May 3rd, 2022
The oppression of media in Myanmar is the worst since the coup, according to the figures released by the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP-Myanmar) which quoted the reports of the organizations working for media freedom, on the World Press Freedom Day which falls on May 3rd.
From February, 2021 to April 21st, 2022, the military council revoked the licenses of 11 media outlets. The military arrested the journalists and issued arrest warrants for journalists.
The military council arrested 143 reporters. Two reporters were killed in the armed conflicts and one at the military council’s interrogation center, according to the ISP-Myanmar’s report.
Eighty-two out of 143 detained reporters have been released. Thirty-nine reporters remain behind bars while 19 reporters have been imprisoned.
It also described the mid-term special report released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in July, 2021, Myanmar became the country with the record number of jailed journalists since the coup. According to the CPJ’s special report released in December, 2021, globally Myanmar became the world’s second-worst jailer of journalists after China.
The ISP-Myanmar collected the number of detained and imprisoned journalists based on the reports released by the political organizations and the organizations working for the journalists.
The actual number of detained and imprisoned journalists on the ground is higher than that. According to Athan Myanmar’s report, 156 journalists were detained and three, killed.
According to the statement issued by the National Unity Government (NUG) which quoted the statistics from the Myanmar Press Freedom In-Depth Group, 166 journalists have been arrested by the terrorist military council since the coup in 2021.
Currently the terrorist military threatens the freedom of the press by arresting, killing and torturing the journalists.
The military has limited the spread of information by periodically cutting off the internet, reducing internet speed and bandwidth, limiting internet access, and raising data fees and the release of laws, orders and directives banning the use of the internet which are the parts of the freedom of press, the NUG says.
The NUG strongly urges the international community to pressure the military council about the unjust arrest, persecution and killings of journalists, in accord with the Human Right Declaration and to help support the Myanmar people to take action against the military council which is committing war crimes.
Efforts will be made in accordance with the established media ethics and the lessons learned during the horrific chapter of our nation’s history to establish strong safeguards to protect the freedom of the press and the people who work within it.
The National Unity Government is committed to providing justice to the media, journalists and news sources for all the injustices done them by the terrorist military.
The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day, observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression.
Sent by the KIC.