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

Burmese Election Commission warns parties led by two brothers

-
Wednesday, 07 December 2011 22:01 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Two political parties: the Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics and 88 Generation Student Youths (Union of Myanmar), which are led by two brothers, could be dissolved, according to the Union Election Commission.

The warning, released on November 23, said the two parties, led by brothers Aye Lwin and Ye Tun respectively, violated 11 regulations including selling lucky draws, gambling, collecting donations in restricted market areas without permits, insulting government employees and distributing uncensored videos.

Aye Lwin of the Myanmar Federation of National Politics.

The alleged violations occurred from July 2 to November 14 in nine townships in Rangoon, Magway, Mandalay and Irrawaddy regions, according to the EU.

Officials from the two parties said that they would submit rebuttals to the UEC on December 20.

Aye Lwin, the chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics (UMFNP), told Mizzima that it did not violate the political registration law.

“We did not violate laws. Section 15 (a) of the political party registration law said we can collect party admission fees and party monthly fees and the taxes to be paid on money shall be exempted,” Aye Lwin said.

In July, the East District Municipal Committee was set to file cases against 10 central committee members from the two parties for illegally collecting party funds to contest in the general elections. Later, the committee dropped the charges against the parties in order to negotiate.

Regarding the allegation of distributing uncensored videos, the EC said that on September 29, 2010, UMFNP General Secretary Htay Aung distributed uncensored VCDs of the opening office ceremony of the Kawhmu Township office and party chairman Aye Lwin’s speech for party funds.

Regarding selling lucky draws, the EC alleged that on September 30, 2010, Htay Hlaing and Kyi Khaing of the UMFNP sold 35 lucky draw tickets at the price of 1,000 (about U.S. $1.30) kyat per ticket at Ward No. 3 in Mayangon Township in Rangoon. Prizes included two mobile phones, three digital cameras and four 21-inch televisions. The commission said it was in violation of the Gambling Act.

Regarding the charge against the 88 Generation Student Youths (Union of Myanmar) group, the EU said that the party and the Ward Administration chief were involved in a dispute over the failure to register overnight guests. Later another dispute arouse over toll fees on the Rangoon-Mandalay Road operated by the Ministry of Construction that led to a conflict with government employees.

In addition, on July 19 at a ceremony to mark Martyrs’ Day Aye Lwin and Ye Tun allegedly took cameras into areas where they were not permitted and a dispute arouse with security officers.

Earlier, the two political parties were known as pro junta parties. The parties ran for 85 parliamentary seats in the 2010 general election in Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, Rangoon, Pegu, and Irrawaddy regions and in Chin State. They won one parliamentary seat in Hlaing Tharya Township constituency in the Rangoon Region Assembly.

Under the former junta, Aye Lwin and Ye Tun publicly criticized opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Western sanctions against Burma. The two parties have a total of more than 100,000 members. The party admission fee is 500 kyat and the monthly fee is 100 kyat.

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