Information Policy

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Burma cyber-dissidents crack censorship

By Stephanie Holmes
BBC News

Burma's bloggers are using the internet to beat censorship, and tell the world what is happening under the military junta's veil of secrecy.

Images of saffron-robed monks leading throngs of people along the streets of Rangoon have been seeping out of a country famed for its totalitarian regime and repressive control of information.

The pictures are sometimes grainy and the video footage shaky - captured at great personal risk on mobile phones - but each represents a powerful statement of political dissent.

"It is amazing how the Burmese are able through underground networks to get things from outside and inside," says Vincent Brussels, head of the Asian section of press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders.

"Before, they were moving things hand-to-hand and now they are using the internet - proxy websites, Google and YouTube and all these things."

On the inside

The use of the internet as a political tool is one of the most marked differences between the latest protests and the 1988 uprising, which was brutally repressed.

Thanks in part to bloggers, this time the outside world is acutely aware of what is happening on the streets of Rangoon, Mandalay and Pakokku and is hungry for more information.

They [the government] can see that people are looking at my site... that means they are scared so they are trying to manipulate me, to use people power."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7012984.stm

EU Commissioners Split on Functional Separation

A split has appeared in the European Union (EU)'s desire to impose functional separation on European incumbent operators, with several commissioners voicing opposition to the plan. Dow Jones reports that the EU's competition and industry officials, as well as some national governments, are opposed to the plans outlined by Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding. EU Antitrust Commissioner Neelie Kroes is reported to have noted that, overall, the legislative amendments proposed introduce more bureaucracy, increase the complexity and duration of the administrative process and will tend to result in more regulation, while market developments clearly show increased competition and a decreasing need for regulatory intervention. Dow Jones reports that several EU governments, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, have written to the EU, signalling that they will oppose any plans to create a single EU telecoms regulator.

The emerging dissenting voices will ultimately lead to an impasse by the year’s end when Reding is supposed to push forward her vision for telecoms regulations in the EU. Although a concerted opposition by the governments of the key nations will undoubtedly undermine her efforts, the more likely outcome will be an internal review to iron out a compromise position. Such a step would not be new given that a middle policy ground was found for the now-imposed cuts in EU mobile-roaming charges.

http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/130/26785?7649

Transparency International: 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index

Concerted efforts needed in rich and poor countries to stem flow of corrupt monies and make justice work for the poorest. The divide in perceived levels of corruption in rich and poor countries remains as sharp as ever, according to the 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released 26 September 2007 by Transparency International, the global coalition against corruption. Developed and developing countries must share responsibility for reducing corruption, in tackling both the supply and demand sides. A strong correlation between corruption and poverty continues to be evident. Forty percent of those scoring below three, indicating that corruption is perceived as rampant, are classified by the World Bank as low income countries.

http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2007/2007_09_26_cpi_2007_en

BE: On-line politics gives citizens a say

With the intention of injecting new life into the political debate, a new website recently launched in Belgium provides citizens with an on-line forum in which to air and exchange their political views.

The maPolitique site is a private initiative aimed at inciting citizens to take a more active interest in the political life of the country, and providing them with a channel through which they can make their views heard. “Faced with a growing disinterest in politics, the web opens up the political debate and brings it much closer to people, announcing a real democratic revolution – a ‘new-look’ democracy is being born on the web,” note the site’s creators.

The eDemocracy tools being proposed on mapolitique.be are intended to help promote a better dialogue between elected representatives and voters: interactive debates, on-line petitions, open letters and blogs. Other features are in the pipeline too.

In Belgium, eDemocracy is still in the early stages but more and more politicians are beginning to use the new communication possibilities offered by the web (blogs, internet sites, web TVs). The general public too are increasingly active in cyberspace. Internet use is very high, as is involvement in on-line communities, chat rooms and open forums.

Some are predicting the birth of a ‘fifth power’: after the executive, legislative, judicial and the medias, the power of citizens united thanks to new communication technologies. In contrast to the traditional political debate, the Internet has some strong attractions: it is easy to use, interactive and very accessible, even for those generally excluded from the political debate.

http://www.epractice.eu/document/3918