News & Articles on Burma-Tuesday, 03 January 2011-uzl

News & Articles on Burma Tuesday, 03 January 2011 -------------------------------------- Myanmar's clemency falls short of expectations Burma's sham Amnesty keeps prominent political prisoners behind bars Dr Nay Win Maung: Burma to cut prison sentences Burma cuts prison terms on 'humanitarian grounds' Disappointment at Burma prison term cuts Disappointment at Myanmar prison term cuts Burma releases 32 political prisoners in amnesty Burma: Film festival to test promised freedom Myanmar company to launch cheap mobile phone service --------------------------------------- Myanmar's clemency falls short of expectations National / World News 6:01 a.m. Tuesday, January 3, 2012 By AYE AYE WIN The Associated Press YANGON, Myanmar --- Myanmar began releasing some prisoners on Tuesday, but activists and relatives said a government clemency fell short of national reconciliation promises and showed that political prisoners may remain behind bars for a long time. President Thein Sein signed a clemency order on Monday marking this week's 64th anniversary of independence. He said the sentence reductions were "for the sake of state peace and stability" and on "humanitarian grounds." Under the order, death sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment, and prisoners serving more than 30 years will have their sentences cut to 30 years. Those serving 20 to 30 years will have their terms reduced to 20 years, while those with less than 20 years will have their sentences cut by one-fourth. Most political prisoners, both from the pro-democracy movement and from out-of-favor government factions, are serving long terms and will remain in prison. Last week, state-run media reported that the government-appointed National Human Rights Commission had appealed to Thein Sein to issue a general amnesty for prisoners. Thein Sein has pushed forward reforms since taking office last March, following decades of repression under previous military regimes. His government is still dominated by a military proxy party, but changes have been made in areas such as media, the Internet and political participation. "I am very disappointed and feel hopeless because the clemency order makes no difference to political prisoners. Only common criminals will be freed," student activist Phyo Min Thein said Tuesday. He said the decision will cause a loss of confidence in the 10-month-old nominally civilian government. Phyo Min Thein was released from prison in 2005 after serving 15 years. His brother-in-law, activist Htay Kywe, had his 65-year sentence reduced to 30 years with Monday's order, but still has 26 years to serve. "What families of political prisoners want is absolute freedom," said Kyi Kyi Nyunt, the sister of prominent student activist and political prisoner Min Ko Naing, whose 65-year term was also reduced to 30 years. "It is very disappointing and devastating. It is clear that political prisoners will not be freed for a long time," said Win Tin, 82, a prominent journalist and member of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party. "Such a move can cause political instability and the tempo of political demands will increase," he said. The prisoners reportedly freed Tuesday, including 11 political detainees, had little time remaining on their sentences. Well-known comedian and social critic Zarganar Thura said the government failed to deliver on its promise. "I once likened the situation of my friends in jail as being in the hands of Somali pirates. I now withdraw this comment. The Somali pirates keep their promise," he said on his Facebook page. Zarganar was released from three years in prison in an amnesty last October that freed 6,359 prisoners, including about 200 political detainees. Suu Kyi said in November that there were still about 600 political prisoners, but some human rights groups put the number at about 1,500. The release of political prisoners has been seen as a crucial step in the country's reforms, and a failure to free a substantial number is likely to be considered inadequate by the United States, the European Union and other nations. http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/myanmars-clemency-falls-short-1286921.html ------------------------------------------ Burma's sham Amnesty keeps prominent political prisoners behind bars Tue, 2012-01-03 01:55 --- editor News Comments By - Zin Linn Burma's state television and radio announced on Monday that President Thein Sein Government has announced to reduce the sentences of some prisoners who received severe punishments such as death sentence, life sentence and more than 20 to 30 years imprisonments. Those inmates will be released beginning on 3 January on humanitarian grounds. State-owned televisions and radios said Monday that President Thein Sein has already signed a leniency decree in order to mark the country's 64th anniversary of independence. According to the State-owned MRTV, the decree says that death sentences will be commuted to life term, while some prisoners serving above 30 years will have their punishments reduce to 30 years. The inmates serving between 20 to 30 years must be cut back equal to 20 years. Those serving less than 20 years will have their sentences cut by one-fourth. For instance, 20 years sentence will have to enjoy 5 years cutback. According to an official from the prison department, those inmates corresponding to the presidential decree will be freed starting from today. It was not clearly mentioned whether the authorities would take account of political prisoners. It seems the president's clemency order has been carefully implemented to keep in custody several prominent student activists who had been sentenced 65-year prison terms since September 2007. According to this so-called amnesty the political prisoners