• Civil society forms “watch committee” in Rakhine State, Myanmar, to “see whether their aid goes to the right places.” (In March, mobs attacked UN and aid group offices in Rakhine, forcing many INGOs to flee; they were accused of favoring the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group). (Myanmar Times) • The EU is pumping €674K into civil society into Armenian civil society focused on healthcare, agriculture and social security. (ARKA News Agency) • In Cambodia, civil society condemns the (currently one-party) National Assembly’s passage of three “flawed judicial reform bills” (the opposition party continues its 10-month boycott of parliament due to allegedly flawed elections last summer). (Asian Human Rights Commission) Special Rapporteur Surya Subedi has chimed in as well. • The .ngo website suffix comes online in October 2014. (Nonprofit Quarterly) More here. • Is Israel jumping on the “foreign agent” NGO law bandwagon? Proposed bill “directed at left-leaning groups.” (Haaretz) • In Brazil, Rival World Cup protest songs jostle for football fans’ attention. “Rival tunes, anti-FIFA raps and instrumental lamentations challenging the poorly received official theme,” writes Jonathan Watts. (The Guardian) • Violinists’ protest video goes viral after they... Continue reading →
• “Indigenous protesters in traditional headdress” clash with police in Brazil ahead of the World Cup. One officer was shot in the leg with an arrow and a ceremony to open the cup trophy exhibition was cancelled (abcnews.go.com). Photos (Daily Mail) • Thailand’s coup leader appeals for protesters to stand down: "Everyone must help me," he said, adding: but "do not criticize, do not create new problems. It's no use." (cbsnews.com) • Kenya’s police inspector general bans “political” assemblies saying "Criminals may take advantage of such gatherings” (the ban also comes just in advance of former PM Raila Odinga’s return to the country on Saturday) (nation.co.ke) • In Russia, a court orders a prominent NGO, the Memorial Human Rights Center, to register as a “foreign agent” for its human rights work. “Shameful,” says OMCT, “Is claiming rights contained under the Russian Constitution really a foreign interest?” (OMCT.org) • Maina Kiai and Community of Democracies release a set of “general principles” summarizing key aspects of civil society’s right to funding – a “rights cheat sheet” (freeassembly.net) Send news tips and suggestions, to media@freeassembly.net or check us out on Facebook and Twitter For all FOAA news roundups, click... Continue reading →
