of Kiswahili. Uganda's Article 6 (2) of the Ugandan Constitution also states that Swahili will be the second official language in Uganda and will be used in the context as the Parliament can rule by law. In 2018, South Africa, a 11th-largest official language country, introduced Kiswahili as a compulsory language in its field, from the beginning of 2020. In 2019, the South African Development Community (SADC) adopted Swahili as its fourth official language. Photo courtesy of Kiswahili Online Photo by Rachel Strohm, September 20, 2019, (CC BY-ND 2.0) Despite being a widely spoken African language, with about 150 million people especially in East Africa, the coastline, southern Somalia, and other southern African areas, the appearance of Swahili online is very interesting. John Walubengo, a lecturer at the University of Multimedia in Kenya, argues in his article in Nation, a Kenyan daily, that lack of language and culture online creates a smaller global society. Walubengo explains that many traditional cultures fail to introduce their identity to English-language practices. This sad fact however can only be changed if indigenous communities are fighting for their identity online and offline, he says. However, it's not a joke. There are several organizations who have volunteered in the frontline to develop and promote Kiswahili online. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a multi-national organization that regulates the DNS, IP addresses and free registry, established International Domains (IDNs), which allow people to use local names in different languages and languages. Probably, they are created with letters from different languages, such as Arab, Chinese, or Russian. These letters are then coded in Unicode and used as allowed by IDN regions, a set of criteria defined by the IAB, and its affiliates of small companies; the Institute of Technology Technical Work (IETF) and the Institute of Research on Internet (IRTF). The Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG) UASG is a community of national leaders, recognized by the ICANN, which organizes communities online for the billions of netizens. This is achieved through a process known as the United Acceptance Process (UA), which ensures that software and network systems handle all high-level TLDs and emails according to those TLDs in a clear and efficient manner as well as those in Latin-language text and more than three letters. UA serves netizens around the world in their native language and in their regional names that promote their culture. So, creating a multi-language network. ICANNWiki The non-profit organization, which provides a week-long wiki on ICANN and Internet governance, has long collaborated with NGOs, educational institutions and individuals in Kenya and Tanzania. This has enabled East Africans to build, translate and increase the resources of the Week in their thoughts, language and perspectives. This Swahili project which I as a journalist have officially participated in has opened the flood of news related to Internet governance by changing the content of ICANNWiki to promote participation in targeted communities. Localization Lab Localization Lab, a global community of active volunteers that promotes the translation and dissemination of security guidelines and digital tools such as TOR, Signal, OONI, Psiphon. These technology promotes security, privacy, and transparency by ensuring that indigenous activists have safe access to information online. Localization Lab has translated more than 60 devices to 180 different languages across the world, Kondoa Community Network (KCN) KCN is the first community to test TVWS, a non-standard technology that uses non-standard radio channels within 470 to 790 MHz to address the challenge of rural internet access in Tanzania. KCN teaches villagers to create and become a destination for sustainable content and their context. Matogoro Jabhera, founder of KCN and assistant professor at the University of Dodoma, Tanzania, told Global Voices via Skype, that he believes indigenous content encourages more foreigners to join online because they can understand their native information [] compared to the current situation when most of the content is in English. Billions of users online The world expects to connect the next billion users online and 17 million of these users are estimated to be connected online using language as their digital identity. So, a lack of natural content might have a significant impact on digital messaging. In particular, it will affect digital rights especially, access to the Internet, the right to access information online, and the right to use their native language to create, share, and spread information and information online. So it is important to set up strategies that will continue the development of ICT and services, as well as the use of native language, to ensure digital communications for all. This move, supported by innovative efforts such as the creation of ICT infrastructure, and rural ICT programs, could lead to a digital revolution, and thus promote digital rights of netizens and reduce the gap between digital divides. Finally, this process will ensure the establishment, recognition and distribution of all African and minority languages online as stipulated in the African Convention on Internet Rights and Freedom. The Mantiki Identity Project is funded by the African Institute for International ICT Policy for East and South Africa (CIPESA) TED Global's Internet room. Creative Commons photo by Flickr user Erik (HASH) Hersman, June 3, 2007. (CC BY 2.0) Global Voices, through its South African diaspora authors in collaboration with the Rising Voices Project, will launch a Twitter campaign as part of a project known as, Utambulisho: a platform to restrict online threats against freedom of expression in Africa, from April 20 to May 22, 2020. Read more: 'Identity Registration': A new tool to promote digital rights in Africa As a continuation of Media for Freedom: Politics and digital rights in Africa, this five-week social media campaign will engage in a discussion organized by @GVSSAfrica featuring five African language activists, who will explore the difference between languages and digital rights. The project is funded by the African Institute for International ICT Policy for East and South Africa (CIPESA). Global Voices is one of the recipients of the scholarship. The activists will tweet in African languages such as Bambara, Igbo, Khoekhoe, N|uu, Swahili, Yorubá, as well as French and English. They can also share their experiences and their linguistic understanding of the challenges facing digital rights. The talks will question how a cyberbullying threat affects online content in African languages; the spread of false information in African languages in different languages online and what companies or social organizations are doing about this; the impact of low cost Internet access in areas with large numbers of African speakers; the importance of and challenges of access to information in African digital languages. They also look at corporate policy, and the challenges that are still present that could affect how citizens can express themselves freely in their language. Join the discussion's organisers on Twitter This Twitter discussion will be presented by Denver Toroxa Breda (Ki-Khoekhoe/ki-N|uu/English) from Africa Kusiki, Adéṣínà Ghani Ayẹni (Yorùbá/ki-Ingereza) from Nigeria, Kpénahi Traoré (Bambara/French) from Burkina Faso, Roseblossom Ozurumba (Igbo/English) from Nigeria and Bonface Witaba (Swahili/English) from Kenya. Some participants participated in the online campaign @DigiAfricanLang to commemorate the International Year of Indigenous Language. April 20-24: Denver Toroxa Breda (@ToroxaD) Denver Toroxa Breda. Photo used with permission. Breda, a Kihoe speaker, a Buddhist or activist, is a writer fighting for the abolition of Kikhoekhoe and kin|uu, the first languages in South Africa. Kikhoekhoe is spoken in Namibia, reads in schools, but in South Africa where it is the epicenter, only 2,000 people speak, not officially recognized language, is not in school. The Kin|uu language has only one speaker, not a official language, and in schools, and is at risk of destruction. Kpénahi Traoré. Photo used with permission. April 27-May 1: Kpénahi Traoré (@kpenahiss) Kpénahi Traoré was born in Côte d'Ivoire but his origin is Burkina Faso. He is the head editor of RFI mandenkan, the Arabic language newsroom at Radio France Internationale (RFI). It has been a great experience for Traoré to work in Arabic. Before that, he thought it wouldn't be possible to do journalism in the Bambara language. Kismogo is the mother language of Traoré, although he had a Kidioula language in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso. Malagasy call it Kibambara, Guineans call it Kimalinke, others call it Kimandingo. May 5-8: Blossom Ozurumba (@blossomozurumba) Blossom Ozurumba. Photo used with permission. Ozurumba is also known as Asampete, a name that can be translated from igbo to a good man. Ozurumba is pleased with the igbo language and culture and has volunteered to ensure that