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Rannveig · 09-28-2007, 04:08 PM

Bloggers in Burma keep world informed during military crackdown
Richard S. Ehrlich, Chronicle Foreign Service

Friday, September 28, 2007

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(09-28) 04:00 PDT Bangkok -- Dodging a deadly military crackdown that has killed at least nine protesters, Burmese bloggers are on the front lines, providing news and photos of death and insurrection.

Their Internet blogs, written in Burmese and grammatically flawed English, are posted mostly by residents of Rangoon, the commercial port also known as Yangon, where Buddhist monks, pro-democracy activists and residents have been defying security forces for more than a week.

The bloggers rely on word-of-mouth, cell phones, online chat groups, instant messaging, and firsthand accounts of protesters facing barricaded streets, tear gas and gunfire from Burmese security forces. The best blogs provide photos, video and text updates purportedly by eyewitnesses, which are later confirmed by news organizations or, in some cases, can't be verified.

The nation's military regime has refused to grant visas to foreign correspondents, and has even blocked visa requests for many foreign tourists after the mass uprising worsened this week.

As a result, blogger accounts have captivated the outside world, including President Bush and the United Nations. On Thursday, the Bush administration imposed economic sanctions against 14 senior Burmese officials. On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council issued a statement of concern about the violent crackdown and said it would send a special envoy to Burma.

Burmese and foreign bloggers in Rangoon, Mandalay, the nation's second-largest city, and elsewhere have risked their lives to document the pro-democracy demonstrations, which began over a fuel price hike in August.

One poignant blog, by a young Burmese woman who identifies herself as Dawn, appears at www.xanga.com/dawn_1o9.

"Around 1:20 or 1:30 p.m., I heard someone saying that the police/army started shooting in the air," Dawn wrote, describing Rangoon on Wednesday.

"At 2:00 p.m., I heard that buses have stopped running on Sule Pagoda Road. Someone from the office went out there, and came running back when there were shots being fired.

"I heard the gun shots too, but it sounded a lot like clapping. So I went out to look.

"I was reading the news on a blogger's Cbox, and it said that at least 5 monks were dead at Shwedagon Pagoda. My sis had already called home and told my brother not to go to work. I called home too, and also to my father. He told me to stay at work and not to go out."

International media reports said at least one person died when security forces attacked protesters Wednesday, though some reports said as many as five people may have been killed that day.

"I'll let you know when I've been shot," Dawn continued. "I'll ask someone before I die to blog about it. If it was an instant death, I'll come to my sister in my dream and tell her to blog about it, or I won't rest in peace."

Another popular blogger created a collection of vivid text and photos at ko-htike.blogspot.com and noted that "now the regime open fire into these group, and used fire engine to sweep the blood on the street."

Foreigners blogging in Burma include burmesedayze.blogspot.com, which is written by an unidentified person who moved to Rangoon in March 2006. "The BBC is getting hold of a reasonable amount of video footage that people are taking surreptitiously and sending to them," the foreigner posted Saturday. "Some of it is hand-held video clips shot from the hip (so that the photographer isn't too obvious to the police watching the marches), while other clips seem to have been shot out of windows in tall buildings in downtown Rangoon."

Even before the current protests, Burma had a strong presence on the Internet, created over the years by Burmese dissidents and foreigners who had established pro-democracy Web sites in Thailand, Europe, United States and elsewhere.

In 2006, several Americans created a MySpace Web page for Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy activist and Nobel Prize Peace Prize laureate, who has been under house arrest for much of the past 18 years.

Other Web sites pertaining to Burma, also known as Myanmar, have been created by nongovernmental organizations, or by aid provided by the U.S. government and other international sources. These include www.irrawaddy.org, which also publishes a monthly magazine in Thailand, and www.dvb.no, the Democratic Voice of Burma radio, in Norway.

In 1988, exiled Burmese journalists set up mizzima.com, which promotes democracy in Burma through India's Mizzima News Agency, The site is bilingual in Burmese and English, and includes online video.

Some blogs, such as weunite-weblog.blogspot.com, offer Internet links relating to Burma, and warn users when the Burmese military regime blocks Web sites and blogs.

And graffiti taggers can go to saffronrevolutionworldwide.blogspot.com, for stencil images of two Buddhist monks walking side by side, which can be cut out, held against a wall, and spray-painted.

"You can help make this image appear all over the world, reminding people everywhere of the uprising in Burma and showing that the struggle for freedom is alive everywhere," wrote the site's bloggers, who are in Mae Sot, Thailand, near the Burma border.

"Monks make great stencil images ... download the pattern and get your monks on the march!"

More information on Burma
Personal blogs by Burmese residents of Rangoon

-- www.xanga.com/dawn_1o9

-- ko-htike.blogspot.com

Personal blogs by an unidentified foreign resident of Rangoon

-- burmesedayze.blogspot.com

Political Web sites on Burma

-- www.irrawaddy.org

-- www.dvb.no (the Democratic Voice of Burma radio based in Norway).

-- www.mizzima.com (Mizzima News Agency based in India).

-- weunite-weblog.blogspot.com: offers Internet links relating to Burma, and warns users when the Burmese military regime blocks a Web site or blog.

Graffiti artists

-- saffronrevolutionworldwide.blogspot.com - offers stencil images of Buddhist monks who have led recent protests. The images can be cut out, held against a wall, and spray-painted.

Bay Area pro-democracy advocates

-- The Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA): (510)220-1232; Web site: www.badasf.org; e-mail: nyuntthan@gmail.com.

