Human rights report critiques blog censorship

There has been much said this week about the recent American report on human rights in Fiji. From the perspective of a Fiji blogger, it is interesting to see that blogs are explicitly mentioned several times in the report. Here are the relevant sections:

Internet Freedom
There were no government restrictions on general public access to the Internet. However, the military attempted to censor or shut down a number of antigovernment blogs that appeared after the coup, and the Public Service Commission warned civil servants against accessing or taking part in antigovernment Web sites. The military extensively monitored Internet chat rooms on these Web sites. In May the RFMF announced that it was following three individuals alleged to be involved with antigovernment blogs. Also in May, a businessman accused by the military of involvement with such a blog was detained by RFMF personnel at an army camp, where he was verbally and physically abused. Several other individuals suspected of maintaining blogs or posting on blogs were threatened or intimidated. Two senior civil servants accused of contributing to a blog were suspended from duty and subjected to disciplinary action. At least two persons were arrested for allegedly authoring or forwarding e-mail messages critical of the interim government.The Internet was widely available and used in and around urban centers, and the majority of the population lived in areas with
Internet coverage. However, low-income persons generally could not afford individual service, and other public access was very limited. Access outside urban areas was minimal or nonexistent.

Academic Freedom and Cultural Events
Academic freedom was generally respected; however, government work‑permit stipulations prohibit foreigners from participating in domestic politics. University of the South Pacific contract regulations effectively restrict most university employees from running for or holding public office or holding an official position with any political party. RFMF agents reportedly infiltrated the university campus to monitor any political activity. The RFMF also threatened to terminate scholarships from the Fijian Affairs Board, a government-funded statutory body, for university students who contributed to antigovernment blogs.
[Fiji. Country reports on human rights practices. US Department of State. March 11, 2007]

Most of this seems to refer to well known events from the first half of 2007. Readers, what do you think?

• Is this report acurate?
• Is it still unsafe to blog in Fiji?
• Does the US really have the right to criticize the human rights practices of other countries?
• Would anyone from the interim government like to comment on this section of the report?
  

Photo by: riacale

Blogged with Flock

Fiji political blogs: truth or slander?

Since the 2006 coup, I have tried to chronicle the rapidly changing world of blogs in Fiji as they start up, shut down, climb to great heights, and then fall out of the spotlight. My comments even garnered some unwanted attention from the Human Rights Commission Director who, paradoxically for a human rights officer, seemed to be arguing against freedom of speech. While the interim government ended its public affairs assault on blogs some months ago, there are still intrigues to explore in Fiji's blogosphere.

In recent weeks, one of the top news stories in the Fiji press has been the mystery of the interim government minister who has been accused of tax evasion. The interim government and the police claim that this individual has been cleared of all wrong-doing and refuses to reveal his or her identity. At least one of Fiji's political blogs, however, has openly published the identity of the accused minister. Of course there is no proof. If there was concrete proof, the international press would certainly be publishing this name, even if the Fijian press practices self-censorship.

As I wrote over nine months ago,

Clearly, some of the remarks in Fiji's anonymous political blogs regarding members of the interim government are libelous. Fiji's Defamation Act and supporting Common Law allows for an injured party to ask the court to instruct an Internet Service Provider to turn over records relating to a customer who has published defamatory remarks.
[Blocking anti-military blogs may harm military, Digital Fiji, May 14, 2007]

We will have to wait an see if anyone is willing to put their name and some evidence behind this accusation, otherwise it remains simply the unfounded finger-pointing of anonymous individuals with a clear anti-government political agenda.

Photo by: TW Collins

Blogged with Flock

Online freedom baby, yeah!

I was surprised to see Everyone's guide to by-passing Internet censorship for citizens worldwide as the first item under Information Management on UNESCO's Open Training Platform - an online repository of open license training materials.

To quote from the source:

This guide is meant to introduce non-technical users to Internet censorship circumvention technologies, and help them choose which of them best suits their circumstances and needs.

Everyone's guide to by-passing Internet censorship for citizens worldwide is a great guide for those who want to use the Internet anonymously, or circumvent filtering on their LAN or WAN, or help others to circumvent filtering in their country or organization, or all three. It contains clearly worded advice and has URLs for numerous free and commercial solutions including, to name but a few:

• Proxify
• CGIProxy
• UltraReach
• Anonymizer
• Guardster/SSH
• tor
• JAP ANON

Internet users who desire freedom of expression and intellectual freedom should read this guide. Similarly, law enforcement organizations should read this guide as the same tools and tactics are used by online criminals.

