BANGKOK (AP) – Myanmar’s military-controlled government is fighting media coverage of anti-seizure protests, while journalists and ordinary people are working to keep people inside and outside the country informed of what is happening.
Authorities searched two media companies on Tuesday and detained two people. On Monday, they revoked the licenses of five local media outlets that offered extensive coverage of the protests, trying to fully restore such freedoms a decade after the country began its hesitant transition to democracy.
Government detains dozens of journalists since February 1 coup, including Thein Zaw of the Associated Press.
The crackdown comes as the military has stepped up violence against mass protests. Independent media reports continue to provide vital information about the arrests and shootings of troops in Myanmar cities. And they use other platforms to share their reports, such as social media.
Here’s a look at the media situation in Myanmar:
HOW DOES THE GOVERNMENT SUPPRESS THE NEWS?
Authorities attacked Kamayut Media offices on Monday, detaining its co-founder Han Thar Nyein and editor-in-chief Nathan Maung. Witnesses said seven military trucks were involved in the raid, according to a member of the Han Thar Nyein family. The military also attacked Mizzima News offices. A day earlier, five local workstations – Mizzima, DVB, Khit Thit Media, Myanmar Now and 7Day News – were banned from broadcasting or providing any information on any media platform or using any technology after their licenses were issued. was canceled, state broadcaster MRTV reported. They all covered the protests at large and often broadcast live videos. Myanmar Now, an independent news service, reported that police broke down his office door on Monday and confiscated computers, printers and parts of the newsroom’s data server. He cited anonymous witnesses and showed a photo of the CCTV footage. But he said the office was evacuated in late January. The government has arrested dozens of journalists, including Thein Zaw of the Associated Press. “This ban is clearly part of a much larger military assault on press freedom and the ability of journalists to do their job without harassment, intimidation or arrest,” said Phil Robertson, Asia’s deputy director for Human Rights. Watch, in a statement. Tuesday. The International Press Institute, which promotes press freedom, has vehemently condemned the move and urged the international community to “strongly oppose the ongoing attack on independent media”.
HOW TO ANSWER THE MEDIA POINTS?
Myanmar journalists risk being killed or imprisoned for doing their job, and Swe Win, editor-in-chief of Myanmar Now, said the raid demonstrated that the government intends to show zero tolerance for press freedom. “It is certain that we will not stop covering the enormous crimes committed by the regime throughout the country,” he said. Mizzima, another independent, private media outlet, posted a statement on its website saying it “continues to fight the military coup and to restore democracy and human rights” using various online and multimedia platforms. Other outlets reported protests on Tuesday. Some of the media already have experience operating from abroad.
WHAT KIND OF ENVIRONMENTS STILL WORK LEGALLY IN MYANMAR?
Myanmar seems to be returning to a situation where its officially sanctioned media is fully controlled by the state, as it was before August 2012. Just before the coup, under the army-dominated quasi-civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, reporters faced arrest and harassment for reporting on sensitive topics such as abuses against the Rohingya Muslim ethnic minority. Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were sentenced to seven years in prison but later pardoned for trying to investigate a massacre of Rohingya civilians. Myanmar ranked 139th out of 180 countries in the 2020 Reporters Without Borders World Freedom Press Index. Journalists have often faced criminal prosecution for online defamation. Myanmar Times, in English, announced that it has suspended all publications for three months starting with February 21st. This move came after many of his employees resigned to protest the newspaper’s agreement to follow a junta order not to use the word “coup” to describe a military takeover. Another state-controlled newspaper, New Global Light in Myanmar, is still publishing. Other state media include the Myanmar News Agency and the military-controlled Myawaddy TV.
WHAT ARE THE LONGER TERM BRANCHES?
Deleting all reports would probably require a complete shutdown of all internet and satellite communications. Apart from the legal and human rights implications, this would be a huge failure for the country’s economy. Myanmar companies are highly dependent on the internet and digital platforms such as Facebook, growing rapidly in recent years, after decades of relative isolation under previous military governments. So far, the junta has chosen to shut down internet connections at night, preventing but not completely stopping these communications. As modern businesses rely heavily on the Internet and the free flow of communications and information, military action continues to affect a business and investment environment already devastated by the coup and its aftermath.