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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Parliament takes first step to revise Constitution

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Saturday, 16 March 2013 14:11 Rosie Gogan-Keogh

Myanmar's government has made a significant move toward fully democratizing the country by approving a motion to form a committee and commission to review the country's controversial 2008 Constitution.

Aung San Suu Kyi (green) joins other MPs at a session of the Lower House of Parliament on Friday, March 16, 2013. Photo: NLD via Facebook

The motion was tabled by Aye Myint and unanimously passed at the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House of Parliament) on March 15.

A study group of intellectuals and law experts will be brought together to review the Constitution “so that it can be in conformity with the current situation of the country's reform process,” reported The New Light of Myanmar on March 16.

“They seem to have realized that it's essential to amend the present Constitution for the country to build genuine democracy,” said former political prisoner and Lower House MP Ohn Kyaing, quoted in a report by Reuters.

Analysts say that although this is only the first step in a long road of essential changes, the motion marks a crucial juncture in Myanmar's journey of reform.

The burning question will be if any proposed revisions to the military-drafted Constitution will allow Aung San Suu Kyi to become president in 2015. Under the current law, Suu Kyi is forbidden from being elected president as she was married to a foreigner and has two British sons.

The opposition leader has previously expressed confidence that revisions to the Constitution will allow her to become president.

“I am not unduly worried by it. I think that the members of our military, like the rest of our nation, would like to see Burma a happier, stronger, more harmonious country,” she said, referring to Myanmar by its former name.

“Because of that, I do not rule out the possibility of amendment through negotiated compromise,” Suu Kyi said on January 25 at the East-West Center on a visit to the US Pacific state of Hawaii.

The Constitution also reserves a quarter of the parliamentary seats for people chosen by the military. Analysts say that any revisions to the current constitution will set the scope for the military's future role in Myanmar government.
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