The News Tribune, WA
Sept 29 2007
Myanmar junta can’t murder in darkness
THE NEWS TRIBUNE Published: September 29th, 2007 01:00 AM
Myanmar’s besieged dictatorship declared war Friday on the Internet
and cell phones, shutting down the former and confiscating the
latter. Too late.
Images and descriptions of its suddenly murderous suppression of
pro-democracy demonstrations had already reached the rest of the
world in real time. Outside journalists – routinely banned from the
country – had already reported the massive scale of the protests by
following the Web. Outside supporters of the democracy movement had
already set up a `Support the Monks’ Protest in Burma’ page on
Facebook; 110,000 people had joined it by Friday.
Diplomatic reaction followed the coverage, almost in real time. By
Friday, President Bush had announced further sanctions against the
Burmese regime. America, Europe, Japan and even China – the regime’s
godfather – were applying pressure to end the violence. The United
Nations was being pressed to take action.
There’s no telling now how this struggle for Myanmar’s soul will end.
But if the democratic forces do prevail over the military junta, the
victory will owe something to today’s extraordinary communications
networks. If the junta ultimately prevails by force, the same
technology will have indelibly exposed its depravity to the civilized
world.
Contrast this with the violence the junta unleashed when it
originally seized power in 1988. Then, too, it had to contend with a
powerful challenge from pro-democracy forces on the streets. But
there were no camera-equipped cell phones and no Internet. There was
barely any television; phone service, such as it was, was all
landline.
As a result – and because Burma was regarded as unimportant – the
world took little note of the junta’s slaughter of perhaps 3,000
people.
Today, even after its crackdown on communications, the regime won’t
be able to cut Myanmar off from the world. It will never be able to
confiscate every cell phone. And while it has shut down the country’s
Internet service providers, foreign companies and embassies can stay
on the Web via satellite.
Some of history’s greatest crimes against humanity, including the
Holocaust and the Turkish genocide of Armenians, were committed in
darkness. Whatever the Burmese junta does, it will have to do in the
harsh light of international scrutiny. Myanmar’s democracy movement
has a precious ally – instant, speed-of-light communications – that
past victims of brutal dictatorships couldn’t have dreamed of.