About.
ATHAN ("voice") was founded in 15th January 2018 by youths who value and promote freedom of expression in Myanmar. ATHAN is not a member-based organization but a research-based activist organization. But ATHAN has three channels – research, advocacy and education to promote freedom of expression. The executive director and one of the founders of ATHAN, poet Maung Saungkha was one of the very first victims of Telecommunications Law under previous government. After staying in prison for more than six months because of writing a poem about a president, Maung Saungkha began fighting for freedom of expression. He founded Research Team for Telecommunications Law and We Support Journalists in effect to make research on the cases under the controversial laws including the notorious Telecommunications Law against freedom of expression. ATHAN is a credible source for number of cases related to violation of freedom of expression and number of journalists charged under Telecommunications Law in Myanmar except the Ministry of Transport and Communications which never publicly announced the number of cases. ATHAN has recently launched an analysis report on the status of freedom of expression with the first two years of current government on 10th June. ATHAN also held the very first pilot freedom of expression training with 18 participants at Mandalay Community Center in Mandalay on 7-8 July. Being a freedom of expression activist organization, ATHAN makes allies with some other civil society organizations such as Burma Monitor, Article 19 and Pen Myanmar, Phandeeyar, MIDO and Equality Myanmar to aid each other in not only freedom of expression but also other sectors such as hate speech and fake news monitoring, media literacy, digital literacy and interfaith. For example, ATHAN took a role in reporting the status of freedom of expression in UPR Midterm Report by Myanmar civil society organizations which will be submitted to United Nations soon.