DUSHANBE, March 5, 2012 Asia-Plus – Asia-Plus has received a copy of an official letter sent by the Communications Service under the Government of Tajikistan to local Internet service providing companies.
The letter that was signed by one of deputy chairpersons of the Communications Service on March 2, in particular, asks them to block access to Facebook.com, zvezda.ru, tjknews.com, maxala.org and centrasia.ru “in connection with prophylactic technical work.”
Some Internet providers say they received the letter Monday morning, while a verbal notice to block access to the mentioned websites was given on Saturday.
Meanwhile, one of Internet service providing companies that refused to block access to the websites was reportedly faced by a number of problems Monday morning. “Thus, the company’s access to all network interconnections that pass through the state-run operator Tajiktelekom was blocked,” the source said. He asked not to name the company, noting that the problems were solved after they blocked access to the mentioned websites.
The Communications Service head Beg Zuhurov told Asia-Plus Monday morning that a lack of access to a number of websites in Tajikistan is connected with technical problems.
Zuhurov did not give details of the problems, but he assured that the problems would be solved in the near future.
The Communications Service top manager has denied the report that access to a number of websites has been blocked following official written or verbal notice from the Communications Service “as absolutely baseless.”
At the same time, Zuhurov noted that some websites have begun “to post lying articles and comments defaming the honor and dignity of the Tajik authorities.” “By such lying articles, some persons are trying to split Tajik society and destabilize the situation in the country,” he stressed.
According to him, “appropriate bodies ought to examine these materials, revealing their authors and make them answerable for them.”
We will recall that residents of Tajikistan have not been able to access a number of independent websites, since last Saturday.
An official source at one of Internet service providing company told Asia-Plus on Saturday that several Internet service providing companies on Friday (March 2) received official written or verbal notice from the Communications Service under the Government of Tajikistan to block access to a number of websites, including Facebook, “in connection with the accrued necessity.”
“Lists of websites to be blocked differ from each other, but all of them include three websites: Facebook.com; Zvezda.ru; and Tjknews.com,” said the source, “The fourth website – Maxala.org — was put on the list little later.”
Practically all the Internet service providing companies on March 2 blocked access to Zvezda.ru, which posted a critical material about Tajikistan on February 28.
Meanwhile, only subscribers to a number of cellular operators now have access to Facebook through mobile Internet.
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook Inc. As of February 2012, Facebook has more than 845 million active users.
To-date, more than 130 providers have reportedly got licenses to offer Internet services in Tajikistan. Meanwhile, not more than ten companies now provide Internet services in the country.
