World Association of News Publishers


Protest Campaign - Myanmar, 15 July 2014

Protest Campaign - Myanmar, 15 July 2014

Article ID:

17981

His Excellency President Thein Sein
President of Myanmar,
Naypyidaw,
People’s Republic of the Union of Myanmar

 

Paris, 11 July 2014

 

Your Excellency,

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries, to express our deep concern over the sentencing to 10 years in prison with hard labour of five media professionals following their February arrest for reporting on an alleged chemical weapons facility.

According to reports, a Pakokku district judge ruled that Unity Weekly CEO, Tint San, and journalists Lu Maw Naing (author of the report), Yarzar Oo, Paing Thet Kyaw and Sithu Soe have been found guilty of “violating the safety and interests of the state” and of “damaging its international reputation.”

The five men were originally detained between the 31st January and 1st February 2014 by Special Branch police and initially held in an undisclosed location.

Yangon-based Unity Journal’s 25th January cover story detailed allegations of a secret chemical weapons factory located in Pauk Township, Magwe Division, in Myanmar’s central region. The report claims Chinese technicians were frequently seen at the facility and that its workers told reporters they were producing chemical weapons. The report also claimed several senior military figures, including former ruling junta leader Senior General Than Shwe and current Commander-in-Chief General Min Aung Hlaing, had visited the facility.

Delivering the verdict, presiding judge U Maung Maung Htay said that CEO Tint San breached Section 3 (1) (a) of the 1923 Official Secrets Act as he had known of photographs being taken by Paing Thet Kyaw, and had allowed both Yarzar Oo and Sithu Soe to trespass on the factory compound before giving signed approval to publish the story. His four employees were also found to have breached the same article of the Official Secrets Act for their various roles in breaking the story.

Your Excellency, WAN-IFRA considers the verdict a serious back-step for the freedom of the press and urges the court to hear the defendant’s appeal at the earliest opportunity so that it may reconsider the decision. We are deeply concerned over allegations of political involvement in the trial as well as the chilling effect such a severe sentence transmits to the wider journalistic community in Myanmar - with an increase in self-censorship leading to a reluctance to cover stories of vital public interest the likely outcome.

We further reiterate concerns highlighted in our 7th February letter to Your Excellency, initially raised by the Interim Myanmar Press Council, that the usual judicial process was not followed in this case. Formal arrest warrants were not issued and the detentions failed to follow established procedure; the accused were not summonsed before the courts, thus denying them the opportunity to defend themselves against the serious allegations.

We repeat our concerns for press freedom in Myanmar by respectfully reminding you that the arrest of media professionals for simply doing their job can never be justified, and that to punish reporting into an issue of such clear public interest is a devastating blow to your country’s democratic aspirations. The decision to curtail the freedom of the press by condemning journalists to lengthy prison sentences is a potent reminder that Myanmar is failing to deliver on its commitment to a genuinely free press and wider promises of greater respect for human rights.

We respectfully urge you to investigate claims that the sentencing was politically motivated and in turn to promote stronger guarantees for the freedom of the press in Myanmar. We also respectfully call on you to create the conditions necessary for the press to be free from intimidation and any form of government interference, and to seek the fostering of an environment in which the media is able to fulfil its essential role of protecting the public interest by holding power to account through rigorous investigation.


We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Tomas Brunegård
President
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers

 

Erik Bjerager
President
World Editors Forum

 

 


WAN-IFRA is the global organisation for the world’s newspapers and news publishers, with formal representative status at the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. The organisation groups 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries.

Author

Andrew Heslop's picture

Andrew Heslop

Date

2014-07-15 15:01

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In countless countries, journalists, editors and publishers are physically attacked, imprisoned, censored, suspended or harassed for their work. WAN-IFRA is committed to defending freedom of expression by promoting a free and independent press around the world. Read more ...