BLOGERS' FRONT
The Information Revolution and the FREE BURMA movement
Ever since the 1988 Democracy Revolution the democratic forces have opened up many new fronts - inside and outside the country to dismantle the Burmese military dicatatorship. Along with the Information Revolution at its mature stage the information fronts such as online multi-media and broadcasting stations set up in the exiles are most effective new fronts in promoting democracy and freedom for Burma. Apart from the Burmese languages BBC, DVB (Norway), VOA, RFA etc. and the big online medium like irrwaddy.org, mizzima.com, khitpyaing.org etc. there are a host of Burmese language online media actively blossoming on the Internet with very powerful readership.
The advent of blogs in 1990 has one significant impact on our struggle though at its earlier stage during the beginning of the 2000s blog writers (blogers) are mostly IT-geeks/- kids. Naturally, the contents at that time are mostly to do with computer technology. Globally, the bloger community exploded after Google bought the www.blogger.com in the year 2003.
The advent of Myanmar Unicode War
The earlier Burmese blogers are naturally from the IT circle and counted not more than ten. Poets and short story writers followed suit later. But when the Burmese Unicode War started in 2004-2005 many non-IT blogers joined the crowd. With the advent of Burmese Unicode, writing Burmese weblogs online become easier and the initial IT blogers gave way to the new comers. The Burmese Unicode War started right at the time when web developers are “so hungry” of Myanmar Unicode. The users are also eager to grab the new opportunity as many of them are either not so well versed in English or simply feel more convenient in their own mother toungue. At that earlier stage there are very few Burmese language web sites and some are more keen on using the new found Myanmar Unicode for promoting their businesses online, which is to be encouraged as the process goes down the road.
For more info on Myanmar Unicode goto: http://saturngod.mysteryzillion.com/?p=157
The emergence of Zawgyi Font
Enter Zawgyi font. The emergence of Zawgyi font further heighten the online activities as it provides many new advantages to the users: free download, painstakingly created beautiful fonts, made easier as it develop etc. Before the advent of Zawgyi font most online Burmese forums are sickeningly using the Roman alphabet to write Burmese words (coined “burglish”) and communicate among themselves. Though with difficulties with lack of phonetically standardized spelling system in the beginning this medium - “burglish” - at least helps the info - “hungry” Burmese to keep communication alive across the Internet.
Now, writing in their own Burmese language online, many new comers started to take roots and sprout from every where in the vast universe of the Internet ready than ever to blossom and explode into a new stage of communication revolution. However, some Burmese youngsters across the globe are still using “burglish” as their communication tool. IRC (Internet Relay Chat) , Yahoo’s Messenger and shoutBox are the favorites of these youngsters. That means due to unresolved Myanmar Unicode War “burglish” has not yet lost its popularity in some circle. The advantage with Gtalk is its feature that enables users to communicate with Myanmar Unicode. Instead of using “burglish” or the more advanced Myanmar Unicode some Burmese/ Myanmar forums are still using non-Unicode Myanmar Fonts because they consider open source Myanmar Unicodes as unstable (no one could yet say which Unicode will become the winner) and some forums platform doesn't support Unicode. But interestingly discussions In these forums cover widely about how to develop a standardized common Unicode. For example www.forum.nativemyanmar.com does not use Unicode but encourage users to become Unicode-using blogers.
Web Developers’ role
As the Planet.com.mm from inside the country started using Zawgyi font the font become free downladable for users everywhere. Pagan Forum started a new forum using Zawgyi Burmese font. So, the Burmese online community has reached a new stage where a new opprtuinty is opened up for them to “chat” and keep the ball rolling in their own language. But at this earlier stage the Burmese language forums are not yet wide spread.
Burmese language Forums such as yamc.info and Planet.com.mm started promoting Forums using Myanmar Unicocde. Yamc.info developes virtual keyboard made easy for users of Zawgyi fonts. This saves the Myanmar Unicode users the headache of getting and montaging extra keyboard hardware to their computers.
