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“Pyi-Pa-Pasein-Yo”:
Outsider Axe-handle
Term used to refer to those considered in opposition to Burmese
military philosophy decrees and policies, thought to be the
wielder of dangerous thoughts, likened to the blade of the
axe.
rdk;vkH;jynfhrkom0g'
“Mou-loun-pyeh-hmou-tha-wa-da”
:
A Sky Full of Lies
Title of a published collection of
critical commentaries by
Burmese military officials on the BBC, VOA, and other external
Burmese language radio services.
A Sky-full of Lies: The Media, Censorship
and Democratic Resistance in Burma
Subject: Mass Media in Asia
Time: Monday, 3rd September 2001 10.30-11.30am
By
Toe Zaw Latt
Reviewed by Ye
Myint Htun
[ Political Dept. - ABSDO Melbourne ]
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of Content |
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Introduction:
For most of us, Burma is a far-off Southeast Asian land of
which we know little. Rudyard Kipling’s famous book “Road
to Mandalay” may come to mind. But Burma’s reality
today has little in common with romantic legends. For most
of it’s modern history following independence from Britain
in 1948, Burma has been run by an army-controlled regime that
isolated the country, wrecked it’s economy and repressed
its free thinkers and ethnically diverse peoples.
In 1988, a massive and peaceful “people
power” movement demanded an end to military dictatorship.
The army reacted fiercely to preserve its rule. On 18 September
1988, a new junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) seized direct power to quell the democracy movement.
Crowds of peaceful protesters, of which I was one, were machine-gunned
by troops, thousands died. For a few days, events in Burma
captured world headlines. The spotlight of global attention
again shone briefly in December 1991, when detained democracy
leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Yet to most of the world, Burma still
remains unknown. The SLORC generals changed the country’s
official name from Burma to ‘Myanmar’, a transliteration
of the country’s Burmese name. This change, done by decree
and without public consultation, has been rejected by Burma’s
democratic opposition and will be the reason why I still use
the term “Burma”. In November 1997, the generals
renamed their own junta the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), in hopes of improving their international image (OSI;
1998).
In my talk today, I hope I can convey
to you the richness of Burma’s cultural heritage and
traditions and the extent to which this has been crushed by
a self-interested military regime, armed with a powerful and
far-reaching propaganda machine, and the extent to which alternative
media has played a role in counteracting this.
Background:
The development and maintenance of civil society - free associations
of citizens joined together to work for common concerns or
implement social, cultural or political initiatives- depends
upon citizens being able to enjoy fundamental freedoms: freedom
of thought, opinion, expression, association and movement.
Underscoring and defending these freedoms must be an independent
judiciary and the guarantee of the rule of law (Liddell: 2000).
In Burma today, none of these conditions
exist.
Today’s lecture, however, will focus
on only one aspect; freedom of expression.
To start with a brief overview of the
current situation, there is no freedom of the press inside
Burma: government censorship is heavy-handed and pervasive.
While the opening up of the economy since 1988 led to a proliferation
of private magazines, and access to affordable video and satellite
equipment resulted in a massive expansion of small scale video
companies and TV/ video parlours around the country, the organs
of the state have kept pace with these developments, and virtually
every sentence and every image which is produced by indigenous
media has to be passed by the government’s censorship
board. All non-local media are also carefully monitored and
controlled (Liddell: 2000).
The Burmese language radio services of
the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and the Oslo-based
Democratic Voice of Burma are often jammed; CNN and World
Service broadcasts which included issues sensitive to the
government mysteriously lose sound. New laws have been adopted
to restrict access to the internet, and it has been reported
that the government has purchased technology from Israel which
can monitor and censor email messages, as well as other equipment
from Singapore to monitor satellite phones and communications
(Liddell: 2000).
The Burmese military warns Burmese citizens
through TV and radio broadcast and large billboards that the
democratic opposition in exile is polluting the Burmese radio
waves with “a sky-full of lies”.
