BBC Uzbek on censoring neweurasia
Media and Internet, UzbekistanOne Comment
Thanks to Shohruh for the translation and Nick for some editing.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a new wave of censorship has begun in Uzbekistan. The Neweurasia blog has now been unreachable in Uzbekistan for a few weeks now.
RSF included Uzbekistan in its list of 15 internet ‘enemies’. ‘We hope journalists and bloggers in Uzbekistan will continue using the internet for spreading free information’, said RSF in a statement. The BBC contacted the press secretary of the organisation (RSF), Ms Annabel Arki, and asked her whether the blocking of the Neweurasia blog is unusual in Uzbekistan.
Annabel Arki: No, it is not the first time this kind of case has happened. It is part of an ongoing process in Uzbekistan. Regrettably, the internet is not free in Uzbekistan. There is no independent media there. The pressure on media started last year after the Andijan events. It is impossible in Uzbekistan to see (or listen) any critical views through a specific media source.
BBC: How important was the Neweurasia blog? Is it relatively new for Uzbekistan?
Annabel Arki: That is a very interesting question. What are witnessing is that Uzbekistan is one of the countries which keeps a tight grip on its media. After attempts to close foreign or independent media sources by the authorities, such as foreign radio stations, independent web media started developing in Uzbekistan. Authorities started to block or close them and then they started attacking the blogs. It became a very big mission for the government, because the internet is a free network and controlling it is extremely difficult.
BBC: Is there any way that you can avoid government blocks to use blogs?
Annabel Arki: It is difficult to say. But the government has the resources to block domains of these websites and blogs. We can see the example of Neweurasia: its domain is blocked in Uzbekistan. To expand its control over internet the government is already developing its technical capability.
RSS Feeds
Podcasts
[...] BBC Uzbek on censoring neweurasiaNeweurasia.net, Europe - Aug 4, 2006According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a new wave of censorship has begun in Uzbekistan. The Neweurasia blog has now been … [...]