Document details

Legal Changes for Media and Expression: New Reforms, Old Controls

In: Myanmar Media in Transition: Legacies, Challenges and Change
Lisa Brooten; Jane Madlyn McElhone; Gayathry Venkiteswaran (eds.)
Singapore: ISEAS (2019), pp. 59-94

ISBN 978-981-4843-09-6

Signature commbox: 303:10-General 2019

"This chapter provides an overview of the laws related to media and free expression introduced or changed in Myanmar since 2011. We begin with a review of the literature on media legal reforms during transitions, followed by a mapping of the media laws in Myanmar and issues related to the reform process. We argue that the legal framework, while attempting to undo the controls of the past, has not been radically transformed. The paradigm of control has prevailed during this transition period, and the use of criminal laws has rendered some of the legal changes inadequate to support freedom, public interest, diversity and pluralism in relation to media and expression … Our overview of laws and cases is supplemented here with interviews with journalists and media activists. We also draw from our personal experiences and observations as free expression advocates during the transition period. As part of our work, we have attended, participated in and organized various formal and informal meetings related to media freedom and reform, which has provided insights into the legal reform process we discuss here." (Page 60)