Online Opposition

Arab opposition uses net to skirt censorship

An on-line Libyan opposition newsletter repeatedly calls for the overthrow of Qadhafi's regime, another on-line paper fiercely attacks the Saudi royal family, and a third reveals the Tunisian government's repressive practice.

Propagating their political views while circumventing government intervention, Arab opposition groups began launching on-line media sites in the early 1990s. But how successful are they in transmitting their opinions with Arab regimes mounting efforts to curb the free use of the "Information Super Highway" and with illiteracy and the high cost of the technology severely limiting access?

With all Arab countries allowing open access to the Internet, Arab opposition groups deemed it the best medium for spreading their political views as it is difficult to censor.

Although most Arab opposition groups are aware that their on-line sites are not yet popular as well as being not easily accessible to the majority of Arab public, they seem optimistic about the future. They carefully watch, however, their governments' increasing efforts to control the Internet.

A recently released report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) titled: 'The Internet in the Middle East and North Africa: Free Expression and Censorship' says "some governments in the region have taken a more hands-off attitude toward the Internet- even as they enforce laws that curb other means of expression. This has created paradoxical situations in Egypt and Jordan, where newspapers or articles that the authorities censored became quickly available on-line without repercussions for those who read, posted, or forwarded them."

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor in chief of the London based daily Al Quds Al Arabi, thinks the Internet has pushed some Arab regimes to adopt more flexible media policies. He says his paper resumed distribution in Jordan after being banned for few months in 1998 for publishing articles attacking Jordan's policies. The Jordanian Ministry of Information rescinded its initial decision after the paper published its Internet address in several Arab and Jordanian papers, Atwan added.

A number of Arab countries including Algeria, Morocco, and the Palestinian Authority have not made any effort so far to control on-line content, which allows Internet users to obtain access to political and human rights information that the local print and broadcast media cannot publish, the HRW report states.

Tunisian Islamists publish their monthly newsletter Tunisia Insight on-line. They say they have launched an on-line newsletter due to the "lack of independent sources of information offering impartial news and analysis of the Tunisian situation on various levels: political, socio-economic and human rights. This is due the Tunisian government's absolute control of local media transforming it simply into a tool to enhance its image inside the country and abroad."

The Algerian Front Islamique due Salut (FIS), among numerous Web sites launched by banned Islamist groups, can be easily visited. Also, Moroccans can obtain access to information disseminated by the Polisario Front on the World Wide Web, HRW reported in June.

Meanwhile, in countries with more restrictive political regimes, the Internet is
seen as a real political threat.

"Governments have adopted various means to restrict the flow of information on-line. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates impose censorship via proxy servers, devices that are interposed between the end-user and the Internet in order to filter and block specified content," the HRW says in its report.

The Saudi opposition groups top the list of Arab opposition Web sites in terms of their numbers and the quality of service they offer. Among these are the Committee against Corruption in Saudi Arabia (CACSA) and the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA).

According to CACSA's on-line newsletter, "A British company called JBB Consultancy Systems installed a monitoring and policing system in Saudi Arabia that filters objectionable sites. The 'Net Map' system also traces user patterns by identifying how often sites on the Web are visited and by spotting the movement of information. Through the use of a 'collection' device attached to the main telephone line and an alarm signal, the authorities can be alerted each time forbidden information is called up."

Internet still has limited reach

Yet, for some media researchers, the impact of the 'Information Super Highway' on the political arena in the Middle East might not be as great as some Arab governments think. Other factors must be taken into consideration. A substantial percentage of the Arab public is illiterate and has a low standard of living. For these people, gaining access to the Internet is not a high priority.

According to statistics released in May 1999 by Nua, Ltd., an information technology company, there are only 880,000 Internet users in the Middle East (including Israel) out of 165 million users world wide.

Not only is the equipment expensive, but most of the Web is in English, according to Ahmed Al Guday, media researcher at the American University in Cairo.

"In a country like Egypt with an illiteracy rate of 48 percent and limited financial potentials, only thousands out of more than 65 million Egyptians have access to the Internet. We should also take into consideration that a good percentage of people don't read English."

Hussein Amin, professor of mass communication at the American University in Cairo believes that limited Internet access keeps opposition groups weak. "On-line opposition papers do not form a threat to the Arab government and will not for some time. [There are] still many obstacles, like affordability and illiteracy, hindering such a kind of media from reaching the masses."

Among the hindrances to Internet access are the high prices of telephone lines, Internet service providers, and computers.

"Not all people can afford to buy a PC [personal computer] and even if they can, not all of them know how to use the Internet. We are talking about the mass of people who are not well paid and can hardly afford to buy more than one newspaper. Internet seems a kind of luxury for them," said Amin.

Most of those who frequently read on-line opposition papers are media researchers or students interested in media and politics, he explains.

Professor Jerrold Green of the University of California, Los Angeles, agreed adding that security and moral concerns stirred many Arab governments towards restricting access. Even if people manage to get Internet access, Green somewhat pessimistically concludes, Internet-based opposition groups have a long way to go.

"What significance may they have if local people notably, can but [choose not to] look at them?"

Yomna Kamel (Middle East Times, Cairo)