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

KIA members defect to Burmese government

-
Thursday, 19 April 2012 13:57 Mizzima News

(Mizzima) – Burmese government authorities said 42 Kachin Independence Army (KIA) members defected this week, as peace talks between the sides moved forward at a slow pace.

A group of 35 members surrendered with 23 weapons on Monday, and another seven defected on Tuesday, sources said.

KIO peace delegates, left, and Burmese government officials in talks on March 9 in Ruili, China, in Yunnan Province. Photo: Kachin Net

Government authorities described the KIA defections as “exchanging arms for peace.”

Since November 2011, three rounds of peace talks have taken place between the government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in Ruili, in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, but there have been no signs of progress. The two sides have agreed to continue the talks.

Much of the KIO negotiations have focused around broad issues of equality for ethnic groups and regional autonomy, issues long valued by ethnic groups trying to establish a federal union in which they are given more control over their political and cultural affairs.

Earlier, KIO Brigadier General Gwan Maw told Mizzima the KIO wanted to solve the problems that have led to decades of fighting, and the signing of a cease-fire agreement could take a back seat while political issues are sorted out.

“We believe that the fighting is the consequence of political problems.  We believe that the problems must be solved politically, not by the military,” said Brigadier General Gwan Maw.

Whether a cease-fire will be achieved or not will depend on the discussions, Gwan Maw said. Normally, ethnic armed groups and the government sign a cease-fire first and then engage in political talks.

Armed clashes between the two sides continue to flare up, despite an order by President Thein Sein for government troops to stand down. The fighting has forced displacement of about 60,000 refugees in the area, according to the KIA and humanitarian groups.

Since the president's peace offer was extended in August last year, a total of 12 armed ethnic groups have signed preliminary cease-fires or peace agreements at the state or central level.

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