• Burmese
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Deputy Minister Ye Htut in the Hot Seat Over Defamatory Anonymous Blog

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
July 4, 2013
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Deputy Minister Ye Htut in the Hot Seat Over Defamatory Anonymous Blog

A screen shot from Dr. Sate Phwar’s blog

5.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — An investigation into the identity of a high-profile anonymous blogger who criticized Parliament has cast a shadow over Burma’s Ministry of Information, with revelations of a secret ministry program aimed at discrediting political dissidents.

A parliamentary investigation of the blogger, who criticized the legislature for acting “above the law,” has uncovered separate evidence that the ministry secretly operated a radio program a few years ago to discredit democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratic dissidents.

The now-defunct “Padauk Land” radio program was directly controlled by former Information Minister Kyaw Hsan, according to a report by the investigation commission which was read to Parliament on Monday. A separate director was appointed for the radio program, whose contributors included the current deputy information minister, Ye Htut, who is also President Thein Sein’s spokesman.

RelatedPosts

Nowhere Are the Threats Facing Journalism More Real Than in Myanmar

Nowhere Are the Threats Facing Journalism More Real Than in Myanmar

May 3, 2025
755
From Resistance to Survival: Myanmar’s Free Press Battles US Aid Cuts

From Resistance to Survival: Myanmar’s Free Press Battles US Aid Cuts

April 28, 2025
1.3k
We Need Your Support—Your $5 Helps Keep The Irrawaddy’s Mission Alive

We Need Your Support—Your $5 Helps Keep The Irrawaddy’s Mission Alive

March 27, 2025
604

Ko Ko Hlaing, one of the president’s advisors, was another contributor on the show, the report added.

The commission’s findings suggest that the Ministry of Information was more aggressively involved than previously assumed in propaganda campaigns of the former military junta, which ceded power to Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government in 2011. The ministry under the junta also operated a censorship board and defamed political dissidents through state-owned media.

The findings have also raised speculations that although the ministry has disbanded its censorship board and pledged to transform its mouthpiece newspapers into public service media, it may still be actively bad-mouthing opposition leaders behind the scenes.

These speculations are further fueled by widespread allegations in the media and now by Parliament that Ye Htut, the deputy minister, could be behind the anonymous blog posts.

Although the parliamentary commission on Monday did not announce the identity of the blogger, known by the pen name Dr. Sate Phwar, the commission’s chairman said they found evidence that could implicate the deputy minister.

The commission interviewed officials from the ministry and the President’s Office as well as journalists from Eleven Media Group, a local news agency which had earlier reported on Ye Htut’s possible involvement in the blog.

The Daily Eleven, a daily newspaper published by Eleven Media, noted similarities in the writing styles of a website and Facebook account suspected to belong to Ye Htut when compared with Dr. Sate Phwar’s blog. Ye Htut, an active Facebook user, has an official account on the social media site where he often shares national news and government updates, but a separate anonymous account on the site also posts a real-time news feed about his activities and travels.

The anonymous Facebook account, registered as “Sit Aung,” stopped posting updates when the parliamentary commission began its investigation into Dr. Sate Phwar’s blog.

Ye Htut could not be reached for comment but has reportedly denied allegations that he or the ministry is responsible for the blog.

“If I were Dr. Sate Phwar, the Union Parliament would not need to form an investigation commission. I would go and tell them, ‘I am Dr. Sate Phwar and I wrote what I believe, and if you think I breached the laws then I am ready for a lawsuit,’” the deputy minister told The Myanmar Times newspaper in May, three months into the investigation.

The commission’s report described Dr. Sate Phwar’s blog post about Parliament as biased and said the writer “didn’t have the sense of duty to claim responsibility for it.”

“Although some evidence, including his writing style, revealed the identity of Dr. Sate Phwar, no-one came forward to identify himself as Dr. Sate Phwar while Parliament was investigating the case,” the report said.

On Monday, the commission chairman said that determining the identity of the blogger was beyond the commission’s capacity and they would seek technical assistance from Google to do so.

The Union Parliament speaker also accepted an apology posted on the blog and warned the blogger not to continue writing biased, defamatory posts.

“Anyone found guilty of committing that kind of crime can be charged with the 2004 Electronic Transactions Law and defamation under Article 500 of the Penal Code,” Thein Nyunt, a lawmaker and lawyer, told The Irrawaddy.

The Electronic Transactions Law, which was promulgated by the former military regime, allows for up to 15 years in prison for Internet users who receive, send or distribute any information which threatens or disturbs state security, law and order, community peace, national solidarity, the national economy or national culture.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Media
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

Elon Musk Calls for Closure of Radio Free Europe, Voice of America
World

Elon Musk Calls for Closure of Radio Free Europe, Voice of America

by Naung Naung
February 10, 2025
7.1k

The billionaire’s call to shut down the US-funded media organizations, which reach hundreds of millions of people globally, follows his...

Read moreDetails
Illustration entitled ‘Rebellious Reporters’ by Harn Lay for The Irrawaddy.
Specials

Our Fight For Press Freedom

by The Irrawaddy
May 3, 2024
103.4k

To mark World Press Freedom Day, The Irrawaddy presents a compendium of its articles on press freedom and the repression...

Read moreDetails
Burma

Myanmar Junta Rages Against E. Timor President After Defection Call

by The Irrawaddy
December 14, 2023
5.2k

The regime’s newspapers were filled with tirades against José Ramos-Horta after he urged junta troops to defect, and its backers...

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: Football Field Dreams Amid Battlefield Disasters; Regime Propaganda’s Parallel Reality; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Football Field Dreams Amid Battlefield Disasters; Regime Propaganda’s Parallel Reality; and More

by The Irrawaddy
January 20, 2024
4.5k

Also this week, China appeased after Taiwan election, forced recruitment as resistance threatens to decouple main cities, power plea for...

Read moreDetails
Reclaiming Autonomy: Challenging the Narrative of Fragmentation in Myanmar
Guest Column

Reclaiming Autonomy: Challenging the Narrative of Fragmentation in Myanmar

by Zung Ring
June 18, 2024
2.6k

The media’s increasing obsession with ‘national disintegration’ is playing into the junta’s hands and threatening progress toward peaceful federalism.

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: Propaganda Boosted to Drown Out Military Defeats; Drone Phobia Grips Regime; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Propaganda Boosted to Drown Out Military Defeats; Drone Phobia Grips Regime; and More

by The Irrawaddy
November 25, 2023
2.3k

Also over the past seven days, Min Aung Hlaing failed to boost morale in battered army, while the junta tried...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Tensions Escalate Between UWSA and Govt Troops

Tensions Escalate Between UWSA and Govt Troops

At Rangoon Mosque

At Rangoon Mosque, Buddhist Monks Accept Alms and Discuss Tolerance

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

6 days ago
1.3k
Myanmar Junta Blacklists 200 Firms for Dodging Hard Currency Grab

Myanmar Junta Blacklists 200 Firms for Dodging Hard Currency Grab

1 week ago
1.3k

Most Read

  • Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Starves Last Rakhine Strongholds as AA Closes In

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Trains Staff on Electronic Voting Machines Across the Country

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.