Blank
Journalism without jails
by Robert Menard.
Sacramento, CA, USA
One hundred eleven journalists are languishing in
prisons around the globe just for doing their jobs.
The 15 enemies of the Internet and other countries to watch
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15613
Reporters Without Borders marks the World Summit
on the Information Society by presenting 15 countries
that are “enemies of the Internet” and pointing to a dozen
others whose attitude to it is worrying.
The 15 “enemies” are the countries that crack down
hardest on the Internet, censoring independent news
sites and opposition publications, monitoring the Web
to stifle dissident voices, and harassing, intimidating
and sometimes imprisoning Internet users and bloggers
who deviate from the regime’s official line.
The “countries to watch” do not have much in common
with the "enemies of the Internet." The plight of Chinese
Internet user, who risks prison by mentioning human
rights in an online forum, does not compare with the
situation of a user in France or the United States. Yet
many countries that have so far respected online freedom
seem these days to want to control the Internet more.
Their often laudable aims include fighting terrorism,
paedophilia and Internet-based crime, but the measures
sometimes threaten freedom of expression.
The 15 enemies of the Internet
(in alphabetical order)
- Belarus
The regime uses its monopoly of the communications system to block access to
opposition websites when it chooses, especially at election time. President Alexander
Lukashenko dislikes criticism, as shown by the harassment in August 2005 of
youngsters who were posting satirical cartoons online.
- Burma
This country is among the very worst enemies of Internet freedom and in many ways its
policies are worse than China’s. The price of computers and a home Internet
connection is prohibitive so Internet cafés are the target of the military regime’s
scrutiny. As in neighbouring Vietnam and China, access to opposition sites is
systematically blocked, in this case with technology supplied by the US firm
Fortinet. Burma’s censorship is special - Web-based e-mail, such as Yahoo ! or
Hotmail, cannot be used and all Internet café computers record every five minutes the
screen being consulted, to spy on what customers are doing.
- China
China was one the first repressive countries to grasp the importance of the Internet
and of controlling it. It is also one of the few countries that has managed to
“sanitise” the Internet by blocking access to all criticism of the regime while at
the same time expanding it (China has more than 130 million users). The secret of
this success is a clever mix of filter technology, repression and diplomacy. Along
with effective spying and censorship technology, the regime is also very good at
intimidating users and forcing them to censor their own material. China is the world’s
biggest prison for cyber-dissidents, with 62 in prison for what they posted online.
- Cuba
President Fidel Castro’s regime has long been good at tapping phones and these days
is just as skilled when it comes to the Internet. The Chinese model of expanding the
Internet while keeping control of it is too costly, so the regime has simply put the
Internet out of reach for virtually the entire population. Being online in Cuba is a
rare privilege and requires special permission for the ruling Communist Party. When a
user does manage to get connected, often illegally, it is only to a highly-censored
version of the Internet.
- Iran
The information ministry boasts that it currently blocks access to hundreds of
thousands of websites, especially those dealing in any way with sex but also those
providing any kind of independent news. A score of bloggers were thrown in prison
between autumn 2004 and summer 2005. One of them, Mojtaba Saminejad, 23, has been
held since February 2005 and was given a two-year sentence in June for supposedly
insulting the country’s Supreme Guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
- Libya
With nearly a million people online (about a sixth of the population), Libya could be
a model of Internet expansion in the Arab world. But it has no independent media, so
the Internet is controlled, with access blocked to dissident exile sites by filters
installed by the regime, which is also now targeting cyber-dissidents, with the
January 2005 arrest of former bookseller Abdel Razak al-Mansouri, who posted
satirical articles on a London-based website. He was sentence in October to 18 months
in prison for supposed “illegal possession of a gun.”
- The Maldives
The archipelago is a paradise for tourists but a nightmare for cyber-dissidents. The
25-year regime of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom cracks down harshly on freedom of
expression. Several opposition websites are filtered and one of four people arrested
in 2002 is still in prison for helping to produce an e-mailed newsletter. A British
company, Cable & Wireless, controls Internet access in the country.
