Myanmar becomes a nation without newspapers

Myanmar becomes a nation without newspapers

The closure of Myanmar’s last independent newspaper marks a new milestone in the country’s political descent 

Staring March 17, the country no longer has a single independent newspaper in publication.

Years from now, March 17, 2021, will be remembered as the day that Myanmar’s brief era of press freedom—however partial and imperfect it was—well and truly died.

As of this day, the country no longer has a single independent newspaper in publication. On Wednesday, The Standard Time (San Taw Chain) joined The Myanmar Times, The Voice, 7Day News and Eleven in suspending operations in the wake of last month’s military coup.

It was less than a decade ago that the quasi-civilian administration of former President Thein Sein began slowly lifting restrictions on Myanmar’s long-suppressed press.

As overt censorship became a thing of the past and new licenses were issued, the number of news outlets proliferated, in the surest sign of confidence in ongoing political and economic reforms.  

Now only online news media remain as the last lifeline for millions of citizens desperate for reliable sources of information amid the military-induced freefall.

With this in mind, the new regime is acting to sever this last connection as it moves to plunge the country into darkness.

“The situation for press freedom is only going to get worse as they cut off the internet,” says political analyst Sithu Aung Myint, before adding: “The country no longer has democracy or an ounce of freedom.”

Piling pressure on news media

It took 10 days for the regime’s Ministry of Information to start making Orwellian demands. On February 11, it issued new instructions to the Myanmar Press Council, “urging” news media to “practice ethics” and stop referring to the “State Administration Council” as a junta.   

Citing provisions in Myanmar’s military-drafted constitution, the junta’s arbiters of truth claimed that the regime came to power by legitimate means because a state of emergency had been duly declared.

Newspapers, journals, and websites that persisted in using language that suggested otherwise were not merely wrong, but were also violating media ethics and inciting unrest, the ministry insisted.

Eleven days later, on February22, the coup maker himself, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, warned the media that their publishing licenses would be revoked if they continued to use words that didn’t meet with his approval.

But on February 25, in a show of defiance, some 50 news outlets declared their intention to keep reporting on the situation as it unfolded, and to describe the regime and its actions as they saw fit.

The arrests begin

Two days later, the junta began targeting the most vulnerable and essential participants in the whole news-making process: reporters.

On February 27, five journalists covering the junta’s crackdowns on anti-dictatorship activities were arrested and later charged with incitement under section 505a of the Penal Code.

Myanmar Now’s multimedia reporter Kay Zon Nway was one of those arrested that day. She was doing her job of documenting the brutal assault on protesters in Yangon’s Sanchaung township when she was apprehended while fleeing the regime’s forces as they lashed out at everyone in sight. 

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Police arrest Myanmar Now journalist Kay Zon Nwe covering protests in Yangon on February 27, 2021. Credit: YE AUNG THU / AFP

The four others—Aung Ye Ko from 7Days News, Ye Myo Khant from Myanmar Pressphoto Agency, Thein Zaw from AP, and Hein Pyae Zaw from ZeeKwat Media—were reporting near Hledan when they were taken into custody. 

All five are now in Yangon’s notorious Insein prison awaiting trial on charges based on the ludicrous notion that they were somehow responsible for the mayhem that they were merely there to witness, at great risk to their own lives.

Under recent amendments to section 505a, they now face up to three years in prison for the crime of sharing what they saw with their fellow citizens.

According to data compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners and last updated on March 8, as many as 33 journalists have been arrested or targeted for arrest since the February 1 coup.

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A policeman chasing a journalist holding a camera in Yangon on February 26, 2021. 

Taking action against news organizations

The regime hasn’t just put individual journalists in its sights; as its efforts to end resistance to its rule continue to escalate, it has also moved to neutralize entire new organizations.  

On March 8, the Ministry of Information announced that it had revoked the publishing licenses of Myanmar Now and four other outlets—7Day News, Mizzima, DVB and Khit Thit media.

7Days News stopped printing the following day, and a day later, Eleven announced that it would also be suspending its operations, at least until April 18.

By that time, two other well-known local publications, The Myanmar Times and The Voice, had already shut down shop for various reasons.

That left only The Standard Time, which for the past week has been the only print newspaper in the country not controlled by the regime. And now it, too, is gone.

All of this is just another chapter in Myanmar’s long and often troubled news media history.

After Myanmar gained independence in 1948, private daily newspapers flourished in the country. Published in Myanmar, English, Chinese and Hindi, these publications were part of a vibrant culture that cherished the free exchange of ideas and information.

But that came to an abrupt end in 1962, when the former dictator General Ne Win seized power and put most daily newspapers under government control. After his 1973 constitution was ratified, privately owned dailies were effectively banned.

It wasn’t until nearly 40 years later, in late 2012, that the state-owned media’s monopoly on daily news ended under the Thein Sein government.

Now this fleeting moment of relative freedom is past, and Myanmar has returned to the dark days of an uprising that was brutally crushed, ushering in an even darker era of absolute military rule.   

