Mandalay Journals Act as Junta Mouthpieces
By Min Lwin January 18, 2008
“If I do things wrong, you all have the right to write about it,” King Mindon once proudly told journalists in Mandalay.
Father of Burma’s last king, Thibaw, and founder of Mandalay in 1858, King Mindon apparently welcomed criticism of his policies, his family and himself by the local publications. One of those early newspapers, the Yadanarbone Daily, was actively encouraged by the king to write about the affairs of the palace.
King Mindon granted the media far more freedom of expression than exists today in Burma. Under the current regime there is no freedom of expression.
According to a journalist based in Mandalay, nowadays all media-related enterprises in the city are monopolized by the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association and must be verified by the government’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Division.
Even journals, which mainly target rural people in upper Burma and which have always been considered essential sources of information, fall under the watchful eye of the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association.
According to the journalist, five journals— the Mandalay Times, Nanmyint, Upper Myanmar, Shwe Mandalay and Mantoungyeait—are provided with financial and political support from Aung Thaung, Minister of Industry 1, and head of USDA Mandalay Division. “These journals propagate USDA misinformation and anti-NLD (National League for Democracy) rhetoric,” said a writer in Mandalay. “They write articles criticizing international sanctions, but support the activities of deposed NLD member Dr Soe Linn and his Wuntharnu party.”
Myo Min Min, a senior member of USDA Mandalay Division, is—in name only—the publisher of Shwe Mandalay, Upper Myanmar and the Mandalay Times. However, he is directly involved with gambling and the lottery, and uses these journals to launder his money, a source in Mandalay told The Irrawaddy, although he could not provide further details.
“Some editors of these journals claim that their publications are free from government interference, but they continue to publish propaganda on behalf of the USDA and attack foreign media,” said the Mandalay-based journalist.
Shwe Mandalay, a popular journal in Burma’s second city, circulates some 3,000 copies per week and reports news and celebrity gossip. It also publicizes the activities of senior USDA officials and attacks the British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Free Burma, the Voice of America, and the Democratic Voice of Burma, all of which are based outside the country.
During the September uprising, the journal Nanmyint expressly criticized the monks’ refusal to accept alms from military families.
It is estimated that the five journals in Mandalay and Upper Burma have a total circulation of 7,000 copies.
“I don’t buy any of those journals,” said a businessman in Mandalay. “I am not interested in reading pro-junta propaganda and the activities of USDA members.”
Meanwhile, publishing permits are strictly controlled in Mandalay. Authorities only issue licenses to USDA senior members and their cronies; permission to publish or print is out of the question for ordinary citizens.
“We tried to submit an application to publish a journal in Mandalay, but the censorship board in Rangoon refused permission,” said Ko Paing, a poet in Mandalay.
After the Second World War, Mandalay enjoyed a cultural boom. Two newspapers—Ludu, founded by two well-known journalists, Hla and Ahmar, and the Hanthawaddy, edited by Win Tin, who is now in Insein prison—were well respected publications that reported independent news and critical articles.
“The Ludu was much more free than current journals; it didn’t have to pass the censorship board before it was printed,” said an editor based in Mandalay. “In those days, it was so easy to publish and circulate a journal.”
“If I do things wrong, you all have the right to write about it,” King Mindon once proudly told journalists in Mandalay.
Father of Burma’s last king, Thibaw, and founder of Mandalay in 1858, King Mindon apparently welcomed criticism of his policies, his family and himself by the local publications. One of those early newspapers, the Yadanarbone Daily, was actively encouraged by the king to write about the affairs of the palace.
King Mindon granted the media far more freedom of expression than exists today in Burma. Under the current regime there is no freedom of expression.
According to a journalist based in Mandalay, nowadays all media-related enterprises in the city are monopolized by the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association and must be verified by the government’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Division.
Even journals, which mainly target rural people in upper Burma and which have always been considered essential sources of information, fall under the watchful eye of the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association.
