Reporters Without Borders is today releasing a report on
the crisis in the western state of Arakan, a copy of which it gave
yesterday to National League for Democracy parliamentary representative
Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently on a four-day visit to Paris, the
last leg of a European tour that ends tomorrow.
“The ongoing conflict in Arakan has shone a harsh light
on the sensitivity of the media environment and the very fragile nature
of the newly recovered but partial media freedom,” Reporters Without
Borders said. “Aung San Suu Kyi clearly appreciates the gravity of the
crisis but we felt we had to draw her attention to the urgency of the
need to respond to the many challenges for the Burmese media after 50
years of suppression and censorship.
“Until now, the government has been relaxing its abusive
control of the media but, as it does not know how to assist the media
in the new, rapidly emerging political and economic environment, it has
reacted in an instinctive manner to what it regards as the excessive
liberties the media are taking and has initiated at least three
prosecutions since the start of the year. The editor of Snapshot
could be facing a seven-year jail sentence. This is not an acceptable
response from a government that claims to be on the road to democracy.
“We hope that both the Burmese government and parliament
will understand that modernization and liberalization of the media and
adoption of adequate media legislation are not going to be the result of
the country’s democratization but are inescapable preconditions for its
democratization, ones that must be tackled right away.”
Reporters Without Borders talked twice yesterday with
Aung San Suu Kyi, firstly during an informal lunch at the Paris city
hall, then in the afternoon during a meeting at which the French foreign
ministry and several civil society organizations took part.
Reporters Without Borders was able to draw her attention
to the new threats to freedom of information in Burma and to the needs
of the media, which have had big impact on the crisis in Arakan from the
outset.
The report
analyses the key role of Internet and media coverage in the evolution
of the violence in Arakan, the difficulties of access to information,
the attacks on the foreign and exile media, the role played by the
government and the dangers resulting from news manipulation and its
impact on the tension.
Reporters Without Borders recommends actions that the
Burmese government and media should undertake to improve journalists’
ability to work effectively and increase freedom of information.
Burma is ranked 169th out of 179 countries in the 2011-2012 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.
Posted by BCJP
on Friday, June 29, 2012. Filed under
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hnm9san,
network
.
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