Burmese government officials, military personnel and police officers are reportedly being urged to listen to Burmese exile radio broadcasts in order to counter their news reports with regime propaganda.
The reversal of previous regime policy towards the exile media has been especially noticeable following the crackdown on last September’s demonstrations, one Rangoon police officer reported.
Another policeman, who works as a security guard at a Rangoon temple, said listening to Burmese exile broadcasts was now part of his duties.
One source said he had been told by a police officer that he was expected to know “all that is going on and what is expected to happen.” An official response could then be prepared to the news contained in the exile broadcasts, the police officer said.
Two years ago, the Minister of Information, Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, announced that the official Burmese media would combat exile news broadcasts. Privately-owned domestic publications were ordered to print material favorable to the junta.
In the past few weeks, the official media has been countering negative reports on Cyclone Nargis and its aftermath with news about government assistance to the storm victims.
One Rangoon resident said that after foreign-based news agencies reported on the outbreak of diarrhea in the Irrawaddy delta, Burmese state-owned newspapers carried dispatches describing how the Ministry of Health was tackling the problem.
An aid worker in Rangoon, however, dismissed the official reports as propaganda. Despite claims by the government that it was helping the cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta, people there were still having difficulty reconstructing their lives, he said.
The reversal of previous regime policy towards the exile media has been especially noticeable following the crackdown on last September’s demonstrations, one Rangoon police officer reported.
Another policeman, who works as a security guard at a Rangoon temple, said listening to Burmese exile broadcasts was now part of his duties.
One source said he had been told by a police officer that he was expected to know “all that is going on and what is expected to happen.” An official response could then be prepared to the news contained in the exile broadcasts, the police officer said.
Two years ago, the Minister of Information, Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, announced that the official Burmese media would combat exile news broadcasts. Privately-owned domestic publications were ordered to print material favorable to the junta.
In the past few weeks, the official media has been countering negative reports on Cyclone Nargis and its aftermath with news about government assistance to the storm victims.
One Rangoon resident said that after foreign-based news agencies reported on the outbreak of diarrhea in the Irrawaddy delta, Burmese state-owned newspapers carried dispatches describing how the Ministry of Health was tackling the problem.
An aid worker in Rangoon, however, dismissed the official reports as propaganda. Despite claims by the government that it was helping the cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta, people there were still having difficulty reconstructing their lives, he said.
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