http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=23185
Road To Freedom Runs Via Norway
By Peter Apps
Reuters
OSLO - Using secret material smuggled out of Myanmar, the Oslo-based
Democratic Voice of Burma's radio and TV stations are a key source of
information for those inside and outside the country on the government's
crackdown on protesters.
As demonstrators clash with troops in a nation with no independent media,
exiled journalists and workers broadcasting from a sleek office in the
Norwegian capital hope their work will help end military rule in their homeland.
Undercover local journalists secretly film and record events, risking
arrest and torture to send footage and facts to the station. Material is
smuggled out by airline passengers or diplomats, or sent by e-mail.
As protests grew last week, the station found itself providing film to
the world's broadcasters largely unable to get their own material from inside
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
"Our station is a key factor in making a change," Khin Maung Win, a
veteran of 1988 protests which ended in bloodshed with a military crackdown,
said. "In 1988, Burma was a completely closed country. There was no media
coverage. Now everyone is watching."
With about a dozen from its staff of 100 in Oslo, the newsroom is alive
with discussion about events half a world away. "Never report rumors" says a
sign on the wall alongside a painting of democracy icon and Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Democratic Voice of Burma broadcasts by shortwave radio. It also
beams satellite television for several hours a day.
Funded by the governments of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the United States
and the Netherlands, the broadcaster has increased its output and most staff
have almost doubled their hours since protests led by Buddhist monks began
earlier this month.
Myanmar's government last week blocked Internet access but people in
Myanmar continued to talk to the station by mobile phone, Win said.
Before the protests, the station estimated its radio programs reached
about 13 million of Myanmar's 56 million people and its satellite television
about half of the estimated 10 million viewers in the country.
"Nowadays, we think everyone is tuning in," he said. "People are watching
and listening publicly. People are proud when their voices are heard on the air
- they would never have that chance with state media."
Mobile and satellite phone calls are its main expense, Win said, adding
that last week alone the station spent its usual annual total of nearly
$100,000 on communications. Governments that support the radio have pledged
more funds.
Working for the station is a crime in Myanmar, and the staff worry about
the safety of their workers and family members. Some staff in Oslo avoid
communication with families back home for fear of endangering them.
The broadcaster also sees a role for itself in a free Myanmar. "In the
past we were effectively propaganda for the pro-democracy movement," Win said.
"Now, we try to be objective so we can become the independent media of a free
Burma."
There is cause for optimism, Win says. The station reported that some
army units refused to fire on protesters or monks: signs of a potential split
in the military, he said.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
