Wikimedia goes to Burma

[Mancunium]

The Wikimedia Foundation doesn't know that advocates of freedom and reform call the "Union of Myanmar" Burma, but they're going to save the country anyway.

TELENOR : Myanmar given free access to the world's knowledge with Wikipedia Zero
4-traders, 7 November 2013 link

(Fornebu, Norway, and San Francisco, California - 7 November 2013) -- Telenor Group and the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, today announced Myanmar as the latest country to be included in their existing agreement to bring Wikipedia Zero to Telenor customers in Asia and Europe. Telenor is supporting the country's ambition of connecting its 60 million people. Through this agreement, Telenor's future subscribers in Myanmar will be able to access Wikipedia's vast knowledge base free of mobile data traffic charges when Telenor begins services in the country.

"The Wikimedia Foundation imagines a world in which every single person has free access to the sum of human knowledge. By working with Telenor, we are able to put this knowledge in the hands of the masses, helping to close the knowledge gap between developed and developing countries. Today's announcement will pave the way for Telenor to offer all the knowledge that comes with Wikipedia Zero to its customers in Myanmar," said Carolynne Schloeder, Director of Mobile Programs at the Wikimedia Foundation.

The partnership between Telenor and the Wikimedia Foundation was established in February 2012, and was founded on a shared commitment to bring Wikipedia to Telenor customers free of data charges. The initiative is part of the Wikimedia Foundation's mobile strategy, which focuses on reaching the billions of people around the world whose primary opportunity to access the Internet is via a mobile device. Following the agreement, special versions of Wikipedia for mobile phones were launched in Thailand, Malaysia and Montenegro. In addition, Telenor aims to launch Wikipedia Zero in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Serbia in 2014.

"Access to high quality telecommunications tools and affordable services plays a substantial role in developing societies. To Telenor, this partnership enables us to provide a strong support to local communities by promoting the exchange and sharing of open knowledge. Offering Wikipedia free of traffic charges also helps introduce internet to mobile users, often for the first time. I am satisfied that our cooperation with the Wikimedia Foundation will now include Myanmar," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group.

On 27 June 2013 Telenor was announced as one of the successful applicants for a telecommunications license in Myanmar. Following the process described in the auction guidelines, the company is now in discussions with the Myanmar authorities regarding the final terms and conditions of the license agreement. Telenor aims to launch services in Myanmar within eight months after the final license agreement is signed.

The extension of this partnership was celebrated today in Oslo when Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, met with Jon Fredrik Baksaas and Rolv-Erik Spilling, Head of Telenor Digital to participate in an event announcing the expansion of service. Mr. Jimmy Wales was also a keynote speaker at the "Digital Winners" conference hosted today by Telenor Digital at Telenor Headquarters, where he shared his views on crowdsourcing for the common good.

When there are Digital Winners, there must also be Digital Losers.

Telenor#Criticism (T-H-L)

Illegal VoIP Operations

Telenor's subsidiary Grameenphone was fined multiple times and later sued because they participated in illegal VOIP operations. VOIP operations went against the BTRC's (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission ) rules and as a result Grameenphone's offices were also raided in the process. BTRC claimed that the regulator and government was denied large revenue which Telenor/Grameenphone earned through these activities. Shortly after, Grameenphone's profits fell 32% when BTRC forced Grameenphone to cease VOIP operations.[citation needed]


Use of child labor and hazardous working conditions

A Danish TV documentary has revealed miserable working conditions and environmental violations at companies in Bangladesh that act as suppliers to GrameenPhone. Employees were shown working with hazardous chemicals and heavy metals virtually without protection. Workers were as young as 13 years, a clear violation of child labour laws. The firms were caught allowing polluted waste water to spill into nearby rice fields. And in one case, a worker was killed when he fell into an unsecured pool of acid.[citation needed]

Telenor opted to reveal some of the findings of the documentary even before it was aired.[22]

Muhammad Yunus

Nobel Peace Prize recipient and co-owner of Grameenphone, Muhammad Yunus, was considering taking legal action against Telenor, for the company's failure to stamp out the use of child labour by its subcontractors in Bangladesh. In a press release published on September 4, 2008, Yunus wrote that:

Neither I nor Grameenphone can accept this conduct. Twice the authorities in Bangladesh have found the company not to be in compliance with the current legislation of the country.

Telenor's CEO, Jon Fredrik Baksaas, has promised to look into the matter.[23]

More good news from Burma.

Burma May Release Some Political Prisoners this Month
Voice of America News, 6 November 2013 link

RANGOON — Burma may release scores of political prisoners this month to fulfill a promise by its reformist president to free prisoners of conscience by the end of this year, a member of a state-appointed panel said on Wednesday.

They may be out just about the same time as free browing of Burmese Wikipedia becomes available.

[Mancunium]

Telenor to launch Wikipedia Zero in 2014
Voice & Data, 8 November 2013 link

Telenor Group said that it will launch Wikipedia Zero in Myanmar when company will start its services in the country and Europe market.

Telenor also said that it will launch Wikipedia Zero in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Serbia in 2014.

Through this agreement, Telenor's future subscribers in Myanmar will be able to access Wikipedia's vast knowledge base free of mobile data traffic charges when Telenor begins services in the country.

"Telenor to offer all the knowledge that comes with Wikipedia Zero to its customers in Myanmar," said Carolynne Schloeder, director of mobile programs at the Wikimedia Foundation.

"The partnership between Telenor and the Wikimedia Foundation was established in February 2012, and was founded on a shared commitment to bring Wikipedia to Telenor customers free of data charges. The initiative is part of the Wikimedia Foundation's mobile strategy, which focuses on reaching the billions of people around the world whose primary opportunity to access the Internet is via a mobile device," the company mentioned in its statement.

Following the agreement, special versions of Wikipedia for mobile phones were launched in Thailand, Malaysia and Montenegro.

"To Telenor, this partnership enables us to provide a strong support to local communities by promoting the exchange and sharing of open knowledge. Offering Wikipedia free of traffic charges also helps introduce internet to mobile users, often for the first time. I am satisfied that our cooperation with the Wikimedia Foundation will now include Myanmar," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and CEO of Telenor Group.

