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Hilary Clinton pledges US’ support for internet dissidents
Wednesday, 16 February 2011 00:53
Calls peoples who censor ‘hackers’ and ‘thugs’JollofNews - "The best answer to offensive speech is more speech. People can and should speak out against intolerance and hatred," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a major speech condemning repressive governments that threaten, arrest and jail opponents for what they write online.
This statement is part of a major announcement by the US government reiterating its commitment to help people whose governments denied them free expression in their countries to do so online in pursuit of greater freedom.
Mrs Clinton also announced a US$25m investment by the US government to help support online dissidents and digital activists fight state repression.
“Some take the view that, to encourage tolerance, some hateful ideas must be silenced by governments. We believe that efforts to curb the content of speech rarely succeed and often become an excuse to violate freedom of expression. Instead, as it has historically been proven time and time again, the better answer to offensive speech is more speech… By exposing ideas to debate, those with merit tend to be strengthened, while weak and false ideas tend to fade away; perhaps not instantly, but eventually,” she said.
Even though she singled out China, Syria, Cuba, Vietnam and Burma as notorious examples of countries restricting online speech, her words will certainly echo in as far as Africa’s smallest nation, Gambia, where just a couple of weeks ago the Justice Minister described its mainly foreign based dissidents (journalists, human rights and political activists) as “evil members of society.”
The Gambian minister Edward Gomez warned of repercussion for such people and said they would only be safe as long as they continue to remain outside the country.
But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has a strong warning for people like Edward Gomez, whom she described as “hackers” and “thugs” who beat dissidents up or imprison them for what they say online.
“The United States continues to help people in oppressive Internet environments get around filters, stay one step ahead of the censors,” she said.
"This is a foreign policy priority, one that will only increase in importance in the coming years," she added.
Internet freedom and economic prosperity
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also stressed the link between internet freedom and economic prosperity. She said the effort to divide the economic Internet from “the everything-else Internet” could not be sustained. "People -- especially young people -- found ways to use connection technologies to organize and share grievances, which as we know, helped fuel a movement that led to revolutionary change." She cited Egypt as an example where the authorities failed in their effort to turn off internet connectivity during protests that brought down that country’s decade of dictatorship.
The US Secretary of State went on to warn businesses to be wary of operating in countries with heavy Internet censorship regimes.
"If you invest in countries with aggressive censorship and surveillance policies, your website could be shut down without warning, your servers hacked by the government, your designs stolen, or your staff threatened with arrest or expulsion for failing to comply with a politically motivated order," she said.
"The risks to your bottom line and to your integrity will, at some point, outweigh the potential rewards, especially if there are market opportunities elsewhere," she added.
On Wikileaks
Many governments who have been accused of media censorship saw the Wikileaks saga in the US recently as a perfect opportunity to redirect blame from their actions.
But according to Mrs Clinton, there is a sharp distinction between Wikileaks' possession of secret government correspondence and internet freedom.
"Fundamentally, the Wikileaks incident began with an act of theft," she said. "Government documents were stolen, just the same as if they had been smuggled out in a briefcase."
She argued that "the United States could neither provide for our citizens' security nor promote the cause of human rights and democracy around the world if we had to make public every step of our most sensitive operations."
Written by Kemo Cham
Read the full statement here
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Comments
You talked of US support for internet dissents by which effective means is yet to be seen as we see most of these people their lives in stake. What of people demonstrating as we see hundreds been killed and handicapped in Egypt and your government continue to make statements of people should be allowed to express themselves but would those responsible of the killings be accountable of the deaths is a dream. Egypt revolution has a long way to go that will experience a lot of brutalities as a result of Western interest. Obama has said "the Egyptian people have spoken" by removing the one he championed as a true ally of the West but will the wishes of the Egyptian people stand is what everyone is left to watch out. Remember that millions are watching and all nations will judge you on how you handling the affairs of nations who are your key allies and that of the ones you have differences.
It is time for the leaders of the opposition parties to join and take the lead in this fight. Jammeh's repression must be tackled head on.
She now propably comes to realise the power of the internet and the passage of free thought and expression...can do better what cruise missiles can not.
Nevertheless it is never to late to support the aspiration of people to reach for freedom.
So we say...well done..at last.
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