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SLORC MULLING NEW WAYS TO DEAL WITH



Subject: SLORC MULLING NEW WAYS TO DEAL WITH MEDIA

Burma mulling new ways to deal with media 
07:34 a.m. May 12, 1997 Eastern 

By Deborah Charles 

BANGKOK, May 12 (Reuter) - Burma's military government, which has cancelled
its last two
monthly news conferences for foreign journalists, is mulling new ways of
dealing with the media, a
government official said on Monday. 

``We're hoping to come up with a new method,'' the official told Reuters by
telephone from
Rangoon. ``We want to find new methods of updating the flow of information.'' 

Last July, Burma heralded a new era of open communications when the
government's revamped
information committee announced it would hold regular news briefings at the
beginning of each
month for local and visiting foreign correspondents. 

The idea was to give journalists -- especially from foreign organisations
who were not allowed
regular access to the country -- easier access to developments in Burma, the
ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC) had said. 

Burma's official press regularly attacks the foreign media for reports
critical of the military
government. 

But the government cancelled briefings for April and May. 

The official said on Monday he was not sure if the briefings would be
cancelled altogether or if they
would just be changed. 

``We have been told that there is a lot of good information coming from the
briefings but sometimes
it is old news,'' he said. ``So we are finding ways and means to change this.'' 

Analysts and diplomats say the SLORC is unhappy with the anti-government
news that is published
while foreign media are in Burma for the monthly briefings. 

The visits give foreign reporters virtually the only chance to talk with
opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi. She is usually unreachable since her telephone line is often cut. 

The monthly briefings, often the only time foreign reporters are given visas
to enter Burma, also
have coincided with several uprisings or unrest related to the opposition
movement. 

Last September, supporters of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD)
held impromptu
gatherings on street corners after authorities put barricades around the
Nobel laureate's house to
keep her from giving her regular weekend speeches. 

Analysts and diplomats said the presence of international media and
television cameras emboldened
the NLD supporters to gather near the barricades, despite several arrests
and allegations of beatings
of some supporters. 

In December, just days before the monthly briefing, thousands of students
took to the streets in
series of rare protests against the government. 

After pictures and stories were sent around the world, the SLORC became wary
of the media
presence, and accusations against journalists and news organisations
increased in state-run media.
REUTER