several people learn to speak, write and read. Ozurumba is the founder of the igbo community of Wikimedia users and often started a conversation about the Wikimedia Foundation without being pressured. She lives in Abuja, Nigeria, and loves the calm and atmosphere of the city. May 11-15: Ọmọ Yoòbá (@yobamoodua) Adéṣínà Ayẹni. Photo used with permission Adéṣínà Ayẹni, also known as Ọmọ Yoòbá, is a cultural journalist and cultural activist who uses her journalism career to promote the promotion, and distribution of the heritage of Kiyorùbá online and abroad. As a musician, he has prepared many Kiyorùbá channels for Nigerian radio campaigns and TVC. He is the founder of the Yobamoodua Culture Story, a platform dedicated to spreading the language and culture of Kiyorùbá. Ọmọ Yoòbá is also the language director for Global Voices Yorùbá. He is a Kiyorùbá language teacher at tribalingua.com where he teaches students from around the world. He has also worked with Localization Lab, a global community of volunteer translators and netizens, computer programmers, and translators who work together to translate and encrypt digital security devices and prevention procedures. Ọmọ Yoòbá has written a book called: Ẹyà Ara Ẹdá Ọmọ Ènìyàn, a collection of drawings with names of anatomy and anatomy of human body and animals that work in every part of the body. He is a research participant at the Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research. May 18-22: Bonface Witaba (@bswitaba) Bonface Witaba. Photo used with permission. Welcome a writer, a native content creator and activist, a student, researcher, and consultant on internet governance and policy. He is the founder of ICANNWiki Swahili, a website dedicated to promoting, translating, articles and content 10,000 of Internet governance to Swahili for 150 million Swahili speakers by 2020. Witaba also runs a youth project that seeks to build the skills of students, scholars, and individuals in the private sector and in government, through technical courses on Internet governance. Protesters demanding the release of former president Robert Mugabe (who is now dead) from power on November 18, 2017. Photo by Flickr user Zimbabwean-eyes (Free to use). On the morning of November 15, 2017, Zimbabweans woke up with news that former president, late Robert Mugabe, had been removed from power in the coup, and was in power at his home, the palace, and his family. General General Sibusiso Moyo, who is currently minister of foreign Affairs, announced on national television that the president was safe under government security and that the situation is at other levels. As soon as the announcement of General Moyo, Zimbabweans were shocked on social media especially WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook to get updates on the situation. For the first time, the new popularity of social media to bring news and encourage protests took root among Zimbabweans, as protesters entered the streets and helped push for Mugabe's resignation. The new government, led by Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, took over the power of social media. As a former minister of state security, Mnangagwa also recognized the importance and role of misinformation in Zimbabwe's political sphere. In March 2018, in an effort to assert his political powers in front of him and to ensure a victory in the presidential and parliamentary elections in the following year, Mnangagwa ordered the youth alliance of the ruling party ZANU PF (Zimbabwe National Union-Patriotic Front) to spread the word on social media and online to harass and attack the opposition. In Zimbabwe after Mugabe, his plan has created a crisis of misinformation and false information, leaving Zimbabweans with only a few reliable sources to access information and know about the current transitional period and protests against the government. While the new government claimed to denounce fake news on social media accounts that they considered a threat to the current regime, it also made a ploy to mislead the public about how they handled the anti-government protests. The celebration of freedom of expression online Zimbabwe has experienced a significant increase in the use of internet on mobile and social media in the past few years. Internet growth rose by 41.1 percent, from 11 percent of the population to 52.1 percent between 2010 and 2018, while mobile growth rose 43.8 percent from 58.8 percent to 102.7 percent over the same period. This means half of the population is now connected to the internet, compared to just 11 percent in 2010. However, misinformation and false information have gained a lot of traction because of several reasons: widespread media coverage, government proposals to restrict social media, limited official communication channels and poor education among Internet users. During the protests against the government in January 2019, when government security forces arrested and attacked hundreds of protesters, the news of the detention clashed with the government's claims that they were false or that they denied his presence. The government blocked access to the internet to block the flow of information and caused a lot of controversy. Government officials and supporters also used the tactic to mislead information about the protests and raise doubt in any false information by using the hashtags of false news. Traditionally, in Zimbabwe, citizens consider any information given by government ministers as accurate. For example, Deputy Minister of Information Energy Mutodi appeared to convince people that everything was ok and that videos and photos of soldiers patroling the streets were created by few criminals. Mutodi continued to mislead the nation when he claimed on national television that there was no internet access but there was a disturbance in the internet. In another suspected false news manipulation, millions of people were blocked on social media during the January protests. Some deployed a virtual private network (VPN) service to continue reporting, but reports were circulated that deploying such services would lead to arrests, raising fear and anger. In March 2019, when Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a tweet denouncing the brutal use of the government to control the protests in January 2019, government supporters used Twitter to harass and attack HRW. One user tweeted that the organization was spreading false lies and called it a colonialist organization seeking to pressure innocent countries to comply with the US colonial objectives. Another commented on the government's claims and lamented that the violence was a result of corrupt men who were trying to fool the president. And misinformation about government policy and other public interest events continues to prevail after the January protests. Recently, members of the ruling ZANU PF recently used Twitter to mislead the public about the disappearance of Dr.Peter Magombey, the vice president of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA). He was arrested on September 14, 2019, following the announcement of a health strike. The ZANU PF’s youth affairs secretary described Magombey as a fool and ignorant person. The ZANU PF Patriots account said the reports of his kidnapping were false. Others spread false claims that doctors killed many patients following the strike, including more than 500 people in one hospital. Zimbabwe's historical sketch The media control in Zimbabwe has a roots in the colonial policy of the 20th century, which was condemned with forceful use to hide in front of political authorities. The Rhodeshesian government led by Ian Smith focused on propaganda and censorship as its best tool, not only to support the legitimacy of the government but also to spread false information about the war. The colonial government passed a massive number of anti-speech or anti-apartheid laws and implemented these laws aggressively against liberation leaders. Media control was a common practice before independence in 1980, and this established a model of government policy on communication and media management for the years that followed. As famous South African journalist and journalist Heidi Holland wrote in her book, Dinner with Mugabe: The Untold Story of a Freedom Fighter Who Became a Tyrant: Many people in the ZANU PF community have lived in a brutality that has become so common in their daily lives that it seems to be normal. The forest war, or the Second Chimurenga War, has never ended in Zimbabwe. Today, Mnangagwa continues this tradition, suppressing criticism through false information and online publishing. This post is part of a series of articles examining digital rights violations through methods such as Internet shutdowns and misinformation during important political events in seven African countries: Algeria, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The project is funded by Africa Digital Rights Fund The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA). Protesters participating in June 2018 Women's March in Kampala, Uganda. Photo by Katumba Badru, used with permission. In Uganda, the internet has become a buzz