Thursday, December 21, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

International Reaction to Arrest of Reuters Reporters in Myanmar

Posted: 21 Dec 2017 03:35 AM PST

Several countries, the United Nations and journalist groups are demanding the release of Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo from detention in Myanmar.

The reporters were arrested on Dec. 12 after being invited to meet police officials on the outskirts of Yangon. They had worked on stories about a military crackdown in Rakhine State, scene of around 650,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh since August.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Information has said the reporters "illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media," and released a photo of them in handcuffs.

It said the reporters and two policemen faced charges under the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years, though officials said they have not been charged. Their exact whereabouts are not known.

"We and their families continue to be denied access to them or to the most basic information about their well-being and whereabouts," Reuters President and Editor-In-Chief Stephen J. Adler said in a statement calling for their immediate release.

"Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are journalists who perform a crucial role in shedding light on news of global interest, and they are innocent of any wrongdoing," he said.

Here are comments on their detention from governments, politicians, human rights groups and press freedom advocates around the world:

Latest Reaction

– Germany said on Wednesday it would push Myanmar to release the journalists. "We see press freedom as a cornerstone of a democratic order," the German foreign ministry said.

– Astrid Sehl, a spokeswoman for Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Wednesday in response a question, "Norway expects the Myanmar authorities to ensure the full protection of their rights and to release the journalists as quickly as possible."

– UN special rapporteur for freedom of expression David Kaye said on Wednesday, "Journalists have the right to cover information and they shouldn't be arrested for coming into possession of information."

– Human Rights Watch said the detentions appeared to be "aimed at stopping independent reporting of the ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya." Brad Adams, the group's Asia director, said, "Their secret, incommunicado detention lays bare government efforts to silence media reporting on critical issues."

– In Washington, the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called for their immediate release. "This is outrageous," said Senator Ben Cardin. "It just brings back the memory of the horrible practices with the repressive military rule."

Governments, Multilateral Organizations

– US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last week the United States was "demanding their immediate release or information as to the circumstances around their disappearance." On Tuesday, the State Department reiterated the US demand for the reporters' immediate release.

– Republican Thom Tillis and Democrat Chris Coons, leaders of the US Senate Human Rights Caucus, said they were "gravely concerned" about the reporters' arrests and that press freedom was critical to ensuring accountability for violence against the Rohingya. Democratic congressman Ted Lieu, a member of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, called the arrests "outrageous and a direct attack on press freedom."

– Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kano said in response to a question from a Reuters reporter on Tuesday, "Freedom of the press is extremely important, including in order to protect fundamental human rights. The Japanese government would like to watch [this matter] closely." Tokyo-based Human Rights Now called on Japan on Wednesday to take a stronger stance.

– The European Union urged Myanmar on Monday to release the reporters "as quickly as possible." A spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said, "Freedom of the press and media is the foundation and a cornerstone of any democracy."

– UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said countries should do everything possible to secure the journalists' release and press freedom in Myanmar. "It is clearly a concern in relation to the erosion of press freedom in the country," he said.

– Britain, Holland, Canada and Sweden have demanded the release of the Reuters reporters. Australia has expressed concern and Bangladesh has denounced the arrests.

– Vijay Nambiar, former special adviser on Myanmar to the UN Secretary-General, said in a statement to Reuters on Monday that the detentions had caused "widespread disappointment within and outside the country that is likely to further damage the international reputation and image of Myanmar, already under stress as a result of its handling of the Rakhine crisis."

– President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani called on Myanmar to protect media freedoms and release the reporters.

Journalists, NGOs

– The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) called on Myanmar to immediately disclose the reporters' whereabouts. "All detainees must be allowed prompt access to a lawyer and to family members," Frederick Rawski, ICJ's Asia-Pacific Regional Director, said on Monday.

– The Committee to Protect Journalists said the arrests were "having a grave impact on the ability of journalists to cover a story of vital global importance."

– Reporters Without Borders said there was no justification for the arrests and the charges being considered against the journalists were "completely spurious."

– Advocacy group Fortify Rights demanded Myanmar immediately and unconditionally release the Reuters journalists.