such as Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Jimmy, Htay Kywe, Pyone Cho, Khun Htun Oo and many more will have to spend 30 years behind bars. If current government were to say that they are the new civilian government, it has to free all political prisoners who were jailed by the previous junta. If the government thinks itself as a democratic one, then it must not allowed keeping political prisoners in prison. On 15 May 2011, President Thein Sein had signed a "general amnesty" order No. 28/2011 commuting death sentences to life imprisonment and cutting one year from prisoners' jail terms. Although over 14,600 inmates were released at that time, there were only a few political prisoners who had already served their jail-terms. Again on 11 October 2011, President Thein Sein government announced releasing 6,359 prisoners under an amnesty for elderly, ailing and obedient prisoners. As of 12 October, the several prisoners were released under general pardon. But, at the end of the day only about 200 political prisoners were freed. Even though prominent political prisoners Gen. Hso Ten, Zarganar and Su Su Nway were released, many other prominent student leaders such as Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Min Zeya, Htay Kywe and ethnic leader Khun Tun Oo have been languishing in tarnished jails in Burma. On that occasion, Ojea Quintana, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar (Burma), said some of the most significant dissidents had not been released and more than 1,000 prisoners of conscience remained behind bars. The UN rights investigator for the isolated country wants many more freed without delay. There are 42 prisons and 109 hard-labor camp under Burma's prison department. However, until now, President Thein Sein government continues to reject the existence of political prisoners in Burma. In keeping with this so-called 'amnesty', only the prisoners on death row will be commuted to life imprisonment. As for political detainees, there will not be positive deduction from their existing prison terms. If this is Thein Sein government's answer to the demand of people of Burma as well as the International Community including the UN, no one on earth will believe its political stance as a reform. - Asian Tribune -http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2012/01/02/burma%E2%80%99s-sham-amnesty-keeps-prominent-political-prisoners-behind-bars ---------------------------------------- Dr Nay Win Maung: Activist who attempted to accelerate the pace of reform in Burma Vicky Bowman Tuesday 03 January 2012 The death from a heart attack of Dr Nay Win Maung has robbed Burma of an intellectual and public policy analyst of great integrity. It is a particular loss given that Burma's politics are beginning to show positive signs, and the main protagonists -- the military leaders and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi -- are both adopting the more conciliatory approach which Nay Win Maung had advocated. The pace of reform is accelerating, and the US-led economic sanctions which he opposed are gradually being unwound. Born in 1962 to parents on the faculty of the e'lite Defence Services Academy, Nay Win Maung eschewed what might have been a natural step towards a military career, and studied medicine, graduating in 1988 just before the pro-democracy demonstrations which led to the long closure of Burmese universities. However, as with many steered by high grades into medicine, he chose to take advantage of Burma's initial market economy opening in the early 1990s. He began in the timber business, then set up Living Color magazine, which focussed on the economy and current affairs. The Living Colour Media Group, of which he became CEO, went on to launch two weekly papers, The Voice and Foreign Affairs, with a focus on domestic and international current affairs. These acted as a training ground for young journalists, who referred their boss as "Saya [Teacher] Nay". Each publication had to work within the strict confines of Burmese censorship, and regularly faced temporary suspension. His links with the military and business e'lite gave him a good insight into the economy and the regime's inner workings, and granted him some protection. But they attracted suspicion and resentment, particularly from the Burmese-exile media, who drew attention to Living Color being founded with the help of his friend Ye Naing Wynn, son of the former Prime Minister and military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt. (The connection ceased when Ye Naing Win and his father were arrested in 2004, but Living Color continued.) In 2004, Nay Win Maung spent some months in Yale as a "World Fellow", which strengthened his desire to build public policy capacity in Burma. In 2006, with friends in the business community he founded an NGO, think-tank and capacity-building centre, Myanmar Egress, with the aim of "developing identity, creating space, engaging society". Egress, which draws on foreign and Burmese diaspora academics, was the first capacity-building organisation in Burma to work above the radar training young people in strategy, management and communication, social entrepreneurship and economics. In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in 2008, Egress students and alumni helped bring relief support to families in the delta area. As a result, Egress became increasingly supported by European donors and NGOs, leading to some resentment that they were too dominant in nascent Burmese civil society. For this, and other reasons, Nay Win Maung was a controversial figure. Although he built links with some leading opposition figures, such as the comedian Zargana, he did not align himself with the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, criticising their refusal to contest the November 2010 