She can access Internet from Home

We dared not of course hope but we see THAT as a dramatic transformation for our country’s democratization process. The regime allowed having Internet installed at the leader of Myanmar’s democracy movement Aung San Su Kyi’s house.

On Sunday, 23 January 2011, Internet line developed by Yadanarpon Teleport was set up at Daw Aung San Su Kyi’s house which is situated in University Avenue Road.

Despite a Mcwill system which is operated via telephone line, phone and voice services has not been accessible and just visual Internet is permitted. The connection speed is 512kbps at the moment. “They first officially said that is that 1M speed but it has not been unlimited and concluded saying that it will be upgraded later” an IT technician from NLD (National League for Democracy) reported. The Internet installation cost local currency of five lakh and sixty thousand kyats which is equivalent to about 560 US$.

A party member said that she is planning to register a mail4you Email account which is legally authorized by the junta. The mail4you is a low security service for the users where the privacy is in very doubtful condition and the passwords of it can be easily broken into the authority’s hands. In Myanmar, the ICT industry is strictly controlled by the government and even there is a rule that those who would like to have internet facility at their residency must lose contact with POLITICS.

Regarding the filling the forms for this internet registration, Daw Aung San Su Kyi joked that she had once answered that she does not have political-clearance at an interview after her house-detain.

NLD party members agree that it is, in anyway, a progress in terms of politics although that internet usable permission at her home is not a huge change.

Before her release in November 2010, during seven years period in home-arrest, she had mentioned that she would like to utilize online media and social networking. News from international brocast agencies like BBC, VOA and RFA and her radio used to be her companion then. Till now, her telephone line has been cut off.

Along with the good news about Internet at her home, MPT (Myanmar Port and Telecommunication) also reset up the phone line of NLD headquarter where the service was blocked for three years.

Party’s spokesman U Own Kyaing said that NLD’s own website will be planned to lunch soon.

From the released statement of MPT, there are over four hundred thousand people around the country who use Internet by 2010 and most of them are from big cities like Yangon and Mandalay.

In Myanmar, Internet facility was introduced into the public in 2000. Since then, the regime has been controlling anxiously and suspiciously what done via online by the social activists and democratic allies. The websites of media firms, most of the social networking sites such as YouTube, free Email services like Yahoo and Hot mail are access-denied.

Source: http://www.mizzimaburmese.com/news/inside-burma/6758-2011-01-21-13-21-08...