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TBILISI: Yerevan Blaming Georgia In "Internet Blockade"

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  • TBILISI: Yerevan Blaming Georgia In "Internet Blockade"

    YEREVAN BLAMING GEORGIA IN "INTERNET BLOCKADE"

    The Messenger, Georgia
    Aug. 14, 2006

    Rezonansi reports that for the last few days internet availability in
    Armenia has been unreliable. Armenia blames Georgia in this, as the
    only cable that connects Armenia to global computer networks passes
    through Georgia.

    The issue was discussed at the government session in Yerevan, although
    any decisions are not yet publicly known. Tbilisi officials state it
    is absurd to blame Georgia for an "internet blockade."

    According to the paper, the private owner of the cable is a Georgian
    company, Fobt-Net, has itself been seriously damaged from this. The
    Armenian network operator Armentel said that first the cable was
    damaged near Kutaisi on August 4, which cut off Armenia from the
    internet for six hours. This was followed by further damage of
    the cable running along the Black Sea seabed, which disconnected
    Armenia from the internet for three days. On August 8, Armentel's
    press secretary Asmik Chutlian stated that the internet connection
    was restored with the help of reserve sources and satellite feeds,
    though the repair works would take more than ten days. However, the
    next day the connection was again broken off somewhere in Georgian,
    according to Chutilian.

    The issue was taken seriously by Armenian President Robert Kocharian,
    who himself took part in the discussion of the problem.

    The paper writes that the manager of Fobt-Net, Viktor Nanobashvili,
    suggested that a passing ship could have been one of the causes of
    damage to the Black Sea portion of the cable.

    "I cannot say exactly that it was a ship's fault, but I can assure
    everyone that the investigation will be carried out to reveal the
    reasons of the damage," he said.

    "The statements blaming Georgia have been made earlier as well,
    although it is not fair to politicize the issue as if Georgian
    government is to blame for what happened," Nanoboashvili stated.
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