– Myanmar's Irrawaddy online news site called on Dec. 14 for the journalists' release in an editorial headlined "The Crackdown on the Media Must Stop." It said "it is an outrage to see the Ministry of Information release a police record photo of reporters handcuffed – as police normally do to criminals – on its website soon after the detention. It is chilling to see that MOI has suddenly brought us back to the olden days of a repressive regime."

– The Southeast Asian Press Alliance said the journalists were "only doing their jobs in trying to fill the void of information on the Rohingya conflict."

– The Protection Committee for Myanmar Journalists, local reporters who have demonstrated against prosecutions of journalists, decried the "unfair arrests that affect media freedom."

– The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Myanmar said it was "appalled" by the arrests and "gravely concerned" about press freedom in Myanmar.

– The Foreign Correspondents' Club in Thailand, Foreign Correspondents' Association of the Philippines, Jakarta Foreign Correspondents' Club and Foreign Correspondents' Club of Hong Kong have issued statements supporting the journalists.

The post International Reaction to Arrest of Reuters Reporters in Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Authorities Urged to Let Detained Reporters See Lawyers, Family

Posted: 21 Dec 2017 03:27 AM PST

YANGON — The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) on Thursday urged authorities to grant two detained Reuters journalists access to lawyers, family members and health care.

The two journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were arrested in Yangon on Dec. 12 allegedly for possessing police reports containing detailed information about the fighting between government troops and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in late August. Authorities have not disclosed where they are being held.

According to a police report last week, the two are accused of violating Article 3 of the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which allows for prison sentences of up to 14 years. Two border guard policemen who allegedly provided the documents to the reporters are accused of violating both the Official Secrets Act and the Myanmar Police Force Maintenance of Discipline Law.

"The MNHRC has learned according to a complaint that family members of the two reporters are unable to meet with them while the location of the place the pair is being detained is not disclosed and they have no access to lawyers to defend them against the accusations," the commission said in a statement.

The MNHRC urged authorities not to torture the reporters during their detention and ensure that they be allowed to exercise their full rights, including accessing lawyers and contacting family members.

When The Irrawaddy asked if the commission would contact the Ministry of Home Affairs to find out more about the case, commissioner U Yu Lwin Aung said that issuing statements like today's was the most "effective" tool the MNHRC had to let everyone concerned know about its position.

"The statement will reach all parties concerned — the Ministry of Home Affairs, the President's Office, the judiciary, media and the public," he said, insisting that the commission's call would not be ignored.

U Yu Lwin Aung predicted that there would be some developments in the case in a few days because of the statement. He said the arrests were made in line with the law, but stressed that the reporters should be granted the rights they deserve according to human rights norms.

The Myanmar Press Council said on Wednesday that it would like to mediate in the case, offering to provide the reporters with legal assistance and serve as an expert witness should the case go to trial and if the court allows it.

According to a Reuters reported on Wednesday, President's Office spokesman U Zaw Htay said police had nearly completed their investigation of the two journalists and that their case would head to court soon afterward.

In 2017, 11 journalists were arrested by the police or military  for defamation or under various laws including the Telecommunications Law, the Official Secrets Act and the Unlawful Associations Act.

The post Authorities Urged to Let Detained Reporters See Lawyers, Family appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Military Team to Investigate Involvement in Mass Grave in Rakhine State

Posted: 21 Dec 2017 03:19 AM PST

YANGON — The Myanmar military said that its own investigation team will find out whether security forces were involved in the case of unidentifiable corpses unearthed in Inn Din village, southern Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State.

On Tuesday, the military reported on its Facebook page that security members found the mass grave at Inn Din cemetery while investigating an anonymous tip.

According to local authorities, 10 heads and skeletons were unearthed at the burial site.

The military stated in its announcement on Tuesday that deterrent action in accord with the law would be taken against any security member found to be connected with the case.

Followed that announcement, the military stated on Wednesday that its five-member investigation team led by inspector Lt-Gen Aye Win left Inn Din village cemetery where the corpses were found.