According to the journalist, five journals— the Mandalay Times, Nanmyint, Upper Myanmar, Shwe Mandalay and Mantoungyeait—are provided with financial and political support from Aung Thaung, Minister of Industry 1, and head of USDA Mandalay Division. “These journals propagate USDA misinformation and anti-NLD (National League for Democracy) rhetoric,” said a writer in Mandalay. “They write articles criticizing international sanctions, but support the activities of deposed NLD member Dr Soe Linn and his Wuntharnu party.”
Myo Min Min, a senior member of USDA Mandalay Division, is—in name only—the publisher of Shwe Mandalay, Upper Myanmar and the Mandalay Times. However, he is directly involved with gambling and the lottery, and uses these journals to launder his money, a source in Mandalay told The Irrawaddy, although he could not provide further details.
“Some editors of these journals claim that their publications are free from government interference, but they continue to publish propaganda on behalf of the USDA and attack foreign media,” said the Mandalay-based journalist.
Shwe Mandalay, a popular journal in Burma’s second city, circulates some 3,000 copies per week and reports news and celebrity gossip. It also publicizes the activities of senior USDA officials and attacks the British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Free Burma, the Voice of America, and the Democratic Voice of Burma, all of which are based outside the country.
During the September uprising, the journal Nanmyint expressly criticized the monks’ refusal to accept alms from military families.
It is estimated that the five journals in Mandalay and Upper Burma have a total circulation of 7,000 copies.
“I don’t buy any of those journals,” said a businessman in Mandalay. “I am not interested in reading pro-junta propaganda and the activities of USDA members.”
Meanwhile, publishing permits are strictly controlled in Mandalay. Authorities only issue licenses to USDA senior members and their cronies; permission to publish or print is out of the question for ordinary citizens.
“We tried to submit an application to publish a journal in Mandalay, but the censorship board in Rangoon refused permission,” said Ko Paing, a poet in Mandalay.
After the Second World War, Mandalay enjoyed a cultural boom. Two newspapers—Ludu, founded by two well-known journalists, Hla and Ahmar, and the Hanthawaddy, edited by Win Tin, who is now in Insein prison—were well respected publications that reported independent news and critical articles.
“The Ludu was much more free than current journals; it didn’t have to pass the censorship board before it was printed,” said an editor based in Mandalay. “In those days, it was so easy to publish and circulate a journal.”
Time for Kyaw Hsan to Switch Off
By Yeni January 18, 2008
The official order suspending publication of Burma’s partly government-owned weekly, The Myanmar Times, and the resignation under pressure of one of its reporters, Win Kyaw Oo, in a newsroom reorganization are the latest examples of how Minister of Information Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan is clumsily harassing the country’s media.
The Burmese-language edition of The Myanmar Times was suspended for one week as a penalty for carrying a report about a huge increase in satellite TV fees in its January 11 issue. The newspaper apparently published the story, which quoted an Agence France-Presse dispatch, without requesting the censorship board’s permission.
"The latest sanctions against news media that are already subject to censorship and self-censorship appear to be linked to recent official statements on press freedom," said the organizations Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association in a joint statement.
That is true. Kyaw Hsan recently told Burma’s national association of printers and publishers that they should “place emphasis on improvement of the national economy and guard against destructionists that will undermine the national interest.” Kyaw Hsan warned editors, writers and publishers that the censorship board would “take action” if they wrote “news which can discourage the national interest.”
Since early 2006, Kyaw Hsan has been using his influence on a handful of editors and publishers in Burma to counter criticism of the country’s military regime by opposition and media groups in the West and exiles operating throughout the region.
Burma’s media groups, including The Myanmar Times, are forced to follow the junta’s party line, while some seem to do so out of genuine support for Burma’s military government.
While suppressing press freedom, Kyaw Hsan has opened wider opportunities for local journalists to get information and data from government officials. He has allowed reporters to cover natural disasters, poverty and health issues, such as HIV/AIDS—topics that were previously banned in Burma’s tightly-controlled media environment. He also presents a friendly face at press conferences.
He still has much to learn about dealing with the foreign press, however. Lesson one contains a warning not to prejudge the political leanings of a foreign media organization—as he reportedly did when inviting a team from the TV station Al Jazeera into the country to film a report on Burma. Kyaw Hsan and other generals apparently thought the TV station was anti-American because of its sometimes critical coverage of US foreign policy.
