For those following the tumultuous career of the Australian media man Ross Dunkley – formerly in charge of both the Phnom Penh Post and the Myanmar Times – you might want to read this letter that he allegedly wrote to President Thein Sein in October 2011.
Journalist Nate Thayer posted it to his Facebook page today, claiming it was “leaked” to him. We could not independently verify its contents. It was also unclear if the letter had been published elsewhere before. Dunkley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Thayer writes that the letter “lays out the behind the scenes corrupt shenanigans that foreign businessmen, including news outlet owners, will cut with the most embarrassingly corrupt and inept dictatorships in Asia.”
Don’t know if we’d go that far, but it certainly is an extremely bizarre and questionable missive.
The only deal he seems to be cutting is offering support in exchange for a multiple-entry visa, though he spends a few pages getting to the point while effusively praising the leader appointed to lead Myanmar’s transition to democracy.
“It is with humility and sincerity that I write to you this day as the Editor-in-chief of the Myanmar Times. I wish you the courage of conviction and the greatest of success as the President of Myanmar and as a leader taking this nation into a new and exciting era,” the letter says.
That ‘all hail Caesar’ opening continues for several paragraphs, ending with this gem:
“I am always willing to serve your Excellency and your government in any way that you see fit.”
Doesn’t that seem like a lot to offer for a freaking visa?
“Your Excellency, I am in a poor situation in not being able to participate in media freedom and media development in Myanmar. Undue pressure in being brought upon me and many wrongs have been put on me,” the letter explains.
Dunkley was arrested in early 2011 and convicted to one month in prison on assault and immigration charges, though he was released because of time served. The letter obliquely links the inability to obtain the coveted multiple-entry visa – as opposed to single entry, which he did get – with the arrest.
All this will come as no big surprise to anyone who has taken an interest in Dunkley’s outlandish movements over the years.
In 2013, he was accused of assaulting the son-in-law of his then business partner Tin Tun Oo’s wife. You can read about that here in an “exclusive” Q&A published in…the Myanmar Times.
Dunkley also came under fire for appearing to limit coverage of the Rohingya issue in a controversial memo obtained by Foreign Policy. He told the magazine that the issue was internal and not up for “dissection.”
Businessman U Thein Tun, owner of Myanmar Golden Star, took over as majority shareholder in February of 2014, according to the paper.
Dunkley handed over management duties to CEO Tony Child in October. Child did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether Dunkley is still involved with the paper.
The Myanmar Times was co-founded by Dunkley in 2000. The paper was able to skirt the censorship board through a deal with military intelligence, a deal which fell apart after Dunkley’s then-partner Sonny Swe (now heading up Frontier Myanmar) was arrested in 2004 as part of a sweeping purge.
Photo of Dunkley outside court in Yangon in 2011 / AFP
