Global Voices Online » 2007 » August

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Guyana: Georgetown is flooded

Georgia Popplewell · 23:18

lingua → zht · zhs · ar · bn · fr · de · pt · jp

“This is the Demerara Cricket Club ground behind that wall - an enclosed wading pool with the slightest rain fall..it must now be a veritable lake,” writes Flickr user Chennette, a Trinidadian living in Guyana, in the caption to the image above:

I woke up this morning to find water up to my gate. It's all over town, many people on ground floors have water. It's not that high in some areas, like Queenstown for example, but I am not driving out there when I can't tell where the canals end and the road begins. Not to mention unknowingly stumbling upon feet rather than inches of water…It's not yet the floods of December 2004-January 2005, but I am thinking of that…

This evening Chennette reports via FlickrMail that “the water hasn't really taken over the city completely, and it has receded in many areas, but that area of Queenstown hasn't changed at all. At all. What I am not looking forward to is the night time rains.”

2 comments · »»

Russia: “Mama, We're In Hell!”

Veronica Khokhlova · 23:05

lingua → pt · es

The short entry below (RUS), by LJ user smitrich, has been one of the most popular ones in the Russian blogosphere this week:

A friend was on a Helsinki-Moscow train and got stuck in the railway traffic jam, caused by [the crash in Novgorod region].

The train was re-routed through [Pskov] region. They traveled for [one day and one night]. In the compartment next door, a girl aged 20 or so, [dressed like a rich person], who must have never been outside of Moscow on anything but a plane, began to panic. She was breathing heavily, looked out of the window, horrified, and kept calling her mama on the phone.

- Oh, what taxi! A taxi to where?! I don't know where we are, mama! There are some fences here! And cow barns! Mama, we're in hell! We're in hell, mama!

This story has received 469 comments so far; here are a few of them, translated from Russian:

val_bregitsky:

The Pepsi generation has grown up…

vitus_wagner:

Ah, what Pepsi? It's [Denis Fonvizin's Mitrofanushka], […], “Why study geography when you can get anywhere by carrier?” Only this is a female version.

walker_07:

It wouldn't hurt to take many of the adult, male writers from Moscow on a ride along this road.

hamsterin:

:):):)

When my friends went on a car trip to St. Pete, their kid started begging them to take him “back to Russia” about 50 km from the [MKAD beltway].

andrey_larin:

Is it possible to build and maintain cow barns and pigsties in a way that they wouldn't remind one of hell? ;)

mephistoua:

Ten percent of Russia's population live in Moscow… and the other 90 percent work for [Moscow].

lastalaika:

Why don't you try to move to Moscow and work there? First, get an education - so that they hired you, and then learn to get up at 5 am - to get to the other end of the city on time, and then we'll talk.

mf_amber:

[…] In [Kursk] region, an average farmer's salary is 4.500 rubles [$180 a month].

7,000 rubles a month [$280] is considered a very decent salary.

10,000 rubles [$400] is a crazy amount of money for a village.

The region's population is 1.2 million people, 800,000 of them or so live near [the city] Kursk, the region's territory is close to that of Belgium. […]

This is where Russia is, basically. And Moscow is far away somewhere.

ulis_aka_janek:

[…] It's reminded me of how I was on a commuter train from [Smolensk] one winter. As the train was leaving the station […], all you could see were two or three little lamps in the houses at a distance and darkness for the next half an hour…

“Here's where it'd be scary to live - no one to get an ambulance to arrive,” - my relatives told me.

Let this discovery of the Province be a lesson for this [spoiled girl] - she'll at least know that many people in Russia live in similar conditions, in cow barns and barracks, and they don't have the time for fireworks of live butterflies and toilets made of gold… many have never seen hot water leaking out of their taps… many have to carry their cold water from [an outdoor tap]… […]

snilus:

I got my daughter to read this blog, explained to her about the girl's glossy-plastic world and why she was horrified by the landscape many people are used to, and why there've been so many comments.

