In what seems to be another warning, Burma’s state-run Newspaper on Friday carried an article that says Satellite channels that enables people to watch international news and entertainments are manipulated by big nations and should be banned in Burma.

Satellite dishes bad for people: Junta mouth piece

by Nem Davies
Saturday, 25 April 2009 21:22

New Delhi (Mizzima) – In what seems to be another warning, Burma’s state-run Newspaper on Friday carried an article that says Satellite channels that enables people to watch international news and entertainments are manipulated by big nations and should be banned in Burma.

A writer, who identifies himself as Ko Gyi on Friday wrote in the New Light of Myanmar, that powerful nations are exploiting the Satellite channels to instigate unrest, and harm the culture of the people by broadcasting entertainment, which have hidden agendas.

The Writer said, therefore, the government should prohibit the sales of satellite dishes and receivers, which are widely used in Burma.

A similar article appeared in the same daily newspaper two months ago which said, “Restrict the watching of uncensored satellite TV programmes telecast by the outside world’.

“We were surprised to see this article today. This is a warning to our satellite dish shops. But they have not done anything so far. We have to wait and see for another 10-15 days,” Nyi Nyi Naing, a salesman at an the imported TATA Sky satellite dish shop in Rangoon, told Mizzima.
In an earlier article on February 17, the writer, suggest the government to impose restricting on watching of uncensored TV programmes telecast by the outside world through satellite dish and receivers.

But Friday’s article focused on the sales of Satellite dishes, that leaves a warning message to many satellite dish companies and shops.

The writer said, “Some people do not notice that attachment to satellite receivers is harmful to the morality of the viewers”.

The article further said that in many countries, governments enforce restrictions in order to prohibit the people from using satellite receivers directly.

In some countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Pakistan and Iran, ‘the public are not allowed to use satellite receivers legally’, the writer said.

While satellite dishes and receivers are not popularly used in Indonesian capital city of Jakarta, the people are able to freely watch news programmes telecast by foreign news channels.

A Burmese citizen John Moe, who is living in Jakarta said, “We pay monthly fee of Indonesia Rupiah 150,000 and can watch foreign news channels such as BBC, CNN.”

The article, while it is not an official government statement, is believed by Burmese media people as a sign of further tightening and systematic suppression of media freedom in Burma.

In Burma, in an environment of no freedom of expression and no free media, the Burmese people can freely watch foreign news channels through these unlicensed satellite dishes and receivers.

But since it is not affordable to pay the monthly official license fees, people are forced to install satellite receivers illegally, a local from Rangoon said.

“Yes, what the government said is right. Most of the people installed these satellite receivers and dishes without a license. But as for us, it’s difficult to pay monthly fees of Kyat 15,000”, he said.

Warning the sales centres of satellite receivers in restricting installing such devices is in fact intended to levy taxes from the wide use of these. But these sale centres said that it cannot stop their sales volume.

“Shops have long been selling satellite dishes. They cannot stop the illegal sales of these devices. VOA Burmese Service news channel can be tuned into in Burma by using TATA Sky,” an official from Satellite Receivers Import Company said.

In the wake of monk-led protests in September 2007, Burmese media in exile were able to broadcast and telecast news, pictures and videos of the junta’s brutal crackdown.

In its drive to block free flow of news and information to the outside world, the junta began arresting bloggers and domestic reporters, and handed down long prison sentences.