The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) issued a statement on 8 May that five Myanmar journalists were included in the military council’s amnesty, and the statement also said that Myanmar ranks second among the countries in the world where journalists are most often arrested.
On 3 May, the military regime granted amnesty under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code to more than 2,000 detainees in various prisons on the commemoration of the Kason Full Moon Day.
Among them are five media workers – freelance reporter Nyein Nyein Aye (aka Mabel) of Mizzima, freelance photojournalist Ko Zaw Lin Htut (aka Phoe Thar), freelance journalist Ma Yin Yin Thein (aka Nabar), editor Ko Kyaw Zeya of Mawkun, and freelance photojournalist Ko Zaw Tun.
At least 176 journalists have been arrested and four killed since the 1 February 2021 military coup. Fifty of them are still in prison or police custody after the recent mass pardon, according to the IFJ.
According to the IFJ’s annual Killed List for 2022, Myanmar is the country with the second highest number of imprisoned journalists in the world after China.
Commenting on the IFJ’s statement, one journalist said: “Many news outlets have been forced to work abroad. The local ones are at the greatest risk of being arrested. And it has become more difficult for them to make a living because they now earn less. International interest and aid dwindle as political unrest drags on in Myanmar”
If independent media no longer have the opportunity to work in the country where they have their main audience, if they face security problems, or if international support for the media diminishes, the number of media professionals will decline, U Myint Zaw said.
Similarly, Myanmar is in the midst of a bloody civil war in which Myanmar citizens are trying to defend and fight for the continuation of a legitimate democracy, with serious human rights violations such as detentions, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, the use of civilians as human shields and the persecution of children, the IFJ statement said.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) reported that as of 3 May 2023, the Myanmar military has killed at least 3,459 people, including four media workers, and detained another 20,883, including 282 children. 13.719 people are still in detention, 143 people have been sentenced to death, and four have been executed since the military’s coup on 1 February 2021.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said in the statement that it joins its affiliate, the Myanmar Journalists Network (MJN), in calling on the junta to immediately release all journalists still in detention and for the international community to do everything in its power to resolve the crisis in Myanmar and hold those responsible for gross violations of international human rights to account.
The MJN also said that the release of these journalists was a positive step. However, there are still 50 journalists in prison who do not deserve to be imprisoned for their work – journalism is not a crime.
Similarly, in a report released in November 2022, the IFJ called on international governments to increase pressure on military leaders in every way possible, including the use of laws to punish those who violate human rights abroad.
Sent by KIC