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Subversive Technology
D 2
Burma’s Struggle for Democracy
The Change You Want To See Gallery@NAA_NYC #thechange
http://www.mogulus.com/notanalternative1Monday, April 27, 2009
Burma’s “Prophet”
http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/
Eric Arthur Blair
2Monday, April 27, 2009
Burma’s “Prophet”
http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/
Eric Arthur BlairGeorge Orwell
2Monday, April 27, 2009
Burma’s “Prophet”
http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/
Eric Arthur BlairGeorge OrwellBy: Shepherds Fairey
2Monday, April 27, 2009
Colonial Period 1824-1948
Major ethnic groups ▪ Karen ▪ Karenni ▪ Mon ▪ Shan ▪ Chin ▪ Wa ▪ Arakan ▪ Rohingya ▪ Kachin ▪ Burman
Burmese Days
3Monday, April 27, 2009
“Independence” 1948-1989
1948Aung San assasinated
1962U Nu overthrown, Ne Win begins “Burmese Way to Socialism.”
1988 Student uprising for democracy
Animal Farm: Burma
Eric Elofson - http://passivepro.blogspot.com/
4Monday, April 27, 2009
“Independence” 1948-1989
1948Aung San assasinated
1962U Nu overthrown, Ne Win begins “Burmese Way to Socialism.”
1988 Student uprising for democracy
Animal Farm: Burma
Eric Elofson - http://passivepro.blogspot.com/
Animal Farm opened my mind to what kind of government is in Burma. I can take a lot of parallels in real life with Animal Farm. (The animals) want to have freedom, but later there is freedom only for Napoleon. Burma is also like that for the SPDC, the leaders. Before they become leaders, they say all are equal. But after they become leaders they change their minds.
When you ask ‘Why do you need more education?’ I see a parallel. (In) Animal Farm, the animals, they overthrow the man, but only a few animals, especially pigs, are educated. The other animals (end up) facing the same problems. We are refugee people, small minority groups. We don’t have an education. So we need education to be aware of this problem.
Kyaw Tway, male, age 20, English Immersion Program Overcoming Obstacles, Creating Opportunities - Section 6, pg 150-154
4Monday, April 27, 2009
Population: 60 million
ReligionsBuddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
1984: Myanmar
KHRG
5Monday, April 27, 2009
Population: 60 million
ReligionsBuddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
1984: Myanmar
KHRG
5Monday, April 27, 2009
Population: 60 million
ReligionsBuddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
1984: Myanmar
KHRG
from USD0.75 in 2004 and USD0.95–1.50 in
2003),8 which are said to be present in five cities
but planned to reach 324 townships within three
years.9 Connection speeds are slow, however, as
broadband is available primarily to government
and businesses and used mostly for Internet
telephony via Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP),
though the government pledged to bring ADSL to
every township by the end of 2006.10 There are
only two Internet service providers (ISPs) allowed
in Myanmar: state-owned telecom Myanmar
Posts and Telecom (MPT), which is the only
source of new Internet services,11 and Myanmar
Teleport (MMT, formerly Bagan Cybertech), which
is reportedly the infrastructure arm of Myanmar’s
Internet system and responsible for blocking
content. In September 2005 the Ahaed Co.
of Myanmar and the Canadian ICT company
Teleglobe reportedly signed a memorandum
of understanding to establish a private ISP.12
Reliability is also an issue: in May 2006 the entire
country was disconnected for four days because
of alleged damage to an undersea cable.13
Legal and regulatory frameworks
Myanmar heavily regulates online access and
content via legal, regulatory, and economic con-
straints. As in other areas, however, the state’s
policies are difficult to assess because they are
rarely published or explained.
