International journalists’ groups have called on the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) to immediately release a reporter from the Border News Agency (BNA) who has been held by the AA since last week.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Independent Myanmar Journalists Association (IMJA) are calling for the release of Ma Mudra, a 30-year-old journalist taken from her home in Maungdaw Township by a member of the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) on Sept. 20.
The BNA is a Rakhine-based agency covering national news with a focus on its home state.
BNA editor-in-chief Kaung Myat Naing said she was taken for reporting on the dismal lack of educational provisions in the impoverished ethnic Mro village of Thihoaye, a community displaced by fighting in AA-controlled Maungdaw.
“The Arakan Army must release reporter Mudra now and allow all journalists to report freely on the conflict in Rakhine state,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative.
AA spokesman Khaing Thukha in a belated response Tuesday claimed Ma Mudra was questioned “for security reasons.”
He accused her of “not following the rules” of conflict that led to public security concerns and added the AA had been “watching her for a long time.”
“We called her for interrogation for the sake of public security but did not detain her,” he told The Irrawaddy.
But the BNA editor-in-chief said Ma Mudra is still being held at the ULA/AA Intelligence Office.
He also denied that the Mro village is somehow off-limits for security reasons. “Did they announce the rules that should be followed in this conflict?” he asked.
Mudra’s report highlighted the lack of educational provision in Thihoaye and the hardship of villagers who are raising money to hire a teacher for their children.
“How does the hardship of the Mro ethnic group affect the AA?” Kaung Myat Naing asked.
The IMJA also urged the AA to guarantee the protection of media workers and ensure Ma Mudra’s immediate and unconditional release.
The AA, formed in 2009 and fighting for autonomy from the military regime, controls 14 of Rakhine State’s 17 townships, including Maungdaw, along with Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State.
Before the coup, Myanmar was ranked 139th out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders. This year it dropped to 169th.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 55 media workers are still imprisoned.
