INDIA: TENSIONS IN KASHMIR

INDIA: TENSIONS IN KASHMIR

Tensions are high in Indian Kashmir following violent clashes on Monday between separatist demonstrators and police that left several people dead and many others injured. Over the past three months there has been a resurgence of contestation over Indian sovereignty in the Himalayan region. This contestation has been largely relayed on the web.
 
Numerous videos of Monday’s demonstrations are available online. Here we see protestors chanting anti-India slogans and calling for the region’s independence. Some videos, like this one, show demonstrators expressing their hostility towards the US following the Terry Jones affair, Indian Kashmir being majority Muslim. 

Many photos taken during the rallies are circulating on the web. The shots give an idea of the violence of these clashes between separatists and order forces. Certain images appear to show police using weapons to confront the protesters.  
 
Separatists are also using social networks to voice their opinions. Messages encouraging India to leave Kashmir are multiplying on Twitter. Most of them say that calm will only be restored in the region once it is given its independence.
 
This blogger and member of the independence movement is pessimistic about the outcome. He thinks there might not be any developments in the situation: the people of Kashmir will continue to ask for their independence, and the authorities will continue to repress them.
 
KUWAITI CARTOON CAUSES MOROCCANS OFFENSE

A cartoon broadcast by Kuwaiti channel Al Watan sparked controversy in Morocco this summer because it paints a negative picture of Moroccans. Some episodes from the series “Bu Qutada and Bu Nabeel” take place in Morocco and depict greedy women and a corrupt man. Here’s a look back over the affair.

In this episode, available to view on YouTube, a Moroccan police officer asks the Kuwaiti heroes for money in exchange for letting them into the country.

And in this scene, we see a Moroccan mother use witchcraft so that the main characters who have come to Agadir and are attracted to her daughters, ask for their hands in marriage.  

Moroccan web users immediately voiced their indignation; several Facebook groups, that continue to attract new members, were set up asking for this series to be stopped and demanding an apology from the private TV channel Al Watan. Some are even asking for the Kuwaiti ambassador to be removed from Rabat. 

And to put pressure on the Moroccan government, protestors have been asked to flood the Ministry of Communications web site with emails and a group of hackers pirated the official web site for the Kuwaiti Amiri Court.
 
The Kuwaiti Minister for foreign affairs ended up intervening at the end of August, and made an official apology as did the channel Al Watan.

The affair continues to fuel debate on the blogosphere however. This Kuwaiti web user wonders about the need for an apology. She thinks it’s a comedy series, and should not be taken seriously.

A CHARITY TWITTER AUCTION FOR HAITI

American actress Eva Longoria is organizing an auction on Twitter to raise money for Haiti. Web users could see their Tweets mentioned by their favourite stars who have committed themselves to mention the winner in one of their messages and also to relay the winner’s messages. This lucky person will benefit then from the celebrity’s high profile. It’s a great way for the average web user to get themselves talked about. Lenny Kravitz, as well as Justin Bieber will be taking part in the operation which will take place from the 15th to the 25th September.

WIKILEAKILEAKS

A satirical version of whistleblowing site Wikileaks has been created. It’s called WikiLeakileaks. American news site Gawker is behind it, and hopes to launch a collaborative enquiry into Wikileaks’s founder Julian Assange, as well as the secretive funding of the site. Gawker says that the man who advocates transparency is actually more secretive than any other media. For the moment WikiLeakileaks has only posted several links on its page.
 
VIDEO OF THE DAY

Here’s an original road safety campaign from Canada.  An optical illusion has been created to encourage drivers to slow down at key points on the road. The result is surprising. Whether it is effective or not, remains to be seen.