INDIA: Ban corruption, not banish the cartoonist

Aseem Trivedi

September 10, 2012
Avinash Pandey
Source: Asian Human Rights Commission

The arrest of Aseem Trivedi, a cartoonist and a member of India against Corruption, is not only ridiculous but also a telling comment on the paranoia that has set in the government circles and deserves all the outrage it has caused. In fact, the only thing more ludicrous than the arrest itself is the reason cited by the Mumbai Police for the arrest. Mr Trivedi has been booked for nothing less than sedition and showing disrespect to national emblem on a private complaint filed by an advocate who, incidentally, also happens to be a member of a political party in the line of fire for many of its leaders being charged with corruption charges.

On being asked about the reason behind the arrest, Mumbai Police attributed it to 'procedural formality' on a complaint filed under section 124 A charging Mr. Trivedi with 'showing disrespect to the National Emblem' and putting up 'ugly and objectionable content' on his website. The facts of the case, however, tell a very different story. The cartoons in question include one where he replaced four lions of India's national emblem with wolves and a caption 'Bhrshtmev Jayate'(Corruption wins) instead of official 'Satyamev Jayate'(truth wins). The message oozing out of the cartoon was loud and clear, that corruption is devouring the nation. Does Mumbai Police think it is not?

Similar was another cartoon of his where he depicted the Parliament building as a toilet. Hard hitting it was, but with more than one third of India's parliamentarians charged with grave offenses including murder and rape, this is what an average Indian thinks of it. It is such parliamentarians and the system that refuses to cleanse itself of them, and not Aseem, that insults the parliament. He was just telling a truth, however bitter, but still a truth. All other cartoons of his tell the tales of miseries inflicted on the body politic of Indian nation by the very same people who are constitutionally obligated to protect it. If someone needed to be charged with sedition, it should had been those in such authority for making a mockery of India, its people and citizenry included.

Gathering to celebrate internet access in Cambodia

3 March 2011
Written by Sopheap Chak
Global Voices Online

Let's White Out Phnom Penh's Independence Monument for a few hours! We believe that social media is an important tool in present day and age, and such tool is accessible in Cambodia.

This is the message for the White-Out Day which will take place this Friday, March 4, at the Independent Monument which represents the liberation movement from French Colonization in 1950s. The invitation was announced on Facebook by Nate Sovatha.

From the invitation page, it reads:

Social Media has become increasingly important in present day and age. Its benefits in connecting people across and beyond boundaries are indisputable. It has also played a pivotal role that translates into social changes in recent days in some countries across the world. Despite such values, this tool is not available to everybody; some countries have blocked access to this vital tool. As a genuine member of the 21st century global community, CAMBODIA IS NOT ONE OF THOSE COUNTRIES AND WE WANT TO CELEBRATE THAT FACT. This is what this event is all about.

The whole idea of the gathering is simply to celebrate the fact that internet access in Cambodia is better compared to other countries with strict media censorship laws:

Let's meet up with your friends and other social media users, talk stories or simply just take some pictures with the monument in the background. To show our unity and membership in the social media users community, let's all wear WHITE COLOR (top and bottom if can, if no can, just white top. Just plain white, no print, no sign or anything).

Insisting that this event is not a demonstration, and avoiding mention of current uprising in several Arab states, the organizer of the event warned participants not to use the activity for political purposes. More importantly, realizing the potential reaction from the government and understanding that the laws in Cambodia require permit for such gathering at a specified location namely Freedom Park, the organizer emphasized the non-political character of the gathering:

Disclaimer: This event is not a protest or a demonstration. Laws in Cambodia require permit for such event and it would need to be held at a specified location. I DO NOT HAVE SUCH PERMIT. This is not a political event, so please don’t hijack this event for political purposes.

As of this writing, there are 31 Facebook users who have confirmed their attendance. However, the event will definitely attract more internet users who are likely to attend the gathering without confirming participation on Facebook.

Even if it is non-political, such event organized through social media networks, may spark reaction from the government which recently denied that it ordered the blocking of certain websites that are leaning towards the opposition or viewed as critical to the government; and also government leaders have publicly condemned commentators who are comparing Cambodia to the situation in Egypt and Tunisia.

The count down begins to the White Out Phnom Penh's Independence Monument. Will the participants of this non-political event get arrested?

