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 "Twilight Over Burma: My Life as a Shan Princess", directed
by Austrian filmmaker Sabine Derflinger, was pulled from the
opening night of the Human Rights Human Dignity International
Film Festival in Yangon on Tuesday, after being rejected by the
censorship board.
The film tells the true story of Inge Sargent, an Austrian woman
who married Sao Kya Seng, a prince - or saopha - of Myanmar's
Shan ethnic minority.
Sao Kya Seng, who pushed for land reform and was active in Shan
politics, was detained by the military following a 1962 coup.
His subsequent death has never been fully explained.
"There are certain criteria used for censoring Myanmar films. An
important point is that issues that can affect unity among
national races shouldn't be allowed," Myo Myint Maung, the
deputy permanent secretary at the ministry of information, told
Reuters, referring to the country's ethnic groups.
Separatist and autonomy-seeking guerrillas from several
minorities battled the central government for decades, sowing
deep distrust between the army, which is dominated by members of
the majority Bamar, or Burman, community.
Guerrillas and human rights groups have also long complained of
rights abuses by the army. The army denied abuses and for
decades portrayed itself as the only institution capable of
holding the diverse country together.
"The censor board found 'Twilight Over Burma' can cause disunity
among national races so they decided by vote that this film
shouldn't be allowed for public showing," Myo Myint Maung said.
Derflinger, the filmmaker, did not respond to a request for
comment.
NEW WINE, OLD BOTTLES
A festival organiser, Mon Mon Myat, said the cancellation showed
the limits of change in Myanmar, which has undergone reform
since 2011 when the military stepped back from direct rule for
the first time in nearly half a century, paving the way for a
2015 election won by democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi.
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 "The reason is they don't want to show the bad image of the
military, so we have so-called human rights," Mon Mon Myat told
an audience that included activists, journalists and Tin Oo,
party patron of Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy.
"We cannot touch the issue if it is related to the military, and
if it is related to religion, this is reality," she said.
A truck of police officers was parked in front of the cinema
where the film had been due to be shown on Tuesday night, and
remained there on Wednesday.
In 2014, a documentary dealing with an outbreak of violence
between Buddhists and minority Muslims a year earlier was pulled
from the festival, drawing sharp criticism from rights groups.
Sai Aung Lwin, a prominent Shan journalist, said screening "Twilight
Over Burma" was an important step in addressing the past.
"This film should definitely be allowed to be shown in public so
that we can learn lessons from it for our future," he said.
The irony that the film was censored by the government formed by the
NLD, a party whose many members sacrificed years in prison for
freedom of expression, was not lost on the organizers of the event.
Mon Mon Myat drew laughter and applause as she explained why the
movie would not be shown.
"We have new wine, but in the old bottles."
(Editing by Robert Birsel)
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