Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations

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Title: The generals in Myanmar are not as secure as they look
Sub-title: The brazen seizure of power by the military has energised the population and produced a public display of cross-party unity
Description: "little over a week after the Myanmar military seized power and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and dozens of other ministers and activists, a counter-movement has taken hold across the country. The military’s efforts to thwart the spread of demonstrations – by the downing of internet connections and by use of intimidation and violence, including the shooting of one protester, Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, this week – have been in vain. Mass gatherings have spread from cities in the centre to far-flung towns in the north-east, close to the border with China. Against lines of armed riot police, protesters have so far held their ground. Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention, her location unknown. The charges she faces – among them possession of illegally imported walkie-talkies – are clearly a ruse intended to prolong her confinement while the military finds a way to stymie her popular influence. On Tuesday night, police raided the headquarters of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, whose landslide win in elections in November set in motion the train of events that led to the military’s coup. It is likely they were looking for evidence to incriminate other party members, or indeed criminalise the party altogether, in an attempt to weaken its organising power. Upon seizing power, the military declared a year-long state of emergency, which it hopes will give it space to develop a strategy for control of the country well into the future. In that time, the generals may seek out ways to condition Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues – via negotiation, incentives or threat – into becoming a less assertive political force. Otherwise they will move to banish the party from formal politics altogether. The NLD’s dramatic win in November 2020 was evidence both of the continued emboldening of its support base, despite repeat efforts by the military to undermine Aung San Suu Kyi during her five years as state counsellor, as well as the glaring unpopularity of the military, whose party won only 33 of 476 seats..."
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Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-11
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-11
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Title: Myanmar coup: Woman 'shot' at protest fights for life
Sub-title: A woman who was severely injured while protesting against Myanmar's military coup is in a critical condition.
Description: "She was hurt at a protest on Tuesday in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw, which saw police trying to disperse protesters using water cannon, rubber bullets and live rounds. Rights groups and news outlets say the woman was shot in the head. There have been reports of serious injuries as police have increased their use of force, but no casualties so far. Tens of thousands have turned out in street protests against the coup, which overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically-elected government last week, despite a recent ban on large gatherings and a night curfew. Demonstrations re-started on Wednesday morning, for a fifth consecutive day, with a large group of civil servants gathering in Nay Pyi Taw to protest. Pools and princesses: Myanmar protesters go all out Myanmar coup: What is happening and why? 'We have no weapons - so I fight with a pen' Video of shooting On Tuesday, police had used water cannon in Nay Pyi Taw against protesters, who refused to retreat. Warning shots were reportedly fired into the air before rubber bullets were fired at the crowd - but doctors later said it appeared live ammunition had hit protesters. According to BBC Burmese, who spoke to an unnamed medical officer from a Nay Pyi Taw hospital, one woman suffered a serious head injury and another demonstrator had chest injuries. The woman is now in intensive care. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, a doctor from the hospital said the woman had a "projectile lodged in her head and had lost significant brain function". The unidentified doctor said the woman's wound was consistent with that of live ammunition, and that a metal bullet had penetrated the back of her right ear. A man wounded at the same protest also appeared to have similar injuries. A separate report by Fortify Rights quoted a doctor who said the woman was brain dead from an "imminently fatal gunshot wound to the head"....."
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-02-10
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-10
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Title: Myanmar junta leader asks Thai counterpart for help on democracy
Description: "Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who himself first seized power in a coup, said on Wednesday (Feb 10) that he had received a letter from Myanmar's new junta leader asking for help to support democracy. Prayut, who overthrew an elected prime minister in 2014 and stayed in office after a 2019 election which his rivals said was badly flawed, told reporters in Bangkok that he had always supported democracy in the neighbouring country. Min Aung Hlaing's army overthrew elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1 and detained her, alleging fraud in an election last year that her party won in a landslide. The electoral commission had dismissed the army's claims. READ: Myanmar anti-coup protests resume despite bloodshed READ: Myanmar military raids Aung San Suu Kyi's party offices as UN slams violence "We are supportive of the democratic process in Myanmar, but what is most important today is to maintain good relations because it impacts the people, the economy, border trade, particularly now," Prayut said. "Thailand supports the democratic process. The rest is up to him to see how to proceed," he said. Since the coup, Myanmar has been convulsed by the biggest protests in more than a decade as Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters challenge the coup that halted a tentative decade-long transition to democracy..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK) via "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication: 2021-02-10
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-10
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Title: Myanmar military implausibly plays the Rohingya card
Description: " After grabbing power in a February 1 coup that has been resisted by massive demonstrations and condemned by the US, EU and UN, Myanmar’s military regime would appear to have few cards to play to win acceptance. But one the coup-makers amazingly think they can play is the plight of Muslim Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, who were driven across the border during brutal military campaigns in 2016-17, and those who have remained behind in Myanmar. Shortly after overthrowing Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government, the new military regime sent a letter to Bangladesh’s government through its ambassador in Myanmar to explain their reasons for the coup, namely unsubstantiated allegations of fraud at the November 2020 election Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) resoundingly won. In the letter, the full contents of which has not been made public, the military regime also mentioned a possible solution for solving the Rohingya crisis. That prompted Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Abdul Momen, quoted by the Dhaka Tribune on February 6, to say “these are good news. It’s a good beginning.” Inside Myanmar’s Rakhine state, several local military commanders have visited Muslim-inhabited areas close to the Bangladesh border and a camp for internally displaced Rohingyas in the state capital Sittwe..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2021-02-09
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-10
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Title: Myanmar protesters return to streets in huge numbers amid police defections
Sub-title: Protests swell across country, with dozens of police officers choosing to join protesters in call for reversal of coup
Description: "Protesters have turned out in huge numbers across Myanmar, a day after police instigated the most violent scenes yet in demonstrations against a military coup that removed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. An estimated 100,000 people gathered in the commercial capital Yangon on Wednesday, according to witnesses, with many more marching across the country. A day earlier, tens of thousands demonstrated in major cities and smaller towns in defiance of a ban on gatherings in some areas, with police using water cannon, rubber bullets and live rounds against them. One woman remains in a critical condition after being shot in the head in the capital Naypyidaw. In Loikaw, the state capital of Kayah, about 40 police joined protesters on Wednesday and held a banner saying: “Members of Myanmar police force (Kayah state) stand with civilians.” Other officers waved posters that read: “We do not need military dictatorship” and raised three-finger salutes, a symbol of resistance against the military. At a separate protest in the city of Mawlamyine, a single officer moved to join protesters. On Tuesday, about 20 police switched sides at four different sites – at Pathein, Naypyidaw, Myeik and Magway. Protesters in Yangon have largely adhered to a curfew imposed from 8pm to 4am under section 144 of Myanmar’s colonial-era Penal Code – turning instead to pot and pan banging from the safety of their homes – but have defied the ban on large gatherings. The United States and United Nations condemned the use of force against protesters, who demand the reversal of the coup and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) and activists..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-10
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-10
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Title: Myanmar: UN office expresses ‘strong concern’ at use of force against demonstrators
Sub-title: The United Nations in Myanmar has voiced strong concerns over Tuesday’s reported use of force by security forces against demonstrators protesting the military takeover and arrests of elected leaders and politicians.
Description: "“I call on the security forces to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression”, Ola Almgren, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, said in a news release. “The use of disproportionate force against demonstrators is unacceptable”, he added. The UN office in the country cited reports from capital Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and other cities, of numerous demonstrators having been injured, some of them seriously, by security forces in connection with the ongoing protests. Mr. Almgren reiterated UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ call on the military leadership to respect the will of the people of Myanmar and adhere to democratic norms, with any differences to be resolved through peaceful dialogue Over the weekend, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) also called on the security forces in Myanmar to ensure people’s right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and that demonstrations are not subjected to reprisals. The military takeover, last Monday, followed escalating tensions between the military and the government after the November 2020 elections, which was won by Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD). The polls were only the second democratic elections in Myanmar since the end of nearly five decades of military rule. Uphold children's rights: UNICEF The UN Children's Fund UNICEF released a statement on Tuesday through it's office in Yangon, expressing deep concern regarding the impact of the crisis in Myanmar on children’s wellbeing, and reminded all parties of their obligations to uphold all children’s rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Myanmar is a State Party, and under its own Child Rights Law enacted in July 2019..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2021-02-09
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-10
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Title: Myanmar's military overturned a democratic election. Now they're warning protesters not to 'destroy democracy'
Description: "Myanmar's new military junta, which overturned the results of democratic elections when it seized power last Monday, has warned the public not to "destroy" democracy following three days of protests. In a statement on the government-run MRTV channel, the military warned that "democracy can be destroyed" without discipline, and that people who "harm the state's stability, public safety and the rule of law" could face legal action. It came as concerns are growing that the junta will crack down on tens of thousands of people protesting against the February 1 coup, after the military imposed a curfew and restrictions on public gatherings in the second largest city, Mandalay, amid threats to use live ammunition against demonstrators. Notices have been issued to several townships in Mandalay imposing a curfew from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m., according to official notices posted to social media and translated by CNN. Public gatherings of more the five people, joining marches on foot or in a car, and public speeches have been prohibited in parts of the city, the notice said, citing that people are at risk of causing a riot by carrying out "worrisome behaviors that could affect the public peace and rule of law." Those arrested could face prosecution under Section 144 of the Criminal Code for "unlawful assembly." Section 144 has been used in the past as a way to stop lawful protests and to justify violent crackdowns on mass demonstrations. For a fourth straight day Tuesday, thousands of people gathered in the capital, Naypyidaw, against the military takeover and called for the release of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected lawmakers. Riot police used water cannon against protesters who had assembled near a barricade on a main road in the capital. The demonstrators could be heard chanting "people's police." Police warned on loudspeakers that force could be used if the protesters did not leave the area..."
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Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-09
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-09
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Title: Myanmar protesters defy ban on gatherings to demonstrate against coup
Sub-title: Police use water cannon on protesters in the capital and arrest 27 in Mandalay
Description: "Opponents of Myanmar’s military coup have defied bans on big gatherings to rally for a fourth day following the biggest demonstrations in the country in more than a decade. The 1 February coup and detention of elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi sparked outrage across the south-east Asian country of 53 million, and a growing civil disobedience movement affecting hospitals, schools and government offices. On Monday the army announced bans on gatherings in certain cities and towns and a curfew. But on Tuesday morning large crowds again gathered near Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon. One witness estimated there were tens of thousands on the streets by mid morning. The protest in Yangon was largely peaceful but police fired water cannon on demonstrators in the capital Naypyidaw and in Bago. In the second-biggest city of Mandalay police arrested at least 27 anti-coup demonstrators, including a journalist, media organisations said. A journalist from the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) said he was detained after filming the rally. He said people were beaten. Two media organisations also confirmed the arrests. In Yangon martial law and rumours of incoming soldiers had created an atmosphere of unease, but protesters were determined. Pyae Phyo, 33, was gathered with his friends from the Myanmar Seamen Union under the shade of a tree near Sule Pagoda. “Because of last night’s martial law announcement I thought people may not come,” he said. “But they have come. I am so proud of my people. Every day we will come here. Every day we aren’t free we will protest peacefully for our real leaders, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and president U Win Myint.”..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-09
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-09
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Title: In Myanmar, protesters urge police to join democracy fight
Description: " As thousands of protesters again take to the streets across Myanmar in escalating protests against last week’s military coup, some have been met with force by the police for the first time. Videos on social media showed police firing water cannon at protesters in the isolated capital of Naypyidaw, as they demanded an end to military rule and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s leader and founder of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), who is under house arrest in the city. On Sunday, some protesters were also dispersed by warning shots fired into the air in Myawaddy, on the border with Thailand. So far however, there have been no reports of force in Yangon where huge crowds were again gathering on Monday. At the colonial-era City Hall in Myanmar’s largest city, hundreds were on the streets, with more police at hand and water cannons again on standby. Crowds were also forming elsewhere in the city, including the Hledan Center where youth activists have been demonstrating for the past three days. Their placards urged the police to stand with the protesters, as part of a growing civil disobedience movement that has already won support from doctors, teachers and other government workers..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-08
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Title: Myanmar junta imposes curfew, meeting bans as protests swell
Description: " Myanmar’s military government imposed a curfew and bans on gatherings of more than five people in the country’s two biggest cities on Monday as protests against last week’s coup showed no sign of abating. The decrees covering Yangon and Mandalay were issued on a township-by-township basis, and those which have become public so far have the same restrictions. At least seven have been issued, and more are expected for other areas. Rallies and gatherings of more than five people, along with motorized processions, are banned, and a 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew is imposed. The measures are effective until further notice. The decrees say they were issued in response to people carrying out unlawful actions that harm the rule of law. Demonstrations against the coup had intensified Monday and spread to more parts of the country. Police fired a water cannon at hundreds of protesters in Myanmar’s capital who were demanding the military hand power back to elected officials. Protesters also rallied at a major downtown intersection in the country’s largest city, Yangon, raising a three-finger salute that is a symbol of resistance and carrying placards saying, “Reject the military coup” and “Justice for Myanmar.” There were also reports of new demonstrations in towns in the north, southeast and east of the country, as well as in the city of Mandalay, where there was a procession of marchers and motorbikes. The growing wave of defiance — particularly in the capital Naypyitaw, where such protests are unusual — was striking in a country where demonstrations have been met with severe force in the past. That resistance is being seen in Naypyitaw, whose population includes many civil servants and their families, could speak to the level of anger among people who had only begun to taste democracy in recent years after five decades of military rule..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-08
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Title: Myanmar military ruler addresses nation as protests intensify
Sub-title: Senior General Min Aung Hlaing says the military will hold an election and hand over power to the winning party.
Description: "Myanmar’s military ruler has said the military will hold a new election and transfer power to the winner, as protests against last week’s coup continued to grow. Addressing the country on live television for the first time since the February 1 putsch, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing called on the public to prioritise facts and not feelings and repeated the claim that there were irregularities in November’s election that were ignored. Monday’s remarks to the nation were his first since he removed Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in a move that has sparked widespread protests. Tens of thousands of people joined a third day of street demonstrations in towns and cities across Mynamar to denounce the military for its seizure of power. Police warned protesters to disperse or face force to stifle the demonstrations against the coup and the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party won the November election. The detention of the country’s civilian leader and dozens of other members of the NLD ended 10 years of civilian rule in Myanmar and triggered international condemnation. The generals had previously tried to justify their takeover on the grounds of election fraud and had promised a new poll. Min Aung Hlaing reiterated that position in his address on Monday, saying the military government would form a “true and disciplined democracy” different to previous eras of military rule..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-08
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Title: U.K. Sees Myanmar Coup as Irreversible, Risk of Violence Rising
Description: "The military coup in Myanmar has gone past the point of no return, according to a confidential U.K. foreign office assessment, in a sign that major democracies expect to have limited ability to influence the events unfolding inside the country. The latest in global politics Get insight from reporters around the world in the Balance of Power newsletter. Email Enter your email Bloomberg may send me offers and promotions. Sign Up By submitting my information, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. The bleak view last week from a senior British diplomat concludes the coup is irreversible, and that army chief Min Aung Hlaing will seek to crush ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s pro-democracy party in order to install himself as president. The assessment, the broad outlines of which were shared with Bloomberg News, also cites the risk that anti-coup protests -- with tens of thousands subsequently demonstrating on the weekend -- could turn bloody. With Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint in detention and facing criminal charges, the British conclusion is that a leaderless National League for Democracy will likely start to fracture. That will allow the military, which seized power on Feb. 1, to dominate in an election it has promised to hold following a one-year state of emergency. Nations including the U.K., the U.S. and Australia have condemned the coup, which followed Suu Kyi’s landslide win in an election in November that outside observers deem to have been largely free and fair. Some countries have raised the prospect of renewed sanctions on Myanmar, which has made only tentative efforts in recent years to open up its economy to outside investment...."
Source/publisher: "Bloomberg News" (New York)
Date of publication: 2021-02-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-08
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Title: Myanmar coup: How citizens are protesting through art
Sub-title: An atmosphere of fear and anger spread across Myanmar this week as millions of people awoke to find out the military had taken control, ousting the elected government.
