Narinjara News - February 1, 2008Sittwe: Three video movie halls in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, were closed by the military authority on accusations they had displayed images of the Saffron Revolution to monks, said one owner on condition of anonymity.
"The authority closed down my own video showrooms along with the another two without notice. They also seized all equipment related to the video showroom after accusing us of displaying anti-government pictures in our rooms," said the owner.
The three closed video halls are San Htoo, Thit Ten, and Pyi Pyo, all of which are located in downtown Sittwe.
The owner said, "The authority accused us not only of displaying Saffron Revolution pictures but also distributing Saffron Revolution CDs to the public after making copies in the rooms on the video players. They could not find any evidence from us, but they seized all the equipment in our show halls."
A town elder told Narinjara yesterday over the phone that the authority publicized among the public that they had to close the video halls for illegally showing foreign movies to the people.
The authorities in Arakan have not allowed any video halls to show foreign movies to the public anywhere in the state. The authorities have never explained why foreign movies have been prohibited in Arakan State, said the town elder.
People in Arakan State are very poor and most can not afford to buy TV sets for their homes. Many people depend on video halls for entertainment to see movies and international sports competitions such as football games.
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