My daughter listened to it all and said: “I wish I could spend some time living like this girl, mama!”

My daughter is 11.

[…]

4 comments · »»

Tajikistan: Beating the US

Vadim Sadonshoev · 21:47

One of the most discussed topics in the Tajik blogosphere recently was the loss of the US U-17s to the Tajik team in the Under–17 Football World Cup.

Although the Tajik players then lost to Belgium yesterday, I want to extend my congratulations to this young team. Many people are surprised in US and ask questions like: Where is Tajikistan? Do they play soccer (football)?

And there are people overseas who know about this mysterious country:

I was in Tajikistan when they qualified, and none of my Tajikistani friends knew anything about it [the qualification]. Even the soccer fans knew nothing, though they could all comment in depth on the Russian and English leagues' news at the time. I'm very interested in knowing how this is often being received there.

The FIFA ranking seems off, too. Tajikistan has improved significantly since the civil war ended in 1997. They're just about at the point where they could contend for the “octagonal” in Asian WC qualifying. Of course, that in part is a commentary on how poor Asian soccer is.

Those who need details about this match, click here.

Two bloggers made a link to my post about Chinese construction workers and their hunger for turtles in Tajikistan. One came from Ian, our friend from Beyond the River , while the other is from Bonnie Boyd's great Foreign Policy blog. They even noticed a political implication in turtle eating.

I hesitate to draw any strong inferences from what amount to rumors and perhaps unfair stereotyping, but I do think there's a point to be made here: As China's influence in the region continues to rise, the Chinese could face a backlash if they don't tread very carefully.

Ben links to a post on the Russian website Webpark.ru with pictures of a crashed plane AN-24 with the logo of TajikAir on it. I don’t think that it's been a photoshop gig.

This is surprising, as I’ve never heard anything about this crash but it does not mean that there was no news about it in our local media. I guess the administration of Tajik Air will be upset to see the pictures of this plane spread on the Internet. They never reveal any information about Tajik Air planes flying somewhere in Africa rented by African companies. So, here is the evidence!

Madina at neweurasia and a dude at Delhi Planet discuss the new amendments made to Tajik law on media where Internet is going to be put under the control of the state.

Delhi Planet says:

Imagine being put behind bars just because you made a mistake in one of your articles published on the internet. This ruling is surely gonna give all the journalists and bloggers in tajikistan many sleepless nights.

Madina says:

Does this mean now that journalists will be prosecuted for the job they do? I hope not. Otherwise, Tajikistan will gradually take one of the first places in the world among the countries with the lowest level of freedom of speech and get the lowest human rights indicators which in its turn will result in the decrees of the investment flow as well as the overall image of the country.

The other widely discussed topic in the Tajik and Russian blogosphere was the execution of a Tajik and a Dagistani in Russia by neo-Nazis and the video they spread in the Internet. Probably this was the most discussed topic in the Internet about Tajikistan but I did not want to put it on the first place in this roundup.

According to Yandex, the Russian bloggers were extremely interested in this topic. The Tajik perspective on this issue was given at VatanWeb (rus). Those who can understand Russian and Tajik should go read a post with more than a hundred of comments.

And for sure, you should read my post about the execution and all the responses from different perspectives that it collected.

Jamiyat reports that Islam Karimov during the SCO summit raised concerns about huge hydropower projects that Tajikistan is going to realize with the help of Russia and Iran.

Karimov was straightforward and made it clear that water is life and that it is worth struggling for. I hope he is not planning to fight Tajikistan for water. The edited version of this post to be found at neweurasia. And BajaeNergy gives a good information about the rich water resources of Tajikistan.

The water and border issues between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan worsened bilateral relations in all spheres. I think the problem that Joshua Kucera had while obtaining a Tajik visa in Tashkent is somehow related to this…

All the various times I had to visit the consulate, wait for a couple of hours, only to be told to come back the next day, or that I had filled out a certain form wrong. The consulate was a terrible scene. Every day there were between 20 and 50 people waiting for visas, and there was no line and no organization.

