The two Tweets I have included focus on the repression of citizen journalism in Pakistan. The first tweet from Pakistani journalist and blogger Beena Sarwar’s Twitter feed documents other supporters of Pakistani journalism as they create signs in order to protest the repression that journalists face. There is a concern over the free press in Pakistan and prominent journalists and activists like Beena Sarwar are able to spread information and pictures like these to show how people in Pakistan push for change. The use of social media helps this process because Beena Sarwar has over 189K Twitter followers and can spread information effectively.

The second tweet from Megha Rajagopalan’s Twitter feed highlights the concern felt across the globe by journalists – as a record number have been jailed. Megha shares the idea that this is a global crisis for citizen journalists across the globe. She also emphasizes the debate that Western countries, with the U.S. in particular, do not recognize this crisis. The experiences of journalists in the U.S. are highly different than other journalists around the world. There is a great deal of repression against journalists in places like Pakistan and other South Asian countries. Certainly, many feel that U.S. journalists – with their capabilities and freedom – should do more to help journalists around the world who struggle with this repression.

In response to Trump’s first tweet of 2018, where the U.S. President accused Pakistan of harboring terrorists and taking the money that we gave them for air to use for their own personal gain.  Trump’s tweet sent Pakistan into a furious Twitter debate. Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khurram Dastgir Khan (@PakMnstrDefence) posted: “Pak as anti-terror ally has given free to US: land & air communication, military bases & intel cooperation that decimated Al-Qaeda over last 16yrs, but they have given us nothing but invective & mistrust. They overlook cross-border safe havens of terrorists who murder Pakistanis.” This is clearly the Minister of Defense calling out Trump on the failures that the United States’ have and how Pakistan has assisted in the war on terror.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/leezamangaldas/2018/01/02/trump-brings-in-the-new-year-with-polarizing-pakistan-tweet/#5cc46dda2b35

Tweet 1:

@ImranKhanPTI: “Disgusted by & strongly condemn the filthy language used by Rana Sanaullah & Abid Sher Ali against out PTI women. In the past 30 yrs these people have always disrespected women which is against our religion & culture. I want to thank our women for coming out in such huge numbers!” Apr 30, 2018. https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/437669-Imran-Khan-condemns-Rana-Sanaullah-filthy-language-against-women

This tweet by Pakistani politician serving on the National Assembly and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, is a fierce women’s rights activist. When Rana Sanaullah used hateful remarks against women on Monday, which was clearly misogynistic. However, after looking into Imran Khan’s background a bit more, I was able to see that he has quite a controversy following his public image. He is known as a playboy and socialite, possibly only advertising women’s rights to have more women follow him and his policies?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imran_Khan#Controversies

As a nation that endured a brutal war we are all aware of the values of peace, respect, unity & freedom. The Govt condemns the racist & violent acts that have taken place over the last few days. A state of emergency has been declared & we will not hesitate to take further action.

— Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) March 6, 2018

We are taking action to enforce law & order to ensure security across the Kandy district. The armed forces, STF & police have been deployed & instructed to be prepared to control any kind of tension. I appeal to the public to act peacefully to safeguard law & order in your areas.

— Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) March 7, 2018

Strong anti-Muslim violence took place in the Kandy district by Buddhists.  This radical movement portrays the harsh religious divide plaguing Sri Lanka.  The conflict heightened after a Buddhist man was severely beaten by Muslims  a week prior to the Buddhist response.  A BBC article cites many mosques, shops, vehicles, and residencies were damaged in the Buddhist aggression.  In a response to this, a state of emergency was declared in Sri Lanka,  and even went so far to say that Muslims are living in fear.  In an attempt to combat this, a cabinet official claims that action will be taken against hate speech posts on social media.

As with any ethnic, religious or primordial strife between two parties, conflict will always exist.   I wonder exactly how the government plans to attack this issue, with these things considered.  I believe the ability of the government is limited by nature of the conflict.  Although they may be able to police social media posts and place police and security forces in threatened areas, I do not see the government as having a significant ability to control the conflict.  The majority of Sri Lankans are Buddhists with only a small portion of the population as Muslims.  Considering this significant gap, I respect the government for attempting to protect all of its citizens, regardless of religious affiliation.  I do not see a better way of dealing with it than how they are, but I do not believe this is the ultimate solution.  The government can only keep security forces in place for so long, but the divide will exist for long after they are removed.

