There are known knowns, as former US Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld put it, and there are known unknowns. And in Myanmar state media, there are often only the latter.
The Ministry of Information, in a piece of state semantics almost as a oblique as the classic Bush administration example, today proclaimed it has new arrangements for the release of information, presumably to make the government appear more transparent.
The problem? The statement itself contained no information.
State mouthpiece the Global New Light of Myanmar carried an article saying that Minister Ye Htut had hosted a meeting about the improvement of dissemination of information from government.
The Irrawaddy reported Tuesday that 45 journalists had been accepted into a so-called ‘President’s Press Corps’. They have been invited to attend press briefings given by presidential spokesmen and cabinet members each day between 10am and noon, the newspaper reported.
The corps will include the Myanmar correspondent for Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. One local journalist was reportedly rejected as he was involved in a court case.
As for the rest? More muddling through news like the Global New Light story, which featured the word ‘information’ in all but one sentence but failed to give any details about the meeting.
Below is the whole article. Prepare to be confused.
“A coordination meeting on release of information took place at the Ministry of Information on Monday.
“Union Minister for Information U Ye Htut explained arrangements for the President’s office and ministries to release information.
“Director U Zaw Htayn of the President Office [sic] explained release of information. The Union Minister replied to queries raised by media persons.”
