As governments including Egypt and Cameroon make headlines for shutting down Internet access, Reporters Without Borders issued a new report detailing other countries where access is at risk.

The report was issued in conjunction with the World Day Against Cyber-Censorship. Reporters Without Borders issued an updated list of governments from Australia to Uzbekistan that are restricting or censoring the Internet.

The current list of “Enemies of the Internet” includes: Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. Burma, for example, made the list after the government took drastic measures in 2010 to reorganize the country’s Internet and to arm itself with the means to cut off its population’s web access without affecting official connections.

A list of «Countries under Surveillance» includes Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Egypt, Eritrea, France, Libya, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Australia is on the list because the government has not abandoned its dangerous plan to filter online traffic, even though this will be hard to get parliamentary approval.

“One in three of the world’s Internet users does not have access to an unrestricted Internet,” Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard said. “Around 60 countries censor the Internet to varying degrees and harass netizens. At least 119 people are currently in prison just for using the Internet to express their views freely. These are disturbing figures.»

The potential of the Internet to spread information scares governments and makes traditional censorship less effective. In many countries, officials are trying to use the Internet to spread official propaganda and increase control over citizens.

For example, the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez announced on TV that «the Internet cannot be something open where anything can be done and said. No, every country has to impose its rules and regulations.»

The complete report is available in PDF here: http://12mars.rsf.org/i/Internet_Enemies.pdf

A version of this story first appeared in IJNet’s Russian edition: http://ijnet.org/ru

IJNET

Источник: http://12mars.rsf.org/i/Internet_Enemies.pdf

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the Uzbek authorities have forced it to close its office in Tashkent, ending the advocacy group’s presence in the country after 15 years.

The group said the government in Tashkent had for years been trying to obstruct its work in Uzbekistan by denying visas and work accreditation to its staff.

In a statement by Executive Director Kenneth Roth posted on the group’s website, HRW said it was officially informed of the move on March 10.

«With the expulsion of Human Rights Watch, the Uzbek government sends a clear message that it isn’t willing to tolerate critical scrutiny of its human rights record,» the statement added.

Roth wrote that HRW would continue to report on rights abuses in Uzbekistan.

‘Mentality’ Questioned

In December 2010, the director of HRW’s Tashkent office, Steve Swerdlow, was denied accreditation by Uzbekistan’s Justice Ministry to represent HRW in the country.

That followed a similar incident in 2008, when the group’s Tashkent representative, Igor Vorontsov, was banned from working in the country. Uzbek authorities said the Russian national did not understand the Uzbek «mentality» and wasn’t the right person for the job.

Prior to Vorontsov’s case, in 2007 the Uzbek authorities refused to extend work accreditation for the head of the office, Andrea Berg. Berg, who had been based in Tashkent since 2005, was forced to leave the country.

According to Swerdlow, the government wields almost total control over civil society and has closed off the country almost entirely to the outside world. «The sense of isolation is very palpable when you get to Tashkent,» Swerdlow says. «In a sense, you can almost feel you are entering a vacuum, a time warp of sorts.»

Tashkent came under international condemnation after government forces cracked down on a popular uprising in the eastern city of Andijon in May 2005. The bloody clampdown prompted the European Union to impose limited sanctions on Uzbekistan, which were eventually lifted.

Following the Andijon events, the government put pressure on international media organizations and NGOs operating in the country, denying them official registration.

Media organizations, including RFE/RL and the BBC, were forced to close their bureaus in Tashkent.

Bad On Human Rights, Good On Afghanistan

But while criticizing Tashkent for systematic violations of human rights and a lack of democratic reforms, Western states like the United States have acknowledged Uzbekistan’s vital role in supporting NATO-led troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

«Uzbekistan is increasingly playing a strategic role in the war in Afghanistan,» Swerdlow says. «For that reason, NATO and Germany, which has an air base in Uzbekistan now, and the United States, which is using what is known as the northern distribution network to route these supplies, and the EU, have been increasingly warming ties with Uzbekistan and engaging with the government.»