Network-ready computers must be regis-
tered (for a fee) with the MPT; failure to do so
can result in fines and prison sentences of seven
to fifteen years.14 Sharing registered Internet
connections is also punishable by revocation of
access and presumably similar “legal action.”15
Broad laws and regulations confer power upon
the SPDC, which is also involved in all judicial
appointments,16 to punish citizens harshly for any
activity deemed detrimental to national interests
or security. Regulations issued in 2000 subjected
online content to the same kind of strict filtering
that the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division
carries out (despite print media being almost
exclusively state owned):17 users must obtain
MPT permission before creating Web pages, and
they cannot post anything “detrimental” to the
government or simply related to politics. The MPT
can “amend and change regulations on the use
of the Internet without prior notice.”18
Costs indeed limit access significantly: even
households that can afford a PC and long-
distance connection fees outside the capital
Yangon (Rangoon) and Mandalay cannot pay
KEY INDICATORS
worst best
GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2000 international $) ........ 1,446 3.50
Life expectancy at birth (years) ............................................. 61 4.19
Literacy rate (% of people age 15+) ..................................... 90 6.00
Human development index (out of 177) ............................... 130 3.52
Rule of law (out of 208) ...................................................... 202 1.87
Voice and accountability (out of 208) .................................. 208 0.69
Digital opportunity index (out of 180) .................................. 176 1.36
Internet users (% of population) ........................................... 0.1 3.07
Source (by indicator): IMF 2006; World Bank 2006a, 2006a; UNDP 2006; World Bank 2006c, 2006c; ITU 2006, 2004
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
OpenNet Initiative, Internet Filtering in Burma in 2005: A Country Study, at http://opennet.net/studies/burma/.
5Monday, April 27, 2009
Population: 60 million
ReligionsBuddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
1984: Myanmar
KHRG
from USD0.75 in 2004 and USD0.95–1.50 in
2003),8 which are said to be present in five cities
but planned to reach 324 townships within three
years.9 Connection speeds are slow, however, as
broadband is available primarily to government
and businesses and used mostly for Internet
telephony via Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP),
though the government pledged to bring ADSL to
every township by the end of 2006.10 There are
only two Internet service providers (ISPs) allowed
in Myanmar: state-owned telecom Myanmar
Posts and Telecom (MPT), which is the only
source of new Internet services,11 and Myanmar
Teleport (MMT, formerly Bagan Cybertech), which
is reportedly the infrastructure arm of Myanmar’s
Internet system and responsible for blocking
content. In September 2005 the Ahaed Co.
of Myanmar and the Canadian ICT company
Teleglobe reportedly signed a memorandum
of understanding to establish a private ISP.12
Reliability is also an issue: in May 2006 the entire
country was disconnected for four days because
of alleged damage to an undersea cable.13
Legal and regulatory frameworks
Myanmar heavily regulates online access and
content via legal, regulatory, and economic con-
straints. As in other areas, however, the state’s
policies are difficult to assess because they are
rarely published or explained.
Network-ready computers must be regis-
tered (for a fee) with the MPT; failure to do so
can result in fines and prison sentences of seven
to fifteen years.14 Sharing registered Internet
connections is also punishable by revocation of
access and presumably similar “legal action.”15
Broad laws and regulations confer power upon
the SPDC, which is also involved in all judicial
appointments,16 to punish citizens harshly for any
activity deemed detrimental to national interests
or security. Regulations issued in 2000 subjected
online content to the same kind of strict filtering
that the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division
carries out (despite print media being almost
exclusively state owned):17 users must obtain
MPT permission before creating Web pages, and
they cannot post anything “detrimental” to the
government or simply related to politics. The MPT
can “amend and change regulations on the use
of the Internet without prior notice.”18
Costs indeed limit access significantly: even
households that can afford a PC and long-
distance connection fees outside the capital
Yangon (Rangoon) and Mandalay cannot pay
KEY INDICATORS
worst best
GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2000 international $) ........ 1,446 3.50
Life expectancy at birth (years) ............................................. 61 4.19
Literacy rate (% of people age 15+) ..................................... 90 6.00
Human development index (out of 177) ............................... 130 3.52
Rule of law (out of 208) ...................................................... 202 1.87
Voice and accountability (out of 208) .................................. 208 0.69
Digital opportunity index (out of 180) .................................. 176 1.36
Internet users (% of population) ........................................... 0.1 3.07
Source (by indicator): IMF 2006; World Bank 2006a, 2006a; UNDP 2006; World Bank 2006c, 2006c; ITU 2006, 2004
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
OpenNet Initiative, Internet Filtering in Burma in 2005: A Country Study, at http://opennet.net/studies/burma/.
Less than 1% mobile phone & internet market penetration
5Monday, April 27, 2009
In Exile: ~4 million
Sophisticated network of community based organizations
KHRG
1984: Myanmar
6Monday, April 27, 2009
Our Research
Youth Perspectives from the Thai-Burma Border
Youth Perspectives from the Thai-Burma Border
Overcoming Obstacles,
Creating Opportunities
www.newwordsmedia.com
7Monday, April 27, 2009
Key finding
www.newwordsmedia.com
Young Burmese with access to the internet were more likely to identify themselves as activists
8Monday, April 27, 2009
Saffron RevolutionMobile phones were used by monks and other citizen journalists to send information to the outside world.
www.uscampaignforburma.org
9Monday, April 27, 2009
3
led democratic movement was met with a brutal crackdown in which 3,000 Burmese were killed.6
However, in the recent events of 2007, a relatively small group of Burmese citizens achieved a
disproportionate impact on the global awareness and understanding of this current crisis, despite
operating in a very limited online space where information is severely controlled. As a result, the
extraordinary applications of technology over the past few months have quickly become a target
for expanded government surveillance,7 so that future protests may take place in a much more
constrained context.
