Wednesday, 27 January 2010 20:08 Phanida (Media Alert)
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - The State-run Myanmar News Agency (MNA) as of January has stopped providing photographs of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to publications, editors of local journals in Rangoon said.
The MNA is a government-controlled agency under the News and Periodical Enterprise of the Ministry of Information and Publicity. It has exclusive rights to produce photographs of top-level government activities and also acts as an agency releasing the government’s news and information.
The MNA unlike the Press Scrutiny and Registration Board does not censor the contents of publications but collects information and releases them on behalf of the government.
As the sole agency with the right to take pictures of government arranged events including meetings of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and government officials, local weeklies in Rangoon rely on the MNA for pictures to be carried with their stories.
“The MNA stopped providing pictures though the censor board allows us to use it. I think they have been instructed not to do so,” an editor of a local weekly in Rangoon told Mizzima.
“Since we are unable to get new pictures, we have to use old (file) photos. So far there has been no notice restricting the use of pictures,” another editor said.
While running a story on the latest meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and junta’s Liaison Minister Aung Kyi on January 15, The Voice Weekly, in its latest issue had to do without any photographs.
Earlier, for meetings between the Burmese opposition leader and visiting US delegates or the government’s Liaison Minister, the MNA provided photographs to the weeklies.
The Weekly 11 journal in its latest issue published on January 16, also carried the story of Aung San Suu Kyi’s meeting with Aung Kyi but used a file picture, as the MNA stopped providing fresh photos.
Meanwhile, with the Burmese censor board filtering and censoring publications and weeklies from publishing information critical to the regime along with politically sensitive issues, the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF), chaired by one of junta’s business cronies Zaw Zaw, has begun restricting local weeklies from covering football tournaments by limiting the number of journalists allowed into official briefings and into the stadiums.
A source close to the MFF told Mizzima that it started restrictions because Burmese media in exile has have been reporting frequent fights and brawls among football players or among fans.
The MFF has announced that weekly journals interested in covering MFF events would be allowed to register only one reporter and a photo journalist at their office. The journalists must seek prior accreditation with the MFF.
The MFF’s move in restricting journalists is coming in the way of freedom of expression, a veteran journalist Win Tin said.
“The MFF is also restricting journalists’ freedom. Sports are also important for the media. I fear that in future there will be more restrictions in politics, and in the socio-economic sector,” Win Tin added.
“We were told that limiting the number of journalists covering MFF events was because the media in exile are publishing and broadcasting frequent fights and brawls on the football ground. I think the government wants to hide what is happening on the ground,” a Rangoon-based journalist told Mizzima.
On January 17, a fight broke out during the match between the Burmese business tycoon Tayza owned Yangon United and the current Myanmar National League (MNL) Champion Yadanabon Club. Authorities were compelled to deploy over 100 security forces to quell the disturbances.
While local weeklies in Rangoon were restricted from reporting the incident, the Burmese media in exile had a field day reporting it widely.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
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