Photo credit: Cam@chill6575|Twitter
By Nava Thakuria*
PEC demands relief to Burmese journalists, political prisoners, common people
Guwahati: Six months on from the coup, while the junta last Sunday (August 1, 2021) extended the state of emergency for two more years – till 2023, reports from the ground suggest that the military regime has further intensified surveillance, harassment and detention of journalists and is rapidly turning into one of the region’s most dangerous places to be a journalist.
Expressing serious concerns over the latest crisis faced by the people of Myanmar (formerly Burma) due to Covid-19 pandemic under a military regime in NayPieTaw, the Switzerland based global media rights body Press Emblem Campaign has reiterated its demand to release all political prisoners including the journalists without any prerequisite.
“The Burmese junta has arrested no less than 98 journalists where 43 scribes are still behind the bars. Moreover, the military authority has crushed the free press compelling a number of media houses to lock their offices and even forced many journalists to go on hide to avoid the harassment (if not arrest) on a daily basis,” said Blaise Lempen, general secretary of PEC.
Watch 📺journalist Nathan Maung tell his story of detention and abuse in #Myanmar following the military coup. He’s calling for justice, the release of prisoners and #PressFreedom. We join Nathan’s call for pressure on the ruling junta, especially for @ASEAN to act now. https://t.co/cNTozYsMM6
— Gypsy Guillén Kaiser (@GypsyStrategy) August 3, 2021
Recently a group of Nobel peace laureates came out with the statement to call for release of Myanmar’s leading women rights defender Thin Thin Aung, who cofounded the Mizzima News group based in Yangon. Aung is among hundreds who are facing imprisonments over materials (unpleasant to junta) published and broadcast by media outlets.
“Mizzima is outlawed and our offices are repeatedly raided. We are now operating from hideouts,” said Soe Myint, the chief editor of Mizzima group told this correspondent, adding that despite all threats and troubles multiple media outlets of Mizzima continue to operate with primary aim to oppose the military coup and help restoring multi-party democracy in Myanmar.
It may be mentioned that military rulers of the south-Asian nation have so far killed at least 945 people, arrested over 7,026, detained (or sentenced) nearly 5,474 and displaced more than 230,000 ethnic minorities since the coup on February 1, 2021 overthrowing the democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi’s government.
Exile activists have argued that the military chief Min Aung Hlaing is trying to legitimise the Burmese junta with asking international community for offering humanitarian aids to Myanmar’s 60 million people. They have pointed out that Myanmar is presently facing the pandemic with lesser number of vaccinated citizens and low-quality medical cares across the country.
“The human rights and humanitarian disasters have now been compounded in Myanmar following the latest wave of flood. The military junta has weaponized both the corona and flood for its own political gain,” said Khin Ohmar, chairperson of Progressive Voice, while responding to PEC queries, adding that the junta is using relief efforts to the health disaster as a ploy to gain its much-needed legitimacy.
Meanwhile, nothwithstanding the appointment of Erywan Yusof, Second Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei Darussalam as Special Envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Chair on Myanmar – which is being considered an important step towards the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus adopted at the ASEAN Leaders Meeting on April 24, 2021, the the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres renewed his urgent call to the country’s military to respect the will of the people, refrain from acts of violence and repression, and act in the interest of peace, sustainable development and human rights. “As Myanmar is facing growing humanitarian needs and the devastating impact of COVID‑19, the United Nations is focusing its efforts, in cooperation with international and regional partners, notably ASEAN, to provide humanitarian and life-saving assistance,” Guterres said on August 4.
While describing the appointment of Yusof as an “important step”, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, stated on August 5 that as Myanmar was facing growing humanitarian needs and the devastating impact of COVID-19, the UN was focusing its efforts, in cooperation with international and regional partners, notably ASEAN, to provide humanitarian and life-saving assistance.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his call to ensure full and unimpeded humanitarian access to those in need,” his offices stressed.
– (with additional inputs from global bihari bureau)
*The writer is a senior journalist and PEC’s India representative (with inputs from
