Political events in Yangon restaurants must have prior approval

Political events in Yangon restaurants must have prior approval

Published on Sunday, 04 August 2013 21:04

Local authorities have warned the owner of a local restaurant in Myanmar's old capital Yangon that he will have to inform 20 days earlier if a certain political event is to take place there.

On July 31, township administrator Myat Thein Tun summoned and warned Soe Nyunt, the owner of Royal Rose Restaurant in Bahan township, which is the most popular place in Yangon for holding political ceremonies and meetings.

"We rent rooms and halls to earn money. What shall I have to do if important social and other occasions arise? The ward and township administrators summoned me saying that I have to inform them 20 days before I rent my restaurant to hold a political event. They said it was an order coming from above. In the western district, there are thousands of restaurants. They rent their rooms. It is not fair I was only warned. It should not have happened in this age," said Soe Nyunt.

He said only a verbal instruction was received and he only rented the place but acts and talks in his restaurant were only concerned with the organizers.

He was also asked not to accept holding a seminar on "2015 Election and Rakhine political future" on Saturday, said the restaurant owner.

An advocate from Myanmar Lawyers Network said Section 354 (a) of the Constitution has already stated that every citizen has freedom of expression so a group of people also have the right to speak about their opinions freely in a room.

"The issue might not have been talked by authoritative bodies. It might have been talked by administrative staff. Is there any law or directive restricting that? If there is, that contradicts the constitution," said advocate Ko Ni.

Ye Aung from the Former Political Prisoners Group said the government was giving permission to hold political and democracy meetings on one hand while it was restricting those events on the other hand like in the period of the previous military junta.
Rights activist Zaw Ran said they (government) may fear that they will not be able to handle such voices and do not want to see the problems worsen.

"There are only few people who can speak out in such a place. I feel sorry for them for losing the chance to speak out when they have no place," Zaw Ran said.

Restaurant owner Soe Nyunt is a member of the opposition National League for Democracy and rents his place for holding the party's events, including conferences.

Regarding the warning, the Daily Eleven has sent an email to Presidential spokesperson and Deputy Information minister Ye Htut but they has not replied yet.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/08/05/political-events-in-yangon-restaurants-must-have-prior-approval/