Myanmar loses an instrumental voice for independent journalism

U Soe Thein (Maung Wuntha), President of the Myanmar Journalist Association (MJA) and vice-president of the Myanmar Periodical Council passed away on 11 August in Yangon after succumbing to lung cancer

U Soe Thein, also known under his pen name Maung Wuntha, was an inspiring and instrumental intellectual voice for independent journalism in Myanmar. When the country’s interim Press Council was founded in 2012, Maung Wuntha took a leading role in fighting for press freedom in Burma.

U Soe Thein entered journalism in the 1960s, working for government newspapers. According to the Irriwaddy newspaper, he was forced to resign as editor of the Botahtaung daily newspaper for his active participation in Burma’s 1988 pro-democracy uprising. A former member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), he was imprisoned for several years after winning a seat in Burma’s 1990 parliamentary elections, the results of which were ignored by the ruling military regime of the time.

IMS was fortunate to work closely with U Soe Thein and benefit from his support and forward-looking vision for a free media that went beyond commercial issues that many are focusing on at the moment. His death is a serious loss for journalism and Freedom of Expression in Myanmar.