The birth of the internet was cutting edge technology for many of us; it gave us a new platform to share our thoughts, views and in some cases, our most personal feelings that has been suppressed within us, sometimes by ourselves and sometimes by others. In this sense, the internet has become a platform for those who are seeking to establish their right to existence, expression, etc in this world. But sadly, autocratic regimes, like in the Maldives, have chosen to block our access to those websites that exposes the repressive regimes and our calls for freedom.
Irrepressible.info is an Amnesty International campaign, (with the support of The Observer UK newspaper), to show that online or offline the human voice and human rights are impossible to repress.
In the Maldives, President Gayoom (in power for the last 28 years) had managed to silence any voice of dissent quite successfully until the birth of the internet which gave people a new way of showing the abuse that they have suffered at his hands. The pioneering e-magazine Sandhaanu was the first of its kind that was able to highlight the brutal practices of this regime. Others soon followed such as the popular "Dhivehi Observer" .
How did Gayoom (or Golhaabo as he is now popularly known as) react? By hunting down the owners of Sandhaanu, imprisoning them and torturing them. He now blocks Dhivehi Observer and all other websites critical of his regime (although we are able to access them through mirror sites)
But he must know that his days of repressing his people are numbered. He cannot stop us now.
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