The Daily Star, December 01, 2012
DUSHANBE:
The United States on Saturday urged Tajikistan to lift a ban on news websites
and Facebook after the local branch of a US-funded radio also found its site
blocked.
"The
US Embassy is concerned with the apparent decision by the Communication Service
of the Republic of Tajikistan to block access to Facebook, Radio Ozodi and
other Internet news sites," the US embassy in Dushanbe said in a
statement.
Radio
Ozodi, the Tajik service of Radio Liberty, confirmed to AFP that Internet
providers had blocked their popular website.
"The
United States believes that the right of individuals to express their views
freely is universal, whether exercised in a public square or on the Internet,"
the embassy statement said.
"We
urge the government of Tajikistan to respect individual rights to freedom of
expression and lift its restriction" on the banned sites, it said.
"This
is censorship, clear and simple," president of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty Steven Korn was quoted as saying in a company statement about the
blockage of its Tajik service.
"Several
Internet providers in Tajikistan told Ozodi that they received SMS text
messages from the Communications Service Thursday evening instructing them to
block access to Ozodi," the statement said.
Several
news sites, including regional portals Fergana.ru and Centrasia.ru, have been
blocked in Tajikistan for months, along with Russia's state-owned news agency
RIA Novosti.
About
40,000 people used Facebook in the Central Asian country when the government
ordered access to it blocked this week, saying it was responding to concerns of
upset citizens about "insults" and "lies" posted on the
social network.
Communications
service chief Beg Zukhurov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying that
Facebook access may be restored after unspecified technical issues are
resolved.
Tajikistan,
a former Soviet republic in Central Asia ruled by Emomali Rakhmon since 1992,
will hold presidential elections next year, and many fear the authorities may
further tighten control of the Internet in the coming months.
Related Articles:
After ban, Facebook gets green light in Tajikistan - New
US sanctions Iran over Internet, media censorship
After ban, Facebook gets green light in Tajikistan - New
US sanctions Iran over Internet, media censorship
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.