On our first or second day of class, we talked about some important events happening in the Middle East with this story being one that I brought up. That being the complete shutdown of Syria's Internet and social media. This story is somewhat current, being a little under two months old.
According to the news article, the Syrian government blamed the outages on technical problems and suspected terrorist activity. However, analysts said it's more likely that Assad had ordered the Internet and cellphone connections to be switched off to quell protests. The government has shut down Internet services before, often in specific regions right before launching attacks. These outages were throughout the entire country and occurred on two other occasions.
“Most of the activists rely totally on the local Internet services. The government wants to pressure the activists who rely on the Internet services by limiting the spread of information” (Timberg, Craig). Although this may have some effect in doing so, the U.S. State Department says it has sent 2,000 pieces of 'communications equipment' to the rebels in Syria to assist in distributing videos even if the Internet remains shut down.
As we discussed in class, the rising popularity of technology in the Middle East has helped bring awareness about some of the horrible events in this region. It has also helped jump start several movements where nearly anyone could gain vital information about current issues. It appears that Assad is trying to disorganize activists and help stop any sort of steam that these movements are gaining.
"It's a sign that the regime is going to take its gloves off," said Andrew Tabler, a senior fellow and Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "They're going to make sure they're the only ones who can communicate, or at least they are going to try." (Timberg, Craig).
Article Link:
http://www.theledger.com/article/20121129/news/121129231?tc=ar
James Kellogg
Time and time again there will be regimes that attempt to pull a move like this one. They deny citizens access to communication networks or, like the Chinese, implement a nationwide firewall to limit what citizens can see.
ReplyDeleteThe fact of the matter is that there will always be a way to overcome. In this case, with aid from the US, Syrian rebels are able to communicate again. Governments can't be successful with shutting networks down across the board.
Situations like this are reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984 - where the government is attempting total control. In the book, all information is rinsed or fabricated by government organizations. In modern day, we have the advantage of having hackers and third-parties that feel responsible for restoring order.
It is yet to be seen what will come out of the situation in Syria, but my faith rests with the activists.