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June 7th, 2007


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Serbia: The Lustration Law 

a small portrait of this author Sinisa Boljanovic · 23:36

As time goes by, the issue of lustration in Serbia is becoming more and more interesting. The country's parliament passed the Lustration Law in 2003 - but it has still not been implemented.

The Serbian public knows that the Serbian Radical Party and the Social Party of Serbia are against the implementation of the Lustration Law, while the liberal Democratic Party continues to be in its favor. What the Serbian public does not know is why the Serbian government, which, naturally, has to carry out an order of the parliament, does not put the Lustration Law into effect.

Goran Miletic, a Serbian blogger, wrote (SRP) this at his B92 blog on June 1:

[…]

[The government representatives'] today’ s statements have shown one of these three things:

1. They don’t know what lustration is.
2. They do know what lustration is, but they are trying to lead us to believe it is not the best option.
3. They do know what lustration is, but they will repeal the Lustration Law for the sake of a compromise with [Vojislav Kostunica’s Democratic Party].

For the uninformed, Božidar Đelić [Vice-president of Government of Serbia] said [the quote in English is from this B92 story]:

“The law is one thing, the other thing is that we have elements that deal with the legislature and many other services. Commonly, when we speak about lustration, we speak about people who have criminally or morally done wrong, and we have a series of laws that can and must be implemented.”

His [Democratic] party colleague, the new justice minister Dušan Petrović, made a statement that the former minister Stojković would have agreed with:

“We will do everything possible to improve public life in Serbia, for the nation to be healthier than before, that is why we entered the government. If we can apply the laws in practice, we will apply, if we cannot apply the laws in the practice, we will change them. We want to change life in Serbia, because Serbia has to be a civilized European country.”

I don’t know what we can conclude from their statements. From the first, I concluded that they attempt to introduce criminal responsibility instead of lustration - which is not same. Crimes are dealt with according to the Criminal Law. Those politicians who had an opportunity to violate the elementary human rights (and who had done it), have to by judged according to the Lustration Law and they have to be excluded from politics for a certain period. Those people could work but they should not be allowed to go into politics. If some of those people participated in the election fraud, they would not serve as judges. If some of them gave notice to the policemen who refused to carry out orders and did not go into Kosovo, they would not be engaged with the police. The intelligence services are a special story.

The second conclusion is very simple. From the statement of the justice minister, I think that the ruling coalition will repeal this law. That is really the greatest shame for the Democratic Party.

The Lustration Law was passed in the parliament at the only time possible - after the assassination on Zoran Đinđić. […] It's a shame that [the Democratic Party] is playing with it.

5 comments · »»

Iran: Second Cultural Revolution Coming? This is a Video post

a small portrait of this author Hamid Tehrani · 21:51
lingua → zhs · zht

Universities in different parts of Iran are experiencing a new wave of repression by security forces. Between 6-8 student activists, members of student associations, and independent professors who dare to think and express their ideas differently than the Iranian establishment, have been arrested in recent weeks, or are awaiting court hearings and decisions from disciplinary committees - some for allegedly failing to respect strict Islamic dress code.

There have in fact been calls by some Basiji and conservative forces to begin a second Cultural Revolution to purge universities of secular and reformist thought. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Ayathollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, declared the need for a Cultural Revolution in all universities throughout the country. Universities were shutdown for two years and many students and professors were fired.

Several bloggers share their concerns and ideas about recent events.

Several jailed students in Amir Kabir

In the run up to the Islamic Student Association-Independent Student Association- annual elections at Amir Kabir University, several students were accused of publishing articles in university magazines that were insulting to the Islamic Republic. Jailed students say their magazine logos were falsified to destroy their free student associations.

Cityboy talks about the growing violence against students at Amir Kabir University. He writes:

when Arman Sadeghi and Ismail Salmanpour, both members of the Islamic Student Association activist body at Amir Kabir University in Tehran, tried to enter the university they were attacked by the university’s security guards.

There is a video film about this event:

The blogger writes:

some students at Amir Kabir University in Tehran went on a hunger strike to protest against the arrest of the seven student activists currently held in the notorious Evin Prison, and also against the increasing pressure on other active academics using harassments, banning and eviction of the active students from the university campus and dormitories and the recent beatings of active students.

