Subversive Technology: Burma's Struggle for Democracy

Subversive TechnologyICT in Burma’s Struggle for Democracy

1Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Burma’s “Prophet”

http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/

Eric Arthur Blair






Eric Arthur BlairGeorge Orwell






Eric Arthur BlairGeorge OrwellBy: Shepherds Fairey


Colonial Period 1824-1948

Major ethnic groups ▪ Karen ▪ Karenni ▪ Mon ▪ Shan ▪ Chin ▪ Wa ▪ Arakan ▪ Rohingya ▪ Kachin ▪ Burman

Burmese Days


http://www.burmaissues.org/En/karen.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/karen.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/karenni.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/karenni.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/mon.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/mon.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/shan.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/shan.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/chin.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/chin.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/wa.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/wa.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/arakan.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/arakan.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/rohingya.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/rohingya.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/kachin.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/kachin.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/burman.html

http://www.burmaissues.org/En/burman.html

“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/


http://passivepro.blogspot.com

http://passivepro.blogspot.com

“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


Population: 60 million

ReligionsBuddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%

1984: Myanmar

KHRG




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/.


http://opennet.net/studies/burma/

http://opennet.net/studies/burma/



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


1984: Myanmar

KHRG


In Exile: ~4 million

Sophisticated network of community based organizations

1984: Myanmar


In Exile: ~4 million

Sophisticated network of community based organizations

KHRG

1984: Myanmar


http://www.developmentseed.org/solutions


Our Research

Youth Perspectives from the Thai-Burma Border

Youth Perspectives from the Thai-Burma Border

Overcoming Obstacles,

Creating Opportunities

www.newwordsmedia.com




Key finding


Young Burmese with access to the internet were more likely to identify themselves as activists




Saffron RevolutionMobile phones were used by monks and other citizen journalists to send information to the outside world.

www.uscampaignforburma.org




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.


http://opennet.net/research/bulletins/013

http://opennet.net/research/bulletins/013

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?





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 $25 US dollars.

Use restricted to 1 month13Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Current Situation

Bloggers imprisoned

Increased sophistication from authorities

China’s support

2010 elections


Bangladesh: Mobile possibilities

• Large populations in refugee camps

• Stateless population• Extensive mobile

penetration along border allows for reporting and monitoring





India: Challenges and opportunities

• Relative freedom of expression

• Tech support in Delhi

• Isolation along border





China: Land of the Free?

• Borders Kachin and Shan States in Burma

• Ruili: largest Chinese city on border

• Contact with outside world via China and Chinese technology

• Relatively more internet freedom

“I think, to me, the China web is totally free.”

- Burmese male activist, 26


OVERCOMING OBSTACLES CREATING OPPORTUNITIESOVERCOMING OBSTACLES CREATING OPPORTUNITIES

168168

Thailand: Increased Opportunities

• In Thailand, internet access is frequent. There, we found a correlation between access to internet and self-identification as an activist

• Since then, internet access has grown, including affordable and reliable GPRS on mobiles


Solutions

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whiteafrican/2736565604/




Solutions


Democracy• Being heard• Minority rights• Accountability and

transparency• Advocacy for change• Access




Solutions


Democracy• Being heard• Minority rights• Accountability and

transparency• Advocacy for change• Access

Digital Democracy• Empowerment of the

individual• Fall of hierarchies• Wider participation• Democratization of

information




Handheld Human RightsMaking human rights accessible and actionable

• Disseminate key information and messages to field workers.

• Facilitate communication between groups working on these issues.

• Collect data that can be mapped on the site.

• Rapidly spread news of human rights violations to the international community and advocacy groups.


Handheld Human Rights


Project Einstein

Digital Pen Pals - Photography-based participatory education program linking American students with refugee youth overseas.

“Because Einstein was a refugee but could still do great things”


Project Einstein: Digital Pen PalsPeace

Culture

Happiness

History

Let’s Discuss:

USA Ideas

Pictures

Lessons

Culture

Let’s Exchange:

Photo Books

Slideshows

VideosLet’s Create:

Resettled Refugees with American youth in US schools

Youth in refugee camps

D 2

Bangladesh


DIGITAL-DEMOCRACY.ORG / @DIGIDEM

What you can do:


DIGITAL-DEMOCRACY.ORG / @DIGIDEM

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

• Volunteer

• our parnters are always looking for smart help


Emily Jacobi - @[email protected]

Mark Belinsky - @[email protected]


mailto:[email protected]




Emily Jacobi - @[email protected]

Mark Belinsky - @[email protected]

Working with local partners to connect people through new technologies that encourage education, communication and civic participation.






Subversive Technology: Burma's Struggle for Democracy

News & Politics

Transcript of Subversive Technology: Burma's Struggle for Democracy