Censorship rule puts electoral laws, constitution off-limits, editors say

Written by Phanida
Tuesday, 27 July 2010 22:57 -

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The new regulation imposed by the junta’s censor board that bars
domestic journals from misquoting the constitution or electoral laws has cowed journalists, who
say they dare not write anything on the subjects.

The July 20 directive issued by state censor, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Board, which
is administered by the Ministry of Information, calls for “correct and complete quoting of the
constitution, electoral laws and its rules”. It also warns domestic journals that stern action could
include loss of publishing licences for breach of the directive.

“Publishers and editorial boards of the journals concerned are obliged to take serious [care in]
editorial works quoting the provisions mentioned in Constitution of the Republic of Union of
Myanmar [Burma], and in articles and news reports with excerpts related to electoral laws and
rules issued by Union Election Commission,” the directive says.

“Any misquoting will be dealt with stern action up to revocation of publishing licences,” the
directive adds.

“The terms within the laws are incomprehensible to the general public so we have to elaborate
on them in our news reports and articles related to the constitution and election matters,” a
senior journalist from a weekly journal told Mizzima. “Now it is impossible for us. Though we
have to explain these terms in good faith for our readers, it could now give us a lot of trouble so
we have started to avoid this subject.”

The directive follows the two-week suspension of The Voice journal after its “Concept and
Process” article on constitutional issues written by Aung Htut appeared in issue 34, volume six.

The state censor had cleared the article after routine vetting but the Supreme Court intervened
over its alleged misquotation of constitutional provisions, and the suspension followed.

“The laws are complicated in their subject matter, which make them incomprehensible to the
average reader,” a news journal editor said. “We need to elaborate on the legal terms used …
for readers’ convenience but [with the new rule] this has become very difficult.”

Similarly the Supreme Court sent a protest note over the “Legal Issues” section of the Flower
News weekly journal in last week’s issue, forcing the journal to drop the section and print a
“correction”, an editor close to the journal said.

Journals were also being required to announce their own suspension of publication when
ordered to do so by the censor board, which observers said was a calculated pretence to say
the matter had nothing to do with the censors.

Journalists in Burma usually refer to the censors as the “Press Kempeitai”, named after the
Japanese secret police in Burma during the Japanese occupation.

Former censor board director Major Tint Swe has been promoted to the post of deputy director

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Censorship rule puts electoral laws, constitution off-limits, editors say

Written by Phanida
Tuesday, 27 July 2010 22:57 -

general and will soon be transferred to another department under the Ministry of Information.

He was replaced in May by naval Lieutenant Colonel Myo Myint Maung, who has tightened
censorship on articles related to the election and electoral laws, and on interviews, articles and
news reports on some political party leaders.

Also during his tenure the journals Envoy and Popular were suspended one week for printing
portraits of actresses in dresses allegedly in a manner “counter to traditional Burmese culture”.

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