when the government trys to silence the growing opposition voice online. For years, Ugandan authorities have used different tactics to suppress the opposition and return the ruling National Resistance Movement and President Yoweri Museveni to power. This includes blocking media sites, spamming SMS and blocking social media platforms. As Uganda's 2021 general elections come to an end, leadership leaders are expected to continue these tactics. Prisoners during 2016 elections During the 2016 general elections, Ugandan leaders were forced to shut down both social media platforms. The first arrest was implemented on February 18, 2016, during the eve of presidential elections, and affected social media platforms and money transfer services. The invasion took four days. On May 11, 2016, social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, and SMS services were blocked again. The closure took one day and took place a day before President Museveni was sworn in for his fifth term as president. Museveni has been in power since 1986. The opposition against his administration is growing: According to a poll released in April 2019, the majority of Ugandans are against the 2017 abolition of the 75 year age limit for presidential elections, which would allow the 74-year-old president to run again in the 2021 elections. During all the opening events in 2016, the Ugandan government mentioned that the reason was national security to regulate the internet. Attacks were reported by Ugandan security forces by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), which controls the Ugandan communication sector, online publications, broadcasting (both radio and television), film industry, postal services, printing and printing. On February 18, 2016, MTN Uganda, a telecom service provider, released a statement on Twitter confirming that UCC, had ordered MTN to shut down all social media and money transfer services because of public security concerns. The ban also affected other mobile operators such as Airtel, Smile, Vodafone, and Africel. On the same day, President Museveni told reporters that he ordered the closure of social media: Steps must be taken for security to prevent many people from entering into evil, very shortly because other people use these means to say false, he said. On March 17, in a formal statement during the Supreme Court decision where President Museveni's victory was rejected, UCC director Godfrey Mutabazi explained that he received instructions from the Police General, Kale Kayihura, to shut down social media sites and money transfer services for security reasons. The prison threatened the rights and daily lives of Ugandans who use the internet and social media platforms to access information, commentary and their daily business. Hours before the 2016 elections, Ugandans volunteered to publish and discuss the elections using the hashtags #UgandaDecides and # UGDebate16. The Ugandan online presence was plagued by the first presidential debate, the first one that took place in January and the second one, a week later. Despite the introduction of social media, many Ugandans continued to report on the elections using a private IP address known as VPN. On the day of the election, citizens could participate in what was happening about the delay in polling stations, the scandals of fraud, and the results of the elections on social media. Human rights activists say that planning during the elections does not reduce the speed of communication, while access to information and citizen speech is critical. The internet shutdown blocks people from talking about issues affecting them, such as health, relationships with friends and political opinions, Moses Owiny, head of the Center for Multilateral Affairs, a free policy analysis platform working in Uganda and Tanzania, told Global Voices in an interview. According to Owiny, the suspension aims to prevent opposition in politics on the basis of the government's fear that citizens' comments could disturb the public, claims he believe are unverifiable but speculative. Uganda's history of shutting down social media platforms and websites On April 14, 2011, UCC ordered Internet service providers (ISPs) to suspend Facebook and Twitter access for 24 hours to block access and exchange. The order was issued during the massive walk to work protests led by the opposition following the rising price of oil and food. The communications authority said security forces called for the closure of social media to prevent violence. In 2011, the election was plagued by SMS messages containing certain phrases such as Egypt, bullet and people power. In advance of the 2006 general elections, UCC ordered Internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to Radio Katwe website for publishing false and false news against the ruling National Resistance Movement and its presidential candidates, according to the 2015 Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA). The Ugandan authorities blocked access to the radio station and the Daily Monitor website by publishing free election results. These platforms were quickly returned but only after the electoral commission announced the official results. 2021 elections: What are the tactics? President Museveni in May 2013. He has been in power since 1986. Photo: Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Flickr [CC BY 2.0].Since 2016, the regime has been arresting opposition politicians and journalists. Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, singer and leader of the People Power party, who is also a member of parliament, has already declared his candidacy. Bobi Wine is currently facing criminal charges for insulting the president and if he is found guilty, he will not be allowed to win. According to Human Rights Watch, in 2018 the regime targeted six opposition members including Bobi Wine and Francis Zaake, before the August 15 elections in Arua (northern Uganda). Police and the army arrested the group and 28 other people on August 13, 2018, and charged them with murder. They were later released on bail. The same day, police also arrested two journalists, Herber Zziwa and Ronald Muwanga, while reporting on the election and the violence related to the election, including the brutal shooting of Bobi Wine driver by the army. Read more: #FreeBobiWine: Protests mount over torture and arrest of a young political force in Uganda As the 2021 elections come to an end, it is highly likely that the Ugandan regime will continue its repression of the opposition, including blocking social media. Indeed, since the 2016 elections, there has been no change in the legal system that allows the government to restrict the right to free expression and access to information online. According to 2016 State of Internet Freedom in Africa report, the 2013 Communications Act gives UCC more power and works under Article 5 that allows the UCC to monitor, check, license, control, and regulate communication services and set standards, monitoring, and implementing reporting on information. With the government's request, UCC used this section to order Internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to social media and mobile money during the 2016 elections. The government continues to use these laws to restrict public debate and silence political opponents, especially during the elections. Owiny argues that the government has the ability to shut down the internet whenever it seems to be necessary: When government security and its citizens are connected, and when government security is threatened, government security and access will be prioritized. Non-governmental organizations and human rights advocates have been preparing in Uganda to make a similar opening in 2016 not happen again. Several organisations filed a joint letter to the African Union and regional organizations demanding to condemn the Ugandan government's decision to ban access to the internet during the 2016 elections. Unwanted Witness Uganda sent the Ugandan government to court, including Internet service providers (ISPs) and UCC, in a case filed in September 2016. The organization pointed out that the government's planned internet shutdown violated Ugandan citizens' rights to free expression and expression as defined in Article 29 (1) of the 1995 Constitution. However, the judge ruled that the charges failed to prove any violations related to the closure, Unwanted Witness told Global Voices. To ensure the lack of access to the internet during the upcoming elections will require more advocacy. Owiny suggested the need for civil rights activists to increase the conversation between the government and the private sector to present the worst consequences of the closure because the private sector is feared by the government. Uganda was one of the first countries in Africa to introduce an access to information law, known as Access to Information Act (ATIA), in 2005. The law promises to provide efficiency, transparency and accountability that will allow the public to easily access and participate in decisions that affect them as citizens. Will the government fulfill its mission to promote the right to access information? And will it fulfill its promises? This post is part of a series of articles examining digital rights violations through methods such as blocking internet access and misinformation during important political events in seven African countries: Algeria, eEthiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The project is funded by Africa Digital Rights Fund The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA). Students from DCMA School performing various musical instruments at Old Customs, Mbeki Township, Zanzibar, 2019. Photo courtesy of DCMA. Thousands of foreigners visiting the Old Town, Zanzibar, a historical city known for its historical heritage, listen to a live music stream from DCMA, a music school that aims to promote and preserve the music of the coastline and other parts of the Indian coast. Since 2002, the school has been promoting and preserving the unique culture of Zanzibar that combines Arab, Hindi and African culture through music. 