"Burma remains one of the most heavily censored states in the world. The main instrument of day-to-day censorship continues to be the Printers and Publishers Registration Law of 1962. Introduced shortly after the military coup which brought Gen. Ne Win and his newly-formed BSPP to power, the law has been repeatedly expanded in scope and severity over the years, including by the present SLORC government. Currently, all books, magazines, periodicals, songs and films must be submitted under this law to the Press Scrutiny Board (PSB) prior to being printed or, in some cases, distributed. Books, for example, must be submitted to the PSB before printing and again afterwards to check that no changes have been made, whereas magazines, which must be legally registered, are required to take the more risky method of submitting copies for censorship only after they have been printed. Under the 1985 Video Law, all videos must also be submitted to the Video Censorship Board (which comes under the Film Censorship Board) for pre-publication scrutiny, reflecting the authorities? nervousness about the rapid proliferation of this form of expression..." Contents: 1 Overview of Recent Events; 2 Continuing Mechanisms of Censorship; 3 New Developments in the State Media; 4 Alternative Expression and the Private Sector Media; 4.1 Business Publications; 4.2 Film and Video; 4.3 Literary Rallies; 5 The SLORC?s Political Reform Process; 6 Academic Freedom and Education; 7 Constraints on Freedom of Association and Movement; 8 Ethnic Minority Languages and Literature; 9 Foreign Media and Non-Governmental Organizations; 10 Conclusion and Recommendations. Appendix: Writers and Political Activists Imprisoned for the Peaceful Expression of Their Opinions.