YemenOnline - Voice of Yemen : Search engine Yemenportal.net blocked

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Updated : Friday , 04/07/2008

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Is Yemen an Ally in the War on Terror?

By: MARK N. KATZ

May 17 Washington Post op-ed piece by Ali H. Soufan entitled, "Coddling Terrorists" decried how Yemen has let free some of al-Qaida terrorists responsible for the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole warship in the Yemeni port of Aden. In his article, Soufan (who played a key role in the FBI investigation of the ... >> More

How To Win The War Of Ideas

By: James K. Glassman

YemenOnline >> Varieties

Search engine Yemenportal.net blocked
Yemen Portal.net general manager Engineer Walid Al-Saqqaf denounced blocking his electronic site and considered the move by Yemeni authorities to be against freedom of opinion principles. In a statement a copy of which was received by Yemenonline, Al-Saqqaf called on the government and concerned authorities lift the blockage imposed on his site. He further called organizations interested in human rights and media freedom to stand against such practices that harm the country's democratic experience. "Suddenly, Yemenportal.net was blocked on Saturday evening and after verification we came to know that the blockage is confined to Yemen and surfers inside managed to access it through an alternative address, while other surfers outside the country accessed it without any difficulty." said the statement directed to the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate. Al-Saqqaf went on to say that he contacted the concerned authorities, but they denied their involvement. He noted that he consulted many experts who assured him that the engine could not be blocked only by the internet service provider in Yemen. He also noted that blocking Yemenportal.net affects media sources and thousands who benefit from the search service the site provides. Blocking Yemenportal.net came just three days before an introductory meeting due to be held on Tuesday in Yemen Times Newspaper's building and dedicated to discussing the blockage campaigns against some electronic website and the means by which they can stand such practices.