The Mizzima News: Aug 2, 2007
Specialising in Burma-related news and issues
www.mizzima.com,www.mizzima.tv
INSIDE BURMA
- Harassment lessens following announcement:88 Generation Students
- Mock ad in Myanmar Times ushers in stringent regulations
INTERNATIONAL
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Bush signs import ban against Burma
NEWS IN BURMESE
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HRDP condemn junta arrest of rights activists
- USDA member sued MP due to authorities order
- Ten Burmese die in car accident in Malaysia
Harassment lessens following announcement:88 Generation Students
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
August 2, 2007 - Harassment of 88 generation student leaders by motor cycle borne groups, purported to be pro military junta supporters, has gone down considerably following the public stance taken by the leaders on July 31.
The student leaders were being pestered on a daily basis by people astride two wheelers parked outside their homes. The leaders were also being followed and watched wherever they went since May.
"Their [the unknown people] activities had increased and crossed all limits," said Pyone Cho, an 88 generation student leader.
However, on July 31, the students made a public announcement to tackle the harassment and said they would get hold of the people who were pestering them. They would accost the groups on the spot and call a public gathering to expose them.
"We do not want any trouble. We want to express what we believe peacefully. But if they [the unknown people] continue to disturb us, we will seriously call a gathering of the people and expose them publicly," Pyone Cho told Mizzima over telephone.
Unlike its usual practice of coming down heavily on students and activists, the junta in recent times, seems to be using different tactics in cracking down on dissidents. It is using civilians to monitor their activities and to harass them.
Mock ad in Myanmar Times ushers in stringent regulations
Nem Davies
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
August 2, 2007 - The recent mock advertisement by a Denmark-based group in The Myanmar Times, where the Burmese military junta supremo was lampooned, has had its repercussions. The Burmese Press Scrutiny and Registration Board has issued a 28-point new regulation further tightening the already rigid regulations over media advertisements.
The fake advertisement in the Myanmar Times, encrypted with anti-junta tirade was meant to have a little fun at the junta's expense, according to the group.
Maj Tint Swe, head of the Press Scrutiny and Registration Board, on Tuesday summoned representatives of 25 journals and magazines and informed them of the new regulations. He warned them that those flouting the instructions would be stripped of their license.
The new guidelines maintain that advertisements can only be accepted in either Burmese or English, since the Censor Board is proficient in only these two languages. Advertisements will have to include the full name and address of the company placing the ads and the respective journals will shoulder the responsibility of the "correctness" of the insertion.
"The main point is, if journals print any ads such as the one which appeared in The Myanmar Times, the journal will have to take responsibility, or else will be stripped of its license," a Rangoon journalist told Mizzima.
The stringent regulations were made following the appearance of an advertisement by Denmark based political satirists last week in The Myanmar Times. It had a Danish looking word "Ewhsnahtrellik," which read backwards said "Killer Than Shwe". The ad, which invites Scandinavian tourists to visit Burma, also had a bogus poem, where the initial letters put together reads "Freedom".
Interestingly, the new regulations also ban announcements of engagements or weddings of a foreigner to a Burmese citizen, and also of advertisements seeking waitresses in restaurants and hotels. It also banned ads relating to liquor with women as models.
"Before there were no such regulations, there was only a ban on placing ads regarding private tuitions and models revealing too much," an official from a Rangoon based magazine told Mizzima.
While a few suggest that the new regulations do not pose any threat or restriction on the Burmese media circle, journalists and reporters in Burma said the regulations are uncalled for and restricts the freedom of the Press as a whole.
Bush signs import ban against Burma
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
August 2, 2007 - On Thursday President Bush signed a bill that will continue United States import sanctions against Burma.
The primary impetus for the renewal of import sanctions against the regime is the continued incarceration of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, in addition to the appalling human rights situation inside the country.
From a statistical standpoint, the ban on imports has been highly successful.
In both 2000 and 2001, the United States Census Bureau catalogued approximately 470 million dollars in imports from Burma. In 2003, the final year before import sanctions took effect; 275 million dollars in imports were recorded.
In the three-and-a-half years since import sanctions were included as part of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, a mere $100,000 in imports shows on the Census Bureau ledger.
The United States employs multiple sanctions against the regime, including the areas of exports, finance, military hardware and travel.
The bill will ban imports for an additional year.
NEWS IN BURMESE
- HRDP condemn junta arrest of rights activists
http://www.mizzimaburmese.com/detail.php?news_id=445&cat=7011
-
USDA member sued MP due to authorities order
http://www.mizzimaburmese.com/detail.php?news_id=446&cat=7011
-
Ten Burmese die in car accident in Malaysia
http://www.mizzimaburmese.com/detail.php?news_id=447&cat=7012
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