Photo by: Norma Desmond

Enjoy the quick links

I often cannot find the time to blog as much as I would like about all of the interesting things going on in digital side of Fiji. As a kind of weak substitute, I have been collecting interesting ICT news, policy, and other links on an almost daily basis. You can see them in the sidebar to the right, you can go directly to dfiji.tumblr.com, or you can subscribe to the quick links feed.

Here are some of my favourite recent quick links:

• 'Land Force Commander Colonel Pita Driti confirmed the civil servant was a suspected bloggers but was questioned, cautioned and released last week.' Blog suspect released: Driti - Fiji Times Online
• 'NLTB pays $1.3 million annually for the mySAP system and while it "is a very good one", it was too complex and costing NLTB a lot.' NLTB delays decision on IT system Fijilive
• 'Col Driti warned students at the University of the South Pacific that if they are responsible for contributing to the blog spots their Fijian Affairs Board scholarships will be terminated.' Civil servant quizzed over anti-army blogs Fijilive
• Facial recognition slipped into Google image search Add &imgtype=face to the end of your search URL.
• 'at least 25 national governments block access to internet sites for political, social or security reasons.' Internet censorship on the rise - tech - 27 May 2007 - New Scientist Tech
• EMBRACE technology as an educational tool to enhance and gain necessary knowledge, says Fijian Teachers Association president Tevita Koroi. Computer necessary tool for students - Fiji Times Online
• PICISOC News tips PICISOC has launched a blog!

Photos by: shoothead

Digital Fiji quick links for May 22, 2007

Today we have links to five news items on blog censorship for your reading pleasure and one on the up-hill battle for copyright enforcement in Fiji.

• "It is believed to be using India-based computer hackers to identify the critics." - May 22, 2007
  
• "The director of the FHRC, Dr Shaista Shameem, had requested the University of the South Pacific to..." - May 21, 2007
  
• "''In support of the right to freedom of expression, a group of New Zealand bloggers are now offering..." - May 21, 2007
  
• "Patrick Craddock, a lecturer in broadcasting, sounded the warning after commission director Doctor..." - May 21, 2007
  
• "Association president Chris Caine said measures such as a flat tax reform and Copyright Act..." - May 20, 2007
• "We have our IT guy working on this," Colonel Driti said." - May 18, 2007
  

Photo by: mallix

Anonymous when you do not want to be

Today's Fiji Times has an interesting feature story on blogs. In this story there are some comments from a certain unnamed "former information security consultant". It will come as no surprise to anyone who has read my recent post advising against blog censorship, that the "consultant who refused to be identified for fear of victimisation" is me. My part of the story reads as follows,

A former information security consultant working in Fiji said recently the reputation of bloggers had been tarnished.

"I am one of many apolitical bloggers in Fiji, and use the web for professional communication, sharing thoughtful writing, or just plain fun.

"I have no political agenda and do not want to be painted with the same brush as Fiji's anonymous political bloggers," he said.

The consultant who refused to be identified for fear of victimisation said FINTEL had the expertise and equipment to block any web address with very little cost or effort.

"The movement of the resistfrankscoup blogspot site to the Wordpress blog site illustrates that blocking websites is not effective.

"If their blogs are blocked, anonymous political bloggers and their readers will simply shift their activities to other available internet resources, such as:

A new blog on blogspot.com (unless they just block the entire blogspot domain);

Any other free blog site such as Wordpress, Livejournal, or countless others;

Any social networking site such as Hi5, Facebook, MySpace, or others;

Any free website provider such as Google Pages, Geocities, or others;

Any instant messaging service from the venerable IRC to jabber, yim, gtalk, or others;

Any group discussion technology from the venerable USENET to Google Groups, Yahoo Groups, or others;

Any p2p technology to circulate files or to chat such as Skype or FWD;

Or users could do any of the above, including reading any blocked blogs, by using open proxy servers, an anonymising service, or The Onion Router.

The consultant said the perception of the interim Government tampering in FINTEL, Fiji's pivotal Internet Service Provider through which all internet traffic flowed, would dampen high-tech investment in Fiji. "Off-shore service centres rely on the perception of data communications security in order to assure their customers that the confidentiality of their data will not be compromised.

