Eleven Media's Than Htut Aung handed prestigious Golden Pen of Freedom at World Newspaper Congress i
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Dr Than Htut Aung, CEO of Eleven Media Group, has won the Golden Pen of Freedom for 2013 awarded annually by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers WAN-IFRA.
Since 1963, the IFRA has awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom to outstanding journalists around the world who champion press freedom.
There have been only three previous Myanmar winners of the award.
Guardian Sein Win won the first-ever Golden Pen of Freedom in 1963, while Hanthawady Win Tin and Thayawady San San Nweh together won the 2011 award.
Dr Than Htut Aung became the fourth when he was handed the Golden Pen of Freedom 2013 at the opening ceremony of the 65th World Newspaper Congress in Bangkok yesterday.
The Golden Pen of Freedom also recognises journalistic excellence, particularly in the fight for truth against dictatorship. Previous winners of the award have been recognised for great self-sacrifice in their pursuit of journalism, having faced political oppression, imprisonment, violence and life-threatening sitiuations.
Asians feature prominently among the total of 48 journalists who have won the award, with four coming from China and one each from Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The last winner was Mexican journalist Anabel Hernandez.
Hanthawady Win Tin and Thayawady San San Nweh shared the award during the days of Myanmar’s junta-government in 2001, but they were unable to attend the award ceremony. The two Myanmar journalists have only recently been able to accept the prize.
