Myanmar: CFWIJ speaks to journalists in Myanmar and condemns the escalating crackdown on civil liberties
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Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images
February 17, 2021- The situation in Myanmar remains violative since the military seized power in a coup on February 1. Hundreds of thousands take to the streets in various cities across the country in defiance of the military generals who have deployed troops in major cities. Violence against the protestors is accompanied with a continuous crackdown on press freedom. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) is constantly in touch with journalists in Myanmar who express severe concerns about their safety, some of them remain in hideouts. The latest updates come from a female journalist who prefers to stay anonymous. She paints a harrowing picture of the police and the military persecuting township residents. The Coalition For Women In Journalism is utterly dismayed with the acceleration of violence in Myanmar and calls upon the international community to act united.
“The military together with the police and their informants began to intimidate and threaten citizens on an unprecedented scale. Those who are allegedly against the military rule, including politicians, businessmen, intellectuals, prominent public figures, are being taken away from their homes at night. Police raids the houses in a search of certain individuals or “so-called” incriminating evidence. These activities are being conducted everywhere: continuously repeatedly”. A female journalist from Myanmar reveals to CFWIJ.
Our interlocuteur explains that military and police forces started to intensify their disturbing actions around February 12. “They were equipped with firearms and using large forces in order to terrorize townships. In one of such situations, at least two vehicles were packed with fully armed soldiers, ready to arrest their targets. Whenever they tried to intrude the territories all civilians grouped up and defended themselves and those arrested. However, they could not achieve it at every single time, as the military was just stronger”, she says.
Politicians businessmen intellectuals influential persons astrologers government employees and all other individuals whom they think are against them are taken away right at their homes at night even breaking the door's of their houses.This activities had been done continuously everywhere repeatedly.
All these raids on civilian neighbourhoods are captured on videos and circulate on the internet. Those incidents happened in Aung Myay Thazan San Gyaung and Nay Pyi Daw, among the others. Additionally, on the night of February 12, ambulances drove into Tamwe Township sustaining that there is an emergency. A female journalist points out that inside of the big vans were supposed to be ex-convicts, just released from prisons. To her knowledge, those people were asked to infiltrate certain townships, incite riots and make it look like the civilians are using violence and don’t want to cooperate. Such sabotage allegedly aims to paint a troubling picture of the civil resistance movement to the international community. “People are afraid that police or convicts will now infiltrate their neighbourhoods in the night”, says a female journalist.
She assures that police informants are already installed in several townships and seek for information in order to infiltrate local communities. They are collecting news about what people say, what they do, if they engage in any form of activism”, she says.
Broad crackdown on press freedom and civil liberties steadily increases and raises real concerns about the further escalation of violence in the country. Journalists and human rights activists are under severe threats as they fear detention, abduction, arrest or even torture. They operate amid regular internet shutdowns, are forced to move to safe locations and are afraid to report on those violations due to potential reprisal. The Coalition For Women In Journalism is in regular contact with reporters on the ground. Recently we released an interview with a female journalist based in Myanmar who prefers to stay anonymous for safety reasons. During the conversation the journalist admitted that she feels unsafe and very depressed as the situation is still escalating. “All of the journalists are in potential danger, regardless of what they do. It can certainly be fieldwork but also just edits of the coverage, managing websites, and coordination of logistics directly from home. Those who work on the ground are usually not very well equipped— they don’t have helmets or any safety kit, therefore they may experience physical violence. Women journalists are additionally exposed to threats strictly related to their gender, such as sexual harassment. The danger of sexual assault is real for any woman who decides to appear on a protest” she told CFWIJ.
CFWIJ documents and monitors repeated, various attacks on journalists in Myanmar. Reuters correspondent, Shwe Yee Win was arrested by the police and military officers on February 11. There is no news if she’s released from prison. Those who are released signed the documents with security officials to not violate the curfew order. The military officials sitting in the Ministry of Information have also issued a letter addressing media outlets. They alleged the media houses of using inappropriate words, referring to the military's takeover as a coup.
A journalist in Yangon, on condition of staying anonymous, reported that “ human rights defenders and journalists are struggling to let people know what is happening.” Earlier CFWIJ spoke to Seng Mai, a woman journalist, editor in chief of the only news outlet in Kachin state. Seng said they moved all their equipment from the office to a safe place as they heard about the military coup. Since the coup, she and her colleagues have already moved in search of a safer spot. CFWIJ spoke to another journalist, who described the situation as worse. According to reliable sources Th, many journalist report the situation from hideouts because of constant fear of arrest and torture from the Myanmar military and the police.
Moreover, The International Federation of Journalists shared a startling message saying that at least five journalists were recently arrested and media outlets “have received threatening harsh jail sentences for those who break the country’s recently amended Penal Code”.
A new law proposed by the junta is another alarming proposal that can result in imposing wide censorship and infiltration of the citizens. The law will oblige the internet providers to reveal the details of their users to authorities if needed. According to the new cyber law, anyone spreading misinformation or disinformation could face punishment up to three years in prison.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism monitors the events unfolding with great concern. Many journalists we spoke to have reported on the conditions from hideouts, where they fear military abductions, detections, and possible torture. We stand in solidarity with all of them and urge the international organizations to join forces and take actions in this critical moment. We demand the voices of persecuted journalists to be heard. We also hope that the military will stop this unjustified vendetta against journalists and human rights activists.
