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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Political parties hope political prisoners to be released soon

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Thursday, 29 September 2011 18:52 Te Te

New Delhi (Mizzima) – After Burma’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin told the UN General Assembly that an unspecified number of prisoners will be released soon, political parties are expressing hope that political prisoners will be included in the release.

At the 66th session of the U.N. General Assembly held in New York, Wunna Maung Lwin said that an amnesty would be granted soon.

Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, wearing traditional dress, addresses the 66th general assembly of the United Nations in New York on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Ohn Kyaing, the spokesman for the National League for Democracy (NLD), the leading opposition group, said, “I hope [political prisoners] will also be offered [the amnesty]. According to people who recently met with [political] prisoners, we have been encouraged.

“We heard that [authorities] asked [political prisoners] for a brief biography.” he said.

When the new government came into office, hopes were high that all political prisoners would be released under a general amnesty. But, the new president granted a general one-year commutation on May 17. 

Under the one-year presidential commutation, about 20,000 prisoners were released, but there were only a few political prisoners among them.

The National Democratic Force (NDF) party said that the amnesty would be effective only if political prisoners are included. Observers said the issue is related to the government’s demand that Western countries lift the economic sanctions imposed on Burma.

NDF leader Khin Maung Swe, who is a former political prisoner, said:  “Now, we need to attempt national reconciliation. If political prisoners are not included in the amnesty, it will not be effective. The authorities know it.

“The amnesty was delayed because they seem to be pondering whether an uprising could be sparked off again. They may already have a plan about how to quell an uprising, if it arises. I think they have already identified the contacts among people who have [that] potential.”

According to figures compiled by the Thai-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma, there are 1,955 political prisoners in the country.

On September 27, after the meeting of the “Group of Friends on Burma”, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Burmese government to release all remaining political prisoners and to engage in a constructive dialogue to achieve national reconciliation.

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