Remember the first Cultural Revolution

Ahmad Shirzad, former reformist deputy in Parliament says [Fa] that people who encourage a second Cultural Revolution should think of what resulted from the first Cultural Revolution in early years of Islamic Revolution. Shirzad writes that many Iranian students and academics were fired and asked to follow strict rules, but after a few years the authorities turned back on their decisions when they realised the Cultural Revolution did not work.

Respect or Humilation?

Kadivar feels [Fa] universities are in deep trouble. She cites the arrests of students, a speech by the Iranian President, Ahmadinejad, urging confrontations with secular professors, the firing of some professors, suspicious deaths of three students, sending students to disciplinary committees, and violent security forces attacks on universities.

The blogger says the Iranian government imposes its power on institutions in civil society. Kadivar adds it is exactly the same way Iranian authorities act in foreign policy. She says in the long term this kind of policy will only create problems and more crises. Nothing more. The blogger concludes it is better for the government to respect students than to humiliate them.

No Political Discussion Please

Retorik says[Fa] that at his Modares University several academics and professors are under pressure or already suspended. He finds it really unbelievable that they cannot discuss politics during political sciences lessons at his university.

Sanjaghak says[Fa] students at her university are worried whether they will be called by the disciplinary committee tommorrow or not. “We are so miserable, to defend our rights we should organise meetings and expect to be beaten up,” she writes.

We need Cultural revolution

Contrary to previous bloggers, Mohammad Masih, a member of Muslim Bloggers Association says[Fa] a second Cultural Revolution is needed. The blogger says problems started when a reformist president came to power and the Cultural Revolution stopped. He complains that people who do not pay taxes or do anything for the security of Islamic Republic are in these universities, protesting against the Iranian State.

1 comment · »»

China: Flickr filtered 

a small portrait of this author John Kennedy · 18:05

The distinct 2.0ness with which an unprecedented environmental protest was carried out last week in southern China's seaside Xiamen city seems to have resulted, as of June 7, in the service of two websites key to the exclusive blog coverage of the event being disrupted: Bullog.cn, where live updates from the streets of Xiamen were being posted, and Flickr, where searches for keywords like ‘antipx' and ‘xiamen' bring back hundreds of images from the demonstration and later clashes with police and soldiers.

Lian Yue, columnist for Guangzhou's Southern Metropolis Daily and Bullog blogger had his personal blog blocked in early May, at the peak of many articles he wrote on the planned Px chemical plant.

Asks prominent bridge blogger and Fujian native Yee:

“Any reasons of baning this excellent photos share websites? So many! Especially in this June, like Xiamen people's march against PX project happened on 1st June and someone did a live report of the whole process on flickr.”

Buchong, one of the few bloggers who brought the Chinese blogsphere the Xiamen protest updates, at just before midnight Beijing time on June 7 writes on his Fanfou—a Chinese version of Twitter—of speculation that Bullog's having been blocked might not have been an official move:

【内幕】牛博遭到攻击，疑似方粉所为。罗方的粉丝都将拥戴对象的缺点全面继承、发扬光大了，且都有不理性的行为。这种事情发生在科学发展观的旗帜之下，真是莫大的讽刺。

[Inside story] Bullog has been attacked, fans of Fang Zhouzi [an IT professional living in the US who just the day prior was booted from Bullog following a personal spat with its owner, Luo Yonghao] are suspected. Fans of Luo and Fang are playing up their supporters' opponent's shortcomings, blowing things out of proportion, all very unreasonable behavior. That these kinds of things happen under the flag of scientific development is really hugely ironic.

A look at ex-Bullog blogger He Caitou's personal blog shows a post today, via a far more detailed version at the highly-read wikipedian Shi Zhao's blog, telling readers how to get past the Flickr block:

根据经验，只要哥哥你耐心地等待哟，心上的人儿就会到来哟！这一次，是《半亩塘闲话》shizhao达人。他不单给出了让你自己看的办法，还给出了让别人看的办法。请访问：

《显示flickr图片的临时解决方法》

Tips：对于很菜的菜鸟

在XP系统中，Hosts文件的位置一般是在：C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

修改的时候，选择记事本或者写字板打开这个文件，你将看到：

127.0.0.1 localhost

然后请在下面加两行，加好以后应该是这样的：

127.0.0.1 localhost
farm1.static.flickr.com 68.142.232.116
farm2.static.flickr.com 69.147.90.156

According to my experience, Big Brother need only keep patient and wait and the people in his heart will be coming! This time it's Talk blogger Shi Zhao. He doesn't just let you see the way, but lets others see it too. Please visit here for a [Flickr] photo showing a temporary method for visiting Flickr.

