Censored – Forum theatre on freedom of expression at a time of war

“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist. Without the freedom to challenge, even to satirise all orthodoxies, including religious orthodoxies, it ceases to exist. Language and the imagination cannot be imprisoned, or art will die, and with it, a little of what makes us human.” Salman Rushdie, Imaginary Homelands […]

The rise of Big Brother in the UK: The problems for the rest of us

Reading an article on mobile phone surveillance in England, I remembered a scene from the film the Bourne Ultimatum where the character Jason Bourne, played by Matt Damon, buys a phone off the counter in London and uses it to communicate securely with a reporter. The reporter eventually gets killed and that sadly seems to […]

The charges against Tissainayagam: Implications for bloggers in Sri Lanka

Tissa’s case is more than a set of ludicrous charges against an individual. The charges, the length of time he was held without any charge and the manner in which he was treated while imprisoned are all carefully engineered to generate fear and anxiety amongst independent journalists and media. In this, the Rajapakse regime has […]

Thailand and Malaysia clamp down websites

In moves bound to embolden Sri Lanka’s own regime to officially clamp down on websites, Thailand and Malaysia blocked or shut down hundreds of websites this week. Thailand’s manifestly idiotic and regressive lese majeste laws were used to shut down 344 out of a total of 400 sites it shut down. As this Asia Media report […]

Freedom of Expression in Singapore vs. Sri Lanka

Freedom of Speech, Not Freedom From Consequences, an article about the recent controversy on Singapore’s reaction to US Citizen and former Singaporan lawyer Gopolan Nair who was arrested, detained and released on bail for “taunting a Singaporan judge” raises some interesting questions about the freedom of expression. As the article notes, Committee to Protect Journalists […]

Approach to web media and internet activism in Sri Lanka may soon mirror China on Darfur

The NY Times carries an article on the alleged activities of Chinese and / or the Chinese Government in disrupting the online advocacy of The Save Darfur Coalition by sophisticated  Internet attacks. Kristof goes on to note that: The Darfur advocacy community has tried to shame China into suspending arms transfers to Sudan and taking […]

Tamilnet accessible from Sri Lanka once again

Tamilnet, blocked by the Government and all major commercial ISPs in Sri Lanka earlier this year, is now accessible through SLT’s ADSL (Broadband) connections (last checked 19th December 2007, 6:30PM local time). The website was the first in Sri Lanka to be blocked, with the Government openly stating that it was searching for hackers to […]