As the Burmese military government continues to strengthen its control of the Internet, activists are turning to traditional methods to spread their messages

Faced with increasing restrictions on Internet access, Myanmar’s anti-coup demonstrators have increasingly turned to the media preferred by the previous generation of militants to continue their struggle against military rule.

With the steady growth of the national information flow, printed political journals have found new relevance and have become a means of expanding the voice of democracy.

In the past, titles such as Molotov (Molotov), ​​”Sounds of Spring” (sounds of spring), and “Progress of Spring” (milestones of spring) also expressed the hope to restore the relative freedom of the past decade The fundamental hope of this generation.

These journals are mainly published by student activists and will be published in late March. This is the darkest day for the military government to suppress democratic protests.

The first is “Towards”, a seven-page periodical that publishes sports-related news, articles and poems. These news, articles and poems are published by members and former members of the University Student League.

A former member of the Student Union said: “Internet access has become difficult and the media is restricted. In this case, we must follow the old-fashioned approach.”

Molotov was born on April 1. This gasoline is named after a gasoline bomb used in protests to repel heavily armed regimes that suppressed peaceful gatherings.

The young activist who published the magazine also mentioned the same problem, that is, the military government’s oppression and the mobile Internet blockade across the country, which is why the publication was able to resume printing.

They explained that their goal is to let the public understand the situation and participate in it, and share resistance techniques.

The first issue is eight pages, in addition to articles, poems and cartoons, it also published information about the fallen protesters. A week later, the second issue will consist of 12 pages, focusing on practical techniques to fight the revolution.

Although in many ways, the magazine’s return can be repeated to the era of the 1988 uprising, before the advent of many modern telecommunications tools, a new generation of activists had fully established contact with the electronic media.

“The Voice of Spring” released on April 5 provides readers with daily news briefings in the form of printed matter and short message service.

However, there are rumors that the regime has banned mobile internet, public WiFi and portable WiFi broadband, and plans to shut down the remaining internet in the country. Printed journals are becoming more and more important.

These publications are scattered on the streets and markets by young activists. Another advantage of these is that they can attract ordinary people who may not be fully involved in sports.

The publishers of Towards and Molotov stated that they are mainly located in Yangon; in the case of Molotov, even towns currently under martial law.

At the same time, its publisher said that “The Voice of Spring” is distributed in Myanmar’s largest city as well as in rural areas.