election. His ideas for achieving a breakthrough included a proposal that the NLD party leader Aung San Suu Kyi should accept the military-written constitution as a goodwill gesture, and that the opposition should contest the 2010 election -- but only half of the seats, to avoid the landslide which had spooked the generals in 1990. That said, he was bitterly disappointed (and apparently blindsided) that the military could go on to so blatantly rig the results, and he continued to be concerned that the new government could be hijacked by the more corrupt military hardliners. He met Aung San Suu Kyi last January shortly after her release to discuss his ideas for reform. The Egress think-tank also continued to send in advice on the economy, politics and international affairs to the new government, and recently attempted to broker peace talks between the government and ethnic armed groups, still the biggest problem facing Burma today. The ground-breaking March 2011 inaugural address from the new President Thein Sein, which called for good governance and anti-corruption reforms, closely mirrored an op-ed published the previous month in The Voice. Again, Nay Win Maung attracted suspicion for his influence, despite the fact that the speech was widely viewed as a positive step. His approach was always neutral and bipartisan; at his funeral, wreaths from Aung San Suu Kyi and the Minister of Industry were placed prominently side by side. To some extent the personal attacks were a conducting rod for the tensions between the Burmese opposition in exile and those who tried to change the situation from within. Overlying these tensions is the trend by donors to shift funding for civil society capacity building from the exiles to in-country programmes. In an interview with Asia Times a few months ago Nay Win Maung portrayed Burmese exiles as increasingly irrelevant and out of touch with the country's new dynamic, calling the belief that regime change and democracy could be achieved through social upheaval "overly simplistic". Despite his intellectual approach, Nay Win Maung, a Buddhist, teetotal meditator (but heavy smoker) was also, like many Burmese, an amateur astrologer. He used a computer program which he claimed came from Nasa to cast horoscopes. His politico-astrological predictions were often overly optimistic and reflected in his glass-half-full editorials that irritated some. But by the time of his death it appeared that some of his hopes were beginning to materalise. His email to friends the day before he died eschewed horoscopes: "May I wish 2012 be the end of dark clouds and the beginning of a new era in Myanmar." Nay Win Maung, physician, businessman and pro-democracy activist: born 30 June 1962; married (four daughters); died 1 January 2012. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dr-nay-win-maung-activist-who-attempted-to-accelerate-the-pace-of-reform-in-burma-6284148.html --------------------------------------- Last updated: January 3, 2012 5:17 am Burma to cut prison sentences By Gwen Robinson in Bangkok Burma's government has announced it will cut the sentences of some prisoners and commute some death sentences to life imprisonment, citing humanitarian grounds. State media on Monday said president Thein Sein had signed a clemency order to mark the country's 64th anniversary of independence. But it was unclear whether any of Burma's political prisoners would be included in the move. The issue of political prisoners and the country's harsh penal system is a significant stumbling block in relations between Burma and key western countries. In the first visit to Burma by a US secretary of state in five decades, Hillary Clinton last month signalled that Burma would have to make more progress on human rights before full relations could be restored. The US maintains economic sanctions that prevent its companies from operating in the country, although a handful have exemptions from their longstanding involvement in Burma. Thousands of Burmese prisoners were released in two amnesties in May and October 2011, as part of a government effort to open up the country after decades of isolation. But only several hundred of those released were political activists. Estimates vary of the exact number of political detainees in Burmese jails. Human rights groups put the number of political prisoners at 1,200 to 1,600 of an estimated total 200,000 or more people serving sentences in prison and labour camps throughout the country. Under Monday's clemency order, some death sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment, while some prisoners serving sentences between 21 and 30 years will have their terms cut to 20 years, while some 20-year terms will be cut to 15 years. Human rights groups dismissed the latest government move as almost meaningless. "It's rather typical of the government to keep playing these games with prisoners, both common criminal and political. This announced clemency is no different from previous ones in which thousands of prisoners are set free or have sentences reduced while only a handful are political activists," said David Mathieson, Burma researcher with Human Rights Watch. Many leaders of the so-called 88 Generation Students Group, which led the 1988 protests that triggered a bloody crackdown by the military-led government, remain in jail serving long sentences. However, some western diplomats in Rangoon and Bangkok welcomed the clemency move, saying it reinforced hopes that the government would release more political detainees in the coming months. Mr Thein Sein has initiated various reforms in the economic sphere and reached out to the opposition National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The clemency order follows confirmation on Friday that Burma will hold a by-election on April 1 for 48 seats in its 664-seat parliament. Most of the 48 seats were vacated by MPs who became cabinet ministers after the 2010 general election. Ms Suu Kyi and her NLD party have said they will contest every one of the 48 seats. The NLD boycotted the 2010 vote in protest over restrictions that prevented her from standing, but those restrictions have now been lifted. