[burmanet2-l] Re: Most mass media i

[dawnstar@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Re: [burmanet2-l] Re: Most mass media ignores Yangon reality

Strictly junta propaganda, ignore it, bad wind, ds*

Burma Action Group wrote:
> 
> Interesting that this fellow fails to be specific about any of the
> reporting he criticizes.  Also, he chooses not to address the reports by
> non-media sources, such as the United Nations, International Labor
> Organization and World Bank.  Why?  My guess is that this guy is now on
> the Japanese corporate payroll, and this is a piece of pr whitewash, so he
> carefully avoids the specificity and sources that would undermine the
> unsupported assertion of the headline.
> 
> On Fri, 7 Jan 2000, Mg Myanmar wrote:
> 
> > SOURCE:  Myanmar Information - http://www.myanmar.com/
> >
> > Excerpt from The Japan Times, 4th January 2000
> >
> > Most mass media ignores Yangon reality
> >
> > By YOICHI YAMAGUCHI
> > Former Ambassador of Japan to Myanmar
> >
> >
> > No other nation in Asia is comparable to Myanmar for its friendly
> > attitude toward Japan. With its richness in natural resources and
> > agriculture, and now as a full fledged member of ASEAN Myanmar is
> > becoming a very important partner for Japan.
> >
> > In the aftermath of the turmoil of 1988 that brought about an almost
> > anarchic confusion in Myanmar, the Japanese government was obliged to
> > restrain its relations with the country, and official development
> > assistance was totally suspended.
> >
> > A wide gap exists, however between the political realities in Myanmar
> > and the news usually reported by most of the mass media in Western
> > countries and Japan. News  about Myanmar is quite often based on a
> > fixed pattern: The military junta (the bad guys) versus Aung San Suu
> > Kyi*s NLD (The good guys). Suu Kyi has become a global heroine of
> > democracy, with the image of a modern Joan of Arc, whereas the
> > military clique is always described as oppressing democracy movements,
> > disrespecting human rights and clinging to power in order to maintain
> > their rule.
> >
> > News fitting this pattern is widely reported but news not in line with
> > this scheme is quite often discarded or even sometimes reported in a
> > deliberately distorted way.
> >
> > This tendency in reporting news generates an inaccurate or even false
> > image of Myanmar and leads people in other countries to hold an
> > erroneous perception about the situation there. The result is the
> > formation of public opinion based on this inaccurate reporting, which
> > greatly influences the policies taken by Western countries.
> >
> > In reality, members of the military junta are far from clinging to
> > power for selfish motives, rather they are devoted to making self
> > sacrifices for the cause of their country and its people. They state
> > on every occasion that the present government s task is only
> > provisional and that having no intention of staying in power for a
> > long time, they are ready to go back to their barracks as soon as
> > their mission is complete. They also demonstrate probity. In contrast
> > to what frequently occurs in similar cases in many countries,
> > corruption is exceptional.
> >
> > The military government is endeavoring to create a modern, democratic
> > and developed country. The efforts thus taken by them have resulted,
> > as a matter of fact, in remarkable achievements in various fields.
> > These include restoring order with substantial improvements in
> > security all over tile country; overcoming ethnic minorities armed
> > insurgences; establishing excellent relations with neighboring
> > countries; and embarking on the modernization of the economy by
> > transforming it into an open and free-market system.
> >
> > The government is also striving to establish a democratic political
> > structt7re. The leadership states repeatedly that its final goal is
> > the realization of full democracy, but that the process to reach that
> > objective should follow the course best adapted to the reality of tl7e
> > country. The country s leaders think that if they move too hastily in
> > trying to realize full democracy, they will cause disorder in the
> > country and thus fail to ensure satisfactory functioning of the
> > democratic plans.
> >
> > All these positive aspects of the military government are neglected by
> > the international media. In consequence, they are not known by people
> > in other countries, who influence the policies taken by Western
> > governments and restrict the implementation of the Japan.
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------
> > ********************************************
> >
> > Mg Myanmar
> > A Myanmar citizen who loves Myanmar
> >
> > ********************************************
> > -----------------------------------------------
> > FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com
> > Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com
> >
> >
> >
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>                             BURMA  ACTION GROUP
> SAO Box 119, HUB
> University of Washington                http://weber.u.washington.edu/~burma
> Seattle, WA 98195