Press out of Myanmar shadows

Prior to August 20, reporters could often be found wearing political T-shirts that said "Stop killing press."

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- It was "censorship day," the 20th of the month, the day Nyein Nyein Naing, executive director of Myanmar's Seven Days News Journal, takes her stories to a government office for pre-publication scrutiny.

Normally, a report on refugees fleeing from the conflict-ravaged Kachin state would not be accepted. Its distribution would most likely result in jail time for the author and suspension of the journal.

But August 20 was a new day for Myanmar, the day the government rescinded repressive media censorship laws that had hindered and intimidated the country's journalists for decades. Still, Naing had her concerns.

After nearly 50 years under the auspices of autocracy, Myanmar is shifting from the tough economic, social and political policies that have shrouded the sovereign state in global isolation.

Is now a good time to visit Myanmar?

Since President Thein Sein's inauguration as Myanmar's first civilian leader in half a century, the light of significant freedoms has emerged from the fog of Myanmar's military rule.

Freedom of the press is stressed as "one of the most important reforms in the long run" by Suzanne Dimaggio, vice president of global policy programs at Asia Society, a nonprofit organization that aims to strengthen ties between the United States and Asia. Yet, according to her, it's "not quite completely open, but it's certainly moving in that direction."

U.S. President Barack Obama voiced similar views, as his historic trip to Myanmar, also known as Burma, brought not only praise for the recent reforms, but also encouragement for the "greater progress that needs to be made in the future," as he put it.

View post:
Press out of Myanmar shadows