Journalists covering the pro-democracy protests in Myanmar have been arrested over the last couple of days.
In Yangon, at least three journalists were among those detained, including an Associated Press photographer, a video journalist from Myanmar Now, and a photographer from the Myanmar Pressphoto Agency, according to AFP.
In Monywa, local media Monywa Gazette also announced on its official Facebook that CEO Kyaw Kyaw Win was reportedly beaten by plainclothes police and arrested on Saturday while he was broadcasting a live video.
On Friday, a Japanese journalist, Yuki Kitazumi, was arrested in Yangon at 11 am while police were trying to disperse protestors who were sitting and chanting anti-junta and pro-democracy slogans.
A police officer denied that Kitazumi was beaten, but confirmed the journalist had been detained at a local police station. He was released at about 4 pm after giving a statement to police.
Myanmar journalists reported being kicked and shot at with slingshots while also facing threats or attempts arrest them, even when identifying themselves as media, according to media reports.
On Wednesday foreign correspondents’ clubs (FCC) in Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines released a joint statement saying they are “deeply concerned by harassment and intimidation of the media in Myanmar following the Feb. 1 coup.”
“At least six journalists had been detained as of Feb. 20, 2021, while countless more have been subject to threats and intimidation by security forces and those associated with the military regime in their reporting,” it said.
Journalists from RFA and other outlets experienced harassment while covering mass protests Wednesday.
Myint Kyaw, formerly the joint secretary of the Myanmar Press Council, told RFA that threatening or detaining journalists for covering a peaceful protest amounted to an attempt to impose “effectively a news blackout.”
This should not happen under any circumstances. It is unacceptable and we condemn this,” he told RFA.
Additional reporting AFP, RFA