Description: "But how do you fight back in a country where protests have been violently supressed before? For some, it has meant putting pen to paper and taking the battle online. Clanging pots and pans One Burmese artist, known only by the pseudonym Pen Holder, says they believed it was their "duty" to protest through art. "We will continue to oppose the government until the real leader of our people is restored," they said. Their drawing depicts an entire Burmese family - from young to old - all gathering together to bang pots and pans in protest, a scene seen across the country in the evenings since the coup. The picture has since gone viral, shared thousands of times by those on social media. "Our people have no weapons - we aren't able to access this. Instead, as an artist, I fight with a pen," they told the BBC. "I am scared. But I also don't want to regret what I didn't do. I want to fight against this."...."
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Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Myanmar coup: Tens of thousands join largest protests since 2007
Sub-title: Myanmar has seen its largest protests in more than a decade, as tens of thousands of people rallied against the military coup and demanded the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Description: ""We don't want military dictatorship. We want democracy," the crowds chanted in the main city, Yangon. Rallies were held in more than a dozen other cities. Internet access has now been restored after a day-long blackout. The army has not yet commented on the growing opposition to Monday's coup. The military seized power after claiming, without evidence, that the November election was fraudulent. The rulers declared a year-long state of emergency and have been hunkered down in the capital, Nay Pyi Daw. Ms Suu Kyi and senior leaders of her National League for Democracy Party (NLD), including President Win Myint, have been put under house arrest. Citizens protest through art What this means for Aung San Suu Kyi How Facebook became Myanmar's 'digital tea shop' In Yangon, people wore red shirts and held red balloons, the colour of Ms Suu Kyi's party, while cars and buses slowed to sound their horns in support. Many flashed the three-finger salute, a symbol of defiance against authoritarianism in the region. The internet shutdown imposed by the military failed to curb the protesters. "Respect our vote," read one banner, in reference to the NLD's landslide win in November. Sunday's protests in Yangon were the biggest since the so-called Saffron Revolution in 2007, when thousands of the country's monks rose up against the military regime. Crowds marched towards the Sule Pagoda in the city centre while police vehicles and officers in riot gear were stationed near Yangon University. There were no immediate reports of violence. "First, we don't want to go back to military rule. We don't want to live in fear. Secondly, we want Mother Su to be freed from being under detention unjustly," a protester told the BBC. "And third, we want to root out the system where soldiers take civilian administrative positions." Another demonstrator said that Ms Suu Kyi was "our true leader", adding: "She is our only hope for our democracy, if she died or something happened to her, what is our future? We really need her back." A third said: "This protest is not the end. We'll group... [every day] until we're free from the dictatorship." Smaller protests were also held in Nay Pyi Daw, Mawlamine and Mandalay, the country's second-largest city. In the town of Myawaddy, there were reports of shots being fired, but no immediate reports of any injuries. According to some local media outlets, police had used rubber bullets to break up a rally..."
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Myanmar: Respect right to peaceful assembly, UN human rights office says
Sub-title: The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) on Saturday called on the security forces in Myanmar to ensure that people’s right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and that demonstrations are not subjected to reprisals.
Description: "According to media reports, many people took to the streets in Myanmar’s commercial hub, Yangon, on Saturday to protest the military’s takeover and the arrest of several elected leaders and politicians, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. “Myanmar’s military and police must ensure the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and demonstrators are not subjected to reprisals”, OHCHR said in a Tweet on Saturday. Earlier in the week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet raised concerns of a “violent crackdown on dissenting voices” in Myanmar and reminded the military leadership of the country’s obligations under international human rights law to ensure people’s rights are protected and to refrain from using unnecessary or excessive force. The military takeover followed escalating tensions between the military and the government after the November 2020 elections, which was won by Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD). The polls were only the second democratic elections in Myanmar since the end of nearly five decades of military rule. The first elections, in 2015, were also won by NLD. Internet and social media blocked OHCHR also called on the authorities to restore internet and communication services. “Internet and communication services must be fully restored to ensure freedom of expression and access to information”, the office said. Myanmar’s military reportedly blocked access to Facebook on Thursday, for several days. The social media platform is said to be used by around half of the country’s population, for access to information. On Friday, Twitter and Instagram platforms were added to the list of services that could not be accessed in Myanmar. Media reports also said that the mobile service provider in Myanmar was ordered to temporarily shut down data networks, effectively cutting off internet on mobile devices. Voice and SMS services are reported to be operational..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Myanmar: tens of thousands march against military coup for second day
Sub-title: Large demonstration across country despite junta blocking internet access and restricting phone lines
Description: "Demonstrators in Myanmar have vowed to continue their protests until their elected leaders are released and democracy returns as tens of thousands of people poured on to the streets of towns and cities across the country for a second day. Large crowds gathered in the main city Yangon and elsewhere, condemning the military for ousting the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup. “Today is about Myanmar’s democracy,” said protestor Myint Oo, 23. “Our hero Aung San Suu Kyi and our president U Win Myint must be freed.” “There may be soldiers tomorrow, but I am not afraid,” he said, adding that he would return to the streets. Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint have not been seen in public since they were detained in early morning raids last Monday. Their party, National League for Democracy (NLD), won a thumping election victory in November but the military has refused to accept the results of the vote. It has alleged widespread electoral fraud, a claim observers have rejected. The junta blocked internet access for about 24 hours from Saturday afternoon in an attempt to stop protests, but large crowds continued to join the biggest demonstrations in the country since the 2007 Saffron Revolution, when thousands of Buddhist monks marched against military rule. By mid-morning on Sunday, protesters had taken to the streets in Yangon, as well as in the city of Mandalay in central Myanmar and the coastal town of Mawlamyine in the south-east. Hundreds more had camped overnight outside a police station in the town of Payathonzu in Karen state, where local NLD politicians were reportedly arrested. They remained outside on Sunday morning, singing pro-democracy songs, Reuters reported..."
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Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Myanmar’s military built a new capital as a haven for power. Other countries have tried that, too.
Description: "A country’s capital, its seat of power, is typically the center for showdowns during times of political unrest. But not in Myanmar. All was reportedly quiet Saturday in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s purpose-built capital unveiled in 2005. Meanwhile, 225 miles to the south in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city and former capital, protesters marched in the first major street demonstrations since the military seized power Feb. 1 and jailed leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The roster of capitals-by-design dots the globe: from Canberra in Australia to Brazil’s Brasília. Even Washington was laid out for the job of governing. Yet there are other countries — including Egypt, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Equatorial Guinea — that have joined Myanmar to build new capitals in part to shield their leadership. Naypyidaw is infamous for its eerily empty 20-lane highways and high-end hotels, golf courses and spas in a city about six times the territory of New York City in one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries, according to the Guardian. The British paper summarized it as a “monument to hierarchy.” Naypyidaw was the brainchild of Myanmar’s former military leader, Than Shwe, who rescinded power in 2011 when the country began a transition to democracy. Shwe was never publicly challenged when he said Myanmar needed a new capital because of Yangon’s heavy traffic and population density. But analysts have described the decision as motivated by a desire to secure the military’s seat of power from any threat of protests or invasions..."
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Source/publisher: "The Washington Post" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Why the generals really took back power in Myanmar
Description: "A strangely familiar sight dominated the front pages of Myanmar's state-owned newspaper this week: photos of men in green military uniforms sitting in seats of power. It was as if time had rewound a decade. "The Global New Light of Myanmar" has long been considered the mouthpiece for whoever is running the country, its pages dedicated to government propaganda and stiff images of officials on mundane visits to agricultural or development projects. From 1962 until 2011, successive military regimes ruled Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, with an iron fist -- asserting their absolute power over the people through fear and brutality. But six years ago, there was hope of change when Aung San Suu Kyi -- a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former political prisoner -- formed the first civilian government with her National League for Democracy Party (NLD) after winning a landslide in elections. Soldiers stand guard along a blockaded road near Myanmar's Parliament in Naypyidaw on February 2, 2021. That all changed Monday, when the military seized power in a coup, arrested 75-year-old Suu Kyi, cut internet services and took news channels off the air. A presenter on the military-owned news channel announced that the 64-year-old commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing was now running the country. "Senior General makes speech at government meeting" was Wednesday's "New Light" headline, a sign that Myanmar is now back under military rule, at least for the next 12 months. Devastated residents in the country's biggest city, Yangon, said history was repeating itself. With many still bearing the mental and physical scars of the past, they expressed fears that the intervening years were all for nothing. Myanmar has changed markedly in the years since the military last ruled, with more social freedoms, foreign investment and a growing middle class. For example, SIM cards that used to cost $1,000 a decade ago are now cheap and ubiquitous, and the population has quickly moved online with social media sites like Facebook synonymous with the internet. While deep economic and inequality issues, conflict, and ethnic strife remain, Myanmar is a different place today than it was 10 or 20 years ago, especially in the major cities. But the imperfect transition was not working for everyone..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar junta blocks internet access as coup protests expand
Description: "Myanmar’s new military authorities appeared to have cut most access to the Internet on Saturday as they faced a rising tide of protest over their coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government. Numerous internet users noted a slow disappearance of data services, especially from mobile service providers, that accelerated sharply late Saturday morning. Broadband connection also later failed, while there were mixed reports on whether landline telephone service and mobile voice connections were still working. Netblocks, a London-based service that tracks internet disruptions and shutdowns, said Saturday afternoon that “a near-total internet shutdown is now in effect” in Myanmar, with connectivity falling to just 16% of normal levels. The broad outage followed Friday’s military order to block Twitter and Instagram because some people were trying to use the platforms to spread what authorities deemed fake news. Facebook had already been blocked earlier in the week — though not completely effectively. The communication blockages are a stark reminder of the progress Myanmar is in danger of losing after Monday’s coup plunged the nation back under direct military rule after a nearly decade-long move toward greater openness and democracy. During Myanmar’s previous five decades of military rule, the country was internationally isolated and communication with the outside world strictly controlled. Suu Kyi’s five years as leader since 2015 had been Myanmar’s most democratic period despite the military retaining broad powers over the government, the continued use of repressive colonial-era laws and the persecution of minority Rohingya Muslims. The blockages are also adding greater urgency to efforts to resist the coup, with Saturday seeing some of the largest street protests against the takeover. In one of the bigger ones, about 1,000 protesters — factory workers and students prominent among them — marched down a main street in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, and were met by more than 100 police in riot gear. Members of the crowd shouted “down with dictatorship” and other slogans. They marched with their hands in the air, formed into three-fingered salutes, a symbol of defiance adopted from protesters in neighboring Thailand, who borrowed the gesture from the “Hunger Games” movie franchise. The demonstration ended peacefully with no clashes reported. It dispersed around the time communications were cut, and it was unclear if the marchers later regrouped..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: End Crackdown on Media, Communications
Description: "Myanmar’s military junta should immediately lift internet restrictions, release all persons detained since the February 1, 2021 coup, and end harassment and threatened arrests of journalists, Human Rights Watch said today. Journalists in Myanmar have reported credible threats of an imminent, broader-sweeping crackdown on media workers, and several have told Human Rights Watch that they fear for their safety. “A news and information blackout by the coup leaders can’t hide their politically motivated arrests and other abuses,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The military should immediately release those arrested, restore access to online information, and protect the right to free expression.” On February 4, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) in Myanmar said that in addition to 133 officials and lawmakers whom the military detained at the onset of the coup, 14 activists had also been detained. On the morning of February 4, the authorities arrested 4 among about 20 protesters who had gathered outside the University of Medicine in Mandalay to oppose the coup. It is not yet known if those arrested have been charged. On February 5, the authorities detained Aung San Suu Kyi’s senior aide, Win Htein, 79, in Mayangone township. He is facing charges for his comments denouncing the coup. Human Rights Watch called for the lifting of the February 3 and February 5 orders issued by the Transport and Communications Ministry, now fully under the control of the military, directing the blocking of social media services. The government said it was barring the use of the service because people were using it to “trouble the country’s stability.”..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-05
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: New internet blackout “heinous and reckless”
Description: "On 6 February, the Myanmar military reportedly ordered telecommunications companies in the country to fully shut down internet and 4G services. According to information received by Amnesty International, the effective blackout will be in operation until Monday 8 February. An earlier order, on 5 February, instructed telecommunications companies to block access to Twitter and Instagram. On 4 February, the military had already announced that they were ordering telecoms operators to block access to Facebook until 7 February. As the 1 February military coup was underway, internet and phone outages were reported in several parts of the country, including in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, the largest city, Yangon, as well as Shan and Kachin States and the Mandalay and Sagaing regions. Access was later reestablished. There have also been mobile internet restrictions in conflict-affected areas of Rakhine and Chin States in the country for more than a year. 4G internet access in those areas was reportedly restored late in the evening on 2 February 2021. Such restrictions pose a real danger to at-risk civilian populations, especially when access to information is so vital during the COVID-19 pandemic – and even more so when the situation on the ground is so tense amid the coup, and in conflict-affected areas..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication: 2020-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: tens of thousands protest against coup despite internet blackout
Sub-title: Demonstrators in standoff with police amid demands for release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi
Description: "Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Myanmar on Saturday in the first major demonstration since the military seized power, despite a nationwide internet blackout imposed to stifle dissent. In the main city Yangon, protesters chanted “down with the military dictatorship” and carried images of the ousted leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint, whose party won a landslide election in November. The military detained both in raids early on Monday morning and they have not been seen in public since. “Tell the world what has happened here,” one of the protesters said. “The world needs to know.” The military shut down the internet across the country in an attempt to stop the protests. The NetBlocks Internet Observatory reported that connectivity had fallen to 16% of ordinary levels by early afternoon. The military had already blocked Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Myanmar’s military has shown that it believes it can “shut the world out and do whatever it wants,” said Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division. “They’re going to pull down the shutters and intimidate, arrest and abuse everybody who is daring to speak up. The question is how long people are able to do this and whether there will be any splits in ranks within the police or the military,” he said. Throughout Saturday, the state-run broadcaster MRTV played scenes praising the military, according to Reuters. Despite the internet blackout, several thousand demonstrators gathered near Yangon University. Many wore red headbands, the colour of the National League for Democracy, and raised their hands in a three-finger salute, a gesture also used by Thai pro-democracy protesters which symbolises resistance..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Protests break out in Myanmar in defiance of military coup
Description: "An Australian adviser to Myanmar's recently deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained on Saturday as pro-democracy protests broke out in the country's largest city on Saturday. Thousands of people took to the streets of Yangon in the first major organized demonstration since the military seized power in a coup earlier this week. The crowd, many of whom could be seen waiving flags and holding banners, called for the military to release Suu Kyi, and other democratically-elected lawmakers, who were detained in pre-dawn raids Monday. Chants of "We demand democracy" could be heard coming from the crowd as they marched close to downtown Yangon, prompting the government to impose an internet blackout. Dozens of police, some in riot gear, had initially attempted to block the protest route, forcing the crowd to change direction. During the earlier large-scale march, passers-by could be seen giving the three-finger salute of opposition to army rule, in apparent solidarity with those demonstrating. Others were seen applauding and handing out water to both protesters and police in what one witness described as a way of defusing tension. Witnesses described the crowd as expanding in size, before appearing to disperse after several hours. But a number of smaller, scattered protests remained ongoing including one at Yangon University, where several hundred mostly young people gathered and continued to chant..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar cuts Facebook access as military tightens grip following coup
Description: "Internet and news services continued to be disrupted across Myanmar on Thursday, as the country's military sought to secure their grip on power after deposing the democratically-elected government earlier this week. Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's de facto leader, along with President Win Myint and dozens of other senior figures in their National League for Democracy (NLD) were detained in pre-dawn raids Monday. Hours later, the military declared that power had been handed to commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing, in response to unfounded allegations of election fraud. A state of emergency was declared for one year. Late Wednesday, an arrest warrant was issued for Suu Kyi over unspecified "import and export" offenses, while Win Myint was remanded in custody under the country's Disaster Management Law, according to an NLD spokesman. While the dramatic overthrow of Suu Kyi's government attracted international attention, continued disruptions to internet access and communications mean that many in Myanmar may still be unclear about what is taking place. Facebook, by far the largest online platform in the country, confirmed to CNN that its services were "currently disrupted for some people" as of Thursday morning, as independent monitors recorded widespread filtering of Facebook, WhatsApp and other platforms, even as basic internet access was returning in some areas. Limited access to news and internet could affect the ability of people to get information or organize any response via social media. At one point on Monday, the only operational TV channel was the Myanmar military-owned television network Myawaddy TV. By Wednesday, some channels, such as DVB TV, were still off the air..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar coup: health workers at 70 hospitals join civil disobedience campaign
Sub-title: Medical staff accuse military chiefs of prioritising their own interests above those of the public during the pandemic
Description: "Staff at dozens of hospitals across Myanmar stopped working on Wednesday as part of a growing civil disobedience campaign, one of the first organised acts of defiance against the military after it ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Health workers in 70 hospitals and medical departments in Naypyidaw, Yangon and other towns and cities said they would not work under the military regime, accusing the generals of placing their own priorities above those of ordinary people during the pandemic. “We refuse to obey any order from the illegitimate military regime who demonstrated they do not have any regards for our poor patients,” the organisers said. A Facebook page coordinating the campaign accumulated nearly 150,000 followers in just 24 hours. “They will not stop this movement until the elected government is restored,” said Kyaw, a surgeon at West Yangon general hospital who has gone on strike. “I am upset about being apart from the patients, but I have no regrets, knowing that I did my best to help fight the pandemic,” he said, adding that he had resigned from the government hospital were he worked. Doctors are instead treating patients in their homes and at private clincis. The All Burma Federation of Students Union has also urged other government workers to strike. There have been no reports of street demonstrations against the army, but anger is simmering among the public, who lived under repressive military regimesfor five decades. On Wednesday night, the clanging of pots and pans echoed through the main city of Yangon, as people took to their balconies in a symbolic protest against the military. On social media, many adopted red profile pictures to signal their loyalty to Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent nearly 15 years in detention as she campaigned against military rule before being released in 2010. Within Myanmar, she is widely revered as a heroine of democracy, despite international condemnation over her treatment of the Rohingya..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Security Council fails to agree statement condemning Myanmar coup
Sub-title: Diplomats say discussions will continue with China and Russia asking for ‘more time’
Description: "The UN Security Council has failed to agree on a joint statement condemning Monday’s coup in Myanmar, after a two hour long emergency meeting failed to secure the support of China, a key Myanmar ally and a veto-holding permanent member of the council. The meeting, which was held virtually, followed the military’s detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other top politicians in a series of early morning raids on Monday, after which armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing assumed power. The 15-member council was considering a UK-drafted statement that the United Nations’ envoy on Myanmar told diplomats should “collectively send a clear signal in support of democracy” in the country. “I strongly condemn the recent steps taken by the military and urge all of you to collectively send a clear signal in support of democracy in Myanmar,” Christine Schraner Burgener told the council, according to her prepared remarks. The military has said its coup was constitutional and promised to hold new elections, claiming last November’s poll was fraudulent without evidence. A state of emergency will remain in force for one year..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Security Council unity ‘crucial’ to support democracy in Myanmar
Sub-title: The UN Special Envoy on Myanmar appealed on Tuesday for the Security Council to unite in support of democracy in the country in the wake of the recent power grab by the military and the declaration of a one-year state of emergency.