Swerdlow calls on the international community, in particular the United States and the European Union, to condemn Uzbekistan’s actions in regard to HRW and overall human rights issues in the country.

They should make it clear to the Uzbek government that there will be real consequences for not living up to its international human rights commitments, Swerdlow said.

He said the issue of HRW’s presence in Uzbekistan was brought up by Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, during Karimov’s visit to Brussels in January. The United States also recently raised the issue in annual bilateral consultations held in Tashkent.

Despite that, Tashkent has persisted in violating its human rights obligations, Swerdlow says.

Vorontsov, the previous HRW representative in Tashkent, tells RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service that the EU’s decision to lift its limited sanctions on Tashkent — and the West’s improving ties with the Uzbek government — has emboldened the Uzbek authorities.

«The Uzbek side now apparently thinks that they shouldn’t listen to any criticism anymore and that the country no longer needs — even for propaganda purposes — to tolerate even the nominal presence of HRW,» Vorontsov says.

Abdurahmon Tashanov, an Uzbek human rights activist, says HRW’s presence in Uzbekistan provided important «moral support» for local rights defenders. «Without HRW, human rights issues in Uzbekistan will be left like orphans,» he says.

written by Farangis Najibullah, with contributions from RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service

Farangis Najibullah, RFE/RL

Источник:

Application deadline: Apr 15, 2011 11:59 p.m. PDT

The KDMC at UC Berkeley’s Web 2.0 Training for Journalists provides participants with hands-on, newsroom-focused training on innovative publishing tools and technologies.

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During five days of intense, hands-on instruction, the fellows selected for the Web 2.0 training will:

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• Use Facebook and publication widgets for news distribution
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WHO SHOULD APPLY: Professional print, radio, broadcast and online journalists who want to develop Web 2.0 technology and techniques to support their publication`s Internet publishing effort.

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http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/workshops/44/

Testimony
Robert O. Blake, Jr.
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
Washington, DC
March 10, 2011