Internet in Burma
“People from Burma are always asking for information as well as requesting for help and assistance
from [the] outside world but very little of their voices reach the world and most are lost in the endless
state of the government vacuum.” — Burmese blogger
By the time the protests began, the SPDC had already established one of the world’s most restrictive
systems of information control, and had been extending its reach into the Internet despite less than
1 percent of the population having online access.8 ONI testing conducted in late 2006 demonstrated
that the two Burmese Internet service providers (ISPs), Myanmar Posts and Telecom (MPT) and
BaganNet/Myanmar Teleport (formerly Bagan Cybertech), filtered extensively. They focused
overwhelmingly on independent media, political reform, and human rights sites relating to domestic
6 Andrew Buncombe, "Burma: Inside the saffron revolution", The Independent, Sep. 27, 2007, http://news.inde-
pendent.co.uk/world/asia/article3001620.ece; "Burma (Myanmar)", Human Rights Watch World Report (1989),
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article3001620.ece.7 According to Mizzima News, the state-owned ISP Myanmar Posts and Telecom will be taken over by the
Ministry of Defence and Communications in the near future. Mizzima News, “Defence likely to take over MPT,”
October 12, 2007, http://www.mizzima.com/MizzimaNews/News/2007/Oct/51-Oct-2007.html. 8 International Telecommunication Union, ICT Statistics, http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/ict/index.html.
Figure 1. Timeline of Events,
Aug. 19, 2007 - Oct. 13, 2007
Saffron RevolutionWill governments learn that silencing mobiles and the internet are a necessary step in any crackdown?
OpenNet Initiative, Pulling the Plug: A Technical Review of the Internet Shutdown in Burma, at http://opennet.net/research/bulletins/013.
11Monday, April 27, 2009
How information travels
Actions are recorded with mobile phones, uploaded to flash drives, taken across borders, uploaded to servers, sent to trusted contacts.
Is there a better way?
www.newwordsmedia.com
12Monday, April 27, 2009
Burma and its Borders
Bangladesh
India (Delhi)
Thailand
China (Yunnan)
Burma
Dollars Local Currency
4.18 250
7.77 300
6.84 200
14.6 100
50
In Burma the cost of a “normal” GSM sim card is 2.5 million kyat.
This equals approximately $2000 on the black market conversion rate.
At the official rate this is approximately $393,400.
A new pre-paid sim costs between $20-$50 US dollars.
Use restricted to 1 month13Monday, April 27, 2009
Current Situation
Bloggers imprisoned
Increased sophistication from authorities
China’s support
2010 elections
14Monday, April 27, 2009
Current Situation
Bloggers imprisoned
Increased sophistication from authorities
China’s support
2010 elections
14Monday, April 27, 2009
Handheld Human Rightsa secure hub for groups around Burma’s borders documenting human rights abuses
http://www.developmentseed.org/
15Monday, April 27, 2009
Problem Solution
Regional instability
World’s longest running civil war
Rampant use of child soldiers
Over 3.5 million internally displaced persons and refugees
Severe censorship
Cross-border communication
Networking among traditionally divided groups
Providing 21st century education
Connecting refugees with their resettled communities
Freedom of information
16Monday, April 27, 2009
D 2
Mark Belinsky - [email protected] - @mbelinsky
Digital DemocracyWorking with local partners to connect people through new technologies that encourage education, communication and civic participation.
All Burma IT Student UnionABITSU stands against the Burmese Military Regime and work to remove the Military Dictatorship, to generate more IT skilled personnel and build the infrastructure for a future democratic government of Burma.
Stanley - [email protected], April 27, 2009
DTWO.ORG
What you can do:• Donate money
• the economy is hard for everyone but conversion rates between currencies is currently in US favor
• Donate your skills
• are you a designer, programmer, or have other skills that you can provide? tell us and help grassroots organizations make change
• Sign Free Burma's Political Prisoners Now! Petition
• http://www.fbppn.net
18Monday, April 27, 2009
