By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News
More than 20 Burmese journalists were banned from a press conference organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Rangoon on Tuesday.
Rangoon-based journalists told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that Burmese journalists including correspondents with international news agencies were not allowed to attend a press conference on the Cyclone Nargis disaster that was hosted by Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan.
It was unclear if the ban was the result of a decision by Asean officials or Burmese government officials. An Asean official told the Burmese journalists to get permission from the Burmese Ministry of Information.
Although Burmese journalists were prevented from attending the press conference, four news organizations from Asean countries—Channel News Asia of Singapore, Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), Indonesia’s Kompas newspaper and The Straits Times of Singapore—were allowed to cover the event, said Rangoon journalists. The four agencies had non-Burmese correspondents.
The press conference, held at the Chatrium Hotel on Rangoon’s Natmauk Road, followed a meeting of the Asean Roundtable with the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment for Response, Recovery and Reconstruction team (PONJA). The PONJA group is made up of UN, Asean and Burmese representatives.
“The roundtable [meeting] started at 9 am on Tuesday. When Burmese journalists asked to cover the roundtable, officials there told them the press conference was at 6 pm,” said a Burmese journalist who is a correspondent for an international news agency.
“When it was time, [Burmese] journalists returned. But officials told us to leave, but the four news agencies from Asean countries were allowed to attend the press conference.”
Rangoon journalists said a woman who said she was Surin’s secretary told them only reporters invited by officials could attend the press conference.
The Singapore ambassador to Burma, Robert H K Chua, and Daniel Baker, a UN official, met with a group of Burmese journalists in a separate room in the hotel and discussed the Asean Roundtable briefing.
“It was like a separate press conference for the kicked-out journalists, but not with the secretary-general of Asean,” said a Burmese reporter for a Rangoon journal. “I feel it was discrimination between Burmese journalists and media personnel from Asean countries by Surin Pitsuwan.”
Surin has strongly advocated greater press freedom and freedom of speech throughout Asean countries. “We can help people understand the importance of human rights, and we should,” he said in January.
On June 18, he urged the Thai press to pay more attention to transnational issues that affect Asean citizens and to help promote press freedom and professionalism in Southeast Asia, according to The Nation newspaper in Bangkok.
Debbie Stothard of the Alternative Asean Network (Altsean) said that [the treatment of local journalists] is a serious issue and a challenge for Asean.
“The secretary-general is trying to be relevant,” she said. “But it [Asean] has to follow that principle. They make a general principle, and then when they arrived in Rangoon, they forgot the principle. They undermined their own credibility.”
At the Asean Roundtable press conference, Surin said the basic needs of the cyclone refugees are being met, but there is a need for more humanitarian work to sustain a medium and long-term recovery, according to the Asean Web site.
Stothard said Asean is trying to build “a relationship” between the military junta and the international community.
Asean must be mindful of the needs of the Burmese people and not just helping the military junta during the humanitarian crisis, she said.
According to an interim report released by the PONJA team, only 45 percent of survivors are getting food from international aid agencies.
"We know Mr Surin Pitsuwan wants to be diplomatic,” Stothard said. “But he has to be careful that he isn’t too diplomatic.”
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