Freedom
of Expression as a Burmese Cultural Value:
Traditional forms of communication in Burmese communities
have been orally based, and centred around the Buddhist temples.
Burmese communities often used the meeting opportunities during
and after religious ceremonies to exchange information, ideas
and literature (U Thaung: 1995). The significance of the Buddhist
temple to Burmese communities was additionally important as
Buddhist monks played a crucial role in the education of male
children and young people. Burma, until quite recently, has
a high literacy rate and education has been a source of national
pride since pre-colonial days. At the age of 7 or 8 every
Burmese boy was sent to the local temple to learn to read,
write and memorise Buddhist chants and Pali formulas used
in worship rituals. For girls, education was less universal
but even so, the census for British Burma in 1872 stated that
“female education was a fact in Burma before Oxford was
founded”. (Lintner: 1990).
As we will see, Burmese communities have
a strong, culturally based tradition of freedom of expression.
The following examples are of traditional
Burmese cultural practises and activities in which the cultural
value of freedom of expression is manifested;
· Than Jat
(Burmese Chanting)
During New Year celebrations in early April, Burmese communities
hold water festivals. These festivals have been celebrated
for thousands of years. The idea behind the festivals is to
wash away the old to make way for the new- people attend special
water ceremonies at temples and engage in merit-making activities
to make up for wrong deeds committed throughout the previous
year. A special feature of the festivals is a cathartic community
chanting, whereby large groups of people spontaneous convene
and chant comments about social, political and economic problems
that people have been concerned with. The Melbourne Burmese
community perform Than Jat every year at their water festival
celebrations.
· Lou Shwin
Done (Joke-telling)
Joke telling, an important Burmese cultural tradition, is
normally performed as a part of the traditional travelling
theatre group performances known as Ah Nyeint. These performances
take place around important social or religious events and
involve entire communities. Joke-tellers have normally made
fun of rulers of the day and again, much comment is made about
social, political and economic matters.
· Sar Ye
Sayah (Poem and Short story writing)
Writers and reciters of poems and Burmese folk tales also
play a crucial role in Burmese cultural and community life.
Humorous poems about community leaders are often recited during
Ah Nyeint performances. There are many poetic competitions
and recitals held around the country.
Writing in Burma began in the 11th century,
during the Pagan period. Early Burmese writers wrote their
words on stones. More than 500 stone inscriptions of that
era are still in existence today. (U Thaung: 1995).
“I, the free, will liberate those
in bondage”, - a stone inscription by a King in 1150
AD illustrated the Burmese concept of freedom and Buddhist
philosophy.
Today, Burmese literature continues to
take the form of short stories and poems that communicate
important political and social messages.
The
Development of Burmese Media in a Historical Context:
When the British, with their long tradition of a free press,
introduced the newspaper to Burma, the Burmese and their king
accepted it as a noble idea, even though the British were
their great enemy. An already flourishing literature and a
healthy religion provided a good ground in which the concept
of a free press could develop, and this new novelty from the
West was welcomed (U Thaung: 1995).
The first English newspaper in Burma,
the Maulmain Chronicle, appeared in 1836 and was edited by
an American Missionary. It was published by the British Administration
as the official organ for the British forces who occupied
Lower Burma after the First Anglo-Burmese War (1823-1826).
King Mindon (1853-1878) was impressed
with the newspapers that came from England, India and Rangoon.
His ministers were assigned to translate the writings for
him word for word into Burmese. He found, in particular, editorials
criticizing rulers of the day, most interesting and later
gave the growing Burmese press immunity. At an official palace
meeting, he said,
“If I do wrong, write about me. If
the queens do wrong, write about them. If my sons and daughters
do wrong, write about them. If the judges and mayors do wrong,
write about them. No one shall take action against the journalists
for writing the truth. They shall go in an out of the palace
freely”.
The Yatanar Bon Nay Pyidaw (the Mandalay
Gazette) was the first newspaper to appear in Burmese language
in March 1874 and proclaimed the official organ of the kingdom.
