- Human Rights Watch has urged the Libyan authorities to stop blocking the internet sites. The country has blocked access to YouTube and at least seven independent websites claiming it was a disturbing step away from press freedom.
“These websites were the one recent sign of tangible progress in freedom of expression in Libya,” HRW said on a statement released late on Wednesday.
The rights watchdog said Libya had also blocked the entire YouTube website after it featured videos of demonstrations in the eastern city of Benghazi by families of detainees who were killed in Abu Salim prison in 1996, as well as videos of family members of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi at parties.
The organisation has also hailed an initiative by a group of Libyan bloggers, journalists, and human rights activists to share proxy servers to allow access to the blocked sites.
“Libya can stick its head in the sand and try to block the free flow of electronic information to its citizens, but the good news is we all know they'll fail,” Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said.
The rights organisation further criticised Libya over a decision by the state General Press Authority last month to suspend the print-runs of the country's only two private newspapers Oea and Quryna, which as a result now appear only online.
The group said blocking websites was contrary to international agreements Libya had signed.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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