The Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM) has beensuccessfully launched to address issues related to local, national andinternational news about Myanmar.

The second conference for the establishment of IPCM was organised from 20 to 22December at a location in Thailand, where a total of 77 participants werepresent. The participants included 37 representatives from the local andforeign independent Myanmar media outlets as well as freelance journalists.

A total of 10 members were elected to IPCM, with Nan Paw Gay, editor-in-chiefof Karen Information Center (KIC) as the chairperson. U Naing Ko Ko Zaw,editor-in-chief of Than Lwin Times, was elected as its vice-chairman and U ToeZaw Latt as the secretary. Two members were elected to the positions of jointsecretary and treasurer.

Following the conference, it was announced that thediscussions highlighted on  promoting media freedom in Myanmar, security& protection of journalists, formulation & enforcement of media ethics,capacity building to deal with legal formalities with regional andinternational media councils.

The objectives of establishing an independent Myanmar media council, draftingand approving the regulations (draft), electing executive committee members,and discussing and approving the forthcoming processes of the media councilwere achieved.

Furthermore, IPCM chairperson  Nan Paw Gay statedthat the Myanmar Press Council (MPC) under the military council will be deemedas an illegal council, and the IPCM will function as an independent mediacouncil.

"We are committed to upholding media ethics andestablishing an effective complaint mechanism. Also, our focus includesadvocating for the safety and protection of all journalists, both male andfemale, across various regions. We are dedicated to advancing media freedom inMyanmar and fostering collaboration on media freedom with the neighbouring and international media groups," she added.

The democratically established IPCM is the officialmedia council representing independent media, ethnic media, and regional media.The  participants in the conference unanimously agreed that the MPC willbe termed as an illegal organization as it does not represent independentMyanmar media outlets. 

The participants also called for an immediate and unconditional release of alljournalists detained by the military council. Following the military coup inMyanmar on 1 February  2021, the military arrested over a hundredjournalists. Among them, four journalists were killed, and 68 individuals stillremain behind the bars.

The first conference was organised  in August with theparticipation from over 50 media organizations.