Ex-military officers from Myanmar will lead the press and literary organisations

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Myanmar's military administration has selected two former military officers to lead the Myanmar Press Council, in addition to their oversight over the Myanmar Press Council, in what is believed to be yet another effort to choke the already suffocated media.

Former lieutenant colonel U Ohn Maung will lead the press council, with former lieutenant colonel U Myo Tun as vice-chairman.
In November, both men were elected chairman and vice-chairman of the writers association.

 

Under past military regimes, U Ohn Maung, also known as Myinmu Maung Naing Moe, received multiple national poetry honours.

U Myo Tun, also known as Maung Sein Naung Lewe, worked for the Defense Ministry's Directorate of Public Relations and Psychological Warfare.
They have a modest public profile.

Former military officers and those with ties to the military dominate the writers association's 11-member central executive committee.
"The two are from the military from the very beginning," a writer who requested anonymity stated.
They will not contribute to the development of literature."

 

With the February 2021 coup, many liberties enjoyed by journalists and writers for nearly a decade came to an end.
The press council was reformed under regime control in November of last year.
After nearly six months, the authors' association was formed.

The new council members, who took an oath before junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in November, did not speak out against the regime's detention of journalists and issued statements in support of it.

U Ohn Maung has been publishing propaganda poems in junta newspapers for the past six months.
The 70-year-old is recognised for his unwavering devotion to the military, having hosted literary discussions, poster displays, competitions, and writing contests within battalions.