Description: "Christine Schraner Burgener addressed ambassadors during a closed meeting held the day after Myanmar’s military seized power and detained top political leaders and activists, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. “More than ever, this Council’s unity is crucial”, she said, according to remarks shared afterwards. “I strongly condemn the recent steps taken by the military and urge all of you to collectively send a clear signal in support of democracy in Myanmar.” ‘Surprising and shocking’ The crisis stems from elections held in November, marking the second democratic elections in Myanmar since the end of military rule a decade ago. Ms. Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), scored a landslide victory. The military and some political parties claimed the vote was fraudulent. Myanmar’s Supreme Court was scheduled to pronounce this month on its jurisdiction over complaints of alleged election-related violations. “We had earlier encouraged all electoral disputes should be resolved through established legal mechanisms”, Ms. Schraner Burgener said. “There appeared to be a commitment on the part of the military to safeguard the rule of law. So, the turn of events was surprising and shocking.” Release leaders The UN envoy underlined the NLD’s victory at the polls. The party won more than 82 per cent of seats, which “provided a strong renewed mandate to the NLD, reflecting the clear will of the people of Myanmar to continue on the hard-won path of democratic reform.” She called for the state of emergency to be repealed and for the detained leaders to be released, while the post-electoral litigation process should resume “with full commitment from both sides”. The military’s proposal to hold elections again should be discouraged, she added. “It is important that we join our efforts in helping ensure the military respects the will of the people of Myanmar and adheres to democratic norms.” Fears of backsliding Following reports of violence, including against journalists, Ms. Schraner Burgener also urged the Council to ensure the protection of civilians and human rights..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2021-02-02
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Freedom From Expression
Description: "“The NLD government still has time to make this right by taking the following actions without delay: Immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and drop charges against those who are being persecuted for their fundamental right to freedom of expression; stop harassing the media and reporters for doing their legitimate work; repeal repressive legislation and enact laws that enshrine press freedom and freedom of expression.” Myanmar has announced that it will indeed go ahead with the 2020 general election as planned, most likely in November. However, as noted by civil society organizations in light of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, freedom of expression is in decline in the country. It is essential that this fundamental freedom is guaranteed to hold the government accountable, to monitor the fairness of the elections and ensure transparency and fairness in its organization, and to scrutinize the platforms of the political parties that will contest it. One of the most pressing concerns in regard to freedom of expression and restrictions on the press, is the ongoing internet shutdown in Rakhine and Chin States. While one township in Rakhine State, Maungdaw, was recently taken off this list, this is probably a tactical PR move from the government given the upcoming reporting deadline to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on progress on implementation of measures as ordered by the Court. The remaining eight townships, however, are black holes of information. This is particularly galling in the context of both the coronavirus pandemic – where information dissemination is key for public health – and the ongoing armed conflict, in which 157,000 people have been displaced and the Myanmar military continues to commit egregious human rights violations. It has now been ten months without internet access in this part of Myanmar. Furthermore, on the same day that the Myanmar government officially announced its first coronavirus cases, they also announced that over 230 websites would be blocked. While the government gave the reason that such sites either contain adult content or spread ‘fake news,’ the reality is that some of these websites are essential ethnic media outlets such as Karen News and the Rakhine-based Development Media Group. These media outlets are not purveyors of ‘fake news’ but trusted local agencies that provide valuable information regarding the ground situation in their respective areas, areas where mainstream domestic or international media do not have access to. This valuable information pertains not just to the coronavirus pandemic, but also on the human rights violations and atrocities committed by the Myanmar military..."
Source/publisher: Progressive Voice (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2020-05-10
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Why media freedom in Myanmar matters to business
Sub-title: Businesses in Myanmar often view journalists with suspicion but the business community can support journalists and media organisations in a number of mutually beneficial ways.
Description: "
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-05-03
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Report exposes arbitrary detention, torture of Myanmar activists
Sub-title: Investigation conducted by Fortify Rights and Athan watchdogs alleges torture of detained students by prison guards.
Description: "On December 28, 2018, plain-clothes police officers in Myanmar arrested three student leaders, who had protested against the authorities and called for more safety measures on campus, following a series of deaths involving university students in the country's Mandalay region. Instead of addressing their concerns, the Yadanabon University students were charged with illegal assembly as well as arson, for setting fire to a makeshift cardboard coffin with photos of government and university officials, during the otherwise peaceful protest. More: Myanmar military persists with conflicts despite UN calls for global end to fighting Persecution of critics 'continues in Aung San Suu Kyi's Myanmar' Myanmar charges journalist under terrorism law, blocks news site In turn, four more students staged a separate rally demanding the release of their colleagues and they were promptly arrested and charged with the same "violations" that had earlier been brought against the three others. All seven students were found guilty of the charges and sentenced to three months in prison in February 2019. They were released six weeks later, having served the remainder of their detentions..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-04-23
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Border Guard Force frees journalists, vows to punish soldiers who detained them
Sub-title: Naw Betty Han of Frontier and Mar Naw of the Myanmar Times spent Wednesday night in detention in Kayin state
Description: "The Border Guard Force (BGF) in Kayin state released two journalists on Thursday and said it would punish the soldiers who detained them. Frontier Myanmar reporter Naw Betty Han and Myanmar Times photographer Mar Naw were detained in the border town of Myawaddy on Wednesday evening. Frontier said in a statement Thursday afternoon that it had not heard from its reporter and was concerned for her safety. Local BGF commander colonel Saw Chit Thu later told Myanmar Now the pair had been released and would be brought to Kayin’s capital Hpa-An. Their captors would be punished with up to 30 days in detention, he added. Naw Betty Han sent a text message to a Frontier colleague on Wednesday afternoon informing them she had been detained. She has previously reported on the business interests of the Kayin BGF, a Tatmadaw-backed group. Soldiers from the group stopped the journalists at the No. 1 border gate in Myawaddy and made the arrests after finding notes about casinos in Naw Betty Han’s notebook, Saw Chit Thu said. He has ordered an investigation into their detention, he added. Frontier said in a follow-up statement on Thursday evening that Naw Betty Han “has been released and is safe”. Reached by Myanmar Now, Mar Naw said he had been released but was not sure if the BGF would bring him to Hpa-An..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-03-05
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Fighting in Rakhine, Chin states rages as Myanmar limits internet
Sub-title: Activists and journalists say decision to limit internet access in some parts of Rakhine is a violation of basic rights.
Description: " Continued fighting between Myanmar's military and the Arakan Army armed group has left several people dead in recent days as the government continues a clampdown on the western region. Activists and journalists have decried the internet blackout the government has imposed as part of the clampdown as a violation of human rights. More: Myanmar violence: Thousands displaced by fresh fighting Students injured in shelling at school in Myanmar's Rakhine state UN urged to suspend Myanmar return plan for Chin amid unrest Reports on Tuesday said at least 11 civilians, including five Muslim Rohingya, had been killed after being caught in the hostilities in Rakhine, a western state that is home to more than three million people. In a statement, four United Nations human rights experts also said "credible reports" showed that more than 1,000 people had been displaced in the 10 days up to February 18. The Myanmar Times also quoted the Rakhine Ethnic Congress as saying that more than 120,000 have evacuated beginning in November 2018..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-03-05
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar: Release Four Activists Jailed For Peaceful Protest
Description: "The Myanmar authorities should immediately and unconditionally release four activists who have been convicted and sentenced to one month in prison simply for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Civil Rights Defenders said today. On January 17, 2020, the Myawaddy Township court in Kayin/Karen State, south eastern Myanmar, sentenced four activists – Naw Ohn Hla, Maung U, U Nge (aka) Hsan Hlaing, and Sandar Myint – to one month in prison after finding them guilty of protesting without authorization under Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law. The law officially only requires notification of a protest but in practice, authorities treat the notification requirement as a request for permission. It has frequently been used to target peaceful activists, in particular those campaigning for justice for communities affected by human rights violations and abuses. Police charged the four activists after they participated in a peaceful demonstration organized by residents of the Shwe Mya Sandi housing project in Kayin/Karen State on April 19, 2019. Residents had been protesting against demolition of their homes in February 2019, after the government declared that the land used for the project had been acquired unlawfully and began demolishing their homes. Protest organizers Maung U, U Nge (aka) Hsan Hlaing, and Sandar Myint had notified authorities of their intention to march along the Myawaddy road. Naw Ohn Hla was not involved in organizing the protest, however she joined in a show of solidarity..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Authorities arrest students over Rakhine internet shutdown protest
Description: "Authorities in Myanmar have charged nine students with violating the country’s Peaceful Assembly Law after they staged a protest Sunday against the government’s suspension of internet services in restive Rakhine and Chin states, according to a report by RFA. The nine students organized and were part of a gathering of about 100 who demanded that the government reinstate mobile internet access in nine townships in Chin and Rakhine. Internet access was blocked in June of last year. In five of the nine townships, access was later reinstated, but then blocked again earlier this month, the report says. Under section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly Law, the students could face a sentence of up to three months, because they did not receive prior permission to hold the protest..."
Source/publisher: "Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-02-26
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Police Charge Nine Students for Protesting Against Internet Ban in Conflict Zone
Description: "Authorities in Myanmar Monday charged nine students with violating the country’s Peaceful Assembly Law after they staged a protest Sunday against the government’s suspension of internet services in restive Rakhine and Chin states, home to fighting between ethnic insurgents and Myanmar’s military. The nine students organized and were part of a gathering of about 100 who demanded that the government reinstate mobile internet access in nine townships in Chin and Rakhine. Internet access was blocked in June of last year. In five of the nine townships, access was later reinstated, but then blocked again earlier this month. Under section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly Law, the students could face a sentence of up to three months, because they did not receive prior permission to hold the protest. Sources told RFA’s Myanmar Service that police officers in plain clothes ventured onto the campus of Yangon University to make arrests. Six of the nine students who were charged were in custody, Reuters news agency quoted a participant in the protest as saying. One of the accused students, Myat Hein Tun, who is the secretary of the Rakhine Students Union at the University, told RFA that he disagreed with the manner in which the arrests were made..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-02-24
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: UN rights experts ‘gravely’ concerned at spike in civilian casualties in north-west Myanmar following internet shutdown
Sub-title: Independent UN human rights experts on Tuesday voiced grave concern over the killing and displacement of civilians in north-west Myanmar during the intensifying conflict between the military and an armed group, the Arakan Army, amid an information blackout in some parts of Rakhine and Chin states.
Description: "“Civilians, including children, continue to bear the brunt of this escalating conflict,”said the UN rights experts, adding that “we are especially fearful for them as violence has increased in the areas where an internet shutdown was recently re-imposed.” In a joint statement, the experts said that since the beginning of February, the Mayanmr Government had imposed restrictions, including a three-month suspension of mobile internet services, in Muslim-majority Rakhine state and in Chin state, the experts explained in a statement. Further, credible reports showed that fighting and possible use of heavy weapons occurred near ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya villages. “We are gravely concerned that children are being killed and injured, and that reports suggest weapons are being used indiscriminately, and precautions are not being taken to protect civilians and civilian objects such as schools and monasteries, in violation of international humanitarian law,” the experts said. On the one hand, civilians continue to experience severe difficulties in moving around the conflict-affected area, particularly for those in need of assistance. On the other hand, heavy restrictions on humanitarian access in Rakhine state remain and access for the media and human rights monitors is extremely limited. “We call on all parties to the conflict to abide by international humanitarian law and international human rights law and protect civilians at all times,” said the experts..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2020-02-20
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: More ‘outrageous’ convictions for satire performers
Description: "Responding to news that three members of the Peacock Generation poetry troupe were convicted and sentenced to six months in prison for “online defamation” today for sharing their performances on social media, Amnesty International’s Regional Director Nicholas Bequelin said: “It beggars belief that these young, brave people are behind bars for sharing videos and photos online. Their performances are all about aspirations for a better future. The fact they’ve been subjected to these outrageous trials and convictions shows just how vindictive the Myanmar military is. “The authorities would rather punish the youth than reflect on the criticisms presented peacefully through their performances. These convictions and sentences should be quashed, detained members of the group immediately and unconditionally released, and all further charges against them dropped. “With elections around the corner, Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling NLD party are running out of time to repeal or amend draconian laws and fully protect freedom of expression. It is time to consign these laws to history once and for all.”..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (UK)
Date of publication: 2020-02-17
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar: Lift Internet Restrictions in Rakhine and Chin States
Sub-title: Mobile internet blackout in four townships in Rakhine State among the world’s longest running
Description: "We, the 29 undersigned organizations, call on the Government of Myanmar to immediately lift restrictions on mobile internet communications in eight townships in Rakhine State and one township in Chin State. We are particularly concerned by the Government of Myanmar’s recent reinstatement of restrictions on mobile internet access in five townships on February 3, 2020, after lifting restrictions in those townships earlier. We call on the Government of Myanmar to release publicly the justification for the internet shutdown and all information related to the process by which these restrictions were imposed. The government first imposed restrictions on mobile internet communications on June 21, 2019 in Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Maungdaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Ponnagyun, and Rathedaung townships in Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in Chin State. On September 1, the government lifted restrictions in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Myebon, Paletwa, and Rathedaung townships. On February 3, 2020, a telecommunications provider reported that the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications ordered the reinstatement of the restrictions in those five townships. The company published a statement on its website saying that the Ministry referenced “security requirement and public interest” in issuing the order..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-02-13
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The Limits of Press Freedom in Myanmar.
