| Broadcast area | Myanmar |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Yangon |
| Programming | |
| Language | Burmese |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | DVB Multimedia Group |
| History | |
| Launched | 28 May 2005; 20 years ago (2005-05-28) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
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| Type | Broadcastradio andtelevision |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Availability | National International Burma |
Key people | Executive Director/Chief Editor Aye Chan Naing |
Launch date | July 1992 (radio) May 28, 2005 (television) |
Official website | www.dvb.no |
| Part of a series on the |
| Democracy movements inMyanmar |
|---|
The fighting peacock flag |
| Background |
| Mass protests |
| Development |
| Elections |
| Organizations |
| Figures |
| Related topics |
TheDemocratic Voice of Burma (Burmese:ဒီမိုကရေတစ်မြန်မာ့အသံ, abbreviatedDVB) is one ofMyanmar's largest independent media organisations. DVB was founded as a non-profit media organization based inOslo,Norway andChiang Mai,Thailand. Run by Burmese expatriates, it maderadio andtelevision broadcasts aimed at providing uncensored news and information aboutBurma. Since 2012, DVB gradually moved back into Burma, where it became one of the country's largest and most well-respected TV broadcasters. In March 2021, the organisation was banned by Burma's military dictatorship and moved back underground.
In July 1992, DVB began broadcasting programming into Burma from studios in Oslo, Norway and transmitting viashortwave radio from the Norwegian transmitter atKvitsoy. Now the broadcast is sent viasatellite and free-to-airdigital TV.
On 28 May 2005, DVB expanded its programming and began satellite television broadcasts into the country. The organization stated that it hoped to reach some ten million Burmese through this new effort (which it claims is the first free and independentBurmese language television channel), which was funded in part bynon-governmental organizations such as Free Voice of the Netherlands, theNational Endowment for Democracy, and the Freedom of Expression Foundation.[1]
In 2012, DVB started multimedia operations inside Myanmar openly, running a branch office with its former underground VJs. On 24 March 2018, DVB started broadcasting ondigital terrestrial television onMRTVDVB-T2 multiplex system.
After the2021 Myanmar coup d'état, the Burmese military junta began systematically cracking down on freedom of speech within the country. On 8 March, DVB—along with four other networks (Myanmar Now,Mizzima News,Khit Thit Media, and7Day News)—was banned by the junta.[2] The arrests and torture of journalists is an ongoing theme of Burma's 2021 military coup. Thus far, five DVB staff have been detained or arrested following violent abductions carried out by the Burmese military.
In the first half of 2021, the police in Thailand arrested three journalists. They faced the charge of illegal entry into Thailand.[3]
DVB's work has been used by international news networks.Myanmar's Military Ambitions, an exposé of the Burmese military's nuclear ambition, was broadcast byAl Jazeera in 2011. The PBS documentaryEyes of the Storm is an account of 2008'sCyclone Nargis, shot largely by DVB film makers. The Oscar-nominated documentary,Burma VJ, recounts the experiences of DVB reporters during Burma's 2007 Saffron Revolution.
DVB states that it has four primary goals: