One of the things Myanmar is severely lacking is free speech.

In this article we have Muslims being banned from political office:

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/10/myanmar-muslim-free-election-151024182312301.html

Next, we have Amnesty International complaining about the Unity 5 or 5 banned imprisoned journalists for merely speaking the truth:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2015/04/journalists-silenced-in-myanmar-free-the-unity-five/

On World Press Freedom Day we remind the government of their promises to foster a free press and demand freedom for the ‘Unity Five’.

“What I want is more media freedom.” These are the words of Tint San, Chief Executive Officer at the Unity newspaper in Myanmar during his trial. His crime? Doing his job.

In January 2014, weekly newspaper Unity published an article about an alleged secret chemical weapons factory in Magwe Region, central Myanmar. Reporting that the factory was built in 2009 on land that was confiscated from farmers.

The government was quick to deny the story and responded by seizing copies of the newspaper. But worse was to come. Within days, Tint San and four journalists Lu Maw Naing, Yarzar Oo, Paing Thet Kyaw and Sithu Soe, were arrested…..

Jerome Larkin would be proud. Citizens arrested in a banana republic for telling state secrets on how their government poisons the populace with deadly chemicals .  While the Myanmar government refuses to fund food, clothing, medical care or education for the populace, it wastes money on the military and on containing deadly chemicals.  The release of waste of vast amounts of “military” money always seems to fall under “state secrets.”  The production of vast amounts of deadly chemicals–for whatever reason–also seems to fall under “state secrets.”

Likewise, somehow the publication of vast amounts of attys and judges acting badly in court and not following the law falls under the Jerome Larkin umbrella of “code of silence”–a secret society that must be protected at all costs.

The Unity 5 were just doing their job when they were jailed, and likewise, when Ken Ditkowsky, I and Mr. Amu pointed out to the court there were obvious conflicts of interest, we were suspended for the necessary and evil “code of silence”–a code of silence that made it possible for Dorothy Brown to function for years screwing up the Cook County Court system with her brand of corruption.

JoAnne