In this excerpt from her article entitled, Journalist Killings Heighten Security Awareness, produced for the 2014 Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) fellowship programme, Eaint Khine Oo looks at the challenges Myanmar journalists face in comparison to journalists in the Philippines. She is a contributor to the Myanmar Media Review Program of the Voice of America or VOA.
As she writes in her story, Philippine journalists who write about controversial political and business issues can have their lives threatened.
Violence against journalists in the Philippines has not stopped and the perpetrators still get away scot-free, highlighting a climate of impunity that further emboldens people of influence and wealth to employ extra-legal means to silence critics and crusading journalists.
Their targets, meanwhile, have become bolder in their response to threats and assassination attempts, especially after the November 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre – the result of a conflict between two local politicians - that killed 58 people, including 32 media workers.
Previously, journalists would go into hiding until the situation cooled, or changed their looks to hide their identity. These days, keeping safe could mean carrying a gun.
The cold-blooded killings in Maguindanao, which took the lives of innocent media workers, reinforced the country's reputation as being unsafe for journalists. The Philippines is ranked third, after Iraq and Somalia, in the 2014 Global Impunity Index of the Committee to Project Journalists or CPJ. More than 50 journalist murders in the Philippines from 2004 through 2013 remain unsolved, according to the New York-based media watchdog.
Threats to media freedom in Myanmar tend to come in a less aggressive form, yet can intimidate journalists and even take away their freedom.
In October, three journalists and two publishers of Bi Mon Te Nay were given two-year prison sentences by a court in Yangon for defamation. In November, the Ministry of Information sued 11 staff members of Myanmar Thandawsint [Myanmar Herald] under the new Media Law passed in April that imposes fines on offenders.
Meanwhile, four journalists and the chief executive officer of the independent Unity journal are serving a seven-year reduced prison sentence for violating the Official Secrets Act.
Also in October, the Army reported that freelance journalist Ko Aung Kyaw Naing (aka Ko Par Gyi) was killed "while attempting to escape" from his military captors in a case which human rights campaigners say indicate that the armed forces have changed little. They are calling for an investigation into his murder.
The military had ruled Myanmar with an iron first for five decades until it was replaced by a quasi-civilian government in 2011, but political reforms, including an easing of restrictions on the media, seem to have stalled.
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance describes the killing of freelance journalist Ko Aung Kyaw Naing as a "test of the accountability of the military for such acts and the resolve of the government to protect journalists."
"These recent alarming incidents this year … indicate that media freedoms in the country have been short-lived, and earlier praise heaped on the government for easing restrictions, is premature," the Bangkok-based regional media watchdog said in a statement.
The arrest and murder of Ko Aung Kyaw Naing, who was reporting on the conflict between the Myanmar army and one of the country's rebel ethnic groups, raised concerns over the safety of reporters going into conflict areas.
"There are safety concerns for Myanmar journalists especially in conflict reporting," says Ko Nyan Lynn, editor of Maw Kun Magazine. "They are not under such threats that Filipino journalists face, but they need to learn about safety training."
An editor from Morden Weekly Journal, Ko San Yu Kyaw adds: "We don't know how to protect ourselves. We need to learn and practice safety tips in our daily reporting. In Burma, after the so-called reform, we feel more insecure as we have more issues to cover and more challenges (to face)."
Daw May Thingyan Hein, chief executive officer of Myit Makha News Agency, is concerned about the overall quality of journalistic reporting in the country. "Even though we think if we report ethically we will be safe, it is not like that in reality."
She adds: "When we try to get news from the government side it is difficult so we try to get information in whatever way we can. But there are certain laws that might get us into trouble such as the electronic transaction act. The Official Secrets Act is also a threat to journalists in Myanmar."
Excerpted from Journalist Killings Heighten Security Awareness by Eaint Khine Oo.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/media-lessons-for-myanmar/
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