[Chapter-delegates] FW: [Internet Policy] Internet restored in Cameroon

Sat Apr 22 10:27:25 PDT 2017

Dear José,
Thank you for your concern and for the advices you are given here. We
worked in that direction since 4 months when the government instructed the
operators to shutdown Internet. In fact, as you can read inside the
letter(attached here in french) with the subject: "Advocacy for an open and
accessible Internet for all and proposals for a responsible use of the
Internet in Cameroon", where the Chapter was making a statement and a
proposal to the Governement on the matter.
I want to let you know that, in addition to other action we made on the
matter, the Chapter organized from 3 to 7 April a workshop on IXP with the
support of ISOC bureau Afrique, with the aim to help the local operators
and the governement to quickly run the Internet exchange point in Cameroon,
which was among the list of our proposals as you can read from that letter.
Today we can seat with them and discuss and make proposal. It is a training
and awareness-raising phase they actually need. Because we have found that
the Internet, its principles and governance are new things for them. With
those actions with the government, we think that access to the Internet
will stay on  everywhere in Cameroon.

Warm regards,
Dr Janvier Ngnoulaye
President of the Chapter
ISOC Cameroon

2017-04-22 15:38 GMT+01:00 Jose R. de la Cruz III <jrdelacruz at acm.org>:

> Hello 'Queen Mother'.
>
> I've been following your struggle and are happy to know that access to the
> Internet is back on.
>
> You ask, "How do we keep it on for everyone?".  I cannot think of a simple
> answer to your question. My suggestion is to involve the community and
> business in an effort to 'educate' those who make the laws about the impact
> of the Internet in your society. Every nation has its laws, and we must
> abide by them. Hence the effort should aim to develop a favorable public
> opinion that would  influence lawmakers into considering access to the
> Internet as a basic staple for the society. ISOC and other organizations
> should be able to help in this effort.
>
> Whatever route you take, I sincerely wish that access to the Internet
> stays on.
>
> José R. de la Cruz
> ISOC Puerto Rico
>
> On Fri, Apr 21, 2017 at 9:27 PM, Queen Mother <edwannfon at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Good Morning All,
>> I want to take this moment to thank the entire ISOC and other individual
>> ISOC members who joined me, sympathized with me, called me, advised me and
>> who in any small way contributed in ending the plight of my people. After
>> about 4 months or so of no internet in the English speaking part of
>> Cameroon, the internet slowly, like a coward crawled back into their broken
>> lives.
>>
>> There was jubilation and tears and the lingering worry that it might go
>> away again.
>> How do we keep it on for everyone?
>>
>> Again, thank you.
>> Edwan Fon
>> ISOC Cameroon
>> VP#2
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 21, 2017 at 9:43 AM, Walid AL-SAQAF <walid at al-saqaf.se>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Chapter delegates,
>>>
>>> Thank you all for your support, efforts and words of encouragement to
>>> your colleagues in Cameroon during this ordeal. I personally know how it
>>> feels to be shut down and censored, so I commend our members in Cameroon
>>> and all those who fought the shutdown inside the country for their tireless
>>> efforts to seek support from the world as well as do their best to get
>>> their country online again.
>>>
>>> But please remember that there are unsung heroes, who worked tirelessly
>>> to help convince the authorities to bring Cameroon back online. They have
>>> exerted a lot of effort without much noise and without expecting any
>>> personal benefit in return. I wish to extend to those unsung heroes a
>>> special 'thank you' in my capacity as an Internet user, who cares about the
>>> open Internet and its future.
>>>
>>> Nicolas and I have felt and seen first hand at RightsCon and through
>>> other initiatives how small efforts can make a big different. What we need
>>> to do is keep the momentum and remain vigilant since shutdowns have
>>> happened before and may happen again across the world. In fact, they are
>>> still happening in some parts of the world as we speak. Therefore, there
>>> are a lot of challenges ahead and much work to do as a community.
>>>
>>> Let's keep it up!
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>>
>>> Walid Al-Saqaf
>>> ISOC Trustee
>>>
>>> On Fri, Apr 21, 2017 at 5:17 PM, Richard Hill <rhill at hill-a.ch> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Dear Chapter Delegates,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Here is some additional information and context on this issue, with
>>>> many thanks to Nicolas.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>>
>>>> Richard
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *From:* InternetPolicy [mailto:internetpolicy-bounces at elists.isoc.org] *On
>>>> Behalf Of *Nicolas Seidler
>>>> *Sent:* vendredi, 21. avril 2017 14:54
>>>> *To:* internetpolicy at elists.isoc.org
>>>> *Subject:* [Internet Policy] Internet restored in Cameroon
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> As some of you may have heard already, after 94 days, the Internet has
>>>> just been put back on for the more than 5 million people living in the
>>>> anglophone regions of Cameroon. Here is the link
>>>> <http://crtv.cm/fr/nouvelles/top-news-24/rgions-du-nord-ouest-et-du-sud-ouest-les-connexions-internet-sont-rtablies--19138.htm> to
>>>> the official communiqué by the Communications Minister (in French).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The government of Cameroon in January had ordered the disruption of the
>>>> Internet in the Southwest and Northwest administrative regions of the
>>>> country, where English-speaking residents protested again language
>>>> discrimination related to French language administration and court rulings.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Today’s positive news is a testament to the efforts and persistence by
>>>> the local and global communities that have fought to bring the Internet
>>>> back on in Cameroon and around the world. The Internet Society issued a
>>>> public statement
>>>> <https://www.internetsociety.org/lets-keep-internet-everyone> back in
>>>> February, and many ISOC members were instrumental in supporting the
>>>> #BringBackOurInternet campaign that generated a lot of attention on the
>>>> situation in Cameroon.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Yet, we must remain vigilant. The letter lifting the shutdown stresses
>>>> that the government reserves the right to use measures in the future to
>>>> avoid for the Internet to disrupt public order. Also, beyond the human
>>>> impact of this measure, economic losses due to the shutdown have been
>>>> estimated at a minimum of USD 4.5 million. The impact on trust is
>>>> particularly concerning in a region that is known as Cameroon’s “Silicon
>>>> Mountain”, home to creative and leading tech entrepreneurs.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> With several Internet blackouts still in effect around the world, we
>>>> must stay alert and continue the fight so shutdowns don’t become the new
>>>> normal. But as of now, let us celebrate and rejoice for the people of
>>>> Cameroon who are finally back online!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Nicolas Seidler
>>>>
>>>> Senior Policy Advisor
>>>>
>>>> Internet Society
>>>>
>>>> seidler at isoc.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
>>> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
>> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
>> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org
>
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