Hidden Nook
"Because in Cyberspace, no one can hear you scream."
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Iran Tightening Internet Browsing
[Media Source*] (Hat Tip: Regime Change Iran)
(The Morning Call) The Iranian government has tightened its control over the Internet, increasingly blocking content in its national language of Farsi and restricting what citizens can publish through Web journals, Western researchers say.
Iran shows a sophistication in filtering seen only in China and a few other countries, adapting its techniques as use of the Internet evolves, said John Palfrey, a Harvard University researcher who studied censorship in Iran for the OpenNet Initiative.
As the world debates whether or not Iran should retain it's nuclear technology, many forget the citizens who live underneath this regime whose voices are quickly becoming silenced. Ever since the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president, Iran has been cracking down on public dissent, especially amongst the Kurdish minority who seem to share no love for their new ruler.
Many Iranians display their displeasure through online journals known as blogs which allow them to publish their thoughts in region known for suppressing any form of political dissent. Ironically it is not what many Iranians are hearing from the outside world that seems to frighten the regime, but rather what they do within it's own borders.
(The Morning Call) "If you're looking to stem...the mobilization of political groups, it's not what the BBC or Amnesty International is saying that you're concerned with. It's what some Iranian dissident is saying in Farsi language to compatriots."
As blogging begins to develop into a powerful medium it seems more and more governments are displaying their hostility towards weblogs in general. Knowledge is power as the saying goes and if one thing is clear about the Iranian regime, it intends to maintain power over the thoughts of it's people, and crush any opposing viewpoints both physically and virtually.
Iran is one of the few brutal regimes around the world whose citizens have access to the internet as well as other forms of communication, and if nothing is done to help liberate these people (or at least enable them to get around the governmental filters) it all may be quiet on the Persian front.
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Wow very nice touch to the template.
Although I really appreciate you having the link back to my website :D Great weblog by the way!
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