Burmese bloggers hide from police

Nem Davies
Mizzima News
www.mizzima.com
January 29, 2008

Apprehensive of the relentless crackdown by the Burmese military junta, several Burmese bloggers in Rangoon have gone into hiding. The scare follows the arrest of a Burmese blogger, Nay Phone Latt, earlier in the day.

Burmese bloggers in the former capital are alarmed and have been forced to go underground in fear of the authorities taking action against them. Nay Phone Latt (Nay Bone Latt), a blogger as well as a writer, was arrested from an internet cafe in Thingan Kyun Township.

A blogger, who requested anonymity in fear of reprisals, said, "At the moment we [bloggers] are fleeing in the wake of the arrest of Ko Nay Phone Latt."

Nay Phone Latt has a blog site www.nayphonelatt.blogspot.com, where he posted writings about expressions of the youth in Burma.

Another blogger said he believes the authorities have targeted bloggers and confirmed that fellow bloggers are on the run in fear of arrests.

Internet users in Rangoon said, over a few weeks ago, authorities have stepped up surveillance of internet users and asked internet café owners to maintain strict records of users.

Blogging, which is popular among Burmese youth, has become a dangerous pastime in the country. The authority's stranglehold over information flow remains as tight as ever and there is zero tolerance over any critical writing.

During the September protests, a Burmese blogger Thar Phyu, who has a blogsite www.mogokemedia.blogspot.com, was arrested and briefly detained for posting pictures of monks and people demonstrating on the streets.

Meanwhile, authorities have shifted poet Saya Saw Wai, who was arrested last week for writing a Valentines' day poem that contains a hidden word – 'Power Crazy Than Shwe', – to the notorious Insein prison on Saturday, family members said.