In the Windows XP system, the Hosts file is usually located at: C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

While you're making changes, open the file [Hosts] in either Notepad or Wordpad and you will see:

127.0.0.1 localhost

Then below that add these two lines so that in the end it looks like this:

127.0.0.1 localhost
farm1.static.flickr.com 68.142.232.116
farm2.static.flickr.com 69.147.90.156

Then save, presumably.

On top of Bullog being gone for the moment and Flickr photos showing up empty boxes, service was temporarily disrupted on June 7 at several English-language China-based blogs hosted by DreamHost—Bokane, Sinosplice and the China Blog List—as well as expat blog Sinocidal having seemingly been blocked the same day.

19 comments · »»

Egypt: Banned Documentary, Cairo Metro Strike, Torture Trial and More This is a Video post

a small portrait of this author Freedom For Egyptians · 14:46
lingua → fa

Egyptian bloggers continue this week to blog on human rights and freedom issues among other interesting topics.

Due Thank You note by Egyptian blogger Abdel Monem Mahmoud: Following his release from prison, he wrote his first blog titled “Ana ikhwan… I am free”. He thanked all fellow bloggers and organizations that showed support. He was extremely surprised and happy to receive a huge number of congratulations messages. He had the intention to write about his last experience in detention, however he felt so overwhelmed with the sincere feelings from everyone around that he could not write but to thank everyone.

He concludes his post saying that freedom is truly invaluable and it deserves more sacrifice so that all the oppressed in this country (Egypt) can have their freedom and not only him. He says “we must give our best so that the Egyptian people can be able to enjoy freedom and dignity…Egypt needs freedom.”

Monem blogs under the name of “Ana Ikwan”. Ikhwan in Egyptian Arabic means Muslim Brotherhood. He was detained in prison for more than 45 days for political allegations.

Freedom of worship in Egypt: Baha’i Faith in Egypt blog reports on the release of a new documentary film in Egypt. “An independent Egyptian film maker, named Ahmed Ezzat, has just released a documentary on the struggle of the Egyptian Baha'is. The film, banned by the Egyptian authorities, is entitled “Identity Crisis:My Religion or My Country: The Baha'i Quagmire in Egypt.”

On December 16, 2006, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled that the government may not recognize the Bahá'í Faith in official identification numbers (ID documents). Consequently, Egyptian Bahá'ís are unable to obtain government documents, including ID cards, birth, death, marriage or divorce certificates, or passports, all of which require a person's religion to be listed.

Unlike so many world countries, in Egyptian IDs, religion must be listed.

Wael Abbass continues his anti-torture campaign: Egyptian citizen Emad Al Kabir, microbus driver, was tortured in a police station. After the release of his torture video on blogs and due to public opinion and press media pressure, the officer responsible for torturing Emad Al Kabir now is in court for trial. Wael Abbass, a popular Egyptian blogger, who uncovered several torture incidents against citizens in some police stations, continues his anti-torture campaign on his blog. This week was another court session where Islam Nabih, the officer accused of torturing Al Kabir, was trying to defend himself. Wael Abbas says that he is so surprised to learn that the officers at the Ministry of the Interior who torture citizens form a kind of a network to defend each other. Abbass said he always ridiculed the idea until he saw another officer sitting next to Nabih in his support in the court hearing. Wael met this officer before and was told by him that all those torture videos are fabricated and do not exist. Wael’s point is despite how clear cut these videos are, some sympathizing police officers are still denying them instead of acknowledging committing grave mistakes against innocent citizens.

Cairo Metro Strike: Cairo is one of the most populous capitals in the world. Millions rely daily on Cairo metro or subway. Arabawy yesterday reported a train drivers strike due to the injury of one their colleagues. However in this update, he says that the strike was contained. Few years ago, I remember it was a rare incident if almost non-existent to hear about strikes within any category of workers or professionals.