Recommendations: Avoid getting a Tajik visa in Tashkent.

1 comment · »»

Malawi: Moving on Despite the Politics of Section 65

Steve Sharra · 20:35

lingua → zhs · zht · es

The phenomenal story of 19 year-old Malawian blogger William Kamkwamba continues to attract attention from around the globe. William began making headlines after his appearance at the TEDGlobal 2007 conference in Tanzania, in June, where he talked about how he built a windmill using locally available resources in a remote part of Malawi where the easiest means of energy is fuel, wood, kerosene and candlelight.

Earlier he had dropped out of school after his parents were unable to afford his tuition fees. After achieving fame through the efforts of Malawian bloggers who first wrote about the story following a news item in a Malawian newspaper, and after hitting BoingBoing.net, Digg, Reddit, and Metafilter, William has now been featured on My Hero.

As videos from the TEDGlobal 2007 conference become available online, William’s speech at the conference can now be accessed through the conference’s website, on Youtube, on his blog, and also as a download. William has also been writing about how he is making use of the money people have been donating through his blog, using some of it for home supplies, as well as preparing to go back to school:

When planting season comes, I will use some of the funds to buy seed, fertilizer and urea for my family's crops of maize, ground nuts and beans.

I have also opened a bank account and put funds in so that my family is now prepared for medical, food or other needs and/or emergencies. I have started saving for the rest of private secondary school, boarding and university, too.

Still in the tech realm, Clement Nyirenda has had plenty of tech news to report about on his blog. Clement announces a campaign by bloggers around the world to unite against all forms of abuse, by blogging against this vice on September 27, 2007. Clement announces that the campaign is being driven by Blogcatalog. Clement also informs his readers that his blog is now viewable in ten major languages, by use of a free widget, from Google Translator Widget Blog. This makes Clement’s blog now readable in Arabic, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, French and Korean. The other piece of news Clement has for his readers is the forthcoming launch, on August 29, 2007 of MyLiveSearch, which Clement says technology enthusiasts have been waiting with bated breath for.

For Clement’s African readers and others interested in Africa’s technological solutions, the most exciting news is perhaps what Clement announces as the invention of a new, low cost computer that runs on solar energy.

Inveneo points out that over 2 billion people in the developing world live in rural and remote communities that lack basic access to information and communication technologies–telephony, computing, Internet access. In response to this need, Inveneo, a non-profit social enterprise, creates and sells highly affordable and sustainable ICTs that are specifically designed for organizations–governments,NGOs,private enterprises–that serve rural communities with vital services that include education, health care,economic development,relief and telecentres. This is great stuff! You can visit their site and make a paypal donation. Theirs is indeed a great cause.

Clement reports that the computer is already available in Uganda, for US$941, which the government there says is tax-free. Clement expresses excitement about this innovation, while also observing that the cost is too high for ordinary people in rural areas, the main target of the gadget. Clement ends his post by inviting the company, UK-based Inveneo Inc, to Malawi where he says it will be most welcome.

Moving on from the world of technology, the political atmosphere in Malawi has been hyper-charged for the past two months. No two terms have so dominated Malawian discourse in the last decade as have “Section 65” and “Budget.” Section 65 refers to the section in the Constitution of Malawi which forbids members of parliament from moving away from the party that sponsored them into parliament to another party also represented in parliament without a by-election.

President Bingu wa Mutharika, who himself left the party that sponsored him to win the presidency and started his own party, asked the courts to clarify the section, in the hope that the courts would rule in his favor as well as that of more than 60 members of parliament who also left their own parties to join the president in his new party.

The courts ruled on June 15 that Section 65 was indeed valid, and tension has been the order of the day in Malawi since then. The opposition has demanded that the constitution be followed, and have tied their demand to a refusal to debate and pass the national budget, which has restricted government spending.

