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Latest update: 29/06/2010
- constitution - Ethnic conflict - Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz web users approve New Constitution
Kyrgyz web users comment on the adoption of a new Constitution in the country. The web campaigns for the freedom of Troy Davis, sentenced to death 20 years ago, and an online game giving web users a better understanding of the blockade of Gaza.
NEW CONSTITUTION APPROVED IN KYRGYZSTAN
On Sunday, over 90 % of Kyrgyz citizens voted in favour of a new constitution, which will make Kyrgyzstan Central Asia’s first parliamentary democracy. The referendum took place several weeks after the inter-ethnic violence that left hundreds dead in the south of the country and displaced a further 400 000 people. Reactions to this vote online.
First, we take a look at the reaction from the Interim president Roza Otunbayeva who is very active on the web. In this open letter posted on Facebook, she hails this brilliant victory. She says it proves the people of Kyrgyzstan have chosen to definitively leave behind a corrupt political system.
This blogger has posted these videos of her polling station online where observers looked on to ensure everything went smoothly. But she admits to being disappointed. She thinks the referendum dealt solely with the constitution and citizens could also have been asked whether or not they approved the presidency of Otunbayeva.
But the fact remains that tensions remain high in the country. Measures had been taken by the authorities to avoid any incidents. As we see in these images, state sanctioned vigilante groups were posted near to the polling stations to maintain order.
A group of activists has launched an online video campaign called « I want peace in Kyrgyzstan », appealing to citizens to promote peace and continue to support victims of the conflict.
ONLINE MOBILIZATION FOR TROY DAVIS
Troy Davis has been on death row for nearly 20 years but the Supreme Court of the United States ordered a special hearing last week to give him another chance to prove his innocence. Sentenced to death in 1991 for the murder of a white policeman in Savannah, Georgia, the accused has always proclaimed his innocence. Mobilisation for his freedom continues on the web.
Several videos are circulating online showing campaigners for minority rights, as well as members of Troy Davis’ family, including his mother, in front of the Savannah courthouse on the first day of the hearing last Wednesday. They wanted to denounce this badly run trial and also remind people that many of the key witnesses have admitted to being pressurized by police officers and have changed their statements.
These images filmed in London or these photos taken in Paris demonstrate that mobilisation to free the convicted man is on a worldwide scale.
Amnesty International has created a site devoted to Troy Davis’s legal battle. Web users can look at details of his 2 day hearing whilst waiting for the verdict which should be pronounced in July. The organization believes that the hearing reinforced doubts over his guilt.
Amnesty International also created this original campaign that aims to build a giant portrait of Troy Davis using thousands of pictures of his well-wishers faces. The features will become clearer little by little as new photos are sent in by web users.
SAFE PASSAGE
Here is « Safe Passage ». This game was created by an Israeli human rights organization with an objective of overcoming the blockade of the Gaza strip. It is done in a cartoon style and the player can choose their character from: a student, an ice cream seller or a husband and father, all of whom live in Gaza. As one of the characters, the web user will become lost in a maze of Israeli military administration and have to deal with doors being shut in their face at every turn.
YOU NEED TO SHAVE ROBINHO
Some Brazilian fans do not like Robinho’s new hairstyle and they are letting him know. Taken aback by the Brazilian football players new little beard, they are lobbying for him to shave it off. They have created an internet site using photo editing to try and persuade him that a beard does not suit him.
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Mukunda weighs more than 170 kilos. This mountain gorilla escaped from Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo two months ago. This video shows how the animal was tracked, captured, anaesthetized and then taken back to the national park a few days ago. During his escape, Mukunda had ravaged the harvests of neighbouring villages;
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