FCCT statement on the detention and prosecution of journalists in Myanmar

The professional membership of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand condemns the detention and prosecution of journalists trying to cover the protests in Myanmar, and calls on the military authorities to ensure that the security forces respect and protect the media.

Since the military seized power on 1st February as many as 25 journalists have been detained by the security forces while doing their jobs. In some cases the journalists were beaten. At least eight of those journalists remain in custody, and have been charged under section 505(a) of the penal code, which criminalises the publication of any report ‘with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, any officer, soldier, sailor or airman, in the Army, Navy or Air Force to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in his duty as such’. The law has been widely condemned as failing the test of necessity and proportionality in constraining freedom of expression. It is punishable by up to two years in prison.

On Monday night a journalist working for the Democratic Voice of Burma in the southern city of Myeik filmed himself as police surrounded his home, firing their weapons and smashing windows, as he pleaded for help from his neighbours. He offered to report the next morning but was taken away, his whereabouts now unknown.

The independent media plays a vital role in bringing full information about what is happening in Myanmar to the world’s attention. With state media in Myanmar now parroting only the propaganda of the new regime, it is essential that independent media be supported and protected as far as possible. The FCCT urges other governments and agencies engaging with the regime in Myanmar to ensure that they prioritise the safety of journalists in their discussions.

Our colleagues in Myanmar have shown great courage and ingenuity in ensuring they can broadcast confrontations between the authorities and the civil disobedience movement, giving us a far fuller picture of events there than was possible in the past. We stand in solidarity with them as they try to work in the most difficult and dangerous conditions. We urge the military authorities to release the journalists they have detained, and to drop the charges they have filed against them.