"On 27 June 2013 Telenor was announced as one of the successful applicants for a telecommunications license in Myanmar. Following the process described in the auction guidelines, the company is now in discussions with the Myanmar authorities regarding the final terms and conditions of the license agreement. Telenor aims to launch services in Myanmar within eight months after the final license agreement is signed," the company said in a statement.

In addition, the extension of this partnership was celebrated today in Oslo when Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, met with Jon Fredrik Baksaas and Rolv-Erik Spilling, Head of Telenor Digital to participate in an event announcing the expansion of service.

Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales and
Telenor Group CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas

[Hersch]

The Wikimedia Foundation doesn't know that advocates of freedom and reform call the "Union of Myanmar" Burma, but they're going to save the country anyway.

Actually, hypocritical, patronizing neo-colonialists and their compradors prefer "Burma." And on Wikipedia, "Myanmar" is a re-direct to "Burma."

[Mancunium]

The Wikimedia Foundation doesn't know that advocates of freedom and reform call the "Union of Myanmar" Burma, but they're going to save the country anyway.

Actually, hypocritical, patronizing neo-colonialists and their compradors prefer "Burma." And on Wikipedia, "Myanmar" is a re-direct to "Burma."

Actually, you should tell that to Aung_San_Suu_Kyi (T-H-L).

So, is it Burma or Myanmar? link

Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has been told off by the country's electoral authorities for using the name 'Burma' to refer to the country. So, what really is in a name anyway?

In its rebuke, Myanmar's electoral commission began by referring to Suu Kyi by using the honorific prefix "Daw."

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called Myanmar 'Burma' in her speech to the World Economic Forum in Thailand on 1 June, 2012," it noted. "Again, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called Myanmar 'Burma' in her speeches during her Europe tour."

"The state shall be known as 'The Republic of the Union of Myanmar,' no one has the right to call (the country) Burma," the complaint, carried in a state newspaper, said.

The military government changed the name in 1989 as European place names across the Asian continent became ever scarcer. In the mid-80s, the UN had started to use the Chinese system for romanization, resulting in a change from Peking to Beijing for the capital city of China.

Myanmar - said to be an ancient term referring to the central part of the country - was chosen to ostensibly better reflect the diversity of the nation's population - of which ethnic Burmans represent less than 70 percent. Some experts say this is false, and that the two terms have been used interchangeably for centuries.

What's in a name?

The name of Burma's then capital, Rangoon, also became Myanmar's center of power, Yangon - later usurped by a new capital, Naypyidaw, built at the behest of the generals.

However, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy has taken exception to the renaming, saying that the regime had no mandate to make such a change.

"The dictatorship arbitrarily changed the name of the country and the democracy movement said they didn't have the right," director the Burma Campaign UK, Mark Farmaner, told DW.

"Personally, I am a little bemused by the amount of arguing that goes on about names when at the same time you have a country with such an appalling human rights record, but I have had people tell me that it really is important," said Farmaner, before adding that electoral authorities who criticized Suu Kyi did not have their priorities in order.

"The focus is all wrong. It should be cleaning up its own house and making sure that elections are free and fair, unlike the last two that took place there."

In his book, "Burma or Myanmar?: The Struggle for National Identity," Asia expert Lowell Dittmer from the University of California, Berkeley, explains that the "new" name Myanmar originates from a written, literary form.

Burma, on the other hand, was derived from the spoken form of the name in Bamar, the Burman ethnic language. It was adopted by the British during their colonial rule of the country between 1826 and 1948, and gained international usage. Burmese became the adjective for all the country's people, and is still widely used.
Myanmar's President Thein Sein President Thein Sein's reforms have raised the question over the country's name once again

Dittmer defines countries that say Myanmar as "realists" who believe names can be used to exert pressure - and nominalists, who do not.

The argument runs that to use the name "Myanmar" is to sanction the denial of power to the country's opposition even after it won elections in 1990.

"Behind this apparently petty linguistic dispute, a battle has raged for national identity," said Dittmer.

"These two names have come to symbolize two quite different historical experiences and political trajectories, each upholding its claim to legitimacy."

Global confusion

Global leaders struggle with how to name the country, especially since reforms recently introduced by Prime Minister Thein Sein.

British Prime Minister David Cameron uses the name Burma, while recent speeches by US President Barack Obama also use the name.

But on a trip to the country late last year, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tended to dodge controversy by using the term "this country."

The name Burma continues to be used by many countries, including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the United Nations uses Myanmar, as do the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, Germany, India, Norway and Japan.

Brussels has found its own way to neatly sidestep the issue, calling the country Burma/Myanmar.

"Some countries within the EU call it Burma while others call it Myanmar," said EU spokeswoman Susanne Kiefer. "Although we have had that name for it for a while, it's something that has only recently been confirmed."

Burma Campaign UK's Farmaner maintains that an across-the-board change to Myanmar might be possible after more democratic reform is achieved.

"Maybe at a later date, a democratically elected government might also change but the opposition is not going to accept it from a government that seized power by the barrel of a gun."

Setting priorities

It's a debate that likely to take something of a back seat for Suu Kyi, who returned home from her historic trip to Europe to cheering crowds on Saturday.

Balancing the need for economic development against the maintenance of external pressure on the government is likely pose a more immediate challenge.

With only a tiny fraction of seats for the National League For Democracy in a parliament dominated by the successor party to the pro-military junta, changing the naming of the country - or keeping it the same - looks to be a long way down the line.

Aung San Suu Kyi refers to her country as Burma

She is not a hypocritical patronizing neo-colonialist Comprador (T-H-L), and neither am I.

[Poetlister]

Surely if Bradley Manning can insist that his name is Chelsea and get his article on Wikipedia renamed, the rulers of a country must be allowed the same rights.

[Mancunium]

Should it be Burma or Myanmar?
BBC News Magazine link

The ruling military junta changed its name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989, a year after thousands were killed in the suppression of a popular uprising. Rangoon also became Yangon. ...

A statement by the Foreign Office says: "Burma's democracy movement prefers the form 'Burma' because they do not accept the legitimacy of the unelected military regime to change the official name of the country. Internationally, both names are recognised."

