Myanmar: Internet Blocked
The follwing post is from a Burmese blogger who wishes to remain anonymous.
There have been massive support from Myanmar bloggers for the current protest activities, and the whole Myanmar blogosphere is overwhelmed with news and photos. Because of that, Myanmar Junta got chickened out and banned the political blogs, almost immediately followed by banning the whole blogger domain hence all other Myanmar blogs. A few bloggers tried to bypass proxy and blog using email-to-blog techniques.
To make the matter worse, BaganNet, Myanmar main ISP has been shut down by so-called “maintenance reasons” and most of the telecommunication services have been cut off or tapped. Information flow out of the country has been strictly monitored and even the amateur photographers are warned to be very careful as the Junta is hunting down the sources.
Numbers of blog posts have been reduced tremendously these days; nevertheless it’s very encouraging to see that some freedom bloggers are still in contact with the outside world and are working their best to keep the world up-to-date with latest Myanmar news.
Among them Niknayman excelled in the usage of CBox (blog comment box) facility to report live news of Burma activities. http://niknayman.cbox.ws/ is been viewed by thousands of visitors 24/7 and is one of the main source of news for overseas Myanmar. Usefulness and popularity of his CBox is growing rapidly and some of them created a clone English version CBox http://burmanews.cbox.ws/ for internationalization.
Today entries include:
Ancient Ghost reported a blackout in Yangon.
Internet cafes were closed down. Both MPT ISP and Myanmar Teleport ISP cut down internet access in Yangon and Mandalay since this morning. The Junta try to prevent more videos, photographs and information about their violent crackdown getting out. I got a news from my friends that last night some militray guys searched office computers from Traders and Sakura Tower building. Most of the downtown movement photos were took from office rooms of those high buildings. GSM phone lines and some land lines were also cut out and very diffficult to contact even in local. GSM short message sending service is not working also. Burma is blacked out now!
Dr. Lun Swe‘s blog is another great source for latest photos and currently he blogged the photos of the prayer activities organized by some religious groups at Thai-Myanmar border.
Blogger Yan Aung proposes the Media Campaign. His aim is to free Burma within a year and his plans are:
- To help Myanmar bloggers to overcome with blogspot.com restriction,
- To utalize WordPress platform for future blogging,
- To let the world know about blood shed in Myanmar via Youtube videos,
- To distribute news photos to Major publishing agencies such as New York Times, Asahi Shinbon, Washington etc to get listed.
He's also trying to organize funding facilities for the protesters and is requesting multi-lingual translators for translation and effective communication with the international media.
Refugees Within blogs about a way to help the protesters in Burma.
A friend of mine has helped put an online donation mechanism together to get money to help support the protesters in Burma. There are already casualties and the medical services are not prepared to meet what is feared. I gave $30 here in Thailand and I trust the people behind this. Please think about doing the same: http://madnomad.com/ysb/
46 comments
I’ve been watching news that comes directly from Burma. The Myanmar junta has ordered people in the country side to come to support them in a meeting. Speechees were given on the protests that is happening in Yangon and other parts of Burma. In the speechees the protesters were described as traders and the monks that are leading the protests are spies. The protests are also described as worthless; that nothing is going to happen or change from protesting. The 1988 event described by one of the speaker from the meeting was something that was unnecessary and that military government or myanmar junta was the one that ended up saving Burma.
For those of the people who don’t know, news and medias in Burma are monitored by the military governments. Watching this new made me so angry since the people sitting and listening knows everything in the speeches are not true and yet they’re not saying anything. There are more than 3,000 people there plus the people giving the speeches. There is no reason to support the junta. Down with Myanmar Junta, Free Burma.
Support the protesters and join them. If every ethnic groups support the protesters and protests the military junta will have to give in. Burmese people need to come together in Burma. Today’s protests are planned out with more possibility of winning against the Myanmar junta. These protests will succeed and must succeed, today.
The junta will not succed in fooling everyone this time.
FREE BURMA. FREE BURMA. DOWN WITH JUNTA.
Any government that attacks peaceable civilians and interferswith religions freedom is not a government at all-it is a barabaric and evil collage-an embarassment to humanity and civilized socity. I urge all nations to boycott the 2008 Olympics if Russia and China do not join the U.S. in bringing this military junta to its end.
PEOPLE ARE TEH GREATEST RESOURCE!!!!
Whats new? I lived and worked in Burma for 2 years and internet was constantly blocked! Mobile phones were also not allowed along with laptops unless you knew the right person. you could buy a sim card at 3.000usd however! Satellite could be turned off at a moments notice along with electricıty, we were lucky to have 6 hrs power per day for 6 months of the year. Sanctions is not the answer, do you know how many Burmese people would suffer from losing their jobs with foregn NGO’s or companies? is the government going to feed them? NO! its all too easy to shout sanctions but think who are affected by these certainly not Than Swe
In Mandalay, people are not allowed to go out by 10pm-to-4am.
Internet is opened only within that time. So, Internet cafes are useless for people, right now. But, today Internet is opened from 12am to 4:30pm.
Demonstrations of supporting to government doing in almost all 14 divisions and states of Burma are arranged and forced by government.It is not the real people’s voice.
Thoses are real news from Burma.