courts but had ostensibly civilian judges and limited legal
representation. Special courts applied civilian laws but judges
openly ignored the due process and evidential standards
established in Myanmar law and sought to rapidly convict.
More recently, criminal courts began to re-open, but only to
hear “non-political” crimes. All military tribunals, special
courts, criminal courts, and judgments are entirely directed by
the military and are therefore effectively sham courts.
MILITARY “DIRECTIVES”
In addition to legal “Amendments” and executive “Orders”,
the military-controlled ministries also issued secretive
“Directives” including to state-owned, military-owned, and
private telecommunications companies ordering them at
different times to restrict and in some cases completely shut
down access to the internet. The “Directives” were clearly
issued to control the organization of protests, to silence media
reporting at sensitive times, and to prevent the general public
from accessing independent information.89 Many “Directives”
also included lists of individuals to target for surveillance
interception.
‘‘
Media outlets
and journalists
that moved into
exile abroad faced
additional legal
risks under the
jurisdiction of
their new host
countries.
FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS
Media outlets and journalists that moved into exile abroad
faced additional legal risks under the jurisdiction of their
new host countries. Most went at least initially to Thailand,
a country with a poor record of protecting media freedom
or conforming to international human rights standards.90 A
small minority of media outlets and journalists operated from
within India’s increasingly threatening media environment.91
Others operated from more distant jurisdictions with stronger
protections for the rights to freedom of expression and
association, such as Australia.
Media outlets faced significant regulatory barriers in their host
jurisdictions. For example, Thai law requires that all businesses
register, but the Foreign Business Act (1999, List One) prohibits
foreigners from owning a media business in Thailand, or from
89 For more information about the military’s crackdown on access to the internet, see:
Freedom House (2023), “Myanmar”.
90 Freedom House (2023), “Thailand”.
91 Reporters Sans Frontiers (2023), “World Press Freedom Index 2023”.
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