February 9, 2021, Naypyidaw: The journalist community in Myanmar finds itself cornered and threatened as the military takes over the government in the country. CFWIJ is closely monitoring the situation and demands that the Tatmadaw refrain from curbing civilian liberties. 

The ongoing crisis in the country began on the morning of February 1, 2021, when the Tatmadaw - the Myanmar Military - overthrew the democratically elected government of the National League for Democracy to gain control of the country. There have since been multiple protests demanding a reversal of this action, and silent among the demonstrators is the Myanmar journalist community that fear being the soft targets for the new power holders.

We have been receiving unsettling updates from several journalists who are deeply worried about their safety. They have gone into hiding, are seeking safe locations, and operating amid regular internet shutdowns. To avoid spotlight journalists on the ground have altered their equipment. They tend to use mobile phones instead of cameras to capture videos from the continuous socio-political upheaval. In fact, Soe Myint, Editor-In-Chief and Managing Director of Mizzima Media Group stated that he was not surprised by the military coup. Thus, his organization managed to move their equipment and office facilities a few days before the government takeover. Soe Myint revealed that he and his colleagues have changed locations three times within seven days to ensure their safety. 

CFWIJ spoke to Seng Mai, a female journalist, editor-in-chief of the only news outlet in Kachin State, in the northern part of the country. Seng works together with six women journalists and is responsible for their safety. She also struggles with lack of funding. Even though Seng is not in danger yet, she is prepared for any possible scenario. “The moment we learned about the military coup, we moved all of our equipment from the office to a safe place”, says Seng and adds “ I feel like we just lost any chance for justice and freedom of expression”. Since the coup, Seng and her colleagues have already moved a few times in search of a safer spot. In the absence of any safety equipment journalists try to stick together while covering the news. Women journalists are always accompanied by male coworkers on the field. “We don’t know what to do and how to do it, but we will surely carry on with our reporting”, assures Seng. 

In what is a naked display of power, the military has attempted to curb the right of freedom of the press in these times of great upheaval in the country. The Coalition For Women In Journalism strongly condemns these actions of the Tatmadaw and demands that the military respects the civilian liberties of the citizens in Myanmar. 

We will be monitoring the situation closely and will be regularly reporting upon the developments as they come to light. We urge the global community to provide journalists in Myanmar the support they need right now.