“I wasn’t a journalist in ‘88, but in my 12 years in this profession, this current situation is the worst. It’s not just a matter of being afraid to go out to report; now you can be arrested just for being a person in media,” one female reporter who asked to remain anonymous remarked.

As trying as these times are, however, they have more than proven the true value of press freedom as a weapon in the fight against oppression.

“Help the news media so that the local and international community know the people’s bravery, sacrifices, and the atrocities that the dictators have committed,” Sithu Aung Myint, the political analyst, wrote on social media recently. 

“Take record of incidents yourself,” he added, reminding his readers that in this age of citizen journalists, we all have a responsibility to act as witnesses.

 

 

But even with so much courage and commitment on full display, it’s difficult not to see this day as a chilling sign of things to come.

Reflecting on what the loss of Myanmar’s last news publication means for the country, Sithu Aung Myint concluded: “As a nation without newspapers, we are now in the dark ages.”

Death toll from Monday’s violence climbs to at least 20

The number of fatalities from a day of deadly crackdowns continues to rise

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 17, 2021
Anti-coup protesters are seen in Hlaing Tharyar township in Yangon on March 14 (Supplied)

The number of civilians killed by regime forces on Monday has now reached at least 20, according to the latest information received by Myanmar Now.

The week started with a fresh outbreak of deadly violence that came after the worst weekend so far in the junta’s efforts to crush opposition to its February 1 coup.       

Killings were reported around the country, with the highest concentration occurring in Yangon, where at least 63 people died on Sunday after soldiers opened fire in several townships.

In Hlaing Tharyar, the scene of some of the deadliest violence over the weekend, six people were murdered, including a man in his 50s who was collecting trash near the Aung Zeya bridge when a soldier approached him and shot him in the head.

Two women in their 60s were also killed when they were hit by bullets fired into their homes on Da Bin Shwe Htee road.

A night of terror

Indiscriminate shooting continued well into the night, resulting in at least two more deaths in the township, according to local residents. 

The night of terror began at around 4:30pm, when the military sealed off main roads between the Aung Zeya bridge and the fire station about 2km away and started shooting.

“They were on trucks and shot at anything that moved. They shot anyone they saw,” said one resident, describing the scene on Monday night. 

“There were two crab sellers in the area that night. When the trucks came by, they poked their heads out for a look and got shot. Both of them died,” the resident said. 

On the other side of Yangon, a crackdown on a peaceful vigil for fallen protesters in Dawbon township left two men dead and four others seriously injured on Monday, a member of a township-based aid group told Myanmar Now.

There was also another death on Monday in South Dagon, one of six townships in Yangon placed under martial law since the weekend as the regime moves to clamp down on protests.

The killing continued in South Dagon on Tuesday, with reports that a man in his 40s had been shot in the head by junta forces. No further details were available.

Shooting at ambulances

Monday’s death toll also rose outside of Yangon, as more of the injured died and earlier figures were revised to reflect the latest available information.

In Myingyan, a town in Mandalay region, six people, including three boys in their teens and a 20-year-old woman, were confirmed dead, doubling the previously reported death count.

At least 17 others were injured during the crackdown, including five who are in critical condition, according to a member of a team that is caring for the wounded protesters.

“We’ve had to hide the dead bodies because we’re worried [the military] might take them away,” the medical support worker said late Monday evening.

He added that soldiers shot into the houses of local people who hid the injured protesters and also at ambulances that transported the dead and wounded to a makeshift clinic.

There were also two confirmed deaths in Chanmya Tharzi, a township in downtown Mandalay, as well as at least five others in smaller centres to the north of the city.

A total of four deaths were also reported in Aunglan in Magway region, Gyobingauk in Bago region, and Monywa in Sagaing region, according to local aid groups.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, Myanmar’s military has killed at least 183 people in the six weeks since it seized power.

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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A village under siege after a day of deadly violence

Chaunggyi, about 100km north of Mandalay, was tense on Tuesday, a day after coming under brutal assault by regime forces

 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 17, 2021
A resident of Chaunggyi, in Mandalay region’s Thabeikkyin township, is seen after being shot by soldiers on March 15. (Supplied)

Chaunggyi, a village in Mandalay region’s Thabeikkyin township, was in a state of fear on Tuesday as regime forces continued to pressure residents a day after inflicting a deadly crackdown.

At least five people were reported dead in the village, located about 100km north of Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay, following Monday’s brutal assault.

The attack began in the afternoon, when soldiers in five army trucks heading south from the town of Thabeikkyin opened fire in Chaunggyi and other villages in the area.

“They mainly hit Chaunggyi and two nearby villages as they were passing through,” a member of a local aid group told Myanmar Now.  

One of the five who died instantly was a 15-year-old girl.

“The girl was shot in the chest. She was killed in her own home,” said the aid worker, adding that around 25 others suffered injuries, some of them life-threatening.

Reinforcements sent

The soldiers who carried out the initial attack were soon joined by reinforcements sent north from Singu, according to local sources. 

