Military junta's censorship and self-censorship are commonplace in Burma and these have severely restricted political rights and civil liberties. For the people, free speech and free press are something to be read in the books smuggled into the country or free speech and not something that could be experienced like their forefathers.
Any material we want to publish has to go through the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD), which is a major oppressive tool of the military regime. Not surprisingly, Burma stands downgraded from a free state to a prison state.
Press as the fourth pillar of a state is accepted around the globe. The lifeblood of democracy is free flow of information. That means without press freedom a nation can not enjoy democracy.
In the 1950s, Burma was at the forefront of press freedom in Southeast Asia. However, since the 1962 military coup, press freedom has gradually disappeared. While denying 'free media' to the people and the opposition, the Generals have been using the media to disgrace the democratic opposition and to 'popularise' their xenophobic ideas.
All news media in Burma is strictly censored and tightly controlled by the military junta -- all daily newspapers, radio and television stations are in government hands. Whatever few privately-owned journals and magazines are there, they are strictly under the PSRD scanner. No printed matter can see the light of the day without PSRD permission.
Moreover, the junta also dominates the media scene through proxy publication companies owned of the by generals and their cronies. Photos, cassette tapes, movies and video footage also need the censor's stamp before reaching the people. At the same time, the military concentrates to stop the flow of uncensored radio news in Burmese version available from international broadcasting stations.
The radio, television and other media outlets are monopolized for propaganda warfare by the military regime and opposition views are never allowed. The regime does not allow of political and economic discussions. The media is special tool for the military regime and no space for the opposition party. The political debates are always inhibited even at the National Convention. That's why the National Convention lost its credibility.
According to the Burma Media Association (BMA)'s own record by the end of October 2005, at least 17 media persons are in detention. Many of them are held under life-threatening conditions and some of them are consequently suffering from serious physical and mental illness. Some media persons are incarcerated for over a decade long. They were unjustly thrown into prison for their dissident opinion.
Burmese embassies abroad carefully regulate the visit of foreign journalists to the country. The brave and enterprising few who had managed to land on their own were either closely watched or forcefully expelled. Expulsion invites an entry into the 'black list' which means the journo becomes an 'enemy of the state' and is' forbidden' forever from coming to Rangoon.
Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres) said in its 2005 annual report that ''Agence France-Presse (AFP), Voice of America (VOA) radio and the Burmese and English services of the BBC World Service got no response from the Burmese authorities when they applied for visas. Like them, dozens of foreign journalists are on a government blacklist for writing reports deemed to be 'hostile'. . . The security services continue to mount surveillance on, harass or arrest journalists suspected of being critical of the military or with links to the NLD.''
Early this year, the Junta had released five imprisoned journalists. These lucky one are U Aung Pwint (documentary filmmaker), U Sein Hla Oo (journalist), U Ohn Kyaing (journalist), U Thein Tan (publisher), U Aung Myint (Editor & Poet) and Zaw Thet Htwe (Editor). Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association warmly welcomed their release but urged the military regime to release all other journos held in jails, particularly U Win Tin, a respected name in Burmese media world.
Burma's Democracy Icon Aung San Suu Kyi has been denied her liberty for more than 10 years, since1989 to be precise. She and all other leading political activists were held only because they want to articulate people's voice and want the rules to hear the people's voice. The United Nations has repeatedly pronounced that military junta must release political dissidents immediately and unconditionally as a sign of political reform.
Last February the military regime arrested 10 Shan leaders who attended a meeting in Taunggyi, the capital of Southern Shan State. They included Khun Htun Oo (Chairman of Shan Nationalities League for Democracy), Sao Hso Ten (Chairman of the Shan State Peace Council) and 82-year-old Shan veteran politician U Shwe Ohn. A month later that is in March, 2005, the authorities arrested five more opposition Members of Parliament, who had won in the 1990 elections. There are at least 11 Members of Parliament in the junta's notorious prisons. All these politicians, Shan leaders and Members of Parliament, were arrested because they exposed their opinion against the so-called National Convention.
Three innocent citizens, Aung Hlaing Win (NLD), Min Tun Wai (NLD) and Saw Stanford (Village Teacher), were killed in the torture chambers in the past few months. Officially there is no word about these deaths. It shows that the junta is still practicing extrajudicial killings in order to cling to power. In such a situation there can be no justice and free press in Burma.
Take the case of Su Su Nway. She has been opposing forced labour practices. The authorities saw her as a thorn in their flesh, slapped a case and got an 18-month jail term from a kangaroo court in the town Kawmhoo in Rangoon Division this October.
U Aye Myint, a lawyer by profession is facing music for sending information about brutal labour laws and practices to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). He was sentenced to seven years in prison by Daik-U Township court in Pegu Division on 31 October. The news was 'blacked out' in the local media on orders.
A positive development is that more and more bright young Burmese are struggling to learn journalism, both inside and outside the country. Internews has established a school in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to train a new generation of Burmese journalists. The curriculum focuses on teaching basic journalistic skills, understanding the responsibilities of the media in a democratic society, and exposing the students to current international affairs.
It will be a proud day for Burma when this generation takes responsibility to champion press freedom in the country. Free press can also help establishing a genuine democracy. That day doesn't appear to be far away. Already Democratic Voice of Burma has established a TV Station to cater to the people of Burma from outside.
Since there is no free radio and television station inside, DVB TV Channel is looked to for 'uncensored news' and 'unvarnished' information. Just as is the case with the Burmese radios based in foreign countries
. In a democracy, the people choose their government. In order to make intelligent choices, people need to know what members of the government are doing. They must be able to get news that is not controlled by the government. Newspapers and other news organizations must be able to report all kinds of news. That's why journalism has become the fourth pillar of a democracy after the legislative, the executive and the judiciary pillars. As eternal optimists, the exiled Burmese like me hope to live to see the day when our young professional journalists take up and discharge the challenge with the passion of their heart and might of their pen. Till then, hopefully, foreign media will try to fill the vacuum.
- Asian Tribune -
http://www.asiantribune.com/oldsite/show_news.php?id=16020
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