Description: "For over half a century, Myanmar had no real press, not much freedom and certainly no press freedom. An absurdly oppressive military dictatorship turned the South-East Asian country into a pariah state where private daily newspapers were prohibited, the rightful president were in house arrest and the internet was a place where the term 'democracy' wouldn't exist either. But now, something exciting is happening in Myanmar, and it is happening at a dizzying speed. Under president Thein Sein, Myanmar currently experiences an unprecedented political transition. The government is trying to shed its rogue status and has freed not only political prisoners from jail, but also one of the most repressed media systems in the world from an all-encompassing paralysis. Suddenly, the formerly ignored journalists find themselves at the frontline of democratic reforms. After Thein Sein's government abolished all censorship in August 2012 and allowed private newspapers in April 2013, now is the time to critically ask what the relaxation of state control towards media freedom mean – and which changes it brought along for journalists and citizens. In this study, the effects and limits of the political liberalization towards political newspaper coverage should be examined..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
Date of publication: 2014-05-13
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 1.36 MB (original version), 982.37 KB (reduce version)
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Title: Myanmar Again Cuts Rakhine State’s Internet
Sub-title: Restore Telecommunications, Allow Aid to Conflict Areas
Description: "Myanmar authorities have issued a surprise order reinstating the shutdown of mobile internet traffic in five townships in Myanmar’s northwestern Rakhine and Chin States. Added to four other Rakhine State townships where mobile internet service has been blocked since June 2019, this leaves nine townships unable to get online, causing an information blackout that affects approximately one million people. The Ministry of Transport and Communications’ directive to internet and telecommunications providers cited security requirements and public interest as the reasons for re-imposing the shutdown, which had been lifted in the five townships in September. The Norwegian Telenor Group issued a statement to inform the public of the directive, and said it was seeking further clarification from the ministry. This communications shutdown places civilians at risk as the fighting between the ethnic-Rakhine Arakan Army and Myanmar’s military intensifies. About 106,000 civilians have been displaced by the conflict. Blocking local communities’ ability to communicate makes it harder for civilians to obtain help when needed, and significantly more difficult for humanitarian agencies to assist vulnerable populations. The Rakhine State government has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis by imposing restrictions on aid access in eight townships..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-02-05
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar reimposes Internet shutdown in conflict-torn Rakhine, Chin states
Description: "Myanmar has reimposed an Internet shutdown in two conflict-torn western states, after partially lifting the blackout five months ago, a leading telecoms operator said late on Monday. Norwegian mobile operator Telenor Group said in a statement the transport and communications ministry had ordered for mobile Internet traffic to be stopped again in five townships in Rakhine and Chin states for three months. A months-long Internet blackout in four Rakhine townships - Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Rathedaung, and Myebon - and one in Chin state had been lifted in September amid peace talks seeking to end clashes between government troops and ethnic insurgents. Officials cited "security requirements and public interest" for the reinstatement, Telenor said, adding that four other townships remain under a blackout first imposed in June last year. Tun Tun Nyi, a Myanmar military spokesman, said the army was unaware of the shutdown. "We don't know and we haven't heard about it," he told Reuters by phone on Tuesday..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK) via "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication: 2020-02-04
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Aung San Suu Kyi Faces Rare Protest at Speech in Myanmar’s Capital
Description: "Myanmar university students staged a rare protest during a speech by the country’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi at an education sector event in the capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, criticizing the civilian-led government’s decision to extend the academic year by one month. She was giving the opening speech at an education sector development workshop at the Myanmar Convention Center when students from the Yangon University Union, Sagaing University Student Union, and Educational College Union stood up with signs objecting to the Ministry of Education’s extension of the school year to March. Other students demonstrated in a hallway outside the room where Aung San Suu Kyi was speaking. They also blasted a decision by the ministry to cut in half the current 10-day classes for students enrolled in distance-learning courses. Students from Mandalay’s Yadanabon University protested against the move in October, saying it would create additional expenses and hassle by requiring them to be physically present on campus for on-site classes two different times before taking their exams beginning with the 2020 school year, the Myanmar Times reported..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-01-28
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Longest internet disruption in Myanmar’s Rakhine state sets dangerous precedent
Description: "On 21 June 2019, Myanmar authorities ordered the blocking of the internet in nine townships of Rakhine and Chin States in northern Myanmar. Six months later, the internet remains blocked in four Rakhine townships: Mrauk U, Kyauktaw, Minbya, and Ponnagyun, establishing a dangerous precedent and prompting protests. The order to block the internet in June was issued following clashes between the military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine rebel group. Myanmar counts over a hundred ethnic groups, some of which are waging armed struggle to assert their right to self-determination. Authorities cited the need to protect national security in justifying the restriction of the internet. Even the entry of journalists in Rakhine , which counts over three million inhabitants, is strictly regulated by the government. On 1 September, the Transport and Communications Ministry lifted the internet ban in some townships. Yet 600,000 residents in Rakhine’s four townships continue to be affected by internet restrictions. Reports showed that the internet blocking in Rakhine has undermined business operations, delivery of e-government services, and tourism activities. Residents said they encountered difficulties in processing mobile money services and communicating with their relatives who are working in other provinces and countries..."
Source/publisher: "Global Voices" (Amsterdam)
Date of publication: 2019-12-29
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Spirit of Myanmar’s National Day forgotten?
Description: "On today, the 21 November, the people of Myanmar celebrate their National Day, an annual public holiday for the country, celebrated on the tenth day following the full moon of the month of Tazaungmone, the eighth month of the country’s calendar. The holiday marks the anniversary of the beginning of student-led protests against the British in 1920. As with most of ASEAN, from the earliest days of colonisation, there was a strong feeling of resentment against the rule of Myanmar’s colonisers. The student protests of 1920 were seen as the start of the resistance movement that ultimately led to independence from Britain in 1948. In 1920, on the tenth day following the full-moon day of Tazaungmone, students from the Rangoon and Judson Colleges began protests against the British administration’s Rangoon University Act of 1920. The Act raised the status of Rangoon College to that of a university, but the changes in the administration and curriculum were seen to exclude the local population. The protests ignited a call for nationalism among students, the basis of which formed the key elements of the country’s independence movement. Today, however, Myanmar’s leadership seem to have forgotten the spirit of the 1920 student protests..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication: 2019-11-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Prison Sentence Shows Burma Is ‘Still A Dictatorship,’ Karenni Youth Activists Say
Description: "Six Karenni youth activists were sentenced by a Loikaw Township court to six months in prison with hard labor on Thursday for their role in protesting a statue of the late Gen Aung San. A lawyer for the defendants said that the decision was made after 18 court sessions. “A court of law made a final decision that they would be sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, but the days they already spent in detention must be deducted from their prison term. Therefore their prison term will end on December 21, 2019,” lawyer Saw Khu Talay told NMG. Those sentenced include Khun Thomas, Khu Kyu Phae Kay—also known as Guugu, Pyar Lay, Dee De, Khu Reh Du and Myo Hlaing Win. They were arrested on June 21 after the closing ceremony of a commemoration for Karenni National Day. The charges against the youth date back to March 25, when they released a statement accusing Karenni State chief minister L Phoung Sho, finance minister Maw Maw, and other officials involved in the erecting of the statue of Gen Aung San of betraying Karenni history and sowing disunity among ethnic peoples. The activists were charged with violating Article 10 of Burma’s Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens because their actions allegedly had a negative effect on the reputation of the state officials..."
Source/publisher: "Network Media Group" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2019-11-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar actors jailed with hard labour for show poking fun at military
Sub-title: Five group members get one-year terms under law that bans information that endangers or demoralises military
Description: "A court in Myanmar has sentenced five members of a traditional theatrical troupe to a year in prison for their gibes about the military. The members of the Peacock Generation thangyat troupe were arrested in April for performances during celebrations of Myanmar’s traditional new year in which they poked fun at military representatives in parliament and military involvement in business. The military is a powerful political force in Myanmar even though the country has an elected government. Thangyat combines dance and music with verse that often has a satirical edge. The five were convicted on Wednesday under a law prohibiting the circulation of information that could endanger or demoralise members of the military. “This is an appalling verdict. Punishing people for performing a piece of satire speaks volumes about the dire state of freedom of expression in Myanmar,” said Joanne Mariner, research director for southeast Asia for the human rights organisation Amnesty International..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA) via "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2019-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: Release Arbitrarily Detained Karenni Human Rights Defenders
Sub-title: Five protesters in hiding, trial set to continue tomorrow
Description: "Myanmar authorities should immediately and unconditionally release and drop charges against six Karenni human rights defenders who published a statement criticizing two Myanmar officials for erecting a statue of Myanmar independence icon General Aung San in Loikaw, Karenni State (officially known as Kayah State), Fortify Rights said today. The Loikaw Township Court is scheduled to continue the trial on October 29. Myanmar authorities have arbitrarily detained the six human rights defenders in Loikaw prison since June. “Expressing criticism of public officials is legitimate, democratic, and not a crime,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. “The government should immediately drop these charges. No one should be prosecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression.” On May 17, Deputy Director of the Karenni State Administration Office Thet Naung charged Khu Kyuphe Kay, 24, Khun John Paul, 26, Myo Hlaing Win, 25, Khun Tomas, 25, Dee De, 38, and Khu Ree Rhe, 25, for their involvement in sharing on March 25 a Burmese-language public statement on social media, accusing the Karenni State Chief Minister L Phaung Sho and Minister of Planning and Finance U Maw Maw of “being traitors to the Karenni people and enemies of ethnic unity.” On June 24, the Loikaw Township Court accepted the complaint against the six human rights defenders, denied their request for bail, and scheduled their trial to begin on July 3. Hearings have continued to take place since July 3, with the most recent taking place on October 17..."
Source/publisher: "Fortify Rights"
Date of publication: 2019-10-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: Release Arbitrarily Detained Karenni Human Rights Defenders
Sub-title: Five protesters in hiding, trial set to continue tomorrow
Description: "Myanmar authorities should immediately and unconditionally release and drop charges against six Karenni human rights defenders who published a statement criticizing two Myanmar officials for erecting a statue of Myanmar independence icon General Aung San in Loikaw, Karenni State (officially known as Kayah State), Fortify Rights said today. The Loikaw Township Court is scheduled to continue the trial on October 29. Myanmar authorities have arbitrarily detained the six human rights defenders in Loikaw prison since June. “Expressing criticism of public officials is legitimate, democratic, and not a crime,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. “The government should immediately drop these charges. No one should be prosecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression.” On May 17, Deputy Director of the Karenni State Administration Office Thet Naung charged Khu Kyuphe Kay, 24, Khun John Paul, 26, Myo Hlaing Win, 25, Khun Tomas, 25, Dee De, 38, and Khu Ree Rhe, 25, for their involvement in sharing on March 25 a Burmese-language public statement on social media, accusing the Karenni State Chief Minister L Phaung Sho and Minister of Planning and Finance U Maw Maw of “being traitors to the Karenni people and enemies of ethnic unity.” On June 24, the Loikaw Township Court accepted the complaint against the six human rights defenders, denied their request for bail, and scheduled their trial to begin on July 3. Hearings have continued to take place since July 3, with the most recent taking place on October 17..."
Source/publisher: "Fortify Rights"
Date of publication: 2019-10-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: Satire performers who mocked military face prison in “appalling” conviction
Topic: Myanmar, Censorship and freedom of expression
Topic: Myanmar, Censorship and freedom of expression
Description: "Five members of the Peacock Generation—Kay Khine Tun, Zayar Lwin, Paing Pyo Min, Paing Ye Thu and Zaw Lin Htut—were arrested in April 2019 after they performed Thangyat, a traditional performance art akin to slam poetry. They were wearing military uniforms and criticized the authorities. On 30 October 2019, they were convicted under Section 505 (a) of Myanmar’s Penal Code at Mayangon Township Court in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, and sentenced to one year in prison. For livestreaming performances on Facebook, Zay Yar Lwin, Paing Phyo Min and Paing Ye Thu also face charges under Section 66 (d) of the Telecommunication Act for “online defamation.” An additional member of the troupe, Su Yadanar Myint, also faces these charges. All six of them and another member, Nyein Chan Soe, also face charges under Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code at Yangon’s Botahtaung Township Court. Members of the Peacock Generation are facing the same charges in a number of other townships outside Yangon where they have performed Thangyat..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication: 2019-10-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Facebook, the Rohingya, and internet blackouts in Myanmar
Sub-title: Online restrictions imposed on the Rohingya in Myanmar and in refugee camps in Bangladesh should be repealed.
Description: "The role of social media, particularly Facebook, in facilitating hate speech and spreading disinformation in countries such as Myanmar has undermined assertions by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that his platform promotes “well-being”. Nevertheless, the United Nations has argued that internet access is a “key means” by which individuals can exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression. This makes internet blackouts a significant human rights issue around the world and as the world becomes more connected, they are becoming more common. Not surprisingly, the Rohingya, Myanmar’s perpetually oppressed ethnic minority, are now facing internet restrictions on both sides of the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. In June the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications directed information and communications technology operators to disable internet services in nine townships in western Myanmar where the military are in conflict with the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army. Although also containing Rakhine civilians, several of these townships were majority-Rohingya and have been sites for attacks on Rohingya civilians..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Interpreter"
Date of publication: 2019-10-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The government's pointless battles with ethnic activists
Sub-title: On October 2, hundreds of people – possibly even 1,000 – gathered in Maha Bandoola Park in Yangon to show support for activists Naw Ohn Hla, Saw Thein Zaw Min and Saw Albert Cho.
Description: "Just hours earlier, they had been sentenced to 15 days’ imprisonment for organising a ceremony to observe Karen Martyrs’ Day. The day marks the anniversary of the deaths of Karen National Union founders Saw Ba U Gyi and Major-General Sai Kay, who were killed in a Tatmadaw ambush in 1950. The trio were released immediately after the sentencing, having already served 22 days. But the outcome angered ethnic rights activists, who said it was further evidence of the government’s continued oppression of ethnic minorities. Why were they detained and charged? Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein had prohibited them from using the word “martyr” at the event, so they changed the location from North Dagon, on the city’s outskirts, to City Hall and Maha Bandoola Park, right in the centre. Moving the event was a provocative step. The government took the bait. Ohn Hla has been arrested and imprisoned many times over the past three decades. She is unlikely to shy away from a fight. Another stint in prison was always going to be a possible outcome. Lest we think this was a one-off, though, the regional authorities doubled down, filing charges against three women who had protested during a September 27 court hearing for the three detained activists. This story is likely to rumble on: more protests, more charges, more fiery statements. The whole episode underscores the government’s intolerance towards expressions of ethnic minority culture and history – in particular, those that deviate from the official narrative of 135 ethnic groups living in harmony since time immemorial, which, as the lead article in this issue of Frontier shows, is a myth. But it also reflects the government’s remarkable ability to pick pointless political battles. What would have been a relatively small event on Yangon’s outskirts was transformed into a series of demonstrations in the city’s heart that garnered major press coverage..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: Five years without justice for journalist Ko Par Gyi’s killing highlights need to reform 1959 law that facilitates military impunity
Sub-title: Reform of the 1959 Defence Services Act is a necessary step to address ongoing military impunity. The case of Ko Par Gyi’s killing should be reopened to satisfy the State’s international law obligations and deter repetition of serious crimes by soldiers.
