Burma: world’s fifth worst jailer of freelance journalists

by Salai Pi Pi
Thursday, 10 December 2009 23:14

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Military-ruled Burma has been ranked the world’s fifth worst country in terms of imprisoning freelance journalists, while its closest ally, China, is number one, according to a new report by a Press Freedom Watchdog.

New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in its 2009 prison consensus titled ‘ Freelance Journalists under Fire’ released on Tuesday said, with nine freelance journalists detained, Burma is the world’s fifth worst country to arrest and detain freelance journalists following China, Iran, Cuba and Eritrea.

Among the detained Burmese freelance journalists, an undercover journalist for the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), who helped film an award-winning international documentary, “Orphans of the Burmese Cyclone” is also included, CPJ said.

“Journalism is so dangerous in Burma, one of the world’s most censored countries, that undercover reporters are a crucial conduit to the world,” the report added.

Maung Maung Myint, President of the Burma Media Association (BMA) in exile, a group that monitors press freedom in Burma, said the CPJ’s ranking of Burma clearly indicates the level of restriction imposed by the ruling junta on the press and on journalists.

“In many countries, though there might not be freedom of the press, authorities often refrain from imprisoning and persecuting journalists. But in the case of Burma, journalists are subjected to imprisonment, and persecution,” Maung Maung Myint said.

Besides, he added authorities even after releasing journalists from prisons, make sure that they are no longer employed by their previous employers, to stop them from resuming their career.

“After they are released from jail, authorities make sure they cannot go back to their earlier jobs,” Maung Maung Myint said.

He said authorities have further tightened their stranglehold on press freedom in Burma, as more and more freelance journalists are beginning to muster courage to report for the outside world.

“Censorship of news and articles in journals and magazines is also increasing. If there is a minor mistake made by journalists, they are dismissed from their job or put behind bars,” he said.

The CPJ’s report said with online journalism coming to the fore, journalists have become freelancers, working independently. But given the vulnerability, imprisonment of freelancers is increasing at the same time.

The CPJ said, their research revealed that at least 60 freelance journalists are behind bars worldwide, nearly double the number compared to just three years ago.

“Freelance journalists are especially vulnerable to imprisonment because they often do not have the legal and monetary support that news organizations can provide to staffers,” the report said.

Of the nine journalists imprisoned in Burma, the CPJ said five are freelancers.

Maung Maung Myint said with the Burmese military junta’s planned elections in 2010 drawing near, “there will be more restrictions on the press.”

According to the CPJ, there are 136 reporters, editors, and photojournalists being detained worldwide as on December 1. The figures show that the number of imprisoned journalists increased to 11 compared to last year.


Edited by Mungpi