14 October 2009 - 11H10
Web users denounce Ali Bongo’s "official" victory
In this edition: the blogosphere expresses its indignation as Ali Bongo’s election has been confirmed by the Gabonese Constitutional Court. Three moths later, new documents testify to the violence of the Xinjiang riots.
GABON: ALI BONGO CONFIRMED AS PRESIDENT
On Monday the Constitutional Court of Gabon confirmed the election of the son of Omar Bongo as President of the country. Something his opponents are rising up against online.
Bruno Moubamba, one of the former-candidates who was most active online, describes the decision as a constitutional coup d’état, which according to him, succeeds an electoral coup d’état. He is denouncing the establishment of a red beret Republic, the elite unit of the Gabonese army.
To denounce Bongo’s methods, Moubamba has posted this video online in which we see soldiers patrolling a square in Libreville where a demonstration was set to take place.
In this caricatural video, a net user attacks what he calls ‘Bongoland’. He denounces a fake democracy, led by the red berets.
And many Gabonese people such as this woman, describe their exasperation.
The Gabonese Diaspora is also up in arms. On the Facebook group belonging to the expatriate Gabonese resistance group, messages of indignation are multiplying.
The group publishes videos of anti-Bongo protests organised up until now. This expatriate criticises the Bongo family’s takeover of the country.
XINJIANG: 100 DAYS AFTER THE RIOTS
These are images of unprecedented violence. Filmed on July 5 in Urumqi, in Xinjiang province, China, they show the bloody riots which broke out between Hans, the majority ethic group in the country and Uighurs a Muslim minority.
Although Internet access remains unavailable in the region, these videos recently appeared on the net at a moment when six Uighurs, found guilty of murder, have just been sentenced to death for their participation in the violent clashes.
But for this lawyer from Beijing, who commented on Twitter, the convictions will only stir up anti-Han feelings amongst the Uighur people, and accentuate the tension between the two communities.
At the same time, Chinese net users around the country are paying homage to victims of the riots. On Monday evening, that is one hundred days since the riots, this site asked them to light a candle in remembrance of the hundreds of people who died during the disturbances.
And as shown by these photos which have been circulating for a few weeks on the Web, most of those who died were Hans. These extremely shocking images, were taken in a morgue in Urumqi to allow families to identify bodies.
The exiled Uighur dissidents are suggesting that thousands of Uighurs disappeared after the crackdowns which followed the riots. With help from this video, broadcast online they ask for the restoration of telecommunications in the province, as well as the opening of an independent inquiry into July’s events.
JEAN SARKOZY
The debate surrounding the probable nomination of Jean Sarkozy to the head of the public institution responsible for landscaping Paris’ Defense district continues to rage on the French web. An online petition calling for the President’s son to give up the post already has over 44,000 signatures. And on Twitter, jokes are flooding in on a discussion link entitled ‘Jean Sarkozy everywhere’. Net users imagine the twenty three year old in the most bizarre situations.
http://www.mesopinions.com/Jean-Sarkozy--renoncez-a-postuler-au-poste-de-president-de-l-EPAD-petition-petitions-fdc75d89c604d782a5b2198681c67f26.html http://www.jeansarkozypartout.com/
VIRTUAL MAKEOVER
Learn to apply makeup successfully thanks to the web: this is the original concept offered by this US site. The principle is simple: you send your portrait in to the portal, try different hairstyles and test the products you are interested in, all adapted to your complexion.
LA VIDÉO DU JOUR
A dual between Michael Jackson and Mr Bean, or when the King of Pop meets the King of the Absurd. This is what Patrick Boivin has come up with, a Canadian film maker upon request by net users. A video created image by image with two figurines.
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