It's general practice at the BBC to refer to the country as Burma, and the BBC News website says this is because most of its audience is familiar with that name rather than Myanmar. The same goes for Rangoon, people in general are more familiar with this name than Yangon. ...

So does the choice of Burma or Myanmar indicate a particular political position?

Mark Farmener, of Burma Campaign UK, says: "Often you can tell where someone's sympathies lie if they use Burma or Myanmar. Myanmar is a kind of indicator of countries that are soft on the regime. ...

They have both been used within Burma for a long time, says anthropologist Gustaaf Houtman, who has written extensively about Burmese politics.

"There's a formal term which is Myanmar and the informal, everyday term which is Burma. Myanmar is the literary form, which is ceremonial and official and reeks of government. [The name change] is a form of censorship." ... "Local opposition groups do not accept that, and presumably prefer to use the 'old' colloquial name, at least until they have a government with popular legitimacy. Governments that agree with this stance still call the country Burma."

[Mancunium]

Surely if Bradley Manning can insist that his name is Chelsea and get his article on Wikipedia renamed, the rulers of a country must be allowed the same rights.

False_analogy (T-H-L)

[Poetlister]

Surely if Bradley Manning can insist that his name is Chelsea and get his article on Wikipedia renamed, the rulers of a country must be allowed the same rights.

False_analogy (T-H-L)

Sorry, I keep forgetting tuse the smiley.

[Mancunium]

Surely if Bradley Manning can insist that his name is Chelsea and get his article on Wikipedia renamed, the rulers of a country must be allowed the same rights.

False_analogy (T-H-L)

Sorry, I keep forgetting tuse the smiley.

Irony (T-H-L)

Fowler's A Dictionary of Modern English Usage says:

"Irony is a form of utterance that postulates a double audience, consisting of one party that hearing shall hear & shall not understand, & another party that, when more is meant than meets the ear, is aware both of that more & of the outsiders' incomprehension."

[Zoloft]

Obviously we need a sarcasm smiley and these cats are gravely offended:

[Mancunium]

[Hersch]

Aung San Suu Kyi refers to her country as Burma

She is not a hypocritical patronizing neo-colonialist Comprador (T-H-L), and neither am I.

Actually, Aung San Suu Kyi is precisely whom I was thinking of, along with her late husband, the British spook.

[Zoloft]

I have precisely one friend from Burma, who left when the generals took power. He doesn't like to talk about the whole mess. I asked him about nomenclature.
"The country has been known as Burma in English a long time. We are Burman, most of us. Only when the dictatorial regime took power was the name changed. The government will gripe at you if you use 'Burma' in social media there, so you see postings about 'Mynamar' cuisine and such. But when our people speak of our beloved country, it is Burma. I am a Burman and proud."

[Mancunium]

Aung San Suu Kyi refers to her country as Burma

She is not a hypocritical patronizing neo-colonialist Comprador (T-H-L), and neither am I.

Actually, Aung San Suu Kyi is precisely whom I was thinking of, along with her late husband, the British spook.

Of course.

[Hersch]

I'm really not a great admirer of the Buddhist monks there either. But ultimately, I don't blame them -- they are pawns. I blame the colonial powers, who are at their most repugnant precisely when they are posing as defenders of human rights and democracy.

[Mancunium]

[SB_Johnny]

But ultimately, I don't blame them -- they are pawns. I blame the colonial powers

In other words they're far too primitive and ignorant to be held responsible for their childish little mass murders and toy-soldierish military rule?

Well damn straight then, let's blame Queen Elizabeth and the Kennedys!

[Hersch]

Many nations, including many small nations, have committed acts of barbarism. The small ones, however, generally don't have the resources to go around instigating or manipulating acts of barbarism in other nations which they seek to dominate. And for some reason -- it may be a personal quirk of mine -- it is particularly distasteful to me when the nations which can and do inflict such brutality on others, then proceed to lecture them on democracy and human rights. Selectively, I might add -- those smaller nations which are willing to starve their citizens in order to pay debt more promptly, or engage in other acts of corruption at the behest of the "West," are generally immune from such sanctimonious lecturing.

[Mancunium]

[Mancunium]

Burma: Telecoms Risk Complicity in Surveillance, Censorship
Human Rights Watch, 19 May 2013 link

International telecommunications companies risk being linked to human rights abuses if they enter the Burmese market before adequate protections are in place, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. ... “Telecom companies that rush into Burma before rights protections are in place risk complicity in illegal surveillance, censorship, and other repression,” said Cynthia Wong, senior Internet and human rights researcher. ... For example, Burmese law still criminalizes owning fax machines and modems, or setting up a computer network unless the government has licensed the owner to possess that hardware and has allowed registration of the network. The government also penalizes actions that “spread false news,” as well as posting anything on the Internet that the government might deem harmful to security.

Response from Ms. Oldgard, Vice President, Head of Group Corporate Responsibility, Telenor Group
Human Rights Watch, 4 June 2013 link

Thank you for your letter regarding investment in the telecommunications market in Myanmar. ... At the point of writing the license application process in Myanmar is still on-going. Similarly, the legal aspects concerning a potential license are not yet clear. Thus we are not able to comment on your questions in detail. However, we would be happy to continue our conversation with Human Rights Watch on these issues should a license be awarded and if a decision to invest in Myanmar is made by Telenor.

Kind regards,
Mai Oldgard

Burma: Telecom Winners Should Safeguard Users
Human Right Watch, 27 June 2013 link

On June 27, 2013, the Burmese government announced the winners of two nationwide telecommunications licenses, Telenor and Ooredoo. ... However, the government has not yet promulgated a new telecommunications law nor enacted key reforms to protect the rights to privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information in the mobile and Internet sectors.

In a report released in May, Human Rights Watch expressed concern that existing censorship and security laws allow the Burmese government or military to require the help of telecom companies to spy on or silence bloggers, activists, and journalists. Burma lacks an electronic privacy law to prevent arbitrary and overbroad surveillance practices, and the courts have no history of independence from the government. The Burma military retains broad power to declare public emergencies and take control of telecommunications equipment. In addition, rights-restricting laws that the authorities used in the past to silence critics have not been repealed.

