Myanmar MP proposes to end state media operations
Published on Thursday, 22 November 2012 22:05
A member of parliament is seeking to cancel the operations of state-owned media and push ahead with a public service media plan.
Myanmar MP Thein Nyunt proposed this alternative in light of corruption allegations against the Ministry of Information, which is in charge of state-owned publications: New Light of Myanmar, Burmese version Myanma Alin, and Kyemon (The Mirror).
The Joint Committee for Public Accounts reported the findings of the Auditor-General Office before the Union Assembly (Parliament) on November 20, saying the ministry lacked rules and regulations leading to the misuse of newspaper earnings, among others.
"With corruption cases [against] the Ministry of Information, the publication of state-owned newspapers publication should be stopped and be handed over to the private sector, to fully enhance press freedom and [support] ongoing democratic reforms," Thein Nyunt said.
He also suggested that the government should consider the ministry's earlier plan to transform the state-owned media into "public service media", which will subject state-owned dailies under a new body.
Myanmar used to have a free press in the '50s up until the 1962 coup, when newspapers were nationalised by the then ruling junta. Since then state censorship and self-censorship have been widely practised.
Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2012/11/23/myanmar-mp-proposes-to-end-state-media-operations/
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