<body><script type="text/javascript"> function setAttributeOnload(object, attribute, val) { if(window.addEventListener) { window.addEventListener('load', function(){ object[attribute] = val; }, false); } else { window.attachEvent('onload', function(){ object[attribute] = val; }); } } </script> <div id="navbar-iframe-container"></div> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://apis.google.com/js/platform.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> gapi.load("gapi.iframes:gapi.iframes.style.bubble", function() { if (gapi.iframes && gapi.iframes.getContext) { gapi.iframes.getContext().openChild({ url: 'https://www.blogger.com/navbar.g?targetBlogID\x3d6863946\x26blogName\x3dChan\x27ad+Bahraini\x26publishMode\x3dPUBLISH_MODE_BLOGSPOT\x26navbarType\x3dSILVER\x26layoutType\x3dCLASSIC\x26searchRoot\x3dhttps://chanadbahraini.blogspot.com/search\x26blogLocale\x3den_GB\x26v\x3d2\x26homepageUrl\x3dhttp://chanadbahraini.blogspot.com/\x26vt\x3d5624709045173899808', where: document.getElementById("navbar-iframe-container"), id: "navbar-iframe" }); } }); </script>

Chan'ad Bahraini

(Scomberomorous maculatus Bahrainius)

Note: This page has moved to a new address. Please click on the following URL to get there: http://chanad.weblogs.us/index.php?s=RSF denounces web registration. Sorry for the trouble.

RSF denounces web registration

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Regarding the government's plan to require all Bahraini webmasters to register with the information ministry, Reporters Without Borders has issued this statement:

Reporters Without Borders voiced alarm at Bahrain's decision announced on 24 April 2005 to oblige all websites dealing with the country to register with the ministry of Information. "This does not happen in any democratic country and is a threat to press freedom," the organisation said. (Continued)

It also contains the details pertaining to us bloggers:

[Jamal Dawood, head of press and publications at the information ministry] admitted that he did not know what a weblog was, but said that even personal websites would have to comply with the new procedure. He added that it would not be possible to register online and registration would have to be done directly at the information ministry. After each registration was validated, the person in charge would receive an ID number that would have to be posted on the site. [wtf???]

Do the government officials who are inventing these laws even know what the internet is?? It sounds as though a government employee from the "Vehicle Registration" department at the Directorate of Traffic got moved to the Information Ministry. Surely this is a joke of some sort. I can't wait to find out what else they have in store for us.

I'm just wondering... does this mean I have to register my Flickr account with the ministry also?

Do read the full RSF statement.


----------

Update (27-Apr-05): I've been reading over the RSF article and wanted to bring to your attention this quote from Mr Jamal Dawood:

"Registration will be automatic and no-one will be turned down whatever the content."

Does he really expect people to believe this when just two months ago three website admins were arrested due to the contents of their site? And after the GDN reported that the government will continue to block websites "inciting hatred against prominent figures, ministers and leading officials". This reminds me of when Labour Minister Al Alawi stated before a UN Committee in Geneva that racial discrimination does not exist whatsoever in Bahrain.

Oh and guess what? The government has now blocked Proxify.com also. They really seem to believe that it's possible to control the internet.


---------

Update (28-Apr-05): The story has been picked up by AP News: Bahrain site registration sparks protests (via Business Week). Also, our local paper, the GDN also has two articles about the story: This one featured as the frontpage headline story and this one inside contains a quote from our very own Mahmood!

« Home | Previous »
| Previous »
| Previous »
| Previous »
| Previous »
| Previous »
| Previous »
| Previous »
| Previous »
| Previous »

:

To view the trackbacks to this entry click here.

The URL to TrackBack this post is: http://haloscan.com/tb/chanad/111454786447379818

2 Responses to 'RSF denounces web registration'


Anonymous Anonymous says:

Unless this idea of registering a Bahrain website is actually law in Bahrain and enforced by the ISPs well Batelco, it can only be applied to the .com.bh domain. So any other domain name even if it has Bahrain in the name or associated with Bahrain cannot be forced by any law to register their site. It's also imposable for Bahrain to impose this law on any site outside it's jurisdiction.

It may block sites that it feels are inappropriate but this isn’t a realistic approach, are they then going to have a team watching the internet for every new website or blog that appears, I think not!

Seems like another idea thought up by a group of people who have no knowledge or experience of such matters, but then you only have to look at some of the official websites of this country, there so far behind that it's laughable!    

Anonymous Anonymous says:

Not to mention the discussion of technical as well as legal enforcibility, I wonder what happens when you put a blue ribbon on yours.

Hmmm....    

Leave a Reply:

» To leave new comments, please go to the new address of this page.