- Nepal
King Gyanendra’s first reflex when he seized power in February 2005 was to cut off
Internet access to the outside world. It has since been restored, but the regime
continues to control it and most online opposition publications, especially those
seen as close to the Maoist rebels, have been blocked inside the country. Bloggers
discussing politics or human rights do so under constant pressure from the
authorities.
- North Korea
The country is the most closed-off in the world and the government, which has total
control of the media, refused until recently to be connected to the Internet. Only a
few thousand privileged people have access to it and then only to a heavily-censored
version, including about 30 sites praising the regime. Among these is
www.uriminzokkiri.com, which has photos and adulation of the “Dear Leader” Kim
Jong-il and his late father Kim Il Sung.
- Saudi Arabia
The government agency in charge of “cleaning up” the Web, the Internet Service Unit
(ISU), boasts that it currently bars access to nearly 400,000 sites with the aim of
protecting citizens from content that is offensive or violates Islamic principles and
social standards. The sites blocked deal mainly with sex, politics or religion
(except those about Islam that are approved by the regime). This censorship regularly
affects blogging, and blogger.com was made inaccessible for several days in October
2005.
- Syria
The accession to power of President Bashar el-Assad in 2000 raised hopes of greater
freedom of expression, but these were disappointed. The regime restricts Internet
access to a minority of privileged people, filters the Web and very closely monitors
online activity. A Kurdish journalism student is in prison for posting photos on a
foreign-based site of a demonstration in Damascus. Another Internet user was freed in
August 2005 after more than two years in prison for simply passing by e-mail on a
foreign-produced newsletter. Both were tortured in prison.
- Tunisia
President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, whose family has a monopoly on Internet access
inside the country, has installed a very effective system of censoring the Internet.
All opposition publications are blocked, along with many other news sites. The regime
also tries to discourage use of webmail because it is harder to spy on than standard
mail programmes that use Outlook. The Reporters Without Borders site cannot be seen
inside Tunisia. The government also jails cyber-dissidents and in April 2005,
pro-democracy lawyer Mohammed Abbou was given a three-and-a-half-year sentence for
criticising the president online. Yet Tunisia seems well thought-of by the
international community for its management of the Internet since it has been chosen
the International Telecommunication Union to host the second stage of the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in November 2005.
- Turkmenistan
No independent media exists here under the dictatorship of megalomaniac Stalinist
President Neparmurad Nyazov. As in Cuba and North Korea, the regime takes a radical
attitude to the Internet and keeps virtually all citizens away from it, with home
connections not allowed. There are no Internet cafés and the Web is only accessible
through certain companies and international organisations. Even when connected, it is
only to a censored version of the Internet.
- Uzbekistan
President Islam Karimov proclaimed the “era of the Internet” in his country in May
2001. Online facilities have expanded rapidly but so has censorship of them. The
state security service frequently asks ISPs to temporarily block access to opposition
sites. Since June 2005, some Internet cafés in the capital have displayed warnings
that users will be fined 5,000 soms (4 euros) for looking at pornographic sites and
10,000 (8 euros) for consulting banned political sites.
- Vietnam
The country closely follows the Chinese method of controlling the Internet, but
though more ideologically rigid, the regime does not have the money and technology
China has to do this. It has Internet police who filter out “subversive” content and
spy on cybercafés. Cyber-dissidents are thrown in prison and three have been in jail
for more than three years for daring to speak out online in favour of democracy.
Countries to watch
(in alphabetical order)
- Bahrain
Except for pornographic sites, Bahrain does not censor the Internet much. But it has
unfortunately begun to regulate it in ways that endanger freedom of expression. The
government said in April 2004 that all online publications, including forums and
blogs, must be officially registered. Loud protests led to suspension of the measure
but it is still on the books. Three editors of a forum were held for nearly two weeks
in March 2005 for allowing “defamation” of the king to be posted.