 

Help Received:  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43300913?intlink_from_url=http://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cywd23g0gxgt/sri-lanka&link_location=live-reporting-story

This article was used for the contextual information provided in my analysis of the tweets.

Congress knows it is not winning in Karnataka, which is why it is constantly spreading lies and playing divisive politics. Sadly for them, the people of Karnataka know the negative politics of Congress very well and will reject the party.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 26, 2018

Our priority for Karnataka is more prosperity for farmers and better infrastructure across the state. It is sad how the Congress Government in Karnataka has devoted no attention towards agriculture and next-generation infrastructure.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 26, 2018

Both of these tweets were posted in succession of one another and play off of Modi’s tweet that outlined progress on the infrastructure project and the positive momentum implied with Modi and his party. These two tweets use the positive back drop Modi has created to cast a negative shadow on his opponents, which happens to be the Congress. Modi is using Twitter as a PR tool to ingratiate himself and BJP to the people by explaining why his infrastructure initiative is a benefit to the common man. It draws him as a champion for the people fighting the corrupt and established members of the Indian National Congress party, who are selfish and self serving. Now, if this is true or not reality probably lies somewhere in the middle, where Modi’s initiative probably is in benefit of the common man, however, what also is true is that the Congress party controls Karnataka, which is a primary state, that can sway the country in support of one party over another.

Modi is proactively using something positive he and his party are doing to then turn it on his opponents and explain in a series of tweets why his party cares and is for the people. Modi makes two big assertion in these two tweets. The first is that the Congress is the only party that deals in lies and divisive politics, which some could argue is exactly the tactic Modi is utilizing with his targeted tweets, although subtly. The second major assertion is that the Congress is doing nothing to improve infrastructure in Karnataka or really anything to help facilitate the day to day for the common man. Not only is he saying the Congress is doing nothing to improve the lives of the people in Karnataka, but he asserts that the primary reason is that they don’t have the time of day to devote to the matter, suggesting out of touch leadership. Some pretty heavy accusations that could potentially be difficult to disprove, if the contrary of what he is saying is true unless one was well versed in the Congresses management of that state. Also, the perception of Modi in the public arena may be so strong that it leaves little room to doubt any point of view to the contrary of what he is saying publicly. The angles Modi is taking are in opposition to the values the Congress party historically peddled and fought for, which are for the poor and marginalized, and acting as the primary party that won independence from the British. Quite likely Modi is targeting these centers of gravity the Congress party holds to degrade the party fundamentally in the eyes of the public.

 

Help Received:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnataka

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Congress

Narendra Modi’s tweets (seen above)

 

Stephen Wolf

In line with our work towards creating top quality infrastructure, we reviewed key infrastructure projects spread across 12 states. You would be happy to know that 25 Pragati meetings have seen a cumulative review of 227 projects worth a total investment of over Rs. 10 lakh crore

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 25, 2018

Narendra Modi is the current Prime Minister of India and he is from the BJP party. Currently the Indian Congress, made up of multiple parties, generally is against BJP and Modi’s initiatives. Modi’s most recent initiative is his desire to reform and improve the infrastructure of India in certain regions. The project is massive, about 1.5 billions US dollars, the number is having Modi’s opponents balk. Some have logical reasoned out arguments as to why this level of spending is unnecessary or too high and other groups are using ad hominem attacks against Modi regarding his inability to identify with some of those regions because of his caste and religion. Modi decried this behavior as “lollipop politics” that prevents progress and doesn’t offer an alternate solution.

In the tweet Modi is explaining the progress he and the BJP are negotiating to make the infrastructure project a success. It comes off as transparent and in the best interests of the people, while subtly snubbing his opponents and tallying a win. This will, if all goes well, boost his credibility and the credibility of his party, as well as prove his opponents wrong. He also mentions in the tweet “12 states”, 25 Pragati meetings, and “227 projects”. This demonstrates his ability to interact with diverse groups and plan a large scope of projects. Pragati is a well regarded publication that reviews politics, strategic policy, and economic policy. The number of meetings he mentions having shows that he is willing to speak with the press in a transparent manner. This gives positive momentum and dynamism to his initiative.

