Burma Underground

Par Par Lay & The Moustache Brothers

Aye Aye — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:43:17 -0800

Malaysia Arrests Blogger/Activist

The Editor — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 18:28:42 -0700

Malaysian blogger and activist Nathaniel Tan, from Bangkit.net and Jelas.info was arrested without charge on Friday. He was taken from his work Friday afternoon by plainclothes officers who did not identify themselves, and did not tell him he was being arrested or the reason he was wanted for questioning. He was asked to bring his laptop and told that it had something to do with the internet. Police had him in lock-up for six hours while his friends and colleagues searched for him, all the while denying that they had him in custody.

The court remanded him to custody on Saturday for four days, in a closed-door hearing which police attempted to orchestrate without informing Nat's lawyers (from Elizabeth Wong). Nat has not actually been charged with a crime, but is being held for an investigation - even though the police have already seized his laptop and home computer, as well as CD-Roms and documents.

The current official line is that Nat is being held under section 8 of the Official Secrets Act.

An Epidemic.

The Editor — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 23:16:50 -0700

The leaders of Asia are coming down with a collective case of ego-mania. Well, that's not true, they've probably always been ego-maniacs, but they suddenly seem to think its ok to impose their egos on the rest of us. After all the problems now with Thaksin sueing people, it seems Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen may ask for Thaksin's help in oppressing Cambodian journalists.

I tell you what, if I have to hear one more Prime Minister refer to activists as "troublemakers", I might scream. Someone needs to give these guys a clue. Communications technology is a lot more advanced than it was in the heyday of Asian dictators 30 years ago. They can't presume to tell other countries that these are 'internal affairs' or that these are isolated incidents or individuals causing trouble. We are well aware that people are collectively protesting the lawsuits and restrictions on free speech. It is not the US or the UN telling them to respect people's rights, it is their own people.

They also seem to be suffering under the delusion that outsiders defending the rights of the people as enshrined in their constitutions is 'meddling in internal affairs', but their neighbor's cooperation in the oppression of citizens outside their borders is not.

Wise up, guys. The media isn't going anywhere, and every effort you make to suppress or frighten it, only serves to make you look petty and whingey. Suck it up, you're leaders of democratic nations, if you want respect, then act respectable.

Thaksin Watchmesueyou

The Editor — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 00:11:23 -0700

It seems Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Co., are single-handedly making Thailand as sue-happy as America. He currently has multiple (civil and criminal) lawsuits pending against various media figures.

The first lawsuit, filed last year, was lodged by Thaksin's own Shin Corp. against media reform activist Supinya Klangnarong. Shin Corp. is demanding 400 million baht in the civil case, alleging that Ms. Supinya had defamed the corporation by publishing comments that the companies profits had soared since Thaksin had taken office, and that certain government policies represented a conflict of interest, as they had directly benefited the PM's private businesses.

More Censorship

The Editor — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 01:32:15 -0700

The Kachin Independence Organizations, one of the cease-fire groups within Burma, has censored an environmental report due to be released by the Pan Kachin Development Organization here in Chiang Mai. The report assesses the impacts of development, particularly logging, on the environment of Kachin State.

The KIO, which won forestry and mining concessions in its cease-fire agreement with the junta, fears the report may harm its image and relationship with the junta.

The KIO is also one of the cease-fire groups which are refusing to lay down their weapons at the behest of Rangoon, expressing distrust in the junta's promises of protection and development.

The KIO can stand up to the junta with its guns, and call the generals dishonest, but they're worried an environmental report may damage the relationship?

Exiled journalists pressured from all sides

The Editor — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 01:17:14 -0700

Apparently, the UNHCR has begun advising activists not to be activists for their own good. Mizzima reports that Narinjara's editor-in-chief was advised last week that his organization could face 'strong action' from Bangladesh authorities if they continued their media work.

Since Burma's General Thura Shwe Mann visited Dhaka for high level discussions last month, Narinjara has been well aware that strenghthened relations between the junta and Bangladesh could have negative repercussions for the safety of refugees and exiled activists there. But, thanks to the UNHCR for offering their support, hey?

Burma Wide Web

The Editor — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 01:31:42 -0700

It probably comes as no surprise that as far as internet censorship goes, the Burmese junta is one of the most restrictive in the world. Current figures put internet usage within the country at .6%, which is primarily dial-up. The vast majority of people must access the internet through cafes, which are also obliged to report on their clients' usage - as they also do in China.

The Open Net Initiative has released a detailed report on internet censorship in the country. You can read the full report here: http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/burma

There are primarily two ISP's within the country, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and Bagan Cybertech, which is a semi-private company. The report indicates that the country has begun switching over to a 'Fortiguard', a filter and firewall product from Fortinet - a US company. Fortinet's spokesperson says that the company only sells to resalers, and therefore was unaware that they're product had been purchased by the Junta. However, the ONI researchers had this to say on the matter: