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“We have to make ourselves familiar with these scholarly works, then people can agree or disagree.”

 

Critics in Burma say that more and more literature from right wing “establishment scholars” of the West is being translated into Burmese.

 

Until recently, left-leaning literature was popular among Burmese, particularly the works of such Chinese and Russian authors as Mao Zedong, Maxim Gorky and perhaps a few from West left-thinkers such as historian E. H. Carr.

 

In September 2004, Kyaw Win drew world media attention when the official censorship board closed down one of his publications, the bimonthly Khit San (Renaissance), which covered international political thinking and the social sciences.

 

No reason was given, but a few days before his magazine was closed down, Kyaw Win was summoned by the censorship board and urged not to prioritize pro-American articles too much.

 

Rangoon later denied the magazine had been forced to close, maintaining that publication had ceased because of “some financial problems.”

 

Under Burma’s restrictive licensing laws, private publishers are obliged to lease licenses from government agencies.