UAE ban on BlackBerry to protect security: official

The UAE has decided to ban Blackberry services to protect its security and prevent any attempts by criminals seeking to take advantage of the country’s liberalism for sabotage acts, a UAE official said on Monday.

Abdullah Al-Awadhi, a consultant at the National Human Resources Development and Recruitment Authority  a federal government body, said the UAE gives priority to its stability and sovereignty, adding that it would not allow free flow of information to be used by any party to penetrate its security.

In an article published by the Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), Awadi said the UAE strongly believes that “freedom is not without limits as it could become chaos” and would then endanger its national security and social stability.

“The UAE’s decision to ban Blackberry services is intended to stave off a confrontation with hostile parties and ideas, which could use a large part of the available freedom for other purposes at a time when terrorists and extremists are striking at countries and criminal gangs are stalking societies,” said Awadi, who worked as teacher of police sociology at Dubai Police Academy.

“The UAE gives priority to its security and sovereignty over anything else…..the UAE exercised the right of its sovereignty when it decided to suspend Blackberry services…any other country taking a similar decision should join the UAE in clearly defining its position regarding its sovereignty without hesitation.”

In an apparent reference to US statements, Awadi scoffed at the use of such expressions as “human rights” and “freedom of expression”, which he said means that “the UAE should allow its security to be compromised.

“This is a sovereign right for the UAE and it has to do directly with its security and stability…no one else has the right to question this right….like other countries seeking to protect their national security and stability, the UAE is not an exception…it has the right to confront those who seek to scuttle its security, whether they are terrorists, criminal gangs or those who spread rumors with the aim of harming the country’s stability, society and interests…,” Awadi said.

“The UAE government has decided to suspend Blackberry services only for objective and rational reasons that have nothing to do with the handset itself but with the possibility of abusing its services.”

Awadi, author of several books, said the UAE is not against the introduction of advanced technology as it allows the use of all other mobile handsets.

“If the UAE’s aim is to stop the Blackberry technology, it would not have allowed it in from the beginning…as the UAE authorities have made clear, the decision will not affect any other smart mobile device,” he said.

“The question which should be asked now is whether the UAE’s demands from the Canadian manufacturer of the Blackberry device are different from those made by India, China and other countries which sought the right to control the flow of information through that device…the UAE has asked for a server inside the country so it can control the flow of information through Blackberry but the request was rejected by the Canadian company, Research in Motion…for this reason, all the fuss we have seen about this subject is unjustified and the decision to suspend Blackberry services will not contravene the principle of freedom…I believe that Blackberry users here will not be harmed if their information is monitored by servers in the UAE or outside unless of course their communications do not serve the country’s national security.”

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