DUSHANBE, September 21, 2012, Asia-Plus — The communications service agency head claims that Internet providers have allegedly blocked Internet access to the news agency Asia-Plus on their own and he promised to look into reason why they did so.
On Thursday September 20, some Internet providers in Tajikistan reopened Internet access to news agency Asia-Plus.
It is still unknown whether there is an official order of the Communications Service under the Government of Tajikistan to unblock the Asia-Plus’s website or not, because no one of Internet-providers has received such an order.
However, in an interview with Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, the communications service agency head Beg Zuhurov said that he ordered to reopen Internet access to Asia-Plus.
Meanwhile, Zuhurov told Asia-Plus that he had not ordered to block the Asia-Plus’s website. He said they had a group of observers to monitor Interne publications and Websites with offensive and slanderous content. “But you website is on this list,” Zuhurov noted.
According to him, Internet providers allegedly blocked Internet access to the news agency Asia-Plus on their own and he promised to look into reason “why they blocked so social website without reason.”
Earlier, Asia-Plus sent an official letter with solicitation to clarify the reason for blocking its website to all Tajik Internet providers, but only one of them has replied to the letter. The claim letter was sent to the communications service agency head as well. However, the news agency has not yet got the reply from communications service agency.
We will recall that Internet access to Tajikistan’s leading independent news agency Asia-Plus has been cut off three times over the past three months. For the last time, Tajik Interne providers blocked an access to the Asia-Plus website on August 1.
Several websites have been blocked since July 24, when the government forces launched a special operation in Khorog.
