Comments on: Was It Worth It?

By: Wydadi

Wydadi — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 18:07:38 +0000

@Tunisian and proud of it:

I am glad you care about Ali Lemrabet cause he used to nickname Benali “bac-4″and let me tell you that being censored in his own land doesn’t impede someone from criticising censorship in someone else’s land and especially in yours.

By: eatbees

eatbees — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 18:15:21 +0000

As it happens, Ibn Kafka has a new post in French about the legal ins and outs of the Nichane case. I haven't read in detail yet, but it shows in no uncertain terms why the banning of Nichane is in contradiction with Morocco's own laws, and so an abuse of State power. (Thanks for the shout-out, by the way, that was very kind.) At the end of the post is this link to a petition in support of Nichane—please go there and sign it if you're into symbolic gestures!

By: eatbees

eatbees — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 17:59:43 +0000

@Tunisian & proud — If you’ve read Ibn Kafka’s blog, you would know that he’s not an apologist for the Moroccan state. In what sense is it “boasting” to call Morocco “merely authoritarian”? Saying that Morocco is more politically open than Tunisa at the present time, isn’t the same thing as saying “it’s all good in Morocco.” If you’ve read Ibn Kafka’s blog (which you can find in my blogroll), you would know that he has a long history of criticizing censorship and abuses of power in Morocco, whether these abuses are directed at Lmrabet or at Islamic political movements. He doesn’t need me to defend him, his words speak for themselves. I just want to point out that his use of the word “totalitarian” isn’t the attack you understand it to be. Rather, it is his way of saying “respect to our Tunisan brothers—they have it harder than us.” I think you’ve taken his remarks wrong, and would be better off holding your fire in the future until you know what you’re shooting at.

By: Tunisian and proud of it

Tunisian and proud of it — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 15:05:21 +0000

@Ibn Kafka: Instead of criticizing Tunisia which I am 100% sure you never have put your foot on its soil, look inside your own house and check if there’s something wrong. Boasting that Morocco is “merely authoritarian (and less so than it ever was), did you post something lately on Nichane’s censorship?? My goodness how can a joke be a threat ? and please tell me what do you know about Tunisia, the mere biased bits and pieces you read from Reporters Without Borders who just stopped criticizing you beacuse they were given the red carpet in Morocco??Any feed back on Ali Lmrabet??? How come two years ago your representative in the US is begging Human rights Watch to give a blind eye to this story??
FYI, Tunisia is a country with a deep rooted history of sacrifice and dignity and we don’t sacrifice this dignity and pride to gain the benediction of Israelis and Americans!!

By: Bill Day

Bill Day — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 07:09:47 +0000

I thought it was useful, because I did not know that the Tunisian government was blocking bloggers until I was asked to participate in “Blank Day,” although I was generally aware that the Tunisian regime is very repressive. By helping to educate other people, particularly other bloggers, “Blank Day” was a step in the direction of encouraging free expression and making censorship on the ‘Net unacceptable.

By: Ibn Kafka

Ibn Kafka — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 02:31:22 +0000

It’s difficult to give our Tunisian brethren pertinent advice as the political conditions they live in are so different from ours – of course, I do not imply that Moroccco is an Athenian democracy, but simply that Tunisia really is a totalitarian state, whereas Morocco is merely authoritarian (and less so than it ever was).

I suppose however that the Blank Day provided them with more publicity than simply continuing with business as usual…

By: B2

B2 — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 11:44:39 +0000

Usefull Or Not, je crois que ce Blank Day n’est pas passé inaperçu.
Vu que la plupart de nos blogs, sont visités de part le monde entier, au moins le nombre de gens qui sont au courant de la censure pratiquée en Tunisie a augmenté.
Et puis, ça a aussi permis aux gens de gouter au gout amer de la censure .. Moi je l’avoue, ne pas avoir à bloguer, ne pas pouvoir lire les commentaires de mes visiteurs, et surtout ne pas commenter chez les autres, m’a donnée une envie horrible une fois passé : celle d’écrire, et de ne rien faire d’autres que d’écrire :)

Voilà, j’hésitais depuis longtemps d’écrire en français ici, jusqu’à ce que tu nous y invites l’ami :)

Thanx !