Even as Hao Wu is still held by the authorities, a prominent Egyptian blogger Alaa is held by the authorities in his country. The Skeptic writes
When I first met Alaa in the summer of 2005, I told him I was worried the government would crack down on the Kifaya protesters after the elections, when the world’s attention was elsewhere. I asked him if he was worried about what would happen if that came to pass: Many of the protesters were young, they had never been in jail, they didn’t know what could happen to them. He said he believed that it was too late for the government to put an end to the protests, that once people had tasted a bit of freedom, the regime couldn’t roll it back.
We’re in the unfortunate position at Global Voices where we may need to start a new section to coordiante campaigns for the release of friends and colleagues who’ve been detained by authoritarian campaigns
The irony perhaps is that a government that tolerates protests and dissent is the one that is likely to be riddled with them. The role of the State as a peace-keeper is ambiguous. Some days back, it seemed like Pakistani Government had rolled back censorship of Blogspot blogs. This is unlikely – going by post at Global Voices which announces that not only are blogs on blogspot banned, so are sites on Balochistan. Dr Awab Alvi on an email list says
The problem is not all that simple – Pakistan is constantly in a battle with India to gain a competitive edge in the IT sector, all outsourcing coming into the region may at first look at the tremendous cost saving potential in Pakistan, but when the bureaucracy gives mixed signals on simple IT issues, the company naturally looks at the greener pastures across the border, a govt ready to adapt to change with the blink of an eye, to ensure they continue to become an IT leader in the region.
The worrying this is that the state would protect the rights of its citizens only because it makes economic sense to. In the larger scheme of things I am sure it all works out – but the intent is a little twisted. The even more worrying bit is this – certain states manage to still attract the best of foreign investment despite having draconian laws because they manage to pretend that the interests of the firms are not beyond certain urban borders.
Meanwhile, Kevin Anderson at the BBC has been trying to get in touch with the ambassador in London with no luck.
Posted on May 8th, 2006 by Neha Viswanathan
Filed under: Blogs, Global Voices, Governance, Politics, Rights
