RANGOON — Amid a flurry of speculation and rumor about Burma’s ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) after two of its top leaders were unceremoniously ousted on Wednesday night, the party’s private media house has been indefinitely shut down.
The Union Daily newspaper, with a circulation of about 10,000 for its morning print edition, was suddenly discontinued as news broke that police had surrounded the party headquarters while Speaker Shwe Mann, the former party chairman, and Maung Maung Thein, the party’s general secretary, were deposed.
An announcement on the paper’s official Facebook page on Thursday said that publication would cease as of Friday, missing what was perhaps one of Burma’s most politically eventful news cycles of the pre-election year.
When contacted by The Irrawaddy on Thursday, a reporter for the daily, who wished to remain anonymous, said staff were not briefed on the sudden suspension and were “shocked.” The reporter declined to comment on how the closure was related to the events of Wednesday night.
