Print
Close
Rihanna draws attention to India’s months-long farmers protest amid report of internet blackout
By Edmund DeMarche
Published February 03, 2021
Singer Rihanna took to Twitter on Tuesday to call attention to the months-long farmers’ protest in India that included tens of thousands of farmers camping on roads in the dead of winter around New Delhi and a violent clash last weekend at the capital’s Red Fort complex.
These farmers have been fiercely critical of three farm bills that have been endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These farmers say the laws were passed without their knowledge and amount to their "death warrant." They say-- among other issues-- it makes their survival against major agriculture conglomerates nearly impossible.
Modi has insisted that farmers will benefit the most from the laws.
"When we remove these existing barriers, farmers will get more income and the advantages of technology, like processing, cold chain, storing and logistics. And there will be more investment in this agriculture sector. It will be the farmers themselves who will get the most benefit out of it," the prime minister," he said, according to a paper from the country.
Rihanna’s tweet that read, "Why aren’t we talking about this," and linked to a CNN report. The report said that the country cut off its internet around the capital due to last weekend’s clash that resulted in the death of one protester. Four hundred police officers were injured. Reuters, citing two unnamed sources, also reported that Twitter blocked dozens of accounts in the country "on the demand of the government."
Twitter did not immediately respond to an email from Fox News. A spokeswoman told Reuters, "If we receive a properly scoped request from an authorized entity, it may be necessary to withhold access to certain content in a particular country from time to time."
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/rihanna-draws-attention-to-indias-months-long-farmers-protest-amid-report-of-internet-blackout