Gambia : VIBER ALERT, some tips

The dictatorial regime in The Gambia has been trying to interfere with VIBER, the free messaging and internet calling app.  The growing popularity of Viber as well as similar services like Skype, has been a thorn on the side of the Jammeh regime for the past few years, not only because it is free to call anywhere in the world but it provides a channel of communication that was secure enough to withstand the preying ears, if you will, of an increasingly desperate and isolated regime.

However, these past days have seen attempts by the dictatorship in Banjul to interrupt Viber services.  This is, of course, not the first time that the Jammeh regime tried to censor the internet.  You will recall that last year, Jammeh attempted to ban all local and international calls using Viber and Skype which, according to a government announcement, cause "major financial loss."

We managed to place calls to Banjul using Viber and discovered that there are some who are indeed experiencing interruption of service for the past couple of days.  There are, however, a few who have already resolved the problem by simply downloading other apps to get around what appears to be a nuisance.

To get around Yaya Jammeh, download VPN or virtual private network software which allows you to be assigned random IP address which changes every time you use Viber.  We were told that the persons engaged by the regime to interfere with the internet are "amateurs who will only succeed in damaging their servers."

Pass it on, and we hope you will restore the unlimited and uninterrupted service you come to expect from the internet-based communications apps.

As for the regime of Yaya Jammeh, it would be far easier to pursue policies that address the concerns of citizens than be concerned with who speaks with whom and about what; it is  futile exercise and a losing one at that.