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/35fa49e2-35bd-11e1-a4ab-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1iPIDSUJz ---------------------------------------- Burma cuts prison terms on 'humanitarian grounds' Published: 3/01/2012 at 03:32 AM Online news: Asia Burma's army-backed regime announced Monday it was reducing the sentences of some prisoners to mark Independence Day, but made no mention of a much-anticipated release of political detainees. Myanmar's army-backed regime announced Monday it was reducing the sentences of some prisoners to mark Independence Day, but made no mention of a much-anticipated release of political detainees. All inmates, except those imprisoned for life, will see their prison terms cut in honour of the national celebrations on Wednesday, according to an order from President Thein Sein, pictured in 2011. All inmates, except those imprisoned for life, will see their prison terms cut in honour of the national celebrations on Wednesday, according to an order from President Thein Sein. The announcement, which said the decision was for "national solidarity and respecting humanitarian grounds", is likely to disappoint observers hoping that Burma would free scores of dissidents held behind bars in the country. Under the order, death sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment, jail terms above 30 years will be reduced to 30 years, those between 20 and 30 years will be cut to two decades and shorter sentences will be cut by a quarter. It is unclear how many political prisoners will be released as a result of the move, particularly as most high-profile dissidents, like those from a failed student uprising in 1988, are serving decades behind bars. All releases will begin from Tuesday. Prisoner amnesties are a regular Independence Day event, but this year it comes amid heightened hopes that Burma would bow to international pressure and free more political prisoners, estimated by activists to number anywhere from 500 to more than 1,500. The new nominally civilian government, which in March replaced a long-ruling military junta, pardoned more than 6,300 prisoners -- including about 200 political detainees -- in a much-anticipated amnesty in October. But many top critics were left locked up, disappointing observers and Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy party. Last week Aung Ko, chairman of the judicial and legal affairs committee of the lower house, told reporters that more prisoners of conscience would be freed on the national holidays of January 4 and February 12. Burma's opposition and foreign governments have welcomed a series of reformist gestures by Burma's new leadership, but have maintained pressure on the country to free its remaining political detainees. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted on the release of all Burma's prisoners of conscience during a historic visit to the country earlier this month. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/273490/burma-cuts-prison-terms-on-humanitarian-grounds --------------------------------------- Bangkok Post Disappointment at Burma prison term cuts Published: 3/01/2012 at 01:32 PM Online news: Asia Activists and Burma's opposition expressed frustration on Tuesday after an order to cut jail terms for all inmates appeared to fall far short of hopes for an amnesty for political detainees. Female prisoners walk out of the Insein prison in Myanmar's Yangon in October 2011. About 200 political detainees were freed in October, but activists estimate there are still between 500 and more than 1,500 prisoners of conscience in Myanmar's jails and many key dissidents remain locked up. Prisoner releases were set to begin Tuesday after the army-backed government announced a general reduction to sentences, but failed to mention the plight of top dissidents. Nyan Win, spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, said it was not yet clear whether any of the party's imprisoned members would be released as a result of the move. "We were hoping for a real amnesty," he said. Burma's political prisoners include former student protesters, monks, journalists and lawyers and their fate is a key concern of the international community. Under the order, death sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment, jail terms above 30 years will be reduced to 30 years, those between 20 and 30 years will be cut to 20 years and shorter sentences will be cut by a quarter. Most high-profile dissidents, like those from a failed 1988 student uprising, are serving decades behind bars so would have little hope of immediate release as a result of the announcement, which was made to honour Independence Day on Wednesday. Aung Khaing Min, of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), expressed disappointment that the order had not differentiated between political and criminal inmates. "It is not even an amnesty, it is very frustrating," he told AFP. He said it was "really chaotic" that the announcement was not in line with statements from some officials, who have indicated recently that more prisoners of conscience would be freed. Burma's new nominally civilian government, which in March replaced a long-ruling military junta, has shown signs that it is willing to reform in recent months by reaching out to the opposition and the West. About 200 political detainees were freed in October, but activists estimate there are still between 500 and more than 1,500 prisoners of conscience in Burma's jails and many key dissidents remain locked up. These include Gambira, a monk jailed for 63 years for his role in the 2007 cleric-led protests known as the "Saffron Revolution", and former student leader Min Ko Naing, who is serving a 65-year prison sentence. