Thursday, January 17, 2008
The complaints from students involved in the ongoing struggle for the restoration of the judiciary and civil rights, that internet blogs promoting these ideas have been blocked, are grave ones. Given the considerable complexities involved in cutting off access to these informal sites where thousands post write-ups or 'blogs' on a vast range of issues, the action betrays a ruthless determination on the part of authorities to suppress all dissent.
In the past, websites run by Baloch or Sindhi nationalists groups have been blocked, with access, since 2006, denied to at least a dozen such internet locations. The action, carried out through PTCL, came at the height of unrest in Balochistan.
The allegation that a new law on cyber crime, brought in just a few days ago, has been used to block the blog sites is significant. The law essentially focuses on preventing the use of cyber space to carry out terrorist activity or fraud, and lays down tough penalties for these offences, including the possibility of a death sentence for engaging in cyber terrorism. If indeed the law has in some way been used to close down access to blogs, than this implies activities linked to defending deposed judges, or other detained persons, are being regarded as acts of such crime.
Those making decisions to this effect must keep in mind that attempts to censor cyber space can at best be only partially successful. One of the wonders of this realm is its ability to use new paths to reach audiences. Already, some of the banned messages are said to be available through proxy servers or on other sites. Tech savvy students, who are behind many of the blogs, have already been suggesting new ways to access them. And of course, at a broader level, suppression of this kind contributes to problems, rather than solving them, by adding to the feelings of frustration and anger that exist in society. Censorship, as such, may act temporarily to prevent the expression of these sentiments -- but it cannot make them go away, or stop them from being put forward in ways that are potentially far more destructive than the blogs that have been so senselessly blocked.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=91507
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