Those seven journalist organizations announced another statement on 13th May. Their
statement condemned the three-year sentence in prison under Section 505 of the Penal Code,
as a direct threat against press freedom, to Min Nyo, a DVB reporter based in Pyay.
On 10th March, the BNI had issued a statement that strongly opposed revoking broadcasting
rights to five news outlets, raiding two media offices confiscating journalism equipment.
Earlier under the coup, various networks, associations, and organizations representing local
journalists from different regions have issued statements condemning the suppression of press
freedom. Later, those demands and calls for protecting press freedom became muted as many
journalists were arrested and fleeing from their homes.
Regarding journalist organizations’ statements, an executive member of the Myanmar
Journalist Network (MJN) pointed out that journalist organizations considered issuing
statements as an ineffective advocacy approach while the journalists are hiding in low profiles.
However, Burma News International (BNI) has continued to condemn suppressions on press
freedom. A BNI’s statement on 28th September condemns the ongoing arrests of journalists. It
adds: Twenty-five townships in Chin and Kachin States, and Sagaing, Mandalay, and Magway
Regions were deemed to be deliberate violations of citizens’ right to information and freedom
of expression.
The statement has called for the immediate release of arrested journalists, not to continue
imposing physical or psychological torture and harassment in prisons and interrogation camps,
and to lift warrants against journalists. The calls include relicensing the banned media outlets;
and acknowledging press freedom, information access, and the rights to information.
Repeated Dark Age of News Media
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