 |
|
|
Myanmar / Burma:
Music under siege
Music has provided a rallying point for the masses during political upheavals in Burma, just as it has elsewhere in South-East Asia. It has served as a potent response to the rapid political and social displacements brought on by neocolonialism, industrialization and dictatorship.
By Aung Zaw
|
|
|
Music has provided a rallying point for the masses during political upheavals in Burma, just as it has elsewhere in South-East Asia. It has served as a potent response to the rapid political and social displacements brought on by neocolonialism, industrialization and dictatorship.
Yet simultaneously, music has been appropriated to serve the Establishment by strengthening national cohesion, promoting entrenched power structures and spreading selected values and information to the multitudes.
Thanks to governments tolerant of criticism and Western musical styles, many musicians now enjoy freedom in their own countries. But musicians in the many Asian countries controlled by dictatorships have been silent for decades. Burma is one such country, where musicians and songwriters face severe censorship.
The text above is the introduction of Chapter 6 in the book 'Shoot the Singer' which tells the in-depth story about music censorship in Burma.
Read / print the chapter:
 Chapter 6 in full (23 pages in A4 PDF format)
Banned in Burma
Burma has a long history of music censorship. After seizing power in 1962, the military quickly moved to ban clubs featuring Western-style music. In the 1970's, the Central Registration Board officially barred:
• anything detrimental to the Burmese socialist programme;
• anything detrimental to the ideology of the state;
• anything detrimental to the socialist economy;
• anything which might be harmful to national unity and solidarity;
• anything which might be harmful to security, the rule of law, peace and public order;
• any incorrect ideas and opinions which do not accord with the times;
• any descriptions which, though factually correct, are unsuitable because of the time or the circumstances of their writing;
• any obscene (pornographic) writing;
• any writing which would encourage crimes and unnatural cruelty and violence;
• any non-constructive criticism of the work of government departments;
• any libel or slander of any individual.
|
|
Chapter 6 in 'Shoot the Singer' focuses on Burma
Imprisoned: Musician Zaw Win Htut
Banned: Sai Htee Saing
|
About the book 'Shoot the Singer'
Edited by Freemuse's Executive Director, Marie Korpe, published by Zed Books, London, in May 2004 with a CD included.
The book was published in Finnish in 2005 and in Italian in 2007. Furthermore, editions in Russian and Spanish are to be published in near future.
Freemuse has donated 300 copies of the book to selected libraries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Read more about the book...
|
|
Order the book
|
 |
| Related reading |
| Myanmar/Burma: Musician Win Maw arrested |
| International PEN calls for immediate release of Burmese musician Win Maw, arrested in November 2007 and is said to be seriously ill as a result of torture in detention. |
| 15 May 2008 |
|
| Myanmar/Burma: Flow of secret music files |
| Exiled Burmese musicians develop alternative communication channels, and their music is being smuggled across borders and distributed secretly within Burma via the internet |
| 27 September 2007 |
|
| Myanmar/Burma: Music under siege |
| Music provides a rallying point for the masses during political upheavals in Burma. An excerpt from the book 'Shoot the Singer': Chapter 6 |
| 28 October 2005 |
|
| Myanmar/Burma: Conscripted for Karaoke |
| Promoting the Burmese governments National Convention, three famous singers are singing a jingle on tv — but news indicate that they were conscripted into singing and possibly blackmailed by authorities |
| 14 June 2004 |
|
| Shoot the Singer! Book |
| "Shoot the Singer! Music Censorship Today". The first worldwide presentation of contemporary cases of music censorship, with cases from i.a. Burma, Mexico, Middle East, France, Algeria, Zimbabwe, USA, South Africa, Turkey. Edited by Freemuse director Marie Korpe, published by Zed Books, May 2004. |
| 25 May 2004 |
|
|
|
|
