RANGOON — A new 24-hour international TV news channel will go on air in Burma next month, according to sources at the Ministry of Information.
Named Myanmar International, the English-language channel is a joint-venture between the Ministry of Information and Shwe Than Lwin Co. Ltd, a large enterprise closely linked to Burma's military generals.
The channel will reportedly operate as a modified version of the unsuccessful MRTV-3 which was intended for countering the international media coverage of Burma.
The new channel will begin broadcasting on Mar. 27––Burma's Armed Forces Day––and will feature both Burmese and foreign hosts and news anchors, the source said.
Myanmar International will cover not only the political situation in Burma, but also programs related to Burmese customs and the traditions of the various ethnic groups, as well as the country's natural scenery and environment, he said.
“The ministry has directed us to develop this channel along the lines of CCTV, BBC and Al Jazeera,” said a TV staffer in Naypyidaw.
According to an ministry source, TV series and other entertainment programs will also be aired, but these will be on a pay-per-view basis.
Shwe Than Lwin currently runs two Shwe FM radio channels, which cover Pegu Division, Mon State, Karen State and Tenasserim Division.
The junta has recently allotted permits to companies to establish FM radio stations to counter the BBC and exiled radio stations broadcasting in Burmese language, such as Radio Free Asia and the Democratic Voice of Burma.
The chairman of the Shwe Than Lwin Company is junta crony Kyaw Win. The company has concessions to import motor vehicles, construction materials and heavy machinery to Burma. It also engages in business with ethnic insurgent groups, especially the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which reached a cease-fire agreement with the regime in 1994-5.
Shwe Than Lwin is one of the few companies allowed to import coconut cooking oil and it is also involved in cement and agricultural projects in Irrawaddy Division, and is the sole distributor of tires from the Thaton Tire Industry, under the Ministry of Industry 2.
In July last year, the company was at the center of an inauspicious incident when it was in charge of renovating the landmark Danok Pagoda in Rangoon's Dalla Township. The 2,300-year-old pagoda collapsed, killing at least 20 persons and injuring about 150.
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