Description: "Five years after the death of journalist Ko Par Gyi, the ICJ calls on the Government of Myanmar to reform the 1959 Defence Services Act, which was used to shield soldiers from accountability for involvement in his killing. “The case is emblematic of the 1959 Defence Services Act being used to enable impunity for human rights violations by soldiers throughout Myanmar, by transferring to military courts the authority to investigate and prosecute serious crimes against civilians,” said Frederick Rawski, Asia Pacific Region Director for the ICJ. “Impunity for Ko Par Gyi’s death is another example of this law being used to shield soldiers from accountability for serious crimes,” added Rawski. “Legislators should reform the 1959 law to enable the public criminal prosecution of soldiers for serious crimes in all circumstances, and take other steps to address the accountability gap.” After being detained by police in Mon State and transferred into military detention on 30 September 2014, Ko Par Gyi died four days later in the custody of Tatmadaw soldiers. Unceremoniously buried in a shallow grave, Ko Par Gyi’s death was hidden from his family and the public for weeks. Nobody has been held accountable for his death and his family lacks access to redress, including their right to know the truth..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "International Commission of Jurists" (Switzerland)
Date of publication: 2019-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: Promote press freedom, and end reprisals against Development Media Group
Description: "The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) strongly condemns the harassment of the Development Media Group (DMG) and its Chief Editor, Aung Marm Oo. We call on the authorities of Myanmar to put an end to the reprisals against DMG, and take all steps necessary to promote press freedom in the country. DMG is an outspoken, independent media outlet that covers sensitive issues in Rakhine State, including human rights violations and alleged abuses by the state perpetrators. On 1 May 2019, Aung Marm Oo, Chief Editor of the DMG, was charged under Section 17 (2) of the Unlawful Association Act, which prohibits the ‘the management or promotion or assistance of an unlawful association.’ If found guilty, Aung Marm Oo may be sentenced for up to five years in prison, as well as a fine. Five months since charges were filed, authorities have yet to formally clarify for the prosecution of DMG and relevant persons.[1] The law itself is vaguely formulated and contains ambiguous provisions to enable it to be used to stifle media organisations and human rights defenders, who report on armed conflict. The authorities have also delayed the issuing of licenses for the production of News Journal, DMG’s bi-monthly publication, despite the DMG’s compliance with licensing requisites,[2] compromising its ability to provide much needed information to communities. Press and media freedom remain elusive in Myanmar. In past decades, journalists have been charged with a variety of repressive laws, covering issues such as defamation and trespassing, including by the use of Section 66 (D) of the Telecommunication Law. In early 2019, for example, the Irrawaddy and Radio Free Asia faced defamation charges filed by the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, following their reporting on military operations in Rakhine State. This has created a chilling effect among independent media, particularly those reporting on armed conflicts and human rights violations..."
Source/publisher: Forum-Asia (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2019-10-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 82.64 KB (2 pages)
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Title: “Freedom, Equality and Justice” – the essential Values for Peace
Description: "“Freedom, Equality and Justice are the essential values for every human being, as well being the essential foundational values needed to build a peaceful society,” Dr Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong, Vice-Chair of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC), declared at the opening of a DVB run panel discussion on values for peace to mark the International Day of Peace in Yangon. Giving the opening remarks at the DVB organized event, which was supported by the Joint Peace Fund, Dr Sakhong, said these values need to be protected legally and politically. That way ethnic communities including Bamar would be able to solve the issues that relate to diversity, multiculturalism, and difference of religion. “If we want to move ahead to a country based on democracy and a federal system, we have to recognize and respect different ethnicities and celebrate their diversity,” he said. He explained that this was necessary because it was an essential step towards building the values needed for lasting peace. He said: “If we do so, the values of mutual recognition and mutual respect will gradually become the core values for peace in this country, and we need to see these values as our strength. Moreover, that values can guarantee to reach peace.” The one-day event on 21 September 2019 constituted a series of three panel discussions led by female discussants on values for peace and two core issues on business and environment that would gain benefits from achieving peace in Myanmar. The final panel on “Values for Peace”, involved Lahpai Ja Ra from the Gender and Development Institute (GDI), Nan Say Hwa who is a Former Member of Parliament, Zar chi Oo, an independent researcher and Mon Mon Myat, a freelance writer..."
Source/publisher: "Joint Peace Fund" via Reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The United Nations in Myanmar calls for internet resumption in areas under shutdown in Rakhine State
Description: "Yangon, 30 September 2019 -The United Nations in Myanmar urges the Government to end the shutdown of mobile internet services in Ponnagyun, Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, and Minbya Townships in Rakhine State. While welcoming steps taken to restore service to five out of the nine townships affected by the shutdown, the United Nations also notes that for those townships which remain cut off, the shut-down will have reached its 101st day on 30 September 2019. Uninterrupted availability of the internet is indispensable and mobile internet services are a key enabler of the humanitarian and development work of the United Nations in Myanmar. The shutdown has therefore been a significant impediment to our work, complicating our ability to communicate in field locations, including with affected people. More broadly, the public in these areas, many of whom were already severely affected by the ongoing armed conflict in the area and by related constraints on humanitarian access, are facing additional difficulties related to the shutdown and in their daily lives. The internet is critical for access to information and freedom of expression, which enable other fundamental human rights. The shutdown is in contradiction to the principles and values of the Sustainable Development Goals, signed by the Government of Myanmar, which call for no one to be left behind, and has the potential to further undermine basic rights around access to food, education, health services and information.
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Myanmar via Reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 80.26 KB 121.39 KB
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Title: Critics of Myanmar Government Facing Prison Time
Sub-title: Civilian Officials’ Intolerance of Criticism Rivaling Military’s
Description: "Speech critical of the government is under increasing attack in Myanmar. While the military has long been intolerant of criticism, members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) are not far behind. In the past two weeks, NLD officials have filed several criminal defamation charges against government critics. On September 18, the NLD’s Mandalay region office filed defamation charges against Aung Pyae San Win and Swam Ka Bar for posting memes on a satirical Facebook page about the Mandalay chief minister. The same week, the chairman of the NLD’s Maubin township branch filed a criminal complaint against cartoonist Naing Zaw Oo (known as “Ahtee”), alleging that he defamed the NLD and its local branch in social media posts criticizing the local party’s record. All of these cases were filed under section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Act, which as amended in August 2017 provides for up to two years in prison for anyone who “defames” any person using a telecommunications network. Both the Myanmar military and the NLD have repeatedly used the provision to silence their critics. Others currently facing charges include the editor of local media outlet The Irrawaddy, members of a group that put on a satirical thangyat (slam poetry) performance critical of the military, and filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who has already been sentenced to a year in prison at hard labor under a provision of the penal code for criticizing the military’s role in politics on Facebook..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-09-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The Bangladeshi government cracks down on Rohingya freedom of expression and movement
Description: "The Bangladeshi government has taken steps to restrict Rohingya refugees’ freedom of movement and communication. The hosts have adopted an increasingly repressive attitude towards the Rohingya Muslims living in refugee camps in Bangladesh in recent weeks. The Burmese government embarked on a campaign of genocide and murder in August 2017, prompting some 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border in search of safety. There are now around 940,000 living in makeshift refugee camps along Bangladesh’s Southeast border. The Bangladeshi government is following a playbook of repression On September 3, the Bangladeshi government cut access to 3G and 4G cellular services in the border towns of Teknaf and Ukhia. The two towns are home to 36 refugee camps. While 2G services remain, the move all but signals the complete restriction of internet access for the Rohingya refugees. Abu Saeed Khan, a senior policy fellow at the LIRNEasia think tank said the shutdown, “effectively means the shutdown of the internet. With 2G network, it will be almost impossible to access.” Mobile phone operators were given seven days to provide reports to the government outlining the steps they have taken to limit connectivity in the camps...."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "ASEAN Today"
Date of publication: 2019-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Campaign launched to highlight “data darkness” internet shutdown in Rakhine State
Description: "Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business and three partners have launched a campaign to highlight the impact of an internet blackout on residents of four townships in Rakhine State. The campaign will culminate on September 30 with “Myanmar Internet Blackout Day 101” to “show solidarity with over 600,000 people in Rakhine who will have had not access to the internet for 101 days,” MCRB said in a statement on its website. “On that day, MCRB encourages anyone who cares about internet access, whether from business, government or non-government organisations and individuals to turn off their mobile data, turn off their wifi, put an out-of-office message on email, and close Facebook, and see what it feels like,” it said. “Alternatively, tell us why you can’t survive one day without internet access, let alone 101.” The campaign to highlight the government’s “unprecedented order” on June 20 to shut down all mobile phone operators in eight Rakhine townships and Paletwa Township in neighbouring Chin State, which affected more than one million people, also involves civil society groups Free Expression Myanmar, Myan ICT for Development Organisation (MIDO) and community tech hub, Phandeeyar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myitkyina court fines pair over protests by IDP youth
Description: "A court in the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina, has penalised the organisers of the first demonstrations in the city to be held by youth displaced by fighting since a ceasefire collapsed in 2011. Nhkum La Nu, 20, and Malang Hka Mai, 50, were on September 10 each sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment or a fine of K20,000, and opted to pay the fine. The protests were held over three days, on September 5, 6 and 9. La Nu and Hka Mai, who are both IDPs, were convicted under section 20 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law over the display of unauthorised placards at a demonstration in the state capital on September 5. Two of the offending placards read “War is not the answer” and “We hate war”. They were also convicted under the same offence because of slogans on T-shirts that condemned attempts by the Tatmadaw to stifle freedom of expression. The T-shirts were worn by members of Yangon-based freedom of expression advocacy group Athan, who travelled to Myitkyina to protest at the township courthouse against the Tatmadaw's complaint against Kachin Baptist Convention President Reverend Hkalam Samson. After the complaint was withdrawn on September 9, the Athan members joined the final day of the IDP demonstration instead. La Nu said that within hours of the September 5 protest, he and Hka Mai were summoned to Myitkyina police station and told they would be charged under a complaint filed by a township police officer because prior approval had not been given to some of the placards displayed at the event, which was attended by about 250 people..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Prayers answered as Tatmadaw drops complaint against Kachin Baptist leader
Description: "Kachin Baptist Convention president Reverend Hkalam Samson has thanked the prayers of his supporters at home and abroad for the military’s decision to drop its complaint against him for remarks he made to United States President Donald Trump. In a video posted to the KBC’s social media page on September 10, a day after the case was withdrawn, Hkalam Samson also urged the Kachin community’s different Christian denominations to remain united, and to keep praying in solidarity for the future of the nation. Tensions have been high in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina in recent days, with a convoy of military vehicles containing armed soldiers rumbling past demonstrators near the Myitkyina Township Court shortly before the court was due to announce if the case against Hkalam Samson would proceed. The complaint was filed by the Northern Command’s Lieutenant-Colonel Than Htike on August 26 over comments made by Hkalam Samson when survivors of religious persecution from throughout the world met Trump at the White House on July 17. Samson told the US president that that there was no religious freedom in Myanmar and that oppression and torture were common. He also described as “helpful” a decision the US announced the previous day to sanction Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and three other senior officers over what the US State Department called “gross human rights violations” during the “ethnic cleansing” against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. The decision bans the four officers and members of their families from travelling to the US..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-09-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Burma Must Repeal Anti-democratic and Draconian Laws
Description: "Burma Human Rights Network calls upon the Burmese Government to repeal the antiquated and anti-democratic laws that have resulted in the one-year prison sentence with hard labor against filmmaker U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi for a Facebook post that was critical of the Military. According to the verdict, U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi was found guilty of causing military personnel to “mutiny” or “otherwise disregard or fail in their duty.” The post in question criticized the role of the military in politics and Burma’s 2008 constitution which gives the military a mandatory 25% of Parliament and veto power. “This verdict clearly shows Burma has no interest in democratic principles or the fundamental rights of their citizenship but rather functions intentionally to allow the military dominate the political system and punish anyone who is critical of their record of brutality against their own people. Burma, particularly the National League for Democracy, need to make significant efforts to reverse all oppressive laws which violate the fundamental rights of their citizens. In concert with that, it is vital that those who are imprisoned under such draconian laws be pardoned immediately,” said BHRN Executive Director Kyaw Win. U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi recently had surgery for liver cancer. His lawyer, Robert San Aung, told the Irrawaddy Magazine, “U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi is so sick that he only has a slim chance of surviving. The sentence is unfair and inhumane; it’s an inappropriate sentence for an ailing person.” U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi’s criticisms of the Military are valid and vital to helping Burma become a more democratic country that respects the rights of its citizens. Burma must release him immediately out of respect for human rights and compassion for his condition. All laws which violate the fundamental rights of citizens in Burma must be repealed. The international community has an obligation to intervene with the tools at their disposal, including sanctions, to correct the wrongs of the military and Government of Burma. It is critical that steps are taken to ensure a safe place for citizens like U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi whose contributions are essential to Burma’s progress and betterment as a democratic nation..."
Source/publisher: "Progressive Voice" via Burma Human Rights Network
Date of publication: 2019-08-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Rights Activist in Myanmar Sentenced for Giving Judge Broken Scales of Justice
Description: "A Kachin rights activist found guilty of violating the Peaceful Assembly Law received an additional sentence of three months in prison on Friday for giving a set of broken scales to a judge in Myitkyina Township Court. Ko Paul was sentenced to 15 days imprisonment on Sept. 2 for violating Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly Law. When the sentence was handed down, he gave Judge U Than Tun a set of broken scales to show his dissatisfaction with the sentence. The judge responded by filing a lawsuit against Ko Paul for disturbing the duties of a civil servant and for insulting and disrespecting the court. “I gave him broken scales to represent the collapse of the judiciary in this country. The scales of justice in this country are broken. For that, I’ve been sentenced to three months imprisonment. This shows Kachin State, the country and the world that there is no justice,” Ko Paul said after leaving the court and before he was escorted to Myitkyina Prison..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-09-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Yangon Court Convicts Prominent Filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi
Sub-title: Today’s conviction of filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi is further evidence of the grave threats faced by those who criticise the Myanmar military, said ARTICLE 19. The Myanmar government must immediately and unconditionally release Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, end the
Description: "Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, a documentary filmmaker and founder of the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival, was today convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment by a Yangon court under section 505(a) of Myanmar’s Penal Code, which concerns the publication or circulation of statements ‘with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, any officer, soldier, sailor or airman, in the Army, Navy or Air Force to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in his duty as such’. Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi was arrested on 12 April 2019 after he made Facebook posts critical of Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution and the role it gives the military in government. A separate charge under section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Act, which penalises online defamation, is pending. In April 2019, a court denied Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi bail despite the fact that he has serious health concerns stemming from liver cancer. Over the course of his trial, human rights organizations expressed grave concern over his detention under such conditions. Speaking from Insein prison on 17 July 2019, Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi noted that he had missed a post-operation medical check relating to the removal of cancerous growths from his liver..."
