Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TV & Radio
Free-to-air TV channels in Myanmar include MRTV, Myawady TV and Myanmar Inter-
national, but many locals prefer to get their news from overseas radio broadcasts by the
BBC's World Service, VOA (Voice of America) and RFA (
www.rfa.org
) or from
satellite-TV channels such as BBC World, CNN and DVB.
Fiery Dragons: Banks, Money- lenders and Microfinance in Burma
by Sean Turnell ex-
plains how Myanmar went from one of the richest countries in Southeast Asia to one of
its poorest within the space of a century.
Internet
Relaxation in press censorship has also had a dramatic impact on access to the internet.
Previously blocked international and exile media news sites are now freely available, as
is access to blogs.
In 2012 Nay Phone Latt, recipient of the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write
award, was released from jail after spending four years behind bars for blogging. He has
since founded the independent Myanmar Bloggers Society and the Myanmar ICT for
Development Organization (MIDO), which disseminates information about the internet
and holds training sessions on how to blog.
Such education is necessary if internet liberalisation is to have any real and lasting im-
pact in Myanmar. Less than 0.5% of Myanmar's population currently has access to the
internet and, outside of Yangon, very few people can read English.
With the launch of two new mobile phone networks imminent, the spread of internet
access is set to expand across Myanmar. The new tele- communications law that has en-
abled this development also contains provisions for prison sentences of seven to 15 years
for sending over the internet materials deemed by officials as sensitive or a threat to se-
curity. This has raised concerns among journalists, bloggers and rights activists.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has also reported that local journalists have told
them that they work under the assumption that the government continues to monitor their
online activities.