Finally a call to Renew old Friendships: Tarek of gr33ndata blog calls on continuing to socialize electronically and enjoy your friends and abandon all those conspiracy theory of organizations trying to spy on you. Tarek thinks it is really fun to find friends over the internet and renew old friendships using Facebook, Flicker and blogging technologies!

0 comments · »»

Korea: Have You Ever Killed a Person? 

a small portrait of this author Hyejin Kim · 11:06

A sixteen year-old Korean girl who became famous due to the extreme success of losing weight killed herself. To please her grandmother who was worried about her grand-daughter’s heavy weight, the girl lost about 40 kilograms in three months. Her story was introduced on a TV entertainment program. At that time, she took a photo with one of her favorite singers. Her death is assumingly caused by netizens’ ak-peul (notorious reply: trackbacks or comments which netizens abuse targeting specific people or events). The jealousy of the singers’ fans left ak-peul related to her news in internet and her internet homepage. Some of them even harassed her on her phone.
The exact reason for her death has not been cleared yet. But according to her friends and families, she has been depressed due to ak-peul. Recently several entertainers committed suicide due to ak-peul and depression. Some of the entertainers are suing a group of ak-peul-reo (people who do ak-peul). Bloggers brought the problems of netizens’ attitudes out.

A blogger, your inside, posted a netizen’s response right after her death with a picture that caused the problem.

다른 죄를 지은 것도 아니고 방송에 나와서, 그 기념으로 누구나 사진찍을 수 있는거 아닌가요? 밑에는 자살 후, 악플 단 사람의 글.

She didn’t commit serious crimes. Isn’t anyone willing to take a picture with his or her faviorite singers in order to keep it as a souvenior? There were even ak-peul after her death like below.

이미죽었는데 엘프가 미안하대서 살수도 없는거고 자살하신 여자분에겐 죄송하지만 어느누구라도 어느 누구 팬일지라도 그랬을거예요 몇명은 솔직히 질투나잖아요. 누군 아무리 만나고 싶어도 못 만나는데 고인의 명복을 빕니다. 하지만 그 정도는 예상하고 나오셨어야죠.

She’s already dead. It’s impossible to take her life back with the apology of the singer who feels guilty. I’m sorry to say this about the dead girl, but any fan could respond to her photo. They must have felt jealous because they make so much effort even to see the singer at least one time. I feel sorry for her, but she should have expected that much.

Her friend left her feeling on the internet and appealed to ak-peul-leo.

스타킹 출연 40kg자살한 소녀……….
제 친굽니다…………
듣는 순간 기분이 아득해지더군요.
나에게 왜 문자하나 하지 않았을까
하기만 했어도 난 널 막아줄 수 있었을텐데.
왜…. 왜 죽었는지…… 아니 왜 죽어야 했는지…. 악플 단 사람들이
협박 전화한 사람들이 그 사람들이 나쁜 사람들인데 왜 그 애가 죽어야 했는지.
외모로 사람들이 차별해도 살 빼고, 빼고…….빼…고…..
원망하지 않은 아이였는데…
그래도 이런 거 알려드리고 싶었어요. 여러분 제발 부탁이에요.
압니다. 여러분 싫어하시는 가수, 연예인 욕하고 싶은 거 이해해요.
그래도 제발 좋은 말로 해주세요.

A 40 kg girl who killed herself… she’s my friend…
when I heard the news, I felt numb. Why did she die… why did she have to die…
the people who put ak-peul and gave the threatening calls are bad. Why did she have to die? People discriminated against her with her figure, but she didn’t blame them… just tried to lose weight hard. I want to say and I want to beg. I understand you want to blame entertainers you don’t like. But please use nice words.

A blogger shared his experience, which reflected fear of ak-peul.

비록 제 일은 아니라고 하지만 이것은 곧 말하자면 우리 모두가 언제라도 피해자가 될 수 있다는 뜻이기에 덮어 둬서는 안될 일이라고 봅니다. 길을 지나치다 여중고생들을 봤을때, 가끔은 등줄기에 식은땀이 흐른다. 저 여학생들 중 누가 글쓴이의 블로그에 들어와 욕을 퍼부었을지 모르는 일이기 때문이다.

