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In an apparent sign of confidence that the mass civilian protests in Burma have been contained, the military junta has reconnected to the Internet since 6 October 2007, though connection is limited to curfew hours at night and comes in sporadic trickles.

Most Internet users in the former capital Rangoon said the lines were accessible only from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. (local time), the curfew period imposed in Rangoon and Mandalay by the junta on 25 September after thousands of monks led thousands more civilians to march in the streets in protest of the country's rapidly deteriorating economic conditions. Junta troops opened fire on the peaceful protesters the next day, killing several people including Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai.

An Internet-savyy youth in Rangoon said that because the Internet is made available only during curfew hours, only a few people with connection at home are able to get online, while a few private companies that rely on the Internet for communication have requested its staff to work at night.

 

Most Internet shops in the city remain closed. A few shops that allow computer games continue to survive on gamers.

 

The junta on the last week of September cut off most phone lines, including those of mobile phones, and blocked one of the only two Internet service providers (ISP) in the country, Myanmar Teleport, formerly known as Bagan Cybertech, to stop the flow of information while its troops were embarking on a brutal crackdown of the protesters after a week of peaceful, undisturbed marches in Rangoon and Mandalay.

 

The junta kept open the other ISP run by the Myanmar Post and Telecommunication as it services mainly a select group of government servants.

 

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Mizzima News is news organisation headquartered in New Delhi, India, run by exiled Burmese journalists. A SEAPA partner, it aims to promote awareness about the situation in Burma and promote democracy and freedom of expression in the country.

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