“We submitted the proposal on January 29th, but did not get approved, then we submitted again on October 27th; we got permission on the 7th of this month. When we submitted [the request] the first time, [information] minister U Ye Htut suggested that we wait for [the] journal [method] law, and we waited for it. Then, after the law came out, we were [advised] to submit again,” said Ko Khaing Mya Kyaw, in an interview with IMNA.
Narinjara was established in September 2001 by a number of Arakanese democratic activists living in exile. The news agency was initially established as an e-mail news service, and has now been developed into a website. Starting next month, Narinjara will begin to publish its journal bi-monthly in the Burmese language.
“We will mainly distribute in our Arakan State, and we will also distribute the journals in the areas where Arakanese people live. The journal will cover news from Arakan State, as well as news and feature stories related to Arakan State,” continued Ko Khaing Mya Kyaw.
According to BNI’s Managing Director U Zin Linn, some BNI news members have been granted permission to distribute journals in their respective ethnic areas, such as Mon, Shan, Chin, and Karen States; while remaining agencies continue to apply for permission for such publication.
“Narinjara has [had] to wait for almost one year. The ethnic people are left behind without receiving information of what is happening in the country. If such ethnic based journals can be distributed to every village in ethnic areas, they [will] have better access to information and have wider knowledge,” said U Zin Linn.
U Zin Linn continued to remark that it cannot be known if the country has completely free media, even though journals can be distributed in ethnic areas. Compared to the past, media freedoms have improved, but the new media law provides permission, if the journal does not cooperate with the government’s agreement, it could stopped right away. U Zin Linn notes that the government should work to enable news and information to reach the public.
The draft of the Printing and Publication Procedures Law, drawn by the Ministry of Information, was enacted and released October 10th. Upon its release, the Ministry announced that the draft includes rules for journals, magazines, newspapers, and other publications to apply for registration, to provide fees, and to release any other printing or publications.
The Printing and Publisher Registration Law, enacted and implemented since 1962, has been replaced by the new law, which was initially drafted in 2013.
