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

Sat Apr 22 10:33:12 PDT 2017

Dr Janvier Ngnoulaye:

I commend you and the Camerron ISOC Chapter on the steps taken to resolve
the issue. We can all learn a lot from your experience.

José

On Sat, Apr 22, 2017 at 1:27 PM, Janvier NGNOULAYE <jnoulaye at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> 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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>>>> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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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
>>
>
>
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