"As a freelance photojournalist, Ng Maung has worked the frontlines of the protests since Myanmar’s military coup began on 1st February. Keeping low, behind flimsy barricades of wood, corrugated tin, tyres and bamboo, he photographed the hurts police and army inflicted on pro-democracy activists. Ng Maung told IFJ of the danger protestors and journalists are facing from heavily armed police and soldiers. “We were warned snipers were on roofs near where we were. I could hear and sense the bullets as they passed. These kids had no protection against bullets.” Ng Maung explained his view was restricted when focusing through a camera lens at soldiers down the street. “You see what is directly in front, not to your immediate side. Bullets were getting closer. I saw a young guy on the ground with a head shot…a lot of blood. People took him on a motorbike to an ambulance, but it was too late, he was already dead.” Ng Maung said soldiers and police are armed to kill and dressed for battle, unlike the unarmed protestors. “They’re targets are young men and women, mostly peaceful protestors, opposing the torture and jailing of elected politicians, workers, doctors, students and journalists. The only protection they have are hiding behind these barricades and running.” In an earlier interview with IFJ in February, Ng Maung, voiced his fears about unseen army snipers when he said they made the streets dangerous to work. “If I can see them I’m not scared, but knowing they could be concealed on rooftops, water towers, behind windows…anywhere…is terrifying.” Ng Maung’s fears became a reality on 23 March when a bullet tore through his hand as he focused his lens. “I could hear shooting. Near me three kids were using phones to take photos. I warned them to move away…take cover, as soldiers were firing.” Ng Maung felt the force of the bullet as it tore into his left hand, pulping bones, tissue and tendon. “I was confused, my hand was burning, at first it was relief the boys were not hit. Then I was worried my hand was destroyed. It looked bad. It took about three hours to get to a clinic.” Ng Maung is full of praise for volunteer doctors and nurses working the protests. “I’ve seen them put themselves at risk of being shot or wounded to care for the injured. I owe them a lot…they work for free…I am forever in their debt.” Ng Maung’s smashed hand has to be rebuilt. He has had a number of operations to try to reconstruct his hand – wire implants, bone repair and skin grafts. Despite the pain and the graphic nature of the wound, Ng Maung managed to photograph the surgical procedures. Ng Maung kept in regular contact with IFJ during the protests and after his wounding spoke of his determination to keep working as a photojournalist despite the dangers. “Everyone is in danger - the military shows no mercy - protestors, doctors, students, workers, children, citizens or journalists – we are all targets just to be shot...silenced. I feel they are no longer human and they don’t see us as human. I'm scared, really scared. As a journalist, I have no protection. I have to be very careful and secretive in getting information. It is so bad I dare not go home to sleep at night. It's very dangerous now. To report we risk our lives. I’m a photojournalist because I want people to know the truth from the pictures I take. I want to expose the brutality of the military and the brave resistance of our people to the world…I hope for international action to end the oppression.” The revolution will not be televised… To silence journalists, like Ng Maung, the military coup leaders ordered telecommunication companies and internet services to block social media platforms and shut down their networks to stop access to information and news. Journalists have been arrested and charged under 505a of the penal code, which carries a sentence of three years in prison. The licenses of Myanmar Now, Mizzima Media, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), 7 Day News and Khit Thit Media were revoked on 8 March. The Ministry of Information shut-down the five independent media outlets and banned them “from publishing or broadcasting” or using any kind of media or technology platforms reporting “news that affects the rule of law and security of the people and supports those who commit high treason…in accordance with Article 419 and 420 of the Constitution.” To make sure the five banned media organisations and their respective journalists got the message, soldiers and police broke into their offices, ransacked, thrashed and stole equipment. Ng Maung told IFJ “journalists are now being hunted – we’ve been put on wanted lists and they have arrested at least 42 journalists.” The police and army have been given unfettered authority by the coup appointed State Administration Council to raid homes to search and arrest without warrants. So called ‘suspects’ can be detained for 24-hours without court permission. Other sections of the Penal Code list a range of fines and jail sentences - twenty years, ten years, seven years and three years for alleged breaches. Faced with the danger of lethal force, nighttime raids on their homes or arrest, many journalists and media workers have been either forced into deep hiding or have left cities for remote ethnic areas in the jungle along the China, India, Bangladesh or Thailand borders. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) confirmed as of Sunday 16 April, 737 people have been killed and 3,229 arrested; 42 of those are journalists. Ko Bo Kyi is a founder and secretary of AAPP-Burma and was first jailed in 1989 for his political beliefs by the then military regime. He explained to IFJ how the military has deliberately created and are using divisions between soldiers and civilians to maintain its reign of terror. “This military is isolated from society. Soldiers are given a different history to what is really happening in the country or outside world. The internet cuts and mobile phone data blockages are not just to prevent protestors from organising, but to stop soldiers getting real information – their news intake is restricted to media controlled by the military - radio, websites, newspapers and television channels.” Ko Bo Kyi said despite fear of arrest, torture and jail, journalists and citizen journalists are still managing to report. “Everyday, underground reporters and civilian journalists are going out and bravely documenting human rights abuses. They’re finding ways to get verifiable and credible reports out to people inside and outside the country.” They’ve destroyed our industry… Zaw Myint, a senior editor, told IFJ he has been forced by soldiers and police making night raids near his home to leave his family and go into hiding, constantly changing his location. “I’m not the only journalist, many of us are now in deep hiding. It’s dangerous on the ground now. We can’t use our name on our stories. It’s getting difficult to survive as we aren’t being paid. Most of us are struggling and our families are suffering...the pressure is massive.” Zaw Myint said finding a means to communicate is getting more difficult. “Mobile data has been cut, it’s difficult to get ADSL connected, getting caught with a pocket Wi-Fi will get you arrested. I try to hook into established Wi-Fi at hotels owned by the military’s cronies.” With the forced closure of the independent media outlets most journalists fear their severance pay will soon be gone, Zaw Myint explains most journalist earn between US$300 and US$700 a month. “Most of us are struggling. The army has killed our industry. They’ve taken down our platforms to publish, they’ve robbed us of our salaries. They done this to silence us. It’s sad to see our industry ripped apart. There’s now no justice, only their law of the gun.” Zaw Myint made the decision to stay in the city despite the constant fear of arrest. “There are still some of us prepared to take risks to tell what’s going on. I hope our colleagues who get to safety in other places will keep working. We’ll print on pamphlets, photocopy them and get them to the people. We’ll send our stories and footage to exiled colleagues for publishing, we’re hurting now, but we will find a way to keep reporting and broadcasting.”..."