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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Than Shwe tells military to aid junta’s favoured party

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Friday, 18 June 2010 17:04 Salai Han Thar San

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Senior General Than Shwe recently told regional military commanders at their quarterly meeting to help the Union Solidarity and Development Party win the forthcoming election, according to the sources close to the military.

The meeting with top-ranking military officers was held late last month at the office of the army commander in chief in the Burmese capital Naypyidaw at which Than Shwe issued the directive to aid the party led by Prime Minister Thein Sein.

“He also discussed … the [opposition] National League for Democracy’s attitude to the forthcoming election, and power cuts and water shortages”, a source close to the military said, refusing to disclose details.

State Peace and Development Council members, regional military commanders and cabinet ministers attended.

An analyst on the Burmese military, Aung Kyaw Zaw, who lives on the China-Burma border, corroborated the line that the top junta leader was ordering officers to give a boost to the USDP, formed by members of the junta’s ultra-nationalist organisation, the Union Solidarity and Development Association. He said: “I heard that the Senior General had instructed the regional military commanders to help USDP”.

Other issues discussed were the frequent power cuts and widespread water shortages across the nation despite an abundance of dams and some hydropower projects, a source close to the military in Naypyidaw said, without describing any decisions or plans of action.

Moreover, the officers discussed the issue regarding the decision of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi, that it would not contest in this year’s elections, but would carry out social work.

The quarterly meeting is usually a forum at which political, economic and military issues are discussed, regional military commanders present reports on developments in their sectors and take directives from their superiors. They are then required to hold divisional meetings and supervise the chairmen of district and township peace and development councils in their regions.

The headquarters of the USDP is in Dakkhina Thiri Township, Naypyidaw. It formally became a political party on June 9.

Political analyst Aung Thu Nyein, based in Thailand, said the polls this year were likely to be one-sided as the junta had denied the people a choice in the May 2008 referendum, especially through vote-rigging.

“They shaped the 2008 referendum according to their preferences. They may conduct the upcoming elections in the same way”, he said.

In the run-up to the referendum, junta leaders at the quarterly meetings told officers to make sure chairmen of district and township development councils changed civilian ballots from “no” votes to “yes” to approve the 2008 Constitution, a former military officer said.

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