M

yanmar’s government has threatened to sue a local news journal over a story that tested the limits of media freedom under civilian rulers by alleging corruption in several ministries.

The state-owned Myanma Alin daily said the Mines Ministry would take legal action against the
Voice Weekly, a leading private journal, for a story on an apparent misappropriation of funds that Alin said could “tarnish the image” of the ministry and “damage public confidence”.

Censorship of Myanmar’s media has eased in recent months after decades of tight control by successive military regimes, when many journalists were jailed and private publications were subjected to heavy screening that blocked all criticism of the government.

The Voice Weekly reported on Monday irregularities in the handling of hundreds of millions of kyat (hundreds of thousands of US dollars) by ministries, including the Mines Ministry, citing a leaked 36-page report by the auditor general that was given to parliamentarians last week.

The government is drafting a new media law and plans are in place to gradually relax censorship of weekly journals, of which there are about 150 in Myanmar, including 50 newsmagazines.

Images and stories about opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and interviews with public figures critical of the government — unheard of just a year ago — have got past the censors in recent months.

This has been welcomed by Western countries, which still impose sanctions on Myanmar and see a freer media as a gauge of the civilian government’s commitment to reform.

The Voice Weekly’s chief editor, Kyaw Min Swe, stood by the article on graft and said the journal had sufficient proof to run the story.

“We wouldn’t have reported such a sensitive thing without any concrete and authentic evidence,” he told Reuters.