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Sadly, writers whose names have appeared on have never been allowed to publish their work. One young poet who had spent four and half years in prison for his involvement in an anti-military movement was honored when his poems were selected by the editors of Hanthit ("New Style") and Shwe Wut Mhone magazines. However, the poems were omitted five times by order of the board of literary censorship because of his prison record. It appears that these editors were warned not to publish his work by the officers of this board. It is common practice in Burma that many published materials are incomplete. It is necessary to read those works without an introduction or a conclusion or a part of the main body or an illustration. In Burma, November is "Literature Month". During this month in particular, literary talks or speeches are held nationwide. On these occasions, invited authors or poets come and give a speech about literature to the public. But the military regime forces some literary speeches to be cancelled by refusing to issue a permit for public gatherings. In some places, the authorities want to be involved in selecting the authors to be invited. Some famous authors who the people respect highly are forced to withdraw by the authorities, as they don’t like their political background. Furthermore, the authorities brief all authors not to speak about political issues. Members of the MIS attend these events and tape all the speeches. If they suspect that any speech touches on a political issue, action will be taken against the author and organizers of the event. Generally, Burmese people have a great admiration for literature, and a great fondness for authors and poets. They can be strongly influenced by an author whose work is respected and admired, such as Aung Thinn. Many people want to invite Aung Thinn to give a literary speech in their region, but some regional authorities don't allow the invitation to be made, as they are worried about Aung Thinn’s ability to agitate and organize. He is only allowed to talk in a few limited places with a lot of restrictions. Since he cannot go to talk with the people personally, tapes of his speeches have been distributed all over the country. In places where these traditional literary talks are banned, people gather in one place and listen to these tapes together. Concerned about Aung Thinn’s influence on the people, the military authorities have announced that the distribution of these tapes is illegal. Tin Moe is a poet much loved by the Burmese people for his simplicity, kindness, and honesty. He was one of the founding members of the NLD and a close aide of Aung San Suu Kyi. He was put behind bars for 3 years along with other party leaders. After he was released from prison, he was not allowed to publish any poems and books, and he was banned from giving speeches at literary ceremonies. As a result he fled from Burma to Belgium, and gave a literary speech in Sydney, Australia in December 2000. Away from the stifling censorship of his homeland, he can now talk freely, independently, fearlessly and openly. Frequently, privately owned magazines are ordered to print articles supporting the military, written by pro-military authors, which always denounce Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD. Publishers have no choice but to accept these orders. The worst experience for authors is when they are told to write for the military regime’s propaganda magazines, such as Myawaddy and Myatkhinthit. This is a nightmare for authors whose loyalty is to the people and democracy. If they refuse such a command, their lives are in grave danger. If they agree, they are misunderstood and lose the respect of the people. Besides these problems, there are many military officers who are also given responsibility to investigate authors, such as Colonel Chit Naing (a.k.a. Chit Naing), Colonel Maung Maung Oo (a.k.a. Tin Than Oo), Colonel (retired) Tin Kha (a.k.a. Takkatho Tin Kha), Colonel (retired) Soe Nyunt (a.k.a. Htila Sitthu), etc. Their main function is to find authors who will support the military regime by offering them a piece of land, a literary award or a publishing license. Another of their duties is to find out which authors are anti-military. One of the senior reporters of Myanmar Ahlin, the official government mouthpiece, said he had a special duty to gather news about authors and publishers and report to Col Soe Nyunt, who at the time was deputy minister of the Ministry of Information. He said there were many government reporters with special assignments from "Htila Sitthu" (Soe Nyunt’s alias), who rewarded them with cash and other things. He added that Soe Nyunt collected the news from his disciples and reported directly to Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, Secretary 1 of the State Peace and Development Council. These few examples show the complete lack of freedom of the press in Burma. To anyone living in a democratic country, this situation may seem unbelievable, but unfortunately it is true and similar things have been happening in Burma for many years.