Peter Qeko Jere comments on the impasse and writes on his blog about the need for government to go on and spend money even without parliament’s authorization:

Government need to spend money this time on all necessary services that will directly benefit the poor Malawians because this is about saving lives. When it comes to this process, we don’t play games because Malawians have the right to life and no one has the right to create a situations that would lead to many death just because they don’t want the budget. Life is life and we don’t play jokes with it. We only live once on this planet. Even those in opposition knows that we live once and that they should not do something sick this time around that will lead to death of many innocent Malawians as it happened in 2002 when they sold all the maize.

Austin Madinga finds confusing messages coming from the United Democratic Front (UDF), President Mutharika’s former party now consigned to opposition ranks. Madinga writes that the party released a statement calling on Malawi’s bilateral donors to withdraw aid, and when finally parliament started debating the budget, the same UDF praised the Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe for maintaining donor confidence, citing the importance of donor money for Malawi:

This statement is in stark contrast to a press statement from UDF that called on donors to pull the plug on aid.
My question is which is which? I believe in both instances it was UDF speaking. Please make up your mind, you are confusing us!

Also expressing his opinions about the political situation in Malawi is M’Malawi KuTheba, who switches back and forth between Chichewa, Malawi’s national language, and English, commenting on the budget debacle:

p/s: I pray soon or later the budget impasse kumudziku will be sorted out. Koma munthu mmodzi yemwe sindikumunvetsa ndiye ndi JZU, the guy only lost three mps to DPP but why all the fuss, mwina itamavuta UDF ndikhoza kumvetsa.

I pray soon or later the budget impasse back home will be sorted out. However the one person I fail to understand is JZU (John Zenasi Ungapake, president of opposition MCP—editor), the guy only lost three mps to DPP but why all the fuss, if it were UDF making such a fuss I would understand.

As for Malawi Politics, he hides little about what he thinks of current Malawian politicians, wondering why most of them are still active, having been recycled from the Malawi Congress Party:

Why does the young generation refuse to get involved?. To serve requires sacrifice. A lot of our brothers are in the diaspora building a future for themselves and their kids. There are a lot of them out there but I will give a brief Wikipedia biography of just two that I know personally.

He goes on to mention Professor Paul Tiyambe Zeleza and Professor Tiyanjana Maluwa, two Malawian scholars based in US universities with highly coveted achievements, as some of the people who could steer Malawi’s politics in a different direction if they were in Malawi. He also mentions Jimmy Koreia Mpatsa as an outstanding Malawian touted for having resuscitated Malawi’s national flag carrier, Air Malawi. He ends his post by inviting readers to suggest more names of young Malawian achievers who should be encouraged to take over politics from the old guard:

It is the intention of Malawi Politics to encourage our readers and contributors to bring up fresh names to this dialogue. Our generation should not so easily concede to the old Gladiators. Their time came and went. Africa and Malawi is looking for economic freedom and fresh ideas.

Moving on to another topic of interest for Malawians, Victor Kaonga, a Global Voices author, writes about the dilapidated conditions at his former secondary school, Rumphi. Victor visited the school recently and took pictures that leave no doubt as to the state of disrepair the school has fallen into. Victor issues a call for alumni of not only Rumphi Secondary School but also other institutions of learning in Malawi to link up with their former schools so as to create meaningful relationships.

May be a more strategic plan is needed to revive and maintain the campus-alumni relationship so that it is more mutually beneficially than the commonly parasitic which obviously lends itself to no progress at all. But the fact remains that alumni play a crucial role in offering among others resource, inspiration and expertise to their former institutions. This is probably where we could rescue the apparent embarrassing mother institutions.

2 comments · »»

Lebanon: Upcoming Presidential Elections

Moussa Bashir · 16:28

lingua → ar · bn · pt

The Lebanese constitution stipulates that the parliament should convene and elect a new president within a period of at least a month before the end of the tenure of the presiding president. The term of the current President Emille Lahoud will be over in November of this year. Therefore, it is only expectable that the elections should be the topic of discussion of many of the blogs in the Lebanese blogosphere.

