A number of Burmese cartoons were censored by the authorities this morning for allegedly violating policy. The cartoons were exhibited for a fund raising drive in an exhibition entitled 'Wakeup from Storm' for Cyclone Nargis victims.

Five officials of the Cartoon Exhibition Supervisory Committee under the Ministry of Information came and inspected the cartoons exhibited at 'Lawkanat' gallery in Pansodan Street, Rangoon this morning. They ordered the removal of four cartoons from a total of 146 cartoons drawn by 64 cartoonists.

"Two officers and three staff members came and poured over the cartoons for about two hours from 10:30 a.m. Then they ordered the removal of four cartoons and gave signed authorization certificates," one of the organizers of the fund raising exhibition, who wished not to be named, told Mizzima.

The censored cartoons were drawn by cartoonists Win Aung, October Aung Gyi and Aung Kaung. The organizers of the exhibition did not object to the censorship on the Cyclone Nargis theme before it was opened to the public, one of the cartoonists said.

"This is an usual phenomenon. Four or five cartoons are removed at every exhibition. It's not surprising. The officials order us to remove paintings and cartoons when they feel it violates their policy," he said.

"I saw three to four cartoons that were censored. It depicted the cyclone as a consequence of deforestation. The cartoons with such themes are considered excesses so they censored it," cartoonist Aupikye, one of the organizers, said.

Similarly the authorities imposed some restrictions on Rangoon based reporters who came to the Martyrs' Day ceremony on July 19 though these journalists and reporters were officially invited to the function, an editor from a weekly journal said on condition of anonymity.

"They invited us to attend the function, but we had to tell them what we would bring with us in advance along with the ID. They let us come and gather the news but didn't allow us to interview the guests attending the ceremony," he said.

"They didn't allow persons who came without official invitations to take photographs and ordered them to delete the photographs that they took at the ceremony," he added.

International media organizations have criticized the junta for its infamous censorships and news blackout which impairs media freedom and freedom of expression in Burma besides depriving people of the right to know about current news and events.