The situation is getting more complicated for Canal+ in Burma. The professional association of audiovisual producers in the country announced that, from Tuesday 1er August, all scripts had to be sent to a censorship committee in order to obtain permission to shoot. This measure concerns the French audiovisual group, since it produces on site, in partnership with the Burmese Forever Group, content to feed its own local channels. As a result, the noose is tightening around the Vivendi subsidiary, already accused of relaying the propaganda of the Burmese junta which came to power by a coup in February 2021.
News reports showing the arrest of opponents of the regime, described as “terrorists”, sometimes handcuffed, with a swollen face, are indeed broadcast by the public channel MRTV News, distributed on its satellite package. Canal+ had indicated to the Worldin April, that he was retransmitting these channels under duress, adding that his only objective was to “ entertain Burmese households, which particularly need it given the difficulties they have been facing for more than two years now”. The company then refused to condemn the pronunciamiento of 2021.
Opponents of the junta now accuse him of complicity with the regime. “Not only does the French group collaborate with businessmen close to power, but it also disseminates disinformation and hate speech on a daily basis. And now he is submitting all his scenarios for the approval of the illegitimate junta to further fuel the propaganda”chokes Yadanar Maung, the spokesperson for Justice for Myanmar, an NGO of opponents in exile, who calls on Canal+ to “take responsibility for respecting human rights” and to “stop facilitating propaganda”.
“A unique responsibility”
Canal+’s Burmese partner, Forever Group, maintains excellent relations with the junta. According to an investigation by the opposition media The Irrawaddy, released in December 2022, the production studio released a film to pay tribute to the military and a television series in honor of the police. Its vice president, U Thein Tun Aung, is himself a former military intelligence officer.
This presence in Burma raises questions about the respect of the commitments of Vivendi, the parent company of Canal+, in terms of the protection of human rights. “ As a world leader in culture, entertainment, media and communication, we exert a real influence on collective imaginations”says on its website the group controlled by the Bolloré family, which also recognizes “a singular responsibility, which [l’] obliged, but also [l’]encourages you to help make the world a better place”.
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