| By AUNG ZAW | AUG, 2001 - VOLUME 9 NO.7 |
Burma is not a journalist-friendly country. Reporting from Burma can be hazardous to your reputation, as a growing roster of foreign journalists is discovering. For foreign journalists, writing about Burma is no easy task, as they are not welcome in this military-ruled country. Many foreign journalists who have been to Burma felt nervous as they learned their activities have been monitored by intelligence officers or informers—and in addition to that, some of them have been harassed. Even after leaving the country, journalists are not safe yet. In Bangkok, Burma’s intelligence officials and their network are believed to follow the activities of journalists and, of course, check what they write in their respective papers, magazines or electronic media. If their report is not satisfactory for the intelligence officials, the journalists could be banned from entering Burma again for years. Rule number one is: Don’t be too sympathetic with the democratic opposition or with Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Dominic Faulder, who was the first foreign journalist to interview Sr-Gen Saw Maung, former chief of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), now renamed the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), also experienced difficulties from 1990 onwards, after he started reporting that the results of the elections were unlikely to be honored. "Up until the end of 1988, I visited anonymously and did not use my own byline. I had relatively good access in 1989, when I interviewed Saw Maung, up until Suu Kyi’s detention when I was perceived by some as being too sympathetic to her," he recalled. He is now allowed to go back to Burma. There are a few journalists who have not been allowed to enter Burma for more than a decade. Bertil Lintner is one of them. Lintner has written numerous articles and books on Burma, and is considered to be one of the most knowledgeable foreign journalists on Burmese affairs. The junta slammed him, saying his reports on Burma are groundless and based on wishful thinking. He is now on the blacklist, and has been barred from entering Burma since 1989. Does he care? Not really. "Blacklisting people never works," said the Swedish journalist based in Thailand. His argument is that journalists who get blacklisted are usually very interested in Burma and knowledgeable about the country. Besides, they have a better network of sources than other journalists who parachute in with new contacts and almost no background. That’s the chief reason they are not allowed in. Blacklisted people tend to be better respected, too. "If anything happens inside Burma, I am usually the first foreign correspondent to learn about it. For instance, I was the first foreign journalist to learn about Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest in 1995, and I had the news even before the diplomats in Rangoon knew what had happened," Lintner said. However, some journalists working for news services or international or regional magazines do not want to rock the boat. They would rather compromise and be quiet or at least careful in order to get a visa. Some less well-known freelance journalists apply for tourist visas to enter Burma, while others want to keep steady relations with some high-ranking officials in the intelligence service. Of course, it is helpful to have friends there, as incentives are also involved. Some officers at the intelligence service can be very cooperative. Col Kyaw Thein, Maj-Gen Kyaw Win, Col Thein Swe and Lt-Col Hla Min are favorites among foreign journalists. "They are interesting people. They speak English very well, and are well-educated," said a Western journalist based in Bangkok. What else? "They are hard-line, too," the foreign journalist told this correspondent at a coffee shop in Silom Road, looking around as if someone was monitoring the conversation. Megumi Niwano, a Japanese journalist working for a TV station in Tokyo, recalled that she applied for a visa several years ago but was denied. Yet she did not give up, and went to see Col Thein Swe, who was then a military attach้ in Bangkok. "I was surprised that I was denied the visa, because I had done nothing wrong," the Japanese journalist said. But Col Thein Swe thought differently. Upon meeting her in his office, Col Thein Swe told her that she had met some Burmese dissidents in Bangkok. The military attach้, now in charge of the Office of Strategic Studies (OSS), told her bluntly: "I know you have met Aung Zaw [this correspondent] and a few other activists. They are no good for our country." It is still a mystery how he found out about Niwano’s appointments and meetings. It is, in fact, normal for reporters to meet with fellow journalists to find new sources of information. In any case, in recent years, some journalists in Bangkok have found that it is getting a bit easier to obtain a visa. According to Denis Gray, who is now the Associated Press bureau chief in Bangkok, "Visas to Burma are still not that easy to get, but certainly easier than they were a few years ago." The AP bureau chief was not able to gain entry into the country for several years, then at the beginning of this year he was given a visa, but not without a problem. "My only frustration and problem on that trip was the short length of the visa—seven days," said Gray. "Otherwise we—a photographer and myself—had no problems." He added that he did not believe his movements had been monitored either in Rangoon or upcountry. "We moved about independently, without any government guide or escort. We rented a car through a private tour company. We were asked about our itinerary prior to arrival but we decided where we would go and this was accepted. We spent several days in the area about half way between Rangoon and Mandalay and the rest of the time in Rangoon itself." Upon returning from his trip, he produced both "tough stories" like one on education, and softer features, like a story on elephant logging. "We were not told what to write or not write on that trip. The decision on what we write about Burma is dictated by our own thinking and planning, and certainly not on whether we will be granted a visa in the future," the AP bureau chief said. For some journalists, applying for a visa is even less of a challenge. According to Lintner, "It’s also worth noting that if a certain writer gets a visa to Burma more than once, almost everyone thinks there’s something fishy going on, or that that writer is being used. That, in turn, affects that writer’s reputation." Some