Electronic Websites: New Crisis with Government

Electronic media has shaped a qualitative progress as dozens of websites have existed, broadcasting news 24 hours around the clock, and forming independent news agencies in a country where the government monopolizes TV and radio telecast. These websites work through a splendid space providing free news service to readers and internet surfers.

However, the government has recently felt uneasy about these electronic sites particularly when the country witnesses wide demonstrations in southern and eastern provinces. It has prevented websites and satellite channels from covering these demonstrations under the pretext of endangering the national unity.

Still, some websites managed to broadcast the news of these demonstrations with live broadcast and this led the government to resort to threats. Interior Minister Rashad Al-Alimi recently called for silencing these websites claiming they stir up sedition and sectarian and positional differences and noted that they harm the national security and stability.

Al-Alimi stressed the importance of taking restrictive measures against these websites and newspapers.

One day following the minister’s statement, the government took a measure through Telecommunications and Information Ministries that confiscated a website's pages from the web as is the case with yemenportal.net run by Walid Al-Saqqaf – former chief editor of Yemen Times.

In return, editors of electronic websites were called to an immediate meeting sought to defend their sites against the government attack.

The introductory meeting of chief editors for electronic websites agreed to form a committee including newsyemen chief editor Nabil Al-Soufi, Hasan Al-Zaidi and Nabila Al-Hakimi whose main task is to represent the electronic websites at the Yemeni journalists Syndicate and to push their issue.

Meanwhile, the real crisis lies in nonexistence of a law that regulates the work of such websites and Telecommunications Ministry stresses that the Information Ministry is responsible for blocking and filtering these websites.

Despite the different demonstrations and sit-ins staged at Freedom Square before the cabinet building by press and electronic sites affiliates after filtering SMS news services and blocking some electronic websites, the government was not tolerating with them and security forces used force to disperse the demonstrators.

Several journalists were harshly beaten and their blood was shed in Freedom Square. The crisis has come up once again and the matter is in need for a final solution.