What kind of surveillance did you experience Do you think the regime will release the remaining after your article was published? political prisoners? Why are some detainees From my experience, the surveillance still being held? appears to be systemic. I avoid using social It’s impossible to predict the regime’s media platforms like Instragram, Telegram and decisions using normal logic because everything Tiktok, and I’m very cautious about Facebook depends on Min Aung Hlaing’s command. because there are also many anonymous ac- Sentence reductions and release on amnesties counts. Based on what I experienced, I believe are inconsistent and very limited. They also military intelligence and local authorities were use tricks in making sentence reduction, for involved in monitoring in a coordinated sur- example, I served almost my entire sentences veillance structure. At the same time, there but just six more days before finishing, they are also informal networks where individuals put me in amnesty and attached with Article share information about journalists, particu- 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on sus- larly younger and more active journalists. So, pensions, remissions and commutations of from what I’ve seen, surveillance still operates sentences - functions as a suspended sentence through both an organised system and indi- or parole rather than a full, clean pardon. vidual informants. Looking beyond 2026, what support does How do you assess the military’s communica- Myanmar’s media sector need to remain sus- tion strategy during the first six months? tainable? The people (either man or woman) I think the biggest challenge is main- may have changed but the policy hasn’t. The taining a proper media ecosystem. With therise junta continues to shape narratives that suit of influencers, citizen journalists and inde- its interests rather than presenting facts. Re- pendent content creators, it has become gardless of who serves as the spokes person, harder to distinguish professional journalism the regime’s communication strategy is based from online commentary. To me, genuine on controlling the narrative rather than en- journalists must remain impartial, human- couraging pluralism or providing truthful centered and committed to reporting without information. For example, recently, appointing ethnic, religious or political bias. To sustain a female spokesperson may simply be a tactic to this, we need more investment in training pro- soften public perception, but the underlying fessional journalists, stronger protection for principles and propaganda remain unchanged. independent media and continued support. Update on Journalism and Media Safety in Myanmar 20