The military rulers of Burma are critical about the foreign media’s role in releasing ‘motivated’ news and broadcasting without authentication. This was the view of Brig. Gen. Kyaw Hsan, Minister for Information under the State Peace and Development Council, which runs the country.

Attending a Press Conference (No 6/2005) on Sunday at the meeting hall of the ministry on Theinbyu Road in the capital, the minister argued that a section of the media was spreading ‘fabricated’ news fed by internal and external destructive elements aiming to destabilizing the country.

Asserting that the government, now-a-days has to take ‘ a great deal of care to ensure harmony given the prevailing situation, to protect ‘the interests of the nation and the people’, the Information minister added, “It is common knowledge that internal and external destructive elements in collusion with certain foreign broadcasting stations are constantly broadcasting fabricated, exaggerated, instigative and slanderous news with the aim of encroaching on the State’s stability and national solidarity. This leads to panic among the public, misleading the people, and creating unrest.”

However, responding to the allegation of the media representing of various news agencies that it is difficult to confirm any news relating to SPDC as nobody comes forward with an official response, Kyaw Hsan declared that here after three officials would respond to the queries of the Press. He asked journalists to contact the Director-General U Nyan Lin of Consular and International Legal Affairs, Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Head of Special Investigation Department of Myanmar Police Force Police Brig-Gen Myint Thein and Managing Director of News and Periodicals Enterprise U Soe Win for any queries they may have. He provided the journalists the contact phone numbers of the three officials.

The Information Minister even appealed to the media persons in Burma to ‘launch a counter-offensive against media offensives of internal and external terrorist destructive elements.’
However, the Mizzima correspondent in Northeast India had tried in vain to communicate with the concerned officials. First the lines were disturbed. Secondly, all those responding to the numbers were speaking only in the Burmese language. Those attending the phone calls knew no English therefore they could not hand over the phone to responsible officers. So, for a non-Burmese journalist it is next to impossible to interact with the officers, not to speak of getting information from them.

Mizzima correspondent tried all three numbers (00951 549199, 00951 222197, 00951 294523) many times, but failed to communicate. Now what is the point in providing numbers, which are attended by staff who only know the local language. Moreover, there is little or no use of these numbers to journalists based in different parts of the globe.

It may be mentioned that Senior General Than Shwe, 72, who seized the junta leadership in 1992 had extended the house arrest of Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi. The National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained once again after the Deepayin massacre in May 2003.

The Parade Magazine from U.S. this year has ranked Than Shwe, also Commander in Chief of Burma’s armed forces as the third worst dictator in the world.

Rumours spread inside and outside Burma last week that Than Shwe was toppled in a coup led by the Junta’s second strong man General Maung Aye and he was hospitalized at a Rangoon military hospital. Referring to the rumours, the minister claimed that he was ‘discharging the responsibilities of state and is in good health.’