Mizzima awarded global JTI certificate for reliable news on Myanmar

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Mizzima Mizzima, one of Myanmar ’s most prominent news outlets and a press freedom advocate, obtained the Journalism Trust Initiative ( JTI ) certification from global audit firm Bureau Veritas , JTI says in a press statement 5 January.  Operating in clandestine mode within Myanmar and supported by an exiled team, Mizzima strives to fulfil its role as reliable source of news and information for the Myanmar public. “Your Journalism Trust Initiative certification affirms what audiences already know: that principled, transparent journalism matters. Congratulations on this achievement and on your continued contribution to informing citizens about Myanmar,” says Benjamin Sabbah , director of Journalism Trust Initiative “Myanmar’s ongoing conflict has created an intensely contested media landscape, where mis- and disinformation are increasingly deployed to reinforce state propaganda and the prevailing “official” narrative. Although Mizzima is already regarded as one of the most trusted ...
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Burmese lawyer’s license returned after 20-year disbarment

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Thursday, 19 July 2012 12:30 Mizzima News

A Burmese human rights lawyer whose right to practice was removed by the former military government for political reasons can now practice law again in his country.

A file photo of lawer Robert San Aung

The Supreme Court informed Robert San Aung by letter on June 9 that it had decided to allow him to practice again, after almost 20 years of disbarment, according to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), which posted a notice on its website.

The AHRC Hong Kong-based director, Wong Kai Shing, said that the return of the lawyer's license was a good sign, but he should never have lost his license because he was only defending his client or expressing his political beliefs, which was his right.

Wong called for further unilateral revocations of licenses by the newly elected government to end, and for no more lawyers to be investigated simply for representing the interests of their clients according to law.

Robert San Aung had his license revoked in 1993 after defending clients in political cases. He said a military intelligence officer conveyed the letter revoking his license. Since 1974, he has also been imprisoned a total of six times for political reasons.

Despite the revocation of his license, Robert San Aung has in the interim continued to work on a wide range of human rights cases, including those concerning child soldiers, forced labour, illegal detention and unlawful confiscation of land, said the AHRC.

In March, the AHRC published an article on the state of law in Burma, saying half a century of one form of direct or indirect military rule has resulted “in a massively dysfunctional justice system.”

“Despite this situation, many lawyers in Burma take a strong interest in social causes, and some in political ones,” it said. “Many undertake their day-to-day professional tasks with eyes towards larger goals for societal change. However, because the legal system through which they must work has deteriorated dramatically over the last half century, it no longer has power to intervene in major events or affairs. It has lost significance in the public imagination and has become profoundly dysfunctional.”

The AHRC said the prospect of government reprisals against lawyers for undertaking their ordinary professional activities is one that acutely affects the legal profession in the country.

The very first item on the code of conduct for lawyers appearing before court is a warning not to engage in any behaviour that may constitute contempt, it said. Once a lawyer has been convicted for contempt, or for practically any other purported infraction, a lawyer can be disbarred.

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