17 years since the establishment of the school, it is clearly facing a financial crisis that threatens his closure. Almost 70 percent of the 80 students in the school are not able to pay the school fees, which are about $13 per month, according to the official DCMA public statement. Although the school has received donations from international donors and friendly organizations, it is currently facing a massive threat that would force her to close its arms and leave the historic Old Customs House. With no immediate funding to continue its activities, students and teachers of DCMA are worried that the hearings heard from the walls of the building and making the islands become a art scene can fail. The school not only teaches and promotes traditional culture and heritage through music, but is also surrounded by a large number of young artists looking for alternative ways to live their lives through art. A student at DCMA learns to play a taarab instrument. Photo courtesy of DCMA. We have started to face a financial crisis, says Alessia Lombardo, Director General of DCMA, in the official video of DCMA. From now on to six months, we are not sure we can be able to pay teachers and other workers. Now, 19 teachers and a few other staff members have not been paid their salaries for more than six months because the school has been struggling to obtain support from friends as well as trying to create a sustainable revenue system for the rehabilitation of the school. Although the island is known to attract many tourists because of its beautiful beaches and luxury hotels, many residents are suffering from unemployment although statistics released by the World Bank show that poverty has increased in the island. For more than 17 years, DCMA has worked tirelessly to promote and protect the heritage of Zanzibar through music. Where was born renowned Arabic singer and singer Siti Binti Saad and Fatuma Binti Baraka, or Ms. Kidude, Zanzibar is a haven of music that has sprung up through cultural diversity and collaboration between the Pwani Swahili people for hundreds of years. Today, students can learn traditional music such as taarab, drums and dumbak, as well as other instruments such as drums, qanun and oud, as translators and interpreters of culture and tradition. Neema Surri, a violin teacher at DCMA, has been learning how to play it since 9 years old. I know many young people who want to learn music but cannot afford a small salary because of poverty and unemployment, Surri said in a video by DCMA. Students of DCMA exercise at Old Customs, their school, in the Old Customs, in their village, Zanzibar, 2019. Photo courtesy of DCMA. After completing the DCMA Workshops, BBAs and BBAs, many of the DCMA students may work on international platforms as awards singers and independent artists. Zanzibar Amina Omar Juma, a former DCMA student and current DCMA teacher, recently returned from a visit to South Africa with her award-winning Siti and Her Band, which is known for combining traditional Arabic voices with modern traditional voices. In collaboration with his colleagues, who are former members of the DCMA, he released his first album, Fusing the Roots, in 2018, and continues to perform at Sound of the Roots, the largest music festival in East Africa, the same year. Here is a listen to the band's song Nielewe along with a video, showing the Zanzibarn challenges to tell the story of a woman who faces domestic harassment and dreams of music life, as well as Omar Juma's personal story: Read more: East African Women in Music Engage in Silence of Men History of cultural interaction and collaboration More than 15,000 foreigners have passed through the school building to enjoy live performances, workshop and classes and meet DCMA music professionals representing the future of Zanzibar's culture and heritage, according to DCMA. With a touch of history of India, the Arab world and Africa, the school is proud to be a result of different cultures, with cultures connected to the Indian Gulf and the Persian Gulf region. The Sultan of Omani, a popular king between the 17 and 19th century, moved his rule from Muscat to Zanzibar in 1840. From the Old Town, Oman's leaders operated seafood business, including bread, gold, clothes, based on the movements of vessels guided by the waves between the Indian coastline in India to Oman and East Africa. Zanzibar's youth are aware of the need to understand their history to determine whether their future and the music they create today describes a struggle between the old and the modern. Recently, DCMA students and their teachers started TaraJazz, a fusion of traditional dance and modern dance. His musician, Felician Mussa, 20, has been learning to play a violin instrument for three and half years; TaraJazz is one of the most searched clubs in the island, here by photojournalist Aline Coquelle: The Swahili River tells a story of a mix of cultures and DCMA promotes this culture through musical collaborations. Every year, the school organizes a Swahili Encounters, a project called Swahili Encounters, which gathers known musicians from Africa, Middle East, Europe and North America and DCMA students to create real music in one week. At the end of the meeting, new artists' teams are required to perform at Voices of Busara, and often they have long-standing friendships that cross the borders of language and culture, making music a global language. DCMA organizes a weekly show every week to show the talents of its students and friends when they visit the musicians, Msongwe, Zanzibar, 2019. Photo courtesy of DCMA. The DCMA school recognizes that music inspires and unites people regardless of their cultures and also employs talented youth living in a poor economy and a huge lack of employment. With the number of 1,800 students who attended the DCMA training, this school is the only music school they know, where they can learn and grow as renowned musicians and artists. One visitor from Tunisia, who recently visited the DCMA school recently, wrote on TripAdvisor: Personally, meeting the musician was my best time on the island. While Zanzibar’s tourism sector is growing rapidly, the DCMA school believes music plays a crucial role in celebrating, preserving and promoting the culture of Swahilis, their heritage and their history. Zanzibar is more than a beach and luxury hotel is a place filled with talent based on a rich history of gathering and interconnecting. Editor's note: The author of this post has volunteered at the DCMA school. Sierra Leone: Health workers preparing to enter the Ebola treatment center. Flickr image by EC/ECHO/Cyprien Fabre, August 2, 2014. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) On August 12, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a positive report on the progress of the prevention efforts for the trial of several ebola drugs in the Republic of Congo (Republic of Congo). WHO pointed out that the prepared Ebola drugs have a positive impact on the life expectancy of Ebola patients, and continues to explain that two out of four prepared drugs have proven to be effective in treating Ebola. Who is involved in this Ebola vaccine? Honorable Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, Director General of the Institute National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) DR of Congo, invested much of his life in finding a cure for Ebola. While international media is reporting a lot about how the Ebola virus causes a huge number of deaths in Congo, the stories about the survivor are very little shared by the media. Muyembe-Tamfum explained : we will no longer say that the Ebola virus (EVD) is not against us. Based on Muyembe-Tamfum's remarkable work, researchers tested four anti-Ebola drugs: ZMapp, remdesivir, mAb114 and REGN-EB3. The responses to a medical trial conducted by 499 participants of the study showed that patients treated with REGN-EB3 or mAb114 were more likely to recover than those treated with other drugs. This study was conducted under the direction of the Institute National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), the Ministry of Health of the Congo and three other health