|
Sunday April 23 12:17 PM ET
Myanmar's rulers block Internet By MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press Writer
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Dozens of key-tapping students stare intently at computer screens in a cramped classroom three floors up a crumbling colonial terrace in downtown Yangon. At the private Knowledge, Management and Dedication Co. computer study center, these eager teens learn everything from operating systems like Microsoft Windows to programming. But there's one glaring gap in the curriculum: the Internet. While the rest of developing Asia is rushing headlong into
the information technology revolution, Myanmar's unelected military rulers
forbid cyberspace, fearing it could open up a Pandora's box of dissent.
Sales of computers are growing rapidly in Myanmar's otherwise sluggish economy. The 100-member Myanmar Computer Federation estimates there are more than 50,000 computers in this land of 48 million people, one of the world's poorest. But networking between those computers and the outside world is still forbidden. A 1996 law imposes a 7- to 15-year jail term for the unauthorized ownership of a modem. ``If we go online, I expect we won't be able to see politics,'' said Maung Thwin, 17, one of more than 3,000 youths competing for 300 to 400 places this year at Yangon's Computer Science University. Pro-democracy campaigners abroad have set up dozens of Internet sites and Web discussion groups critical of the Myanmar regime, which is widely accused of abusing its citizens' human rights and suppressing democracy. Most of those sites are brim with words and images of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader of the party that captured 1990 general elections but was never allowed to take power. Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military for nearly 40 years. ``Why would we want to collect garbage, as it were, in our own homes?'' a government spokesman, Lt. Col. Hla Min, said when asked about banning Burmese from seeing foreign-produced pro-democracy Web sites like www.burmanet.org. ``We want to use the Internet for constructive purposes to improve the knowledge of our people, not as a platform for troublemakers to create problems,'' he said. But while the regime produces its own colorful Web site, www.myanmar.com, and has the capacity to provide the public with Internet access, it chooses to keep the international information spigot closed. Even e-mail has struggled for official acceptance. Three years after it was first introduced, e-mail remains restricted to a few hundred foreigners and to privileged Myanmar officials and businessmen with close ties to the government. In January, the government's own Internet server, which cost $1.5 million to install, went into general service after 11/2 years of delays. The server, owned by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, is set to provide e-mail for about 600 users in Yangon and Mandalay. Access to the World Wide Web, however, will remain restricted to a few select government insiders. The new server will restore service to the hundreds of frustrated e-mail users cut off by the government in December when it abruptly pulled the plug on five private e-mail providers. Those services had been set up without the government's explicit authorization and the episode underlined state paranoia about cyberspace. ``We were operating in the gray,'' said Pat James, the Texan boss of the longest-running private provider, the Eagle Group, one of those shut down. ``Ministers were well aware of what we were doing but we were treated like common criminals.'' Technicians and managers were hauled in for questioning. Despite self-censorship in its operations, including a refusal to pass burmanet's daily news roundups in e-mail form to a client - the British Embassy in Yangon - Eagle had thousands of dollars of equipment confiscated. The ministry declared that only it was authorized to provide e-mail and began taking applications for its new service. What about the Internet, which senior officials have been promising since 1998? If the experience of more prosperous China is anything to go by, Myanmar will struggle to censor any Net service it does provide with filtering software. In China, the government has set up a special Internet police unit and has even jailed a few users for posting information purported to pose a national security threat. But opinions critical of China's government still appear in local chat rooms. And while Chinese authorities do intermittently block access to foreign Web sites they deem unacceptable, savvy users often set up alternate ``proxy'' servers to get around this. Burma's government is still trying to figure out how to control the information flow. And it's being cagey about exactly when it will make the World Wide Web available to the select audience, though it did issue rules in January governing Internet use. No prizes for guessing what is expressly forbidden: politics. Monday, April 24 9:11 AM SGT
Myanmar Blocks Internet, Fearing Free-Speech Pandora Box YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--Dozens of key-tapping students stare
intently at computer screens in a cramped classroom three floors up a crumbling
colonial terrace in downtown Yangon.
