Burmese junta fine-tunes censorship procedures

SEAPA Alert: Burmese junta fine-tunes censorship procedures28 October 2008Source: Mizzima NewsBurma's information minister, Brig. Gen. Kyaw San, has notified allgovernment departments to coordinate with his ministry should theywish to withold any information.The circular, sent to all ministries and government departments anda copy of which was secured by Mizzima, says, "The InformationMinistry can control the flow of information by appropriate meansif the department concerned sends prior notice to this ministry onthe information that would like to be withheld, censored and not tobe released."In the circular dated 15 October and with a subject line, "Toestablish a coordinated news release system and news coordinationsystem among all ministries for press scrutiny purposes", theInformation Ministry states that it faces difficulties in settingnorms for the Press Scrutiny Board (Censor Board), as there is nocoordination between the ministries and other government agencies."There are frequent controversial disputes taking place between thedepartment concerned and the media," the circular adds.The RSF study says, "Journalists and intellectuals, even foreignones, have for years been viewed as enemies by the regime."Maj. Gen. Kyaw San's circular urged the ministries to release theirnews through a press committee."Instead of the current practice of denial and withholding ofinformation, the pre-emptive action of releasing news tactfully andpreparing in advance is better," the circular added. In a recent study of press freedom conducted by France-basedReporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), Burma ranks 170th out of 173countries, just above Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea.-----------------------------------------------------------------------Mizzima News (http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=BOivp&m=1g4J17vRnzKXin&b=a7uLqhK.htclpJjelLv0qQ) is a news organizationheadquartered in New Delhi, India, run by exiled Burmesejournalists. A SEAPA partner, it aims to promote awareness aboutthe situation in Burma and promote democracy and freedom ofexpression in the country.------------------------------------------------------------Southeast Asian Press Alliance. 538/1 Samsen Rd., Dusit, Bangkok 10300.Tel: 66-2-2435579, 66-2-2435373, Fax: 66-2-2448749To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?LIwcjIyMtCxMzJzMDBxstEa0zJxsjEwsjA==