Any country that has problems with free speech and free flow ofinformation is bound to find itself dealing with dissent incyberspace. In Southeast Asia besides Indonesia that would mean Burma,Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore, based on the 1997 report of theCanadian Committee to Protect Journalists. And of these, Burma hasby far the strictest controls on the media. Ruled by a military junta that renamed itself State Peace andDevelopment Council or SPDC, Burma does have some publications - butthey operate within the purview of what the junta allows. SPDC has also imposed restrictions on the ownership of most formsof communication tools, including typewriters, fax machines,photocopiers and modems.
Radio is permitted and widely used, butis known to be filled with SPDC propaganda.
Not surprisingly, the Burmese pro-democracy movement in exile wasamong the first to make its presence felt on the Internet. Other governments are trying to thwart dissent on the Net throughcensorship. In March 1997, Vietnam passed a law allowing the stateto control and censor all Internet communications. But no other country has gone as far as Singapore in institutingresolutions for the complete regulation of the Internet. At best, these rules reflect Singapore Premier Goh Chok Tong'sexhortation to the local press ''to forge consensus and not fomentconfrontation, facilitate nation building and not fray the socialfabric''.