Junta Cracks Down on Internet Access in Ministries

Government ministries in Burma have clamped down on civil servants accessing the Internet because of leaked information to Burmese exile media, according to sources in Naypyidaw. 

The ministries include the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Revenue, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and the Ministry of Industry No.1, said the source.

An employee in the Ministry of Commerce in Naypyidaw said that information from confidential files detailing the work of high officials with foreign countries, especially North Korea, have appeared in the exile media, including The Irrawaddy.

The source said that the order was posted by the ministry’s director-general. Government workers who need to use the Internet now must request permission.

Also, workers are now restricted to using government e-mail accounts assigned to them, and they may not use non-government accounts at work.

Sources said the speed and efficiency of work has been greatly reduced, because people routinely need to access the Internet for information.

A Rangoon civil servant said, “Before I could look at exile media news from my office. But, after exile media reported about Burma’s plans to acquire nuclear technology, they blocked Internet access at our office.” 

A computer technician in Rangoon said, “Our government is trying to move backward, while many other developing countries are trying to move forward.

“They often boast that they will implement e-government systems within ministries. If they want to do that, why are they restricting the Internet?” he said.

According to the CIA World Fact Book, there were 70,000 Burmese Internet users in 2007 and 108 internet hosts in 2008, while Thailand had 13.4 million Internet users and 1.1 million Internet hosts in the same period. Internet speed in Burma is normally slow compared to neighboring countries.

Since September 2007, the junta has viewed Internet users as a threat to military control of information. The international community learned of the junta’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in 2008 through reports from private citizens posted on the Internet.

The authorities post notices in Internet shops in Burma that warn customers accessing banned Web sites is against the law.