The initial protests were a response to a decision to abandon domestic fuel subsides which would significantly raise the price of diesel fuel. As tension has been escalating for weeks the situation has spilled-over and attracted international attention. The Burmese military have been harshly criticized for their aggressive force and attempts to conceal the domestic situation. The government had hoped to evade global detection, their attempts however were unsuccessful.   With the increase in capabilities of cell phones and foreign media coverage, photos and videos leaked and spread across the world. In order to dissuade cohesion and organization amongst protestors, the government cut phone lies and blocked internet servers. Since the block no new images have surfaced from Yangon.                                                                                                     

Globalization’s effect on the way information is transferred has become problematic for governments violating human rights or anyone wishing to prevent the spread of information. Many contemporary examples from U.S. satellite images of Serbian atrocities in the 1990’s, to disturbing cell phone images at Abu Ghraib, smuggled tapes containing anti-government rhetoric in Iran or the use of emails or blogs to organize revolutionary movements in China, show how challenging it has become for governments to suppress the distribution of unwanted information. Undoubtedly the internet can be seen as a democratizing force and those wishing to impede this facilitator must conceive new ways to fight an invisible enemy.