[Reader-list] BURMA: How The Govt Shut The Internet

[Naeem Mohaiemen]

BURMA: Two reports - Internet Shutdown & Human Rights
http://www.sajaforum.org/2007/10/burma-two-repor.html

One of the most stunning aspects of the recent Burma crisis has been the way
the government there so effectively shutdown access to the Internet going in
and out of the country. As a result, information just withered and so did
international attention.

To help understand how the government did it and the implications of its
tactics, you should read the OpenNet Initiative's new report, "Pulling the
Plug: A Technical Review of the Internet Shutdown in Burma." It begins:
>>>
This bulletin examines the role of information technology, citizen journalists,
and bloggers in Burma and presents a technical analysis of the abrupt shutdown
of Internet connectivity by the Burmese government on September 29, 2007,
following its violent crackdown on protesters there. Completely cutting
international Internet links is rare. Nepal, which severed all international
Internet connections when the King declared martial law in February 2005, is
the only other state to take such drastic action. Although extreme, the
measures taken by the Burmese government to limit citizens' use of the Internet
during this crisis are consistent with previous OpenNet Initiative (ONI)
findings in Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Tajikistan, where authorities controlled
access to communication technologies as a way to limit social mobilization
around key political events. What makes the Burmese junta stand out, however,
is its apparent goal of also preventing information from reaching a wider
international audience..."
<<<

A report on other aspects of the Burma crisis is available in a new joint
report from the International Trade Unions Confederation and the International
Federation of Human Rights about a Mission to Burma. It begins:
>>>
    After the September crackdown on peaceful protests in Burma, the
International Trade Unions Confederation (ITUC) and the International
Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) decided to send a joint international
fact-finding mission on the Thai border with Burma to collect first-hand
information on the wave of repression. The objective was also to discuss with
Burmese pro-democracy and human rights groups about possible international
strategies to contribute to the democratization of the country.
<<<

See links to both reports and post your comments and analysis at
http://www.sajaforum.org/2007/10/burma-two-repor.html