THE government has said that it plans to host a delegation of ASEAN journalists who will tour Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw from October 25 to 29.

The 18-member delegation – consisting of two media representatives from each of the nine ASEAN countries aside from Myanmar – will visit under the arrangement of the ASEAN Journalist Program Phase IV (2006-2007).

The program involves journalists from all ASEAN countries taking a tour of one designated member country each year.

According to the itinerary, organised by Myanma Radio and Television (MRTV) under the Ministry of Information, the visit will include stops at MRTV, Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association, Myanmar Consolidated Media (which publishes The Myanmar Times) and Shwedagon Pagoda on October 26.

“The Myanmar Times is the only private publication the delegation will visit,” said U Phone Myint, the director of MRTV’s administration department.

Mr Ross Dunkley, the CEO and editor-in-chief of The Myanmar Times, said discussions during the delegates’ visit to the newspaper would include a short history of the company, details about its journalist training program and an overview of the censorship process.

On October 27 the delegation will travel to Nay Pyi Taw to meet with the ministers for Education, Health, Information and National Planning and Economic Development.

U Phone Myint said the ministries were chosen so the delegates could gain insight into Myanmar’s development in those areas.

“The journalists are likely to ask questions on what they want to know about Myanmar during their visits to the ministries,” he told a meeting of officials from travel-related ministries on October 12.

“But we don’t expect them to raise tough questions because they will be representing their governments,” he added.

The delegation will return to Yangon on October 28, where participants will tour the National Races Village.

While in Yangon the journalists will stay at the recently renovated Hotel Yangon, located about 45 minutes by car from downtown, U Phone Myint said.
He added that they would also have some free time to wander around on their own the area where the hotel is located.

The delegation’s visit coincides with the imposition of a curfew in Yangon and Mandalay by the government, which at press time was from 11pm to 3am.

The visitors will also be in Myanmar during the Thadingyut festival of lights, which lasts from October 25 to 27 and marks the day the Buddha returned to earth after spending the three lenten months in Tavatimsa (abode of celestial beings) delivering a sermon.