This article appeared on page A - 10 of the San Francisco Chronicle

09-28-2007, 04:08 PM	#60
Rannveig Lives Near an Eskimo Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 64	Bloggers in Burma keep world informed during military crackdown Bloggers in Burma keep world informed during military crackdown Richard S. Ehrlich, Chronicle Foreign Service Friday, September 28, 2007 Printable VersionEmail This Article del.icio.us Digg Technorati Reddit Slashdot Fark Newsvine Google Bookmarks (1) Georgia (default) Verdana Times New Roman Arial (09-28) 04:00 PDT Bangkok -- Dodging a deadly military crackdown that has killed at least nine protesters, Burmese bloggers are on the front lines, providing news and photos of death and insurrection. Their Internet blogs, written in Burmese and grammatically flawed English, are posted mostly by residents of Rangoon, the commercial port also known as Yangon, where Buddhist monks, pro-democracy activists and residents have been defying security forces for more than a week. The bloggers rely on word-of-mouth, cell phones, online chat groups, instant messaging, and firsthand accounts of protesters facing barricaded streets, tear gas and gunfire from Burmese security forces. The best blogs provide photos, video and text updates purportedly by eyewitnesses, which are later confirmed by news organizations or, in some cases, can't be verified. The nation's military regime has refused to grant visas to foreign correspondents, and has even blocked visa requests for many foreign tourists after the mass uprising worsened this week. As a result, blogger accounts have captivated the outside world, including President Bush and the United Nations. On Thursday, the Bush administration imposed economic sanctions against 14 senior Burmese officials. On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council issued a statement of concern about the violent crackdown and said it would send a special envoy to Burma. Burmese and foreign bloggers in Rangoon, Mandalay, the nation's second-largest city, and elsewhere have risked their lives to document the pro-democracy demonstrations, which began over a fuel price hike in August. One poignant blog, by a young Burmese woman who identifies herself as Dawn, appears at www.xanga.com/dawn_1o9. "Around 1:20 or 1:30 p.m., I heard someone saying that the police/army started shooting in the air," Dawn wrote, describing Rangoon on Wednesday. "At 2:00 p.m., I heard that buses have stopped running on Sule Pagoda Road. Someone from the office went out there, and came running back when there were shots being fired. "I heard the gun shots too, but it sounded a lot like clapping. So I went out to look. "I was reading the news on a blogger's Cbox, and it said that at least 5 monks were dead at Shwedagon Pagoda. My sis had already called home and told my brother not to go to work. I called home too, and also to my father. He told me to stay at work and not to go out." International media reports said at least one person died when security forces attacked protesters Wednesday, though some reports said as many as five people may have been killed that day. "I'll let you know when I've been shot," Dawn continued. "I'll ask someone before I die to blog about it. If it was an instant death, I'll come to my sister in my dream and tell her to blog about it, or I won't rest in peace." Another popular blogger created a collection of vivid text and photos at ko-htike.blogspot.com and noted that "now the regime open fire into these group, and used fire engine to sweep the blood on the street." Foreigners blogging in Burma include burmesedayze.blogspot.com, which is written by an unidentified person who moved to Rangoon in March 2006. "The BBC is getting hold of a reasonable amount of video footage that people are taking surreptitiously and sending to them," the foreigner posted Saturday. "Some of it is hand-held video clips shot from the hip (so that the photographer isn't too obvious to the police watching the marches), while other clips seem to have been shot out of windows in tall buildings in downtown Rangoon." Even before the current protests, Burma had a strong presence on the Internet, created over the years by Burmese dissidents and foreigners who had established pro-democracy Web sites in Thailand, Europe, United States and elsewhere. In 2006, several Americans created a MySpace Web page for Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy activist and Nobel Prize Peace Prize laureate, who has been under house arrest for much of the past 18 years. Other Web sites pertaining to Burma, also known as Myanmar, have been created by nongovernmental organizations, or by aid provided by the U.S. government and other international sources. These include www.irrawaddy.org, which also publishes a monthly magazine in Thailand, and www.dvb.no, the Democratic Voice of Burma radio, in Norway. In 1988, exiled Burmese journalists set up mizzima.com, which promotes democracy in Burma through India's Mizzima News Agency, The site is bilingual in Burmese and English, and includes online video. Some blogs, such as weunite-weblog.blogspot.com, offer Internet links relating to Burma, and warn users when the Burmese military regime blocks Web sites and blogs. And graffiti taggers can go to saffronrevolutionworldwide.blogspot.com, for stencil images of two Buddhist monks walking side by side, which can be cut out, held against a wall, and spray-painted. "You can help make this image appear all over the world, reminding people everywhere of the uprising in Burma and showing that the struggle for freedom is alive everywhere," wrote the site's bloggers, who are in Mae Sot, Thailand, near the Burma border. "Monks make great stencil images ... download the pattern and get your monks on the march!" More information on Burma Personal blogs by Burmese residents of Rangoon -- www.xanga.com/dawn_1o9 -- ko-htike.blogspot.com Personal blogs by an unidentified foreign resident of Rangoon -- burmesedayze.blogspot.com Political Web sites on Burma -- www.irrawaddy.org -- www.dvb.no (the Democratic Voice of Burma radio based in Norway). -- www.mizzima.com (Mizzima News Agency based in India). -- weunite-weblog.blogspot.com: offers Internet links relating to Burma, and warns users when the Burmese military regime blocks a Web site or blog. Graffiti artists -- saffronrevolutionworldwide.blogspot.com - offers stencil images of Buddhist monks who have led recent protests. The images can be cut out, held against a wall, and spray-painted. Bay Area pro-democracy advocates -- The Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA): (510)220-1232; Web site: www.badasf.org; e-mail: nyuntthan@gmail.com. This article appeared on page A - 10 of the San Francisco Chronicle __________________ Easy to think when you are young how you are going to change the world. Not so easy to see how the world is going to change you. ---- Conrado De Quiros