Written by 
By FRONTIER
Frontier is aware that Thein Swe, a former senior member of Myanmar’s military intelligence, visited Beijing and met officials from two Chinese thinktanks in late October in his capacity as the chairman of a previously unknown Myanmar organisation, the Paragon Institute. There are credible reports that his trip was sponsored by Myanmar’s military junta, and this has generated some concerns about Frontier’s ownership structure and editorial independence, given that Thein Swe is the father of CEO Sonny Swe.
Frontier fully understands these concerns. As an organisation with members who have been jailed and severely tortured by the junta since the 2021 coup, we know first-hand that the regime poses a grave threat to journalists and press freedom. We are also aware of military intelligence’s brutal repression in previous decades, prior to its disbandment in 2004, and understand the anger it still generates.
We would therefore like to inform readers that Thein Swe has no position, involvement or financial stake in Frontier. Moreover, his son, Sonny Swe, plays no part in the commissioning, reporting and editing of stories. This process is overseen by Frontier’s separate editorial team, and we believe that the independence of our work is reflected in our articles. These articles report freely and critically on the situation in Myanmar, including the routine abuses of the military regime.
We are also aware of a misconception, shared by some, that Thein Swe is a board member of Frontier. This may arise from the fact that he was previously a director of Frontier’s former parent company, Black Knight Media Co Ltd, which was established in 2015. However, he has not held a position in Black Knight Media, Frontier or any affiliated company since May 2019.
After the coup, like many media organisations, Frontier shifted its newsroom outside Myanmar to protect its staff and editorial independence. Since then, Frontier has operated under a Singapore-registered company, Boomerang Media Pte Ltd, whose board members are Sonny Swe, Thomas Kean and Pichai Chuensuksawadi. Thein Swe has never been a director or shareholder in Boomerang Media.
We would like to thank our readers and members for their support over the years. We can guarantee that we will continue to deliver hard-hitting, critical, independent journalism about Myanmar, and to bring its plight to the attention of a distracted world.