REPRESENTATIVES from the four pillars of democracy
— the legislative, the administrative, the judiciary, and the media — took part
in a workshop yesterday in Nay Pyi Taw to discuss ways to promote balanced
cooperation between the media and the three other pillars in order to provide
reliable information to the people.
Speaking at the workshop, Union Minister for
Information Dr. Pe Myint expressed the hope that the forum would help
strengthen press freedom and smoothen the path to democratic transition.
The meeting was aimed at the four pillars working
with each other to seek solutions to challenges, said the Union Minister,
adding that there are checks and balances to ensure the voices of the people
and the media are heard by the other pillars.
Each pillar has rights and limitations, said the
Union Minister.
Before discussions began at the workshop, Union
Minister Dr. Pe Myint outlined the agenda of the workshop — the fourth pillar,
the media, would demand its rights, which would be followed by a discussion,
and a deliberation on ways to resolve issues.
He also told the media that if the discussions are
successful, the media would gain benefits, while the remaining pillars would
gain pride.
Afterwards, the Chairman of the Myanmar Press
Council, Hanthawady U Ohn Kyaing, stressed the importance of building trust
between the government and the media, and urged both sides to strengthen trust
through understanding.
He referred to the workshop as a meeting for
building trust between the government and the media.
Then, Deputy Minister U Aung Hla Tun expressed his
belief that issuing of accreditation cards to media personnel by the government
would help dispel distrust and doubts between media personnel and their
sources.
He also stressed the importance of cooperation and
understanding from the first three pillars, so that the media can provide fair
and balanced information to the people.
Later, Myanmar Press Council Vice-Chairman Dr. Myo
Thant Tin called for the legislative, the administrative, and the judiciary to
coordinate with the media through forums and workshops to promote democracy and
the perpetuation of the State and the people. Thereafter, Pyithu Hluttaw Health
and Sports Development Committee Chairman Dr. San Shwe Win underscored the
importance of media development, as the fourth pillar can help reduce poverty,
fight corruption, uphold laws, protect human rights, and prevent losses to the
public exchequer.
Next, the Deputy Director of the Union Supreme
Court, U Nyo Tun, told participants at the workshop that the News Media Law was
enacted in 2014 and one year later, the Union Supreme Court issued a media
manual for court news.
The Union Supreme Court formed an information team
at every court, and information officials of the courts released news to the
media, he said.
The Union Supreme Court releases an annual report
on measures taken by the courts at different levels, he added.
Afterwards, the Secretary of the Tatmadaw True News
Team, Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun, said the Tatmadaw has maintained a good
relationship with the media, and has stepped it up since the Myanmar Press
Council came into existence. Then, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of
Information, U Myo Myint Maung, and the Secretary of the Myanmar Press Council,
U Kyaw Swar Min, detailed efforts taken for the development of the media sector.
At the workshop, representatives from the executive
pillar, the legislative pillar, the judiciary pillar, the Union
Attorney-General’s office, and the Myanmar Press Council discussed matters
related to collecting accurate and correct information, and cooperation between
the media and the other pillars by building trust and understanding.
Afterwards, personnel from the Myanmar Journalists Association, Myanmar
Journalists Network, Burma News International, Myanmar Press Union, and Myanmar
Women Journalists Group raised questions and officials of the three pillars
answered them.
The workshop came to an end with concluding remarks
made by the Union Minister for Information Dr. Pe Myint. The first meeting of
the four pillars of the democracy was held on 30 December, 2016, and the second
on 21 February, 2018. Participants at the workshop decided to increase
cooperation between the four pillars, and to hold a Union-level meeting of the
four pillars at least once a year.
According to discussions at the workshop, the
Myanmar Press Council and other related organizations would help the media
sector ensure that they collect information ethically. The four pillars also
agreed yesterday to overcome challenges by encouraging mutual respect, and the
Myanmar Press Council also agreed to lead the issuing of accreditation cards to
media personnel, and the other pillars agreed to assist it in this work.
The Myanmar Press Council and the Ministry of
Information will work together to encourage the sustainability of print media.
Participants at the workshop also agreed to
cooperate in releasing news in a timely manner, promote Media and Information
Literacy, put up information and press releases on the ministries’ websites and
online pages in a timely manner, provide easy access to information at the
Hluttaws, form a work committee to implement the results of the meeting of the
four pillars, work with the authorities to expose those who disseminate fake
news, control misuse of social media, promote cooperation between the Myanmar
Press Council, the ministries concerned, and the Hluttaw to enact laws which
can help develop the news media, and provide equal opportunities to media,
including ethnic media, in terms of access to information from the regional and
state government departments.
MNA
Photo - MNA
(Translated by AMS)
Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar
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