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A8 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 19 april 2018

Russia takes heavy hand to internet to block messaging app

By NATALIYA VASILYEVA Thousands of small busi-
and FRANCESCA EBEL nesses have used Telegram
Associated Press for many reasons, from ad-
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian vertising cheap airline tick-
authorities are freezing up ets to offering advice on
vast swathes of the coun- the stock markets.
try’s online world in what Among the countless vic-
critics call a heavy-handed tims of Telegram’s ban is a
— and so far unsuccess- small Moscow-based edu-
ful — attempt to block a cation project which uses
popular messaging app, the app’s bot platform to
Telegram. engage users in tasks and
The head of the commu- foster creative thinking.
nications watchdog ac- Solomon Shlosman, co-
knowledged Wednesday founder of the MOST Cre-
that millions of IP address- ative Camp, said Wednes-
es unrelated to Telegram day he set out “to do
have been blocked since something good for my
a court ordered last week country and to contribute
that the app be taken of- to people living here . but
fline. they — the government
The move has created trou- — are preventing me from
ble for millions of compa- Activists bring a sack with about 2.000 paper airplanes symbolising the logo of the messaging app doing this. Blocking is what
nies and consumers, and Telegram to the door of St.Petersburg’s department of Roskomnadzor, the state communications they did in the Soviet times
was described by some as oversight agency, to protest against blocking the messenger in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, April and now they are doing it
“carpet bombing” the in- 13, 2018. again.”
ternet to get after one small Associated Press Shlosman said the ban on
company. Telegram was Alexander Zharov, chief of that Russian authorities Zharov also indicated that Telegram got him think-
still available in Russia de- the Federal Communica- have blocked about 16 mil- Facebook could be the ing about translating the
spite authorities’ frantic at- tions Agency, told the Iz- lion IP addresses since Mon- next target for the govern- coursework into English and
tempts to hit it by blocking vestia daily in an interview day, affecting millions of ment if it refuses to comply trying to attract an English-
other services, but many published Wednesday Russian users and business- with Russian law. speaking audience.
users are preparing for the that Russia is blocking 18 es. Russia’s leading daily Authorities previously in- While free speech and po-
worst, setting up proxies to networks that are used by Vedomosti in Wednesday’s sisted that Facebook store litical discourse have been
circumvent the ban. Amazon and Google and editorial likened the com- its Russian users’ data in shrinking in traditional Rus-
The row erupted after Tele- which host sites that they munications watchdog’s Russia but has not gone sian media for years, the in-
gram, which was devel- believe Telegram is using to battle against Telegram to through with its threats to ternet remained a truly free
oped by Russian entrepre- circumvent the ban. warfare. block Facebook if it refuses platform for debate and
neur Pavel Durov, refused Countless Russian business- “The large-scale indiscrimi- to comply. communication, where us-
to hand its encryption keys es — from online language nate blocking of foreign IP Zharov said authorities will ers could express their opin-
to Russia’s intelligence schools to car dealerships addresses in Russia in order check before the end of ions. That changed several
agencies. The Russian gov- — reported that their web to close the access to the the year if the company years ago when Russian
ernment insists it needs services were down be- messaging app Telegram is is complying with its de- authorities started blocking
them to pre-empt extrem- cause of the communica- unprecedented and bears mands and warned that if websites of opposition poli-
ist attacks but Telegram tion watchdog’s moves to resemblance to carpet it does not, “then, obvious- ticians, and the courts be-
dismissed the request as a bloc networks. bombings,” the editorial ly, the issue of blocking will gan to send activists to jail
breach of privacy. Internet experts estimate said. arise.” for social media posts. q

Armenia protesters defy ex-president’s move to premier seat

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — minister under a new politi- ian, urged the demonstra-
Thousands of demonstra- cal system that envisages a tors to continue picketing
tors swarmed the Arme- mostly ceremonial role for and blockading govern-
nian capital Wednesday president. About 15,000 ment buildings.
to protest the former presi- rallied Wednesday at Ye- Several dozen demonstra-
dent’s shift into the prime revan’s central Repub- tors briefly entered the
minister’s seat which they lic Square under slogans: building of the Yerevan
see as an attempt to hold “Make a step and reject State University, urging its
onto power. Opponents of Serzh.” Smaller protests also students to join the protests.
Serzh Sargsyan, who served have swept Armenia’s sec- Earlier Wednesday, po-
as Armenia’s president ond-largest city of Gyumri lice unblocked some of
from 2008 and became and a few other cities. the streets cut by protest-
the country’s prime minister Protests that began Friday ers and detained 84 dem-
Tuesday, blockaded gov- have been mostly peace- onstrators, according to
ernment buildings and par- ful, except for Monday’s police spokesman Ashot
alyzed traffic in the capital. clashes with police that left Agaronian. He said that 30
Sargsyan stepped down 46 people injured, includ- of those detained already Police block the way to opposition demonstrators protesting the
because of term limits, but ing six police officers. have been released and former president’s shift into the prime minister’s seat in Yerevan,
he will continue to play The protest leader, opposi- would face administrative Armenia, Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
the dominant role as prime tion lawmaker Nikol Pashin- charges.q Associated Press