6/11/22, 10:23 PM Section 66(d), the newest threat to freedom of expression in Myanmar? | The Myanmar Times “The section is simply designed for repression by the former ruling party,” he said. The Eleven suit arose from a story accusing the Yangon Region chief minister of accepting an expensive wristwatch and implying it may have been a bribe. The newspaper’s CEO and chief editor are now behind bars at Insein Prison, awaiting trial. Prominent human rights lawyer U Robert San Aung said,“It is not appropriate that a citizen who criticises someone more powerful should face legal action of this kind.” He has proposed that the law be amended, adding, “Defendants sued under this section should at least have the right to bail.” Another frequent criticism is that the law has been invoked despite the absence of bylaws governing its application, a departure from normal parliamentary practice. Patrick Kum Ja Lee, who served a six-month jail term for defaming the Tatmadaw chief on social media, said the section should simply be deleted from the law. “Its only purpose was political repression. Now the government we elected is using it to sue us. That’s not good,” he said. Criticism from international organisations has been blunt. “Myanmar’s defamation laws, by being either vague or overly broad, also do not conform to the principle of legality. This undermines the rule of law as they are not formulated clearly and precisely to ensure that individuals can regulate their conduct accordingly,” said Daniel Aguirre, a legal adviser with the International Commission of Jurists in Myanmar. “Notions such as ‘disturbing’ or ‘causing undue influence’, as set out in the Telecommunications Law, are particularly vague and prone to arbitrary and highly subjective interpretation and application.” He added that in order to ensure the law serves the interests of the people and does not pose a threat to free speech, parliament must “abolish or extensively amend its criminal defamation laws”. “Civil liability proceedings should be the sole form of redress for complaints of damage to reputation,” Mr Aguirre said. “The capacity of people to freely impart and receive information, including through free political discourse, is critical for a functioning democracy,” he added. Pyithu Hluttaw MP Daw Khin San Hlaing (NLD; Pale) said the National League for Democracy would review the laws that are not beneficial to the public and amend them if necessary. Unless the section of the law is amended, further defamation suits are likely, as Myanmar’s 10 million Facebook users grow increasingly willing to test the government’s commitment to freedom of expression. Vani Sathisan, an independent legal expert who spent three years working in Myanmar, said, “The punitive impulse to jail someone, whose comment may be insulting but is made without malice and is certainly not defamatory, is a reflection of Myanmar’s deep institutional decay and incapacity.” “The penchant to turn to criminal defamation laws to punish free expression, by both by the military government and the current administration, chills the exercise of free expression of opinion and stifles the exchange of information. This right to freedom of expression protects every form of expression, including electronic and internet-based,” she said. “Free political discourse is critical for a functioning democracy under the rule of law. There should be no place for criminal defamation laws in a democracy. Parliament must abolish criminal defamation laws. If the NLD wants to be a legitimate, representative government, then it cannot continue to fail to establish domestic standards conforming to international human rights law,” she added. Parliament should soon undertake a review of section 66(d) with a view to amending it, said Ko Maung Saung Kha, who served time for a defamation charge and is now leading a committee lobbying for the reform of the Telecommunications Law. “On [November 25], we will hold an awareness campaign at the court hearing of U Myo Yan Naung Thein at Kamaryut Township Court,” he said. His committee, made up mostly of activists who were prosecuted under the defamation section, is preparing a report to submit to parliament. So far, according to their research, 23 lawsuits have been opened under section 66(d) since the NLD-led government took office in April. Among the 20 people facing trial, 12 have been denied bail. Ko Maung Saung Kha said the section of the Telecommunications Law should be replaced by legislation that properly addresses cyber bullying, with an aim of protecting the public. “If parliament is not yet ready for a cyber law, then parliament should consider writing by-laws which dictate the terms under which section 66(d) is to be exercised without harming freedom of expression,” the poet said. Read More COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard (Myanmar) https://www.mmtimes.com/national-news/23843-section-66-d-the-newest-threat-to-freedom-of-expression-in-myanmar.html 3/6