writers who were allowed into Burma several times lost the trust of journalist friends. This is a high price to pay for stories that are often very superficial or just plain bad. Dominic Faulder, a well-known photographer and journalist who works for the Hong Kong-based Asiaweek magazine, noted that visa restrictions are much less stringent when the regime is looking for publicity: "Visas are given out freely when there is a propaganda trip for, say, a narcotics eradication program." Faulder said that he recently turned down an invitation from the junta. "I was invited not so long ago by military intelligence, but declined because I could not get advance confirmation about whom I would get to see on the government side. This is very important to me. I do not want to be used as a propaganda tool—‘Well, we let Dominic in only last month’—if the visit isn’t likely to yield anything worthwhile." He added that, "All known journalists are under surveillance, and their writings are carefully scrutinized." "All known journalists" includes a handful of journalists who have been writing accommodating stories in the international press. According to a high-ranking Burmese official, who is now based in a Western country, the military regime is impressed with some foreign journalists and their stories on Burma. The Burmese official reportedly confided to a guest, "We like Roger Mitton, Stephen Brookes and Martin Smith. Their writings are fair and well-balanced." Roger Mitton, who now writes for Asiaweek magazine, is frequently criticized for writing stories that are seen to be pro-junta, and has lately been predicting a historic political agreement between the military junta and NLD leaders. His recent know-it-all stories have raised eyebrows among Burmese and Burma watchers, and stirred strong feelings. Many serious Burmese watchers question Mitton’s understanding of Burma and his analysis of the current situation. Donald M. Seekins, a professor of Burmese history at Meio University in Japan, said recently, "Mitton has been advertising for the junta." Inside Burma, respected journalists and writers who have seen Mitton’s pieces joke about his stories. "Mitton seems to have a spy network everywhere in Burma," quipped U Sein Win. "He is a laughing stock among us—if you are bored with politics in Burma, you will be amused (reading Mitton’s stories). His inside stories are very entertaining," the respected journalist in Rangoon said. But junta officials appear to be pleased with his "entertaining stories." Mitton has been allowed in and out of Burma many times, and some high-ranking officials, including the junta’s powerful Secretary One Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, have given him exclusive interviews. Martin Smith, who has written several reports and books on Burma, was also allowed into the country recently. However, his reputation is still largely intact, as he has long been highly regarded as an authority on Burma. Stephen Brookes, who used to work for the defunct Asia Times newspaper and was the only foreign journalist with regular access to Rangoon for several years, has less impressive Burma credentials. His stance is clear: The evils are not so bad. Brookes’ articles sometimes appear in The Myanmar Times, edited by Ross Dunkley, an Australian now based in Rangoon. Dunkley is also dependent on the junta’s favour, without which it would be totally impossible to run a newspaper in Rangoon. Lintner thinks the military intelligence must have discovered that Mitton knows nothing about Burma, and therefore decided that he would be easy to manipulate. "Neither Mitton’s nor Smith’s reports are objective and fair. Mitton’s reports reflect his ignorance and are simply bad journalism," said Lintner. The Swedish journalist thinks that Mitton’s failure to do his homework has backfired badly, leaving his reputation in tatters. He adds that Mitton’s credibility among diplomats and serious journalists is zero. Lintner believes that Smith has also been manipulated by the government to drive a wedge between him, as a well-known writer on Burmese affairs, and others. "So, in a way, that’s ‘divide and rule’ or rather, ‘manipulate and divide’," he said. Both Mitton and Smith were contacted for this article, but failed to reply to email queries. Though divided, many foreign journalists covering Burma can agree on one thing—Burma is tightly controlled and the military government makes a poor presentation of its case. In 1996, high-ranking intelligence officials led by Kyaw Thein and Kyaw Win launched a "meet-the-press" campaign, holding official press conferences every month. That did not last long, as many activists, writers and students in Rangoon tried to establish contacts with foreign journalists who have no hesitation to flock into the capital. Subsequently, students from Rangoon University staged a daring street protest under the eyes of the international press. Indeed, more critical stories appeared in regional papers, and the "meet-the-press" campaign was abruptly cancelled. "It is the government that has things to say at the moment, but they are very poor at presenting their case. This is one of the reasons why Suu Kyi shines above them with such ease. On the NLD side, there is not a lot new to be said, and on that basis visits from people like me can cause more problems than are justified by the results they produce," Faulder said. At the moment, the junta may be winning the game, keeping journalists at bay. "Once we are in Burma, we are careful about meeting with activists, opposition members and ordinary people," said a Western radio journalist in Bangkok. Indeed, simply contacting ordinary Burmese would put them at high risk. In the past and until now, some Burmese have been thrown into jail after being accused of meeting and giving "distorted" information to foreign journalists. Lintner has had some unpleasant experiences. Ronald Chan Htun, also known as Ye Htoon, was picked up, had his teeth kicked out and was given a lengthy jail sentence in 1990. The crime, according to the junta, was that he had met Bertil and provided him with information. He is also accused of being a ghostwriter for Outrage, a book authored by Lintner. But Lintner has a different version of the story: "Although I met Ye Htoon in Rangoon in April 1989, he was never one of my sources." He continued: "It’s safer for everybody if I meet the people who can leave the country here in Thailand, and that I communicate with others in a safer way than meeting face to face under MI surveillance in a Rangoon teashop."