"The other cost is through potential issues with EU and other international stakeholders where the interim Government could be perceived to be interfering with the fundamental human right of free speech," he said.

[You can't keep a blog blocked Fiji Times, May 19, 2007]

The trouble is, I did not ask the Fiji Times for anonymity. I will admit that I hesitated to respond to the reporter's queries as speaking on government activities during a state of emergency is not something to do lightly in any country, but in the end I felt it was important to share my views - especially as my views are non-partisan. I also wanted to take the opportunity to state publicly that there are numerous bloggers in Fiji, most of whom have been blogging since long before the coup, who are not interested in pushing a political agenda and who often make no attempt to conceal their identities. To see only some of these, look at my September 12, 2006 post - possibly the first ever blog post about Fiji blogs! If someone is currently maintaining an up to date list of Fiji blogs, please let me know.

I will close with a quote from my updated Blogger profile,

Recently, bloggers have been getting a bad name in Fiji. I am one of many apolitical bloggers in Fiji, all of whom blog for professional communication, for sharing thoughtful writing, and for just plain fun. I have no political agenda and do not want to be painted with the same brush as Fiji’s anonymous political bloggers.

My name is Chris Hammond-Thrasher and I blog in Fiji!

Photo by: mr oji

Never cry wolf - renegade Fiji bloggers fool the press

A stunt faking the censoring of a notorious anti-military blog in Fiji has fooled the international and Fijian press. Sometime on May 16, 2007, the no-holds-barred blog opposing Fiji's interim government, resistfrankscoup, went blank. This prompted a flurry of activity in newsrooms and anti-government blogs as most observers assumed that the interim government, likely in collusion with FINTEL, Fiji's pivotal Internet service provider, had blocked the site.

A short while later, the site reappeared but several recent posts were missing and some functionality was broken prompting further speculation of ongoing government tampering. A simple comparison of the site viewed from a FINTEL connection with the site as viewed from an American provider reveals that absolutely no tampering is being performed.

However, at 4:10 am (Fiji Time) on May 17, 2007, a new incarnation of the blog in question sprang up on the Wordpress blog service claiming responsibility for the site's interruption saying they wanted to see how people would react:

We know many were disappointed when your RFC blogsite suddenly disappeared from your screen. We also know the junta was elated by the sudden black-out but guess what, we closed it down ourselves to gauge how the junta, our loyal bloggers, our opposition and others would react.
[This is us! Why Fiji Cries, May 17, 2007]

Despite this announcement, over a dozen news outlets in at least four countries have run a story describing this event as an act of military censorship. See below for some examples culled from Google News.

The question remains, when Fiji's Freedom Bloggers have something real to report will the international press believe them?

Examples:

Fiji muzzles critical blogs
The Age, Australia - 4 hours ago
Fiji's military government appears to have successfully blocked access to a number of critical blogs that have embarrassed the administration. ...

Fiji blocks access to weblogs in crackdown
Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand - 7 hours ago
AUCKLAND: Fiji's military government appears to have successfully blocked access to a number of critical weblogs that have embarrassed the administration. ...

Access to some Fiji weblogs blocked
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 8 hours ago
Fiji's military government appears to have successfully blocked access to a number of critical weblogs that have embarrassed the administration. ...

Fiji blocks access to blogs
Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia - 8 hours ago
FIJI'S military government appears to have successfully blocked access to a number of critical weblogs that have embarrassed the administration. ...

Fiji military closes blogs critical of government and army
Broadcast Newsroom, CA - 59 minutes ago
By AP. Fiji's military has blocked access to several Web sites that contained damaging allegations against the army and members of the interim government, ...

Fiji military closes blogs critical of government and army By The ...
Creative Mac, CA - 1 hour ago
Fiji's military has blocked access to several Web sites that contained damaging allegations against the army and members of the interim government, ...

Fiji blocks access to blogs
Daily Telegraph, Australia - 8 hours ago
FIJI'S military government appears to have successfully blocked access to a number of critical weblogs that have embarrassed the administration. ...

Fiji blocks access to blogs
Advertiser Adelaide, Australia - 8 hours ago
FIJI'S military government appears to have successfully blocked access to a number of critical weblogs that have embarrassed the administration. ...