Even though it didn’t happen to me, anyone can be victims and we should not pass over it. Walking in the street and running into a bunch of female teenagers, I sometimes feel chilly. Because I might encounter ak-peul-leo in my blog.

소녀의 ‘원죄’는 “사진을 찍은 것”이었다. “네가 뭔데 우리 오빠와 사진을 찍느냐”는 것이다. 글쓴이도 매일같이 경험했던 것이다. “네가 뭔데 우리 오빠들을 욕하느냐”는 이야기는 소녀팬들과의 전쟁을 치룰 때, 하루도 빠짐없이 고장난 라디오처럼 들었던 뻔한 이야기였다. 하지만 소녀는 단지 사진을 찍었다는 이유만으로 욕을 먹어야 하는 사실, 그것도 문자메시지와 미니홈피에까지 도배되는 욕을 견뎌내야만 하는 사실을 감당할 수 없었을 것이다. 그 테러를 견디지 못한 소녀는 자살을 선택했다.

The sixteen year old girl’s ‘sin’ was to ‘take a photo.’ ‘How come you took a picture with our ob-ba (literally brother, indicating the singer)?’ That’s what I always experience. ‘how come you such a worthless person blame our ob-ba?’ That’s a common comment I hear everyday. But the girl who had to be blamed due to the picture couldn’t endure the fans’ curses. Not being able to put up with the terror, she chose suicide.

A blogger even suggested that schools should offer “how to deal with ak-peul” as classes.

제 1교시
우리는 악플에 노출될 수 밖에 없습니다.
과연 악플이 무엇이고 어떻게 대처해야 하는지 숙지해야 합니다.
제 2교시
적극적인 대처방법과 소극적인 대처방법이 있습니다.
예. 소극적인 방법은 악플에 노출이 되지 않도록 하는 것이겠죠.
적극적인 방법은 악플러들을 고소하는 것입니다.
그런데, 이것은 시간과 비용이 들기 때문에 현실적으로 어렵겠죠.
제 3교시
자 명상의 시간 악플을 보거든 마음의 평정을 찾고 절대 이성을 잃어서는 안됩니다.
호랑이에 잡혀가도, 정신만 차리면 산다고 하지 않습니까.
바로 그런 자세로 악플을 보더라도 정신을 잃지 말아야 합니다.

악플러 - 그 행동의 결과는 반드시 그에 맞는 책임을 지게 되어 있다.

First class: We can’t avoid being exposed to ak-peul. Learning how to cope with them.
Second class: Two methods to cope with them: active and passive tactics. The passive method is to avoid being exposed to ak-peul. The active response is to sue those guys. It’s a little bit difficult because it takes time and money.
Third class: Meditation. Regardless of ak-peul, you should not lose your temper and should keep the peace in your mind. There is an old saying that you can survive even though you’re caught by tigers if you have a cold brain. You should deal with ak-peul with that attitude.
ak-peul-leo – your behavior will force you to take responsibility.

Some of them say that the main reason for her death was depression after the serious diet. But the problems of ak-peul have become serious social issues in Korea.

Enjoy a music video and comics that bloggers made to criticize ak-peul-leo.

4 comments · »»

Japan: The Matsuoka Suicide 

a small portrait of this author Chris Salzberg · 07:54
sample image for this post

The story is now over a week old, and yet the sensational suicide of Agriculture Minister Matsuoka Toshikatsu, who hung himself in his apartment on May 28th and later died in hospital, is continuing to ripple through Japanese society. As others have noted elsewhere, while the rate of suicide within Japan is high, this is the first serving cabinet member in Japan's postwar government to commit suicide, and is one of the most high-profile cases in Japan's history. Adding to the sensationalism of this case is the series of scandals tied to Matsuoka himself (notably related to a project by the so-called Japan Green Resources Agency, or J-Green), which almost certainly played a key role in driving him to take his own life. Also notable is the subsequent suicide of the former executive director of a predecessor of J-Green, Yamazaki Shinichi, as well as the (less widely reported) suicide of Matsuoka's former classmate Uchino Yukihiro, also possibly related.