organizations: the International Medical Corps (IMC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Congolese citizen involved in the delivery of Ebola vaccine Muyembe-Tamfum has been researching about Ebola since the first reported cases in Congo in 1976, where he was the first researcher to visit the region where Ebola was first reported. I used four decades of my life to look for a cure for Ebola. So, this is a success in my life-Dr Jean-Jacques Muyembe, Director General of the National de Recherche Biomedicale Institute of the Republic of #Congo and his colleagues have discovered a new Ebola vaccine that can treat the symptoms of Ebola in only three hours. Dr Jean-Jacques Muyembe, Director General of the National de Recherche Biomedicale Institute of the #Democratic Republic of #Congo, and his colleagues have discovered a new Ebola vaccine that can treat the symptoms in only three hours. A professor of anatomy at the University of Medicine in Kinshasa - the Republic of Democratic Republic of Congo, has now spent nearly 40 years looking for a cure for the disease. In 1995, he worked with WHO in implementing an Ebola response assessment project after the first Ebola cases were reported in Kikwit, the Republic of Congo. Professor Muyembe-Tamfum (sitting with a loudspeaker) speaking during a community education exercise in Beni, North Kivu, the Republic of Congo, in September 2018. Photo by MONUSCO/Aqueel Khan (CC BY-SA 2.0) Following this revolution, the Ebola victims are now looking forward to a quick response and being taken to hospitals for more health care. With 90 percent of the patients being taken to health centers and receive treatment and return to their age, they will begin to believe in this medicine and build trust in their communities and citizens in general. Jean-Jacque Muyembe-Tamfum The causes of the Ebola vaccine to be considered The first Ebola cases were reported in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), since then, the Ebola virus has been spread regularly from natural source (which is yet to be known) and has led people around Africa to die of it. Ebola outbreaks since 1976. Photo of map from the Center for Combating and Destruction of Magojwal In 2014 and 2016 there were more than 28,600 people affected by Ebola in West Africa. According to the WHO 2015 report: In 2014 Senegal had one case of Ebola and no reported deaths. WHO announced Nigeria's response to the Ebola virus as part of its massive effort to tackle the rapidly spreading disease. In January 2015, Mali was reported to have 8 Ebola patients and 6 deaths. However, the situation was worse between March and June2016 in three countries: In Sierra Leone: over 14,000 people died of Ebola with 4,000 deaths; Liberia: about 10,000 people died of Ebola and 3,000 dead.Guinea: 3,800 patients and 2,500 deaths. A general overview of Ebola International The Ebola epidemic that caused serious damage to African countries sparked panic and fear in 2015 when two Ebola patients were reported dead in the US, one Spain and one Germany. GabyFleur Böl, a researcher at the Berlin Center for Disease Assessment, Germany, reported other Ebola cases in Spain, Germany, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. At that time, Ebola infection was considered a death penalty due to lack of adequate treatment. As Böl previously said, the rapid rate of deaths due to Ebola and /a> sometimes fake news reports about Ebola contributed to a global panic. These reports were also contributed to a 2017 survey in which Hal Roberts, Brittany Seymour, Sands Alden Fish II, Emily Robinson and Ethan Zuckerman analyzed more than 109,000 articles published in major US media and blogs between July and November 2014, with the focus on Ebola news. They discovered three major headlines about Ebola news in major US media and blogs took place on July 27, September 28, and October 15 in 2014: On 27 July, it was first reported that American doctors who work in Liberia were affected by Ebola. On September 30, the media reported widely about Thomas Duncan's Ebola case in Texas, making it the first time the disease has been reported in the United States. On October 12, reports of the Ebola patient who is a health care provider were mixed in the US. After October 12, other cases of Ebola were reported repeatedly, resulting in a spike in numbers. There is a possibility that American media has reported a lot about the Ebola epidemic because of the cases of the disease in the country. Also, due to the ease of social media sharing, Ebola has become widely debated in European and American media. However, what is being expected is whether an Ebola vaccine found by a African from the Democratic Republic of Congo which treats the African disease will be featured in the media as in 2017. Erick Kabendera giving training to journalists in 2012, Dare s salaam. Photo by Pernille Baerendtsen, used with permission On July 29, 6 armed soldiers arrested Erick Kabendera at his home in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and put him in jail. Police say Kabendera has violated a self-exile petition for interrogation on his citizenship as a Tanzanian. For the past week, police stormed the flagship house two times, denied his passport, other personal documents and questioned his family. As of August 5, authorities changed the case, Kabandera was charged with money laundering, unfair taxation of US$75,000, and criminal activity. These charges are according to a lawsuit filed by the CPJ. Police say Kabendera has committed this crime for four years since 2015. For the charges against Kabendera he can face up to 15 years in prison and is not allowed to get a bail. Tanzanian Magufuli First they threatened the journalist, when they heard a lot of noise saying he is not a Tanzanian, which has failed, now he is charged with cybercrime and refusing to pay taxes. Without Erick Kabendera, his responsibility is to be a journalist. Media freedom has risen sharply in this Tanzanian Magufuli period, reports CPJ. Representative of the Centre for Protecting Journalists (CPJ) in Sub-Saharan Africa, Muthoka Mumo says: It seems that over the last week the authorities have been trying to prove the reasons behind his detention, the free journalist and critic. First they claimed that Erick Kabendera's citizenship was not granted, today they have added a different charge, which makes us wonder why they wanted him. As a journalist Kabendera has been criticizing President John Magufuli's administration and has often been responsible for press freedom. He reports to local and international media such as The Guardian, African Arguments and The East African about Tanzania's politics and how it divides people. JJebra Kambole, Kabendera's lawyer, says the court also condemned Kabendera for his offensive remarks against the government in a post published in The Economist, with the headline that John Magufuli is threatening Tanzania's press freedom. The latest news: journalist Erick Kabendera was charged with a threatening statement against the government following a post published in The Economist, titled John Magufuli threatens Tanzania's freedom of information explanation from Zebra Kambole states that Mr Kabendera is denied bail. Citizenship has been used as a tool to silence people The herald family says, this is not the first time the government asked about citizenship. In 2013 the government also filed similar charges but the case was rejected later, according to The Citizen. Kabendera at that time saw that the authorities wanted to use the investigation of his citizenship as an excuse to silence him. Last year, The Citizen also reported several cases in which the government used the question of citizenship as a tool to stop criticism in Tanzania. Aidan Eyakuze, director general of Twaweza, a civil society organization, based on the Voice of Citizens, said the authorities have suspended his passport and refused to travel while his citizenship investigation is underway. Two weeks before the event, Twaweza reported the results of a study called Tell the Truth to those in power? Public opinion on Tanzanian politics The Science and Technology Commission (Costech) alleged that the study was unauthorized and threatened to take legal action but the case was rejected, according to the same article by The Citizen. In recent years Tanzania has introduced a number of new laws targeting bloggers and media, civil society organisations, arts and culture organizations and academics and researchers as a ploy by analysts who criticize the government as an attempt to restrict reports coming from Tanzania and restrict freedom of expression and political rights. Read more: Will Tanzanian Bloggers Accept to Pay or Stop Blogging Tax? #FreeErickKabendera Hundreds of journalists, human rights activists, concerned citizens have gathered on social media calling for Kabendera's release: AFEX Africa calls the charges a clear intention of violence It's nine days now and Tanzanian police continue to detain journalist Erick Kabendera who is investigated @AFEXafrica if there is a need for a public violence investigation. https://t.co/7UFZkzYzwV @MRA_Nigeria @FXISouthAfrica @gmpressunion #FreeErickKabendera #NoImpunity AFEX (@AFEXafrica) August 6, 2019 Kabendera, who has often trained and encouraged young journalists, made her former student tweet this: I met Erick Kabendera only once in my life, for less than 80 minutes. He came as a teacher invited to teach us (media and communication school - @UniofDar). But despite being with me for a while, I learned a lot from him. He really motivated me so much #100K4Erick Another netizen thinks Kabendera's arrest and punishment is a sign of alert for other citizens: RIP Kabendera because I am a Tanzanian or because I am a journalist I RIP because I live in Tanzania where Erick lives. Should His Rights Be Done Today And I Wake Up, It could Soon Be Done For Me. No One Has Accepted Discrimination When It Comes to Leaders I and we are Ivan Golunov. Banner by Meduza, used with permission These Russian-language explanations mean a level of anxiety that might be enough maybe a good way is to explain how the number of suspected Russian journalists and arrests of Ivan Golunov, a prominent investigator, is increasing. He was arrested on June 6 in Moscow on alleged charges of drug trafficking. Golunov was arrested and threatened to meet a lawyer, which is contrary to Russian law. His lawyer confirmed he had severe pain in jail. After he was taken to the hospital, he was allowed and treated with special animals on June 8. Initially Russian soldiers showed photographs of suspected drug traffickers taken from the Golunov neighborhood house but they were later removed. The Russian pro-Kremlin news outlet today confirmed that the photos were not taken in the Golunov gorges. The charges faced by Golunov could lead to 10 to 20 years in prison. Golunov's 36-year-old is working at Meduza, one of the few independent communities that use the Russian language remaining in Russia. Meduza was registered in the neighboring Latvia, but it has a few offices in Russia. Golunov has led the publication of several cases of corruption involving high-ranking leaders. Since Golunov was arrested, Meduza has been publishing Golunov's articles under creative commons license and has encouraged media and individuals to republish the stories, which has been strongly supported by Global Voices. One of the most important news he published was about Mayor Pyotr Biryukov's proposals for his family and how the project to make moscow a beautiful city had a budget beyond expectations. The news he was working with before he was arrested was about the regulation of funeral services in Moscow. The Golunov's arrest prompted a lack of solidarity among journalists, activists and lawyers and even famous singers and singers outside Mscow and Petersburg. On June 10, three major newspapers agreed to publish their support for Golunov on the front page. The newspapers were sold and published a new record. In unusual circumstances pro-Kremlin and Channel One, which has many subscribers, are calling for a fair investigation. On June 12 it will be Russia Day, where demonstrations and public protests will be held. With strict laws, public protests need permission. Supporters of Golunov have announced that they will take part in their own march without official permission. Kremlin observers say the Russian government is looking forward to eliminating charges against the journalist before June 20. On a day when President Vladimir Putin, whose ranks have been lower in the country's history, will be speaking directly during a year-long public speaking session where he receives questions from citizens on phone and social media. Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina at the Book Festival in Brooklyn, 2009. A 48-year-old, a 48-year-old, died on Sunday 22 May in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo by Nightscream, CC 3.0 by Wikimedia Commons. Just 24 hours since Binyavanga Wainaina Mwandish Mkenya disappeared in this world, but its presence and impact continue to spread across the world. In fact, an anonymous journalist blamed tensions and challenged the government for a revolutionary journalism that would open the door for thousands of journalists wishing to change their writing and explaining how Africa is. A 48-year-old journalist, teacher and LGBTQ activist, Binyavanga Wainaina, died on Sunday, May 22, in Nairobi, Kenya, after being physically ill. Today I thought: What will your life be like when you leave? Binyavanga’s death made me think about how I was five or many years ago and how he was for us as a young man passionate about the excitement and hunger of change on our continent and for us too. Fungai Machirori (@fungaijustbeing) May 22, 2019 For a few minutes, friends, fans and fans of his Tunisians took to social media sharing memories and thanks and discussing his very interesting messages. Wainaina is known for his satirical post, How to write about Africa, published in a 2006 newspaper. He is also known for his 2012 lifetime book, One Day I'll write about this place, and Mama, I am a Bastard, published in Chimurenga, as well as Africa is a Country published in 2014. The article went viral on Twitter because people tried to show the truth and the newspapers called Wainaina one of the 100 most influential people in the world In a post on How to describe Africa, Wainaina described Western media and the aid of all industries in Nairobi as perpetuating inappropriate racism on the African continent with a lot of sarcasm and sarcasm. How do you try to put a good African image on a bookshelf or inside it except for that African who has won a Nobel Prize. A AK-47 bullet, good mouths, open ears: use it. If you are forced to include an African, make sure you get him from Masai or Zulu or Dogon's clothes. His stomach was a bit heavy, writes Nigerian writer Nwachukwu Egbunike. A book or book written widely by academics, NGOs and aid workers has had a huge impact on African understanding and these results continue to spread, surprising and shocking. On the result, writer Pernille Bærendtsen writes: For me, this post follows me since I was awarded in 2008 by my Kenyan friend. I am sure I was one of the people interviewed by Binyavanga: A Tanzanian development worker employed by Danish government organization wrote about the results of the article. That was when industrial development and aid increases their efficiency to obtain a voucher for the price hikes that were coming up. I had many reasons for grief, but I had time to plan for change. Binyavanga later explained to Bidoun magazine how this article only happened in life and two consequences: By exposing and describing the dangers of novelists, NGO workers, musicians, rescuers, students and foreign writers who read these instructions on how or not to write about Africa, they start asking for their permission. Wainaina was a son of a Kenyan father and a Ugandan mother, he continued to question the falsehoods being told about Africa especially through his 2012 life story called One Day I'll write about it here. With detailed information, it attracted readers from her childhood in 1970s in Kenya and a student in South Africa where she spent many years in exile. The criticism described the book as real and true, but later Wainaina confessed that he had forgett the essence of love in his life. Mama, I am a shoga, Wainaina was the first Kenyan woman to be a high profile and to be open to speaking on social media, raising awareness from the community. It seemed to be a missing image in his memory. Wainaina noticed that he was a fool for his mother when she was about to die. His post came in time as a campaign against the massive anti-gay summit and a law against homosexuality was proposed in Uganda and later in Tanzania where homosexuality is a crime. Read more: Tanzania's position on homosexuality to break political agenda However, unlike other expatriates, Wainaina returned home as Nanjala Nyabola explains to BBC on Twitter, saying that it was important: For those of us who grew up with renowned Kenyan journalists living in exile, jailed, poor or deprived or misunderstood, he returned home and that was very important. He was a disgruntled man but for this he deserve always thanks. We must say our thoughts While Binyavanga genuinely received international attention, home he criticized and faced a harsh pressure on the established principles. Binyavanga denied the opportunity of freedom of expression and reflection. Wisely in a LGBTQ community he advised on raising those principles. In response to the noise and other responses, Wainaina wrote We Must Say Our Thoughts, on Yuotube with six sections containing his thoughts on freedom and thought. I want to live a life of freedom of speech, she explained in the first part. I ask this generation of young parents to have young people to see Africans writing their own stories a simple political act that everyone should have. I am going to see a continent where all kinds of ideas should not be allowed until they are allowed. I am an African of all Africans, I want to see this continent change. Wainaina often expressed her passion for satire through her writing, education and leadership. In 