Myanmar
In 2011 the Myanmarese government initiated a series of reforms including a relaxation of its harsh censorship on the country's media. While IMS was previously engaged primarily with supporting media to ensure a regular flow of objective and independent information to the people in Myanmar from the outside, the recent developments show signs of positive progress. With new opportunities and challenges for the country's often young journalists, IMS in close partnership with local media, will be looking to support the work of local journalists and the creation of a sustainable media sector to support the country’s emerging democracy.Archive
- Another step towards liberalising Myanmar's media
- Reforming media law in Myanmar
- New times ahead for media in Myanmar
- Looking forward in Myanmar
- Landmark conference on media development in Myanmar
- Conference on media development in Myanmar
- A new generation of photojournalists nurtured in Myanmar
- Myanmar’s government eases control of the media
- Change is in the air: An assessment of media development challenges and opportunities in Myanmar
- Stop cyber attacks against independent Burmese media
- Burmese video journalists in the running for an Oscar
- Burma documentary hits box office record in UK
- Broad support in Denmark for Burmese VJs
- Support rally for Burma VJs in Copenhagen
- Speech by Thomas Hughes at the sixth Burma Media Conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 21-23 February 2009
- Next steps for Burmese media
- Burma film won prize at Sundance Festival
- Two awards to film about Burmese journalists
- Burmese journalists portrayed in new documentary film
Stop cyber attacks against independent Burmese media
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Burmese exiled media groups are calling for international support in ending cyber attacks that have crippled two news websites over the past week
The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and The Irrawaddy magazine, which provide independent coverage of current affairs in Burma, have been the target of intense attacks which it is believed originate from the Burmese government. The two websites are currently up and running although the attack continues at the time of going to press.
Details surrounding the attacks – the first of which began shortly after midnight on 27 September - are still being investigated. The method being used is DDoS, or distributed denial-of-service, which fires thousands of malformed web connections against a website, causing it to become inaccessible.
The debate around the timing of the attacks has focused on the looming 7 November elections, with media workers concerned that the Burmese junta is carrying out a test run prior to the controversial polls. It is feared that more attacks are on the way.
According to media watchdog Reporters sans frontières (Reporters Without Borders - RSF): "It is essential that these websites continue to run to provide Burmese people and the rest of the world with independent information regarding the upcoming elections. The use of cyber attacks against independent news websites is a cowardly tactic chosen by those who feel threatened by the truth. We strongly condemn such acts."
The calls were echoed by the managing director of Media Frontiers, Thomas Hughes, who said that “it is important that the international community comes together, not only in condemning these attacks, but in actively seeking to provide any means necessary to keep these sites online and accessible”.
Burma already has some of the world’s most draconian media laws, and ranked 171 out of 175 countries in the RSF Press Freedom Index for 2009. Burma is also labelled by the organization an "Enemy of the Internet". Out of the 2,150-plus political prisoners in Burma, around 15 are journalists, and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) last year branded Burma “the worst country to be a blogger”.
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