10.12.2006
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.
Internet
is becoming
the FIFTH or central PILLAR
of DEMOCRATIC Governance
_ By Bo Aung Din
We all know that the executive, legislative and judiciary are the three separate main pillars of the Government and the mainstream media is known to be the forth pillar. The main function of the mainstream media is to correct the wrong doings of a government as a watchdog using its nonpartisan, unbiased investigative reporting.
King Mindon (1853 -1878) the second last Burmese king, who published an official newspaper, Yadanabon Nay Pyi Daw Newspaper, respected the freedom of press. He ordered and gave consent and assurances to his chief editor Pho Waziya to write any thing about him and his queen even if that were the bad news.
However, at the present era, most of the mainstream media around the world are bias infavour of the governments because the cronies of the governments, political parties and rich media conglomerates, tycoons or capitalists control them. So nowadays, they do not stand for or represent the views of the ordinary citizens.
The media owner always decides the policy of the media, what to print and which reports to avoid or to slant the news with tinted views and often ordered to spin or doctored the news with half truth rumours and gossips to change the opinion or influence the public. Traditional mainstream media journalists are like pawns in the bigger political games and the media became the money printing machines for the boss. The media owner, government, political parties politically placed or appointed the Editor-in-Chief, with their own selfish agenda to fulfill. So all the mainstream media news are slanted, bias and as if always seeing with a sunglass.
However, nowadays because of the advances in Information Communication Technology, Internet is rapidly establishing itself as the most powerful weapon of the powerless poor ordinary citizens.
Internet empowers all the Burmese and dissidents around the world to effectively push, claim, highlight, enlighten the people and fight for the democratic changes, respect for Human Rights and change the government for a more responsible, transparent, just and democratic.”
Among them, Blogging can be a useful tool as an alternative to mainstream media. I am sure that the Blogs and Internet could be able to manage or initiate the changes in the political landscape of Myanmar/Burma as it is happening in other countries around the world.
Online ICT, Internet media is unstoppably establishing firmly itself as the most powerful Fifth or the central Pillar of the Government by its effective opinion-shaping and we could call it as a very important part of a participatory democracy.
The Asian Institute for Development Communication (Aidcom), a KL-based NGO affiliated to the United Nations, is currently having a conference themed: “Shaping Public Opinion in a Changing Media Environment”. According to them:
“The use of the Internet has been evolving as a key factor in the mechanism towards development of a global civil society. The new information technologies offer unlimited opportunities for broad-based participation in governance at local, national and global levels.
This also provides the possibility of cost-effective access to public information. The Internet also enhances the ability of civil society, individuals and bloggers to communicate more speedily and efficiently among themselves, and to more effectively promote a public sphere.”
Usually coward and eunuch mainstream media is nowadays knocked down by the progressive, free online journalism except in the countries ruled by the authoritarian régimes as Myanmar, China, North Korea, Iran etc.
Downtrodden Burmese opposition have no much ammunition like the cash rich SPDC who got a lot of cash cows such as opium growing, drug trade, jewelry, petroleum and gas etc for themselves but not for the benefit of the ordinary citizens. This new online media technology can help the poor Burmese opposition an enormous power to fight back SPDC by pushing for a participatory democracy in Myanmar/Burma. Online media and internet could effectively shape our people, all the citizens, Ethnic Minorities, Minority Religious groups and all the Civil Societies to understand the essence of democracy and its intimate connection with Respect of the Human rights of all the citizens of Burma/Myanmar. However, we need to instill social responsibilities of using the Internet. We have to encourage debates among stakeholders on this emerging trend by the governments like SPDC of suppressing the right to openly discuss public matters. By doing so, we would be able to foster the development of a well-informed citizenry who can play a meaningful role in decision-making and in governance of our future Secular Democratic Federal Union of Burma/Myanmar.
We all must not let behind or ignorant of the emerging new trends in the Global Media Eco-System. By using the online media, we should try to change the SPDC government. We need to push them to be more transparent and we must get more involved in serving the civil society of Burma.
In the news about the war in Iraq CNN is obviously bias towards Government of USA, even when compared to the more balanced news on BBC. And although the Aljazera is said to be providing an alternative news but it is also giving a slanted views from one side. But we could see the great mighty power of the recent US bloggers in the case of recent US Elections in changing the mindset of George Bush and Mr. Blair.
We hereby wish that one day our Burmese Internet online media could successfully topple the Military government of Myanmar. However, in the mean time we need to search ways to penetrate and overcome the very strict internet censors of the scared and coward SPDC so that all the people of Burma could have access to our independent information posted online.
SPDC must be taught to pay a heavy price at the next General Elections if they dare to held one. We could not make any mistake about this. We could not let SPDC to force all the people of Burma to rubberstamp or just approve what they want. We could not simply let them legalize their ultimate aim of “Permanent dominance of the Myanmar Military” disguised or sugar coated as a form of democracy. Burmese People must not be fooled by this insidious plot.
SPDC Humpty Dumpty is already sitting on the edge of the wall. SPDC Humpty Dumpty is going to have a great fall if we just keep on pushing with our independent ICT. Humpty Dumpty SPDC is going to be broken into pieces and nothing, absolutely nothing, can mend it at all.
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