September 18, 2020 (Tony Cartalucci - ATN) - Just ahead of a major rally organized by US government-funded opposition groups and Thailand's billionaire-led opposition parties - Western-funded NGOs like Human Rights Watch have been helping promote US government-funded software tools to help agitators circumvent any attempts to restrict or monitor communication during the protests.
Sunai Phasuk - HRW's Thai head - posted on social media information about how to access two applications called "Briar" and "FireChat." Another app called Bridgefy has also been distributed among the protesters.
Briar - according to its own official website - was funded by the US government's "Open Technology Fund" (OTF).
The Washington DC-based OTF on its own website admits it is part of the US Agency for Global Media - the US government's official propaganda arm which directly serves in advancing the intrests of the US State Department.
The software - along with FireChat - has been used in virtually every US-backed protest around the world since their respective creations.
Gizmodo in an article titled, "How Mesh Messaging Apps Work, and Why You Might Need One," would report (emphasis added):
A particular type of app is back in the news on the back of the Hong Kong protests: Mesh messaging apps that allow users to keep in touch without relying on wifi networks, cell networks, or any other type of infrastructure controlled by the authorities... and these apps can be useful whether or not you’re trying to stay under the radar of the government.
Another option worth looking at is Briar, which is only on Android. It’s simple but it’s slick, and it’s designed specifically for activists, journalists, and “anyone else who needs a safe, easy and robust way to communicate”—to that end it uses the Tor network, if an internet connection is available, to prevent outside monitoring and eavesdropping.
Not mentioned was Briar's genesis by the US government as a tool for subversion, not "activism."
Financial Times in its article about Firechat titled, "FireChat to be rolled out as messaging service," would report (emphasis added):
FireChat, which has 5m users, came to prominence in Hong Kong during the pro-democracy protests last year by enabling people to get around government restrictions on some social networks or communicate when cellular systems failed. It was also popular in Taiwan during the “sunflower movement”, when student activists stormed the country’s legislature to protest a trade deal with China.
FireChat has been openly promoted by the US government through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and its subsidiary, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) - both of which are also funding virtually every core organization leading Thailand's current anti-government protests.
READ MORE: The Complete Guide: US Government Role in Thailand's "Student Protests"
Confirming that US-funded Thai protests have taken up the likewise US-funded communication tools is an article by Thai PBS titled, "Protesters prepare for communication hiccups," noting (emphasis added):
To avoid communication hiccups during the demonstration in case the mobile signal network is down, protesters start to circle around encouraging others to download Bridgefy or Briar for back-up plan.
Thai PBS also notes that (emphasis added):
The US designed software has gained popularity since last year during political protests in Hong Kong and also Citizenship Amendment Act protests in India.It is clear these tools were specifically created and promoted by Washington and its partners for carrying out political subversion around the globe and in direct violation of the UN Charter prohibiting the interference in or undermining of a nation's political independence.
READ MORE: US-Funded Agitators in Hong Kong Back Thai Protests
The fact that Western-funded fronts like HRW are promoting the use of US-funded communication tools in Thailand among protesters who openly identify themselves as part of the "Milk Tea Alliance" alongside US-backed agitators in Taiwan and Hong Kong - is further evidence of just how deep and complete US involvement is behind Thailand's current anti-government unrest.
This recent revelation should make it easier for the Thai government to pass security laws to deal with growing foreign involvement in the nation's internal political affairs as well as deal with those receiving support from abroad to undermine Thailand socially, politically, and economically.
