Suu Kyi, Press Council to discuss controversial media bill
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Aung San Suu Kyi, MP and chairperson of the Rule of Law, Stability and Peace Committee, will meet with the Myanmar Press Council (Interim) for the first time in Nay Pyi Taw today.
The move came after an invitation by MP Zeya Thaw of Pobbathiri Township Constituency to the MPC to hold a meeting with Suu Kyi.
The meeting is likely to take place at the office of the Rule of Law committee. It is not known what will top the agenda of their discussion. But the meeting will focus on the controversial press bill approved by the Lower House early in July, the failure by the Information Ministry in keeping its pledge, and Myanmar’s press freedom including the public’s right to information.
The MPC was to meet Union Minister Aung Kyi of the Ministry of Information in Yangon yesterday.
Aung Kyi has already met Press Council members twice in the past. During the first meeting, he promised to allow the council to freely draft a press bill. But at the second meeting, he said the council could amend the bill only when it had been drafted by his ministry.
The press council proposed amendments to the press bill when it was released. However, most of the amendments agreed to between the ministry and the council were not implemented when the bill was approved by parliament.
The ministry also broke a promise that its press bill would be submitted to parliament together with a media bill drafted by the council. It refused to submit the council-drafted media bill on the grounds that some provisions were unacceptable.