Kyaw Hsan told Al Jazeera presenter Veronica Pedrosa and her crew: “We fully understand the nature of the media and we do not ask to be biased for us. Yet, we hope that your news reports on Myanmar will be balanced and fair, reflecting the background history, actual conditions and situations.”
Just how little he knew about the “nature of the media” was painfully apparent to Kyaw Hsan and his government colleagues when they viewed Al Jazeera’s coverage of the September demonstrations. The excellent film reports were devoured by a large international audience and made Al Jazeera the favorite source of news in Burmese households.
Kyaw Hsan’s blunders earned him the soubriquet Burma’s Comical Ali in the Bangkok English-language daily The Nation, a reference to former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf.
“In recent days, Southeast Asia has witnessed the emergence of its own version of Comical Ali, Burmese Information Minister Kyaw Hsan of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the highest decision-making body in Burma’s military ruled state,” the newspaper said.
Kyaw Hsan’s latest dumb move was to announce a drastic increase in the annual satellite TV fee, from the equivalent of US $5 to $800, and a $1,000 charge for each TV owned by a hotel.
The increase triggered a storm of criticism, particularly from gambling businesses which need satellite TV coverage of international football matches. The generals are said to be deeply involved in the lucrative gambling business—and Kyaw Hsan’s fee hikes were not appreciated by the top brass, who apparently remained deaf to suggestions that the move would restrict the number of households able to receive foreign broadcasts.
While Kyaw Hsan was having second thoughts about the fee rise, The Myanmar Times went ahead and reported it. Woops!
By Yeni January 18, 2008
The official order suspending publication of Burma’s partly government-owned weekly, The Myanmar Times, and the resignation under pressure of one of its reporters, Win Kyaw Oo, in a newsroom reorganization are the latest examples of how Minister of Information Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan is clumsily harassing the country’s media.
The Burmese-language edition of The Myanmar Times was suspended for one week as a penalty for carrying a report about a huge increase in satellite TV fees in its January 11 issue. The newspaper apparently published the story, which quoted an Agence France-Presse dispatch, without requesting the censorship board’s permission.
"The latest sanctions against news media that are already subject to censorship and self-censorship appear to be linked to recent official statements on press freedom," said the organizations Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association in a joint statement.
That is true. Kyaw Hsan recently told Burma’s national association of printers and publishers that they should “place emphasis on improvement of the national economy and guard against destructionists that will undermine the national interest.” Kyaw Hsan warned editors, writers and publishers that the censorship board would “take action” if they wrote “news which can discourage the national interest.”
Since early 2006, Kyaw Hsan has been using his influence on a handful of editors and publishers in Burma to counter criticism of the country’s military regime by opposition and media groups in the West and exiles operating throughout the region.
Burma’s media groups, including The Myanmar Times, are forced to follow the junta’s party line, while some seem to do so out of genuine support for Burma’s military government.
While suppressing press freedom, Kyaw Hsan has opened wider opportunities for local journalists to get information and data from government officials. He has allowed reporters to cover natural disasters, poverty and health issues, such as HIV/AIDS—topics that were previously banned in Burma’s tightly-controlled media environment. He also presents a friendly face at press conferences.
He still has much to learn about dealing with the foreign press, however. Lesson one contains a warning not to prejudge the political leanings of a foreign media organization—as he reportedly did when inviting a team from the TV station Al Jazeera into the country to film a report on Burma. Kyaw Hsan and other generals apparently thought the TV station was anti-American because of its sometimes critical coverage of US foreign policy.
Kyaw Hsan told Al Jazeera presenter Veronica Pedrosa and her crew: “We fully understand the nature of the media and we do not ask to be biased for us. Yet, we hope that your news reports on Myanmar will be balanced and fair, reflecting the background history, actual conditions and situations.”
Just how little he knew about the “nature of the media” was painfully apparent to Kyaw Hsan and his government colleagues when they viewed Al Jazeera’s coverage of the September demonstrations. The excellent film reports were devoured by a large international audience and made Al Jazeera the favorite source of news in Burmese households.
