The Southern Myanmar Journalist Network has elected a new Central Executive Committee with 15 working committee members, nine of whom were elected as Executive Committee members.
They were elected by the participants of the SMJN Forum held at the Than Lwin Paradise Hotel in the Karen State capital of Hpa-an from 10 to 11 December.
The people elected to the Executive Committee are Ko Kyaw Soe as coordinator, Khun Win Aung (Karen State), Aung Myint Tun (Mon State) and Arkar Zaw (Tenasserim Region) as joint coordinators, Sann Moe Aung as financial officer, Nan Paw Gay as auditor, Ba Htoo for capacity building, Myo Myint Oo for networking, and Ko Zaw Zaw for freedom of information.
Ko Kyaw Soe said to KIC News: “Membership was low in the past so there wasn’t much cooperation. The re-organisation has become more systematic, there is more responsibility and accountability so, I believe we will be able to open up a new path within the two-year term.”
The participants at the forum also discussed regional media development and decided that the SMJN would continue to work on networking, capacity building programmes and freedom of information, according to a statement released at the end of the forum.
The SMJN also urged local governments to recognise that it is an independent organisation trying to represent all the journalists in Karen and Mon states and in Tenasserim Region in southern Burma.
The Karen State Auditor General, Saw Hla Tun, who was attending the forum on behalf of the Karen State Chief Minister said on the first day of the forum: “The media is the fourth pillar, which is important for the country. As it is important, I want to urge the media to be impartial when covering news.”
The SMJN elects the Central Executive Committee and the Executive Committee every two years. The first elections for the posts were held in Mawlamyine, the Mon State capital, in December 2014.
The SMJN was established in July 2013.
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