Last week, it was hinted in the media that the commander of the Lebanese armed forces General Michael Suleiman could be a candidate for the presidency. But for this to happen the constitution would have to be amended since General Suleiman is currently serving in what is classified as a Category One public service job. The constitution states that public servants in such a category cannot run for presidency. To be eligible, they must have resigned or retired and had nothing to do with their job for at least a period of two years.

The following selection of blog posts discuss the candidates in the upcoming presidential election, the foreign intervention in this election, comment on the proposed constitutional amendments and other stuff of the sort.

What does the constitution say about the presidential powers, on electing a president and on amending the constitution. Blacksmiths of Lebanon posted the articles of the constitution regarding electing a president and the presidential powers.

Beirut to Beltway posted the constitutional articles on how the constitution can be amended and added:

Here's what the constitution says about amending the constitution! In short, it cannot be done without a draft law submitted by the cabinet. It also cannot be discussed or vote on “except when a majority of two thirds of the members lawfully composing the Chamber are present.”

For Lebanonesque, the next president has already been chosen, without elections, and the Maronite Patriarch is to blame:

The powers-that-be have decided General Michel Suleiman/Sleiman will be the next president of Lebanon. OK Lebanese, the goose is cooked. The Maronite Patriarch seems to have made another huge blunder but who’s counting. Most Lebanese will grumble while the rest will say those dangerous words: “this time, it’s different” (from Lahoud and Aoun).

Tears for Lebanon also reports that General Suleiman is going to be the next president from what is being said by most people:

With my ear to the ground and listening to what is being said around me most people are thinking that Suleiman is going to be the next president of Lebanon. It's funny how this guy just slipped in while every one was looking some place else. From what I am hearing most people think that he stands on middle ground, and he will not rock the boat.

One controversial issue involved in the upcoming election is the quorum necessary for the parliamentary session to legally elect a president. The argument is whether a two third is necessary or an absolute majority (51 per cent) is sufficient. On this Streets of Beirut says:

Do we need to read the constitution in order to know what is the required quorum to elect a president for Lebanon? The answer is no. All we need to do is to figure out the routing that would take Lebanon through the hardest possible path and then we extract the answer. Indeed, every phase the country went through has been a hard one resulting from a sparking of differences in opinion between constituencies.

Bob’s Blog states his reasons for opposing the General’s candidacy:

Personally I am against his candidacy. I think one general every decade is more than enough! And after our experience with General Lahoud I will need at least two or three decades before I could even consider a former general as the president of Lebanon.

What are the chances of General Michael Suleiman becoming our next president?
On the one hand, Lebanon Update sees General Suleiman’s chances to become the next president diminishing:

How fast the pace of change in Lebanon: last week it seemed that army commander Michel Suleiman was destined to become the new president. Since yesterday, however, opposition against his candidacy has increased so much that his chances are becoming less and less.

While, on the other hand, Beirut Spring sees that the General’s chance are actually increasing especially since the USA administration seems to be opening up to him:

Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the director of the US state department’s office of Levant affairs told Alhayat that the US “doesn’t mind” changing the Lebanese constitution and that what matters are “the qualities” of the candidate. She even said that the candidate shouldn’t have “a strong link” with Hezbollah, a step down from “no links at all” which meets Suleiman halfway.

Finally, and on a different note, The Inner Circle reports that despite all the political deadlocks Lebanon still has a vibrant summer nightlife and so asks:

Are Lebanese fed up with politics?

Well, it’s the talk of the town, and no better time than today, where politicians feel the public may not be helping their so-called leaders with the current situation, you hardly hear enthusiasm for people to rebel or fight for a cause via each medias outlet by the use of emotional patriotism, and funny enough, it’s only then, when Lebanese society blooms.

More on the upcoming Lebanese presidential election next week. Take care and see you.