Chairman Burton, members of the committee: Thank you for inviting me, I welcome the opportunity today to speak with you regarding U.S. policy in Central Asia and the partnerships we have with the countries of this important region.
Why is Central Asia important to the U.S.?
The United States has an important interest in promoting a stable, secure, democratic and prosperous Central Asia. These interests shape our core U.S. policy objectives, which are: encouraging Central Asia’s help in stabilizing Afghanistan; promoting democracy; combating narcotics trafficking; promoting balanced energy policies and non-proliferation; and fostering competitive market economies.
While pursuing these interests often poses serious challenges, robust engagement and assistance to the countries of Central Asia remain important to stability in the region and to achieving our goals in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Over the past two years, we have worked to broaden the atmosphere of trust and strengthen relations with the governments and people of the Central Asian countries. We aim to create stronger partners for the United States in addressing common yet critical global issues encompassing a broad spectrum of challenges, from Afghanistan to non-proliferation to counter-narcotics to energy security. Collaboration with European partners and increased cooperation with Russia and China are critical to addressing these and other issues facing Central Asia. With careful and continued engagement by all partners, including the Central Asian countries themselves, Central Asia could help reinvigorate economic and trade links between the economies of Western Europe and Russia, the energy resources of Central Asia, and the emerging economies of India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, bringing sustainable prosperity to the entire region.
To strengthen our engagement with Central Asia, in December 2009 we instituted Annual Bilateral Consultations (ABCs) with each country. Each ABC constitutes a face-to-face structured dialogue, based on a jointly developed, comprehensive agenda that facilitates candid discussions on the full spectrum of bilateral priorities, including human rights, religious freedom, science and technology collaboration, economic development, defense cooperation, and any other issue that either side would like to bring to the table. Each discussion results in a work plan to address key priorities and outline practical steps to advance U.S. policy goals. The road to achieving these goals is not always a smooth one, but our continued engagement with the region is yielding important results that I will discuss below.
We also continue to view our assistance funding to the region as a critical tool in accomplishing our policy goals. We conducted a thorough review of our assistance programs in Central Asia to ensure that they are closely linked with our priorities. The President’s Fiscal 2012 budget request includes a 6% decrease in funding for the region compared to budgeted levels for Central Asia in FY 2010. This decrease reflects our commitment to a lean, strategically targeted budget that will advance our interests in Central Asia. The most important of these is the support of Central Asian states for international efforts in Afghanistan.
Central Asia’s assistance in Afghanistan
Central Asia plays a vital role in our Afghanistan strategy. A stable future for Afghanistan depends on the continued engagement of its Central Asian neighbors — just as a stable, prosperous future for the Central Asian states is linked to bringing peace, stability and prosperity to Afghanistan.
The Northern Distribution Network (NDN) is an important route for getting non-lethal supplies into Afghanistan for U.S. and coalition forces. In addition, the great majority of our troops in Afghanistan pass through the Manas Transit Center in Kyrgyzstan. This year we have focused on expanding the capacity of the Northern Distribution Network to offer multiple, alternate routes for our cargo transiting into Afghanistan. These routes are becoming an increasingly important component of our bilateral relationships in the region. Several Central Asian countries have also maintained their own assistance programs, such as Kazakhstan’s effort to educate Afghan students, or Uzbekistan’s and Turkmenistan’s provision of much-needed electricity to Afghanistan.
But our relations with Central Asia are by no means limited to cooperation on Afghanistan. We have a broad agenda encompassing everything from counterterrorism and counternarcotics to democracy promotion, protection of human rights, and economic development. I will now briefly highlight key issues in our relations with each country.
Kazakhstan
Our relations with Kazakhstan are perhaps our deepest and broadest in Central Asia, with cooperation across a broad range of fields as diverse as non-proliferation, support to Afghanistan, energy and health. Kazakhstan has been a global leader on nuclear nonproliferation since its earliest days of independence when it renounced its nuclear weapons and closed the nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk. The U.S. and Kazakhstan completed in 2010 a long and complicated project to safely shut down Kazakhstan’s BN-350 reactor, secure the weapons-grade spent fuel it produced, enough to build up to 775 nuclear weapons, and then package and transport the spent fuel more than 2,100 miles for secure storage in Eastern Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is the economic powerhouse of Central Asia. President Nazarbayev’s decision to invite major oil companies to develop the country’s vast hydrocarbon resources in the 1990s was a game-changer for Kazakhstan’s future. Already a significant oil producer, Kazakhstan will account for one of the largest increases in non-OPEC supply to the global market in the next 10-15 years as its oil production doubles to reach 3 million barrels a day by 2020.
Kazakhstan provides vital logistical support to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) through the NDN. Kazakhstan is also investing in Afghanistan’s next generation of leaders through a $50 million scholarship program to educate one thousand Afghan students in Kazakhstan’s universities.
While Kazakhstan is growing in other ways, we continue to encourage the government to enhance democracy, human rights and the role of civil society. Following a failed attempt to extend President Nazarbayev’s term by referendum, Kazakhstan will hold early presidential elections on April 3, 2011. We and the international community see these elections as an important opportunity to strengthen the electoral process.
