Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Motion picture association chairman steps down
• Journalists rally to free jailed colleague
• Hundreds commemorate Hellfire Pass

Motion picture association chairman steps down Posted: 26 Apr 2014 03:34 AM PDT Lu Min, actor and chairman of Myanmar [Burma] Motion Picture Association (MMPA), told DVB that he will not seek reappointment for the coming year. The popular movie star said he wants to spend more time working as an actor, and that leaving his position as chairman has nothing to do with complaints or personal grievances. The MMPA has not yet announced a date to elect his successor. The association's chairperson is selected by majority vote among a commission comprising various film industry representatives, elected by the association's general membership. MMPA Director Kyi Soe Htun said that they would ideally find a committed candidate that can spend considerable time on steering the group. The MMPA is an independent oversight body formed in April 2012 by Burma's leading film industry professionals. The association seeks to support and regulate Burma's film industry as the nation's media is slowly weaned from government control. Burma had a rich and lively early cinematic tradition, which suffered under the rule of Ne Win. Strict censorship and production of propaganda altered the country's cinematic identity, which continued to deteriorate under the State Peace and Development Council. Lu Min was the second chairman of the MMPA, preceded by Zin Wyne, another leading man in Burma's movie starscape.   Related Stories DVB Debate: Does cultural exchange mean changing culture? New technology boosts Burmese films abroad Campaigners urge Thingyan revellers to avoid unruly behaviour, drunkenness

Journalists rally to free jailed colleague Posted: 26 Apr 2014 01:47 AM PDT Burma's reporters took to the streets of two cities on Friday to rally support for greater press freedom. About 100 demonstrators amassed in Prome, Pegu Division, while dozens gathered in Mon State capital Moulmein. Demonstrators demanded the immediate release of DVB video journalist Zaw Pe, who was recently sentenced to one year in prison on charges of trespassing and disturbing a civil servant. The protestors emphasised that the right to report on issues of public concern, especially in public spaces, must be protected to allow Burma to develop a robust media landscape. The larger rally was held without an assembly permit, but no one has yet been arrested for participation. DVB's Prome correspondent, Thank Htike Aung, said that demonstrators were warned by local police but refused to dissipate. "We marched along the main road… and we were stopped by the superintendent of Prome Police Station," he said, "but we refused to follow his order to desist. We told him he can press any charges on us that he wished." Burma's controversial Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law requires prior approval for all public gathering, where the intention is to publicly express opinion. The law has been widely admonished, with critics claiming that authorities frequently abuse it by targeting certain outspoken activists. Related Stories Press freedom campaigns to be launched across Burma Food poisoning strikes at Buddhist ceremony in Pegu Pegu police prohibit constitution protest In Moulmein, where a permit was granted, local reporters were joined by members of the Southern-Burma Journalists Network , the Myanmar Journalists Association and correspondents from neighbouring Karen state. One demonstrator, Hmu Eain Zaw, plainly explained the group's agenda: "We call for the release of all reporters unfairly imprisoned, and for the freedom to allow reporters to cover the news in public spaces." Zaw Pe, DVB's Magwe Division correspondent, was sentenced on 7 April and is currently incarcerated in Magwe Division's Thayet prison. In August 2012, he and another civilian were arrested for investigating a Japanese scholarship programme in Magwe's schools. This is the second time Zaw Pe has been jailed for his journalistic work; In 2010, he was jailed for two years because he shot video without a licence while covering a water shortage in central Burma. Five journalists still await a verdict on charges of disclosing state secrets after publishing an investigative report about an alleged chemical weapons facility in late January. Yet another journalist, Ma Khine of Eleven Media, spent more than two months in jail for charges of trespassing, using abusive language, and defamation. The charges were brought against her following a scheduled interview with a lawyer for a report about corruption. The dissolution of Burma's notorious censorship board in 2012 prompted a wave of optimism for press freedom in the country, though the subsequent arrest of several journalists, discretionary warnings for foreign press and a heated debacle over new regulations have raised a few flags. Burma is currently ranked 145th of 180 nations monitored in the latest World Press Freedom Index, a yearly appraisal by France-based Reporters Without Borders.

Hundreds commemorate Hellfire Pass Posted: 25 Apr 2014 10:46 PM PDT Hundreds walked the notorious Hellfire Pass on Friday to commemorate Australian soldiers conscripted to build Japan's "Death Railway" from Bangkok to Rangoon during WWII. The crowd of mostly Australian war veterans and their relatives marched to a memorial site in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, where they held a candlelit ceremony for fallen servicemen. Japanese forces enlisted Asian labourers and Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to build the route, often forcing them to work 18-hour days and subjecting them to beatings and starvation. About 100,000 people died in the process, either as a result of brutality or disease. Approximately 12,000 of those deaths were POWs. Nearly 3,000 were from Australia and New Zealand. The Hellfire Pass, which cut through the treacherous Tenasserim Hills, was one of the most deadly and difficult stretches of the project. The cutting was named for the hellish image of labourers seen working by torchlight into the night. Jonathan Kenna, Deputy Head of Mission for the Australian Embassy in Thailand, was among the attendees. The event was also attended by 97-year-old Harold Martin, a POW forced to work on the railway. Other veterans at the ceremony remarked upon their burning memories of war and enslavement. One former POW, Milton Fairclough, said that he still sees the images when he closes his eyes. The march marked one of Australia's most important national holidays, ANZAC Day, originally established to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli during WWI. The holiday is now observed annually in honour of all Australians and New Zealanders who fought and died in in service. Related Stories Amid peace talks, health cooperation in Karen State sends positive signals Journalists charged with defaming Thai Navy 'Boatpeople' story lands Reuters a Pulitzer as local reporters face jail

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