Source/publisher: "Progressive voice" via Article 19
Date of publication: 2019-08-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar filmmakers circumventing censorship and negotiating international demands (Part II)
Description: "As part of a research series conducted alongside Yangon’s annual MEMORY! International Heritage Film Festival, Kimberley Pallenschat explores the challenges and opportunities faced by Myanmar’s independent filmmakers. The focus of the festival’s 2018 edition was on Freedom of the Press and Democracy in their representation through cinema, and was supported by a grant from the Global Research Network on Parliaments and People. The research detailed here was conducted between 7-16 November 2018 and hopes to shed light on the current attitudes and debates that surround the question of freedom of expression during the country’s transition. The three articles in this series each examine three of the festival’s programmes, which took place simultaneously in Yangon and provide different approaches to the themes of artistic and journalistic freedom in Myanmar: the Journalism and Culture workshop, a journalistic workshop organized in conjunction with the Myanmar Journalism Institute; the Myanmar Script Fund competition and workshop targeting young filmmakers; and a conference gathering various international experts around the topic of Press and Democracy in Myanmar and the Asian continent. In the previous contribution, Marie Puyssegur explored the meaning of freedom of expression for Myanmar’s future journalists. In the forthcoming and final contribution, Theo Stojanov will discuss the proceedings of the Press and Democracy conference. Below, Kimberley Pallenschat considers the impact of state-sponsored censorship on the creative freedoms of independent filmmakers, and challenges and opportunities that emerge as they turn to an international market for funding and support..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "TEACIRCLEOXFORD"
Date of publication: 2019-09-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Kachin activist pair picks jail over fine for street performance
Description: "Kachin youth activists Pau Lu and Seng Nu Pan were sentenced to 15 days’ imprisonment by the Myitkyina Township Court in the Kachin State capital on September 2 for their role in organising a street performance to mark the eighth anniversary of the resumption of fighting in Kachin State. The jail term was imposed after the pair declined the option of paying a K30,000 fine. A photo of Pau Lu handing the judge a broken scale after the verdict was handed down was widely shared on Facebook. The sentencing came after nearly three months of weekly court appearances by the pair, who were charged on June 10 by Myitkyina Township police under section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law over what police claimed was an unauthorised protest the previous day. The event in question was a street theatre performance, which included a re-enactment of the aerial bombing of Kachin villages by the Tatmadaw. The performance was staged by youth displaced by conflict after the collapse in 2011 of a ceasefire signed by the Tatmadaw and the Kachin Independence Army in 1994. Pau Lu and Seng Nu Pan had informed the authorities of the plan to hold the anniversary event more than 48 hours in advance, as required by law, but police arrived at the venue, Sein Mya Ayeyar Park in Myitkyina’s Yuzana Quarter, on June 9 and said the notification was incomplete because it did not mention the drama performance. After a heated argument, the event was relocated to People’s Square in downtown Myitkyina..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-09-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Karenni Activists Charged in Loikaw, in Myanmar’s Kayah State
Description: "The Loikaw Township Court on Monday officially charged six Karenni youths with slander under Article 8(d) of the Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens for calling the Kayah State chief minister a traitor over his support of a statue of Myanmar independence hero General Aung San. In February, the Kayah State government erected the statue in a park in the state’s capital, Loikaw, amid much protest from Karenni locals. The state government used the police force to crack down on protesters that had gathered at the park and later outside of the local National League for Democracy (NLD) headquarters. Karenni activists said at the time that they have their own history involving their own ethnic leaders, and that the statue of Gen. Aung San is a symbol of the dominant role the interests and identity of the Burmese majority plays in the country, to the disadvantage of ethnic minorities. To them, it’s also a symbol of what they see as yet-unfulfilled promises made by the assassinated general and the Panglong Agreement of 1947..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-08-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: MYANMAR: FURTHER INFORMATION: FILMMAKER CHARGED, HEALTH CONCERNS REMAIN: MIN HTIN KO KO GYI
Topic: CENSORSHIP AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Topic: CENSORSHIP AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Description: "I am writing to express my concern about the charges against filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, his health concerns in detention, and an increase in politically-motivated charges stifling freedom of expression in Myanmar. It is worrying to learn that Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi has been formally charged for Facebook posts critical of the 2008 military-drafted Constitution and the military’s role in politics. On 18 July, the Insein Township Court formally charged him under Section 505(a) of Myanmar’s Penal Code, which provides up to two years in prison for anyone who makes “statements conducing to public mischief.” He has also been accused of “online defamation” under Section 66(d) of the 2013 Telecommunications Act, a complaint which remains pending. Detained in Yangon’s Insein prison since his arrest on 12 April 2019, he is, in the view of Amnesty International, a prisoner of conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. I am particularly concerned about Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi’s health in detention. He has liver cancer and underwent a major operation earlier this year. I appreciate that he was recently allowed to leave the prison for a post-operation medical check-up at a government hospital; however, he requires regular check-ups and medication which are not provided nor are they available at the prison. Without regular monitoring and access to the medication he needs, his health may deteriorate further. As a state party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Myanmar has the obligation to uphold his right to health. Finally, I want to express my alarm regarding the recent surge in politically-motivated arrests and detentions in Myanmar, carried out via a range of laws that allow peaceful political activists and human rights defenders to be arrested, detained, and prosecuted. These laws contradict international human rights law and standards and are detrimental to freedom of expression in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (Index number: ASA 16/0779/2019)
Date of publication: 2019-07-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 220.39 KB
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Title: Civil Society Organisations discuss Migration at Mandalay workshop
Creator/author: Ma Khin Thuzar, Thida Win, Aung Thu
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
Date of publication: 2019-06-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Title: Myanmar court confirms seven-year jail terms for Reuters journalists
Description: "Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is appalled to learn that Myanmar’s high court today upheld the seven-year jail sentences of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on appeal. RSF now urges the country’s highest authorities to end their nightmare. In a shocking decision handed down this morning in Yangon, the high court also upheld their convictions on charges of violating the Official Secrets Act. It concluded the utterly iniquitous judicial process to which these two journalists have been subjected ever since their arrest in a trap set by the police in December 2017. “Everything about this case, both the substance and its conduct, called for their convictions to be overturned, but Myanmar’s justice system has shown its determination until the very end to punish Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo although they just did their job as reporters,” said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “This decision constitutes yet further evidence, if any were needed, of the judicial system’s unacceptable manipulation by the executive and dramatically signifies the end of Myanmar’s democratic transition. We now call on its highest political officials to pardon these journalists as quickly as possible so that they can be reunited with their families.” Punished President Win Myint, who is an ally of government leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has the power to issue pardons, which are traditionally given at the time of the Burmese New Year in April. Regardless of the final outcome, the authorities have already sent a chilling message to Myanmar’s journalists: that this is the price you will pay if you dare to investigate subjects that are off limits. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo did some remarkable investigative reporting on a massacre of Rohingya civilians by soldiers in Inn Din, a village in the north of Rakhine state, that that was widely seen as an act of genocide or ethnic cleansing. Their arrest was regarded as a punishment orchestrated by the security forces. The region where the massacre took place, the traditional home of Myanmar’s Rohingya community, continues to be completely inaccessible to journalists aside from those who have been taken there on pathetic propaganda visits that are tightly controlled by the authorities. RSF issued an “incident report” in October about the threat to Myanmar’s position in the World Press Freedom Index resulting from the deterioration in “environment and self-censorship,” “transparency” and “media independence” – three of the seven indicators used to determine a country’s ranking. Myanmar is currently ranked 137th out of 180 countries..."
Source/publisher: Reporters Without Borders
Date of publication: 2019-01-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar journalist Aung Marm Oo in hiding as police seek his arrest
Description: "Myanmar authorities should immediately cease harassing and threatening to arrest Aung Marm Oo, editor-in-chief of the privately owned Rakhine state-based news agency Development Media Group, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Aung Marm Oo went into hiding after authorities filed a complaint on May 1 seeking his arrest for unspecified violations of the colonial-era Unlawful Association Act, which can result in up to five years' imprisonment and fines, according to independent news outlet The Irrawaddy and the journalist, who corresponded with CPJ. The Unlawful Associations Act is often used by Myanmar authorities to stifle news coverage of armed conflicts, CPJ reporting shows. Development Media Group, based in Rakhine state's capital of Sittwe, reports regularly on politics, society, and security in western Rakhine state, where government forces are locked in conflict with insurgents. "Myanmar's press freedom situation has deteriorated to such an extent that a journalist is now in hiding to avoid arrest on undisclosed accusations," said Shawn Crispin, CPJ's senior Southeast Asia representative. "Myanmar authorities should stop harassing Aung Marm Oo and allow his independent media group to continue reporting without fear of reprisal." Special Branch police under the military-controlled Home Ministry have questioned Aung Marm Oo's colleagues and family members about his whereabouts, including his wife, mother, and brother, the journalist told CPJ by email. He said police searched his home earlier this month and he only narrowly escaped arrest at the time. Development Media Group reporters Nay Win San and Thet Naing were interrogated about the case at the No. 1 Sittwe police station in Rakhine on May 5 and 6, respectively, Aung Marm Oo said. During those interrogations, police did not indicate what news stories or reporting prompted the accusation, Aung Marm Oo said. CPJ called the military's public relations arm, the True News Information Team, for comment but did not receive a response. On May 8, Aung Marm Oo sent a letter to the Myanmar Press Council, an independent body tasked with resolving media disputes, requesting mediation on the case, as permitted under the country's Media Act to prevent frivolous lawsuits against journalists, he said; as of today, the council had not replied. Aung Marm Oo's harassment comes amid rising pressure on the nation's press by the military; on April 1, Myanmar's military filed an online criminal defamation complaint against The Irrawaddy's Burmese-language editor Ye Ni under the Telecommunications Law's Section 66(d), which carries a possible two-year prison sentence, over the news publication's reports on armed clashes in Rakhine state that allegedly caused civilian casualties, CPJ reported at the time..."
Source/publisher: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Date of publication: 2019-05-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar military sues The Irrawaddy for criminal defamation over conflict coverage
Description: "Myanmar's military should drop its criminal defamation case against independent news outlet The Irrawaddy over its coverage of the conflict in the country's Rakhine state, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On April 12, the military's Yangon Region Command filed the criminal complaint against the news outlet's Burmese-language editor Ye Ni at the Kyauktada Police Station in Yangon, The Irrawaddy reported. The criminal complaint was filed under the Telecommunications Law's Section 66(d), a provision that permits two-year prison sentences for guilty convictions, the report said. The complaint was prompted by an April 1 report in The Irrawaddy concerning assaults by the military on March 18 and 19 that allegedly resulted in civilian casualties in Rakhine state's Maruk-U town, which was published in both English and Burmese, Ye Ni told CPJ via email. Ye Ni was allowed to post bail on the same day the complaint was filed, The Irrawaddy reported. "This spurious criminal accusation against The Irrawaddy editor Ye Ni should be dropped immediately and unconditionally," said Shawn Crispin, CPJ's senior Southeast Asia representative. "Myanmar's military should stop using legal threats to stifle news coverage of ongoing armed conflict and allow journalists to do their jobs without fear of reprisal." Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, an official at the military's True News Information Team, a communications department, told The Irrawaddy on April 21 that its recent news coverage on clashes between government forces and the insurgent Arakan Army had been "unfair" and prompted the legal action, the outlet reported. CPJ's calls to the True News Information Team requesting comment on the complaint did not receive a response. Ye Ni told CPJ that The Irrawaddy has appealed to the Myanmar Press Council, an independent body tasked with resolving media disputes, to mediate the case, as permitted under the country's Media Act to prevent frivolous lawsuits against journalists. In an email to CPJ, The Irrawaddy editor-in-chief Aung Zaw called the complaint part of a military "intimidation campaign" aimed at silencing prominent media. Aung Zaw was a CPJ 2014 International Press Freedom Award honoree. The criminal complaint against The Irrawaddy comes against the backdrop of the continued incarceration of Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, whose final appeal of their seven-year prison sentences under the Official Secrets Act for reporting on the conflict in Rakhine state was rejected on April 23, as CPJ reported at the time. Myanmar's government and military have used Section 66(d) charges to stifle media criticism and intimidate and harass journalists, and CPJ has met with representatives of Myanmar's Ministry of Information to advocate for the repeal of 66(d) and other laws and provisions authorities use to restrict press freedom and harass journalists..."
Source/publisher: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Date of publication: 2019-04-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar reporter detained without charge since May 15
Description: "Myanmar authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Nanda, a broadcast reporter with the local privately owned Channel Mandalay TV news station, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In the morning of May 15, police arrested Nanda, who uses only one name, in Mandalay's Aung Tha Pyay village while the journalist was covering a land-rights protest against a coal-fired cement factory, according to the privately owned Myanmar Times. Police accused him of being involved in the protest and have detained him without charge at Mandalay's Oboe prison, Min Din, a Channel Mandalay executive, told CPJ by email. "We call on Myanmar authorities to release Nanda, who was merely doing his job as a journalist by covering a protest," said Shawn Crispin, CPJ's senior Southeast Asia representative. "If Myanmar ever wants to be taken seriously as a democracy, this type of chronic harassment of the press must cease and desist." The reporter was among four people arrested during a police crackdown on the protest that saw security forces fire rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators, according to the Myanmar Times report, which also noted that a building in the factory's compound was set on fire during the melee. Min Din told CPJ that Nanda was broadcasting live from the protest over the station's Facebook page at the time of his arrest. He said Nanda was positioned between the protestors and police for filming purposes, and that he did not partake in the protest as authorities have alleged. CPJ's calls to the Mandalay police for comment were not immediately returned. Nanda faces potential charges under Articles 114, 333, and 435 of Myanmar's penal code, which deal respectively with abetting a criminal offense, assaulting military officials, and mischief caused by fire or an explosive substance, Min Din told CPJ..."
Source/publisher: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Date of publication: 2019-05-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar supreme court rejects appeal by Reuters journalists
Description: "Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is dismayed to learn that Myanmar’s supreme court in Naypyidaw today rejected an appeal by Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, confirming their conviction and seven-year jail sentences. RSF now calls on Myanmar’s president to pardon and free them. Held ever since their arrest in a trap set by the police in December 2017, the two journalists were convicted of violating Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act, which dates back to the colonial era. They could file two other appeals before the supreme court, but their lawyer said they now preferred to pin their hopes on a presidential pardon. “Myanmar’s president can restore a semblance of dignity to his country’s legal institutions by pardoning these two journalists,” said RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “They have already been held for 497 days on trumped-up charges. How can we still believe in a democratic transition in Myanmar when the justice system flouts press freedom in this way?” Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo did some remarkable investigative reporting on a massacre of Rohingya civilians by soldiers in September 2017 in Inn Din, a village in the north of Rakhine state, which was widely seen as an act of genocide. Their arrest was regarded as a punishment orchestrated by the security forces. They were awarded the UNESCO Press Freedom Prize in recognition of their work. The region where this act of ethnic cleansing took place, the traditional home of Myanmar’s Rohingya community, continues to be completely inaccessible to journalists aside from those who have been taken there on pathetic propaganda visits that are tightly controlled by the authorities..."
Source/publisher: Reporters Without Borders
Date of publication: 2019-04-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: Criminalisation of free expression
Description: "Freedom of expression is severely threatened in Myanmar. The right to freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and various other international legal instruments, is key to human development and dignity as well as the enjoyment of all other rights protected by international law. It is necessary for good governance and democracy, and essential in advancing Myanmar’s fulfilment of its human rights obligations. For decades, a key factor inhibiting freedom of expression in Myanmar has been the routine criminal proceedings brought against those exercising their right to freedom of expression. Several laws that criminalise speech and go beyond the restrictions that are permitted under international law remain in effect and have been used against journalists, activists, human rights defenders and individuals voicing opinions critical of the state. This briefing paper sets forth priorities for reforming the laws that criminalise free expression in Myanmar, including: Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law Articles 33 and 34(d) of the Electronic Transactions Law The Unlawful Associations Act of 1908 The Official Secrets Act of 1923 The Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law Penal Code sections 124A (sedition), 295A (insulting religion), 499-500 (defamation) and 505 (incitement) Although this briefing focuses on the provisions in these laws that criminalise free expression, it does not address problems relating to the enforcement, lack of judicial oversight, and procedural ambiguity in applying the laws, which also impede freedom of expression. The government of Myanmar should repeal or amend these laws in order to bring Myanmar’s legal framework in line with international human rights law and standards relating to freedom of expression..."
Source/publisher: Article 19
Date of publication: 2019-06-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: Reuters journalists released
Description: "ARTICLE 19 welcomes today’s release of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, Reuters journalists who were arrested in December 2017 while researching a massacre of Rohingya men and boys by state security forces. Earlier this year, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were named winners of the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting alongside their Reuters colleagues. In September 2018, the pair were convicted under the repressive colonial-era Official Secrets Act, despite evidence that they had been targeted in a poorly concealed entrapment plot. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court where the conviction was upheld on 23 April 2019..."
