Cyber war breaks out in Tunisia
As the Tunisian uprising continues on the ground with no sign of abating, the battle over information is intensifying on the internet.
Yesterday there were numerous reports of Tunisians' Facebook pages and email accounts being hacked – presumably by the regime – with Yahoo users apparently the most vulnerable.
The nawaat website responded with technical guidance for protecting against attacks. The Tunisian Pirate Party was also reported to be distributing USB sticks containing Tor (anonymity software) to students.
The Tunisian government is regarded as a world leader in the field of internet censorship and it could easily block access to the whole of Facebook if it chose to do so. However, it seems to have recognised that this would be extremely unpopular and could further inflame the protests – so it has opted for targeting individuals who oppose the regime.
The authorities also routinely block access to anything remotely critical which appears on websites outside the country. According to a Twitter user, this article was blocked within 10 minutes of appearing on a Swiss website.
Parallel with the government's assault on internet users, the group known as Anonymous has been attacking government-related websites (as reported here yesterday). Al-Jazeera has more details.
When checked this morning, the following websites were still unavailable:
www.bmvt.com.tn (Tunisian Stock Exchange)
www.sicad.gov.tn (Tunisian Foreign Relations)
www.industrie.gov.tn (Ministry of Industry)
www.commerce.gov.tn (Tunisian Government Commerce)
www.carthage.tn (The Carthage Palace – presidential website)
benali.tn (Presidential elections site)
www.ministeres.tn (Tunisian government site listing various ministries)
Al-Jazeera appears to be the only major news organisation trying to cover the uprising on a day-to-day basis and, predictably, it has come under fire from the Tunisian regime and its supporters. The accusations of "unprofessionalism" and using "unreliable" (ie non-governmental) sources are a bit rich considering that the authorities are doing their utmost to prevent it from reporting. It is having to make extensive use of amateur videos and social networking websites in order to get information.
Twitter users reported demonstrations in several Tunsian cities yesterday, though details are scarce. The nawaat website posted videos of two student protests, one at the Institut de Presse et des Sciences de l'Information and the other at Gronbalya Lycée. It also reports a hunger strike by trade unionists in Redeyef.
Lawyers have reportedly called a strike for Thursday, January 6.
The Egyptian foreign minister arrived in Tunisia yesterday for two days of discussions on "key issues of mutual interest". The Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, also began an official visit.
Posted by Brian Whitaker
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Inside Iraq
As if Saddam never was
Our schools are different from schools in the U.S. in that the teachers are required to stick to the material in the text books that the Ministry of Education prints, and are not permitted to deviate from the curriculum in any way. This is how it was during Saddam's time – and has – conveniently, remained the same since, in spite of "democracy", "human rights" and "freedom of speech". In maths and chemistry this may not be such an issue. But when it comes to history ..
Contemporary Iraq history is taught in sixth, ninth and 12th grades, the grades that take ministry board examinations. Now, in all three text books history suddenly comes to an end after the 1958 revolution. No mention is made of later revolutions: in 1963 in which Baathists participated, though they did not come to power, and the 1968 revolution that they led and through which they arose to power. Not once is "Baath" mentioned – Not once is Saddam Hussein" mentioned in all the history text books now being taught in Iraqi schools.
I spoke to Ms Nadia (38 years - very beautiful! – married, three children), who teaches ninth grade history in a boy's intermediate school in west Baghdad, and who had previously taught 12th grade in a secondary school.
"I cannot deny that a big effort is being made to erase that era from the history (text) books. It seems that our governments cannot draw a moderate path to teach our pupils. Before 2003, there used to be too much detail about the Baath party rising to power – its struggle - its achievements and future goals – And now there is nothing at all.
"Thirty years cannot be erased from our memories. They are what made us who we are – for good or bad. As a history teacher I believe that it is not just identity that we gain from studying our history – but also the lessons and examples that history gives – the examples that should make us wiser in the future. These should not be erased. They should be highlighted and shouted from roof tops so that the politicians sit up and pay attention".
(I asked her whether she thought the politicians intend to keep this silence in history text books – or whether they were just pondering what should be written??) "History is always affected by politics – and the winner gets his version into the text books. Like you, I am wondering what they will write – how they will describe that era, its ups and downs. May be it is still too recent for them to be able to make all the changes. Will they be fair? Or will it be just revenge? I feel like I am a witness and need to see the outcome of this struggle".
(I asked her what other changes were made in history text books that she would like to comment upon) "The change that caught my attention was in seventh grade history text books. Seventh graders study ancient civilizations, focusing on Mesopotamia. It was a rich study that caught the imagination of the pupils and inspired them. Now the focus on Mesopotamia is very little – Hamurabi is just another king who wrote the law on an obelisk – and greater focus is given to neighbouring civilizations".
Posted by Sahar IIS on Inside Iraq
Our schools are different from schools in the U.S. in that the teachers are required to stick to the material in the text books that the Ministry of Education prints, and are not permitted to deviate from the curriculum in any way. This is how it was during Saddam's time – and has – conveniently, remained the same since, in spite of "democracy", "human rights" and "freedom of speech". In maths and chemistry this may not be such an issue. But when it comes to history ..
Contemporary Iraq history is taught in sixth, ninth and 12th grades, the grades that take ministry board examinations. Now, in all three text books history suddenly comes to an end after the 1958 revolution. No mention is made of later revolutions: in 1963 in which Baathists participated, though they did not come to power, and the 1968 revolution that they led and through which they arose to power. Not once is "Baath" mentioned – Not once is Saddam Hussein" mentioned in all the history text books now being taught in Iraqi schools.
I spoke to Ms Nadia (38 years - very beautiful! – married, three children), who teaches ninth grade history in a boy's intermediate school in west Baghdad, and who had previously taught 12th grade in a secondary school.
"I cannot deny that a big effort is being made to erase that era from the history (text) books. It seems that our governments cannot draw a moderate path to teach our pupils. Before 2003, there used to be too much detail about the Baath party rising to power – its struggle - its achievements and future goals – And now there is nothing at all.
"Thirty years cannot be erased from our memories. They are what made us who we are – for good or bad. As a history teacher I believe that it is not just identity that we gain from studying our history – but also the lessons and examples that history gives – the examples that should make us wiser in the future. These should not be erased. They should be highlighted and shouted from roof tops so that the politicians sit up and pay attention".
(I asked her whether she thought the politicians intend to keep this silence in history text books – or whether they were just pondering what should be written??) "History is always affected by politics – and the winner gets his version into the text books. Like you, I am wondering what they will write – how they will describe that era, its ups and downs. May be it is still too recent for them to be able to make all the changes. Will they be fair? Or will it be just revenge? I feel like I am a witness and need to see the outcome of this struggle".
(I asked her what other changes were made in history text books that she would like to comment upon) "The change that caught my attention was in seventh grade history text books. Seventh graders study ancient civilizations, focusing on Mesopotamia. It was a rich study that caught the imagination of the pupils and inspired them. Now the focus on Mesopotamia is very little – Hamurabi is just another king who wrote the law on an obelisk – and greater focus is given to neighbouring civilizations".
Posted by Sahar IIS on Inside Iraq
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