Reforming Telecommunications in Burma
Human Rights and Responsible Investment in Mobile and the Internet: [PDF link]


Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales and Telenor Group CEO
Jon Fredrik Baksaas celebrate the Wikimedia Foundation's
profitable collaboration with the Government of Myanmar

Wikipedia:WikiProject_Burma_(Myanmar)/Outreach (T-H-L)

[The Joy]

Until Aung San Suu Kyi (T-H-L) is President of Burma/Myanmar and all the junta's members are imprisoned, sent to The Hague, or somehow "dispatched," I would be cautious about having anything to do with the country beyond humanitarian aid

[Poetlister]

Aung San Suu Kyi is a very brave lady for defending her beliefs, and unquestionably she is far better than the current regime in Burma/Myanmar. But she isn't a saint; she has done nothing to defend persecuted ethnic minorities.

http://www.theparliament.com/latest-new ... oVBxycavMY

[The Joy]

Aung San Suu Kyi is a very brave lady for defending her beliefs, and unquestionably she is far better than the current regime in Burma/Myanmar. But she isn't a saint; she has done nothing to defend persecuted ethnic minorities.

http://www.theparliament.com/latest-new ... oVBxycavMY

She's more of a prisoner in her position now than she was before. She can't be overly critical of the current government or else what influence she has will be lost. Rightly or wrongly, she's damned no matter what she does. Not everyone can be a Gandhi.

[Hersch]

Not everyone can be a Gandhi.

Very true. Somehow, I can't see Gandhi marrying a British intelligence operative.

[The Joy]

Not everyone can be a Gandhi.

Very true. Somehow, I can't see Gandhi marrying a British intelligence operative.

Well... not knowingly. Something else for Wikileaks to uncover.

[Mancunium]

Not everyone can be a Gandhi.

Very true. Somehow, I can't see Gandhi marrying a British intelligence operative.

Yes, yes. You don't like anyone in Category:Burmese_democracy_movement (T-H-L) and Category:Burmese_democracy_activists (T-H-L). They're all hypocritical patronizing neo-colonialist compradors.

Jimmy Wales is working with Telenor (T-H-L), which now has one of the two nationwide telecom licences issued by the government of Burma. The other licence was granted to Ooredoo (T-H-L), which is owned by the Emir of Qatar-- and another face familiar to fans of Wikipedia is working with the Emir.

Ooredoo and Cherie Blair Foundation to Empower Myanmar's Women Entrepreneurs
developingtelcoms.com, 30 September 2013 link

Myanmar is one of the few countries in the world where mobile phones have not yet reached the masses - less than 10% of the population have a mobile phone. Myanmar presents a unique opportunity for Ooredoo, as the company recently obtained a licence to operate a mobile network in the country and will roll out its services to the population of 60 million people.

In Myanmar, Ooredoo and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women are developing a franchisee model to enable 30,000 women by 2016 to become entrepreneurs by selling prepaid Ooredoo airtime to their communities. Each of the women will be equipped with a business kit containing a mobile phone, promotional materials, and an operating manual.

Research conducted by the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women demonstrates that women entrepreneurs can add significant value to the operations of mobile companies as agents in their retail channels, selling products such as SIM cards and mobile airtime.

Get cracking, ladies. Those SIM cards won't sell themselves.


Jimmy Sales and Sharey Blair share a delicious
Myanmar Cake provided by General Thein Sein

[Mancunium]

Jimmy and Cherie are busy helping Burma's military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). According to Wikipedia's article on Burma (T-H-L):

The upper house consists of 224 members, of whom 168 are directly elected and 56 are appointed by the Burmese Armed Forces while the lower house consists of 440 members, of whom 330 are directly elected and 110 are appointed by the armed forces. ... Burma's army-drafted constitution was approved in a referendum in May 2008. The results, 92.4% of the 22 million voters with an official turnout of 99%, are considered suspect by many international observers and by the National League of Democracy with reports of widespread fraud, ballot stuffing, and voter intimidation.[108]

The elections of 2010 resulted in a victory for the military-backed USDP, and various foreign observers questioned the fairness of the elections.[109][110][111] One criticism of the election was that only government sanctioned political parties were allowed to contest in it and the popular National League for Democracy was declared illegal and is still barred from political activities.[112]

[...] Burma rates as a highly corrupt nation on the Corruption Perceptions Index with a rank of 180th out of 183 countries worldwide and a rating of 1.5 out of 10 (10 being least corrupt and 0 being highly corrupt).

The article's index lists sections on

3.2.1 Child soldiers
3.2.2 Child/forced/slave labour, systematic sexual violence and human trafficking
3.2.3 Genocide allegations and crimes against Rohingya people

Blair heads for gold-rush Burma: Former Prime Minister opens new front to his personal empire after the junta relaxes its grip
*Tony Blair has been busy building a fortune of £20 million
*Blair went on a visit in October to boost ‘bilateral ties with Britain'
*He now has permission to expand his personal influence into Burma link

Tony Blair creates a stir in Burma link

What was Tony Blair doing in Burma? link

Is Tony Blair Pursuing a ‘Governance’ Mission in Burma? link

Blair spots money opportunity in Burma link

Tony Blair Association - Consult Myanmar link


Tony Blair and General Thein Sein, The President and Prime Minister of the Republic of Myanmar

[Vigilant]

Wow.

Jimmy's gotten fat!

[The Joy]

What is it with Tony Blair and Jimbo Wales making friends with people affiliated with genocidal, autocratic regimes lately?

[Zoloft]

What is it with Tony Blair and Jimbo Wales making friends with people affiliated with genocidal, autocratic regimes lately?

They tend to have a lot of tons of money and influence.

[Hersch]

According to Wikipedia's article on Burma (T-H-L):

[...] Burma rates as a highly corrupt nation on the Corruption Perceptions Index with a rank of 180th out of 183 countries worldwide and a rating of 1.5 out of 10 (10 being least corrupt and 0 being highly corrupt).

The Corruption Perceptions Index (T-H-L) is typically hilarious -- it looks like this:


It's sort of like the International Criminal Court, which can only find war criminals in Africa. "Corruption," like war crimes, is simply not found among white people.

