Organizers of the "Tawphayalay Aung Zay Memorial" literary awards were forced to change its venue on 24 February after Burmese authorities refused their request to use a local hotel as venue of the event.
The Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) Kyauktada Township in Rangoon did not give the organizers the permission to use a hotel in the area as venue.
"The hotel asked us to show an official permit for the event. Only the government's official Literary Organization is exempted from this requirement," Daw Davies Thant Zin, daughter of the late Tawphayalay, after whom the award was named, told Mizzima.
The event was instead held in the residence of Davies, with only 30 people in attendance, instead of the 100 who had been invited.
Davies said they staged the awards ceremony last year at Thamada (President) Hotel last year without asking for a permit. At the time, the government did not require literary events to ask for permit for their respective events.
The literary circle said that the government's refusal to issue a permit might be related to a book launching held in January this year which was attended by U Win Tin, who had been released from prison last year after spending 19 years in detention. He is also one of the leaders of the "National League for Democracy" (NLD).
Burmese authorities have been known to arrest literary writers and poets who write articles critical of the government. Magazines that publish these also get censored, if not penalized.
The government arrested in January 2008 a poet, Saw Wai, over his poem entitled "February 14". When the first letter of each line of his poem were put together, it said: "Power Crazy Than Shwe". Tan Shwe is a senior general in the junta.
Contents of publications are also routinely censored. In August last year, the Censor Board approved only five poems out of 16 submitted by the literary journal, "Cherry Magazine". The censors' decision was also so delayed that the magazine had to skip an issue and lose advertising revenue.
The organizers of "Tawphayalay Memorial Literary Prize" this year invited over 100 persons from the media and literary circles, including U Win Tin. The award has been given annually since 2007.
Tawphalay is the great grandson of the last Burmese monarch, King Thibaw and Queen Su Phaya Latt. He wrote some historical books, including "The New Generation Loved by the People", "Ngamauk Ruby in London" and "From Yadanbon to Ratnagiri". He died on 18 June 2006.
