" Thailand Reportedly Blocks Facebook, Twitter, CNN and Other Web Sites " that's the title of an article that I read in The Jakarta Globe today.Although the report has not been confirmed however in the past the Thai Government has banned You Tube in 2007 and 2300 websites last January on the grounds that they were insulting the King of Thailand.
Beside the above sad news, the above mentioned media also has a good news for online activists i.e about the Indonesian President Soesilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) who now has a Twitter.
Much earlier, the Communication & Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring has also been reported to have a Twitter.
Moreover, users of Facebook, Twitters and Blogs in Indonesia have played quite an important role in maintaining justice for example in the Prita and Bibit-Chandra cases.
The above reports show that compared to neighboring countries like Thailand, Indonesian online activists are luckier.
Photo: Courtesy of The Jakarta Globe
4 comments:
What will the Communication and Information Minister Titiful Sembiring be tweeting about? Plate Tectonics Theory?
Duckham,
The positive thing is that he can tolerate difference of opinion, even sharp criticism.
"Indonesian online activists are luckier". That's a fact. But it is even batter; Indonesia is a much more democratic society. And Indonesian civil society is getting stronger and stronger.
Of course it's okay if/when politicians prove they belong to the 21st century. However the mere fact that officials, heads of state, ministers, MPs are tweeting and twittering away, doesn't make me ecstatic with joy. It's just adding one more tool to exert influence to the vast repertoire they already have. Moreover they invade the domain which till now have been the territory of the grassroots .
Colson,
Online tools like Twitter, which is actually the domain of grassroots, will enable politicians to spread
their influences.
But let's see the bright side i.e such tools would enable citizens incl. grassroots to express their thoughts directly to the politicians.
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