Creator/author: Matthew Bugher
Source/publisher: Article 19
Date of publication: 2019-05-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: Worsening climate for free expression despite UN commitments
Description: "In this Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mid-term report, ARTICLE 19 assesses the progress made by the Government of Myanmar in implementing freedom of expression-related recommendations received during its second UPR in November 2015. With just over 18 months until its third cycle review, the report sets out the urgent steps the government must take if it is to demonstrate a genuine commitment to improving the human rights situation in the country. During its 2015 UPR, Myanmar received 108 recommendations relevant to freedom of expression, of which it supported 56 and noted 52. In early 2016, the NLD government took office after a landslide general election victory and on the back of commitments to implement sorely needed democratic reforms. However, civic space has continued to shrink in the past three years amidst an escalating human rights crisis in the country. Increased international scrutiny has not prompted remedial action from the Myanmar government, as authorities have largely ignored recommendations from the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar and others. Little progress has been made on the repeal or reform of the laws most frequently used to target government critics, while legislative proposals expected to come before Parliament in the coming months threaten to further erode already weak legal protections for the right to freedom of expression, in particular for ethnic and religious minorities. ‘Hate speech’ has continued to thrive, in part because of the absence of principled leadership by senior politicians in speaking out against discriminatory hatred, and the lack of a comprehensive plan to promote pluralism, diversity and inclusion in Myanmar. Myanmar authorities have continued to repress and criminalise dissent and criticism of the State and its policies, in particular in relation to ongoing conflicts and human rights abuses perpetrated by the State. The operating environment for the media and civil society remains fraught, with human rights defenders, protesters, journalists and media workers routinely threatened with arrest and prosecution simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Against this backdrop, self-censorship is widespread and government officials seek to control and manipulate the flow of information in the country. To honor commitments made during its previous UPR, Myanmar must immediately take steps to end arbitrary arrests of those exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, initiate a comprehensive program of legislative reform, ratify key human rights conventions, and take steps to tackle the advocacy of discriminatory hatred towards ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: Article 19
Date of publication: 2019-06-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo freed by pardon in Myanmar
Description: "Reuters' journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were released today from a Yangon prison in Myanmar as part of a presidential pardon, after spending more than 500 days behind bars, Reuters reported. The journalists were released in a mass amnesty of prisoners granted today by President Win Myint, according to reports. "CPJ is deeply relieved that Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have finally been freed, and reiterates that Myanmar should never have charged and jailed them in the first place," said CPJ Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn Crispin. "May their release herald a new era of press freedom in Myanmar, where reporters no longer fear reprisal merely for doing their jobs." The journalists were arrested in December 2017 and sentenced to seven years in prison in September 2018 under Myanmar's colonial-era Official Secrets Act, according to CPJ research. In April, Myanmar's Supreme Court rejected a final appeal of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo's convictions, CPJ documented. The reporters insisted throughout legal proceedings that they had not committed any crime. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were investigating a massacre of Rohingya men and boys by Myanmar security forces in Rakhine state; their reporting was subsequently published by Reuters in February 2018 and led to seven soldiers being sentenced to prison for their involvement in the killings, according to reports. They were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting this year..."
Source/publisher: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Date of publication: 2019-05-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Reuters reporters freed in Myanmar, in victory for investigative journalism
Description: "Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is deeply relieved to learn that, in a victory for press freedom and investigative reporting in Myanmar and throughout the world, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were released from a prison in the Yangon suburb of Insein this morning. The two reporters had spent a total of 511 days far from their families because they dared to investigate a subject that is banned in Myanmar, the genocide of the country’s Rohingya minority. Held on trumped-up evidence after being arrested in a trap set by the police in December 2017, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were convicted last September of violating the Official Secrets Act and were given seven-year jail sentences that were confirmed twice on appeal. They were finally pardoned by President Win Myint. “As well as the release of two individuals who should never have been in prison – Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo – this is a fundamental victory for press freedom and for RSF, which had campaigned constantly ever since their arrest,” said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “Their case is emblematic of investigative journalism’s importance for the functioning of democracies. We hail the role played by all those civil society actors who, both in Myanmar and internationally, never forgot the fate of these two journalists and kept fighting for them until this successful outcome.”..."
Source/publisher: Reporters Without Borders
Date of publication: 2019-05-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UNESCO prize for Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar
Description: "Reporters Without Borders (RSF) congratulates Burmese journalists Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone on today’s announcement that they are to be awarded UNESCO’s Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize and reiterates its call for their immediate release. Imprisoned in Myanmar for the past 15 months, these two Reuters reporters were sentenced to seven years in prison for investigating a massacre of civilians during ethnic cleansing operations by Myanmar’s security forces against the country’s Rohingya minority. RSF proposed Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone as candidates for this prestigious prize and hails the jury’s decision to award it to them. This recognition comes as the two journalists await a decision by Myanmar’s supreme court in Naypyidaw, which registered their appeal on 26 March. “This prize is a reminder that Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone are symbols of courage and resistance in a country where it is still very difficult for journalists to work freely,” said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “They should not be behind bars. We issue a solemn appeal to Myanmar’s highest judicial authorities to respect the rule of law and to end the travesty of justice to which these two reporters are being subjected.” Myanmar is ranked 137th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2018 World Press Freedom Index..."
Source/publisher: Reporters Without Borders
Date of publication: 2019-04-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: UN human rights experts say “terribly concerned” about press freedoms and democracy
Description: "UN human rights experts welcomed the news that convicted Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are back at home with their families in Myanmar, but expressed serious concerns about the judicial process in the country and the fact that their guilty verdicts still stand. The two reporters, who won a Pulitzer Prize last month for their investigation into the 2017 massacre of Rohingya men and boys at Inn Din village, Rakhine State, were granted a presidential pardon on 7 May. They had been serving a seven-year jail sentence in connection with the reporting, charged with breaching the 1923 Official Secrets Act. “While it is good news that Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been reunited with their families and will not have to carry out the remainder of their sentences, their convictions under the Official Secrets Act have not been withdrawn and they should never have been prosecuted in the first place,” said the UN Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee and freedom of expression David Kaye. “We remain terribly concerned about the state of media freedom and the democratic space in Myanmar. The authorities have a considerable way to go to in law, policy and institution-building to ensure a minimum level of democratic space, which is particularly important in the lead up to national elections next year,” the experts said. Trials against other journalists and human rights defenders are ongoing. Reports have been received of charges recently made by the military against the editors of the Irrawaddy, Radio Free Asia and DMG news outlets as a result of their independent reporting of the current conflict in Rakhine State with the Arakan Army. These cases and restrictions on media access to Rakhine State are preventing reporting of the conflict as well as of human rights violations that continue to be routinely perpetrated against the civilian population, including the remaining Rohingya. “We have previously raised concerns about the independence of the judiciary and the Government’s commitment to establishing a democracy that respects human rights,” the experts said. “We therefore again urge the Government to undertake the necessary reforms to bring about genuine democracy and reverse its course into repression.” Thousands of prisoners were released across Myanmar under Presidential pardons which are made annually during the new year celebrations, many of whom were convicted under laws that urgently need reform. Several people convicted under politically motivated charges have been released, however at least 20 political prisoners remain in jail..."
Source/publisher: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of publication: 2019-05-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: Military commits war crimes in latest operation in Rakhine State
Description: "The report examines the period of intense military operations that followed coordinated attacks on police posts by the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine armed group, on 4 January 2019. The new operation followed a government instruction to ‘crush’ the AA. “Less than two years since the world outrage over the mass atrocities committed against the Rohingya population, the Myanmar military is again committing horrific abuses against ethnic groups in Rakhine State” said Nicholas Bequelin, Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia at Amnesty International. “The new operations in Rakhine State show an unrepentant, unreformed and unaccountable military terrorizing civilians and committing widespread violations as a deliberate tactic.” Amnesty International conducted 81 interviews, including 54 interviews on the ground in Rakhine State in late March 2019 and 27 remote interviews with people living in conflict-affected areas. They included ethnic Rakhine, Mro, Rohingya and Khami villagers, belonging to the Buddhist, Christian and Muslim faiths. The organization also reviewed photographs, videos and satellite imagery, and interviewed humanitarian officials, human rights activists and other experts. While ethnic Rakhine communities have long fostered political grievances against Myanmar’s central government, the AA is led by a younger generation of ethnic Rakhine nationalists. Today the AA is estimated to have a fighting force of up to 7,000 troops. Established in 2009, it has fought alongside other ethnic armed organizations in northern Myanmar and in recent years has clashed sporadically with the military in Rakhine and neighbouring Chin State. Fighting intensified in late 2018..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International
Date of publication: 2019-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: MYANMAR: "NO ONE CAN PROTECT US": WAR CRIMES AND ABUSES IN MYANMAR'S RAKHINE STATE
Description: "On 4 January 2019 the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine armed group, launched coordinated attacks on four police posts in northern Rakhine State, killing 13 police officers and injuring nine others. The attacks – which came after months of low-level yet steadily increasing clashes between the group and the Myanmar military – triggered a major escalation in the conflict. Since then, Rakhine State – the site of the military’s horrific attacks on the Rohingya population in October and November 2016, and again from August 2017 – has plunged further into crisis. Days after the AA attacks, a government spokesperson announced that the military, officially known as the Tatmadaw, had been instructed to “crush” the AA. The military deployed additional combat division troops to the region, and the authorities suspended humanitarian access for most UN agencies and international humanitarian organizations. In the months that have followed, the fighting has intensified with regular clashes between the two parties. As is so often the case in Myanmar, civilians have paid the heaviest cost. This briefing documents violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses in Rakhine State since 4 January 2019, the overwhelming majority of which have been committed by the Myanmar military. It is based on research undertaken between January and May 2019, including 81 interviews with people directly affected by the conflict, 54 of which were done in-person in Rakhine State in March 2019 and another 27 by telephone. In addition, Amnesty International interviewed local and international humanitarian officials; local human rights activists; and journalists covering the conflict. The organization also reviewed photographs and videos related to human rights violations and analysed satellite imagery of the affected areas. Amnesty International’s research found that the military has fired indiscriminately in civilian areas, killing and injuring civilians and damaging homes and other property. Compounding the situation, soldiers have at times obstructed access to medical treatment for civilians injured by such attacks. In late January, a seven-yearold ethnic Rakhine boy died after a mortar exploded in Tha Mee Hla village, Rathedaung Township, during fighting between the AA and Myanmar military. Although he was severely injured, it took several hours before soldiers gave his family permission to take him to a hospital; he died the following day. In another incident in early April, a helicopter opened fire on Rohingya workers cutting bamboo in the forest close to the Sai Din waterfall in Buthidaung Township, killing at least six civilians and injuring at least 13 more. An ethnic Rohingya man who was severely injured during the attacks told Amnesty International, “The helicopter came from behind the mountain. Within minutes it fired rockets… I was running for my life thinking about my family and how I would survive..." .....“၂၀၁၉ ခုနှစ်၊ ဇန်နဝါရီလ ၄ ရက်နေ့တွင် ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်မတော် (အေအေ) က ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်မြောက်ပိုင်းရှိ ရဲစခန်းလေးခုကို တစ်ပြိုင်တည်း တိုက်ခိုက်ခဲ့သဖြင့် ရဲတပ်ဖွဲ့ဝင် ၁၃ ဦးသေဆုံးပြီး ကိုးဦးဒဏ်ရာရခဲ့သည်။ ပြီးခဲ့သည့်လပေါင်းများစွာကတည်းက အေအေအဖွဲ့နှင့် မြန်မာ့တပ်မတော်တို့အကြား တိုက်ပွဲလေးများ တစတစတိုးမြှင့်ဖြစ်ပွါးနေခဲ့ရာမှ ယခုတိုက်ခိုက်မှုကြောင့် တိုက်ပွဲ၏အရှိန်အဟုန် ကြီးမားစွာ ဖြစ်ပေါ်လာခဲ့သည်။ ယင်းအချိန်မှစ၍ ၂၀၁၆ အောက်တိုဘာလနှင့် တစ်ဖန် ၂၀၁၇ သြဂုတ်လမှစတင်ပြီး ရိုဟင်ဂျာများအပေါ်စစ်တပ်က ရက်စက်စွာတိုက်ခိုက်ခဲ့သော ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်တွင် ကြီးမားသော ပဌိပက္ခကြီးတစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်ပေါ်လာခဲ့သည်။ အေအေ၏တိုက်ခိုက်မှု ပေါ်ပေါက်ခဲ့ပြီး ရက်ပိုင်းအတွင်းမှာပင်…”
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (ASA 16/0417/2019)
Date of publication: 2019-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : PDF PDF pdf pdf
Size: 1.78 MB 342.47 KB 1.35 MB 334.29 KB
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Title: Thailand: Defamation Charges for Exposing Labour Abuse
Description: "Human rights defenders, activists, journalists and former employees are facing criminal defamation lawsuits for their public comments on labour rights abuses faced by many workers at Thammakaset Co. Ltd, a chicken farm in central Thailand. Nan Win, a former farm worker and Sutharee Wannasiri, a human rights specialist and former employee of Amnesty International Thailand, go on trial on 24 May 2019 while Tun Tun Win, a migrant worker from Myanmar, will stand trial on 5 June 2019. They are three of at least 22 individuals who have faced criminal and civil proceedings initiated by this company..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (ASA 39/0420/2019)
Date of publication: 2019-05-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Joint statement: constitutional reform must guarantee the right to freedom of expression in Myanmar
Description: "Today the ICJ joined twenty organizations in calling for Myanmar’s new Constitutional Amendment Committee to fully protect the right to freedom of expression in the Constitution, in line with international law and standards including Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.....We call on the Constitutional Amendment Committee to recommend: Replacement of the current heavily prescribed guarantee for freedom of expression in Articles 354(a) and 365 with a single article that guarantees the right to freedom of expression in accordance with international standards, so that it fully reflects the requirements of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. A new separate article guaranteeing the right to access information held by public authorities. A new separate article guaranteeing media freedom, which should prohibit prior censorship of the media or licensing of the print media and individual journalists, and should protect journalism as well as the independence of the Myanmar Press Council, Myanmar Broadcasting Council, and any future public service media. Each guarantee should include only those limitations that are provided by law and are necessary for the respect of the rights or reputations of others, or for the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or morals..."
Creator/author: Yin Yadanar Thein
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) via "20 expert organisations"
Date of publication: 2019-04-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf
Size: 193.41 KB
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Title: Myanmar’s future journalists confront the meaning of freedom of expression (Part I)
Description: "The festival’s 2018 edition focused on the theme of Freedom of the Press and Democracy in their representation through cinema, and was supported by a grant from the Global Research Network on Parliaments and People. The research detailed here was conducted over the course of ten days from November 7-16, 2018, by a team of three researchers, and hopes to shed light on the current attitudes and debates that surround the question of freedom of expression during the country’s transition. The three articles in this series will individually examine three of the festival’s programmes, which took place simultaneously in Yangon and provided different approaches to the themes of artistic and journalistic freedom in Myanmar: the Journalism and Culture workshop, a journalistic workshop organized in conjunction with the Myanmar Journalism Institute; the Myanmar Script Fund competition targeting young filmmakers; and a conference gathering various international experts around the topic of Press and Democracy in Myanmar and the Asian continent. In forthcoming contributions, Kimberley Pallenschat will examine the themes and challenges faced by Myanmar’s emerging generation of independent filmmakers, and Theo Stojanov will discuss the proceedings of the Press and Democracy conference. “Is anybody still struggling with their angle?” On Sunday 11th November, the room next to the projection booth at the Waziya Theater was buzzing with questions. With the help of an interpreter, twenty-four young journalism students and their instructors went over the problems that they had encountered in their coverage of the 2018 edition of MEMORY!, a film festival annually held in Myanmar’s former capital city: an interview that fell through, an unsatisfying angle, an issue with a deadline. Throughout the day, the students dispersed around the room, alone or in pairs, working on their stories on the workshop’s computers and occasionally checking Facebook on their phones. As the daily discussion ended, French reporter Carol Isoux reminded the students that the deadline for filing their stories for the workshop’s print publication, Bioscope News, was only a couple of days away, and the class dispersed. From November 5 to 16, 2018 the Waziya Theater, Yangon’s oldest colonial-era cinema, was home to the Myanmar Journalism and Culture initiative (MJC), a joint program now in its second edition, organized as a partnership between MEMORY!, a French organisation headed by Séverine Wemaere and Gilles Duval, and the Myanmar Journalism Institute. Established in Yangon since 2014, MEMORY! International Heritage Film Festival aims to bring to local audiences the international and regional cinema to which the country, despite its rich cinematic history, has had little to no access in recent decades. As well as providing support to emerging local filmmakers through a yearly script competition, the festival’s emphasis also lies in the preservation of Myanmar’s film heritage. The Myanmar Journalism Institute (MJI), founded in 2014, is one of the country’s two independent journalism schools. The MJI trains students in print, online, video, and photo journalism, and most of its graduates go on to work for public and privately-owned media, after a one-year training period that renders them in high demand in a country where journalists often lack formal training. This year’s graduating class, which makes up the workshop’s twenty-four students, is comprised of fourteen women and ten men, ranging from age 17 to 33. As a reflection of the MJI’s efforts towards gender and ethnic inclusion, they come from all over the country, despite Yangon’s expected overrepresentation (only fourteen of the participants originated from the country’s main ethnic group, the Bamar). By encouraging a critical and analytical approach to cinema and the arts that goes beyond entertainment journalism to interrogate the intersections of the arts, politics and society, the MJC hopes to foster a culture of independent reporting, and to mobilize critical engagement with politicians and cultural policies amongst Myanmar’s future reporters. Supervised by French reporters Carol Isoux and Jêrome Boruszewski, local trainers Su Myat Wai and Ko Zayar Min, and Chris Peken, who works with the MJI as a consultant and capacity-builder, the participants spent ten days covering the screenings, events, and themes of the festival. They were able to interview organisers, local and foreign filmmakers, scriptwriters and producers, as well as some government officials. The workshop gave students the opportunity, early on in their curriculum, to immerse themselves in an intensive period of writing and reporting. Individual blog posts are published on a dedicated Facebook page and twelve articles, written in pairs, in an ad hoc publication called Bioscope News – 3,000 copies of which were printed on the final day, assembled by the students, and handed out for free to passers-by and festival-goers. MEMORY!’s 2018 edition was, following the previous year’s focus on Banned Films and Censorship, centered around the theme of Press and Democracy, and on the depiction of reporters on screen – at the confluence of two media (journalism and cinema) whose uneasy and incomplete emergence from a strict regime of state-sanctioned censorship have dominated the recent national and international conversation..."
