[huridocs-tech] Tools of the trade

DIGITAL FREEDOM NETWORK: Human rights and cyber-rights news

Tools of the trade
by Shravanti Reddy, Digital Freedom Network
URL: http://dfn.org/news/saudi/mira.htm
How one exiled Saudi opposition group uses ICT to its advantage.

(February 18, 2003) Based in London, some 5,000 kilometers away from the 
population it seeks to address, the Saudi opposition group Movement for 
Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA) is obviously at a distinct disadvantage in 
trying to gain the support of the Saudi population. This was undoubtedly 
something the Saudi government was banking on when it created the 
conditions that forced them into exile. MIRA is strongly critical of the 
current government which is controlled by the ruling Al Saud family.

But before King Fahd and the current de facto ruler of the country, Crown 
Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, had a chance to really enjoy the removal of 
dissident elements from within his kingdom, MIRA had already found 
effective ways of communicating with the Saudi population. In the process, 
they have made a mockery of the government's outdated and expensive 
Internet censorship program.

By utilizing advances in information and communication technology (ICT), 
MIRA has faced the challenge of communicating with people in a country 
where free speech and press are severely limited and they have succeeded. 
The recent creation of a satellite radio station has helped to expand 
debate within the country by allowing Saudis still living within the 
kingdom an outlet where they can express their opposition and frustration 
over government policies. The dialogue is no longer one-dimensional, but 
multi-faceted.

MIRA was formed in exile in 1996 in order to peacefully advocate for 
political, economic and social reforms within Saudi Arabia by mobilizing 
Saudis to make demands. Many key leaders of the Saudi reform movement are 
members of MIRA.

According to an article in the British paper Guardian Unlimited, MIRA 
Director and Spokesperson Dr. Saad Al-Fagih stated that the group "wants to 
spread awareness among people of the many problems caused by the regime and 
grant them the freedom of expression they don't enjoy at home."

The need for reform

Despite their election to the UN Commission on Human Rights for a two-year 
term that will end this year, Saudi Arabia's human rights record is far 
from pristine.
Despite its vast oil resources, the majority of Saudi Arabia's population 
lives below the poverty line.

There are currently no active independent human rights organizations 
working within the country and the government has denied international 
human rights groups permission to enter the country and assess the level of 
human rights violations.

Many have an image of Saudi Arabia as a land of great wealth, but despite 
its vast oil resources the majority of the population currently lives below 
the poverty line. While the Saudi population doubled in the last 20 years 
to 23 million, oil income has remained level. Furthermore, a lack of 
investment in social services has drastically affected social services and 
unemployment has risen sharply. The current religion-based curriculum has 
left Saudi nationals unable to compete in a high-tech and globalized world, 
explaining the large number of foreign workers recruited to work in the 
country.

Since the 1980s, internal dissent within the country has focused on 
reforming the monopoly of power held by the ruling monarchy. This dissent 
increased after the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91 and led to the formation of 
one of the earliest opposition groups in 1993, the Committee for the 
Defense of Legitimate Rights (CDLR).

Opposition groups sought to reform religious and judicial bodies in the 
country, thereby making them independent of the royal family. The current 
Shura Council of religious scholars, an advisory body to the government, is 
seen as having little real power as they merely rubber-stamp royal decrees.

Many also questioned the Islamic credentials of the ruling family and spoke 
out against widespread corruption. In addition, they demanded a greater 
distribution of wealth, an end to torture, and a greater respect for rights 
enshrined in the Shari'a. Shari'a is Islamic holy law based on the Koran.

Opposition groups also strongly criticized the royal family's decision to 
allow US troops onto Saudi soil, as well as their overall close 
relationship with the US. Saudi Arabia is considered Holy Land, a place 
where non-believers of the Muslim faith should not tread.

Various petitions detailing these grievances were signed by clerics and 
intellectuals and circulated widely both within the country and among the 
international media.

Not surprisingly, the government was less than receptive to such open 
criticism. They responded by enacting a large-scale crackdown against the 
opposition, denouncing them as heretics. 15 members of the CDLR were 
arrested and many lost their jobs and had travel bans placed on them.