The India-based BIT Team (Burma Information and Technology Team) also played an important role. It helps the PC users along the border as well as those inside the country, the NGOs, the Burmese media etc. and the older generation journalists and writers to be able to smoothly get involved in the communication revolution and upload their valuable books written in Burmese Unicode for a wider consumption of the Burmese Netizens.
The emergence of Political Blogers
As Zawgyi font users increase and multiply on the Internet, what once was in an exclusive realms of the IT-blogers now gave way to non- IT blogers mostly hobbyists and new generation Burmese journalists. In the beginning very few political blogers are to be found though every now and then there are to be seen some political writings contributed by those outside of Burma. But there are no exclusively political forum or blog to be seen until the emergence of a mysterious online teashop.
The mysterious Teashop
The myanmarteashop.com (now defunct) is to be given the credit for encouraging Burmese surfers to start writing extensively about Burmese politics in their forum. The Teashop skillfully use Zawgyi One and it is learnt that this teashop is an offshoot of http://www.ainmat.com/ . (ainmat means dream in Burmese). Many political minded netters jump into the band wagon and discussions of Burma’s political woes and criticism of the military junta was so rampant and become so lively on this website. It is based in the exile but no one knows for sure who the admins are. The management of the web activites is very professional and it seems to be very well organized. But at one point a suspicion arose among the participants because of the strange response from one of the admins. Participants started to leave the site as they believe the web is run by the Junta’s military intelligents. At least the intelligents got hold of the emails and passwords of these participants who are politically motivated if the suspicion is to be taken as true, though no one yet reveals who they (the admins) actually are.
And the teashop died down without giving any reason – leaving an impression of the site being hacked. Nevertheless, this mysterious experience of the Burmese political blogers has left one big advantage for the struggle – the future would be political blogers come to know each other in this “teashop”. It maybe very unwitting for the Burmese military intelligents had they been the true admins of this site. As described above they are, nevertheless, to be given due credit for awakening the sleepy political blogers to sprout and blossom on the Internet. Or a fifth columnist sympatizer of the anti-goevernment forces in the exiles might have given hints to the participants by intentionally behaving strangely enough to arouse suspicions on the honesty of the admins of the site.
For further info on this episode goto: http://kadaung.myanmarblogers.org/2007/07/blog-post_20.html
From Forums to Blogs
Discussions in the forums, though lively and enjoyable for the participants, has but one disadvantage. Your ideas and opinions are scattered all over the vast Internet. And worst still your contributions do not stay there permanently. So the time and the emotions you invested do not seem to be well worth. So people started to write blogs where their ideas, thoughts and philosophies are stored systematically and permanently (of course at least until the great Google crash and the end of the world follows!). Weblogs or, in short, blogs are a kind of personal diaries and if one has brilliant information and ideas to contribute one can yield a lot of influential power from ones own luxury of the desktop. The emergence of a superior “DESKTOP REVOLUTION” in place of an inferior “arm-chair revolution”. Blogging is actually not that easy if one do not have the required technological knowledge. But friends are helping each other by offering ready-made templates and one of the well known Burmese online site like yamc.info provides web-based tutorials for blog starters. So, as the exodus of Burmese netters from forums to blogs reach its height the quality of their blogs also increase. References and source links are quoted professionally. They “blog roll” (link) their blogs and acknowledge one another’s contribution where merit is due - respecting each other’s rights to originality. Thus, a German language commentary on netzeitung.de stated that the Burmese Bloger Community is one of the most impressive communities exchanging ideas and opinions in a professional manner.
Blogers from inside and outside Burma started uploading political news and information to their blogs and the Myanmar Blogers Community grows exponentially as exchange of ideas and information increase. In the beginning people from inside Burma are reluctant to discuss about politics. Security risk being one reason but there are other factors like poor Internet access and services, technological hindrances, the high cost of surfing in Internet café, not enjoying the luxury of having home-based PC etc. But news and information are start flowing to the outside world from inside Burma, anyway.
Enter the Saffron Revolution
The Saffron Revolution will be remembered in our history as one that effectively dismantled Burma’s isolation and allows, for the first time in half a century , information to freely flows from inside to outside and vice versa without any hindrance. Myanmar Blogers Community plays a very important roles during the Saffron Revolution, without whose activities the world community might not be awakened to that extent. The world’s media giants like CNN and the like depends on these blogers and those using other information tools like hand held phone video cameras etc. to get first hand episodes of the Saffaron Revolution and remit forward into the world stage. Moreover, there are also many new blogers who join the blogers club only at the height of the Saffron Revolution. Many newly opened Myanmar blogs incorporate TBox (Chat Box/ shout Box) to their site so a live chat could be performed to discuss or share information as the episode unfolds. Installing TBox at your blog become a must for the Burmese. Instant info is the advantage of having TBox at ones blog.
Among Myanmar blogers, http://ko-htike.blogspot.com/ (also in English) and http://niknayman.blogspot.com
become internationally well known as their blogs attract hundreds of thousands of visitors daily to keep closely in touched with the events as the Saffron Revolution unfolds. Every minutes during the day time forum chats are going on non-stop. These chats become so lively and active that some blogers “copy and paste” them on their main webpage as contents, thereby creating an impression of quick updates and attracting more visitors to their blogs. Among the new comers during the Saffron Revolution blogers like Dr. Lun Swe http://drlunswe.blogspot.com/ emerges as a prominent bloger. As the Saffron Revolution reach its height the military junta banned blogs like Ko Htike and Niknayman along with the Myanmar Forum known a yamc.info, which was banned some months before for posting overtly anti-military contents. Bloggers.com and all their sub domains are also banned by the Burmese junta following the Saffron Revolution.
Rumour Wars
At the height of the Saffron Revolution the Junta, as usual, started its rumour wars to reduce the momentum of the on-going rebellions. They spread rumours of the “junta split” or internal conflict and coup and the fleeing of Bo Than Shwe’s family to Laos etc. The Burmese populace are also very skilled in fighting back with rumours of their own. So some blogers faced criticism as they educate themselves of the need to cross check incoming information before releasing them to the outside world. In some case readers residing in the outside would cross check by calling their home back in Rangoon to confirm about the uploaded news of brutal killings in the very streets they live or somewhere nearby. Many a time the news are true. If not they would criticize the blogers very strongly for spreading false information. The flow of information become slower as they are now trying to cross check all incoming information. As an improvement news and information flow, though slower, become more reliable than before.
Solidarity Supports of the International Blogers Community
As the world is brutally awakened by the Saffron Revolution of Burma, the international Blogers Community made up of millions of blogers join in to show their solidarity supports by choosing the 4th of October 2007 as the day they all stop blogging and instead post a FREE BURMA logo on their blog as the whole day’s posting.
The site
Free Burma!
International Blogers’ Day for Burma on the 4th of October International blogers are preparing an action to support the peaceful revolution in Burma. We want to set a sign for freedom and show our sympathy for these people who are fighting their cruel regime without weapons. These Blogers are planning to refrain from posting to their blogs on October 4 and just put up one Banner then, underlined with the words „Free Burma!“.
Conclusion
Vividly describing the Saffron Revolution at its height the TIME magazine (Oct 22) stated: “.. [The courageous monks..]coursing through the city streets in a solid stream of red and orange, like blood vessels giving life to an oxygen-starved body.”
Likewise, with post-Saffron-Revolution new found friends in the number of millions at the Blogers Front the blood vessels of Burma’s democracy revolution is very much alive and energized with information from inside and outside the country flowing freely across the vast universe of Internet. Despite all attempts to ban political blogs and websites by the Burmese military junta, today’s cyber-based revolution finds its ways to keep the information revolution alive by using proxy servers and other advanced "state of the art technologies". Soon, not later, the Burmese dictators will realize that, following the Saffron Revolution, their days are numbered.
Information Source: Based on interview with the admin of yamc.info and Khaipi (khaipi.net).
to be continued ....
1 comment :
That was awesome. Thank you so much for your post!
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