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  Srđa Popović, jedan od osnivača "Otpora", našao se na listi 100 "Globalnih mislilaca" magazina "Forin polisi", zbog angažovanja u "Arapskom proleću". To je priznanje srpskoj nenasilnoj revoluciji kao brendu, ocenjuje Popović. Jedan od najuglednih američkih spoljnopolitičkih magazina, Forin polisi treću godinu za redom objavljuje listu takozvanih "Globalnih mislilaca", ljudi koji su svojim idejama ili radom doprineli promenama u svetu. Ove godine, na listi se našao i jedan od osnivača pokreta "Otpor" u Srbiji, Srđa Popović.

VAŠINGTON - Izvršni direktor Centra za primenjenu nenasilnu akciju (CANVAS) Srđa Popović, koji se našao u vrhu liste 100 globalnih mislilaca čije ideje utiču na svetsku javnu i društvenu scenu, jedan je od osnivača "Otpora" koji je u Srbiji 1998. godine započeo kao studentski pokret. Popović je, zajedno sa Slobodanom Đinovićem, takođe iz grupe CANVAS, krajem prošle godine dobio i prestižnu nagradu za ljudska prava i demokratiju, danskog fonda "Paul Lauricen", za "doprinos demokratiji i njenu promociju širom sveta.

 

Early in 2008, workers at a government-owned textile factory in the Egyptian mill town of El-Mahalla el-Kubra announced that they were going on strike on the first Sunday in April to protest high food prices and low wages. They caught the attention of a group of tech-savvy young people an hour's drive to the south in the capital city of Cairo, who started a Facebook group to organize protests and strikes on April 6 throughout Egypt in solidarity with the mill workers. To their shock, the page quickly acquired some 70,000 followers. But what worked so smoothly online proved much more difficult on the street. Police occupied the factory in Mahalla and headed off the strike. The demonstrations there turned violent: Protesters set fire to buildings, and police started shooting, killing at least two people. The solidarity protests around Egypt, meanwhile, fizzled out, in most places blocked by police. The Facebook organizers had never agreed on tactics, whether Egyptians should stay home or fill the streets in protest. People knew they wanted to do something. But no one had a clear idea of what that something was.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) -- It was carried through the streets of Cairo during the revolution that ousted president Hosni Mubarak: a black flag emblazoned with a clenched white fist.The symbol of resistance originated in the most unlikely of places for an Arab uprising - the Serbian pro-democracy movement that overthrew dictator Slobodan Milosevic.The peaceful sometimes fun-loving tactics of the Balkan student revolutionaries were so successful that they opened up shop mentoring other protest movements in eastern Europe, plotting strategy for successful uprisings in Georgia and Ukraine.

Cairo:  As protesters in Tahrir Square faced off against pro-government forces, they drew a lesson from their counterparts in Tunisia: "Advice to the youth of Egypt: Put vinegar or onion under your scarf for tear gas."The exchange on Facebook was part of a remarkable two-year collaboration that has given birth to a new force in the Arab world -- a pan-Arab youth movement dedicated to spreading democracy in a region without it. Young Egyptian and Tunisian activists brainstormed on the use of technology to evade surveillance, commiserated about torture and traded practical tips on how to stand up to rubber bullets and organize barricades.

Patience is a virtue – maybe even the supreme one in Egypt's popular hierarchy of values, but patience also has its limits and, now, at last, it seems as if we've arrived at ours. And fittingly, it's the young of the country who are leading us. They've had enough of unemployment, deteriorating education, corruption, police brutality and political impotence.As is now well known, they organised Tuesday's protests over Facebook and in closed virtual and actual meetings. Talk about grassroots! "They" is some 20 groups that have sprung up over the last five years. The question has always been how and when will they coalesce? They did on Tuesday; they fused, and with them multitudes of Egyptians young and old – inspired by what happened in Tunis.

Protests by Tibetan students in China over the right to study in their language have spread, according to a rights group and state media. Thousands marched in Qinghai province on Wednesday, following a peaceful demonstration in Tongren a day earlier.It follows unconfirmed reports of plans to curb the use of the Tibetan language in classrooms in favour of Chinese.Qinghai province is home to many ethnic Tibetans and was the scene of anti-Chinese riots in 2008.Thousands of students, many of them in their early teens, are expressing their desire to continue to study and learn in their native Tibetan, said the London-based Free Tibet.

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo, is a reminder of the damage autocracies do to themselves when they clamp down on freedom of speech and thought.At a single day's trial last December, Mr Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison after having helped to draft Charter 08, a manifesto for political change in China.His Nobel prize comes at the precise moment when people right at the top of the Chinese system such as the Premier, Wen Jiabao, are joining the debate about the need for greater political liberalisation.

In the United States, the first week of October passed by without much fanfare. However, for about 10 million Serbian citizens, it was a time to celebrate. This past week was the tenth anniversary of the Serbian people’s victory over communist tyrant Slobodan Milosevic and of the moment the country joined the ranks of the world’s newest democracies.Milosevic was brought down not by bombs, bullets, or a military coup, nor was he even brought down the ballot, although the presidential election of Kostunica was the lynchpin. Milsoevic was forced out of power in a massive display of nonviolent civil resistance that represented the first truly democratic transition of the 21st century.