To prevent such groups from operating within the country, the government 
further curtailed freedom of expression, solidified their control over the 
media, and restricted information available to Saudis.

With a hostile environment in their home country, opposition groups such as 
the CDLR was forced to move their operations to London. Al-Fagih, who was a 
member of CDLR, continued to work on their behalf until 1996 when he split 
from the group over ideological differences and joined the London-based MIRA.

Violations of women's rights, the rights of minorities, and a general lack 
of religious tolerance also continued. Independent fact-finding missions to 
assess the level of human rights abuses in the country were not allowed by 
the government.

Finding a way around Saudi censors

With offices in London, MIRA was limited in its ability to initiate reform 
within Saudi Arabia. Smuggling in the occasional audio or videocassette 
tapes was not enough.

Mobilizing the Saudi population would require their access to information, 
something the government was well aware of and did its best to control. In 
fact, this is arguably one of the main reasons that the Saudi government 
was the last in the Gulf region to allow public access to the Internet.
The Saudi government filters Internet traffic entering the country.

When the Saudi government finally did grant legal access to the Internet in 
1999, there where already some 6,000 people surfing the Web clandestinely. 
Once it became legal, private Internet use increased and Internet cafés 
cropped up all around the country. There are currently an estimated 600,000 
Internet users and that number is constantly growing.

For MIRA, communicating its message of reform to Saudis through a Web site 
seemed like a logical choice.

But there's a catch. The government's need to control information and 
curtail freedom of speech and press extended to the Internet. In fact, the 
Internet only became legal for the public after the government had worked 
out a plan to ensure that it had complete control over this new medium.

With the help of US software firm Websense, the government created a 
central array of proxy servers through which all Internet traffic coming 
into the country is filtered and routed. An Internet Services Unit (ISU) 
was created to sort through Internet traffic and approve or restrict access 
to Web sites based on content they considered morally "undesirable," such 
as pornography and other offending materials.

The majority of the estimated 2,000 Web sites blocked by the ISU do in fact 
contain pornographic material. For those who constantly receive unwanted 
spam from pornographic sites or have clicked on seemingly innocent links 
only to be end up viewing pornography against their will, this may at first 
seem like a good idea.

However, the negative side is that the government is also able to block 
much more than just pornographic sites. It can and has restricted access to 
what it deems "politically sensitive" sites — sites that criticize the 
government and the royal family. It is no surprise then that MIRA's Web 
site has been blocked by the ISU. Another example of the types of sites 
blocked are those related to women's rights.

But many resourceful Saudis who want to visit blocked Web sites such as 
MIRA's have not been so easily deterred. They have managed to access them 
by dialing into servers of neighboring countries that do not practice 
Internet censorship. In fact, this was how many were able to access the 
Internet before it became legal. Others sometimes pay hackers, who are 
often found hanging around Internet cafes, to help them gain access to 
restricted sites.

On their end, MIRA has also found a way to outwit the ISU. By maintaining 
60,000 different proxy domains, it is able to quickly move its site to a 
new domain once the ISU finds and restricts access to MIRA's current site. 
Visitors log onto the site and are sent an automated e-mail giving them the 
new domain that has yet to be blocked. It normally takes the ISU a few days 
to restrict access and once this new site is blocked, MIRA moves its site 
again to another new domain and the story begins all over again.

Because the government's attempts to restrict access to MIRA's site 
continue to fail, MIRA is able to get information and statements to the 
Saudi people. Information from the Web site can also be printed and 
distributed to those who do not have Internet access. So far there is no 
known punishment for the "computer crime" of viewing a restricted Web site, 
although the government plans to institute such laws in the future.

MIRA has continued to look for new ways to distribute its message. In 
December 2002, it launched an opposition satellite station called Sawt 
Al-Islah (Voice of Reform) that can also be heard on short-wave radio. The 
station broadcasts in both Europe and the Middle East, including Saudi 
Arabia, and mainly consists of talk shows.

