Why are we surprised?

The signs that Burma is run by a repressive regime are easy to find and well reported so why do we think that anything changes when a cyclone arrives? The savage attacks on the monks and other protesters last year were a pretty clear example of what the military government thinks about it's own people so a few hundred thousand deaths is unlikely to give the leadership many sleepless nights.

The following is an extract from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society's report on internet censorship in Burma (2005) and gives a flavour of the paranoia of the regime.

"Internet access is costly and the state uses software-based filtering techniques to limit significantly the materials Burma's citizens can access on-line. Most dial-up Internet accounts provide access only to the limited Myanmar Internet, not to the global network that most people around the world can access. The state maintains the capability to conduct surveillance of communication methods such as e-mail, and to block users from viewing Web sites of political opposition groups, organizations working for democratic change in Burma, and pornographic material. As compared to states elsewhere around the world, Burma's censorship regime is among the most extensive."