Myanmar Press Council held their monthly regular press conference at their office in Botahtaung Township, Yangon, yesterday.

MPC Chairman Hanthawaddy U Ohn Kyaing first gave a few remarks. He said MPC successfully organized the seminar of the Yangon Region government and the four pillars of democracy which resulted in the region’s departments holding weekly press conferences or when an occasion for one arises.

He said the Yangon City Development Committee has arranged to hold press conferences on their work and the Chief Justice of the High Court of the Region has appointed judges in township courses as spokesperson to allow journalists to gather news directly with the judicial pillar, adding that the judges’ phone numbers have been provided for contact.

The regional Hluttaw office has also made arrangements for journalists to gather news freely, said the MPC Chairman. He said they are collaborating with the Union Election Commission to make newsgathering easier in the upcoming 2020 General Elections. He said they will provide additional verification stamps on journalists’ identity cards in the Yangon Region.

Next, MPC Secretary U Kyaw Swar Min explained the reason for holding the press conference, arrangements for safety and protection of journalists, and the reports submitted to MPC.

Following this, Media Ethics and Development Committee Chairperson Daw Tin Tin Thar spoke of how her committee will issue a notification concerning fake news, urge news application developers to subscribe the news from media outlets for redistribution, uncover those who breach media ethics, open a basic course in journalism, and compile a list of journalists starting from this month. Afterwards, the MPC members responded to journalists present during the Q&A session. MPC will regularly hold their monthly press conference during the first week of the month. —Zaw Gyi (Translated by Zaw Htet Oo)