Fiji blocks access to blogs
Courier Mail, Australia - 8 hours ago
FIJI'S military government appears to have successfully blocked access to a number of critical weblogs that have embarrassed the administration. ...

Access to some Fiji weblogs blocked
The West Australian, Australia - 8 hours ago
Fiji's military government appears to have successfully blocked access to a number of critical weblogs that have embarrassed the administration. ...

Access to some Fiji weblogs blocked
Brisbane Times, Australia - 8 hours ago
Fiji's military government appears to have successfully blocked access to a number of critical weblogs that have embarrassed the administration. ...

Fiji blocks access to blogs
Sunday Times.au, Australia - 8 hours ago
FIJI'S military government appears to have successfully blocked access to a number of critical weblogs that have embarrassed the administration. ...

Fiji military closes blogs critical of government and army
International Herald Tribune, France - 1 hour ago
AP. SUVA, Fiji: Fiji's military has blocked access to several Web sites that contained damaging allegations against the army and members of the interim ...

Fiji blocks access to blogs
NEWS.com.au, Australia - 8 hours ago
FIJI'S military government appears to have successfully blocked access to a number of critical weblogs that have embarrassed the administration. ...

Blog drops off the web
The Fiji Times - 13 hours ago
FIJI'S military appears to have shut down one of its most vocal critics an internet site that contained damaging allegations against army officers ...

Photo by: Sleekstak66

Blocking anti-military blogs may harm military

There have been numerous reports in both the Fijian and international press over the past few of days about the interim government working with FINTEL to censor troublesome blogs. I think that this would be a mistake. In fact, blocking these blogs may actually harm the interim government.

Here are four reasons why Fiji's interim government should reconsider asking FINTEL to block access to anonymous anti-military blogs:

1. Clearly, some of the remarks in Fiji's anonymous political blogs regarding members of the interim government are libelous. Fiji's Defamation Act and supporting Common Law allows for an injured party to ask the court to instruct an Internet Service Provider to turn over records relating to a customer who has published defamatory remarks. No additional legislation or special measures are required. However, some anonymous bloggers cover their tracks and will not be caught by this method.

2. The perception of government tampering in FINTEL, Fiji's pivotal Internet Service Provider through which all Internet traffic flows, would dampen high-tech investment in Fiji. Off-shore service centres rely on the perception of data communications security in order to assure their customers that the confidentiality of their data will not be compromised.

3. Information warfare theory shows that censoring blogs may cost the interim government more than it gains. Power is the ability of a combatant to take an action and have it result in a desired effect. In information warfare, where the weapons are ideas and the battlefields are people's minds, cultures, and ways of life, the power of a combatant is limited by the combatant's perceived legitimacy. Every action that can be perceived as taking the interim government one step further from a return to democracy is going harm the government's perceived legitimacy in the eyes of major international stakeholders - the EU comes to mind here - and in the eyes of at least some proportion of the population of Fiji. This reduced perception of legitimacy then constrains the interim government's future efforts to exercise their power. In an information war, which is certainly what Fiji is currently experiencing, combatants must carefully weigh the consequences of any action before executing it as one's own actions can be more damaging than an enemy attack.

Figure 1.

Any action that weakens Fiji's interim government's perceived legitimacy weakens its power to act.
[diagram from K A Taipale, 2006.]

4. Most importantly, blocking blogspot.com or a hand full of offending blogspot sites will not be effective. Anonymous political bloggers and their readers will simply shift their activities to other available Internet resources, such as:

• A new blog on blogspot.com (unless they just block the whole blogspot domain)
• Any other free blog site such as Wordpress, Livejournal, or countless others
• Any social networking site such as Hi5, Facebook, MySpace, or others
• Any free website provider such as Google Pages, Geocities, or others
• Any instant messaging service from the venerable IRC to jabber, yim, gtalk, or others
• Any group discussion technology from the venerable USENET to Google Groups, Yahoo Groups, or others
• Any p2p technology to circulate files or to chat such as Skype or FWD
• Or users could do any of the above, including reading any blocked blogs, by using open proxy servers, an anonymizing service, or The Onion Router
  

In the final analysis, little or nothing would be gained by the interim government by blocking access to Fiji's anonymous political blogs - Fiji's anti-military bloggers and their readers will carry on regardless - but there certainly would be a price.

Photo by: FelipeArte