Afghanistan rejects Facebook ban amid election tensions
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 6 July 2014 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Afghanistan rejects Facebook ban amid election tensions, 6 July 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/53ce308ed.html [accessed 28 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
July 06, 2014
The Afghan government has rejected a proposal to ban Facebook during the current election crisis.
Fayeq Wahedi, a deputy presidential spokesman, told AFP the decision was made during a National Security Council meeting on July 6.
Last week, senators urged the government to ban Facebook until a new president was sworn in, saying it was inflaming ethnic tensions.
Social media has become a stage for hate speech between supporters of candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani.
The inflammatory language has had ethnic undertones.
Ghani attracts support from Pashtuns in the south and east, while Abdullah's loyalists are Tajiks in the north – echoing the ethnic divisions of the civil war in the 1990s.
Preliminary results of the election are expected on July 7.
But Abdullah has said he will not accept the results, claiming widespread fraud committed in favor of Ghani.
Based on reporting by AFP and Khaama
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
