Censorship is all but the latest rage, nevertheless people and even governments use it abusively and obsessively. It might be ok to censor a kid’s drawing on a wall if it has an obscene touch, you’re doing that to protect the others, but censoring the Internet (see Iran’s upcoming elections) or the second most trafficked site in the world, Youtube, as in Armenia right now, is a totally different thing.
After the Armenian president declared a state of emergency
in the capital on the second of March, no media was allowed to broadcast any information except for official announcements. An inside source that wanted to remain anonymous tipped Philipp Lenssen of Blogoscoped and said that: "We are having a real censorship here for the opposition, and although I would never think that the government would get its hands on YouTube, its unreachable through any Armenian ISP! The domain does resolve, however the destination host is unreachable."
The state of emergency was declared in Yerevan after clashes between the police and protesters saw eight people get killed. The reason for all the commotion is that those supporting the opposition say that the current government rigged the presidential election that took place on the 19th of February. Known in the region to be one of the most stable countries in a highly unstable geo-position, Armenia is a major energy route from Asia into Europe. "Armenia has had a reputation as the most stable country in the region and any sign of instability here is a concern," a Western diplomat told Reuters.
YouTube has recently been blocked in Pakistan, allegedly for some blasphemous videos being hosted by Google’s video sharing service. Inside sources, however, thought the ban was also related to the recent elections and to some clips proving election fraud.
