March 12th, 2008
UNESCO backs out as group names Internet Enemies
Today is Online Free Expression Day, a Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres, or RSF) event that was to have been sponsored by UNESCO. But the free speech organization revealed today that UNESCO backed out.
We were notified of the decision by the director of its Freedom of Expression, Democracy and Peace Division. Defending the move, UNESCO said it gave its patronage for the “principle of this day” but could not support the various demonstrations organised to mark it.
“We are not fooled,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Several governments on today’s updated list of 15 ‘Internet Enemies’ put direct pressure on the office of the UNESCO director general, and deputy director general Marcio Barbosa caved in. UNESCO’s reputation has not been enhanced by this episode. It has behaved with great cowardice at a time when the governments that got it to stage a U-turn continue to imprison dozens of Internet users.”
The countries on the RSF’s Internet Enemies list, displayed here, include Burma, China, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Saudia Arabia, Zimbabwe and six more.