China's Web News Censorship Revealed

Sept. 14, 2006: Chinese shoppers walk past a kiosk selling domestic Chinese newspapers at People's Square in Shanghai. Photo: AFP/Mark Ralston

2007.10.11
RFA

"Of course we are very annoyed by this form of management, but as for complaining about it, who are you going to complain to in China? To the Party?" - Chinese Internet industry insider

WASHINGTON—China has a wide-ranging and sophisticated system of surveillance and control that it uses to direct exactly what news its netizens may access, a report from an Internet industry insider says.

The powerful Internet Information Administrative Bureau keeps tabs on most major news sites, many of which are registered and licensed to operate out of Beijing, according to the report, published by the Paris-based press freedom group, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF).

Three kinds of ban

“The Chinese authorities send orders of three kinds—bans issued before publication of a report, bans issued after publication of a report, and propaganda instructions,” the report said.

“In May and June 2006, for example, a total of 74 directives (48 prior bans, 4 post-publication bans, and 22 propaganda directives) were sent to commercial Web sites registered in the capital by the Beijing Internet Information Administrative Bureau.”

As Beijing counts down to its long-awaited hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games, RSF is calling on China to relax controls on the media and free some 30 journalists and 50 Internet writers currently detained, some of them since the 1980s.

The report confirms previous reports regarding China’s Internet filters, which block keywords considered “subversive” by the censors. The law severely punishes “divulging state secrets,” “subversion,” and “defamation”.

Vincent Brossel, head of the RSF Asian section, said: “This one is special because it was written by a Chinese technician working in an Internet company, so he has been the witness and the victim of this censorship system.”

Strict controls

“He has described in detail how the Chinese government has developed its internet censorship system into the huge system it is now...Here is the proof that there is a massive problem with freedom of expression on the Internet in China,” Brossel told RFA’s Mandarin service.

According to the report, the Beijing Information Office has introduced a new system of “license points” for Web sites. As well as being fined, sites can have points withdrawn. If they lose all their points, they risk losing their licenses. But they can also win back points for good behavior, it said.

An employee at one of China’s large commercial Web portals broadly confirmed the contents of the report.

“Of course this exists. How could it not, in China? It’s there, whether it’s in the control of newspapers by the Party Central Propaganda Department, or whether it’s the Internet Bureau’s control of Web sites,” he told reporter Ding Xiao.

“Our opinion? Of course we are very annoyed by this form of management, but as for complaining about it, whom are you going to complain to in China? To the Party? I don’t think any of the Internet companies are willing to make a fuss about it, because they have a business interest, and they’re not going to go head-to-head with the officials on anything.”

“It was strange to see how compliant Yahoo! and Google became when they entered China. They didn’t give any trouble at all,” he added.

Shanwei crackdown coverage

One of the examples of banned reporting concerned protests against the use of land in the township of Dongzhou, near the southern port city of Shanwei, eastern Guangdong province, the report said.

Dated May 22, 2006, 14:47 p.m. and sent by Chen Hua, deputy director of the Beijing Internet Information, one directive informed news sites in no uncertain terms to stay off the story.

“The leading news media in Guangdong province and the Web sites Nanfang Xinwen, Jinyang, Dayang, and Shenzhen Xinwen are currently covering the case and will publish articles on this subject on 24 and 25 May,” the directive said.

“No news Web sites from other provinces should cover the case or post articles on the subject. Discussion forums, blogs, and comments must not talk about the subject.”

More directives reported

Other examples of directives include orders to display articles positive about the Party and its history prominently, and to de-emphasize those reporting bad news such as suicides or a fuel price hike.

One order required sites to withdraw an investigative report about the Forestry Department director’s suicide on May 11, 2006, while another instituted a ban on posting any report about a pay rise for officials.

Another banned posting any report, except by Xinhua, about changes in the salaries of government officials, ordering Web sites to suppress any notes, messages, or comments on the subject.

Another taboo subject was a news item about a woman student who was beaten to death at the University of Agriculture in Guangzhou on June 22 last year. Student rioting in Zhengzhou also prompted a call for the immediate suppression of comments on the story.

Original reporting in Mandarin by Ding Xiao. RFA Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Written and translated for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie and edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.