[Mancunium]

It's sort of like the International Criminal Court, which can only find war criminals in Africa. "Corruption," like war crimes, is simply not found among white people.

Don't worry; the USA has never ratified the Statute of the ICC. Anyway, of all the cases heard by the ICC, five resulted in acquittals and none resulted in convictions. You might be interested in this:

African Union pushes UN vote on delay in Kenyan leader’s trial for crimes against humanity
Washington Post, 15 November 2013 link

Kenya: Perceptions and Realities - Kenya and the International Criminal Court
AllAfrica, 14 November 2013 link

Also in the news today:

Wikipedia Zero: A free encyclopedia for all
Devex, 15 November 2013 link

We caught up with Carolynne Schloeder, Wikipedia Zero’s director of mobile programs, to ask her about what partnerships they are pursuing, and how the organization plans to change the world through its army of volunteer contributors and editors.

[...] "The 60 million people in Myanmar have had little or no Internet access. Imagine how it can change people’s lives when they can find any information, answer any question, learn about the world outside, all right at their fingertips […] It’s also an incentive for users in Myanmar to contribute to Wikipedia and add to our global knowledge base. The Burmese people will have the opportunity to share their knowledge by contributing to Wikipedia and improving the resource in their language."

One telco in Myanmar wants free Wikipedia for all
Tech in Asia, 15 November 2013 link

A telco rep commented:

"The potential for Wikipedia in Myanmar is large, since we expect the country to widely adopt both Wiki-capable feature phones and smartphones very quickly. The numbers of those who access this will, of course, depend on how many customers sign up with us once we begin operations there. It is also important to note that as of yet, Wikipedia is not a household brand name in Myanmar. So we will need to do our best to help people understand the value that Wikipedia provides as an information tool and motivate people to use it. We hope that by providing free use of Wikipedia, we can help stimulate interest."

Kenya was my home for many years. I find these statements by spokespeople for the Wikimedia Foundation and its partner Telenor to be hypocritical, patronizing, and neo-colonialist. I understand that not everyone will agree with me.

[thekohser]

We may have another Gibraltarpedia in today's Telenorpedia scandal.

Don't bother trying to find all of the cases of COI editing on Wikipedia articles related to Telenor. I've already done the research, with a blog post probably to emerge from it.

[Poetlister]

"Corruption," like war crimes, is simply not found among white people.

Some white countries seem to do poorly, including Belarus, literally "White Russia".

[thekohser]

Jimbo thinks he has washed his hands of the Telenor problem, but I don't think it's going to be quite that easy.

Notice how he says that it's to be forgiven that a VP of Telenor created Wikipedia's article about Uninor (a joint venture of Telenor's), because it was in 2009, before the Bright Line Rule was formulated?

Jimbo lies, as usual.

June 12, 2009:

...the idea that we should ever accept paid advocates directly editing Wikipedia is not ever going to be ok. Consider this to be policy as of right now. -- Jimmy Wales

November 13, 2009:
Erlend Bjørtvedt creates the Wikipedia article about Uninor. Later the next year, Bjørtvedt would be elected to the board of Wikimedia Norway.

You can't hide from this one, Jimbo. Absolutely unacceptable, sorry.

[Hersch]

"Corruption," like war crimes, is simply not found among white people.

Some white countries seem to do poorly, including Belarus, literally "White Russia".

OK, "Non-Anglo-Saxon." The point, in case anyone might be so dense as to miss it, is that the most stupendous corruption in recent memory is glaringly obvious in the US and Western Europe, between the Obama administration's publicly announced policy of not prosecuting either institutions or individuals responsible for massive fraud in regard to the collapse of the financial system, and the policy of the EU to engage in "bail-ins" as in Cyprus, disenfranchising the citizenry in order to accelerate the transfer of wealth into the coffers of the 1%. But Transparency International® can't seem to detect this corruption.

[Mancunium]

Telenor's partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation was announced on 28 February 2012: link

For some reason, the signing was "celebrated" by the "Wikipedia Academy" in Oslo on 21 April 2012; the event was attended by the Crown Prince of Norway and Jimmy Wales: link

The partnership was "celebrated" again on 7 October 2013, and again Jimmy Wales was in attendance. Telenor's website posted several photos of the event: link





The 2nd photo is described as "Wales signing". There is no indication of what he was signing, and why.

[Mancunium]

Oh, good. Wikimedia Commons has a 4,858 × 3,018 pixels (file size: 546 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) photo of the signing of the Treaty of Oslo: link.
We can all read what it actually says.



The preamble notes that the Wikimedia Foundation and Telenor Group "signed a partnership" on 28 February 2012. However, it seems that a new "Partnership Agreement" was required, and in this agreement the WMF's partner is not "Telenor Group" but "Telenor in Myanmar".

There are two copies of the agreement, each signed by Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and, with a childish happy-face, by Jimmy Wales (who apparently has plenipotentiary powers to sign legally-binding agreements on behalf of the Foundation).

The photo was kindly uploaded by PeerDahl(T-C-F-L):

Hi, my name is Peer Dahl, from Oslo (Norway). I am communications officer of Telenor Group, and take photos of telecom executives and installations.

Slik skal Wikipedia nå ut til flere i fattige land
Signerer ny avtale med Telenor.
Tu.no, 7 November 2013 link

Google-translated from Norwegian: link

summary:

Jimmy Wales and J.F. Baksaas will together ensure that the customers of Telenor in Myanmar will be able to access Wikipedia through the company's mobile service.

Baksaas says the free WP app is good business, as it will help Telenor grow the number of its Myanmar customers. Wales says that he would rather have a million new users in poor countries than a million new in rich countries.

Wales says that censorship won't be a problem, because only China and the Middle East have developed technology that makes it possible; also, because the information in WP is always neutral, leaders will not be able to argue against it.

Wales goes on to say that the WMF has more than 150 employees, and receives $50 million a year from two million donors. He congratulates Edward Snowden. He thinks WP will continue to grow but, because it doesn't have enough money, can do so only at a slow pace. He wants to streamline the way people find the things that might interest them, by suggesting articles the way Netflix does. He believes that the WMF will make it easier to start and to edit WP articles.