Another Burmese language newspaper the Burma Herald, was published
in Rangoon and was also owned by the King of Mandalay. Press
Freedom was guaranteed in a Law, which stated that the purpose
of the newspaper was for “the benefit of the citizens
to hear general news from Europe, India, China and Siam for
enriching their thoughts and improving their trade and communication.”
Burma enjoyed relative freedom of press
from this time until shortly after independence. In the lead
up to independence from the British, the Burmese language
press played a critical, driving force in the anti-colonialist
movement.
At independence from the British in 1948,
communications facilities were quite limited. A reasonably
adequate telegraph system operated out of 656 offices and
covered the entire country. The Rangoon telephone system had
only some 2,800 subscribers with more than 1,200 being government
subscriptions. Telephone systems in other towns very small
even by comparison with the Rangoon system, and inter-town
communications were limited to traditional oral based forms
through the normal channels of trade and cultural activity.
In 1951, there were thirteen radio stations, thirty-two receivers
and two broadcast transmitters. Of the country’s 6,000
radio sets, more than half were in Rangoon and more than half
of these were western owned (Walinsky: 1962). Significantly,
these developments were during Burma’s only prolonged
period of Parliamentary democracy from 1948-1962.
However, the long and strong tradition
of widespread literacy in Burma, while being enhanced with
the introduction of British-style education during the colonial
era, was also a key factor in bringing about independence
and has remained an important factor in the current political
struggle. It is the reason why the Burmese military has adopted
such a heavy-handed censorship approach in Burma, and why
Burmese in exile have been able to maintain such an effective
pro-democratic media strategy.
Military
Restrictions on Burmese Media since 1962:
Burma remains one of the most heavily censored states in the
world. The main instrument of day-to-day censorship continues
to be the Printers and Publishers Registration Law of 1962.
Introduced shortly after a military coup, which brought the
notorious General Ne Win into power, the law has been repeatedly
expanded in scope and severity over the years, including by
the SLORC.
Currently all books, magazines, periodicals,
songs and films (and even karaoke products!) must be submitted
under this law to the Press Scrutiny Board prior to being
printed or, in some cases distributed. Books, for example,
must be submitted to the PSB before printing and again afterwards
to check that no changes have been made, whereas magazines,
which much be legally registered, are required to take the
more risky method of submitting copies for censorship only
after they have been printed.
The many departments of the PSB meet together
every day to give final approval to what is passed or refused.
Headed by a former army major who works closely with Military
Intelligence Services (MIS), the PSB can determine not only
what is printed, but how many.
The results of censorship are frequently
absurd with many manuscripts rejected and magazines often
appearing with pages missing or words obliterated by silver
ink. For example, the name of the former South African president,
Nelson Mandela, has been routinely inked out of articles on
world affairs since he publicly called for the release of
Aung San Suu Kyi in 1993. In January 1995, such draconian
methods of censorship led a delegation of magazine editors
and writers, constantly faced with effects of the policy to
approach the PSB for a meeting. They asked that the practise
of “silvering out” be stopped in view of the forthcoming
“Year of the Tourist” saying that it created a bad
impression with foreign visitors. They also requested a list
of names, which they should not mention. In response, the
PSB said that they would, in future, tear out entire pages,
instead of silvering out certain words and phrases (Article
19: 1995).
Other laws that are used to curb freedom
of expression are the anti-treason laws, and laws setting
out the large list of “unlawful associations” that
people must not have contact with or refer to. I think I am
a member or have been associated with almost all of these
organisations at one time or another! The broadest sweep of
charges in a recent cases was brought against Dr. Khin Zaw
Win, a research student and writer. Altogether, he was given
15 years- 7 years for “spreading false news” under
the Emergency Provision Act Section 5(e), 3 years for breaching
section 17/1 of the Unlawful Associations Act, 2 years under
Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act for possession of “secret
official information”, as well as 3 years for various
customs and currency offences (Article 19: 1995).
