Opposition silent as cronies move to grab the airwaves

The television and broadcasting bill approved by the Upper House on October 14 reinforces the grip of the government and its cronies, while further undermining the effort of the country’s people to ensure a democratic future, critics of the legislations say.

They say it repeats a familiar tactic of the administration of President Thein Sein, which presents legislation as progressive but uses it for its own – often undemocratic – interests. The Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act is the template, they say. It was intended to protect freedom of expression but has been primarily used to arrest, detain and imprison dissidents since Thein Sein signed it in December 2011. Meanwhile, other legislation, like the new broadcasting bill, is intended to fortify the interests of the government’s cronies.

It will tighten the government’s control of airwaves by restricting access to radio and television licences, at a time when its cronies have already snapped up privately owned print media that stumbled financially after launching daily newspapers last year. Cronies will monopolise not only broadcast media but also print media, local analysts warn.

The new television and broadcasting bill prevents enterprises from owning both print and broadcasting media. As a result, private print media companies are banned from entering the radio and television business. State-run MRTV, however, is not barred from entering the print media, while military owned Myawaddy Television already has a newspaper.

“Television and radio broadcasters will in future be the greatest source of information in Myanmar, particularly for the poor and those living in rural areas where the print press is too expensive, inaccessible or unavailable,” the United Kingdom-based group Article 19 said. “As the greatest source of public information, broadcasters are under significant threat from governments and others who wish to silence critical voices. It is vital, therefore, that Myanmar establishes an independent, reliable and diverse broadcast media as a strong foundation for democracy,” said the group, which monitors censorship and advocates on behalf of free expression globally.

The new legislation will give cronies control of the airwaves as well as print media, say journalists who also raised questions about how quickly it passed the Upper House and how little debate it sparked.

Aung San Suu Kyi, chairperson of National League for Democracy (NLD), has noted that her party’s MPs are outnumbered by those from the Union Solidarity and Development Party, but that is not an excuse for refraining from objecting to undemocratic legislation, critics of the bill say. 

NLD MPs failed to object to a bill that is undemocratic, they said, adding that if the Lower House follows suit this may signal that Parliament is controlled by the cronies. 

Laws passed under the administration of Thein Sein has been frequently criticised for benefiting only a small group of people, while ignoring the needs of the public.

Laws passed to purportedly assist farmers have intensified disputes over land and seen more farmers arrested for protesting land grabs. Workers’ welfare has declined despite laws passed to improve their rights. The same is true for laws on healthcare, judicial reform and education.

Even a new media law passed in March of this year seems to have had little effect. Last week, five staff of a journal were sentenced to prison terms of two years each under old legislation. Laws intended to combat money laundering and corruption have no teeth, while taxation laws have seen tax rates rise for middle-income people and small businesses, while many conglomerates owned by government cronies are not paying their fair share, critics of the government say.

The silence of the opposition on the broadcast bill sends a disturbing message. As the military-backed government and its cronies move to consolidate their monopoly over the airwaves, the opposition may find it has no channel left to communicate with the public. 

“Only authoritarian governments spend public money on state-run broadcasting in order to spread their own opinions and activities without challenge,” Article 19 noted.