Publication of Mon language news journals permitted

Min Thu Ta – The “Guiding Star,” a monthly Mon language news journal based on the Thai-Burmese border, was granted temporary authorization to publish inside Burma on February 15.

“We will publish legally starting this March. When we did not have legal permission to distribute the news journal inside the country before, we just distributed to our readers and audience free of charge. We presume that we will not have difficulties with our news journal distribution because, inside the country, there are Mon students and in every Mon village, there is a Mon Literature and Culture Organization,” said Guiding Star’s editor Min Sein Thee, also known as Nai Sai.

The Guiding Star opened an office in the Myaingtharyar Quarter of Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, to supplement its border location.

“We will try to [change the] publications of the journal from monthly to weekly. We also plan to train reporters who can write the news in Mon language,” said Nai Banyar Aung, a member of Guiding Star’s editorial group.

The tri-monthly Mon language “Amardain Journal” was also permitted to publish legally in the country, and the Moulmein-based, Burmese language journal “Than Lwin Times” began publishing in Mon this month.

After the political takeover by General Ne Win in 1962, the Publication Act was introduced to ban all ethnic language news publications. On December 28 last year, the Ministry of Information announced that it would allow private daily newspapers to operate in the country, and said that ethnic language newspaper groups could start applying for publication licenses on February 1.

The Guiding Star was established on September 9, 1999, and has been distributed ever since.