MYANMAR: News coverage of fuel price demonstrations curbed

Myanmar's military junta is restricting news coverage of protests against rising fuel prices in Yangon.

According to a Reuters report, the junta is paying gangs of released criminals to physically intimidate local and international reporters trying to cover the protests and has the information ministry to censor local news outlets. While the foreign press is able to provide daily updates on the protests since they began on Aug. 19, there is virtually no coverage in local newspapers, except in government-controlled outlets such as New Light of Myanmar.

Reporters Without Borders issued a press release condemning the police and members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the regime's militia, for harassing and attacking journalists and seizing their cameras as they tried to cover the story.

Reuters said that one of its reporters was ordered not to take photographs of the detainment of about 30 members of an opposition party by a junta-related civilian group.

The independent news agency Mizzima News reported that on the evening of Aug. 20, editors of Eleven Media, one of the most prominent media groups in Myanmar, were summoned by the Special Branch of the police in Yangon. While the male editors were interrogated at the police station, the female editors were interrogated at their homes. Wai Phyo, one of the editors-in-charge, however, denied that the interrogations occurred.

Besides facing physical attacks and questioning, local newspapers also face heavy censorship from the information ministry and within their own organization. Since all news stories require approval from the press scrutiny and registration division of the ministry, editors of Yangon-based journals are reluctant to include coverage of the protests because they believe such stories would be rejected.

"We all have to go through the censorship board. And if we submit our draft they will reject it or suspend it. So, nobody wants to bear the burden as we will not get past the censors," U Hein Latt, editor of Yangon-based Popular Journal, told Mizzima News.

Although local newspapers are silenced and foreign correspondents are at risk, the supply of photos and information continues has, according to online newspaper Irrawaddy, "citizen-reporters" release updates to international media via the Internet and mobile phones.

"Thanks to the availability of new communication technologies among citizen-reporters and even demonstrators themselves, the repressive acts of the military regime -- which the outside world knew little of in the past -- are now able to be reported by the world media almost as they happen."

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) said that the situation continues to deteriorate as the junta has further restricted the outflow of information to international media by disrupting Internet and phone services. The advocacy organization says that there is a decrease in Internet and phone access in the country, and Web-based email and phone services, such as Gmail and Gtalk, have experienced more disruptions and have become less reliable.

"With the junta's iron-fist hold on information and all channels of communication, the people rely on foreign media for the truth, even when it comes to events within the country," said SEAPA.

The unrest and protests began when Myanmar's military rulers released a 500 percent hike in petroleum prices on Aug. 15 without prior notice. Increased transportation costs and commodity prices tremendously challenge daily survival. On Aug. 19, a student group known as 88 Generation and other political dissidents started public protests in Yangon and demonstrations spread to Pegu and other parts of Myanmar. The military junta then emptied jails in anticipation of arresting dissenters and mobilized the USDA and Swan Aah Shin, a group essentially of junta-backed thugs. Arrests of activists, including 88 Generation students and dissidents, began on Aug. 22. The BBC reported that Htin Kyaw, an activist who fights for better living standards and is veteran detainee by the police, was beaten as he was arrested on Aug. 25. Meanwhile, reports say the number of arrests has reached over one hundred and authorities have distributed photographs to hunt down activists at large.

The military regime's response to protesters has raised international concern, with global campaigns calling for the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to act. In an Aug. 23 press release, human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, condemned the attacks on demonstrators, and the United States, France and the United Kingdom released statements last week demanding the release of arrested activists.

Today, U.S. President Bush said, "I strongly condemn the ongoing actions of the Burmese regime in arresting, harassing, and assaulting pro-democracy activists for organizing or participating in peaceful demonstrations. These activists were voicing concerns about recent dramatic increases in the price of fuel, and their concerns should be listened to by the regime rather than silenced through force."

The government of Myanmar announced that the 88 Generation protestors will be prosecuted for trying to start an uprising, and will face up to 20 years in prison. The media have also been told that they can now refer to the fuel price increase only in positive terms.

Source :ASIA Media