(Mizzima/IFEX) - The Burmese military junta has put up another hurdle for
Internet users in Burma by blocking the website http://www.blogger.com/.

Following the 'Saffron Revolution' in September 2007, the Internet Service
Provider (ISP), Myanmar Teleport had restricted surfing to
http://www.blogger.com/. Soon afterwards, the site was also inaccessible via
the other ISP in Burma, Myanmar Post and Telecommunication (MPT).

However, a representative from the MPT Kabaaye Pagoda Road office in
Rangoon has denied that the ISP was blocking the website.

In a recent interview with Mizzima, she said: "We have not blocked this
website, but I don't know why this website cannot be visited. We haven't
yet received any instruction from Naypyidaw  in this regard."

An assistant engineer from MPT's Naypyidaw office told Mizzima, "Please
contact Rangoon MPT office if the website cannot be visited in Rangoon. We
haven't yet received any instruction from the higher authorities. The
senior officer who can give you more detail is out of the station now."

Mizzima consulted an Information Technology (IT) expert who described the
access issues. "When we visit http://www.blogger.com/ an 'Access Denied'
message pops up on screen in the colour red. Then the message says that the
'requested website is denied by the network administrator'", he explained.
Though he could not access http://www.blogger.com/, the website
http://www.blog.com/ was accessible.

Analysts are saying that the regime blocked the website because news and
articles reflecting the situation in Burma were being posted on it.
Bloggers inside Burma managed to post updated news with photographs and
video footage of the brutal crackdown on protesters in September 2007 so
that international viewers could get the news instantly.

An owner of an internet café in Rangoon told Mizzima how the government had
instructed them to trace the users and the websites they visited by taking
note of their identification and addresses, along with screen shoots from
each computer every five minutes.

"They instructed us to take screen shots recently after the news on the
hike in license fees for satellite dish antennas was announced. The
government instructed us to take screen shots every five minutes and report
to them by sending a CD with the data. We never complied with these
instructions but some internet café owners who are afraid of reprisals from
the authorities might have sent them this information", he said.

Registering for Internet access in Burma is a costly and bureaucratic
affair. To set up an Internet café or Public Access Centre (PAC) and
register with one of the country's two ISPs, MPT and Myanmar Teleport,
users must apply to the Ministry of Communication through the body Myanmar
Info Tech (MICT).

According to an MICT official, "the applications must be submitted at MICT.
Then we forward these applications to the Ministry and must get approval
from them before issuing registrations. This process may take seven to ten
days."

The current registration fee for an Internet connection is 500,000 Kyat
(approx. US$400), combined with advance payment for six month's usage at
the monthly rate of 50,000 Kyat (approx US$40). Along with other hidden
costs, approximately USD$1,300 must be paid annually to MICT for Internet
access.

Beyond the high registration costs and monthly fees, terms and conditions
for keeping Internet access are hard to comply with. Internet café owners
must monitor their clients' computer usage and report this information to
the authorities. The government also sets the fees for Internet usage at
the café at 1,000 Kyat (approx. US$0.80) per hour.

Despite the exorbitant fees paid, the service is very poor, a café owner
said. "The connection is very poor. The line drops frequently when we
download the sound files. MPT did not respond when we tried to lodge a
complaint," a café owner said.

Burmese citizens have also expressed their discontent with the sudden and
drastic fee hikes for satellite dish licenses. News of these hikes spread
via the Burmese media groups in exile to the outside world. As a result,
the regime suspended publication of some media inside Burma for one week
and a "Myanmar Times Journal" editor was fired from his job.

"Lack of media freedom is the biggest obstacle and hurdle for us. Our
readers expect every magazine and journal to be published on time. They
should not suspend the publications. This is an obstacle for us," one
Burmese editor told Mizzima.

Despite the junta's desperate attempts to restrict the flow of information
through the media to the people by various means, they have not succeeded
in this sophisticated IT age, a technology savvy internet café owner told
Mizzima.

"They cannot succeed in banning the websites as there are many ways to
bypass the software that blocks access to these sites. The bans are
ineffective. And they cannot ban the Internet outright since many pro-junta
business tycoons rely on it for their businesses," he said.