• Burmese
Friday, December 1, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Journalists Say Press Freedom Declining in Myanmar

by San Yamin Aung
May 2, 2018
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
Reporters call on the Myanmar government and military authorities to release detained reporters at a protest in Yangon on June 30 last year. / Reuters

Reporters call on the Myanmar government and military authorities to release detained reporters at a protest in Yangon on June 30 last year. / Reuters

5.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON — Recent survey results show that local journalists think media freedom is declining in Myanmar, and increasingly believe the government and military pose the main threat to an independent press.

Free Expression Myanmar, an advocacy group campaigning for freedom of expression and legal reform, surveyed 200 working journalists across the country between December 2017 and April 2018.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar’s Junta Faces an Increase in Resistance Attacks in Yangon, Reports Say

Myanmar’s Junta Faces an Increase in Resistance Attacks in Yangon, Reports Say

December 1, 2023
1.4k
Pro-Junta Party Leader Assassinated in Myanmar

Pro-Junta Party Leader Assassinated in Myanmar

December 1, 2023
1.4k
Clashes, Fires Rage in Loikaw as Resistance Continues Push to Oust Myanmar Junta Forces

Clashes, Fires Rage in Loikaw as Resistance Continues Push to Oust Myanmar Junta Forces

December 1, 2023
507

A report summarizing the findings of the survey states that journalists’ initial optimism that the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government would take significant steps to increase media freedom has been replaced by the belief that not only have there been no reforms, but overall media freedom has actually deteriorated.

“Journalists are frustrated by the government’s failure to implement its election manifesto commitments to increase media freedom,” reads the report, which was launched on Wednesday, one day ahead of World Press Freedom Day 2018.

The NLD manifesto released in 2015 clearly states: “The news media is the eyes and ears of the people. We will ensure that the media has the right to stand independently in accordance with self-regulation of matters relating to ethics and dignity, and the right to gather and disseminate news.”

Yet, since the administration took office in March 2016, a number of local media outlets have been taken to court by the country’s most powerful institutions, including the military.

Various laws have continued to be used as weapons of press oppression, according to the report. These include not only online defamation charges, but also colonial-era legislation such as the Official Secrets Act and the Unlawful Associations Act.

At least 11 journalists were arrested last year under various repressive laws for gathering information or traveling to conflict areas to conduct their work, and for criticizing officials.

U Han Zaw, secretary of the PEN Myanmar Center, said at an event to launch the report on Wednesday that fear of being sued was growing among journalists and editors, adding that this had led to self-censorship.

“This is a significant factor in the decline of media freedom,” he said.

Some 49 percent of the surveyed journalists believed they had less freedom of expression compared to a year ago, while 41 percent believed they had the same freedom. Only 11 percent thought that they had more freedom.

The report states that the journalists believe the government and the military are the greatest threats to media freedom in Myanmar, given their continued used of old oppressive laws, which they have no real plans to amend, and adoption of new restrictions.

It also states that the courts and their regressive interpretation of Myanmar’s laws pose a significant threat to media freedom.

“Journalists are concerned about the courts’ unwillingness to listen to expert testimony, to refer cases to the Myanmar Press Council, or to interpret laws in favor of Myanmar’s new democratic aims,” the report states.

Yin Yadanar Thein, co-founder and program manager of Free Expression Myanmar, told The Irrawaddy that the survey’s aim is to advocate for legal reforms. She said that the survey serves as evidence of the declining state of Myanmar’s press freedom based on journalists’ perceptions. This provides a more solid basis for advocating legal reform than simply the opinions of civil society organizations, Yin Yadanar Thein said.

“There are a lot of repressive laws including in the Penal Code. The government is neglecting to abolish those. Even if they consider that abolishment is impossible, they could make amendments in favor of freedom of expression,” she said.

The report makes five recommendations to the government and the military: to conduct open and inclusive consultations with journalists on legal reform, which includes both changing laws and changing the behaviors of government officials; to end the state media monopoly including military-owned media; to immediately remove all barriers to the media’s access to conflict areas; to ensure that no government official acting in an official capacity brings any criminal complaint against a journalist until legal reforms are implemented; and to ensure that all allegations of violence against journalists are investigated transparently.

The reports will be sent to the Ministry of Information, the Myanmar Press Council and the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission.

Reporters Without Borders’ 2018 press freedom index ranked Myanmar 137th out of 180 assessed countries. This was a drop of six places from the previous ranking.

India, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and China placed at No. 138, 140, 142, 145 and 176, respectively.

The annual report published last week reflects growing animosity towards journalists around the world.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: legal reformMedia freedom
Previous Post

160 Legal Officers Disciplined in 2017, Supreme Court Says

Next Post

Rights Groups Question Tatmadaw Chief’s Denial of Sexual Violence

San Yamin Aung

San Yamin Aung

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Kenji Nagai of APF tries to take photographs as he lies injured after police and military officials fired upon and then charged at protesters in Yangon on Sept. 27, 2007. Nagai, 50, a Japanese video journalist, was shot by soldiers as they fired to disperse the crowd. Nagai later died. / Reuters

The Day Myanmar’s Military Shot Dead a Japanese Photographer

September 27, 2019
11.7k
-- / --

After Struggling for 20 years, Mon Newspaper in Myanmar Now Faces Fight to Survive

November 29, 2019
12.5k
Journalists, writers and lawyers denounce the recent crackdown of the journalists who interviewed the Arakan Army.

Myanmar Govt’s Crackdown on Journalists Angers Media and Legal Insiders

April 2, 2020
5.8k
U Sithu Aung Myint and Ma Htet Htet Khine. / Reporters Without Borders Twitter

Detained Myanmar Columnist Faces Life in Prison

August 23, 2021
6.8k
Protesters run from soldiers and police in Yangon. / The Irrawaddy

Myanmar Military Regime Sues The Irrawaddy

March 12, 2021
13.2k
Two detained reporters: Ko Aung Kyaw of DVB (left) and Ko Zaw Zaw, a Mizzima News freelancer, were sentenced to two years in prison.

Myanmar Regime Jails Journalists for Incitement

June 2, 2021
6.6k
Load More
Next Post
Rohingya refugees walk toward a refugee camp after crossing the border in Anjuman Para near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Nov. 19, 2017 / Reuters

Rights Groups Question Tatmadaw Chief’s Denial of Sexual Violence

Former Malaysian Prime Minister and candidate for opposition Alliance Of Hope, Mahathir Mohamad, waves to his supporters after his nomination, on Langkawi Island, Malaysia, April 28, 2018. / Reuters

Malaysia's Mahathir Stirs 1MDB Debate Among Rural Voters Ahead of Election

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Illusion of Myanmar Military’s Indispensability Has Been Shattered

Illusion of Myanmar Military’s Indispensability Has Been Shattered

3 days ago
5.2k
Myanmar’s Civilian Government Takes Control of Seized Funds

Myanmar’s Civilian Government Takes Control of Seized Funds

8 hours ago
4.9k

Most Read

  • Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

    Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar IDPs Stranded by Junta Troops in Northern Shan State Face a Long Walk Home

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar’s Civilian Government Takes Control of Seized Funds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Plays Up ‘Strong’ China Ties a Week After Anti-Beijing Protests

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.