BANGKOK (AP) – Myanmar’s military-controlled government is cracking down on media coverage of anti-seizure protests, while journalists and ordinary citizens strive to educate people inside and outside the country about what’s happening.
Authorities raided two media companies on Tuesday and detained two people. On Monday, they canceled the licenses of five local media outlets that had offered extensive coverage of the protests, in an effort to fully reverse such freedoms a decade after the country began its faltering transition to democracy.
The government has detained dozens of journalists since the February 1 coup, including Thein Zaw of The Associated Press
The crackdown comes as the military has escalated violence against mass protests. Reports from independent media continue to provide vital information on troop arrests and shootings in cities across Myanmar. And they use other platforms to distribute their reports, such as social media.
Here’s a look at the media situation in Myanmar:
HOW DOES THE GOVERNMENT SUPPRESS NEWS?
Authorities raided Kamayut Media’s offices on Monday and detained its co-founder, Han Thar Nyein, and editor-in-chief, Nathan Maung. Witnesses said seven military trucks were involved in the raid, according to a member of Han Thar Nyein’s family. The military also raided the offices of Mizzima News. A day earlier, five local outlets – Mizzima, DVB, Khit Thit Media, Myanmar Now and 7Day News – were banned from broadcasting or providing information on any media platform or using any technology after their licenses were canceled, state broadcaster MRTV reported. . They had all covered the protests extensively and were often live-streamed. Myanmar Now, an independent news service, reported that police broke the door of its office on Monday and seized computers, printers and parts of the newsroom’s data server. It quoted unnamed witnesses and showed a photo of camera footage. But it said the office had been evacuated in late January. The government has arrested dozens of journalists, including Thein Zaw of The Associated Press. “This ban is clearly part of a much larger military junta attack on freedom of the press and the ability of journalists to do their jobs without harassment, intimidation or arrests,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch. a statement. Tuesday. The International Press Institute, which promotes freedom of the press, strongly condemned this move, urging the international community to “strongly oppose the ongoing attack on independent media”.
HOW DO MEDIA OUTLETS RESPOND?
Journalists in Myanmar are at risk of being killed or imprisoned for doing their job, and Swe Win, Myanmar Now’s editor-in-chief, said the raid showed the government’s intention to show zero tolerance for freedom of the press. “What is certain is that we will not stop reporting on the massive crimes committed by the regime across the country,” he said. Mizzima, another private, independent local news channel, posted a statement on its website saying it “continues to fight against the military coup and for the restoration of democracy and human rights” through various online and multimedia platforms. Other outlets also reported protests on Tuesday. Some media outlets already have experience of operating from abroad.
WHICH MEDIA STILL WORK LEGALLY IN MYANMAR?
Myanmar appears to be returning to a situation where its officially sanctioned media is fully state-controlled, as it was before August 2012. Even before the coup, under the military-dominated, quasi-civilian government led by Aung San Suu, arrest and harassment for reporting on sensitive topics, such as abuse of the Rohingya Muslim minority. Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were sentenced to seven years in prison but were later pardoned for attempting to investigate a massacre of Rohingya civilians. Myanmar is ranked 139th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom index of Reporters Without Borders 2020. Journalists have often been prosecuted for online defamation. The English-language Myanmar Times announced that it had suspended all publications for three months as of Feb. 21. That move came after many of its staff stopped to protest the newspaper’s agreement to follow a junta order not to use the word “ coup ” to describe the military takeover. Another state-controlled newspaper, the Global New Light of Myanmar, is still publishing. Other state media include the Myanmar News Agency and military-controlled Myawaddy TV.
WHAT ARE THE LONG-TERM RAMIFICATIONS?
Suppressing all reporting would likely require a complete blackout of all internet and satellite communications. Legal and human rights implications aside, that would be a huge setback to the country’s economy. Myanmar’s businesses rely heavily on the internet and digital platforms such as Facebook, which have developed rapidly in recent years after decades of relative isolation under previous military governments. So far, the junta has chosen to shut down internet connections at night, hampering such communication, but not completely. Since modern businesses rely heavily on the Internet and the free flow of communications and information, the military’s actions further harm a business and investment environment already devastated by the coup and its aftermath.