The following is the original interview between Bhutanomics and KUENSEL, of which only a tiny bit was used by KUENSEL in their story
Q. Well firstly, I haven’t yet confirmed with Druknet/BICMA if Bhutanomics is indeed blocked, but attempts to access it so far seem to indicate it is.
A. Bhutanomics hasn’t been accessible in Bhutan since 12 Jan 2013. Strange thing is its still viewable through a proxy server.
Just as a precaution, have you checked with your own web host to eliminate any technical reasons?
Our website is firing on all cylinders. Bhutanomics is accessible everywhere in the world except Bhutan. Why would we spend precious little money we have to run a website that doesn’t work?
If it is indeed blocked, like what happened to the previous version of Bhutan Times, then my question to you would be whether you think this censorship of free speech, and why?
Obviously it is. Bhutanomics is not like the old website bhutantimes. In that most of the focus was on anti-national rhetoric by people in the camps. Only prior to the 2008 elections did bhutantimes begin to approach domestic politics and that was restricted to bashing one main person contesting for prime minister. We suppose, if Bhutanomics did that i.e. bash someone other than the ruling government (we could even bash the country it seems) we would not be banned. We would be welcomed.
As you can see Bhutanomics has no affiliation. Everyone is a fair target. Everyone is allowed to contribute. The central theme is that we care for the country and each article is about something that makes us worried, whether it is bad policy or personality flaws or sheer stupidity on the part of those in power.
If you aspire to positions of power, you must be able to take the brickbats. In America, groups have questioned openly the very citizenship of the president.
If the PM can take unlimited praise such as “JYT phenomenon”, “world statesman”, “no other leader like him”, “solver of the Amochu problem,” and so on, then he should be able to accept that there are others who think otherwise.
If meetings and conferences were open and criticism and argument were permitted instead of avenged by the government (such as with many civil servants, dzongdags and newspapers) then Bhutanomics may be unnecessary.
But with the lack of space for free criticism we have to resort to this.
By banning us, the ruling government has joined that very special group of governments in North Korea, Cuba, China, Syria, etc., where there is censorship of the internet.
How would you respond to comments that some material on your website is defamatory/personal attacks/perhaps could undermine a free and fair elections?
The stories that we have published are all contributed by people – people who are concerned about the state of the country. We just provide the platform and the security for those people to express themselves.
The parts considered unbearable by those in power are what in other countries is called satire and lampooning. Check out NDTV’s political cartoon or The Onion in the US or the numerous ones in the UK.
Banning criticism is really the situation where free and fair elections are not possible.
What is the purpose of Bhutanomics? And when was it established?
We have been around since the beginning of 2012. We think of ourselves as the Bhutan analyzers who try to keep up with the happenings in the corridors of power. We try to keep a check on the ballooning egos of the powerful so that they don’t forget the people are watching.
Given presence of proxy servers, Facebook, and Twitter, does such a block really matter to you?
The block proves that our government cannot stand any form of criticism. That matters to us. If they are sincerely doing their duty why would they be averse to criticism?
Yes proxy servers means people can still read bhutanomics but that’s not the point. If people feel a certain way about something they should be allowed to say it. Why block them? It’s a futile exercise. You can’t block the internet in this day and age. Instead the government should read between the lines of the satire and try to correct their mistakes.
We have to know our limitations when it comes to freedom of speech. Bhutan is still a young democracy and we should not expect miracles overnight. If we have a choice between two evils, naturally we would go for the lesser evil. JYT is no angel but at least he is trying. By the way I did not vote in the first elections and neither do I intend to this year..
Samurai,
I am telling you, sorry to have to say it, but we Bhutanese are such pathetic creatures, we never want our neighbor, friend or anyone to succeed. At every opportunity, there are people willing to bring down someone and to vilify them. Whoever wins the elections, this mindset of ours is not going to change. In this way, far from attracting young bright people to politics, it will rather drive them away from having anything to do with politics. When this happens, we as a country lose.
I used to enjoy reading bhutanomics but not anymore. You are undermining the people of Bhutan by alleging that the PM has blocked your site. He will never stoop to your level. And if i may ask you to prove it, will you be able to do that? I think your team must have pulled it off with some webpage specification/alteration to garner publicity and to discredit JYT. And what you did to the picture is disgusting.
freedom of speech doesn’t include libel and defamation. right to information doesn’t mean compromising national security and sovereignty. I use to go through ur website not coz i like it but to see how biased u r in ur articles. i am Bhutanese citizen residing in foreign land and ur articles are as a matter of fact are of shocking resource even for them too. Democracy means democracy and it would be better to have better democracy. there are ways to confer information in our own Bhutanese ways. please being a young democratic nation Bhutan should at all copy the norms of matured nations. i too like being critics but should understand fact before actually articulating. china- bhutan friendship, PM and DPT etc are all national issues ya. please, i regret but have to say… u are never being fair to our Tsa-Wa-sum.
