YANGON: Journalists in Myanmar believe their government is failing to defend media freedom despite the transition from harsh military rule to an elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a survey published to mark World Press Freedom Day on Thursday.
Activist group Free Expression Myanmar and its partner organizations interviewed 200 journalists between January and April, finding almost half believed they had less freedom as journalists than a year earlier.
“Journalists are frustrated by the government’s failure to implement its election manifesto commitments to increase media freedom,” the group said in a report on its survey.
Asked to rate the government’s success on defending media freedom, 79 percent of journalists questioned for the survey answered “low” or “very low.”
The government’s main spokesman, Zaw Htay, referred Reuters’ questions about the survey results to the information ministry.
Reuters contacted three officials at the Ministry of Information, who all declined to comment and referred questions to other officials.
The military ruled Myanmar for nearly 50 years but handed over the reins of government to Nobel laureate Suu Kyi in early 2016. The military retains control of government ministries responsible for security, including interior and defense.
Police arrested two Reuters reporters on December 12 and they face up to 14 years in prison under accusations they breached the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.
The survey comes after Paris-based Reporters Without Borders last week moved Myanmar down in its annual press freedom index by six places to 137th out of 180 nations, citing legal action against journalists and restrictions on access to conflict-affected areas.
“Journalists increasingly believe that the government, including the military, is the greatest threat to media freedom in Myanmar, both through its continued use of old oppressive laws which it has no real plans to amend and its adoption of new oppressive laws,” the group said in its report.
Several journalists have faced legal action in connection with their work over the past year or more, but according to Advocacy group Athan, or “voice,” the two Reuters journalists — Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28 — are the only reporters in detention.
Several US lawmakers expressed solidarity with Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and other imprisoned journalists, to mark World Press Freedom Day. Nine US senators signed a letter to the two men promising to continue to urge the country’s authorities to release them and drop all charges.
A court is holding hearings to decide whether the two Reuters journalists will face trial for allegedly handling secret government documents.
At the time of their arrest, the reporters had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in a village in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
The killings took place during an army crackdown that United Nations agencies say sent nearly 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.
“Press Freedom Day is very meaningful for us,” Wa Lone told reporters on the steps of a Yangon court on Wednesday, following the most recent hearing.
“We know how important it is because we spend every day in prison.”
Myanmar journalists say government failing to protect press freedom
Myanmar journalists say government failing to protect press freedom
- Activist group Free Expression Myanmar and its partner organizations interviewed 200 journalists between January and April
- Two Reuters journalists — Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28 — are the only reporters in detention in Myanmar
Foreign media group slams Israel for refusing to lift Gaza press ban
- Foreign Press Association expresses 'profound disappointment' with Israeli government’s response to a Supreme Court appeal
- Israel has barred foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory since the war started
JERUSALEM: An international media association on Tuesday criticized the Israeli government for maintaining its ban on unrestricted media access to Gaza, calling the move disappointing.
The government had told the Supreme Court in a submission late Sunday that the ban should remain in place, citing security risks in the Gaza Strip.
The submission was in response to a petition filed by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) — which represents hundreds of journalists in Israel and Palestinian territories — seeking immediate and unrestricted access for foreign journalists to the Gaza Strip.
“The Foreign Press Association expresses its profound disappointment with the Israeli government’s latest response to our appeal for full and free access to the Gaza Strip,” the association said on Tuesday.
“Instead of presenting a plan for allowing journalists into Gaza independently and letting us work alongside our brave Palestinian colleagues, the government has decided once again to lock us out” despite the ceasefire in the territory, it added.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, triggered by an attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the government has barred foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Instead, Israel has allowed only a limited number of reporters to enter Gaza on a case-by-case basis, embedded with its military inside the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The FPA filed its petition in 2024, after which the court granted the government several extensions to submit its response.
Last month, however, the court set January 4 as a final deadline for the government to present a plan for allowing media access to Gaza.
In its submission, the government maintained that the ban should remain in place.
“This is for security reasons, based on the position of the defense establishment, which maintains that a security risk associated with such entry still exists,” the government submission said.
The government also said that the search for the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza was ongoing, suggesting that allowing journalists in at this stage could hinder the operation.
The remains of Ran Gvili, whose body was taken to Gaza after he was killed during Hamas’s 2023 attack, have still not been recovered despite the ceasefire.
The FPA said it planned to submit a “robust response” to the court, and expressed hope the “judges will put an end to this charade.”
“The FPA is confident that the court will provide justice in light of the continuous infringement of the fundamental principles of freedom of speech, the public’s right to know and free press,” the association added.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the matter, though it is unclear when a decision will be handed down.
An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.
