Myanmar: CFWIJ alarmed by journalist Ma Thuzar’s state abduction

September 6, 2021, Yangon - Freelance journalist Ma Thuzar was abruptly taken into custody by military officials earlier this month. Her family confirmed this instance of state abduction and admitted that they have lost all contact with Ma Thuzar. She was taken into custody on September 1, and the family has been unable to locate her since. Ma Thuzar’s residence was raided in May earlier this year.

Situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate since the coup and it is obvious that the state had been targeting Ma Thuzar for several months. Her husband told the press that their home was raided in May by forty armed military officials who arrested him when they were unable to find the journalist at her residence. Her husband was eventually released after a few days. 

The family lost contact with the journalist as soon as she was taken into custody and have not been informed of her whereabouts. Keeping in line with these blatant violations of civil rights, no formal charges have been brought forward against her either. This is not the first instance of the state abducting members of the society and terming it an “arrest.” In April, journalist Thin Thin Aung was abducted by the state. Following her detention, the state forces raided her home, seized her belongings, and destroyed all her journalistic work. In the same month, Myo Myat Myat Pan, an ex-employee of Myitkyina News Journal, was abducted by police authorities. The journalist was reportedly arrested on orders from the military council. Earlier in February, multimedia journalist Kay Zon Nwe was detained while following an anti-coup protest held in Yangon. His whereabouts remained unknown after the detention. 

In all these instances incidents of state abductions were treated as regular arrests despite violating all citizen rights during the process. The Myanmar state cannot cut off communication between those arrested and their family members, hide the location they are being kept in and present no formal legal charges to justify the “arrest”. That is in violation of the civil liberties of its population. It is unsurprising that it is primarily journalists, then, with a critical voice towards the state that are on the receiving end of these harsh measures.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism, has extensively covered the civil rights violations underway in Myanmar following the coup. We are cognizant of the fact that the crisis has only continued to worsen with little to not attention from the global community. The actions of the Myanmar state are reprehensible and in complete violation of basic human rights. What journalists are facing in Myanmar requires urgent attention and support from international media. It is important to hold those in power in Myanmar to justice in order to establish hope for the future of democracy in the country.