Uzbekistan
Over the past two years, we have worked hard to build stronger bilateral relations with Uzbekistan. In February, I led a delegation to Tashkent to hold the second round of Annual Bilateral Consultations. Our dialogue encompassed four key areas of the bilateral relationship: political, security, economic, development, as well as democratic reform.
In the regional security field, Uzbekistan remains a valued partner for its participation in NDN and its role in Afghanistan reconstruction. A few years ago Uzbekistan began a new effort to export reasonably-priced electricity to Afghanistan, which dramatically increased power supplied in the north of the country and continues to keep the lights on in Kabul to this day. Uzbekistan has facilitated transit for essential supplies to coalition forces in Afghanistan. Its national rail company, with funding from the Asian Development Bank, constructed an important railroad line that links the southern Uzbek city of Khairaton to the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-e Sharif. The railroad will help boost trade between Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan also played a constructive role during the outbreak of ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan last year by working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and accepting large numbers of ethnic Uzbek refugees. Through our increased engagement, we have seen an improved relationship with Uzbekistan, but many challenges remain.
We continue to hold a dialogue to encourage the Uzbek authorities to address significant human rights concerns including ending forced child labor in the cotton harvest, opening up the media environment, curtailing abuses by security forces, and ending harassment of civil society and international NGOs.
We are also encouraging the government to build a more investment-friendly business environment which will enhance economic opportunities for American businesses and benefit the Uzbek economy. The high level of interest from American companies to participate in the recent business delegation that accompanied me to the ABC is evidence of the potential to build commercial ties that would produce economic benefits for both the U.S. and Uzbekistan.
Kyrgyzstan
Helping Kyrgyzstan consolidate its successful transition last year to a parliamentary democracy remains a top priority for the United States. People around the region and beyond are watching closely and will make future judgments about the efficacy of democratic governance based on the success or failure of Kyrgyzstan. President Otunbaeva just concluded a visit to the U.S. this week, during which Secretary Clinton presented her and nine others with the International Women of Courage Award.
The end of the Bakiev regime in April 2010 opened new opportunities for engagement and democratic progress. Historic free and fair elections held on October 10, 2010 resulted in a multiparty parliamentary system of government, with an independent legislature – a first for Central Asia. U.S. assistance to help prepare the ground for the elections and ensure a fair and open process played a key role. However, concerns remain. We continue to monitor the potential for renewed ethnic violence, as tensions remain following violence in the south last June. In our interactions with the new government, we continue to encourage accountability, equal access to justice, respect for human rights and ethnic reconciliation.
The Manas Transit Center represents an important contribution by the Kyrgyz Republic to our efforts in Afghanistan. In addition to facilitating the flow of U.S. troops and supplies into Afghanistan, the Transit Center contributes to the local economy by improving employment opportunities for, and purchasing local goods from, local communities.
Tajikistan
One of the poorest countries in the world, Tajikistan is a fragile state in a volatile neighborhood. U.S. policy is to support Tajikistan in maintaining stability and creating the conditions for economic and democratic development. With the resources we put into our partnership with Tajikistan, we seek to help improve law enforcement and border security capabilities, increase food security, improve the health and education of the citizens of Tajikistan, and build good governance.
As our public reports on human rights, on the investment climate, and on religious freedom have made clear, we have concerns about the pace and direction of political developments, as well as restrictions on religious and media freedoms in Tajikistan. These continue to be important parts of our dialogue with Tajikistan.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is a country of growing importance to the United States. It has important hydrocarbon resources, and is seeking alternative routes for their distribution. One such project is the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-India-Pakistan, or TAPI, pipeline, which President Berdimuhamedov is taking a leading role in getting off the ground. TAPI could help integrate the Central and South Asian regions by sending energy resources where they are most needed, and we hope that U.S. firms are involved in its development.
We also appreciate Turkmenistan’s humanitarian help to its neighbor Afghanistan by providing discounted electricity, housing and other assistance. We continue to encourage the Turkmen government to take concrete steps to fulfill its international obligations on human rights and have offered assistance to help advance Turkmenistan’s stated goals of developing a democracy.
Conclusion
Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, we see a future in which the United States and the countries of Central Asia work together for peace, security, economic development, democracy and prosperity. We recognize that the pace of change is often slow and that our programs should focus on long-term, meaningful results. But through our invigorated policy dialogue and engagement, we aim to strengthen our ties with these important countries and their people and thereby advance U.S. interests in this strategically important region.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)

Read more: http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2011/March/20110311152830su0.1882222.html&distid=ucs#ixzz1GYtjabnz

US Embassy in Dushanbe

Источник: http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2011/March/20110311152830su0.1882222.html&distid=ucs#ixz