With the Jasmine Revolution now spreading to China, the junta is concerned that the attempt by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to form a “people’s network” could spark mass protests in Burma. As a result, the regime will increase intelligence services in order to suppress similar mass anti-government movements.
Following the lead of the mass uprisings in the Arab world, some Burmese activists operating both inside and outside the country recently began a social media campaign against military rule in Burma. The campaign launched a Facebook page called “Just Do It” on Feb.13, the birthday of the late Burmese independence hero Aung San—who was Suu Kyi’s father. Nearly a month after the Just Do It campaign commenced, some Internet users in Rangoon, Mandalay and other cities are complaining that the Internet speed is slower than before. Some believe Burmese authorities have slowed down the Internet to deter social media driven anti-government movements such as Just Do It. “It is usual that government agencies survey wire networks in the country, particularly since 2007 when the monk-led Saffron Revolutio.... However, these days there is tightened surveillance at Internet cafes and Yadanapon Cyber City which oversees Internet traffic in ...,” said a Burmese IT technician from Yadanapon City.
Also as a result of the Arab uprisings, Naypyidaw reportedly plans to put more military officials or former military officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make sure that Burmese diplomats do not follow the lead of Libyan diplomats.
While the authorities are concerned about potential mass unrest in the country, they are still struggling to handle inflation in commodity prices. Burmese consumers have been facing sustained food price hikes since mid-February, which observers say is partially related to the junta’s reported plan to significantly increase government salaries. Last week, a 49-kg broken-rice pack increased to 12,500 kyat (US $14.20) from the previous price of 11,000 kyat ($12.50), while good quality rice increased to 36,500 kyat ($ 41.47) per pack, up from 31,000 kyat ($ 35.22). Businessmen in Rangoon said that despite government efforts to bring commodity prices back to normal levels, they have still not returned to early February prices.