The news of Matsuoka's suicide was covered extensively by mainstream news and also picked up and discussed in numerous blogs within the English-language blog scene in Japan (see for example the roundup posted at Liberal Japan). Blogger Adamu at Mutant Frog Travelogue quotes from portions of two of the eight suicide notes discovered thus far:

“People of Japan and everyone in my support club… I am very sorry and take the blame for everything. I apologize for causing so much trouble. Please take care of things after I’m gone.” And another note states: “My wife knows the circumstances behind this. Please don’t look for the whys and wherefores. Please be gentle.”

Matsuoka Toshikatsu

Commentary on the suicide by Japanese bloggers was diverse and, given the sensationalism and heavy coverage of the story, very extensive. It is fair to say that many Japanese bloggers, while certainly shocked by the news, were none too sympathetic with the beleaguered Minister of Agriculture. Blogger nike_mild expresses the frustration of many in this passage:

今回自殺した松岡農水相は我ら国民の税金を懐に入れて私腹を肥やした犯罪者だ。本来なら司直の手にかかって法の裁きを受けなければならない。
本人のみが知る様々な悪事を自分の口から漏れないように「自らが口封じ」した事件なのだ。（自殺だとしてだが・・）
国民には知る権利がある。その私たちの権利を行使させないために「自殺」した。これが卑劣な行為だとはいえないのかね？

Matsuoka, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food who killed himself, enriched himself by pocketing the tax money paid by the citizens of this country. By all rights, he should have been brought to justice and tried.
This incident in which, to prevent himself from leaking information about various crimes that he knew about, he “silenced himself”. (Silenced himself by committing suicide.)
The people have a right to know. He committed suicide in order to prevent us from exercising this right. Is it not fair to call this a mean and cowardly act?

Blogger kazu discusses reactions to the suicide, highlighting certain strengths of the former agriculture minister while also condemning the many scandals in which he was involved:

個人的には｢開いた口がふさがらない、情けない｣といった感想しか出てこない。同情すべき点が全くないわけではない。彼の場合は農政族の中でもかなりのやり手だったらしい。今進めている農業の自由化に関する案件でも世界と対等に交渉できるの力を持っているのは彼くらいだという声すら挙がっている。それだけに、本業以外で負の脚光を浴びたことは非常に残念だ。

Personally, [I found that] there were nothing but impressions like “I was astounded, it is so shameful”. That is not to say that there is absolutely no sense in feeling compassion [for him]. Within the agriculture administration, he was apparently a real clever operator. In matters regarding the deregulation of the agriculture industry which is currently being advanced, there are people who say that he might have been the only one with the strength to negotiate on an equal footing with the rest of the world. For that reason alone, it is extremely unfortunate that a negative spotlight is being put on areas outside of his main business.

だからといって、一連の｢政治とカネ｣の問題がなくなるわけではない。彼は死を以ってこの問題をチャラにしてしまった。ほんとに政治家として最悪の幕引きをしてしまった。多くの人が考えているように最初から本当のことを言ってしまえばこんなことにはならなかったはずだ。

But just because this is so does not mean that the battery of questions about “politics and money” should stop. People have gotten caught up in his death, calling it even on these questions. This is really a terrible ending for a politician. It's clear to see that if, as many people are thinking, he had told the truth from the very beginning, this kind of thing would never have happened.

しかし、今回の死がもつ意味というのは非常に大きなものがあるような気がする。というのも、今回の彼の死でもって一連の疑惑を自ら認めることになったからである。本当に彼の一連の疑惑に対して自らの身の潔白を主張し、野党からの証拠提出要求に応じ、国民にわかりやすく説明したなら彼はこのような決断をする必要はなかった。しかし、彼は一貫して｢法律｣を盾に言い訳を続け、自分で自分の首を締めていったのである。

However, I have the feeling that there is something of great significance in Matsuoka's death. Because, with his death, the series of suspicions has essentially been admitted to. If, when confronted with the barrage of questions, he had insisted that he was not to blame, and had produced an explanation — according to demands by the opposition to produce evidence, and in a way that is easy for the Japanese people to understand — then there would have been no need for this kind of decision. However, he consistently shielded himself with “laws” as excuses, until he eventually strangled himself.

