Testimony by VOA Burmese Service Chief Before Congressional Human Rights Caucus
In an appearance this afternoon before a special session on Burma of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Voice of America (VOA) Burmese service chief Than Lwin Htun said that the situation in Burma is “anything but normal.”
“Just this morning,” he continued, “residents in Mandalay, the second largest city in Burma, told us many monks who participated in streets protests were picked up at night from their monasteries. A Burmese news journal editor told us that many journalists were stopped on the streets and their cells phones and digital cameras were searched.”
Than Lwin Htun went on to say, “(The Voice of America) tell(s) the world what is happening inside Burma. And we do our best to let all Burmese citizens know that they are not alone. We are proud to be able to empower the people of Burma with accurate news about how the world is responding to events inside Burma. We feel our reporting sustains the hope that they need to keep alive so that when their day finally arrives, they will prevail.”
Full text of Than Lwin Htun’s statement follows.
The Voice of America has increased Burmese language broadcasts from one and a half hours to three hours a day in response to the Burmese government