Burmese Junta Attacks Media's Cyclone Coverage

Burma's military junta lashed out at its own citizens and foreign media Friday for what it called distorted coverage of the aftermath of a devastating cyclone.

The attack came after authorities detained a popular comedian who had just returned from helping survivors of the disaster and had said government aid was not reaching some victims.

Burmese comedian Maung Thura, better known by his stage name of Zarganar, talks on his mobile phone at his home in Rangoon. Burma's most popular comic, known for his jibes against the military regime and recently for helping cyclone victims, has been taken from his home by police. (Photo: AP)

Unconfirmed reports circulated Friday in Rangoon that at least a dozen people involved in filming cyclone victims in the Irrawaddy delta had been arrested.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar, considered a mouthpiece for the junta, accused "self-seekers and unscrupulous elements" of working in collusion with foreigners to shoot video films featuring made-up stories in the storm-ravaged areas in the delta.

"Those foreign news agencies are issuing such groundless news stories with the intention of tarnishing the image of Myanmar [Burma] and misleading the international community into believing that cyclone victims do not receive any assistance," the report said.

The military regime has been criticized by international agencies for holding up shipments of food, water and temporary shelter supplies to some 1 million desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis.

Well-known comedian Maung Thura—whose stage name is Zarganar—was taken from his home in Rangoon by police Wednesday night after going to the Irrawaddy delta to donate relief items to survivors, his family said.
A family member said Friday that they had heard nothing from Zarganar and the regime has given no reason for his detention.

"We stopped our cyclone relief activities (Thursday), but we will have to resume our relief assistance tomorrow," the relative said.

Zarganar, 46, known both for his anti-government barbs and his work for cyclone victims, was taken into custody after police searched his house and confiscated some belongings. He and his team had made video records of their relief activities and Zarganar gave interviews to foreign media.

A representative for the human rights group Amnesty International said Zarganar's detention was indicative of the kinds of human rights concerns the group was trying to highlight in Burma.
"There's simply no doubt this was done for political reasons ... but has an extra element because it can presumed to be linked to the humanitarian assistance effort," Amnesty researcher Benjamin Zawacki said.

In a report, Amnesty International cited several cases of forced labor in exchange for food in the delta and accused the regime of stepping up a campaign to evict the homeless from shelters.
The London-based group also said authorities in several cyclone-hit areas continue to divert aid despite the junta's pledge to crack down on the practice.

"Unless human rights safeguards are observed, tens of thousands of people remain at risk," Amnesty said in its report. "Respect for human rights must be at the center of the relief effort."
The government says Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma May 2-3, killed 78,000 people and left an additional 56,000 missing. The UN says more than 1 million still desperately need food, shelter or medical care.

This week, Zarganar gave interviews to several overseas media outlets, including the British Broadcasting Corp, that were critical of the government relief effort.

The junta is sensitive to being embarrassed abroad and has a record of persecuting people who give interviews to foreign media.

In an interview with the Thailand-based magazine Irrawaddy, Zarganar said he and more than 400 entertainers in Burma had volunteered to aid cyclone victims, making many trips to the delta.
Some areas, he said, had neither been reached by the government nor international relief agencies.