It’s sad when a country has to resort to this to control it’s people, freedom to watch p*rn for Cambodians!

Heeding a request from his wife, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday banned the latest generation of mobile phone services in Cambodia to curb the dissemination of p*rnography.

Bun Rany, along with the wives of several other senior government officials, recently urged Hun Sen to prohibit the use of third-generation, or 3G, phones in the impoverished country because they can be used to spread obscene images.

Such phones – which few can afford in Cambodia – are capable of displaying high-quality video and images over wireless broadband connections.

I really don’t see what the big issue with p*rnography is, don’t Cambodians have sex? I mean there is a VERY high rate of mental health issues there, after the khmer rouge regime…but still? Isn’t this a little harsh?

On Friday, Hun Sen said he agrees with his wife and that while Cambodia is still unable to cope with p*rnography on the Internet, “how can we go for video phones?

“Hold it. Do not yet start the mobile phone services through which the callers can see each others’ images,” he said in a speech during a visit to a Buddhist pagoda in the capital, Phnom Penh.

“Maybe we can wait for another 10 years or so until we have done enough to strengthen the morality of our society,” he said.

Alcatel, a French telecommunications firm, announced in February that it would provide 3G mobile services to CamGSM, a Cambodian mobile phone network.

Strengthen the morality? Hello?

It seems like he somewhat looks down upon his populous.

The 3G mobile phone “is way too advanced for us. Hearing each other’s voices and exchanging text messages should be enough. If we go further than this, it could be more difficult for us to control” p*rnography, he said.

It was unclear if legislation is necessary for the ban to take effect. Hun Sen’s orders are often carried out without challenge by Cambodia’s government and lawmakers.

Cambodia is predominantly Buddhist and socially conservative. People normally do not talk openly about sex.

Source: Associated Press

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Irrepressible Adj. 1) Impossible to repress or control.

Chat rooms monitored. Blogs deleted. Websites blocked. Search engines restricted. People imprisoned for simply posting and sharing information.

The Internet is a new frontier in the struggle for human rights. Governments “with the help of some of the biggest IT companies in the world” are cracking down on freedom of expression.

Amnesty International, with the support of The Observer, is launching a campaign to show that online or offline the human voice and human rights are impossible to repress.

The web is a great tool for sharing ideas and freedom of expression. However, efforts to try and control the Internet are growing. Internet repression is reported in countries like China, Vietnam, Tunisia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. People are persecuted and imprisoned simply for criticising their government, calling for democracy and greater press freedom or exposing human rights abuses, online.

The Great Firewall of China of course being a major one..

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You can undermine the censorship by adding censored content to your site

http://irrepressible.info/addcontent

You can also sign the pledge here

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In November 2006, governments and companies from all over the world will attend a UN conference to discuss the future of the Internet. You can help us send a clear message to them that people everywhere believe the Internet should be a force for political freedom, not repression.

Fight the power!