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/273525/disappointment-at-burma-prison-term-cuts ------------------------------------------ Disappointment at Myanmar prison term cuts By Hla Hla HTAY (AFP) 8 hours ago YANGON Activists and Myanmar's opposition expressed frustration on Tuesday after an order to cut jail terms for all inmates appeared to fall far short of hopes for an amnesty for political detainees. Around 300 people gathered outside Yangon's notorious Insein prison on Tuesday as prisoners, including women carrying children, emerged from the jail following an order to reduce most sentences. But the announcement failed to mention the plight of top dissidents, dashing expectations that Myanmar's army-backed government would free more political prisoners as part of recent reformist gestures. Nyan Win, spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, said it was not yet clear whether any of the party's imprisoned members would be released as a result of the move. "We were hoping for a real amnesty," he said. Myanmar's political prisoners include former student protesters, monks, journalists and lawyers and their fate is a key concern of the international community. Under the order, death sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment, jail terms above 30 years will be reduced to 30 years, those between 20 and 30 years will be cut to 20 years and shorter sentences will be cut by a quarter. Most high-profile dissidents, like those from a failed 1988 student uprising, are serving decades behind bars so would have little hope of freedom as a result of the order, which was made to honour Independence Day on Wednesday. A government official told AFP that it was still unclear how many inmates would be freed, but about 800 men and 130 women held in Yangon were set to be released. Lawyer Phyo Nin Thein, brother-in-law of jailed student leader Htay Kywe, slammed the announcement's focus on "ordinary criminals". "If there is another amnesty like this one, it will not help the country," he said. Aung Khaing Min, of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), said it was "really chaotic" that the release was not in line with statements from some officials, who have indicated recently that more prisoners of conscience would be freed. "It is not even an amnesty, it is very frustrating," he told AFP. Myanmar's new nominally civilian government, which in March replaced a long-ruling military junta, has raised hopes in recent months by reaching out to the opposition and the West. About 200 political detainees were freed in October, but activists estimate there are still between 500 and more than 1,500 prisoners of conscience in Myanmar's jails and many key dissidents remain locked up. These include Gambira, a monk jailed for 63 years for his role in the 2007 cleric-led protests known as the "Saffron Revolution", and former student leader Min Ko Naing, who is serving a 65-year prison sentence. The country recently announced plans to hold by-elections on April 1, which could see Suu Kyi enter parliament, although would not threaten the dominance of the military and ruling army-backed party. Aung Thein, who has provided legal advice in several dissident trials, said the upcoming vote cannot be seen as "meaningful" while political prisoners remain locked up. "Prisoners of conscience need to be released at this very moment when the political situation is evolving," he told AFP. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gOZkDmrzAiJwRh1x6MYHjaCO14pA?docId=CNG.632441e3ed926966f2e9767e3508010c.4f1 ------------------------------------- BBC NEWS Burma releases 32 political prisoners in amnesty File image of people walking past Insein prison in Rangoon, Burma Insein jail, on the outskirts of Rangoon, has housed hundreds of political prisoners Burma's military-backed government has released at least 32 political prisoners, as part of a regular amnesty to mark independence celebrations. It comes one day after the government announced widespread reductions in prisoner sentences. Activists say no prominent dissidents serving long terms were freed. The main opposition group has expressed frustration and disappointment at the limited scale of the amnesty for political detainees. Most of those released were serving terms for criminal offences. The government released some 200 political prisoners last year. The BBC's Rachel Harvey in neighbouring Thailand says that in recent months there had been rising expectation that another mass prisoner release was imminent. In the event, the government reduced lengthy sentences to 30 years and cut shorter sentences by one quarter. Our correspondent says that the issue of political prisoners is a key point of contention between the Burmese government and Western nations that maintain sanctions on the country because of its poor human rights record. Political detainees include journalists, pro-democracy activists, government critics, monks involved in anti-government protests and members of Burma's ethnic groups fighting for greater autonomy. Western governments have indicated that more needs to be done before sanctions will be lifted. