(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the Burmese minister of home affairs, Lt. Gen. Tin Hlaing, RSF protested the seizure of foreign publications in Rangoon and the fines given to the bookshops that imported them. The organisation called on the minister to “ensure that the newspapers are returned and that foreign publications are freely distributed […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the Burmese minister of home affairs, Lt. Gen. Tin Hlaing, RSF protested the seizure of foreign publications in Rangoon and the fines given to the bookshops that imported them. The organisation called on the minister to “ensure that the newspapers are returned and that foreign publications are freely distributed in Burma”. RSF also expressed its serious concern about the health of lawyer Cheng Poh, sentenced on 13 September 2000 to fourteen years in jail for distributing articles from foreign newspapers about the political situation in Burma (see IFEX alert of 15 September 2000). RSF reminded the minister that in a document dated 18 January, the special rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights emphasised that “imprisonment as punishment for the peaceful expression of an opinion constitutes a serious violation of human rights.” At least twelve journalists are currently jailed in Burma.
According to the information broadcast by the independent station Democratic Voice of Burma, five bookstores were fined 30,000 kyat (US$4,800, 5,000 Euros, at the official exchange rate) for importing foreign publications featuring articles about opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). Soldiers of the Seventh Unit of Military Intelligence seized the publications at the Rangoon airport. The officer in charge of this operation, Maj. Thura Lwin, threatened to sanction bookstores if they again imported newspapers containing comments about the situation of Suu Kyi.
This seizure occurred one week after the sentencing to fourteen years in jail of lawyer Cheng Poh, accused of distributing articles from foreign magazines about the political situation in the country. His articles also allegedly included slogans against the military junta. Cheng Poh, 77, arrested last July, is detained in Insein jail. He is very weak, but the military authorities have reportedly refused to transfer him to the prison hospital.
In recent weeks, the Burmese official media have violently attacked the international press, accusing it of driving a “concerted campaign” against the military regime. Suu Kyi, named the “democratic witch”, is supposed to be an “accomplice” of the campaign. The Nobel Peace prize winner started a confrontation with the army when she twice tried to leave Rangoon. Correspondents of some foreign media were prevented from covering Suu Kyi’s movements around the capital.
Finally, the governmental newspaper “Kyemon” accused the Thai daily “The Nation” of “fabrication” and “making up a story”. The Thai newspaper recently published a report about the use of planes of the Burmese state-owned airline for drug trafficking.
