Facebookers assail Myanmar junta
HONG KONG (AFP) — The battle for Myanmar is also being waged through the popular online social networking site Facebook, where users are rallying support against the military junta.
Reports of Myanmar forces shooting into crowds of protesters, arresting monks and beating dissidents have fuelled anger in cyberspace.
But the thousands of messages posted by Facebookers also capture the frustration of a virtual network struggling to bring about meaningful change in the real world.
"I've been glued to the Wall (where people can file video, photos and messages) for the last two days and seen how helpless and impotent people are feeling while these atrocities are being carried out," wrote Chantal Guevara.
"Somehow, there's some way we can make this happen between us, between all the contacts and skills we have!" she added.
A search on Facebook turns up some 340 groups linked to the Southeast Asian nation such as "Burma: Saffron Revolution" and "drop-kick the junta!!!," which offer video, photos, messages, petitions and news about what is happening in Myanmar.
The largest of these groups, "Support the Monks protest in Burma," has 73,000 members and tells people how to help: join protests, write to elected officials, e-mail companies operating in Myanmar, and wear red shirts on Friday in support of the monks leading the anti-government protests.
Other resources and news updates are also posted.
One girl, a Taylor W, said she started a school club to raise awareness, while San San Aye, said her school would rally at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Facebook user Natasha Lutes said two people posting accounts from Myanmar now seemed to be having difficulty with the Internet. Though she did not specify what the trouble was, she did offer help.
"One of the most important things we can do is get the news out," she wrote. "If they agree to e-mail me their posts, I'm going to start posting up the news while I'm at work."
Facebook has become the online phenomenon of 2007.
It reportedly has nearly 40 million members and is adding up to 200,000 new members every day. The explosion in popularity has seen the site courted by Internet giants Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft over the past year.
The site is where people from around the globe can join forces.
"I have people telling me that the Internet is down in all of Burma," Nyantha Maw Lin wrote. "Will others please verify?"
The response came from Rob Huff: "Media is confirming that internet is down, or in the process of being shut down."
It's not the first time Facebook has been used to support causes since the site debuted in 2004. And like with any Internet network, there is opportunity for unsubstantiated rumours to take hold.
Vanessa Gartner said her media company got a call from a man living in Singapore who had spoken with his sister in Myanmar on Thursday.
"She says hundreds of people have been killed," Gartner wrote. "How many people do you really think have been shot?"
Facebooker, Jason Newton, wrote: "I've heard General Shwe (the military leader) is now directing soldiers because some commanders refused to use force ... not sure if it is true or not though."
Some believe the Facebook mobilisation is a start but question the impact users can have. The red shirt day idea was called a "stupid Internet protest" by user Vincent Modica.
"Stop being a slacktivist and go do some useful protesting," he wrote.
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