ARTICLE

RECOMMEND (199)

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PLUSONE

MORE

E-MAIL

PRINT

TEXT SIZE

Khin Nyunt said “I have not forgotten that during the 1988 disturbances certain journalists, who disregarded their code of conduct and dignity, and who were influenced by leftist and rightist ideologies, instigated the rebellion. Some publications took advantage of the situation and concocted reports to please the neo-colonialists. This will ever remain in our history as a black mark which cannot be erased in any way.”

Now, with even more restrictions, the PSB has returned to its former prominence. The agency censors all books and magazines in accordance with past procedures. Many magazines have ceased being printed. Two newspapers, The New Light of Myanmar and The Mirror, are allowed. The original The New Light of Myanmar was o­ne of Burma’s leading newspapers in the 1930s. Today, The Mirror (Burmese) and The New Light of Myanmar (English) are completely controlled by SPDC. Their coverage of news is bland and limited almost exclusively to SPDC activities.

The military-controlled newspapers, magazines and military journals are now primarily used as tools of propaganda to attack the opposition democracy movement and newly formed political parties. They are used to discredit and smear leading politicians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition and Western governments critical of the junta.

Not surprisingly, the people in Burma pay little attention to newspapers.

“I read advertisements - that’s it,” said a resident. Another said, “As far as I remember, since the 1970s I stopped reading newspapers, o­nly o­n some rare occasions. . . .Since we realised they feed us o­nly propaganda, not information, the SPDC papers have no credibility.”

What is missing from magazines published in Burma often tells you more about the country than what is left in.

In a brutal example in 1995, Thintbawa magazine had 58 of 160 pages torn out by censors at the PSB. Writers in Rangoon said it was some of the crudest censorship they had seen since 1988. The cover story, editorial, a special feature article and cartoons were tom out. Even the cover was blotted out with black ink.

The main reason for the censorship was Thintbawa’s coverage of the Rangoon University Diamond Jubilee and a comparison of the colonial and national education systems. Thintbawa is o­ne of the most popular magazines in Burma. It runs features that emphasize social and educational issues together with short stories and cartoons.

According to reliable sources, o­ne of the articles dealt with an uprising of Burmese university students against the colonial education system during British rule. Ironically, this article by Burmese author Aye Kyaw about the first student boycott under British rule was actually an old article and had won a prize. But current officials did not want the public to read it so they tore it out, said a Rangoon source.

All articles related to student politics, boycotts and criticism of the current education system are considered to be “rebellious literature,” said a writer in Rangoon. The activities of the opposition movement aren’t mentioned in the state organs. Further, all books, magazines, periodicals, songs and films had to be submitted to the Slorc’s censors prior to printing or distribution. At times, pages of foreign news magazines are ripped out or offending sections inked over.

Further, foreign newspapers and magazines are not permitted to sell without the junta’s approval.

Closing down magazines and newspapers and throwing writers in prison are not new occurrences in Burma.

The Britain-based anti-censorship group, Article 19, in a report released last year, stated that “Burma is o­ne of the most heavily censored states in the world.” It noted the contradiction between the greater economic freedom allowed since the military government took power and the suppression of free and open debate, and said that the disparity must end if Burma’s chronic political problems are ever to be resolved. “The quickening pace of economic development is requiring at least some adaptation of existing Slorc policies and attitudes. To date, however, these have been little more than cosmetic,” the group said.

For example, last year a PSB officer told writers, “The practice of inking out words does not speak well for a free market economy. Therefore, the style of censorship has to be changed. Instead of inking over the sentences, the whole article will be torn out.”

Under the SPDC, about 100 magazines and weekly journals in Burmese are publishing despite heavy censorship. Many writers and intellectuals have recently been trying to test the waters. Even though they don’t dare ask for freedom of expression, they are privately critical of restrictions and censorship laws.

While tough o­n political writing, the ruling junta encourages publishers and writers working for less threatening, business-related magazines and journals.