State-Controlled
Media:
SLORC launched a “Cultural Revolution” campaign
in 1991 to protect the country’s Buddhist religion and
culture from so-called “decadent Western” ideas,
that remains a prominent feature in most of the state medias
writing on world affairs and the west. However, “soft
rock” music from the West can be heard nightly on state-run
television, sung in translation by Burmese singers and usually
attracting large audiences. The talk in military circles recently
has been about how to “sterilize” Western influence
in Burma upon it’s arrival, rather than keeping it out
of the country entirely. Burma still has only one television
and one radio channel, both state-controlled, and only one
national newspaper, the state owner Myanmar Alin, although
its English language version is widely available. In addition,
several local daily papers have also been revived- in Rangoon
the Kyemon, and City News, and more recently the Australian-owned
Myanmar Times, and in Mandalay, Yadanabon.
All these media remain firmly under state
control. Their content consists of bland programming and military
propaganda, in the case of television and radio, and equally
bland and shallow reporting, mixed with official propaganda
and slogans, in the case of the written press. (Show overhead
here) As the official mouthpieces of the government, their
main purpose is to justify military rule by the Burmese armed
forces and to promote what the military has defined as the
“Three Main National Causes”; national security,
national sovereignty and the unity of the races. The military
claims the these three causes give them the right to interfere
in creative and political processes whenever it likes and
all publications and broadcasts run regular announcements
of the “three national causes” and the “people’s
desire”. (show examples of magazines)
“No
News” and “Negative News”:
One of the most interesting ways that Burmese people obtain
information is through the phenomenon known as “no news”
(Skidmore: 2001a). This means that when something serious
is happening, such as the March 1997 offensive against the
Karen ethnic minority in Mon State, there will be absolutely
no news about it. This absence alerts Burmese people to the
fact that something is indeed happening and they tune in to
illegal transmissions of the BBC and VOA. Linked to “No
News” is “Negative News”. For example, whenever
the united States passes a resolution against Burma, the State
media carries news of HIV infection rates, drug addiction
and crime in American cities, again alerting Burmese people
to the fact that the US are doing something that the regime
opposes.
No news time is also characterised by
Rangoon residents as a marked and rapid increase in military
propaganda, such as the newspapers reporting in one day up
to 50 new buildings, organizations, or public works being
opened. This babble is supposed to stop residents of the city
wondering about issues such as the effects of sanctions, failure
of rice crops and government military offensives in the ethnic
minority areas.
Public
Sector Publishing:
After more than four decades of military dominated rule and
tough security laws, Burma’s independent writers, journalists
and editors have become used to self-censorship in order to
avoid angering the military censors and avoiding the risk
of financial loss. An obvious result of the censorship regime
has been the growth of specialized styles of literature and
publishing such as journals, cartoons and short story books.
Censored items can be more easily cut from publications prior
to printing.
The continued survival and quality of
this small independent sector is contrasted against the political
opposition media whose quality is generally much poorer.
The
Burmese Resistance Movement and Communication Methods:
Few people besides students and post-secondary educated people
read political books or magazines that are circulated through
the underground movement. However, a much broader audience
listens to Burmese language radio from foreign stations. The
stations became particularly popular during the 88 uprising
when the foreign stations gave full accounts of the demonstrations
and killings.
In the mornings or evenings, people of
various backgrounds can be found at home hovering near the
radio listening to the broadcasts of at least one of foreign
station. The father of a friend of mine, a senior public servant,
takes his portable radio and a straw mat to the nature strip
outside his home to listen to the BBC broadcast at full volume
to annoy local military informers who must report the same
activity to the authorities every day.
For most people in Burma, the main alternative
sources of information to the closely controlled state media
are the foreign radio stations. These are currently;
1. Democratic Voice of Burma, funded by the Norwegian Government,
broadcast from Oslo;
2. Voice of America, funded by the America government, broadcast
from Washington DC;
3. BBC Burmese Service, funded by the British government,
broadcast through the World Service;
4. Radio Free Asia, funded by the US government and broadcast
through Washington DC.
5. Air India Radio, funded by the Indian Government and broadcast
from Delhi.
