US embassy cable - 04RANGOON1366

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 001366 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV, EAP/PD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, ECON, BM, Economy 
SUBJECT: MILITARY INTELLIGENCE-AFFILIATED MEDIA SHUT DOWN 
 
REF: A. RANGOON 1359 
 
     B. RANGOON 1345 
 
Classified By: COM Carmen Martinez for Reasons 1.4 (b,d) 
 
1. (C) Summary:  Following the October 19 removal of General 
Khin Nyunt as Prime Minister and Chief of Military 
Intelligence (ref A), 32 journals and magazines with links to 
Military Intelligence (MI) have apparently been temporarily 
closed down.  Quasi-independent media licensed through other 
ministries have so far been unaffected by yesterday's events. 
 It is unclear whether the MI Office of Strategic Studies 
will retain its function of censorship over international 
publications and the high-profile, bilingual Myanmar Times. 
Stripping Military Intelligence of its media appendages will 
deprive MI of some income.  This could be part of a broader 
move ordered by the regular military to separate MI from the 
business dealings that provide its operating costs. End 
summary. 
 
2. (C) Journals and magazines that had been operating under 
license from Military Intelligence have been told to 
temporarily halt publication according to a source at one of 
the affected journals.  Although this week's editions will 
appear, publishers were told when they submitted them to the 
Home Ministry's Press Scrutiny Board for censorship to halt 
work on the next edition until they obtain new licenses.  The 
source says that 32 publications may be affected, including 
the 7 Day News, the Myanmar News Gazette, Wun Tha Nu, the 
Morning Post, and the high profile Myanmar Times, a colorful 
bilingual weekly newspaper run jointly by an Australian 
businessman and the son of MI Brigadier General Thein Swe. 
The Myanmar Times had unique status as the only local 
publication that received censor board clearance from MI's 
Office of Strategic Studies, rather than the Press Scrutiny 
Board.  Sources at the Myanmar Times say they have not 
received clearance on this week's edition because their usual 
interlocutors at MI are either under arrest or unavailable. 
However, the newspaper intends to proceed with a planned move 
to larger quarters, under the assumption that the stoppage is 
temporary in nature. 
 
3. (SBU)  Publishers of quasi-independent media (weekly 
newspapers and journals run by private citizens with a 
license from a government entity and subject to government 
press censorship rules) not affiliated with MI, such as 
Myanmar Dana and Kumudra, have said they don't appear to be 
affected by the change in leadership.  Strangely, however, 
they were granted a respite this next week from carrying the 
usual obligatory "policy" diatribe reprinted from opinion 
pages of the government-run media. 
 
4. (C) Comment:  Seen in the context of economic competition 
between MI and the regular military (described in ref B), 
stripping Military Intelligence of its media appendages will 
deprive MI of some income, though not a large amount. 
However, this could be part of a broader move ordered by the 
regular military to separate MI from the business operations 
that provide its budget.  End comment. 
Martinez