"2018 begins in the same vein that 2017 finished, with the continued military offensives, the denial of access to independent human rights investigators and the continuing arrests of journalists. Further, the deteriorating human rights situation in Myanmar[1] is inextricably linked to the entrenched power and impunity of the Myanmar Army, which continues to overshadow any efforts towards achieving sustainable peace and democracy in Myanmar. These events over the holiday period serve to demonstrate the enormity of challenges that Myanmar must deal with in the year ahead. Arbitrary arrests of journalists have highlighted the real and continued danger that those investigating abuses of power face. Following the arrest of three journalists in Shan State last year in June, and the arrest of journalist and photographer Aung Naing Soe, Singaporean journalist Lau Hon Meng and Malaysian journalist Mok Choy Lin in November, the arrest and detention in December of two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, under the Official Secrets Act, threatens press freedom and has drawn wide condemnation. The two Reuters journalists were investigating the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine State and now face up to 14 years in jail. The persecution of journalists reporting stories on human rights violations, especially related to ethnic and religious repression and armed conflict, is a worrying precedent and is indicative of a shrinking space in civil society for those speaking out against human rights abuses..."