Mandalay Journals Act as Junta Mouthpieces

Min Lwin
The Irrawaddy News
January 18, 2008

“If I do things wrong, you all have the right to write about it,” King Mindon once proudly told journalists in Mandalay.

Father of Burma’s last king, Thibaw, and founder of Mandalay in 1858, King Mindon apparently welcomed criticism of his policies, his family and himself by the local publications. One of those early newspapers, the Yadanarbone Daily, was actively encouraged by the king to write about the affairs of the palace.

King Mindon granted the media far more freedom of expression than exists today in Burma. Under the current regime there is no freedom of expression.

According to a journalist based in Mandalay, nowadays all media-related enterprises in the city are monopolized by the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association and must be verified by the government’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Division.

Even journals, which mainly target rural people in upper Burma and which have always been considered essential sources of information, fall under the watchful eye of the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association.

According to the journalist, five journals— the Mandalay Times, Nanmyint, Upper Myanmar, Shwe Mandalay and Mantoungyeait—are provided with financial and political support from Aung Thaung, Minister of Industry 1, and head of USDA Mandalay Division.

“These journals propagate USDA misinformation and anti-NLD (National League for Democracy) rhetoric,” said a writer in Mandalay. “They write articles criticizing international sanctions, but support the activities of deposed NLD member Dr Soe Linn and his Wuntharnu party.”

Myo Min Min, a senior member of USDA Mandalay Division, is—in name only—the publisher of Shwe Mandalay, Upper Myanmar and the Mandalay Times. However, he is directly involved with gambling and the lottery, and uses these journals to launder his money, a source in Mandalay told The Irrawaddy, although he could not provide further details.

“Some editors of these journals claim that their publications are free from government interference, but they continue to publish propaganda on behalf of the USDA and attack foreign media,” said the Mandalay-based journalist.

Shwe Mandalay, a popular journal in Burma’s second city, circulates some 3,000 copies per week and reports news and celebrity gossip. It also publicizes the activities of senior USDA officials and attacks the British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Free Burma, the Voice of America, and the Democratic Voice of Burma, all of which are based outside the country.

During the September uprising, the journal Nanmyint expressly criticized the monks’ refusal to accept alms from military families.

It is estimated that the five journals in Mandalay and Upper Burma have a total circulation of 7,000 copies.

“I don’t buy any of those journals,” said a businessman in Mandalay. “I am not interested in reading pro-junta propaganda and the activities of USDA members.”

Meanwhile, publishing permits are strictly controlled in Mandalay. Authorities only issue licenses to USDA senior members and their cronies; permission to publish or print is out of the question for ordinary citizens.

“We tried to submit an application to publish a journal in Mandalay, but the censorship board in Rangoon refused permission,” said Ko Paing, a poet in Mandalay.

After the Second World War, Mandalay enjoyed a cultural boom. Two newspapers—Ludu, founded by two well-known journalists, Hla and Ahmar, and the Hanthawaddy, edited by Win Tin, who is now in Insein prison—were well respected publications that reported independent news and critical articles.

“The Ludu was much more free than current journals; it didn’t have to pass the censorship board before it was printed,” said an editor based in Mandalay. “In those days, it was so easy to publish and circulate a journal.”