Although previous attempts to broadcast radio programs were unsuccessful 
because of the government's ability to apply pressure on the host country 
to shut them down, this time MIRA has refused to disclose the location of 
the station except for the broad hint that it is located somewhere in 
Europe. Saudi officials have thus far been unable to close Sawt Al-Islah.

The new radio station not only allows people to listen to the broadcast, 
but also lets them sound off on the government with little fear of 
harassment or arrest. By utilizing an Internet phone service called 
PalTalk, the station allows listeners to participate in the live program 
while protecting their anonymity.

PalTalk is a free service that combines instant messaging and Internet 
telephony to allow people around the world to communicate with one another 
through live video calls, voice chat rooms, instant messaging, and 
videoconferencing.

Its introduction in Saudi opposition politics has opened a new forum for 
Saudis to discuss politics and reform in the country, a major development 
for a population that has been a stranger to the benefits of free speech.

A move in the right direction

As MIRA continues to break down barriers to information, the government has 
surprisingly taken some tentative steps towards reform recently.

Last month Prince Abdullah met with a group of 40 Saudi reformers for the 
first time and listened to their demands for more freedom within the 
country and elections for the Shura Council. The meeting was prompted by a 
petition drafted by intellectuals calling for a transition to democracy 
that would include elections, judicial reform, and greater freedom of the 
press and respect for women's rights.

Then earlier this month, Prince Abdullah announced that widespread reforms 
would be instituted within the country including greater political 
participation and a move to democracy. He cited a decreased role for 
religious leaders in political, economic, and social issues and the 
withdrawal of US troops following an Iraqi disarmament that would pave the 
way for a six-year transitional period and the formation of an elected 
national council.

As dramatic as this announcement was, Prince Abdullah did not limit his 
talk of reform to Saudi Arabia. He also drafted a Charter for the Reform of 
the Arab Condition that he plans to submit for discussion at the Summit of 
the League of Arab States, scheduled to be held later this month in Cairo.

The League of Arab States was created in 1945 to achieve the coordination 
and integration among Arab countries on political, economic, and social 
issues. It is comprised of 22 countries spanning the Middle East and Africa.

Although imprecise, the Charter calls for Arab leaders to address the 
stagnation of economic, political, and social issues within the region that 
purportedly has resulted in a rise in fundamentalism. Such reforms are 
meant to increase regional capabilities in the face of a globalized world. 
Perhaps the Saudi government feels its standing in the region will be 
threatened if it is left behind by more progressive countries such as 
Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar that are already in the process of instituting 
many of these reforms.

While many remain skeptical about the resolve around such reforms, over the 
last month there has already been evidence of some progress. For example, 
last week Saudi officials released a national plan and a fund to fight 
poverty within the country. Announced following the Crown Prince's 
first-ever visit to the more destitute areas of the capital city of Riyadh, 
it marks the first time that the government officially acknowledged poverty 
despite the fact that estimates place the majority of the population as 
living below the poverty line.

Another development is the first visit by Human Rights Watch, an 
organization that documents human rights abuses in countries around the 
world, to Saudi Arabia. During the six-day visit they were allowed to talk 
with people and visit a number of places in the country to assess the human 
rights situation, something which had been denied to the group in the past.

The recent decision of the Shura Council to go against the will of the 
monarchy and reject a draft legislation proposed by the government that 
would impose income tax on foreigners was also an unprecedented surprise.

Yet, despite such promising events, it may be hard to get rid of old habits.

There have been reports that many powerful Saudi princes oppose the 
suggested reforms. As far as freedom of the press goes, denying the Arabic 
television station Al-Jazeera access to cover the hajj last week was not a 
good sign. The hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca that every able-bodied Muslim 
is required to make once in their lifetime.

It is unclear to what extent such reforms will impact on Internet 
censorship or for opposition parties such as the Movement for Islamic 
Reform in Arabia (MIRA).

The hope is that they will be able to return from exile and play a vital 
role in shaping the country's future.


Copyright (c) 2003 Digital Freedom Network (http://dfn.org). All rights 
reserved. This article may be reproduced or redistributed for online 
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