DUSHANBE, August 1, 2013, Asia-Plus – The Association of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) of Tajikistan on July 30 sent a letter to Communications Service chief Zuhurov a letter with solicitation to unblock video sharing website YouTube.
According to the Association head Asomiddin Atoyev, a copy of the letter has been sent the Secretariat of the Council for Information and Communication Technologies under the President of Tajikistan.
The video sharing platform Youtube was blocked in early June. Experts attribute this to uploading a video of President Emomali Rahmon dancing and singing at his son’s wedding to YouTube. The wedding took place in 2007, but the video was uploaded to YouTube on May 18, 2013.
It is not the first time that Tajik authorities have blocked access to YouTube. For the first time, YouTube was blocked on July 26, 2012. Tajikistan’s state-run communications service agency asked ISPs to block access to YouTube, following the beginning of the government military operation in Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO).
On July 27, 2012, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, called on the government of Tajikistan today to unblock YouTube and ensure the free flow and access to information. Access to YouTube was restored in early August last year. t
