From the independent news and opinion site The Irrawaddy, ALEX LAZAR WRITES: Aung San Suu Kyi is treating the press in Myanmar poorly, and that may impede her efforts to democratize the conflict-wrought country. But is Suu Kyi’s apparent authoritarian streak mere caution? Expanding civil liberties too forcefully could bait…
Full Article MYANMAR: THE MEDIA MYSTERY OF AUNG SAN SUU KYIALEXANDRE GUIRAUD-COINTREAU WRITES – While the once-repressive Myanmar transitions to democratic rule with new freedoms being given, the country is discovering equally new ways to communicate and exchange ideas. One is a new website, also available as a smartphone application, called Squar. The website TechInAsia describes Squar as the first social media site…
Full Article MYANMAR: SQUAR – The Next Facebook?ELODIE INTROIA WRITES – The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is exposing the world to the suffering of the Burmese Rohingyas. The Rohingya are a Muslim minority that represent 4% of Myanmar’s population. Though they’ve lived in Myanmar, also called Burma, for many generations, the country’s most recent Constitution denies them…
Full Article MYANMAR: “Our Walls Bear Witness” of the Rohingya GenocideALEXANDRE GUIRAUD-CONTREAU WRITES – It was less than a year ago that Myanmar was celebrating the return of print media, but is seems that social media has already made these sources obsolete. With an increase in freedom and an opening of the trade market, the population in Myanmar has been…
Full Article MYANMAR: A News Revolution but Social Media Takes the LeadALEXANDRE GUIRAUD-COINTREAU WRITES – In the past few weeks, a group of cyber hackers has made a name for itself across the world. The Myanmar Muslim Cyber Force (MMCF), has been multiplying its attacks, as its Facebook page boastfully confesses. The group refers to its actions as “targeting all racist…
Full Article MYANMAR: Hackers Gonna HackELODIE INTROIA WRITES – Religious violence has flared in Myanmar for more than a year. Now a disturbing neo-Nazi-like movement has emerged that aims to contain the rights of minority Muslims. The man critics say is behind the effort: Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu. Wirathu’s 969 Movement has been widely described as…
Full Article MYANMAR: A Buddhist Plan to Segregate MuslimsALEXANDRE GUIRAUD-COINTREAU WRITES – Myanmar’s new regime has found new ways to deal with unwanted magazine articles by doling out defamation lawsuits left and right. Within the last year, the population in Myanmar has seen countless improvements, such as the development of new media sources, as well as the popularization…
Full Article MYANMAR: From Censorship to CourtsELODIE INTROIA WRITES – In view of recent events, journalists and activists have come together to call on Aung San Suu Kyi to raise awareness and be the voice of what the United Nations has called the world’s most persecuted people – The Rohingya.
Full Article QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LADY: WHY IS SHE NOT SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE ROHINGYA?ALEXANDRE GUIRAUD WRITES- In this time of drastic change in Myanmar’s media structure, many companies are trying to help the development of the country by gaining a new market. One of the most recent people to do so was Google’s Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt, who traveled to Myanmar to promote…
Full Article MYANMAR: Entering a Dangerous Period?ALEXANDRE GUIRAUD-COINTREAU WRITES – In Myanmar, laws are changing, media companies are moving back to the country, and daily private newspapers are being published. But there is still a long way to go before this country can achieve a truly Western style press. Publishers are faced with new issues every…
Full Article MYANMAR: Friend or Foe?ALEXANDRE GUIRAUD WRITES – After a half century of a media system controlled by an authoritarian government, Myanmar is finally seeing a shift toward its better angels. No longer will the media face such stringent censorship or fear government repercussions up to an including death. But as private daily newspapers…
Full Article MYANMAR: A Historical MilestoneALEXANDRE GUIRAUD WRITES – Myanmar’s Ministry of Information has seen concerned unions protest the draft of the Printing and Publishing Law that has been submitted to the parliament. When instated in 2011, the New Government expressed that changes aimed towards the freedom of expression would take place, contrary to the…
Full Article MYANMAR: Media Restrictions All Too PressingFalse news made its way across Myanmar recently, as the state-owned newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, was forced to issue an official and public apology for misleading its many readers by using a picture of a motorcycle crash and claiming it to be the result of mines. The picture…
Full Article MYANMAR: True or False? But Who’s Behind the Game?Myanmar, previously known as Burma, has seen its media arena evolve in the past six months. After decades of political unrest, the country is seeing some promising reforms. Contrary to the present law, the government has announced that on April 1, privately owned newspapers will formally be allowed to issue…
Full Article MYANMAR: A New EraIf you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. This is abundantly evident in the case of Reporters Without Borders (RWB), the media rights group, who has called for reform in Myanmar’s media. The Bangkok Post recently reported that this group has urged Myanmar to fulfill their…
Full Article MYANMAR: Retractable ReformThough the media in Asia and the rest of the world mainly applauded President Obama’s historic visit to Myanmar (Burma), some in the media nonetheless felt compelled to draw attention to his linguistic shortcomings. Oh well…and, really, they did have a point. What happened was that Obama had to deal…
Full Article MYANMAR: Our Tongue-Tied American President