2002, after winning the Caine Prize for her home discovering post, she used the prize money to co-found a project called What? A newspaper dedicated to spreading voices and new ideas across the continent. Why? It continued to be published and has a network connecting journalists from Lagos to Nairobi, Mogadishu to Accra. Read more:We work to prevent explosions': a word spoken in East Africa While he criticized social contracts in Kenya and later declared himself HIV positive on Twitter on World AIDS Day 2016 it often came with backlash, struggle and pain. Wainaina was a brave man who struggled with tension and often clashed because of being a controversial figure it seemed to be his role in society as a human being. He had fans but faced criticism from renowned writer Shailja Patel, who accused Wainaina of being a toxic anti-sexual person. Twitter user Néo Músangi describes the weaknesses of the Chinese in his tweet: I have no power but I love Binya as my favorite friend in my foreign and advocacy. I am so sad that he hurt others. I am sad that he failed as a human. He would hate us when we clean him. Journalist Bwesigye Mwsigire, director of Writivism Festival in Uganda, also described the controversy on Facebook: His lifestyle was a problem. Good and leave the mistakes. People we hate because of their work and their thoughts are people. It is a human. Are we ever ready to love them in their complexity? Now, much has been talked about it. There is no need to repeat what was said. People have reminded him of his pain. This removes the pain a person feels for his death. There is only one Binyavanga ethnicity. It's a joke right now. Let's celebrate his life. A sense of humor Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi tweets after tweeting a tribute to Tunisians on Facebook; hate and homophobia followed his message. Wainaina was a talented personality that should be remembered: I posted a Facebook post about Binyavanga's death, #RIPBinyavanga was a very sad and sad comment I've never read. Even the fools who steal taxes and kill people don't get such a big hatred. The fact is, Binya had an intelligence and a sense of humor and will continue to be read and remembered. Ugandan mother rights advocate and writer Rosebell Kagumire highlighted what she learned from the arrogance of the Chinese to speak out: You don't allow fear. Don't stop you yourself. Look at what needs to be said. Well done. Stay in your truth and in your heart. When you breathe your last breath there will be millions of words that you have given to Binyavanga In his life and letters, he gave himself and countless others the permission to imagine life as it could be otherwise, and his sudden passing inspired poetic musings: Through his life and letters, he gave himself and countless others the permission to imagine life as it could be otherwise, and his sudden passing inspired poetic musings: One day I will write about your beautiful hair One day I will write about your tears One day I will write about your dissatisfaction One day I will write about your ability to think One day I will write about your rejection Today I write thanks Kenyan Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, a journalist and Dust journalist, a true friend of the Nigerians, concludes with a final mourning: Who told you to go? From your body night without leaving a new account? The face is stuck, the eyes are stuck, he said, You only have 3 seconds to fix your tears here. Who told you to go? From your body without leaving a new account? Who can go out of fear and sadness while writing a cartoon? Now he is one of the most famous people, you can join the Binya singer with a lot of memories of his work. The front page of de Angola's newspaper about the award-winning Telstar scheme. Photo by Dércio Tsandzana, April 19, 2019, with permission Angolan President João Lourenço on April 18 followed a government contract for a mobile phone operator in the country, saying that the winner of the contract Telstar did not meet the requisites required to provide the service. The president's decision may show divisions in the Angolan government. Telstar was founded in January 2018 with a first 200,000 shares (about 600 USD), and its main sponsors are Manuel João Carneiro (90 percent) and businessman António Cardoso Mateus (10%), according to the Portuguese Observador. According to Angolan news, the victory of Manuel João Carneiro was granted by former President Eduardo dos Santos. The Observador newspaper reported that 27 companies participated in the application process opened by the Ministry of Information and Technology under José Carvalho da Rocha. According to the Angolan newspaper on April 25, João Lourenço signed regulations that introduced new regulations for the opening of a tender. After the first submission of the first proposal was made public, many Angolans questioned the integrity of the process. Some went further by saying that Telstar has never had a website. This was said by Skit Van Darken, editor and presenter on Facebook: Telstar Telecommunications, Ltd, was founded on January 26, 2018, with first 200,000 shares from the newspaper Diário da República, whose sponsors are the general Manuel João Carneiro (90%) and António Cardoso Mateus (10%). The strong alliance is with Mundo Startel, a multi-national company, registered by INACOM, a telecom regulator with a license although it has expired. a company that doesn't have a website! I DO NOT WANT ANY MORE THAN OTHER EVENTS THE COUNTRY IS A FAITH Now, Joaquim Lunda, a journalist and broadcaster on social media, praised the president's act and even claimed that the minister went through the risk of being displaced: Summary I am grateful for the decision made by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, to cancel the government's proposal that the Angolan telecom company Telstar won the licence for the fourth telecommunications operator in Angola. There were many reservations and a lot of points to clarify around the issue. A person is not interested in a company that was founded in 2018 with 200 million CFA revenue, awarded a prize. I am 100% sure that the days of the minister of communication and information technology are counted. After failure with ANGOSAT 1, now and what we see today, I am worried if Fear will do anything. Let's enjoy the game live!! The president's decision came after the minister who led in 2017, the satellite project Angosat 1, is getting into trouble again. Adriano Sapiñala, vice president of the main opposition party, see the problem as a sign of weakness in the government: JLo [João Lourenço] has to plan his team because yesterday the defense minister was saying that the trial date has expired and Telstar would continue with the next step because it was a winner of a scam contract and today JLo comes out and cancels the contract! Communication is not good? Now if the minister is going to take a stand or JLo should leave him because if he doesn't remove him because if he doesn't remove it is because his process was not good and to not affect a clean person they should be responsible!! Blanka Nagy speaks at a protest in January 2019. Photo by Márk Tremmel, CC BY-NC-SA 2.5. This story was written by Tamás B. Kovács and translated by Anita Kőműves for the independent Hungary magazine, Atlatszo. This republished version is available here as part of its collaboration with Global Voices. Hungarian pro-government media have started a new attack on Blanka Nagy, a high school student who spoke badly against the government in several protests since the end of 2018. Nagy deserves a lot of criticism against him and has also been sexually harassed and one news source called him guilty. He has already filed a defamation case and won a case against three organizations Lokàl, Ripost and Origo, which support the government, said he was going to school. However, after Nady won a case against Origo, the source attacked him again by publishing his school report. Nady told Atlatszo he was thinking of prosecuting Origo again because of their recent news. Blanka Nagy has become popular in Hungary last summer after delivering a speech in a protest against the government, where she criticized famous politicians, using harsh language. His harsh words were shared by social media users through a video of his speech. Two months after his video became popular on social media, pro-government media outlets such as Zsolt Bayer started a series of attacks against him. The media reported that he had failed his studies and had lost many days of study. They also called him a talented man who wants to be popular and famous. His lawyer presented a copy of his results to the court and showed that he was not finished in his studies and the papers were given to Origo's lawyers. The news outlet decided to publish a report from the Nagy's results report and said that he has already passed history last year and is also in a written examination. When #MediaInHungary Attacks on young protester Blanka Nagy, she hated them for insulting her and won. They were asked to apologize and correct their information but they refused and continue to blasphemy