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Sunday, March 07, 2004
Cabaero: Cyberactivism
By Nini B. Cabaero
Beyond 30
The phenomenon of cyberactivism or political activism on the Internet is new.
In Asia, it came about with the popularity of the Internet as a medium for news free of censorship and for interaction of people beyond borders and of such immediacy not possible with traditional mediums. In the Philippines, it started with the discovery by its diaspora population, mostly in the United States, of its voice through discussions over the Internet on current issues.
The popularity of the Internet started in the 1980s and grew in the next 10 years as political organizations and other groups found the information benefits of the World Wide Web. Formal and informal political groups used the Internet to promote their cause, organize members, exchange opinions, challenge the status quo and break information monopolies.
The birth of cyberactivism in the Philippines came at the height of the impeachment trial on then president Joseph Estrada. Filipinos here and abroad kept themselves abreast with every move or every statement of senators who acted as the jury. Discussion groups, protest websites and message boards were created over the Internet to allow interaction among Filipinos voicing out their own impeachment verdicts. Online communities were organized to bring together people of similar concerns over the continued effects of a corrupt government.
A book titled “Asian Cyberactivism: Freedom of expression and media censorship” was launched in Asia last month. It is a first of its kind as it tells of political activism on the Internet and the successes and failures of cyberactivists. The sections of this 664-page book comprise “Political Frameworks and New Technology,” “Regulations and Control,” “One Party States,” “Alternative Media,” “Civil Society,” “Diaspora Communities,” and “Political Parties,” according to a book launch announcement.
The common thread running through the book, the announcement added, is the organizing of civil society groups at the grassroots level and how they are influencing certain segments of their respective countries and even challenging state control and the monopoly of mainstream media.
Book authors are Steven Gan, James Gomez and Uwe Johannen. Gan is co-founder of the online newspaper Malaysiakini or “Malaysia Now” at www. malaysiakini.com. The website was first uploaded in November 1999 and has since become one of the top news websites in Malaysia. It is known internationally as Malaysia's only independent media outlet.
Gan started out as a freelance journalist based in Hong Kong. He returned to Malaysia in 1994 and was arrested during the Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor in 1999 after he wrote about a fracas during the conference. He left mainstream media in protest, put up the Malaysiakini and continues to challenge the Malaysian government’s version of the truth.
The news website is known for its in-depth reporting and corruption accounts and has attracted Malaysia’s best writers and academics. It is a good example of how the Internet as a medium can transcend government restrictions, censorship or control through the borderless and, in some cases, anonymous nature of the Internet.
The Philippines can learn from the cyberactivism experience in Asia by using the new technology to generate knowledge and give voice to its people.
(e-mail:ninicab@ sunstar. com.ph)
(March 7, 2004 issue)
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