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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Junta denies developing nuclear arms with N Korea

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Saturday, 12 June 2010 00:31 Mizzima News

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Burma’s military junta has strongly denied recent allegations made by Burmese media in exile that Senior General Than Shwe’s regime had sought North Korean assistance to develop nuclear weapons, calling the accusations “baseless”, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.

In the statement obtained by Mizzima, Burma’s reclusive regime countered that the allegations of co-operation with North Korea were made by “defectors and exile media who want to disrupt Burma’s national interest”.

The regime’s denial comes less than 24 hours after a senior US government official, Scot Marciel, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Southeast Asia, told a Senate committee in Washington that if Burma’s regime obtained nuclear weapons it would “tremendously destabilise” the region.

The regime’s claim of innocence was reiterated at 8 p.m. on Friday in a state-run Myanmar TV (MRTV) news bulletin, which declared that Burma had “no intention of becoming a state with nuclear weapons”.

The Burmese regime’s denial, comes one week after Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma released a hard-hitting investigative documentary featuring Burmese army defector Major Sai Thein Win, who provided extensive evidence to support his claim that North Korea and Burma were co-operating to develop nuclear weapons. Major Sai Thein Win who provided photos of himself working in what he described as special military factories also said that he was sent by his superiors to study missile technology at the prestigious Russia’s Bauman Moscow State Technical University.

The documentary shown internationally on Al Jazzera’s English-language news service and on domestic American television has proven embarrassing for Burma’s regime and those in the West who seek to normalise relations with what is commonly referred to as one of the world’s most repressive regime’s.

“These reports were baseless accusations that are politically motivated … to undermine the political process as Myanmar [Burma] is striving for democracy by holding general elections this year,” the statement said.

Citing the North Korea allegations made by DVB, US Senator Jim Webb, a prominent advocate for economic and political engagement with Burma’s military rulers opted at the last minute to postpone his planned visit to Burma. Webb’s trip was set to coincide with the worldwide release of DVB’s exposé and a high-level visit to Naypyidaw by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

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