[thekohser]

I think it's noteworthy that Jimmy Wales signs his name with all the maturity of a 3rd grader.

In other news, our buddy Orangemike (T-C-L) has fired off the opening shots in the battle against Telenor, handing out some blocks. It only took him between 2 and 5.5 years to catch on to the problem! (Always improving.)

And our old friend and big-bust model-lover, JzG (T-C-L), has added reinforcements by firing deletion notices against Telenor's years-long Wikipedia spamming campaign.

I get a sneaking suspicion that the problem was pointed out to them by a banned user, so aren't these guys actually proxying for a banned user? Should they be brought to AN/I?

I think a very, very, very interesting question that could be (POLITELY!) posed on JimboTalk would be, "Jimmy, when you traveled to Norway to speak at Telenor and enter into an agreement with them on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation, were you compensated in any way, including travel and/or lodging reimbursement? If so, who was the payor; the WMF or Telenor?"

[Mancunium]

Vice-President U Nyan Tun and Telenor Chief Executive Officer discuss:

Nyan_Tun (T-H-L)

Human rights abuses are rampant in Burma
Washington Post, 15 November 2013 link

Across the country, human rights abuses are rampant, perpetrated with impunity. Activists and even ordinary farmers and villagers have been arrested, beaten and jailed for engaging in nonviolent efforts to challenge mega-projects such as mining, gas pipelines and dams. Police routinely crack down on peaceful demonstrators with excessive force.

They sound like a good partner for Telenor (T-H-L):

4 Criticism

4.1 Norwegian Internet Exchange
4.2 Grameen Bank gentlemen's agreement
4.3 Illegal VoIP Operations
4.4 Use of child labor and hazardous working conditions
4.5 Muhammad Yunus
4.6 Legal battles with Alfa Group

"In Burma nobody can hear you scream"

[Hersch]

Human rights abuses are rampant in Burma
Washington Post, 15 November 2013 link

I had the opportunity this year to spend time at the National Endowment for Democracy as a visiting fellow, researching the role of women in Burma’s democratic transition.

The NED is the Ollie North school of "democracy."

Activists and even ordinary farmers and villagers have been arrested, beaten and jailed for engaging in nonviolent efforts to challenge mega-projects such as mining, gas pipelines and dams.

Presumably we're talking about a Greenpeace or EarthFirst sort of non-violent effort here. I don't think that is going to be tolerated anywhere in Asia at this moment in history, no matter how much NGO money or press coverage is supporting it. Myself, I wish we were building a few mega-projects over here, instead of using all the money to provide life support for hedge funds.

[Mancunium]

Telenor to protect its customers from bugging
Eleven Myanmar, 8 November 2013 link

“We have submitted a letter to the minister, asking him to let us know who is affected, when and who will be monitored for using bugging devices in accordance with the law. We are expecting rules and regulations for the use of bugging devices,” the CEO said, noting that bugging should be allowed in obvious cases such as monitoring violent offenders. Telenor always obeys the law in every country where it operates, and the laws need to be clear, said Furberg. “Telenor will protect everybody. Using bugging devices can stop big crimes sometimes,” he said.

By the way, this thread is about the collaboration of the Wikimedia Foundation, Telenor, and the Myanmar Government. Comments about me ("hypocritical, patronizing neo-colonialist"), National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi ("a comprador married to a British intelligence agent"), Buddhist monks ("pawns of the most repugnant colonial powers"), Human Rights Watch ("particularly distasteful"), the Corruption Perceptions Index ("'Corruption', like war crimes, is simply not found among white people"), Transparency International ("can't seem to detect the most stupendous corruption"), the International Criminal Court ("can only find war criminals in Africa"), the National Endowment for Democracy's International Forum ("the Ollie North school of 'democracy'"), Greenpeace ("not going to be tolerated anywhere in Asia"), &c., should probably be in another thread.

[Midsize Jake]

Comments about me ("hypocritical, patronizing neo-colonialist"), National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi ("a comprador married to a British intelligence agent"), Buddhist monks ("pawns of the most repugnant colonial powers"), Human Rights Watch ("particularly distasteful"), the Corruption Perceptions Index ("'Corruption', like war crimes, is simply not found among white people"), Transparency International ("can't seem to detect the most stupendous corruption"), the International Criminal Court ("can only find war criminals in Africa"), the National Endowment for Democracy's International Forum ("the Ollie North school of 'democracy'"), Greenpeace ("not going to be tolerated anywhere in Asia"), &c., should probably be in another thread.

Agreed.

It's a Larouche thing, actually - Myanmar is one of the countries (and I daresay a "linchpin") of the so-called "Eurasian Land Bridge," and they don't like it when their military government is criticized, because said government apparently supports the idea. Mr. Hersch is correct about the Corruption Perceptions Index and (to a lesser extent) the ICC, but if were some other country I doubt he would have taken the trouble (and, arguably, semi-hijacked the thread) to point these things out.

[thekohser]

The Telenor VP who is also (since 2010) a board member of Wikimedia Norway said this on JimboTalk:

I have never heard of Bell Pottinger, I am unsure as to which parliament scandal he refers, and I have just briefly noted that there has been something on Gibraltarpedia but not seen details.

[Hersch]

It's a Larouche thing, actually - Myanmar is one of the countries (and I daresay a "linchpin") of the so-called "Eurasian Land Bridge," and they don't like it when their military government is criticized, because said government apparently supports the idea. Mr. Hersch is correct about the Corruption Perceptions Index and (to a lesser extent) the ICC, but if were some other country I doubt he would have taken the trouble (and, arguably, semi-hijacked the thread) to point these things out.

MJ, it always disappoints me when you cry "LaRouche!" as a debating tactic, and it also happens that you are incorrect: Myanmar plays no role in the Landbridge at this time, nor has its government expressed any view to my knowledge. It is a personal fixation for me, perhaps, whenever I see some small country, which is generally minding its own business and trying to survive, chastised by the imperial powers, or their kept NGOs, or by persons that simply unthinkingly repeat what they see in the press. I have piped up on other occasions when I see someone dumping on Zimbabwe, for example. These governments may be corrupt, they may be amateurish, but our governments are to my mind far more malicious and a real threat to the rest of the world, and you may recall the saying about people who live in glass houses. I find Jimbo's apparent dealings with Myanmar to be far less morally offensive than his relationship with Tony Blair.