Creator/author: Marie Puyessegur
Source/publisher: TEACIRCLEOXFORD
Date of publication: 2019-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Forget pardons, press freedom requires real reforms
Description: "Myanmar’s president released more than 6,000 prisoners on Tuesday, including two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists imprisoned for reporting on a military crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine state. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who work for the Reuters news organization, were arrested in 2017 and, after a corrupt trial engineered by the military, sentenced to seven years in prison. While the presidential pardon is welcome, there are still a number of serious, ongoing issues for freedom of expression and democracy in Myanmar. The influential military and its supporters in the government continue to work against press freedom in particular, waging what a UN human rights report referred to last year as a “political campaign against independent journalism.”..."
Creator/author: KYLE SPRINGER
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-05-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Reporting Myanmar's Rohingya story | The Listening Post (Feature) - (video)
Description: "Vox pop - or Vox populi is Latin for "voice of the people" and in journalism it means interviewing people to get a sense of what they think on the ground. Vox pops are often buried in the middle of a news piece among the opinions from politicians and "experts" and its subjects are frequently not named. Our feature this week begins with vox pops, and they are of Rohingya refugees. Nurul Mustafa, Bosir Ahmed and Mohamed Jubair all fled to Bangladesh in 2017 with their families and have been watching one outlet to get their news: Rohingya Vision. As Bosir Ahmed says, "Rohingya Vision is very useful for us. It means we can share our news and tell the story of our suffering to the world." Since 2017, almost three-quarters of a million Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh. For most of us, these people are invisible because Myanmar's government has done a good job of cracking down on information. But there are always pockets of resistance. Rohingya Vision TV has been reporting the story from the inside. It is run by exiled Rohingya and it relies on undercover reporters to get information out. The stories they tell contest state narratives keen to silence them - as well as the work of media outlets in Myanmar that have closed ranks with the authorities. This piece on Myanmar was made by the Listening Post's Johanna Hoes. We are re-airing it on the week that two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were released from jail after more than 500 days behind bars. The men had been jailed for their investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar security forces. If the story is hard to tell by journalists with an international news organisation as their protective seal, imagine what it is like for those reporting with less backup..."
Creator/author: Aye Aye Win, Mark Farmaner
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
Date of publication: 2019-05-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Good News, but Not the News We Need
Description: "The release of two reporters—Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo—delighted journalists in Myanmar and around the world. And while it was certainly good news for the reporters personally, I don’t see it as great news for the country’s media. One reason is that the pair were released thanks to the intervention of the civilian government, but they should never have been arrested, as they were entrapped by the police. Their release offers no assurances that journalists will not face similar set-ups, arrests and charges in the future at the hands of security forces. Their release was a rescue by the government, making what use it can of its limited presidential power. When I heard the news on the way to The Irrawaddy office on Tuesday morning, I was overjoyed—but not surprised. Since the two Reuters journalists were sentenced in September 2018, I had been expecting that they would be released sometime around the Myanmar New Year’s Day in mid-April. On many occasions since then—at meetings with diplomats, and my foreign and local friends—I was asked if and when they would be freed, after they were sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for their reporting on the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims by the Army in Rakhine State in 2017. My consistent answer was: “They are likely to be freed in January or April [2019].” Specifically, I said, their release could come on or around Jan. 4—Myanmar’s Independence Day—or in mid-April for the traditional New Year, when the Thingyan water festival is held. During those times, the government tends to release prisoners to mark auspicious moments for the country..."
Creator/author: Kyaw Zwa Moe
Source/publisher: The Irrawaddy
Date of publication: 2019-05-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: ROHINGYA ACTION IRELAND: STATEMENT ON THE RELEASE OF REUTERS JOURNALISTS
Description: "Rohingya Action Ireland welcomes the release of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who were jailed for reporting on the massacre and other devastating human rights abuses directed at the Rohingya in Myanmar. We hope the release marks in some way a recognition of the long-standing record of Human Rights Abuses at the hands of Myanmar Military. There is evidence and proof, verified by international agencies, including the UN that Myanmar security forces are responsible for genocide, arson, enforced disappearances, extortion, arbitrarily imprisonment, severe restrictions on movement, and lack of food, education and health care. There are also verifiable reports of sexual violence being committed by the armed forces in ethnic minorities regions. The release of the Reuters reporters is a positive move. However, there are still thousands of Rohingya civilians arbitrarily detained during the campagins of genocide. They are denied legal representation, justice and are separated from their loved ones. There continuous to be severe restrictions on the Freedom of the Press and intimidation of journalists from reporting on the human rights abuses being committed by the military. We must continue to call the Myanmar military to account for their ongoing crimes against humanity..."
Source/publisher: Progressive Voice via "Rohingya Action Ireland"
Date of publication: 2019-05-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Reuters’ daring duo walk free in Myanmar
Description: "Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, two Reuters reporters who had been sentenced to seven years imprisonment for violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, were freed by pardon today (May 7) after spending more than 500 days behind bars. Their prolonged detention on what rights advocates and journalist groups widely viewed as trumped-up charges has been a dark mark on Myanmar’s transition to a form of quasi-democracy after decades of repressive direct military rule. But Myanmar’s media is still far from free and the country’s transition to democracy still far from complete with their pardons. The two reporters were among thousands of other prisoners who were granted amnesty by president Win Myint after Myanmar New Year, which falls in mid-April. But Wa Lone’s and Kyaw Soe Oo’s case was different from all the others. They were arrested in December 2017 while investigating the killing by security forces of 10 Muslim Rohingya men and boys, reporting that won them a Pulitzer Prize in April this year..."
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-05-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Two Myanmar Journalists Freed, but Many Face Charges
Description: "The release of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo from a Myanmar prison is a joyous occasion for their families and all of those who have advocated for their release. But it should not blind anyone to the government’s ongoing repression of the media in Myanmar. Just two days earlier, the police summoned two journalists from the Development Media Group (DMG), based in Sittwe in Rakhine State, for questioning. A complaint filed by the intelligence branch of the Home Ministry against the group’s editor, Min Oo, alleges that he “promoted or assisted” an unlawful association through DMG’s news articles – an offense under the vaguely worded Unlawful Associations Act that is punishable by up to five years in prison. While the basis of the complaint has not been disclosed, DMG has reported extensively on the ongoing fighting in Rakhine State between the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group, and the Myanmar military. Additionally, on April 12, Myanmar’s military sued the editor of the Burmese edition of The Irrawaddy, Ye Ni, for criminal defamation, claiming that the news outlet’s reporting on recent clashes in Rakhine State was “unfair” and defamed the army. These are just the latest examples of the use of criminal laws against journalists, with at least 47 reporters facing charges since the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy took power. It seems likely that more cases will follow. At a news conference last week, the secretary of the military’s True News Information Team said the military had “lost patience” with the media, and that it was choosing to use criminal laws rather than Myanmar’s News Media Law because penalties under the latter were “not harsh enough.” Newly released Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo received a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of a massacre by Myanmar’s military. But they have lost more than 500 days of their lives in prison, time they will never get back. Myanmar’s friends and donors abroad should do all they can to press the government and military to drop all charges against journalists for doing their jobs and release those imprisoned. Until laws such as those used against the Reuters reporters and dozens of other journalists are amended or repealed, Myanmar’s media will remain under threat..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2019-05-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar frees Reuters journalists jailed for reporting on Rohingya crisis
Description: "Two Reuters journalists imprisoned in Myanmar for their reporting of the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims have been pardoned and released after spending more than 500 days in jail. Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, were arrested in December 2017 and accused of breaking the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, and have been imprisoned in Yangon’s Insein jail ever since. The pair were released on Tuesday as part of an amnesty of 6,520 prisoners by President Win Myint. The chief of Insein prison, Zaw Zaw, confirmed Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been freed. Speaking moments after his release, Wa Lone said: “I’m really happy and excited to see my family and my colleagues. I can’t wait to go to my newsroom. I am a journalist and I am going to continue to be.” Images showed Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo’s emotional reunion with their wives and children hours after being released. Wa Lone’s first child, Thet Htar Angel, was born while he was behind bars so this was the first time he was able embrace his daughter as a free man. Kyaw Soe Oo was pictured holding his daughter, three-year-old Moe Thin Wai Zan, tightly. During the trial she would steal brief embraces with her father outside the courtroom before he was bundled back to jail and would cry “Papa, Papa!” as the van drove off. “Now the three of us can hug each other and we are so happy for that,” said his wife Chit Su Win..."
Source/publisher: The Guardian
Date of publication: 2019-05-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: Surge in Arrests for Critical Speech
Description: "Myanmar’s authorities have in recent weeks engaged in a series of arrests of peaceful critics of the army and government, Human Rights Watch said today. The parliament, which begins its new session on April 29, 2019, should repeal or amend repressive laws used to silence critics and suppress freedom of expression. The recent upswing in arrests of satirical performers, political activists, and journalists reflects the rapid decline in freedom of expression in Myanmar under the National League for Democracy (NLD) government. In the latest blow to media freedom, on April 23, the Supreme Court upheld the seven-year prison sentences of two Reuters journalists accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who won Pulitzer prizes earlier in April for their reporting, had been prosecuted in apparent retaliation for their investigation of a massacre of Rohingya villagers in Inn Din, Rakhine State, that implicated the army. “Myanmar’s government should be leading the fight against the legal tools of oppression that have long been used to prosecute critics of the military and government,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “During military rule, Aung San Suu Kyi and many current lawmakers fought for free expression, yet now the NLD majority in parliament has taken almost no steps to repeal or amend abusive laws still being used to jail critics.” The authorities have been arresting peaceful critics under a range of laws, especially section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law and section 505 of the penal code. Section 66(d) has been used repeatedly against online critics, while section 505, a broadly worded provision that does not allow for pretrial release on bail, has been used mainly by the military..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2019-05-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar court rejects final appeal by jailed Reuters journalists
Description: ''The highest court of Myanmar has denied the final appeal of the two Reuters journalists who were imprisoned for their reporting on the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims, upholding the seven-year prison sentence and dashing the last hope that justice would be served. The swift ruling, by Myanmar’s highest court, was a devastating blow to Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, who were arrested in December 2017 and accused of breaking a colonial-era Official Secrets Act, and have now been in jail for 16 months. They had already lost a previous appeal at the Yangon court earlier this year. On Tuesday morning, Supreme Court Justice Soe Naing announced the ruling to the court in a brief statement that went into no detail about why the appeal was rejected. “The Supreme Court upholds the conviction made by the previous court,” he said. As a result, the pair will have to serve out the original seven year sentence handed to them in September. In a statement, Reuters Chief Counsel Gail Gove said: “Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo did not commit any crime, nor was there any proof that they did. Instead, they were victims of a police set-up to silence their truthful reporting. We will continue to do all we can to free them as soon as possible.” At the time of their arrest, the pair were working on an in-depth investigation into the brutal violence carried out against the Rohingya in Rahkine state by Myanmar’s military...''
Creator/author: Hannah Ellis-Petersen
Source/publisher: The Guardian
Date of publication: 2019-04-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: US renews call on Myanmar to free reporters
Description: "Washington on Wednesday renewed its call on Myanmar to free two Reuters reporters imprisoned after reporting on the Rohingya crisis, expressing dismay at a fresh denial of their appeal. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision sent “a profoundly negative signal about freedom of expression” in Myanmar. “The United States is deeply concerned by recent arrests of reporters, political activists, civil society members and satirical performers in Burma,” said Ortagus, using the former name of Myanmar. “We urge Burma to protect hard-earned freedoms, prevent further backsliding on recent democratic gains and reunite these journalists with their families,” she said in a statement. Reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested in December 2017 and sentenced to seven years in prison for possessing classified documents...''
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-04-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: Peaceful Critics Prosecuted
Description: ''Myanmar’s first democratically elected civilian government in decades has prosecuted large numbers of peaceful critics in violation of basic human rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Concerned governments should press Myanmar to protect the rights to expression and assembly, and reform laws penalizing peaceful speech to bring them in line with international standards. The 87-page report, “Dashed Hopes: The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in Myanmar,” documents the use of broad and vaguely worded laws against activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy-led government. While discussion of a wide range of topics now flourishes in the media and online, those speaking critically of the government, military, or their officials, as well as abuses in Rakhine or Kachin States, are frequently subject to arrest and prosecution...''
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2019-01-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: U Ko Ni Assassination: The Prosecution Lawyer’s View of the Trial
Description: ''Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! Tuesday marked the second anniversary of the assassination of National League for Democracy (NLD) legal adviser U Ko Ni. Today we’ll discuss whether justice can be done in U Ko Ni’s case. I’m The Irrawaddy chief reporter Kyaw Kha and I’m joined by U Nay La, the prosecution lawyer in U Ko Ni’s case. U Ko Ni was bold and outspoken in his calls for amending the 2008 Constitution and promoting democracy in Myanmar. You were his friend, and also serve as the prosecution lawyer in his case. Do you think certain things he envisioned have been achieved under the current government?...''
Source/publisher: The Irrawaddy
Date of publication: 2019-02-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Peaceful Critics Prosecuted: Repeal or Amend Laws Criminalizing Speech, Assembly
Description: '' Myanmar’s first democratically elected civilian government in decades has prosecuted large numbers of peaceful critics in violation of basic human rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Concerned governments should press Myanmar to protect the rights to expression and assembly, and reform laws penalizing peaceful speech to bring them in line with international standards. The 87-page report, “Dashed Hopes: The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in Myanmar,” documents the use of broad and vaguely worded laws against activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy-led government. While discussion of a wide range of topics now flourishes in the media and online, those speaking critically of the government, military, or their officials, as well as abuses in Rakhine or Kachin States, are frequently subject to arrest and prosecution. “Abuses against the press under Myanmar’s new government have been particularly striking,” said Linda Lakhdhir, Asia le" The report, based on interviews in Myanmar and analysis of legal and policy changes since 2016, examines the use of laws including the Telecommunications Law, Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, and Myanmar’s penal code. The government should stop using criminal laws against peaceful speech and assembly and undertake legislative reforms to better protect freedom of expression, assembly, and the media...''
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch via " Progressive Voice"
Date of publication: 2019-01-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 1.27 MB 655.65 KB
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Title: Myanmar: repeal criminal defamation offence, urge 61 human rights organizations
Description: ''The ICJ, together with other 60 national and international human rights organizations urged today the Myanmar authorities, and in particular the Ministry of Transport and Communication and the Parliament, to ensure the repeal of the offence of criminal defamation...''
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
Date of publication: 2017-06-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 100.41 KB 339.7 KB
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Title: Myanmar: Reuters convictions a massive blow to the rule of law
Description: ''“The Court’s decision effectively punishes these two courageous journalists for exposing human rights violations, following a grossly unfair trial,” said Frederick Rawski, Asia Pacific Director for the ICJ. “The decision is a miscarriage of justice that inflicts needless suffering on them and their families, threatens freedom of expression, damages Myanmar’s global standing, and undermines its justice institutions all at once,” he added. The ICJ has monitored the case since the journalists’ initial detention in December 2017. As previously noted by the ICJ, the detention and trial has violated numerous basic fair trial guarantees. The prosecutors had a duty to drop charges and the judge should have dismissed the case given the lack of evidence and the unlawfulness of detention because of fair trail rights violations...''
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
Date of publication: 2018-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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