Friday, 27 January 2012 22:13 Mizzima News
“The new press law, which is still in the process of being enacted, will guarantee freedom of expression in Burma,” Tint Swe told Radio Free Asia (RFA) in an interview on Wednesday. “It won’t take too long to adopt the press law—it would just be a matter of months after discussions at the upcoming parliament session.” Tint Swe made similar claims in November.
Tint Swe told RFA that the law had already been drafted by Burma’s Ministry of Information and sent to the Attorney General’s office for approval.
His remarks came as Rangoon journalists report that many prior censorship restrictions or advisories have been handed down in recent weeks. Among the items censored or advised to be toned down were calls by Aung San Suu Kyi and others for the release of all remaining political prisoners and comments by recently released 88-Generation student leaders.
Other censored items involved the news of the eviction of a popular abbot for his outspoken political views and criticism of possible election irregularities by the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) ahead of April 1 elections, according to RFA.
Lawmakers in Parliament said this week that revisions to the country’s press law would probably come up in this session of the Parliament, which opened this week.
Burmese censorship rules have been modified in recent months and are now divided into two general categories:
Group 1 includes nearly 200 publications focusing on sports, health, arts, children’s literature, crime, business and technology, which don’t need to pass articles through censors prior to publication, but must submit copies after publication.
Group 2 includes around 160 publications focusing on news, economics, and religion, which must pass articles through censors prior to publication.
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