Junta Tightens Media Censorship

Burmese journalists say the state's censorship board has cracked down hard following the publication of a story about a young girl's malpractice death in a Rangoon clinic.

The latest round of censorship follows a flurry of articles recently over a two week period about the death of  a student, Khine Shunn Leh Yee, 15, who died as a result of a surgeon's  malpractice in a Rangoon private clinic.

Burmese read the newspapers on a street in Rangoon. (Photo: Getty Images)

The stories are believed to have prompted the Myanmar [Burma] Medical Council, a governmental organization, to open an investigation which led to a five-year suspension of the doctor's license to practice. The girl's family received compensation from the clinic. The government also banned similar stories. 

Journalists say the censorship board, called the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, has  imposed tighter restrictions in its never-ending effort to restrictfreedom of the press in the country's print and broadcast media.

An officer at the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, “The censorship board will ban any news or articles about social issues which show or reflect weakness in the system controlled by the Burmese regime.”   

An editor of a Rangoon-based journal told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the stories led to more people coming forward to the media with their experiences about malpractice and other problems in private hospitals, as well as other social justice issues.

He said, “All journals tried to publish news about  workers at the Wong Hong Hung textile factory in Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone 3 in Rangoon this week. But, the censorship board warned us not to publish this information. News about a house maid in Irrawaddy Division who was humiliated and hospitalized also was banned.”

The junta has a well-earned reputation as “an enemy of the press,” but Burmese journalists  say they try to work around the restrictions when possible.

Ohn Kyaing, a former journalist and member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, "If there is censorship in the media and publishing, it has very bad affects throughout society. People need to have reliable information. The censorship board is a major obstacle to freedom of information and the press.”

 An independent press is seen as an essential ingredient in democracy, say analysts.

Maung Wun Tha, a veteran writer and editor, told The Irrawaddy, “The government should understand the essential role that the media plays in social development. The media can reflect people's opinion and that is important to allow society to improve itself.”

“In open societies, factual information and reasonable perspectives, or viewpoints, are viewed as useful and something that can make civil society stronger,” he said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists(CPJ) in December 2009 released a series of reports on journalists imprisoned around the world.  Burma, which has jailed nine journalists, was ranked in  the top five nations for imprisoning journalists, along with Iran, China, Cuba and Eritrea.

Kyi Wai and Aung Thet Wine also contributed to this story.