At the private Knowledge, Management and Dedication Co. computer study center, these eager teens learn everything from operating systems like Microsoft Windows to programming. But there's one glaring gap in the curriculum: the Internet. While the rest of developing Asia is rushing headlong into the information technology revolution, Myanmar's unelected military rulers forbid cyberspace, fearing it could open up a Pandora's box of dissent. Sales of computers are growing rapidly in Myanmar's otherwise sluggish economy. The 100-member Myanmar Computer Federation estimates there are more than 50,000 computers in this land of 48 million people, one of the world's poorest. But networking between those computers and the outside world is still forbidden. A 1996 law imposes a seven- to 15-year jail term for the unauthorized ownership of a modem. "If we go online, I expect we won't be able to see politics," said Maung Thwin, 17, one of more than 3,000 youths competing for 300 to 400 places this year at Yangon's Computer Science University. Dozens Of
Pro-Democracy Web Sites, Discussion Groups
Pro-democracy campaigners abroad have set up dozens of Internet sites and Web discussion groups critical of the Myanmar regime, which is widely accused of abusing its citizens' human rights and suppressing democracy. Most of those sites brim with words and images of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader of the party that captured the 1990 general elections but was never allowed to take power. Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military for nearly 40 years. "Why would we want to collect garbage, as it were, in our own homes?" a government spokesman, Lt. Col. Hla Min, said when asked about banning Burmese from seeing foreign-produced pro-democracy Web sites such as www.burmanet.org. "We want to use the Internet for constructive purposes to improve the knowledge of our people, not as a platform for troublemakers to create problems," he said. But while the regime produces its own colorful Web site, www.myanmar.com, and has the capacity to provide the public with Internet access, it chooses to keep the international information spigot closed. Even e-mail has struggled for official acceptance. Three years after it was first introduced, e-mail remains restricted to a few hundred foreigners and to privileged Myanmar officials and businessmen with close ties to the government. In January, the government's own Internet server, which cost $1.5 million to install, went into general service after 1 1/2 years of delays. The server, owned by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, is set to provide e-mail for about 600 users in Yangon and Mandalay. Access to the World Wide Web, however, will remain restricted to a few select government insiders. The new server will restore service to the hundreds of frustrated e-mail users cut off by the government in December when it abruptly pulled the plug on five private e-mail providers. Those services had been set up without the government's explicit authorization and the episode underlined state paranoia about cyberspace. "We were operating in the gray," said Pat James, the Texan boss of the longest-running private provider, the Eagle Group, one of those shut down. "Ministers were well aware of what we were doing but we were treated like common criminals." Technicians and managers were hauled in for questioning. Despite self-censorship in its operations, including a refusal to pass burmanet's daily news roundups in e-mail form to a client - the British Embassy in Yangon - Eagle had thousands of dollars of equipment confiscated. Only Govt Ministry Authorized To Provide E-Mail The ministry declared that only it was authorized to provide e-mail and began taking applications for its new service. What about the Internet, which senior officials have been promising since 1998? If the experience of more prosperous China is anything to go by, Myanmar will struggle to censor any Net service it does provide with filtering software. In China, the government has set up a special Internet police unit and has even jailed a few users for posting information purported to pose a national security threat. But opinions critical of China's government still appear in local chat rooms. And while Chinese authorities do intermittently block access to foreign Web sites they deem unacceptable, savvy users often set up alternate "proxy" servers to get around this. Burma's government is still trying to figure out how to control the information flow. And it's being cagey about exactly when it will make the World Wide Web available to the select audience, though it did issue rules in January governing Internet use. No prizes for guessing what is expressly forbidden: politics. Monday, April 24 2:09 PM SGT
