"... As in years past, freedom of expression in the arts was met with stringent censorship. The regime imprisoned poet Saw Wai for publishing a Valentine?s Day poem with a hidden message denouncing General Than Shwe. The editor of the magazine Cherry, Htay Aung, was dismissed for publishing a poem about the ancient history of Depayin that could have been construed as a reference to the 2003 Depayin Massacre, which targeted National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders and supporters. The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) censorship board also banned popular American film, Rambo, which denounced the violence of the regime. The Internet, televised media, and printed press also continued to be strictly censored throughout 2008. During Cyclone Nargis and in its aftermath, the regime prevented the unaffected regions of the country from obtaining accurate information on the destruction and humanitarian crisis. The SPDC not only restricted access to the cyclone hit regions, banning the use of cameras or video recorders, but they also limited the print media to releasing positive images of the regime handing out food and supplies and providing shelter. While the regime has always censored access to the Internet, for the first time in 2008, authorities arrested blogger Nay Phone Latt for his reporting on the September 2007 Saffron Revolution. In November of 2008, he received a sentence of 20 and half years in prison. All media continued to be subject to the publishing guidelines of the Press Scrutiny Board. Publishers and artists must submit their work to the censorship board in advance of dissemination and then wait for comments and exclusions. Once it has been reworked, the final product must be approved a second time by the board, before it goes to the public. Such a lengthy process has made self-censorship the more convenient option amongst weekly news journals. It has also prevented the immediate release of relevant information, as was the case with delayed coverage of the cyclone and referendum. Understandably, the Burmese public have turned to the internet and international media sources for information on what is happening inside Burma as an alternative to junta mouthpieces such as the Myanmarhlaing, and the Mirror. Politically, the regime forced the entire eligible voting population of Burma to participate in a tightly controlled and engineered referendum to approve a draft constitution that was the product of a 14-year long, undemocratic National Convention. None of the requirements for free and fair voting, including freedom to vote in privacy; availability of information related to the issues, freedom from intimidation or bribery, and independent monitoring, were ensured by the regime during the referendum process. Instead, individuals met with forced advance voting, threats, and a new Referendum Law for the Approval of the Draft Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (issued on 26 February 2008), which prevented any speech against the referendum or dissemination of political information.3 The end of the year saw the regime preparing for the next step in the seven-step roadmap to democracy, national elections in 2010. Evidence to date suggests that the campaigns and election will be conducted under similarly repressive conditions as those that marred the referendum on the draft constitution, eventually leading to the SPDC's goal of a transition to a ‘disciplined democracy?..."