Kyaw Hsan’s blunders earned him the soubriquet Burma’s Comical Ali in the Bangkok English-language daily The Nation, a reference to former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf.
“In recent days, Southeast Asia has witnessed the emergence of its own version of Comical Ali, Burmese Information Minister Kyaw Hsan of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the highest decision-making body in Burma’s military ruled state,” the newspaper said.
Kyaw Hsan’s latest dumb move was to announce a drastic increase in the annual satellite TV fee, from the equivalent of US $5 to $800, and a $1,000 charge for each TV owned by a hotel.
The increase triggered a storm of criticism, particularly from gambling businesses which need satellite TV coverage of international football matches. The generals are said to be deeply involved in the lucrative gambling business—and Kyaw Hsan’s fee hikes were not appreciated by the top brass, who apparently remained deaf to suggestions that the move would restrict the number of households able to receive foreign broadcasts.
While Kyaw Hsan was having second thoughts about the fee rise, The Myanmar Times went ahead and reported it. Woops!
Western Embassy Staff Complain of Visa Problems in Burma
By Wai Moe January 18, 2008
The Burmese junta has tightened its visa rules on Western diplomats, their family members and NGO employees working in Burma, sources told The Irrawaddy on Friday.
The diplomatic community in Rangoon was taken by surprise when the regime failed to renew or extend visas for some staff and family members of Western embassies.
An official at a Western embassy said there have been unusually long delays in the visa process for some embassy staff, NGO workers and UN officials based in Burma.
A source familiar with the Rangoon-based embassies said the difficulties have impacted about 30 diplomats, officials and family members in recent weeks.
It was unclear at the present time, if the problems are the result of an official policy or just administration difficulties or confusion, sources said.
Diplomatic sources in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that it is difficult to know how the Burmese authorities plan to handle visas and passports these days.
The Irrawaddy called the Burma Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Naypyidaw, but the official who answered said she could not comment on the issue.
Some western diplomats said people in Western embassies appear to have more difficulties than the average foreigner who lives and works in Burma.
Some sources speculated that since several Western countries have placed visa bans on Burmese officials, the military government may be playing the same game.
Others expressed concerns that if they left they country, they may not be allowed to return.
Earlier, the passports of two Burmese staff members at the US embassy in Rangoon were seized by authorities at the Rangoon International Airport when they returned from an overseas trip. The incident took place in December.
The US has been a vocal critic of the regime, calling for a meaningful democratic transition in the country and has increased economic sanctions on the regime since the bloody crackdown in September.
After the crackdown, the US imposed targeted sanctions on dozens of Burmese officials and businesses.
The Burmese junta has tightened its visa rules on Western diplomats, their family members and NGO employees working in Burma, sources told The Irrawaddy on Friday.
The diplomatic community in Rangoon was taken by surprise when the regime failed to renew or extend visas for some staff and family members of Western embassies.
An official at a Western embassy said there have been unusually long delays in the visa process for some embassy staff, NGO workers and UN officials based in Burma.
A source familiar with the Rangoon-based embassies said the difficulties have impacted about 30 diplomats, officials and family members in recent weeks.
It was unclear at the present time, if the problems are the result of an official policy or just administration difficulties or confusion, sources said.
Diplomatic sources in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that it is difficult to know how the Burmese authorities plan to handle visas and passports these days.
The Irrawaddy called the Burma Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Naypyidaw, but the official who answered said she could not comment on the issue.
Some western diplomats said people in Western embassies appear to have more difficulties than the average foreigner who lives and works in Burma.
Some sources speculated that since several Western countries have placed visa bans on Burmese officials, the military government may be playing the same game.
Others expressed concerns that if they left they country, they may not be allowed to return.
Earlier, the passports of two Burmese staff members at the US embassy in Rangoon were seized by authorities at the Rangoon International Airport when they returned from an overseas trip. The incident took place in December.
The US has been a vocal critic of the regime, calling for a meaningful democratic transition in the country and has increased economic sanctions on the regime since the bloody crackdown in September.
After the crackdown, the US imposed targeted sanctions on dozens of Burmese officials and businesses.
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