0 comments · »»

Egypt: Blogging for Civil and Religious Freedoms

D B Shobrawy · 16:03

lingua → ar

The struggle for personal freedoms is ongoing in Egypt and the nation's bloggers continue to demand the liberty of citizens. Whether it be religious freedom or freedom from the wrath of a brutal police state, Egypt is speaking out against the inhumane treatment of her citizens this week. Plus a veteran blogger gives us a rare look into the inner workings of Egypt's most historic remaining cities.

The Shaha Boy

Egyptian police torture is certainly not a new headline however each individual case carries its own unique and shocking details. One particular case is catching the attention of numerous bloggers across Egypt. It is that of the “Shaha Boy”. First brought to our attention by Wael Abbas (post in Arabic), it was later translated by IRC President (with graphic pictures of the victim)…

I was shocked to see this news at Wael Abbas. For several days now I wondered who will have the power to translate this atrocity. Especially while viewing the horrible crimes committed on the body of the, now deceased, 12 year old.

This innocent boy entered the police station alive and left it as a dead body with all the signs of torture and pain.

Sadly deaths resulting from police torture have become more common in the last 6 months, police rarely release any official statements and the families are left empty handed to deal with their loss. This time the death of a 12 year old proved too shocking and the police released their version of events in response to the inevitable fallout.

The official report said that Mohamed Mamdouh did not have any signs of torture on his body, and that the cause of his death was due to heart failure.

However, his body suffered from burns, fractures, serious injuries from electric shock to his buttocks and his testicles.

Zeinobia is following up on this case for us - the boy's body has been exhumed and an investigation has been launched by an independent panel…

More updates I knew today , yesterday a panel of forensic doctors and experts came and digged the body of the boy from the cemetery according to the D.A orders, this is an independent panel , already the primary inspection of the body showed various injuries in various parts from the body that do not go along with the official forensic report the interior ministry is insisting on according to the newspapers and the Websites today.

Let's hope that the attention given to cases of police torture in Egypt bring about a drastic change before others lose their lives.

Baha'i Rights

One of the most impending hurdles for religious freedom has been Egypt's ID card system and its requirement of religious affiliation. The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights leads the charge for equal recognition for Egypt's Baha'i residents.

Thus far, Baha’is remain prevented by the government from being issued the new ID cards, and are only in possession of the old paper documents. The only option given to them, as instructed by the Ministry of Interior, is that they must lie on the application form regarding their religious affiliation in order to obtain ID documents. They are given only three choices (Muslim Christian or Jew). The application form clearly states that any false statements made by the applicant will be punishable by imprisonment and heavy fines.

Life in Luxor

Big Pharaoh's recent return documents, among other things, include life in Egypt's southern city of Luxor…

The city is terribly boring. It lacks the major attractions and nightlife found in Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada. After work, smoking shisha in a cafe and walking along the Nile courniche is what I usually do until I fall asleep. I try to submerge myself in work as much as possible just to keep myself busy.

Follow Big Pharaoh's return and the Egyptian Blogosphere's fight for freedom every week with me here on Global Voices.

5 comments · »»

Bangladesh: under curfew

Rezwan · 14:29

lingua → pt

Civil unrest began in Bangladesh on the 20th of August when a petty dispute broke out concerning comments passed by armed forces personnel during a soccer match at a university gymnasium ground. An army camp has occupied part of the ground since the declaration of a state of emergency on January 11, 2007. The Raising Voices: Rising citizen Journalism blog has the background on this dispute. Ershad Ahmed posts some pictures of the Dhaka University Gymnasium field where it all started.

Then it got worse. By evening, the university area had turned into a battle zone, with intermittent fights between police and students and over 100 students injured. The students demanded an apology and the withdrawal of the army camp from the university.

The student riots continued into the night and the day after. The unrest then started spreading from Dhaka University to other educational institutions and elsewhere in the city. Several vehicles were set afire by mobs, including an army jeep, and scores of people were injured. The 3rd world view has details of the second day protests.