By far the most popular of these is the
BBC, which in 1994 received some 60,000 letters from listeners
in Burma, one of its largest international mailbags. This
high figures indicates the wide extent of the BBC’s audience
and also provides evidence that people are willing to take
risks to gain access to foreign news reporting.
Evidence of how threatened the military
are by the foreign Burmese language radio, can be seen in
the sentencing of prominent Burmese lawyer, U Nay Min, to
a 14 year jail sentence for allegedly “sending false
rumours” to the BBC Burmese service (Article 19: 1995).
Another reason for the military’s
attempt to silence these foreign broadcasts is that throughout
history, radio broadcasts have been linked to political actions.
The most dramatic example was the BBC’s broadcast of
an interview with a student in 88. The student announced that
activists were calling for a nationwide strike on the 8/8/88,
and the radio broadcast served as the primary vehicle for
spreading the message (Fink: 2001).
Ten years later in 98, students in exile
broadcast plans for a “yellow campaign” inside Burma.
People who backed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her call for the
convening of the People’s Parliament elected in 1990
were requested to wear yellow clothing. The news spread from
radio listeners to others by word of mouth and, on the appointed
days, vendors in many markets arrived at their stalls clad
in yellow shirts or skirts. People who wanted to show their
support but did not dare wear yellow, wore yellow hair clips,
or pens in their pockets (Fink: 2001). As a result of this
action, the military gave a decree, which made it illegal
for fashion models to wear model yellow items at fashion parades.
The
Internet: Burma Net News and the Free Burma Movement:
While the use of the Internet and email is highly restricted
and costly inside Burma, Burmese activists were one of the
first exiled communities to adopt an internet-based information
and networking strategy in the early 90’s. The operation
of the daily Internet newspaper has commenced its 7th year
and is funded by the Open Society Institute in America. It’s
published in both Burmese and English and has provided students
in exile, and other activists with a key-networking tool with
which to counter military news and propaganda. It provided
comprehensive coverage of news and opinion on Burma from around
the world.
The
New Era Journal and the New Light of Myanmar:
Khit Pyaing, or The New Era Journal, was established in Thailand
in 1993 and published a bi-monthly newspaper/ journal in Burmese
language that is regularly smuggled back inside Burma and
mailed to activists living in Thailand, India and the rest
of the world. A key strategy of this publication has been
to copy the exact typesetting of the state controlled daily,
the New Light of Myanmar. This newspaper’s front and
back cover is an exact reproduction of the most recent state
controlled versions content and is difficult for authorities
to detect. Its’ publication is funded by the US government
National Endowment for Democracy. The organization operates
subversively from within Thailand, and suffers regular raids
from the Thai police. It’s staff members are regularly
jailed under Thailand’s immigration laws, but somehow,
they manage to continue to open offices and produce the paper
regularly.
Conclusion:
An examination of a few key Burmese cultural traditions reveals
that freedom of expression is not something that is foreign
to the Burmese cultural framework, despite repeated attempts
by the Burmese military to deny human rights and freedom of
expression as western political concepts. Burmese people are
naturally inquisitive and community orientated and will take
risks to inform themselves of important information. Even
political prisoners in Burma’s notorious Insein prison
made repeated attempts to publish and circulate a newsletter
for inmates.
In conclusion, the outrageous lies and
military propaganda are so absurd both in a Burmese (as well
as a Western cultural context), that no ordinary Burmese citizen
would believe them, despite the fact that. Burmese people
will continue looking towards the spoken word for inspiration
to continue their struggle. Despite amazingly sever censorship,
Burmese artists, journalists, writers and cartoonists still
find subtle and humorous ways to push the boundaries of freedom
of expression in Burma.
I will leave you with a true story. A
16 year old street vendor in downtown Rangoon who was attempting
to sell copies of the “Sky-full of Lies” government
publication put out by the military intelligence chief, received
3 years in prison for publicly shouting “General Khin
Nyunt: A Sky-full of Lies”… Paranoid or what!
Further Reading:
Bertil Lintner, Outrage: Burma’s
Struggle for Democracy, White Lotus Press, Bangkok, 1990.
Zunetta Liddell, No room to move: Legal
constraints on civil society in Burma, in Burma Center Netherlands
(BCN) Strengthening Civil Society in Burma: Possibilities
and Dilemmas for International NGO’s, Amsterdam, Netherlands,
1999.
Anna J. Allot: Inked Over, Ripped Out:
Burmese Storytellers and the Censors, Silkworm Books, Chiang
Mai, 1994.
Article 19, State of Fear: Censorship
in Burma, Country Report, London, 1991.
_______ Censorship Prevails: Political
Deadlock and Economic Transition in Burma, Country Report,
March 1995.
Robert I Rothberg (ed); Burma: Prospects
for A Democratic Future, The World Peace Foundation and Harvard
Institute for International Development, Cambridge Massachusetts,
1998.
Christina Fink, Living Silence: Burma
Under Military Rule, Zed Books, London, 2001
U Thaung, A Journalist, A General and
an Army in Burma, White Lotus Press, Bangkok, 1995.
Monique Skidmore, Darker than Midnight:
fear, vulnerability and terror-making in urban Burma, unpublished
paper, University of Melbourne.
_______________ Karaoke Fascism: Absurdity,
Surrealism and the Cultural Politics of Everyday Reality in
Burma (Myanmar), unpublished paper, University of Melbourne.
Ma Ma Lay, Not Out of Hate, tans. Margaret
Aung Thwin (ed.) William H Frederick (Athens, OH: Ohio University
Centre for International Studies).
Burma-Related Websites:
Burmese
Official Military Website: <http://www.myanmar.com>
- Very amusing!
Free
Burma Coalition: <http://www.freeburma.org> - US
based Portal Site
Irrawaddy
News Online: <http://www.irrawaddy.org> -
The Irrawaddy is a publication of the Irrawaddy Publishing
Group (formerly Burma Information Group). IPG is an independent
news agency established by Burmese citizens living in exile
and is not affiliated with any political organization. The
Irrawaddy seeks to promote press freedom and access to unbiased
information.
For more information on freedom of expression
see also:
Reporters Without Borders
PEN International
Witness
Centre
for Burma Studies, Northern Illinois University: <http://www.niu.edu/burma>
Burma News Summaries available by email
or the web
There are 3 Burma news digest services available via either
email or
the web.
Links to other Burmese Language News Sources:
Burma
Net News :
To automatically subscribe to Burma's only free daily newspaper
in English, send an email to: burmanet-subscribe@igc.topica.com
<mailto:burmanet-subscribe@igc.topica.com>
To subscribe in Burmese, send an email to:
burmanetburmese-subscribe@igc.topica.com
Fax: (US) +1(413) 604-9008
Burma
News Update
Frequency: Biweekly
Availability: By fax or the web.
Viewable online at
<http://www.burmaproject.org/burmanewsupdate/index.html>
Cost: Free
Published by: Open Society Institute, Burma Project
The
Burma Courier
Frequency: Weekly
Availability: E-mail, fax or post. To subscribe or unsubscribe
by email
celsus@axionet.com
Viewable on line at: <http://www.egroups.com/group/BurmaCourier>
Cost: Free
Note: News sources are cited at the beginning of an article.
Interpretive comments and background
details are often added.
Burma
Today
Frequency: Weekly
Availability: E-mail
Viewable online at <http://www.worldviewrights.org/pdburma/today.html>
To subscribe, write to pdburma@online.no
Cost: Free
Published by: The International Network of Political Leaders
Promoting Democracy in Burma
Three National Causes:
Non-disintegration of the union;
Non-disintegration of national unity;
Maintenance of national sovereignty.
The People’s
Desire:
Oppose all neo-colonial axe handles;
Oppose those who disturb state peace and development;
Oppose all states who interfere in another countries’
internal affairs;
Crush all internal and external destructive elements.
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