Democracy News

Burmese Journalist Sentenced to 20 Years In Prison; Junta Confirms 2010 Elections
January 13, 2010
By: Randi Zung | Printer Friendly

Hla Hla Win, a journalist with the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) was sentenced to twenty years in prison on December 30 for violating the ruling junta’s Electronics Act, which regulates the transmission of electronic communications.  The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that she was arrested in September 2009 after conducting an assignment about the Saffron Revolution, when a group of Buddhist monks challenged the junta government in 2007.  On October 7, Hla Hla Win and another individual were sentenced to seven years in prison for possessing an illegally imported motorcycle.  Following their initial sentencing, both individuals were later charged with violating the Electronics Act.  Hla Hla Win now faces a total of twenty-seven years in prison.

AFP reports that the United States and the European Union have not been able to officially confirm Hla Hla Win’s sentencing, but have issued a statement asserting that the actions of the Burmese government are “outrageous.”  DVB's bureau chief Aye Chan Naing said that Hla Hla Win’s harsh sentence was due to her position as an undercover journalist.  In addition, the article states that according to Reporters Without Borders, there are currently at least thirteen journalists who are being detained by the Burmese government.

On January 4, Burma's military leader Than Shwe announced that the country would be holding elections in 2010 as originally announced last year.  BBC News reports that during his annual Independence Day address, Than Shwe stated that he had a seven-step plan to democratize the junta-ruled country and warned that his way was the “sole process for transition.”  In reaction to Than Shwe’s statement, AungSan Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party released their own statement that called for the 2010 elections to be transparent and said that the party would like to begin working towards reconciliation with the junta government.  In addition, NLD also called for the release of all political prisoners.  The upcoming election will be the first since the 1990 election where the NLD won in a landslide victory but was prevented from taking power by the military.  NLD has not announced whether they will participate in the upcoming election.  Critics of the Burmese regime state that the election is going to be a farce and will only reify the power of the current military government.

Sources:
Committee to Protect Journalists – Burmese journalist handed 20-year prison sentence
http://cpj.org/2010/01/burmese-journalist-handed-20-year-prison-sentence.php

AFP – Myanmar video journalist jailed for 20 years: rights groups
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jCFnxqL1gwqsFOrPpD-q5e3Qeu4A

BBC News - Burma leader Than Shwe gives election warning
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8439160.stm