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Myanmar activist files defamation suit against media

A pro-democracy activist has filed a defamation suit against more than 120 editors and publishers of local journals who published personal attacks against her, including linking her to a pimp, she said yesterday.

Naw Ohn Hla, a 45-year-old former member of the National League for Democracy, said that she filed the case on Friday in response to "vitriolic articles" against her in 30 private publications. She is to appear in court on Feb. 13.

Naw Ohn Hla said some of the articles linked her to a well-known, now deceased pimp from an area of Yangon where she lives.

Naw Ohn Hla is one of a dozen women who visit Yangon's famous Shwedagon pagoda every Tuesday to pray for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in prison or under house arrest for 11 of the last 17 years. She is also involved in other political activities.

The junta says commentaries published in the state-run media and private journals do not represent the government's opinion. Yet, private journals say they are subjected to rigid control and come under intense pressure from the junta to publish articles favoring the government.

The editor of one local journal, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of official reprisal, said, "We don't want to carry such nasty articles in the paper, but we are forced to allot space for [such] articles provided by the government."

Myanmar's state-run media often carries articles lashing out at opponents of the military regime, ranging from Suu Kyi and student activists within the country to US President George W. Bush and South Africa's Desmond Tutu.
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