Dear Critics,
Much appreciated for your fluent and very thoughtful observation about the issues and deliberations. You are spot on when you say “Freedom of speech does not include defamation and right to information does not mean compromising national security’. But, do you take into account about the fact that the voices of the people are being muted and do you consider this to be the practice and the principles of freedom of speech, and in what ways could it be more threatening to sovereignty of the national when the government brandish the opposition of the government in the parliament It is sheer autocracy and that is more dangerous than an underground movement or an open revolt.
Further elaborations on the stages of democracy would be more enlightening in particular the categorisation of a young and old democratic nation, I believed democracy was a way of life and a style of gelling up the society.I thought there is no such issues of old and the new nations or systems.
What are the articulated facts? In my experiences in reading about Bhutan and its political system I have not seen nor heard about any dossier on articulated facts. If there be a classified dossier a nation would be very sensitive to put up such an issue in a parliament. So why is it an issue when things come out about the system and the people responsible in running the system.
What would you expect if some random lad sneaked up in your house and got hold of your prized possession, and threaten you to court saying that you have stolen it from him. How would you react?
How low could one stoop when one mix up politics with personal life, mix up public fund with party fund, mix up tax payer’s money with contingency fund. Directing media what to print in the next morning’s front pages. Fleeing your beloved country to the helms of European Alps in the midst of crises. Coming back and mixing up the very roots of society. Tell me how low could one stoop. Tell me more about it?
When given a chance we expect him to stand up not stoop low.
Show us the tangible proof and his credentials as a magnified statesman, I personally think we made a huge blunder by sitting atop a chair a man who seems very confused about his own roots. Selected the weakest ‘demkhong’ to win his way up to the top. Is that credible? Is that justifiable fro all the masses of the populace? Is that accountability?
Where is the good governance and sustainability to whatever bills they have passed?
And now ask for Freedom of speech and condemn the very voice who questions you, and now you brand me as a typical stereotyped blind follower and then brand me as the biased traitor.
Ask for blood and would you expect some body to fetch you a pail of water.
Jamyang Y S
‘Dungsam Khotsha’
Nanong Pemagatshel
Pemagatshepa
Since you find so much fault, I hope you will put your money where your mouth is and join politics, so that you can put into practice what you preach. Otherwise, just shut up.
Voices of the people are being muted, can you please expand on this statement.
Dear khotsa I am also from nangnong shumar consituency and you are too. If you are not happy with the hon’be PM then please participate in upcoming elections and I will vote for you. If you don’t then I, like all others, will vote for PM only and you will continue like this forever.
“If people feel a certain way about something, they should be allowed to say it…”. I think people who feel a certain way should not only say it but say it openly…not from behind masks!
When it is anonymous, it has almost no credibility. Be brave, be like Tenzin Lamzang!
well, what is more important, the material / contents / information or the contributor? It is up to us, the viewers/readers to judge and discard if any wrong or untrue stories are disseminated.
ok…so may assume this to be by TL too…:)
There is no reason for the Government to ban this site which offers another perspective to the mundane stories in Kuensel and other media. After all, Bhutanese are not so stupid to take all the craps in this website without any discernment. Looking at the way comments are posted against one another and against each articles, people are using their brains to pass judgments. However, I hate the idea that any plausible criticism against the government should be labelled as anti-national and seditious. People overly sensitive to criticisms are paranoid, and we can straight away see their character through their words. At any rate, any article that poses serious threat to the nation’s security should be carefully contested. There are patriotic Bhutanese spread all over the world, and they will do their job in countering any false information about Bhutan.
I could see a very strong reason why BHUTANOMICS should be censored. People would like to discuss in a forum where they could share concerns and give suggestions. The forum should create a platform where people could discuss genuine issues.
However, Bhutanomics is a form which was started by an ANTI-NATIONAL with worst of intentions. I don’t think this site has any credibility in the Bhutanese society. I have been following this site since its inception but never found a topic that is realistic. The pioneer of this site is not a CRITIQUE but a TRAITOR and AS YOU ALL KNOW the difference between this this two terms.
IT seems like he is saying MARAY!!!!! LOL
Is this for REAL????