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

Army seizes farmlands in Arakan State

-
Thursday, 25 February 2010 09:10 Nyein Chan

Dhaka (Mizzima) - Army units have seized nearly 300 acres of farmland owned by local farmers in Sittwe and Ponnakyun Townships in Arakan State since the beginning of last month.

Sittwe-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 232 appropriated 80 acres of land located in the villages Kyay Taw, Taung Nar and Yoe Tayoke, while Ponnakyun-based LIB 550 is reported to have taken control of 200 acres. The incorporated lands are to be used for army agribusiness endeavors.

"We have learned they will undertake rice cultivation and rubber plantations on these seized lands. Rubber plantations are part of their 100-acres plan to be implemented as per instruction given by Western Command Headquarters. Rice cultivation is not under this plan," a person close to Sittwe-based LIB 232 told Mizzima.

"There was no prior notice and no compensation given to farmers who lost their lands. An army section led by an officer from LIB 232 and a survey team came and measured the lands. After some days they erected signboards saying 'Army owned area - Do not trespass' on the lands they seized," a villager from Taung Nar elaborated.

Similarly, local people said that Ponnakyun-based LIB 550 seized nearly 200 acres of land in Thit Tet, Kyauk Sone, Be Kho, Marlar, Kywe Lan Chaung, Myin Taw, Win Tein, Khwa Sone and Nga Pyauk Se villages.

"The lands were seized from almost every village. Our village lost over 70 acres in seized land and our village has suffered the most in this land seizure campaign. I heard that nearly 10 more acres were seized in the second week of this month in Win Tein village. This is the latest seizure of land during these days," a villager from Kyauk Sone related.

"Almost everything is scarce in our area. The villagers are unhappy with the seizure of their lands but they can do nothing to console themselves and let it be. They don't know how to lodge a complaint for the seizure of their lands due to their ignorance," he added.

Farmers had used the now army occupied land to primarily grow paddy, betel leaf and pepper.

Comments

Post a Comment

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