him. TV2 TV spent all the time to criticize the results, mentioning the papers sent to court but not saying what the verdict was https://t.co/MyllWb2Jwh Joost (@almodozo) April 5, 2019, I and my lawyer are thinking of prosecuting a news source who published a copy of my school results, Nagy told Atlatszo in an interview. He said that Origo had no right to publish his results. He and his lawyers think that Origo had no right even to see the results of his representation in court. And their recent accusations are not really true, Nady said. I don't understand my History, unlike what they say. I have a good result my numbers are more than 2 (which is equal to C). What they say is false. I would be shocked if it was true because in my family there was a History teacher among my grandchildren, he continued. I think all these accusations against me are very strange but I don't see them again. It shows me in some way intimidating some of the top officials of the ruling party Fidesz. The fact is that Zsolt Bayer's attack on government-supported media to spread false information against me, confirms that, he added. Blanka Nagy a high school student: Fidesz is hungry, scary, bad and a tragedy. This evil group of robbers, this small government, are holding their funds for their survival in prison while you are struggling with poverty while you are struggling with poverty while you are being exploited by poverty while you are being exploited by poverty while you are being exploited by poverty while you are being exploited by poverty while you are being exploited by poverty while you are being exploited by poverty while you are being exploited by poverty. He said the truth. This is Hungary. Crimes and false information are the only weapons of the Hungaryn government. Some opposition authorities have responded by insulting the media. According to recent data collected by Atlatszo, mainstream propaganda sources have failed many cases, and were ordered by the court to correct information 109 times in 2018. They cannot put their ideas in our minds and they shoot us #SOSNicaragua As reads a poster of a protester during a protest for political prisoners in Managua. August, 2018. Photo by: Jorge Mejía Peralta (CC BY 2.0) Since massive protests against President Daniel Ortega broke out in Nicaragua in April 2018, the government has banned protests, arrested thousands without filing charges and suspended sources and alternative media. While negotiations have failed, the future of Nicaragua remains a thorny question. The protests began in protest against the changes to social housing policies that would increase the tax on revenue while reducing financial interests. The process was initially initiated by the authorities and opened the door to national protests demanding President Daniel Ortega, his wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo to resign. The numbers of deaths related to the protest have been mixed and unconfirmed since last year because restrictions on censorship have increased. In December 2018, the government blocked some NGOs that were closely monitoring police violence and human rights violations including the Center for Human Rights in Nicaragua (Cenidh) and Institute for Development of Democracy (Ipade). Also in December, two groups of the International Committee for Human Rights (IACHR) the Mission to Monitor Nicaragua (MESENI) and a group of Free Women's Advocates were evacuated from the country, leaving Nicaragua without a independent human rights body and launching a new violence action, according to Women's Rights Activist and Educational Activist María Teresa Blandón. Read more: We are the victims we help victims': Investigating Human Rights Violations in Nicaragua The number of injured, recognized by the government in August 2018 has risen to 197. However, the Human Rights Watch has reported a total of 322 deaths until September 18, 2018, where most of the deaths were suicide attacks on the head, neck and stomach. Blogger Ana Siú wrote on Medium recently about her experience at the April 2018 protests: I saw my school friend being attacked by a gang via Instagram Mubashara. I heard him screaming and fighting to avoid injury [] Finally, a man who attacked him on a motorcycle grabbed him but took his phone. He didn't know that he is still innocent. He then said, let's go! We have to take these phone calls out. The event took 20 minutes. He also warned about the May 30, which was a historic protest organized on the day Nicaragua celebrates Mother Day where 15 people were killed. On that day we changed our minds about the protests. Some of us at the same protests saw how they were killing young people. It is the first time that police attacked such massive protests with fire. I have never been near such a death. When students clashed with each other at university in the capital city of Managua, farm workers blocked the roads in rural areas. In June protesters in Masaya declared the East city independent from the dictatorship. The government attacked protesters who set up security guards and responded to police attacks. Protesters continued to engage in violence and fighting and until August 2018 there were 22 deaths of police officers, according to government statistics. In late 2018, police started what they called operación limpieza (Operation Cleanup) to destroy barriers and charge suspected suspects of involvement. Reports say security forces did so in collaboration with militant groups. Many students, farmer movement leaders, rights defenders and journalists were targeted in the dangerous campaign and many have been charged. And some health workers who treated the victims during the protest have received shock for what they have done. The Nicaraguan Doctors Association has said at least 240 doctors were expelled from public hospitals as a way to rescue them. Read more: Nicaraguan protesters and journalists face violent attacks on the streets and on social media. In September the protests have become illegal, and any activities currently in the streets need special permission from the authorities, where they are often ignored. On February 27, 2019, a meeting room was opened between the government and the opposition party, Alianza Cívica por la Justicia y la Democracia (Alianza Cívica por la Justicia y la Democracia), followed by the release of hundreds of people from jail. Similar to the previous conversation, the meeting did not include farmers and students, because some are in jail, and others are in exile. Not only a new president a new start Since the country's crisis is entering a second year now, the fear and fear of the future of Nicaragua is being compounded by the hashtag #SOSNicaragua, which is being shared daily with claims, photos of victims and prayers on students in jail and their families. Read more: Nicaraguan diaspora activists carry two loads Nicaraguan news agency Niú interviewed protesters who led the February protests in nearby areas of Costa Rica and described the difficulties of living in exile. Alejandro Donaire, a student who said he fled the country after participating in a peaceful protest, told Niú how difficult it felt to be part of society and everyday life, after long hours of living hidden, running and protesting. Madelaine Caracas, spokesperson of a student group known as Students for Democracy, also shared Niú's wish to see a change in Nicaragua that will be more than Ortega's departure: We want to reverse dictatorship, sexual harassment, selfishness and other negative aspects that have sprung up in the country's political culture. We believe more that Ortega will leave this year and that I will return to Nicaragua this year. And I am sure because Ortega is currently in the international and economic sphere and also because all those who participated in April's protests are prepared right now. This last round of talks between the government and the opposition came to an end on April 3, with agreements on two of the four topics discussed. The government has promised that it will release all political prisoners and secondly respect the freedom of citizens. There were no agreements made regarding the rights of victims of electoral violence or rejection for the 2021 elections. The opposition Movement for Civil Liberties said that, however, the government has failed to respect the agreement. It continues to be reported that police are continuing to block the peaceful protests. As of April 6, only 50 of the 600 political prisoners were released, and detained in prison in their homes. Later on April 17, following new sanctions by the US, more than 600 prisoners were released and ended their detentions in home prisons, however according to the Civil Society, only 18 members of the group were in the list of political prisoners willing to be freed. In the minds of people such as activist and researcher Felix Madariaga, the new leader of the Nicaraguan Easter is in jail today. Meanwhile, opposition groups have called for a rally to mark the events of April 2018. With a warning from the authorities and a permit against the protests, there is also expected to be a new pressure from the police.