 

Help Received:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragati

https://www.deccanherald.com/state/karnataka-elections-development-our-only-agendapm-modi-tells-bjp-workers-666722.html

Narendra Modi’s Tweet (seen above)

 

Stephen Wolf

 

In one Tweet posted in late January of this year by Khaleda Zia of the BNP party, Zia lashes out against one news organization for publishing an article which quoted a state minister stating that she would be sent to jail. Within the Tweet Zia refers to this state minister as “unelected,” suggesting that this man was put into office through undemocratic means. She also suggests that this is a case of contempt of the court. By doing this, Zia is attacking the legitimacy of the judiciary system in Bangladesh and suggesting that her political rivals from the Awami League are mingling with the courts.

After conducting some short background research on Wikipedia, I found that Zia was being charged by the government for embezzlement of international funds. She was found guilty in this case and sentenced to prison for 5 years on February 8th of this year.

I wonder how bad this case struck the BNP in terms of party support. I suspect that followers of Zia and the BNP, who still claim that the case was politically biased, retain their support regardless since from the BNP’s side, government officials from the Awami league are largely illegitimate and corrupt. People will believe what they want to.

 

Friday, Jan 19, newspapers reported, an unelected state minister said that Khaleda Zia would be sent to jail in the next 15 days. Isn’t it a clear case of contempt of court? People are watching how the judiciary protects its independence? pic.twitter.com/AUJj0ykwYF

— Begum Khaleda Zia (@BegumZiaBd) January 21, 2018

 

With help from Wikipedia.

 

In early January of this year, Khaleda Zia, leader of the BNP in Bangladesh and former Prime Minister, made an interesting Tweet in strong opposition to the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In the Tweet Zia states that the source of the Awami League Prime Minister’s power is the bullet, not the ballot. This was in reference to a poll which was conducted by the Awami League which was according to Zia, “voterless.”

The Tweet does a really good job at dealing a blow to the legitimacy of not only Hasina, but also her party. Zia makes her own political party, the BNP, look very good in this Tweet, taking the time to throw in the line “No compromise on democracy.” in the Tweet.

Interestingly, Zia attached a hashtag to the Tweet, “#voterlesspoll”

My question now is did Hasina or another member of the Awami League respond to this accusation? Has there been efforts to cover it up? The term “voterless poll” is quite absurd, but it is unsettling to think about the political power one can gain creating fake polls.

 

Not ballot but bullet is the source of Hasina’s power. Jan 5’s ‘disgraceful voterless poll’ is a cruel joke at our historic struggles for voting rights & back-stabbing our democratic progress.People shall choose their representatives, not conspirators. No compromise on democracy. pic.twitter.com/8GFWOycwkz

— Begum Khaleda Zia (@BegumZiaBd) January 4, 2018

 

 

 

@POMyanmar (President of Myanmar) Tweet by Win Myint 4/2/18

 

Context: Win Myint has held the presidency in Myanmar since 23 March 2018, after resigning his post as Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house in bicameral system) in preparation for candidacy representing the National League for Democracy (NLD). His confirmation as president was non-standard, due to Htin Kyaw’s resignation due to poor health decline. Myanmar faces a number of challenges, to include domestic ethnic conflict, corruption, power imbalances in the branches of government, and the intent of this tweet was to clarify Myint’s position going forward with regards to these various issues.

Analysis: The actual tweet itself has the following text: “I solemnly promise that you will see with your own eyes the changes that you have yearned for as I walk along this path together with you.”, and has a linked full text of his speech to the parliament (included below in content section). While clearly outlining his priorities (rule of law and socio-economic improvement, national reconciliation and internal peace, and constitutional amendments for improved function of a democratic federal republic), it is too early to determine the concrete proposals that Myint will attempt to impose in order to facilitate accomplishment of these goals. This appears to be a largely strategic tweet, rather than actually suggesting future policy. I will note, however, that several other tweets have been released since the 2^ndthat appear to indicate more concrete measures to be put forward by the President.

Link/Content:

Primary Tweet URL: https://twitter.com/pomyanmar/status/981054124438335489

Primary Tweet Content: @POMyanmar “I solemnly promise that you will see with your own eyes the changes that you have yearned for as I walk along this path together with you.” READ MORE

 

Linked article: “Esteemed Speaker and Representatives of the PyidaungsuHluttaw, the State Counsellor and Union-level personnel and dignitaries in this ceremony and Union citizens, may you be blessed with auspiciousness, good health and peace of mind.

I wish first of all to express my thanks to the Representatives of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw who elected me as President and all the people who gave me strength and support. Also, I am truly grateful to have this opportunity to deliver this speech after taking my oath of office as President in this Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.

