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From what I’ve gathered, disenfranchised citizens in Baghdad are protesting, and the government has responded by shutting down the internet. I understand it’s r
by reubens 7y ago
From what I’ve gathered, disenfranchised citizens in Baghdad are protesting, and the government has responded by shutting down the internet. I understand it’s reactionary but what is their logic here?
- whatevertrevor 7y agoYou mean the logic in shutting down the internet? Countries do that these days (see Kashmir) to keep the protests under control by blocking communication and collaboration among the protesters. It increases the barrier to discovery and participation in a protest basically.
- reubens 7y agoThanks. It seemed to me counterintuitive to respond to protests about inadequate services by cutting off another service (fanning the flames)
- ineedasername 7y agoYes, there's another comment here somewhere that points to a study where showing violence tends to increase post-shutdown compared to leaving communications open. I suppose leaving things open lets people organize more, but they tend to be more peaceful in those gatherings. Just supposition though.
- iamsb 7y agoThe shutdown in Kashmir is mostly to stop communications coming in from outside of India, mostly terrorist outfits in countries like Pakistan. There is lot of evidence in last 30 years or so how Kashmir becomes violent and how violent "protests" are organised with funding from state and non state actors from other countries.
- sbmthakur 7y agoSince you have mentioned Kashmir, I must point that protests in Kashmir have been historically violent and have even led to deaths of tourists. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/body-of-thirumani-to-reach-chennai-on-may-8/article23812095.ece https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/body-of-thiruma...
- TeMPOraL 7y agoI'd guess the control of communication channels. Attempt at making it more difficult for the protesters to organize and/or gather international support.