As for Mancunium's list of grievances (misrepresentations included,) if he doesn't want my comments on these institutions, he should be circumspect about invoking them as unimpeachable sources.

[Mancunium]

It's a Larouche thing, actually - Myanmar is one of the countries (and I daresay a "linchpin") of the so-called "Eurasian Land Bridge," and they don't like it when their military government is criticized, because said government apparently supports the idea. Mr. Hersch is correct about the Corruption Perceptions Index and (to a lesser extent) the ICC, but if were some other country I doubt he would have taken the trouble (and, arguably, semi-hijacked the thread) to point these things out.

MJ, it always disappoints me when you cry "LaRouche!" as a debating tactic, and it also happens that you are incorrect: Myanmar plays no role in the Landbridge at this time, nor has its government expressed any view to my knowledge. It is a personal fixation for me, perhaps, whenever I see some small country, which is generally minding its own business and trying to survive, chastised by the imperial powers, or their kept NGOs, or by persons that simply unthinkingly repeat what they see in the press. I have piped up on other occasions when I see someone dumping on Zimbabwe, for example. These governments may be corrupt, they may be amateurish, but our governments are to my mind far more malicious and a real threat to the rest of the world, and you may recall the saying about people who live in glass houses. I find Jimbo's apparent dealings with Myanmar to be far less morally offensive than his relationship with Tony Blair.

As for Mancunium's list of grievances (misrepresentations included,) if he doesn't want my comments on these institutions, he should be circumspect about invoking them as unimpeachable sources.

Far from claiming anything as an unimpeachable source, I provide citations, and indicate their sources with no warranty of accuracy. I expect that readers are able to reach their own conclusions, and I don't insult anyone's intelligence with comments that are nothing but ad hominems, conspiracy theories, and uninformed hot air.

[Hersch]

I don't insult anyone's intelligence with comments that are nothing but ad hominems, conspiracy theories, and uninformed hot air.

"In Burma nobody can hear you scream"

[Zoloft]

I was going to use my usual subtle surgical techniques...

to slice off-topic posts out of this topic, but after some static, I have decided to simply post a warning here:

This topic is about Telenor's and WMF's plans for Myanmar/Burma.

Any post after this one that moves away from that topic will be removed.

Thank you very much.

[Mancunium]

Thank you.

Myanmar's Telecom Revolution Bogs Down
Months After Winning Bids to Run Networks, Telenor and Ooredoo Await Rules, Licenses
Wall Street Journal, 25 October 2013 link

In June, when two foreign companies won the coveted rights to operate telecommunications networks in Myanmar—a country ahead of only North Korea in cellphone penetration—its 60 million people and watchful investors believed a revolution was at hand. [...] After decades of military rule during which networks were purposely kept stunted to enforce secrecy, people in Myanmar are "really waiting for this to happen," said Telenor's president and chief executive, Jon Fredrik Baksaas, in an interview. [...] "Our most important work is to maintain the dialogue with the government," said Mr. Baksaas, to get a "final understanding" for the framework of Telenor's investment—expected to exceed $1 billion.

[...] Draft versions of the law were criticized for potentially repressive elements and unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles—such as requirements that all content creators, potentially including users of social-media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, possess a license. [...] The government-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications—currently the sole provider of telecommunications services—is "widely reported as one of the most corrupt institutions in Myanmar," U.K.-based risk consultancy Maplecroft said in a note to clients last month. In January, the telecommunications minister and other high-ranking officials were removed for alleged corruption—though their status remains unclear. Kyaw Soe, spokesman for the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, told The Wall Street Journal that the former minister has been "postponed" from his position, without commenting on whether he would be tried on corruption charges.

Other officials are still under investigation, and five have been moved to other ministries, Mr. Kyaw Soe said. Prominent local companies that provide telecommunications services such as broadband and wireless Internet are largely owned by children of parliamentarians and former generals, and appear to have preferential arrangements with the incumbent operator, Maplecroft said. Investors could find themselves at a disadvantage. Both Telenor and Ooredoo say concerns about cronyism aren't pressing for now, and that the government remains committed to pushing for openness in the sector. Mr. Baksaas said that any problems of an unfair playing field will "level off in the long term," when the company is more entrenched in the market and works with new, ambitious partners.

But to reach that point, the two telcos will have to contend with the near-lack of infrastructure in the country. Most rural villagers have never seen a cellphone—indeed, have no electricity and get around in carts pulled by ox or horse. For those in Myanmar who have access to cell networks, getting hold of SIM cards remains a cumbersome and expensive affair. A system for distributing cards for $2 was introduced this April, working through a balloting scheme that sets aside fixed quantities for different regions of the country—but a thriving black market has surfaced, and in Yangon the chips sell for almost a hundred times that official price: 150,000 kyat (US$155). That's for chips that aren't 3G-enabled. Data-enabled SIM cards are even more expensive, at approximately US$250. In a sign of the costly work that has to be done, Telenor and Ooredoo, though competitors, say they are open to sharing resources and jointly investing in equipment like transmitter towers.

The changing face of media and marketing
Mizzima, 16 November 2013 link

Aye Hnin Swe, known as Rose Swe, is the managing director of Mango Media, a marketing, public relations and advertising company whose clients include Coca-Cola, Visa, Unilever and Telenor – to name but a few. The media and advertising veteran talks to Myanmar Business Weekly about her career as a female entrepreneur in a country that is being wooed by international brands after decades of isolation

With so many new brands flooding the market, what is the prospect of Myanmar becoming a fully-fledged consumer society?