Fellow citizens of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar,

Holding in high esteem all the people in the entire country who have given support with faith and trust to the State Counsellor and the National League for Democracy, I pledge to carry out my duties with righteousness, seriousness and steadfastness.

Today, our country is still in poverty with necessities in every sector;which is why we need to carry on our struggle and work hard in all sectors. In the international arena, we are facing pressure, criticisms and misunderstandings. The challenges and difficulties our country and our people are facing today are many. Although every issue cannot be solved easily, we will have to make utmost efforts to solve these issues according to each priority sector.

Fellow citizens,

• I will carry out the implementation of the priority goals of the Union Government which are as follows:
• Rule of law and improvement of the socio-economic life of the people,
• National Reconciliation and internal peace,
• Amending the Constitution which is the foundation for building a Democratic Federal Republic.

Furthermore, today at this time, we are witnessing the transformation of an era and a system in accordance with democratic principles. This is just the beginning of the democratic transition. To make this transition process smooth and successful, it is very important for our peoples, government employees and civil servants to change their dogmatic mindset and habits. Those government institutions which are lagging behind in the transformation process will need to be put under tight management controls. The country’s weak judiciary system would need to be strengthened. More efforts need to be exerted to stamp out corruption. More efforts need to be exerted to prevent human rights violations. More efforts need to be exerted to crack down illegal drug trade. We need to manage public funds properly so that there is no wastage. Measures need to be taken to return confiscated farmland to farmers and to give compensation to farmers for losses they have suffered in accordance with the law. We also need to improve the socio-economic life of farmers, improve the lives of workers and ensure that students gain access to higher education.

Fellow citizens,

I would firstly like to address the three branches of the sovereign power of the State, who have been entrusted with power according to the Constitution, to exercise mutual respect, understanding, and trust as they collaborate for the good of the people. Additionally, I wish to urge the media sector, which serve as the ears and eyes of the public, to understand the seriousness of their duties and to hold in high regard the public sector that they serve.

We have much to carry on fulfilling the hopes and needs of the people of the country. We must press on until our citizens have their dignity raised and our country can retain its former glory on the global stage.

We will abolish the red tape that burdens the people and eradicate corruption and bribery that plagues all levels of society as we work to strengthen the moral fiber of our people. We will draw out from our past experiences as a civilian government overcoming various obstacles and hardships, as we work to the best of our ability for the immediate present and head towards the future of a democratic nation that respects human rights and is free from all stains of corruption.

Fellow citizens,

In my closing remarks I would like to state that I solemnly promise that you will see with your own eyes the changes that you have yearned for as I walk along this path together with you.

Thank you everyone.”

 

Help Received: Twitter of the President of Myanmar @POMyanmar, Wikipedia for a little background info on Htin Kyaw and Win Myint, Microsoft Word Grammar and Spelling checks.

 

Levi Harmon

 

@POMyanmar (President of Myanmar) Tweet on Resignation of Htin Kyaw 3/21/18

 

Context: Htin Kyaw has held the presidency in Myanmar since 2016, when the National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide victory. Since then, he has basically functioned as a stand-in for Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the NLD who is prevented from holding the presidency due to a constitutional provision. His health has recently been in decline and was stated as the principal reason for his resignation.

Analysis: The resignation of the president leaves several questions: Will his replacement, Win Myint, follow the guidance of Aung San Suu Kyi as closely as Htin Kyaw did? Win Myint is another representative from the NLD, which indicates that this will probably be the case, however it remains to be seen. He issued a statement via the POMyanmar Twitter indicating his goals and intentions on April 2^nd. This tweet will be the focus of my second blog post.

Link/Content:

Primary Tweet URL: https://twitter.com/pomyanmar/status/976657527315226625

President U Htin Kyaw resigns from his post

The Office of the President issued an announcement dated 21 March. Following is the announcement.

Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Office of the President

Announcement 1/2018

5th Waxing of Tagu, 1379 ME

21st March 2018

 

1. The President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar U Htin Kyaw has resigned from his post, as he wants to take a rest from his current duties with effect from 21 March 2018.
2. The position will be filled within seven days in accordance with Subsection (b), Section (73) of the Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

 

Help Received: Twitter of the President of Myanmar @POMyanmar, Wikipedia for a little background info on Htin Kyaw and Win Myint, Microsoft Word Grammar and Spelling checks.

 

Levi Harmon