Facebook has nearly 1.2 billion monthly active users –that’s nearly 20% of the total global population. Yet, in some countries harsh sanctions and time in jail can be imposed on those who comment on social media, in the majority of cases for speaking out against their government.
Index on Censorship report: Burma is at a crossroads. The period of transition since 2010 has opened up the space for freedom of expression to an extent unpredicted by even the most optimistic in the country.
Without increased pressure from the US and UK, the apparatus of Burma’s military dictatorship will continue to exist, says Mike Harris
Fifty years of authoritarian rule has left its mark on Burmese society affecting the speed and process of transition.
It will be argued in this chapter that the media in Burma is freer now than at any point in the last decade, yet significant challenges remain and there are troubling signs on the horizon. The abolition of the pre-censorship of the printed press,...
“In the past political art was very easy – ‘this government is bullshit’ – but now due to the transition period and role of Aung San Suu Kyi in government it’s more complex, people are wary of making sweeping statements.”[21] The abolition of...
Real improvements have been made that strengthen digital freedom of expression in Burma from ending the blocking of Skype calls, to restrictions on internet cafe use being lifted and a reduction in SIM costs which will open up access to the...
Burma has made significant advances during the transition period, with progress across all the categories of this report: politics & society, media freedom, artistic freedom and digital freedom. The situation in the country has significantly...
Burma’s Muslim minority has come under increasing attack from Buddhist mobs. Tom Fawthorp reports from Meiktila and Yangon on the racism that is clouding the country’s future.
A film festival featuring Burma’s leading artists and dissidents will test the regime’s commitment to reform. Wei Mar reports