Monday, August 20, 2012

Burma officially ends censorship today!

Aung Hla Tun, Reuters, Aug. 20, 2012, TheStar.com.my; Wisdom Quarterly
Burma's Saffron Revolution saw Theravada monks and lay folk protesting the government
  
1984 is about Burma and UK 
YANGON, Burma - Myanmar abolished direct media censorship on Monday, the latest dramatic reform by its quasi-civilian regime, but journalists face other formidable restrictions including a ban on private daily newspapers and a pervasive culture of self-censorship.
  
Under the new rules, journalists no longer have to submit reports to state censors before publication, ending a practice strictly enforced during nearly half a century of military rule that ended in March last year.
  
"This is a step in the right direction and a good approach, but questions of press freedom will remain," said Aung Thu Nyein, a senior associate at the Vahu Development Institute, a Thailand-based think tank.
  
"We can expect the government to still try to assert some control, probably using national security to keep the media in check," he added.
   
Previously, every song, book, cartoon, news report and planned piece of art required approval by teams of censors rooting out political messages and criticisms of one of Asia's most repressive governments. More

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