Armenia: Samizdat & the Internet

The Guardian’s Greenslade described blogging as the new Russian samizdat in a brief post two years ago and since then, the concept of self-publication of materials and information prohibited by governments has spread everywhere. In its new form on the Internet, samizdat is considered as a tool for activists worldwide. The threat samizdat poses has been discussed in the United States, for example, and has even been the subject of academic studies examining how blogs contributed to revolutions in countries in the post-Soviet space such as Kyrgyzstan.

[…] The study assesses (1) to what extent do samizdat (that is, unofficial) blogs serve as sources of oppositional information for citizens of the nation as well as international observers and (2) what evidence is there of the effects of the samizdat blogs on political events, such as, in this case,the revolution itself? The authors found that the blog did indeed become a unique and rich source of information not available from other local sources or the world press. They suggest that samizdat blogs can serve to incite or sustain democratization in Third World countries, even those undergoing uneven economic development.

Until recently, however, samizdat and blogs have not been on the radar screen of the government as much as other mediums for the dissemination of information via the print and broadcast media. It has been alleged that blogs are being monitored, of course, but even during the current state of emergency there has so far been no attempt at censorship. True, the media and various online sites have been restricted, censored and blocked, but this has meant that bloggers have taken on the role of disseminating information instead.

Indeed, as my post on Global Voices Online, as well as the Global Voices Online Advocacy site, explains, blogs are starting to come of age in Armenia and the Diaspora and have moved in to break the information blockade.

After a 20-day state of emergency was declared in Armenia when clashes between security services and supporters of the former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, broke out on the streets of the capital following the disputed 19 February presidential election, access to the media has been severely restricted. According to presidential decree, local media outlets can now only publish official news and political propaganda is banned.

[…]

While many news outlets complied with the emergency restrictions, others didn’t and soon found their activities curtailed. Because there are no national television stations in Armenia operating independently from the state or government-linked businessmen and officials, the pro-opposition media has been limited to publishing newspapers or online magazines and news services since the pro-opposition TV station, A1 Plus, was taken off the air in April 2002.

Opposition views and opinions could also be heard broadcast via Radio Free Europe, but retransmissions have been pulled from the airwaves since the state of emergency was declared.

But, with online pro-opposition media outlets which haven’t complied with the restrictions now blocked inside the country, the situation has created an unprecedented opportunity for blogs to fill the gap. […]

The full post is at:
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2008/03/05/armenia-samizdat-the-internet/