[Asia Internet Rights Conference] Special Interview with Toshimaru Ogura
Toshimaru Ogura is a board member of JCA-Net(an ICT NGO in Japan). Its goals are to establish an electronic network that transcends national boundaries and organizational distinctions. Now they are trying to create internet services for progressive activists who wish to publicize their struggles and to learn more about people's movements around the world.
Base21 Staff Reporter, PatchA met two representatives from JCA-Net. They talked about the situation of Japanese ICTs and what's the role of this conference.
Source : BASE21
Q: What are your current activities?
A: In partnership with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), we are now working on a number of issues, including internet policies of privacy and wiretapping by the police. We have fought against the wiretapping law for some time now. This law is very dangerous. The government can intercept phone communication or use a digital recording system to capture and track e-mail. We tried to publicize this in Japan, but it was very difficult to do so.
We also plan to protest against the Cyber Crime Treaty in Europe. If it is passed, free speech rights will be seriously undermined. Every online demonstration will be made illegal, although these actions are very similar to offline demonstrations like rallies in front of government buildings. We will try to stop the passing of this act.
Q: What do you think about the situation of ICTs and their relationship with social movements in Asia?
A: The Asian situation is very different from that of North America and Europe. In Asia there are two ICT regions--developed and developing area. South Korea, Japan, and Singapore are advanced, but India and Bangladesh are underdeveloped. Many countries don't have a public internet infrastructure. I know that Microsoft Windows is not available in Bangladesh at all.
Also there are many problems related to the "digital divide." Discrimination based on language, religion, sex and region prevent many people from using the internet. We have tried to solve these problems of accessibility.
There are many issues surrounding ICT government policies, such as censorship, privacy, governance, and intellectual property rights. The policies of the government are directly effected by neo-liberalism and capitalism. In light of this relationship, the internet contents rating system, the cyber crime treaty, and the wiretapping law will seriously violate human rights and civil liberties. They are very undemocratic.
I think that JCA-Net and Jinbonet should do their best to stop this trend and find out ways to democratize ICT policies. In this struggle, the role of Korean social movements are very important because ICTs and civil society activities have much influence on other nations in Asia. This conference will be a very good opportunity to gain experience and prepare counterplans.
Q: Please, tell me about the Rapid Reponse System (RRS).
A: In short, the RRS is to make mirror sites. If a website is shut down by the police, we will make a mirror site on another nation's server. The Anti-POSCO website (http://antiposco.nodong.net) and the Anti-Kang Chul-gu website (http://antikcg.jinbo.net/) are two examples of progressive websites that have been shut down by government authorities. We will make a more practical network for this problem.
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