JAKARTA - Members of the Myanmar Press Council and a number of other journalists have declared their resignation from the Press Council and the companies they work for after the military issued a number of regulations that are considered to be restricting press freedom.
On February 13, the military-run Ministry of Information (MOI) issued a directive to the Myanmar Press Council, urging the media to report news ethically and avoid inciting public unrest.
The directive applies to all media, with an emphasis on newspapers, weekly and online media, which prohibits any mention of the regime or junta to the 'constitutionally' established State Administration Council (SAC) by the military.
Eleven members of the Myanmar Press Council also resigned after the announcement was made. The pretext used is that the Myanmar military has restricted press freedom. The Joint Secretary of the Press Council U Myint Kyaw said that it was difficult for them to protect journalists who had been detained, arrested, and beaten in the last few days.
"It is not easy to protect journalists, even though (in fact) we are members of the board. It's not good for us and the media. That's why we resign from the council", said U Myint Kyaw, as reported by The Irrawaddy.
Dozens of journalists for The Myanmar Times, including a number of well-known editors, resigned after management intervened to attend the military rulers' press conference. Meanwhile, journalists boycotted the event.
Meanwhile, editors and journalists told The Irrawaddy they had been harassed in the daily coverage, instructed to use terms prescribed by the Ministry of Information that recognized military rule since the coup.
Apart from the regime and the junta, a number of words that the Myanmar military asked to replace included, the coup became a transfer of power, the military leader became the military commander, the coup leader became the chairman of the SAC.
One of the leading editors who requested anonymity said that after the military coup the management asked the newsroom to use terms approved by the military regime in their reporting. Also asked to avoid preaching opposition to the military.
“In this state, we have to help people to know more about the current situation. Our reporting will be meaningless if we do not report about the current crisis. And our use of words is replaced by weak ones”, said the Editor of The Myanmar Times.
"We as journalists are embarrassed to continue working under such censorship", he added.
When contacted by The Irrawaddy, Chief Operating Officer U Wai Lin of the Myanmar Times denied the allegations of censorship in the newsroom.
"We just ask them to comply with the Ministry of Information's instructions and be neutral as media", he said.
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