Media group urges repeal of laws, more reforms in Myanmar
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Myanmar should repeal laws and develop a code of conduct for journalists to ensure further progress amid an opening in the country's long-closed media, Reporters Without Borders said.
The Paris-based media rights group was allowed to visit Myanmar for the first time as the nation formerly known as Burma undertakes major reforms, which have included an end to direct censorship by the government.
In a report, Reporters Without Borders said that no journalists or bloggers remained in Myanmar's prisons and that the reforms were initially seen as a "breath of fresh air" for private media.
"Confident that they could be a lot more outspoken, they tried to publish articles critical of the authorities but quickly discovered that the government's red lines had not retreated as much as they had imagined," said the report, released early Thursday in Paris.
