Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Egypt deprives residents of internet

When the Egyptian government realized that internet sites like facebook and twitter were being used to coordinate protests in Cairo, they ordered the shutdown of all ISP's (internet service providers) within the country. It took only four days for the Egyptian people to be entirely cutoff from the net. The ability for people to peacefully protest is a right and can not be infringed upon by the Egyptian government. The internet is a service that people pay for, and should not be allowed to be cut off so easily. This ridiculous attempt by the Egyptian government to silence people is only causing the people of the middle eastern country to become more and more angry. 

When a government tries to limit free speech it immediately becomes a social justice issue. What concerns me the most is the willingness of Egyptian ISP's to cut off internet to their customers. When Hosni Mubarak (current Egyptian president) is kicked out of office, I hope he can provide a reasonable explanation to why he thinks he can take away the rights of the Egyptian people.

30 years in power causes Egyptian unrest

Egyptian protesters clash with riot police
In the past week the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been the subject of riots and protest by the Egyptian people. The protesters are demanding a new government, for one that will represent the people.




So why did hundreds of thousands of Egyptians start protesting all of a sudden? In the nearby country Tunisia, a man lit himself on fire because it was impossible for him to find work. This sparked massive protests in Tunisia and the Tunisian government was overthrown. Egyptians were inspired by the Tuniasian protests and decided to take action against the oppressive Egyptian government.

The current President of Egypt (Hosni Mubarak) is 82 years of age and has been in power for 30 years. It is not possible for one man to be in complete control of a country for 30 years and still retain the interests of the people. The Egyptians will keep protesting and fighting against the government until the President steps down. As of today despite the army shutting down the trains, over one million Egyptians march to overthrow the President.

It is completely ridiculous that one man has been in power for 30 years. He is not longer looking to the interests of the people, he only cares for his own self preservation. I sincerely hope that the Egyptian President is brought to justice and that democracy will be brought to Egypt.