Residents of Nweyon, a village in Singu township, attempted to block the military vehicles as they headed towards Chaunggyi, but soon came under fire themselves, the sources said.

Those who had been shot in Chaunggyi remained in the village overnight without medical care amid fears of facing further violence.

“We were afraid to send the injured to the hospital last night. We were also afraid to go to Mandalay. We didn’t send them to a hospital in the city until this morning,” a resident of Nweyon told Myanmar Now on Tuesday.

“One person who was shot in the groin was in terrible condition,” she said, adding that the victim’s family had no money to pay for hospitalization.

There were also around 14 arrests in Chaunggyi and an unknown number in neighbouring villages, local sources said.

Threats and intimidation

A day after their unprovoked attack, the soldiers returned to Chaunggyi on Tuesday to recover some lost property. 

“They said they came back to search for a gun and some bullets they left behind yesterday,” said a Chaunggyi villager.

“They found the gun, but not the bullets. They told us we had five hours. If we didn’t find the bullets in that time, they said they would shoot the entire village,” he added.

They found the bullets at around 5pm on Tuesday and returned them to the soldiers, who were stationed just outside the village.

Meanwhile, the villagers said that a monk who negotiated with the soldiers for the release of those who had been detained has not returned since he was sent to collect them.

“Our monk spoke with them and they promised to release those they had arrested from the village. But the car that went to fetch them hasn't come back,” said Chaunggyi resident Cho Tuu.

Although Singu and Thabeikkyin both have military bases, voters in the two townships overwhelmingly supported the National League for Democracy in last year’s election.

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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Three teenagers among six killed by regime’s forces in Myingyan on Monday 

Police and soldiers shot at rescue vehicles and the houses of residents who tried to save injured people during the crackdown, witnesses said 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 16, 2021
Twenty-year-old Yadanar Htoon was killed during the March 15 crackdown in Myingyan (Supplied)

The coup regime’s forces murdered three teenage boys as they attacked anti-military protesters in the town of Myingyan in Mandalay region on Monday, a doctor and residents said. 

Yan Myo Aung, 16, Aung Myo Zaw, 17, and Tun Ye Naing, 18, were among six people killed in the town and at least 20 fatalities nationwide that day. The other victims from Myingyan were Hla Soe, 53, Yadanar Htoon, 20, and Kyaw Saw, 26. 

Three of the six were confirmed dead on Monday afternoon and another one passed away in the evening at a makeshift outdoors clinic, where doctors on strike from government hospitals were attending to wounded protesters. 

Two more were added to the list of fatalities later in the evening, when the junta’s forces told their family members to come and retrieve the bodies from the Myingyan Hospital. 

“I think two injured people that the military had taken to the hospital died on the spot,” a doctor told Myanmar Now. “One was shot in the head and another one was shot in the left side of the chest. I think the soldiers took the bullets out [of their bodies].”

Myingyan Hospital had been closed because medical staff there joined the Civil Disobedience Movement but it has now been taken over by police and soldiers, the doctor added. 

Just four nurses and one military doctor are working at the hospital, and no patients go there anymore because the entrance is guarded by armed forces, the doctor added. 

At least another 17 people were injured in Monday’s crackdown in Myingyan, and five of those are in critical conditions, said another doctor. 

Yan Myo Aung, the 16-year-old who died, had just finished high school last year and was living with his mother, residents said. 

His mother had been unable to stop him from participating in anti-coup protests because he was so passionate about doing so, a resident who went to his funeral told Myanmar Now.

Aung Myo Zaw had finished 10th grade and was looking forward to the Covid-19 pandemic ending and schools reopening. He was the youngest in a family of seven, all of whom have been participating in anti-coup demonstrations, a relative said.  

Tun Ye Naing was one of the breadwinners in his family and worked delivering cheroots - traditional cigarettes - to local traders, one of his neighbours said.

A protester who was with him at Monday’s rally said he had heard from others who witnessed the killing that a member of the junta’s forces hit Tun Ye Naing’s head against a wall after he was shot and told him he was hard to kill before dragging him away.

“I don’t know if it’s true but there was a blood stain on the wall,” the protester said. “We didn’t see exactly what happened because we were running. We only saw that he was taken away on a truck.”

He was brought to the Myingyan Hospital and his family members retrieved his body at around 7:30pm with the help of charity organizations.

Yadanar Htoon, the 20-year-old victim, is survived by a 3-year-old son and her husband.

Hla Soe, meanwhile, was not participating in the protest when he was killed. He was a vendor and was shot as he tried to close the window of his shop after hearing gunshots, a local resident said. 

During the attack, the junta’s forces fired continuously, making it impossible for rescuers and protesters to carry away wounded people. Vehicles being used in the rescue effort were shot at, residents said.  

The junta’s forces also shot at the houses of residents who helped rescue injured protestors. 

According to estimates by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 183 people have been killed nationwide since the uprising against the coup began. 

The coup regime has also arrested, charged or sentenced more than 2,100 people so far, the association said.  

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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