S

S.H.A.N. Correspondent Back From India Media Meet

26 September 2000
Puenkham Payakwong, one of the founders of the Shan Herald Agency for News, was back at S.H.A.N. yesterday (25.09.2000) after participating in the "Media and Democracy: The Asian Experience" workshop in India. 
The workshop (18-20 September) was organized jointly by the Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication (SIMC) and the Mizzima News Group and held in Pune, known as "Oxford of the East". Puenkham had high praise for the city both in terms of cleanliness and intellectual standing. 

He presented a paper titled "The Opposition Media: Problems of trying to be independent." Also present there were Debbie Stodhard (Alternative Asean), Yindee Lertcharoenchok (The Nation), U Hla Pe (RFA), Win Htein (DVB) and Henry Brang Lai, among others. 

The workshop ended with the recommendation that the Media should take side with the people and represent "the voice of the people". 

• Excerpt from Puenkham's Paper: 

• "Write them, if I do bad things;

• Write them, if my queens do bad things;

• Write them, if my sons and daughters do bad things;

• Write them, if my judges do bad things.

Your newspaper shall not be held guilty. Anyone from the press can go in and out of the palace without hindrance."

-King Mindon (1853-1878), quoted by Hpo Wazira of the Ratanabon Newspaper, (established 1874).

It is all right to write things about the rulers in Rangoon and their local commanders. Propaganda or not, you have to accept there isn't much good you can write about them. With the opposition however, the media appear to be on dangerous ground. 

Lots of sensitive information might be there with the media, only they have not released it for fear it will amount to lending a hand to the military regime. But not releasing it has also its hazards: it questions the detachment the media in question claim to adhere to. It also hinters the opposition from getting rid of its weaknesses.

More importantly, Rangoon constitutes the main obstacle to freedom, human rights and democracy, the ideals that have brought into being a multitude of political organizations and political media such as S.H.A.N..

This short paper, limited in terms of experience and know-how as we are, does not intend to present any solutions. It shall not even pretend to.

But it is quite obvious, at least in S.H.A.N.'s case, that if the independent media and the opposition movements cannot come to a mutually acceptable agreement, the people are bound to face a lengthier period of hell under their present rulers. It is also quite obvious that both the media and the opposition, especially the latter which aspires to become future rulers, need to learn and groom themselves for the future if a free, democratic civil society is to be built. 

For those who think the new society will come into being all by itself once the present rulers are removed, they shall only be inviting a vicious circle instead.