Lukashenka is enemy of Internet

New part on pressure on internet media has appeared in the report of the famous human rights organisation Reporters without Borders in 2007.

There are 13 so called countries-enemies in the list: Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

Belarus

Lukashenka’s regime has a monopoly of telecommunications, so access to unwanted sites is simply blocked. Sites expressing the point of view different form the official one are hacked. Several such cases were registered in 2006, reports www.metro-russia.com.

Cuba

Cuba is one of the most backward Internet countries (2 per cent of the population use the Internet). “Counter-revolutionary” activity is being controlled in the global web.

In Fidel Castro’s country there are no private Internet connections, only Internet cafes and universities. The computers there contain software installed by the Cuban police that triggers an alert message whenever “subversive” key-words are spotted. Dissidents and independent journalists are under strict control. One can get 20 years of prison for writing articles, criticising the regime.

Egypt

Aside from a few religious sites there is no strict censorship in the country. The outrage in relation to internet users is connected with democratic reforms. President Hosni Mubarak initiates arrests and closedown of sites.

Iran

The campaign in support of morality is being conducted in the Iran Internet. Censorship has declined recently, but 3 bloggers were arrested in 2005. According to informal information, access to 6 million sites is blocked in Iran.

North Korea

This country continues to be the Internet black hole. Only a few officials are able to access the web.

Turkmenistan

Only 1 per cent of the population use the Internet. President Separmurad Nyazov didn’t only put in censorship, but also blocked access to the Internet for the vast majority of the population.