Rubber Hose Algorithm

[gimonca@skypoint.com (Charles Gimon)]

There's a lot of armchair theorizing on this list about government
oppression and such. For comparison purposes, here is a real-life 
example:

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From: 	hrwatchnyc@igc.org
Sent: 	15 Agustus 1996 7:00
Subject: 	Indonesia--Arrest of Lecturer for Internet Communication

Human Rights Watch sent the following letter, protesting the arrest of a
university lecturer for communicating on the Internet, to the Indonesian
government today.

August 14, 1996

His Excellency M. Arifin Siregar
Ambassador to the United States
Embassy of Indonesia
2020 Mass. Avenue, NW
Washington, DC  20036

Your Excellency:

     I am writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch/Asia to protest the 
arrest of Drs. Prihadi Beny Waluyo, a lecturer at Duta Wacana Christian 
University. Drs. Waluyo was arrested at his home by soldiers of the 
district military command. He was reportedly accused of distributing e-mail 
messages and also of sending messages relating to the July 27 riots to a 
destination in Holland. His arrest came after an unidentified person gave 
an officer photocopies of e-mail messages that were traced to Drs. Waluyo. 
The person claimed the printouts came from a store in Kebumen, a district 
of Yogyakarta.

     Following his arrest, Drs. Waluyo was interrogated by the military 
about his connections with the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD), which the 
government has accused of masterminding the riots, but he denied any 
involvement with the PRD. He acknowledged that he had sent messages over 
the Internet. Following his questioning, he was reportedly ordered to go to 
his home and was told to report to the district military command on a 
regular basis. He is said to be under strict surveillance.

     Human Rights Watch opposes actions by the Indonesian government to 
restrict electronic communication. As stated in Article 19 of the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights:

     Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression: this
     right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to
     seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and
     regardless of frontiers.

We believe that such forums provide a truly unique opportunity for people 
from around the globe to share their views with an international audience. 
By allowing unrestricted communication, important issues can receive the 
benefit of serious discussion by the broadest cross-section of society. If 
the Internet is to achieve its potential to become a global information 
infrastructure, it is important, at the present moment, to agree to allow 
its unrestricted development.

     We urge that Drs. Waluyi and every other citizen be allowed to receive 
and transmit electronic mail without fear of harassment, intimidation, or 
arrest.

Sincerely,
Sidney Jones
Executive Director
Human Rights Watch/Asia

cc:  His Excellency Nugroho Wisnumurti, Ambassador to the United Nations

Gopher Address://gopher.humanrights.org:5000
Listserv address: To subscribe to the list, send an e-mail message to
majordomo@igc.apc.org with "subscribe hrw-news" in the body of the message
(leave the subject line blank).

Human Rights Watch
485 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10017-6104
TEL: 212/972-8400
FAX: 212/972-0905
E-mail: hrwnyc@hrw.org

1522 K Street, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20005
TEL: 202/371-6592
FAX: 202/371-0124
E-mail: hrwdc@hrw.org

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ObCrypto:

On the brighter side, some individuals on soc.culture.indonesia
have become remailer users. Others have been forging Usenet
headers with varying degrees of success.