STATEMENT BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR PROGRESSIVE COMMUNICATIONS (APC)
> OPPOSING ACTIONS AGAINST THE ONLINE PRESENCE OF MIDDLE EAST NEWS AGENCY,
> AL-JAZEERA
> 4 April 2003
>
> APC opposes actions against the online presence of Al-Jazeera. The
> Internet must be allowed to freely perform its unique and vital role as
> a promoter of "freedom of expression" and content diversity, especially
> in times of conflict.
>
> APC opposes censorship on the Internet and states in its Internet Rights
> Charter[1] that "the Internet must be protected from all attempts to
> censor social and political debate". The Internet Rights Charter argues
> that "the Internet is an ideal space for the recording and promotion of
> culturally and politically diverse content".
>
> This is consistent with Article 19 of the UN International Covenant on
> Civil and Political Rights[2] which states that the right to freedom of
> opinion and expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart
> information is a recognised human right and must be protected.
>
> The Case of the Al-Jazeera Website:
>
> APC is concerned to note that a prominent online Middle Eastern news and
> information source - the Al-Jazeera website - has been the target of
> hacker attacks, domain name hijacking and the withdrawal of hosting
> services all within the first few weeks of the war on Iraq led by the
> United States.
>
> Called "an unusually independent voice in the Arab world" by the
> Associated Press wire service, the Al-Jazeera satellite TV network
> launched its English-language web site on Monday March 24, attracting
> significant media coverage.
>
> However, instead of news articles from an Arab perspective, visitors to
> the Al-Jazeera website on Thursday March 27 were greeted by the image of
> the United States' flag and a message proclaiming "Let Freedom Ring".
> The Al-Jazeera website address www.al-jazeera.net had been hijacked so
> that visitors who attempted to read either the English or Arab language
> sites were unable to do so as their browsers were automatically
> "redirected" to the pro-U.S. page.
>
> Al-Jazeera has also had to contend with denial of service (DOS) attacks
> from so-called "patriotic" hackers. These attacks artificially increase
> the levels of visitor traffic to a site until the server hosting the
> site cannot cope with the traffic any longer and crashes, knocking the
> site offline.
>
> Al-Jazeera's US-based Internet service provider has also just cancelled
> their contract with Al-Jazeera. It is understood that Al-Jazeera has
> found a new provider in Europe, however in the meantime on April 2 (the
> estimated date of the contract cancellation) the Al-Jazeera sites were
> unreachable.
>
> The computer hacks, online vandalism and the canceling of Al-Jazeera's
> web hosting contract all interfere with the UN declared right to
> "receive and impart information and ideas through any media and
> regardless of frontiers".
>
> Diversifying our News and Information Sources:
>
> The Internet is a valuable tool for the diversification of media
> sources, especially for citizens of the countries that make up the
> invading coalition forces.
>
> "One could watch the US television networks around the clock for a week
> and not realise the extent of public opposition and disquiet [to the
> war] . Why is the unease and disaffection of the American public so
> invisible? The answer is that it's only invisible if you're looking for
> it in the mainstream media. It's there all right - but it's on the net,"
> wrote John Naughton of the British newspaper, the Observer[3].
>
> In the second week of the war, the most searched on word in various
> search engines was "Al-Jazeera" and other variants. A considerable
> number of subscribers have joined their English language news service
> and North American readers in huge numbers are actively seeking outside
> media sources on the war, according to a study by the Pew Internet and
> American Life project[4].
>
> As online information and communication pioneers, APC and APC members -
> groups which have facilitated the use of the Internet for social
> justice, development and peace to civil society since the late 1980s -
> believe that the Internet must be allowed to freely perform its unique
> and vital role as a promoter of "freedom of expression" and a multiplier
> and diversifier of information sources, especially in times of conflict.
>
> English Language Information Resources from the Arab-Speaking World:
>
> Besides Al-Jazeera, there are several English-language news sites that
> present an Arab perspective. Ra'ida Al-Zubi, member of the APC Women's
> Networking Support Programme recommends Al-Hayat
> (http://english.daralhayat.com), The Jordan Times (www.jordantimes.com)
> and Lebanon's Daily Star (www.dailystar.com.lb). An Arabic-English
> translation tool which translates web pages for a fee is considered the
> best Arabic translation tool online
> (http://tarjim.ajeeb.com/ajeeb/default.asp?lang=1).
>
> [1] http://rights.apc.org/charter.shtml#2
> [2] http://www.hrweb.org/legal/cpr.html
> [3] http://www.observer.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,925333,00.html
> [4] http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=87
>
> =============================================
> ABOUT APC
>
> The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international
> network of civil society organisations dedicated to empowering and
> supporting groups and individuals through the strategic use of
> information and communication technologies (ICTs), especially
> Internet-related technologies. Our network of members and partners spans
> the globe, with presence in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, Africa,
> Asia, Latin America and North America.
>
> APC: http://www.apc.org
> Email: info@apc.org
>