Skype proves a useful communications tool in Vietnam, Burma
SKYPE, a free voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service on the Internet, is now being used by activists in Vietnam and Burma to skate around strong government control on telecommunications.
Chi Dang, a Vietnamese human rights activist who has gone to exile in Canada, said that she uses Skype to communicate with fellow activists in Vietnam.
Telecommunications and the Internet remain under the control of government in Vietnam. "All telephone calls are tapped, even Internet activities are monitored," Dang told INQ7.net in an interview in Manila.
Dang is attending the Free Expression in Asian Cyberspace forum hosted by the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, a non-government organization.
The thirty-something Vietnamese quipped that people in her country can actually "hear" or tell when their telephone calls are being monitored by government.
"With Skype, we can now talk to each other on the Internet. Calls using Skype are encrypted," she said, adding that she and other
human rights activists based in Vietnam had been using this Internet technology for more than two years to communicate and pass on information.
Dang recalled one of her friends was arrested by Vietnamese police this month for allegedly "abusing his democratic rights to plan anti-government activities." Apparently, her friend was chatting with another colleague using the Internet and forgot to erase the chat history. This somehow led to his arrest. He was detained but eventually released by the police.
Dang has been in exile in Canada for more than two years. She's been black-listed in Vietnam, which means once she gets back she'll be arrested.
In Burma, Sein Win of mizzima.com, said that Internet technologies like Skype are also allowing the Burmese people to communicate and exchange information though strict Internet access controls and content regulation imposed by the military government remain. The Burmese military disallows discussions on matters pertaining to politics and the military rule.
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva - INQ7.net (.ph)- April 20, 2006.
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