For those of you who want to say objectionable, offensive, and downright rude things to each other or to me, and also to those of you that thinking banning and prohibiting access to whole swathes of information and data on the Internet is a fair and proportional response to what is considered a pretty poor excuse for a film, then this is what I have for you to consider...
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
-- Voltaire
Happy blogging!
4 comments:
It truly is a bizarre response to the matter. This is going to cause a stampede of people to use proxy servers to get around it - here's one http://www.myproxy.ca/ :)
Yep! But then sometimes the truly bizarre in Indonesia is not all that bizarre :) but that is probably a different post...
I did get an email from my IT bloke yesterday informing me had found away around the block...
Gotta say though I have not watched Fitna yet and it is not a priority to do so within the next couple of days (too busy)!
Sometimes in a democracy you just have to trust the people to work a proportional response out. Have not got any empirical data and I am not going to do anything to find it or create it...
And, as much as assuming makes an "ass" out of "u" and "me" and I try to avoid assumptions as much as possible I reckon it would be fair to say that most Indonesians understand that Fitna is a film by a Dutch politician elected to Parliament on a right-wing anti-immigration platform with a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric and go "yep, what else is new with this bloke".
However, in contrast there is a much more vocal minority who are intent on seeing the film banned and Wilders murdered who play right into the hands of those looking to perpetuate the stereotype and it is this interest that successive Indonesian governments have pandered to!
I am always hopeful for Indonesia and I am confident that in my lifetime that moderates will win out not just in Islam but in all religions present in Indonesia and that what is a fledgeling democracy will one day be one of the worlds biggest and best democracies :)
A person has to have hope, right?
Whilst I abhor censorship, I think it only fair to make two comments:
Firstly, the country conducting the censorship is Indonesia. The body that authorized the censorship obeys the orders of a democratically elected government. Democratically elected by the people of Indonesia.
It therefore seems a bit rich when a largely expat minority complain about how Indonesia conducts its affairs. The average Indonesian is more concerned about how they will pay for todays food than the fact that a handful of web sites are blocked due to content.
Secondly, it is worthwhile remembering that the Internet is maturing from its infant state. As someone who was involved from the very beginning, I can assure you that the early days of “freedom” were not about pornography and slander. We may have swapped a little code. We may have had robust discussions. But anyone taking a realistic view of the web today will agree that things are well out of control. Most nations are now looking at some form of internet censorship. I feel sad that this is occurring, however the users have proved irresponsible.
Anonymous...
I always prefer people who blog under their own name or a pen name (personal preference so I can call you something other than anonymous)...to each their own though on this!
Point 1...Yep, a democratically elected government and carrying out the will of the government.
Are expats posting comments about the current blocking of a number of sites, yes! Are Indonesian bloggers also concerned about this development, yes!
A bit rich? Maybe, then again maybe not! See the previous point as there are plenty of Indonesians equally concerned about the prospect of censorship and not just of the Internet...
Are the vast majority of Indonesians concerned about getting food on the table and how are they going to pay for it...yes!
Although I fail to see the connection between the principle of censorship and paying for food? Unless you are suggesting that blocking websites will somehow ensure that the government provides a greater number of poverty reduction mechanisms which assist the great many people living below the poverty line to get food!
I was not involved in the early days of the Internet here in Indonesia or anywhere else so I cannot comment on that...
I do not consider criminalizing child pornography or defamation / slander / libel to be wrong and there is an academic debate as to whether the criminalizing of those behaviours and acts consitutes censorship. Kiddie porn is wrong and people who facilitate it and distribute it must be punished.
People who defame, slander, or participate in other libellous acts must also be punished....
Yet, the debate on whether the Indonesian response to Fitna is proportional and fair depends not on whether the government is democratically elected by the people but whether Wilders film is worthy of the attention it is receiving and more importantly is it a breach of the law here in Indonesia or in Holland.
The precedent here is that from now on the democratically elected government of Indonesia must seek to ban all sites that fall foul of Article 21 of the Telecommunications Law, particularly where data and information may cause unrest or disharmony...
So, the issue is really one of principle and precedent!
Hopefully, people can engage in healthy and constructive debate irrespective of whether they be local or expat in any particular country whether that be Indonesia or Holland!
Enjoy your day!
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