[...] the majority of Myanmar people are still living in a traditional style in rural areas. They have a very challenging life – they wake up very early, do their work, housewives rarely earn money and instead they stay home and look after children while their husbands work in paddy fields. Families go to bed very early, as electricity is an issue as well. They don’t have the luxury of watching TV up until 11 pm or midnight. Their entertainment is the pagoda festivals, or if someone visits from another town or village. So for these people, who live in simple wooden huts, advertisers cannot try and sell them homecare products as they don’t have a proper floor to clean. Their sense of culture and tradition is also very strong.

But do you think the likes of mobile phone company Telenor will revolutionize this “untapped” population of consumers?

Yes. People living in rural areas will be in touch with the whole world very quickly. In the past, if you didn’t have $1,000 or more you couldn’t have a mobile, now it’s less than a hundred. And Chinese smartphones are very cheap. People are already gaining knowledge, especially women.

In-house interview with Ooredoo Asia GC: Myanmar calling
The Lawyer, 18 November 2013 link

[...] Myanmar’s former capital and largest city Yangon is certainly among the most visited places by New Zealander Scott Weenink, a legacy Norton Rose alumnus and Asia general counsel of Ooredoo. Although based in Singapore, he has spent a lot of time in Myanmar in the past two years. [...] Working in Myanmar presents many challenges for foreigners and among these is the lack of mobile coverage and internet access. Even basic tasks such as checking email and making overseas phonecalls can prove difficult. According to recent statistics, 5.4 million of the country’s 60 million population have mobile phones – a penetration rate of just 9 per cent. As mobile phone services are so scarce the costs are prohibitively expensive for most locals. A SIM card costs about $160 (£100)– much more than the average monthly income. “It’s a challenge to do business there at present,” Weenink admits. “Most of the time you have to rely on the Wi-Fi of the hotel to access emails and sometimes it can take a day to download a file, but we can change that.”

“We’re at the start of an incredible journey,” says Weenink. “Myanmar is one of the last real greenfield opportunities. We’re all excited we’ve been given the chance to help the country progress.” Many lawyers and clients who have spent time in Myanmar recently would agree with Weenink that the so-called ‘Golden Land’ offers an unrivalled growth opportunity, even though working there is still problematic. Indeed, it is best described in the words of Rudyard Kipling: “It is unlike any land you will ever know.”

Latest Product News
Maplecroft Global Risk Analysis link

Maplecroft's Security Risk Briefing on Myanmar analyses the risks associated with the current escalation in the conflict involving the Kachin insurgents for investors in the country. The ongoing conflict in Kachin State has escalated dramatically since the end of 2012. A weak ceasefire agreement is in place and after two rounds of talks with the government since 4 February 2013 little progress has been made. Businesses also have serious reputational risks from being associated with security forces engaging in human rights violations while protecting commercial assets.

The military has continued to carry out attacks on ethnic militias despite calls from Prime Minister Thein Sein to end military campaigns and enter political dialogue with the militias. Constitutional powers grant the military the ability to block legislation, limiting the scope of reforms that elected officials can implement without military approval. Military leaders also hold significant power over the oil and gas sector, and risk destabilising the security situation while acquiring land for further investment. In addition, China fears that the ongoing conflict in Kachin State could destabilise its border region. Furthermore, China is worried that the Shwe oil and gas pipeline could be affected by any growing instability. While current scope for direct Chinese military intervention in Myanmar is low, this could change in the event of a serious escalation in the conflict.

[Mancunium]

Myanmar Telecom Licenses Still Not Formally Awarded To Telenor And Ooredoo
International Business Times, 19 November 2013 link

Nearly half a year after Telenor and Ooredoo won the coveted telecom tenders to operate in Myanmar, the licenses that were expected in September still have not been formally awarded.

[...] “We are in discussions with the government about the draft license, and we expect that to complete by the end of this year,” said Petter Furberg, the CEO of Telenor Myanmar, during a press conference in Rangoon on Tuesday. The delay means that services from Telenor and Ooredoo will unlikely to be available before August 2014.

What? I thought this was a done deal.

Telenor Myanmar invites distribution partners and franchisees
Eleven Myanmar, 20 November 2013 link

[...] The Norway-based telecommunications service provider is currently in the post-tender negotiation process to obtain one of the two nationwide telecom licences in the Southeast Asian country. [...] Telenor expects to be awarded a telecom licence by the end of this year. It aims to begin its network rollout within eight months of signing the licence agreement with the Myanmar government.

Maybe dressing like Burmese gentlemen will help move things along.


Company officials from Telenor Myanmar speaking to the media

So how did that work out?

It could be next August: Telenor
Mizzima News, 22 November 2013 link

Telenor Myanmar chief executive officer Petter Furberg told a news conference at Yangon’s Traders Hotel on November 19 that the company expected to be issued with an operating license by the end of the year. “The Telecom Ministry promised us that we would be granted a telecom operator license within 60 days after the Telecom Law being enacted and promulgated,” Mr Furberg said. The law was promulgated on October 8 and a draft has been posted on the website of the Ministry of Communications and Technology for public comment to be submitted by a December 2 deadline.

Wait. The law allowing Telenor and the wonderful free encyclopedia into Burma is only a draft?

Telecoms still waiting on licences
Myanmar Times, 24 November 2013 link

[...] “Telenor Myanmar is in discussions with the government, and we expect to secure our operating licence by the end of 2013,” Matchima Chanswangpuwana, head of communications at Telenor Myanmar, said by email. “We will begin our telecom infrastructure roll-out right after we are awarded the licence,” she said.

Telenor had it planned to start up operations in Myanmar in mid-2014, although the delay in the licensing process now means services will not launch until at least August 2014. Experts said the process of passing the Telecommunications Law and the issuance of the operator’s licence has taken longer than expected, though Telenor refused to comment on specifics. [...]

"No comment" is always the most reassuring answer one can give to any question. So what was the Partnership Agreement, between Telenor Myanmar and the Wikimedia Foundation, signed by Jimmy Wales on 7 November? The partnership that "marks a new step on the journey of giving all access to the sum of human knowledge, share that knowledge, and realize every individual's potential in the global information community"? What the heck were they "celebrating" on 7 November in Oslo? According to Wikipedia: Telenor#Myanmar (T-H-L)

On June 27, 2013, it was announced that Telenor had been awarded one of two 15-year contracts for telecom development in Myanmar.[18]