In the run-up to the October election that Mr. Milosevic lost and then failed to steal, his regime seem to fall asleep at the dictatorial switch. It allowed opposition groups to organize and distribute literature in the smallest towns and villages in Serbia. IN a display of half-hearted authoritarianism that would never pass muster in Myanmar, Mr. Milosevic ignored the power of the Internet to mobilize his opponents. He tolerated independent media outlets in the Serbian capital and in many other cities. He allowed foreign journalists to roam all over, sniffing out news that filtered back into Serbia via the Internet and independent news media.
Burmese generals know better.
If they don't control it, they ban it. The generals in Myanmar have perfected a style of governance that limits information, sows distrust and prevents private misery from snowballing into mass political action. People do not have a place to go to talk to each other because they know that there are informers everywhere. The country, of course, has an immensely popular, articulate and internationally acclaimed opposition leader. But that leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a winner of the Noble Peace Prize, is under house arrest, as she has been for more than 6 of the past 12 years.