PEC expresses concern over continued harassment to Burmese journalists

NJ THAKURIA-

Geneva/ Guwahati: Press Emblem  Campaign (PEC), the Switzerland based
global media rights body, expresses serious concern over the continued
harassments to journalists and other media workers of Myanmar (also
known as Burma or Brahmadesh), by the Burmese junta, which dethroned
the democratically elected government in NayPieTaw with a military
coup on 1 February 2021.

The military rulers have detained nearly one hundred journalists, who
dared to question their credentials to rule the south-east Asian
nation and over 40 of them are still behind the bars. The generals,
led by Min Aung Hlaing, who has recently declared himself as the
Premier of Myanmar, continue to target the media persons with
arbitrary raid, detention and arrests. In reality, they have tried to
destroy the entity of free press.

“Not only the local Burmese journalists, the junta now wants to diktat
the foreign media outlets with a proper way of describing the military
regime, which grabbed the political power deposing Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi led National League for Democracy (NLD) government of Myanmar,”
said  Blaise Lempen, general secretary of PEC (www.pressemblem.ch/).
Recently, the military officials expressed their resentments as the
media outlets continued using the term ‘military junta’ to describe
the regime and they warned not to repeat the mistake. Indicating the
foreign news agencies, which are reporting about Myanmar, they asked
the correspondents to stop using wrong terms and also avoid spreading
‘fake news’. Otherwise, the military generals threatened to take of
necessary actions against them.

“Lately, two more journalists were detained that increases the number
of scribes and other media workers arrested up to 95 since the  coup
took place. Military personnel had recently arrested outspoken
freelance journalist U Sithu Aung Myint and the foreign media
contributor Ma Htet Htet Khine from Yangon on 15 August 2021,” said
Aung Zaw, a senior Burmese journalist, while speaking to  PEC’s India
representative Nava Thakuria from an undisclosed location.
He also added that three women journalists were arrested in the month
of July. Released media persons described how they were tortured in
the name of interrogation during their detentions. Families of
journalists under detention like Han Thar Nyein, Min Nyo, Mya Wunn
Yangon, Myo Myat Myat Pan, Thin Thin Aung, Tu Tu Tha, Than Htike Aung,
etc are worried about their safety and security as the Covid-19 is
also spreading across the developing country.

Over one thousand Burmese nationals have lost their lives
participating in various protest-demonstrations against the military
regime, said the PEC adding that more than seven thousand people have
been arrested and over five thousand individuals are either detained
or sentenced, whereas nearly  230,000 ethnic minorities have been
displaced since the recent military takeover in the land of golden
pagodas.