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16393965 --------------------------------------- Burma: Film festival to test promised freedom January 1, 2012 by Wei Mar Burma's democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi, film director Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, and former political prisoner and comedian Maung Thura aka Zarganar are pushing the boundaries of prevalent state censorship in the Arts of Freedom Film Festival in Rangoon, which began on 31 December will continue to 4 Jan. In a bid to open the gates on artistic expression, Burmese citizens regardless of age, qualifications and location were invited to submit a short film on the theme of "freedom." More than 180 films were submitted, despite the refusal of state-owned newspapers to carry the announcement, according to Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, a poet and filmmaker and one of the organisers of the festival. The comedian Zarganar, who was released from prison in October is also another organiser of the festival, which is also sponsored by the well-known Burmese democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi. All three will be a part of the panel of judges. Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi told Index that "it is the first time" for a festival with the theme of freedom to take place in Burma. He said that the organisers "did not ask for permission from the authority," but they are using the festival to test "the limit of the state," because they "want to know how much freedom will the state allow." Under the country's Television and Video Act 1996, all videos, with the expection of family recordings, must go through the Video Censor Board before distribution and screening for the public. Failure to comply may result in fines, imprisonment of up to three years and confiscation of property. The law stipulates that members of the Board shall consist of two representatives from the Myanmar Motion Pictures Enterprise, a number of representatives from government's organizations and "suitable citizens". The Information Ministry has the sole authority to form, appoint and dismiss member(s) of the Board. In early December, Minister of Information and Culture and former army general Kyaw Hsan reportedly said in a meeting with executives of the Myanmar Motion Picture Organization, the Board and professionals of movie industry that the censorship regime for press and motion pictures will be gradually relaxed. He also announced plans to allow the Chinese film industry and other international players to invest in the country's movie sector. The move is yet another in a series of changes by the military-backed government in 2011 to move towards democratisation, and the United States and European Union have responded with cautious optimism. However, despite claims of relaxed censorship laws, the Board reportedly seized some submissions sent via post from overseas. Organisers also faced challenges downloading overseas entries submitted online due to slow internet service in Burma. Still, the films have been well received and one of the short films has become a viral hit on YouTube and Vimeo. The 18-minute short entitled, "Ban that Scene!" is film director Htun Zaw Win's humorous look at the country's video censors. Htun Zaw Win, aka Wyne brought together veteran actors to play censors preoccupied with protecting their positions. He critiques the gluttonous and corrupt officials with scenes showing them ordering meals from high-scale restaurants before a vetting session, at the expense of filmmakers. In another scene, the censors brawl over disagreements about which scenes should be cut from the film during a screening, and eventually decide to cut all disputed scenes. The lone censor who favoured the film was intimidated and drowned out by the disagreements of his colleagues. "I tried to portray the state of censorship as realistically as possible in the most polite manner. What actually happens is much worse," Wyne told Index. "The present tight censorship suffocates creativity in the movie industry." Wyne, who has been in the industry for 22 years, said on Radio Free Asia Burmese Service on 27 December that the government should not censor the film if it is serious about democratisation. He admitted was unsure of the consequences for making the film. "If our country is really democratising as the government said, then bad practices of the censorship system should be changed too." According to Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi the festival started with interviews with filmmakers on 31 December, screenings of selected submissions from 1 Jan onwards, and an award ceremony on the country's Independence Day on 4 Jan. "We don't know how the authority will react. But we just have to do it." http://uncut.indexoncensorship.org/2012/01/burma-film-festival-to-test-promised-freedom/ ----------------------------------------- Myanmar company to launch cheap mobile phone service Jan 3, 2012, 10:39 GMT Yangon - A Myanmar telecommunications company on Tuesday announced plans to sell mobile telephone cards for 5,000 kyats (6 dollars), a hundred times cheaper than those currently available. 'At the first we will sell 1 million 3G SIM Cards for only 5,000 kyats, possibly in the first week of March,' said Lwin Naing Oo, chairman of Shwe Pyi Tagon Co Ltd. A SIM card to use the mobile phone network in Myanmar, which has been isolated for decades, currently costs around 500,000 kyat. Telecommunications are tightly controlled by the authorities, which were under a junta between 1988 and 2010, but are now under an elected regime. Lwin Naing Oo said the new mobile service will be 40-per-cent owned by the government, 30-per-cent by Shwe Pyi Tagon, and the remaining 30 per cent by other people. 'We start with 3G, then we will implement for 4G within one year. Within five years, we plan to produce 30 million 4G SIM cards for 100-per-cent communication coverage,' he told a press conference. It was not immediately clear whether the new service had received government approval, industry sources said. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/business/news/article_1683694.php/Myanmar-company-to-launch-cheap-mobile-phone-service