The students won a moral victory when, later that day, the chief of the government apologized, the army camp was withdrawn and an official investigation of the army person involved in the incident was launched.

However, the situation did not die down there. By the third day the violence had spread outside Dhaka. Day-long clashes between students-police and army across the country left at least three dead and more than a thousand injured. Of the dead, two were in Rajshahi and one in Chittagong. A CNN video shows the intensity of the protests. Dhaka Blog notes that “small shop owners, footpath peddlers and hawkers joined in the riots.”

Details are fuzzy at this moment about what prompted this massive outrage. Drishtipat blog asked the big question: “what are they protesters protesting about when all of the demands have been met?” It discusses some possibilities:

We have often talked about here the labour unrest, the disconnect of the government with the real people, the inflation– add this to the years of neglect of public interest by previous governments, such massive unrest was predicted but it wasn’t seen to be coming this quickly.

Some commenters on the Drishtipat post suggested that the unrest was being masterminded by corrupt politicians who are in jail. Another commenter noted that “a premature end to Caretaker (Interim) Government will bring grave danger for the country”.

The Government clamped down on the unrest by declaring a curfew from 8 PM yesterday (August 22) for an indefinite period. It appealed to the the citizenry to maintain calm and discipline and refrain from disorderly acts, and cautioned that stern action would be taken against troublemakers. All universities were declared closed for an indefinite period, with students being given a few hours to vacate the dormitories. Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed has blamed “evil forces” for the spread of countrywide violence since Monday. Addabaj asks [bn] “who are the evil forces?”. He reminds readers that the unrest would not have occurred if the army and police had not shown excess.

The imposing of the curfew was a serious disruption to the lives of common citizens. People had little time to return home after closing their businesses. With the limited public transport available, hundreds of thousands of people were left stranded and many had to walk home.

The crackdown began in the night. Bangladesh was virtually cut off from rest of the world. Bangladesh Watchdog reports:

the authority……switched off mobile phone network, all internet traffic has been routed through state telecom, imposed blanket media censorship, arrests and raids of suspects of the “evil force” as well as pro-democracy activists.

The army arrested scores of journalists including blogger-journalist Biplob Rahman [bn] while they were returning home during curfew. Twelve of them including Biplob Rahman were later released. Third Eye Blog asks [bn] “why the security forces detained them when it was announced that people with job ID can get back home?”

E-Bangladesh started updating the situation via podcasts in regular intervals via its correspondent on the ground. Excerpts from a transcript:

* The army and police are now on with a house to house raid inside the campus with a list of student leaders and teachers to be detained. A large number of university teachers have left their university residences for safe locations outside the campus.

* Businesses & houses owned by cabinet members of the interim government came under attack in Dhaka.

With the media self-censoring, bloggers took on the task of informing the world about the situation. Bangla blogging platforms like Somewhere In “Bandh Bhanger Awaaj” [bn] and Sachalayatan [bn] were buzzing with posts and comments without fear.

The internet access almost died down at around midnight and the number of posts decreased in Bangladeshi Blogosphere. With the mobile networks down, people who were stranded could not communicate with home. The flow of information was severely restricted.

Mobile networks and internet went live again this morning, but the TV and radio channels are keeping mum. Online newspapers are not updating. The 3rd world view summarizes some of the latest updates from bloggers. Journalist Arafatul Islam says [bn]:

* The internet connections were out from 1:30AM at night. Limited connections were live at around 9:30 AM. Some say BTTB servers (state controlled internet gate away) were down. Some say the link to submarine cable was snapped. Some say ISPs ceased to serve their client on Government's instructions.

* Today even Rickshaws are not allowed. Journalists, employees or businessmen are not allowed to commute. So almost everyone is preferring to stay at home.

Journalist Faisal writes [bn] that the Curfew has been relaxed from 4PM to 7PM today (Bangladesh time).

In the Gang Naira points to another worrying reality: