Several members of Burma’s film association, including chairman U Kyi Soe Tun, have reportedly resigned over the government’s draconian censorship policies.

Well-placed sources in Burma’s entertainment industry told DVB on condition of anonymity that U Kyi Soe Tun, vice chairman U Tin Aung and member Maung Maung Oo had quit their posts at the Myanmar Motion Pictures Association.

All three men refused to comment yesterday on the reports but industry sources were adamant that they had resigned.

In January this year, the relationship between U Kyi Soe Tun and the Burmese military soured after the famous director refused to bow to government pressure and release a statement slamming the failed US-backed United Nations Security Council resolution on Burma.

“He was pressured. He refused . . . He is in a situation to lose his position. He would if he doesn’t do as they say,” a well-known director told DVB in January.

“If you want to protest, do it with your own conscience and beliefs. We do not like people forcing us to do things we do not believe in. We just want to survive as artists and produce artistic works . . . We don’t like to be coerced.”