MOI to file lawsuits on two media groups

MOI to file lawsuits on two media groups

By Lun Min Mang   |   Friday, 26 September 2014

 

The Ministry of Information is preparing to take two publications to court after mediation through the Myanmar Press Council (Interim) failed to yield a result acceptable to both sides, according to minister U Ye Htut.

The ministry will file cases against weekly journal The Myanmar Herald – also known as Myanmar Thandawsint – and Eleven Media Group, publisher of Weekly Eleven and Daily Eleven.

It is unclear whether they will be criminal or civil cases but under the Penal Code defamation carries a jail term of up to two years.

The Press Council moderated several discussions between the parties in both cases, as required under the News Media Law. However, the talks failed to result in an out-of-court settlement, opening the way for legal action.

Daily Eleven published articles in which it said the ministry had paid US$400,000 more for a printing press than what an Indian company had quoted Eleven for the same machine.

The articles, by senior reporter Marn Thu Shein and founder U Thein Myint, said ministry officials must have pocketed the difference. It then questioned the property and wealth of ministers and government officials, including U Ye Htut.

U Ye Htut told reporters last week that if news agencies and publications are interested in his financial assets they can undertake investigative journalism to examine the sources of his wealth. If he is found to be corrupt then he will face legal action, he said.

However, Eleven editor-in-chief U Wai Phyo said the company stood by the report.

"We have strong evidence and facts and we will take full responsibility for what we have published, even if this ends up in court," he said.

While Eleven initially attended mediation sessions arranged by the Press Council, it later told the council it would no longer meet with government representatives to discuss the complaint.

In the case of The Myanmar Herald, meanwhile, the ministry alleges that interviews it published with political scientist U Myo Yan Naung Thein and National League for Democracy (NLD) patron U Tin Oo contained criticism of the president that was "extreme". The ministry asked for an apology from the journal's editors but they refused to comply.

"We are not wrong," said U Aung Kyaw Min, the deputy editor at the Myanmar Herald. "We just published to the comments of a political scientist and an NLD leader on the flaws and inefficiencies of the government led by the current president.

"In September, we offered the ministry an apology to the extent possible but they were not satisfied and rejected it. They denied the offer,"

U Myint Kyaw, a member of the Press Council's Complaint Committee, said he believed The Myanmar Herald could not invoke a public interest defence against defamation accusations.

U Ye Htut declined to comment further when contacted by The Myanmar Times.

 "As we are going to find a juridical solution, I would like to give no more comments. We will let everyone know other necessary facts that should be known by the time we file lawsuits," replied U Ye Htut to The Myanmar Times.

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/moi-to-file-lawsuits-on-two-media-groups/