Blogger kikkuri, in a post which garnered a large number of comments and trackbacks, concludes by pointing to the opposition parties and the media in finding an explanation for what happened:

確かに松岡さんが追及されるのは当然だったし、安倍さんの任命責任も免れないのでしょうが、野党もメディアも人の死を（しかも亡くなった当日に）ここぞとばかりに安倍批判に利用してるような印象が否めず、何だかなぁと思います。

Of course, it is natural that Matsuoka was being chased down, and [Prime Minister] Abe can't get away from his responsibility in appointing him. But I have to admit that I have the impression that the opposition parties, as well as the media, took advantage of a person's death (on the very day it happened) in order to use it to try to level criticisms at Abe.

Some bloggers were sympathetic, and many even paid their respects to Matsuoka. Blogger banmakoto writes:

松岡利勝農林水産相（62）が自殺した。
古いタイプの自民党を代表するような政治家だった。
その政治スタイルは「利益誘導型」。

Matsuoka Toshikatsu (age 62), Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, killed himself.
He was a politician who represented the old-style Liberal Democratic Party.
This style of politics is [referred to as] “patronage-driven [politics]”.

[…]

松岡氏の自殺は「喪失感」が原因だと思う。
懸命に人生を生きてきた人間が、すべてを失くしてしまいそうな状況に直面した時、乗り越えようのない「喪失感」に襲われる。

I think that the cause of Mr. Matsuoka's suicide was his “sense of emptiness”.
When a person who has lived their life to the best of their ability suddenly comes up against a situation in which they lose everything, they become seized by an overwhelming “sense of emptiness”.

[…]

松岡氏は、すべてを背負ってあの世に旅立った。
そして今日、談合の指南役とも言われていた山崎進一・元緑資源機構理事（76）が自殺した。

松岡氏は、過疎地の企業を支援しようとしたのか、それとも税金を食い物にしようとしたのか・・・
何とも後味の悪い自殺だった。

松岡利勝氏と山崎進一氏のご冥福を祈る。

Mr. Matsuoka left this world with everything on his back.

And then today, Yamazaki Shinichi (Japan Green Resources Agency), who, it is said, was the brains behind the bid-rigging scheme, also committed suicide.

Was Mr. Matsuoka trying to support companies in underpopulated areas, or was he trying to steal our tax money…
His suicide ended things on a sour note.

I am praying for the souls of Mr. Matsuoka Toshikatsu and Mr. Yamazaki Shinichi.

And yet, other bloggers were not quite so sure that Matsuoka's soul deserved to be prayed for. At Tomorrow is Another Happy, one blogger reflects on the question of “praying for the soul” of politicians like Matsuoka:

「松岡大臣のご冥福をお祈りします、って書いてる人多いけど、ホントに祈ってるのかなぁ」と夫がつぶやいた。

私はなんだか、痛いところを突かれた気分になった。

私の尊敬するブロガーさんたちの中にも記事の冒頭に「松岡大臣のご冥福をお祈りします」って書いている人は多い。夫の問いかけは、そうした記述に行き当たるたび、私が感じていた劣等感に触れた。

My husband mumbled to me: “A lot of people write that they are praying for [Agriculture] Minister Matsuoka, but are they really praying for him?”

For me, this kind of hit a nerve.

Among the group of bloggers who I have respect for, many began [their blog entries] with the sentence: “I am praying for [Agriculture] Minister Matsuoka to rest in peace.” My husband's question, while confronting these types of comments, also touched on feelings of inferiority that I had.

Later in the same post, the blogger reproduces a conversation between herself and her husband about the idea of praying for the soul of Matsuoka:

私「祈ってるんじゃないかな。ひとつの命が失われたことに対して、自殺まで追い込まれたのだということに対して、ひとりの人間として同情を禁じ得ない、って感じなんじゃないのかなぁ」

夫「そんなもんかなぁ。自殺した人のご冥福って祈れる？」

私「祈れるよ。いじめで自殺した子どもたちとか」

夫「それはそうだよね。じゃあ、みーちゃん、ぼくが自殺したらどう思う？」

Me: “Not praying for him, are they? In terms of the loss of one life, of someone being driven to commit suicide, as another human being, it's hard not to feel compassion for him, isn't it?”

My husband: “Is it really? Can you really pray for the souls of people who commit suicide?”

Me: “Yes I pray. Children who commit suicide because they are bullied, for example.”

My husband: “That's true. So, Mii-chan [the author of the blog], if I committed suicide, what would you think?”

