Myo Thant

Brigadier-General Myo Thant (Burmese: မျိုးသန့်) was a senior member of the military government of Burma in the 1990s, holding the position of Minister of Information.

Myo Thant
မျိုးသန့်
Minister of Information
Succeeded byMajor-General Aye Kyaw
Personal details
Died22/02/2002
Military service
RankBrigadier-General

Minister of Information

On 28 May 1992 the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) named Brigadier-General Myo Thant, Minister of Information, Deputy Chairman of the Steering Committee for the Convening of the National Convention, or National Convention Convening Commission (NCCC).[1]

In February 1993 Brigadier General Myo Thant said that the military government would only consider the release of Aung San Suu Kyi after she had served five years of house arrest. This was the longest time that anyone could be detained without charge under Myanmar law.[2]

In October 1994 Myo Thant gave instructions to the Video Censorship Board to increase censorship of locally-made and imported videos. He said "National culture has been badly damaged due to the easy availability of uncensored foreign video features".[3] 11 November 1994, Brigadier General Myo Thant met with the United Nations' Special Rapporteur Yozo Yokota. They discussed the democratization process and the National Convention. The minister accepted copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the English language, with an unofficial translation in the Burmese language. However, he did not as agreed circulate the declaration to National Convention delegates.[4]

Later career

On 17 June 1995 Brigadier-General Myo Thant was reassigned to SLORC Chairman's office, and was replaced by Major-General Aye Kyaw as Minister of Information.[5] On 7 December 1997 Brigadier-General Myo Thant was removed from the NCCC.[6] Myo Thant was included in a list issued on 21 October 2002 by the European Union of members and former members of the military regime who were subject to a visa ban and freezing of funds.[7]

References
  1. "SLORC Notification No. 35/92 of May 28, 1992: Formation of the Steering Committee for Holding Co-ordination Meeting for the Convening of the National Convention". Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  2. "MYANMAR (BURMA): Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (female)". Amnesty International. 7 May 1993. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  3. Martin Smith (March 1995). "CENSORSHIP PREVAILS: POLITICAL DEADLOCK AND ECONOMIC TRANSITION IN BURMA" (PDF). ARTICLE 19. ISBN 1-870798-77-5.
  4. Yozo Yokota (12 January 1995). "Report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar". Meeting with the Minister of Information. United Nations. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  5. "SLORC CABINET RESHUFFLES". SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. 17 June 1995. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  6. "Burmese Regime Removes Foes From NC". Reuters. 7 December 1997. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  7. "COUNCIL COMMON POSITION of 21 October 2002 amending and extending Common Position 96/635/CFSP on Burma/Myanmar". European Union. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
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