- Egypt
The government has taken steps since 2001 to control online material. Though
censorship is minor, some criticism of the government is not welcome. The government
seems unsure what to do about the explosion of blogs, being more used to pressuring
the traditional media. A blogger was arrested for the first time in late October 2005
because of the content of his blog.
- European Union
The EU is responsible for regulating the Internet and rulings often apply to
member-states. A European directive on 8 June 2000 about e-commerce proved a threat
to freedom of expression, by making ISPs responsible for the content of websites they
host and requiring them to block any page they consider illegal when informed of its
existence. This creates a private system of justice, where the ISP is called on to
decide what is illegal or not. Technicians thus do the job of a judge. The EU is now
studying a proposal to oblige ISPs to retain records of customers’ online activity.
The proposal could limit Internet users’ right to privacy.
- Kazakhstan
The media here, including the Internet, are under official pressure and control of
online publications has become a key issue because many government scandals have been
exposed on websites. President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s regime added new sites to its
blacklist in January 2005, including that of a democratic opposition party. In
October, an opposition site was forced to give up its national domain name (.kz)
after officially-inspired legal action.
- Malaysia
Government intimidation of online journalists and bloggers has increased in the past
three years, notably of Malaysiakini, the country’s only independent online daily
whose journalists have been threatened and its premises searched. Summonses and
questioning of bloggers has been stepped up recently, leading to self-censorship that
harms democracy.
- Singapore
The government does not filter the Internet much but is good at intimidating users
and bloggers and website editors have very little room for manoeuvre. A blogger who
criticised the country’s university system was forced to shut down his blog in May
2005 after official pressure.
- South Korea
The country is the fourth most-wired country in the world but it excessively filters
the Internet, blocking mainly pornographic sites but also publications that
supposedly “disturb public order,” including pro-North Korean sites. The government
is very sensitive to political opinions expressed online and punishes Internet users
they consider go too far. Two users were briefly detained and then fined in 2004 for
posting pictures online making fun of opposition figures.
- Thailand
The government filters the Internet as part of its fight against pornography and has
used it to extend censorship well beyond this. The method employed is also sly, since
when a user tries to access a banned site, a message comes back saying “bad gateway,”
instead of the usual “access refused” or “site not found.” In June 2005, the websites
of two community radio stations very critical of the government were shut down after
it pressed their ISP to do so.
- United States
US policy towards the Internet is important because it is the country where the
Internet began. But its laws about interception of online traffic do not provide
enough privacy guarantees for users. Leading US Internet firms such as Yahoo !, Cisco
Systems and Microsoft are also working with censorship authorities in China, thus
throwing doubt on the US commitment to freedom of expression. The United States, home
of the First Amendment, the Internet and blogs, should be a model for respecting the
rights of Internet users.
- Zimbabwe
The local media says the government is about to take delivery of Chinese equipment
and technology to spy on the Internet. The state telecoms monopoly TelOne asked ISPs
in June 2004 to sign contracts allowing it to monitor e-mail traffic and requiring
them to take steps to stop illegal material being posted. Since political opposition
seems to be regarded as illegal by President Robert Mugabe, this is bad news for the
country’s Internet users.
--
_____________________________________________________
I intend to last long enough to put out of business all *****-suckers
and other beneficiaries of the institutionalized slavery and genocide.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The army that will defeat terrorism doesn't wear uniforms, or drive
Humvees, or calls in air-strikes. It doesn't have a high command, or
high security, or a high budget. The army that can defeat terrorism
does battle quietly, clearing minefields and vaccinating children. It
undermines military dictatorships and military lobbyists. It subverts
sweatshops and special interests.Where people feel powerless, it
helps them organize for change, and where people are powerful, it
reminds them of their responsibility." ~~~~ Author Unknown ~~~~
___________________________________________________
--
.
|