Members of NGO "Women in Black" attend a protest in Belgrade, Serbia, July 10, 2010, on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 to raise public awareness of the war crimes. (Xinhua/Beta)On the eve of the 15th anniversary of the massacre in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Women in Black" organized a protest in Belgrade on Saturday to raise public awareness of the war crimes that occurred in that Bosnian enclave in 1995.Approximately 30 activists held a banner in Belgrade's Republic Square, which read "Do not forget the genocide in Srebrenica, Solidarity and Responsibility."According to Zorica Trifunovic of the NGO "Women in Black", the goal of this activity, which they have organized since 1996, is to demonstrate that "we know what happened in Srebrenica."

 More than 11,000 Egyptians have responded to a Facebook call for a Friday protest of police brutality in the death of Egyptian businessman Khalid Said. After a second autopsy, Egypt today upheld the original finding that the man had choked on a bag on drugs.Cairo.-Egypt’s general prosecutor said Wednesday that the results of a second autopsy uphold the conclusion that a young Egyptian businessman whose death has incited anger and protests died from choking on a bag of drugs – not from a police beating.

 After December 5th – the date that will be remembered in Italy’s history as ‘No Berlusconi Day’ - the colour purple gained sufficient media attention to guarantee it significance beyond any momentary trend. It’s the symbolic colour of a battle for the affirmation of democracy, for the respect of our Constitutional Charter as the foundation of civilised living, for the defense of a free and plural information system, for the construction – in short – of that cultural and political renovation process that has been far too long delayed in this country.

The US has accused Iran of seeking a "near-total information blockade" to silence anti-government protesters. The allegations came after opposition supporters clashed with security forces as Iran marked the anniversary of the 1979 revolution.The US government said it had information that the telephone network was taken down, SMS messages blocked, and internet communication "throttled".China and Burma have also been accused of blocking internet communication.Analysts say some governments make strenuous efforts to block modern communications among opponents, with varying degrees of success.

Thousands of people are expected to gather near Cape Town in South Africa today to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release.It will be the centrepiece of commemorations to mark the moment that Mandela emerged after 27 years behind bars, ushering in a transition from apartheid to multi-racial democracy and his rise to become the country's first black president.This morning Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who held Mandela's hand and punched the air in triumph on that day, will lead a 500-metre march from the former Victor Verster prison in Paarl, Western Cape, to symbolise the walk that was seen by a TV audience of millions.Mandela's former wife is also expected to address a rally attended by African National Congress veterans including Ahmed Kathrada and Denis Goldberg.

Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- The final results from Ukraine's presidential election on Wednesday showed former Prime Minister Victor Yanukovich winning a close race, but an official declaration of a victor was still to come.Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has refused to concede defeat and plans to demand a recount in some districts, officials from her party, Bloc Tymoshenko, said Tuesday.The tally from the Central Election Commission from Sunday's runoff showed Yanukovich holding 48.95 percent of the vote, and Tymoshenko claiming 45.47 percent. Nearly seven in 10 registered voters showed up at the polls.

Athens, Greece (CNN) -- Greek workers were holding a one-day strike Wednesday to protest government efforts to stave off a financial crisis.Thousands of public-sector workers and their supporters began the 24-hour walkout at 9 a.m. (2 a.m. ET), though local media said workers at Athens' main international airport began their strike at midnight.Government offices, courts and schools were closed, though public transportation largely continued to operate.The umbrella civil servants trade union ADEDY, which called the strike, said most of its 500,000 workers were on strike, though that number could not be confirmed. When strikes are called in Greece, non-union members often will join those on the picket lines.

A leading Iranian human rights activist and journalist was arrested Wednesday, activists said. Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi was taken by seven security agents who searched his home and took personal belongings including his computer, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a statement.It is not clear where he is being held."Kermanshahi is one of the most important sources of objective human rights information and analysis in Iran, and one of the few still courageously working to document, in a scientific way, the deprivation of human rights there," said ICHRI representative Hadi Ghaemi from New York.

Political observers have praised the recent Ukrainian elections, saying the outcome of Sunday's second round contest between Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and one of her predecessors, Viktor Yanukovych, is not predetermined.  That's in stark contrast to neighboring Russia, where the 2008 election of President Dmitri Medvedev was a forgone conclusion.  VOA Moscow Correspondent Peter Fedynsky contrasts presidential elections in two former Soviet republics.About 3,000 foreign election observers declared that, despite a few irregularities, the first round of Ukraine's presidential election on January 17 met international standards for honesty.

Russian officials have scrambled to contain the damage after thousands of people took part in the country's biggest anti-government protest since the start of the economic crisis.The governing United Russia party led by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin dispatched a delegation to Kaliningrad, a western exclave bordering the EU, where protesters called for economic and political change over the weekend."We have plans to go to Kaliningrad and get ourselves familiar with the situation on the spot ... and find out what was the basis of the demonstration," said Sergei Neverov, a senior United Russia official.Speaking on the Ekho of Moscow radio, he said the delegation planned a series of meetings, including with local officials and prominent figures.At least 10,000 people turned up for a demonstration in Kaliningrad on Saturday, according to organisers. Police put the turnout at 6,000.

Security forces fire tear gas and plastic bullets at thousands of protesters in Caracas and elsewhere after RCTV is banned for violating a law that requires stations to air the president's speeches.Reporting from Caracas, Venezuela, and Quito, Ecuador -- Protests broke out in Venezuela on Monday after cable companies dropped transmission of a popular channel that the government declared had broken telecommunications laws by not broadcasting President Hugo Chavez's speeches.Government critics and supporters of Radio Caracas Television took to the streets of Caracas, the capital, and several other cities after companies dropped RCTV's programming under threat of losing their licenses.