Internet governance not a US preserve

Internet governance not a US preserve - Mugabe

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The following are notes from President Robert Mugabe's speech presented at the WSIS meeting in Tunis on Wednesday:

WE MEET on the occasion of the second phase of WSIS in order to make another imprint on a journey that began in 1998... for a global meeting to promote greater society on what is commonly known as the information society. It's indeed fitting that the Tunis phase should take place in Africa, where the idea of that summit was born...

ICTs can be a useful tool in generating economic growth and employment creation, improving productivity and quality of life for all people.... On one level, this summit provides an opportunity for the global family of nations to address this need....

We attach special importance to the establishment of the digital solidarity fund and trust it will play a positive role in expanding access to ICTs.

I believe that WSIS has achieved one of its initial aims of fostering the full range of opportunities presented by ICTs.

Zimbabwe is concerned that the Internet is being used to undermine a country's values, including child pornography, cyber crime and cyber terrorism.

We also challenge the issue of Internet governance where one or two countries insist on being world policemen on the management and administration of the Internet. We must allow for a more transparent and multilateral approach to Internet governance.

Why should our diverse world be beholden to an American company? And without clear financing mechanisms to bridge the digital divide, all of this work may be doomed...

The west's resistance to the solidary fund may spell doom for all things developed in this process. Suppose they are being rejected because they are not being managed by the Breton Woods institutions on the strengths of the west's industrial designs?
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