Myanmar freedom fighters swap guns

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Myanmar freedom fighters swap guns for modems 
11:55 p.m. Mar 09, 1998 Eastern 
By Deborah Charles 

BANGKOK, March 10 (Reuters) - Freedom fighters in Myanmar (Burma) used to
get their message across with guns and jungle warfare. 

But things have changed with the coming of the global village. Nowadays, the
most successful dissidents arm themselves with modems and have shifted their
field of operation from the jungle to the Internet. 

Taking a cue from the successful use of the net by pressure groups
worldwide, Myanmar's army of ``cyberactivists'' has been growing strongly in
the past few years, urging the world to help undermine the unelected
military junta which seized power in 1988. 

Activists claim it has had great success, evidenced by mounting
international pressure on the Myanmar regime since the mid 1990s. 

INTERNET REACH BRINGS RESULTS 

The Free Burma Coalition, which spearheads a movement to stop foreign
investment in Myanmar and undermine the military junta, has become one of
the world's largest Internet-based political groups. 

Co-founded three years ago by Zarni, a Burmese who went to study in the
United States, the Coalition has members in 28 countries and a large
presence on university campuses worldwide. 

Its growing influence has coincided with some key measures taken against the
Myanmar government in recent years, including economic sanctions passed by
the U.S. and Canada. 

Selective purchasing laws, which prevent authorities from buying from
companies that do business with Myanmar, have been approved by 17 U.S.
cities, one county and the state of Massachusetts. 

``All of these laws have been enacted in the past three years,'' said Simon
Billenness, a leading activist based in Massachusetts. 

``The selective purchasing laws on Burma have been enacted at a much faster
rate than similar laws for any other specific country.'' 

COMPUTERS GREAT LEAP FOR ACTIVISTS 

``I remember we began to use the Internet in 1994 and it was a dramatic
improvement in communications for us,'' said Aung Naing Oo, foreign
secretary of the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF). 

The ABSDF was founded by students fleeing the military's brutal suppression
of pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988. 

``In the jungle, we started out in 1988 with typewriters. Then computers
were introduced to us a year later which was a huge leap forward for us,''
said Aung Naing Oo. 

Activists say the Internet is the main factor behind increased global
awareness of Myanmar. 

``It has been through the use of the Internet that we have achieved so much
in such a short time -- something we never could have imagined,'' said Aung
Naing Oo. 

Larry Dohrs, a trade specialist and activist for the Free Burma movement
based in the U.S. state of Washington, agreed. 

``Though we are highly dispersed...we now can communicate and act as a real
community,'' he told Reuters in an email interview -- the way in which all
news for this article was gathered. 

``Thus our dispersion is changed from a disadvantage to an advantage
overnight, since we have local actors almost everywhere, and a network of
international supporters.'' 

WEB-SITE INVALUABLE FOR BURMA-WATCHERS 

In addition to allowing activists to communicate amongst themselves, the
Internet has become an easy and cheap way to spread information through
list-servers, or subscriber lists. 

News on the country is relatively sparse as Myanmar has strict laws
prohibiting foreign journalists from living in the country and the local
media is tightly controlled. 

So the activists created an entity called BurmaNet News, funded by a branch
of the Soros Foundation called The Open Society Institute. 

The BurmaNet News editor compiles news published about Myanmar and adds
other information gathered by activists and organisations inside and outside
the country and sends it all out to subscribers. 

``BurmaNet has expanded from roughly 450 subscribers in mid-1995 to over
1,000 subscribers now,'' said a former BurmaNet editor. ``Many more people
read it in newsgroups, printed out on paper or on the Web.'' 

EVEN MYANMAR REGIME USES BURMANET 

``Almost everyone who works actively on Burma, including the military junta,
is reading BurmaNet,'' the former editor said. 

One of the newer additions to BurmaNet over the past year is the active
participation of the Myanmar government which has also created its own
subscriber list and sends out daily propaganda sheets and summaries of its
newspapers. 

Most activists welcome the contribution -- somewhat ironic given the fact
that using the Internet is technically illegal in Myanmar without permission
to own and use a modem. 

``I think it is great,'' said the BurmaNet editor. ``One subscriber recently
asked us to stop posting messages from the military junta but I explained to
him that it is important to listen to what they have to say.'' 

``And I think that a dialogue of sorts is emerging on the net. What is so
exciting about BurmaNet is that such a variety of people are reading it --
diplomats, the military junta, activists, academics, journalists and
students.'' 

Billenness said the government's contributions helped people to better
understand the nature of the military regime. 

``It's important to understand the mindset of the SPDC (State Peace and
Development Council),'' he said. ``Careful reading of the SPDC's propaganda
helps us understand how the SPDC thinks and what impression they seek to
cultivate. That helps us counter their publicity and their moves.'' ^REUTERS@