Myanmar students ask Japan to pressure junta on educationBANGKOK, April 24 (AFP) -Exiled Myanmar students Monday called on Japan to push for the reopening of universities which have been stifled for three years by Yangon authorities who view them as hotbeds of unrest. The All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) said it was concerned that a new scholarship program signed between Japan and Myanmar would be exploited by the junta. It called on Japan to demand that all universities should be reopened and that classes should take place in the same location as before. There have been complaints from exiles that although some universities have been partially reopened, classes have been moved outside metropolitan areas. The authorities say the move was motivated by the need for more space, but students claim the government is wary of allowing large groups of students to congregate in populous areas. Universities have been regarded as hotbeds of political militancy since widespread pro-democracy protests erupted in Myanmar in 1988. The ABSDF also called on Japan to fight for the release of student leaders jailed in Myanmar for political activities and to push for the introduction of a fair education system. It accused the government of ignoring the needs of a generation of Myanmar youth to "develop scholars for the military mechanism." "Therefore although the entire national education system has become poor and has deteriorated, the military institutions have become stronger than before," it said in a statement. The ABSDF suspects that students with a military background will be given priority in the Japanese scheme. "Students who are poor and brilliant won't be able to join if the regime initiates these programs." Myanmar exile and opposition groups are becoming increasingly concerned that Japan is developing links with Myanmar which are potentially detrimental to their campaign against the military government. In a New Year's message in January, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi criticised Asian nations for a "lack of compassion" for failing to support the democracy movement. "As the richest Asian country and as a democracy Japan has a duty to promote human rights and democracy in other parts of Asia. "We hope the year 2000 will see a blossoming of Japanese interest in human rights and democracy." Aung San Suu Kyi's complaints came a month after former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto held talks with leaders of the military government during a mission to size up the needs of Myanmar's limping economy. The opposition leader's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a crushing election victory 10 years ago but the military has refused to hand over power.. Silicon Valley Posted at
At the private Knowledge, Management and Dedication Co. computer study
center, these eager teens learn everything from operating systems like Microsoft
Windows to programming.
While the rest of developing Asia is rushing headlong into the information
technology revolution, Burma's unelected military rulers forbid cyberspace,
fearing it could open up a Pandora's box of dissent.
Sales of computers are growing rapidly in the otherwise sluggish economy of
this Southeast Asian country also known as Myanmar. The 100-member Myanmar
Computer Federation estimates that there are more than 50,000 computers in this
land of 48 million people, one of the world's poorest.
But networking between those computers and the outside world is forbidden. A
1996 law imposes a seven- to 15-year jail term for the unauthorized ownership of
a modem.
``If we go online, I expect we won't be able to see politics,'' said Maung
Thwin, 17, one of more than 3,000 youths competing for 300 to 400 places this
year at the Computer Science University in Rangoon.
Pro-democracy campaigners abroad have set up dozens of Internet sites and Web
discussion groups critical of the Burmese regime, which is widely accused of
abusing its citizens' human rights and suppressing democracy.
Most of those sites are brim with words and images of Aung San Suu Kyi, the
Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader of the party that captured 1990 general
elections but was never allowed to take power. Burma has been ruled by the
military for nearly 40 years.
``Why would we want to collect garbage, as it were, in our own homes?'' a
government spokesman, Lt. Col. Hla Min, said when asked about banning Burmese
from seeing Web sites like www.burmanet.org that are
foreign-produced and pro-democracy.
``We want to use the Internet for constructive purposes to improve the
knowledge of our people, not as a platform for troublemakers to create
problems,'' he said.
But while the regime in Rangoon, the capital whose official name is Yangon,
produces its own colorful Web site (www.myanmar.com), and has the capacity to
provide the public with Internet access, it chooses to keep the international
information spigot closed.
Even e-mail has struggled for official acceptance. Three years after it was
first introduced, e-mail remains restricted to a few hundred foreigners and to
privileged Burmese officials and businessmen with close ties to the government.
In January, the government's own Internet server, which cost $1.5 million to
install, went into general service after 1 1/2 years of delays.
The server, owned by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, is set to
provide e-mail for about 600 users in Rangoon and Mandalay. Access to the World
Wide Web, however, will remain restricted to a few select government insiders.
The new server will restore service to the hundreds of frustrated e-mail
users cut off by the government in December when it abruptly pulled the plug on
five private e-mail providers.
Those services had been set up without the government's explicit
authorization and the episode underlined state paranoia about cyberspace.
``We were operating in the gray,'' said Pat James of Texas, the boss of the
longest-running private provider, the Eagle Group, one of those shut down.
``Ministers were well aware of what we were doing but we were treated like
common criminals."
|