Burma bans top journalists in a further show of defiance

Burma barred entry on Sunday to author and journalist Bertil Lintner, who had been invited to accompany a Swedish government delegation on a visit to Rangoon and the Burmese capital, Naypyidaw, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post.

Lintner, correspondent for the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, was one of three journalists invited by the Swedish government to join a delegation headed by Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson.

Lintner traveled on Saturday from his base in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, to join the delegation in Bangkok. The delegation told him yesterday his name had been struck from its list by the Burmese authorities, who gave no explanation.

Lintner, former Southeast Asia correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review, has written six books on Burma, beginning with the critically-acclaimed Land of Jade, an account of a journey by foot across northern Burma, from India to China. He has presided over conferences on Burma in Asia, Europe, the United States and Australia, and is regarded as one of the leading world authorities on the country.

The ban on his entry to Burma is regarded in journalistic and diplomatic circles as a further show of defiance by the Burmese regime in the face of mounting international anger and disgust at its policies, particularly during the current humanitarian crisis.

Last Wednesday, another leading Thailand-based author and journalist, Andrew Marshall, a British citizen, was deported from Burma with his American photographer. They were questioned by Burmese military security for several hours before being put aboard a plane for Bangkok. Earlier this month, a BBC correspondent was also refused entry to Burma at Rangoon airport.

The banning of the journalists does little to encourage those who are waiting anxiously to see whether the Burmese junta sticks to its promise - made to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last Thursday - to allow access to foreign aid workers. Donor nations agreed at the weekend to pledge £25m in aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis, but many nations said their donations depended on the Burmese letting aid workers into the Irrawaddy delta disaster area. The UN believes only a quarter of those people who need aid - up to 2.5m people - have so far received anything.

Talking to The First Post, Lintner said: "This all goes to show the reality behind the Burmese junta's promises to become more open to the international community. They're just empty promises."

FIRST POSTED MAY 26, 2008