Bangkok: Myanmar has loosened restrictions on dozens of business and crime publications, local media reported on Sunday, but kept news titles in the grip of strict censorship rules.
A total of 54 journals, magazines and books will no longer have to submit their content to censors before publication, according to a report in the Myanmar Times, after changes introduced on December 9.
News media will continue to be subject to pre-publication censorship that is criticised by press freedom groups as among the most restrictive in the world, although officials told the newspaper that this would ease in time.
Myanmar’s army-dominated government, which came to power after a controversial November 2010 election, has launched a series of reformist moves in an apparent move to end its international isolation, and welcomed a landmark visit from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this month.
Measures have included dialogue with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, whose picture is now permitted to be printed in the media.
Publishers were told in June that sports journals, entertainment magazines, fairytales and the winning lottery numbers would not need to have prior approval from the information ministry.
According to the Myanmar Times, Tint Swe of the country’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Department said that news, education and religious titles would also shift to “self-censorship” before a new media law is enacted — without giving a timeframe or details of the legislation.
An executive editor from 7-Day News told the Myanmar Times that he was disappointed that the changes had not gone further, but welcomed the relaxation on business publications.
“As our country is implementing economic reforms, it’s crucial that we have the freedom to write and criticise freely,” he said. (AFP)
A report in the state-run New Light of Myanmar on Sunday said that Minister for Information and Culture Kyaw Hsan had suggested film and video censorship would also be relaxed, without indicating when this would happen.