BKK Post, March 11,1998. BURMA Free

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BURMA
Freedom fighters swap guns for modems
 
DEBORAH CHARLES
Bangkok, Reuters


   Freedom fighters in Burma used to get there 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, Burma's army of "cyberbactivists has been growing in the past  few years. Activists claim success,
evidenced by mounting international pressure on the Burma regime since the mid 1990s.
   The Free Burma Coalition, which spearheads a movement to stop foreign investment 
in Burma 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 world-wide.
   Its growing influence has coincided with some key measures taken against the Burmese Junta in recent years, including economic sanctions passed by the US and Canada.
  Selective purchasing laws, which prevent authorities from buying from companies that do business with Burma, have been approved 17 US cities, one county and the state of Massachusetts.
    "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 1998.
   "In the jungle, we started out in 1998 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 Burma.
    "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 US, agreed.
  "Though we are highly dispersed ....we now can communicate and act as a real community," he said in an e-mail interview.
Activists have created an entity called BurmaNet News, funded by a branch of the SorosFoundation called.
The Open Society Institute.