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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Fleeing forced recruitment, young Kachin head to KIO bases

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Thursday, 24 February 2011 14:08 Phanida

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Because of  the Burmese junta’s forced military recruitment, about 100 young Kachin sought refuge in a military base of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) this week, according to a KIO officer.

The Kachin Independence Army is reinforcing its militia
and its army is preparing for battle with the Burmese
military regime. Photo : Mizzima
Forced recruitment of Kachin by the junta’s Northern Command in Kachin State has been underway since February 17, according to sources.

An officer with Battalion 11 of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) said young Kachin have instead been signing up with the KIA.

For those too young, ‘We also have schools they can attend’, he told Mizzima.

The officer said that he had heard that junta battalions that failed to meet a recruitment quota would be fined 300,000 kyat (about US$ 300) per  month and the money would be given to battalions that met their quota.

The KIO officer noted that some of the young people were underage and could not be accepted.

‘We cannot recruit people who are under 18’, he said.  ‘If we do, it would be said that we use child soldiers. So, we accept only adults and the young people who want to attend our schools’, he said.

According to a document circulated on the Internet, the junta’s conscription law, dated November 4, 2010, says that the military can legally conscript men (between age 18 to 35) and women (between age 18 to 27) into the armed forces. The law has not been made public, sources said.

Reflecting the increased tension in Kachin State, on February 21, KIA Lieutenant General Gam Shawng Gunhtang, the chief of staff, said during a mass meeting at the army’s headquarters in Laiza that the KIO will launch military offensives against the junta and all Kachin must support  the revolution.

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