私「なに考えてんねん！って怒る！！」

夫「そうだろう？まず怒るよね。自分に関わってる人間が理由がわからず自殺したら」

私「うん、でも、松岡大臣に対しても、私は怒ってる」

夫「彼は大臣だからね。ぼくたちの生活に関わってる人だから」

Me: “I would get angry and be like: What were you thinking!!”

My husband: “Oh really? So you would get angry — if someone that you knew committed suicide, with no clear reason.”

Me: “Yes. But about Minister Matsuoka, I am angry with him.”

My husband: “Because he's a Cabinet Minister, right? Because he's involved in all of our lives.”

私「あ、そうか。でもね、怒っててもね、松岡大臣の家族には、ご冥福をお祈りします、って言うと思うよ」

夫「それはそうだよね。人として。でも、彼個人から遠い、ひとりの国民としては、怒りが先だよ」

私「でも、松岡大臣は犠牲者かもしれないよ。本当は辞めたかったのに内閣支持率のために辞めさせてもらえなかったのかもしれない。そんな中、自殺まで追い込まれたのだとしたら、お気の毒だと私も思う」

夫「それが事実ならね。でも、今は何もわかってないんだよ。結局は彼の自殺によって、うやむやになることは多いよね。彼が追いつめられていたのなら、その事実がわかってはじめて、ご冥福をお祈りする気持ちになれるんじゃないのかな」

Me: “Ah right, I guess so. But you know, even though I am angry at him, I think I can say that I am praying for his family.”

My husband: “That's a good point. [Pray for them] as people. But he himself is far from individual people — as a Japanese citizen, the anger comes first.”

Me: “But perhaps Minister Matsuoka was a just a victim. Maybe he really wanted to quit, but was not allowed to do so, because the government wanted to maintain its approval rating. In that context, as someone who was driven to commit suicide, I have to feel sorry for him.”

My husband: “If that was the truth of the matter, then yes. But right now, we really don't know anything. In the end, as a result of his suicide, many things are being hushed up. He was being chased down, but maybe if we had, for the first time, actually learned something, then we would feel like praying for him, no?”

私「そうかもしれない。でも、松岡大臣に同情的な姿勢を取ることで、安倍総理への糾弾に持っていけるんじゃないのかなぁ」

夫「だから、戦略的に、ご冥福をお祈りします、って言うの？　それもぼくはできないなぁ。日本国万歳なんて遺書じゃなく、全てを明るみに出してほしかったよ、ぼくは！」

Me: “Yes, maybe so. But if you take a sympathetic position with respect to Cabinet Minister Matsuoka, then it is possible to take a position condemning Prime Minister Abe, I think.”

My husband: “So are you saying that you should strategically pray for him? That is something that I can't do. I didn't want some “Japan Banzai!” farewell note, I wanted him to uncover the whole truth!”

She then concludes the post with the following note:

その後、鈴木宗男氏の話や石原慎太郎の話などを色々して、なんとか話を一段落させて寝たのだけれど、どうもこの「ご冥福」が私の頭にこびりついてしまって、夢の中でまであれこれ考えている始末。あきらめて起き出して、とりあえず文章にしてみた。

「ご冥福をお祈りします」という一文がどうしても書けなかった自分のことを、私はそんなに嫌いではない。でも「ご冥福をお祈りします」と書ける人間になりたいと、やはりどこかで思う。

もし、私が「ご冥福をお祈りします」と、書き加えることができていたなら、私は何を手に入れて、何を手放すことになったのだろう。

After this, the conversation turned to various topics such as Suzuki Muneo [Liberal Democratic Party MP who talked to Matsuoka a few nights before he died] and Ishihara Shintarou [Mayor of Tokyo], then the talk somehow quieted down and we went to bed. But for some reason, this [talk of] “happiness in the next world” stuck in my head, and I even had dreams about it. I finally gave in, got out of bed, and wrote this text.

But even I, who could not bring myself to write the sentence: “I am praying for him to rest in peace” — I don't really hate myself that much for [not being able to do] that. However, I still want to be someone who can write: “I am praying for him to rest in peace.”

If I became someone who was able to insert the line “I am praying for him to rest in peace”, then what would I get for it, and what would I lose?

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