Mizzima awarded global JTI certificate for reliable news on Myanmar

-
Image
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 ...
Post a Comment

Concluding arguments of Suu Kyi's trial continue

-
by Mungpi
Monday, 27 July 2009 14:50

New Delhi (mizzima)- The special court in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison on Monday resumed hearing of the concluding arguments on the trial of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, after the court ran out of time on Friday.

The closing arguments on Monday began at about 10 a.m. (local time). Several foreign diplomats including from the United Kingdom and the United States were allowed into the court to hear the final arguments of the trial, which began on May 18.

Lawyers of Aung San Suu Kyi’s two live-in party mates – Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma – and John William Yettaw, the American man, who swam across a lake and entered Aung San Suu Kyi’s house uninvited and stayed for two days in early May, along with prosecution lawyers on Monday presented their final argument.

The final arguments for Aung San Suu Kyi were presented by her lawyers on Friday.

Lawyers of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been charged for flouting her detention law, said the court is unlikely to pronounce a verdict on Monday. It might possibly take two to three weeks, they added.

Though critics and observers have dismissed the case as a trumped-up one by the military rulers of Burma and feel it is being used as a pretext to continue detaining her, most believe she would be convicted by the court, which merely executes commands by the military.

On Sunday, the junta, in its mouthpiece newspaper, the New Light of Myanmar, rejected criticism against its proposed elections in 2010 and the trial of Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate.

A commentary run in the newspaper, which often reflects the government’s views, accused US secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of interfering in the affairs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Burma is a member, for influencing members to press for more democratic reforms in military-ruled country.

Foreign Ministers attending the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) last week told Burma that unless political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi are released, the 2010 election would lack credibility.

Clinton in particular said if the junta releases Aung San Suu Kyi, US would like to expand its relationship with the country including opening up investment opportunities.

But the commentary of the junta’s mouthpiece said, “Demanding the release of Daw Suu Kyi means showing reckless disregard for the law.”

“It amounts to interfering in the affairs of the ASEAN,” said the commentary, adding “If ASEAN complies with the instruction of U.S. Secretary of State, ASEAN will become the follower of United States.”

“The court will hand down a reasonable term to her if she is found guilty, and it will release her if she is found not guilty,” the paper added.

Ohn Kyaing, one of the spokespersons for Aung San Suu Kyi’s party – National League for Democracy, on Monday said, “Looking at the tone of the newspaper’s report, I personally think the junta is determined to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi.”

But he said, “If the junta sentences her, it will greatly enrage the people of Burma as she is the only ray of hope for change.”

Popular posts from this blog

World's longest internet shutdown ends in parts of Myanmar

-
Image
Rakhine people travel by motorcycle in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Western Myanmar, 02 February 2021. Photo: Nyunt Win/EPA By AFP The world's longest internet shutdown -- affecting more than a million people for 19 months in one of Myanmar's ethnic conflict zones -- has come to an end, according to a mobile operator based in the region. The internet in parts of Myanmar's troubled northern states of Rakhine and Chin was suspended in June 2019 following "emergency" orders issued by the telecoms department under Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government. Following Monday's military coup, mobile operator Telenor Group confirmed it had reinstated full services in eight townships in Rakhine and Chin states on Wednesday. "Telenor Group and Telenor Myanmar have been advocating for the restoration of services and emphasised that freedom of expression through access to telecoms services should be maintained for humanitarian purposes," the company said in a stateme...
Read more

First ministerial meeting held

-
Image
Mizzima Myanmar held the first meeting among newly appointed ministers after a recent major cabinet reshuffle by the military in capital city of Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday morning, according to a release from the Military True News Information Team Xinhua reported. The Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, acting President U Myint Swe and nine newly appointed union ministers were present at the meeting held at the Presidential Palace, the release said. Min Aung Hlaing unveiled plans to include reopening religious buildings and pagodas, resuming domestic travel and hotel businesses as well as industries in line with COVID-19 rules and regulations, and revitalizing the country's economy.
Read more

Indonesia detains British woman on terror suspect list

-
Image
File photo of Indonesian police personnel standing guard. (Photo: AFP) AFP Indonesia has detained a British woman named on a list of global terror suspects and plans to deport her for visa violations, authorities told AFP Tuesday. Tazneen Miriam Sailar -- a Manchester-born convert to Islam married to an Indonesian jihadist who was killed in Syria -- is not charged with terror offences. But she and her late husband are on an Indonesian police list of suspected extremists that includes several foreigners notorious in the West. Sailar, 47, and her 10-year-old Indonesia-born son, were being held in Jakarta after being picked up last year without documents allowing her to remain in the Southeast Asian nation, her lawyer Farid Ghozali said. "She was put (in detention) while awaiting her return, which will be facilitated by the British embassy," Indonesian immigration directorate spokesman Ahmad Nursaleh told AFP. The embassy declined to comment, and it was unclear when...
Read more