A team comprising the township judge, police inspector of Inn Din police station, township medical officer, assistant surgeon and led by deputy commissioner of Maungdaw District's General Administration Department U Ye Htut were carrying out an investigation in order to study the bodies and expose the truth, the army stated.

On Nov. 13, the military's investigation team denied atrocities and use of excessive force against Rohingya Muslims during clearance operations that sent more than 620,000 fleeing to Bangladesh, in its report on findings after about a month internal investigation regarding any misconduct by government forces in Rakhine State.

The international community has condemned the army for arbitrary killing, rape, torture and the torching of Rohingya homes during the counter operations in northern Rakhine State in response to Muslim militant attacks on 30 police outposts in the area.

The post Military Team to Investigate Involvement in Mass Grave in Rakhine State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanma Economic Bank to Provide SME loans in 2018

Posted: 21 Dec 2017 02:38 AM PST

MANDALAY — Myanma Economic Bank will provide some 700 billion kyats (US$520 million) in loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the country next year.

Under the arrangement of the Ministry of Planning and Finance, the loans will be provided at a 9 percent interest rate with a maximum repayment period of three years, according to the Mandalay Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MRCCI).

"The interest rate is lower, and the ministry said that certain types of loans will be offered without collateral, and the procedures will be simpler. So, most of the businesspeople here are interested in it," U Win Htay, chairman of the Mandalay Region SMEs Committee under the MRCCI, told The Irrawaddy.

Currently, local SMEs in Mandalay Region only have access to credit guarantee insurance (CGI) loans provided by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and private banks, respectively at 13 and 16 percent interest rates.

Local businesspeople lamented that those loans are not very helpful, as they are short-term loans with small loan amounts that carry high interest rates.

Union Planning and Finance Minister U Kyaw Win in a meeting with the MRCCI on Monday in Mandalay said that Myanma Economic Bank would start disbursing loans in January for SMEs.

"The minister said SME loans will be increased in different sectors, and that his ministry would also review the legal procedures of private banks to provide SME loans," said MRCCI chairman U Aung Than.

Among the challenges facing many SMEs in Mandalay Region are exorbitant land prices and a wide variety of taxes such as income tax, commercial tax, profit tax and so on, said industrialist U Nay Win from the Mandalay Industrial Zone.

Other pressing challenges include financial needs and technology as local SMEs have to compete with imports that are cheaper and better quality.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Finance, there are about 40,000 registered SMEs in the country.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Myanma Economic Bank to Provide SME loans in 2018 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Foreign Correspondents Forced to Jump More Hoops to Get Visas

Posted: 20 Dec 2017 10:08 PM PST

YANGON — Some foreign journalists have left Myanmar and others are preparing to depart after the government tightened visa regulations following critical coverage of the military's handling of the unrest in Rakhine State.

Several foreign journalists told The Irrawaddy that the visa application process was now much more onerous and even required them to sign a declaration promising not to travel to restricted areas. Some foreign reporters said they had to wait as long as four weeks to get a new visa to re-enter the country after making a trip abroad.

U Win Kyaing, permanent secretary of the Ministry for Immigration and Population, told The Irrawaddy that the changes were part of a wide- ranging overhaul of visa regulations that began last year.

"For the case of the journalist visa, they are required to get a recommendation letter from the MOI [Ministry of Information]. For other visas, that is not necessary," he said.

However, there appeared to be some confusion among government officials about the new rules with a representative of the Ministry of Information saying his office was no longer providing recommendation letters to foreign journalists.

U Myo Myint Maung, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Information, told The Irrawaddy that before his agency could sign off on journalist visas, it had to secure approval from the ministries of immigration and labor, Immigration and Population.

"In fact, the visa application regulations are not our ministry's business. It is the business of the Immigration Ministry and the Labor Ministry," he said.

In the past, the MOI had provided recommendation letters to media workers applying for visas, but U Myo Myint Maung said journalists could now apply directly to an embassy in a foreign country for a 28-day visa.

"We relaxed the restriction on visa applications; they no longer require a recommendation letter," he said.

However, U Thit Sar Hla Htwe, the secretary of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar, said that as for journalists stationed in Myanmar who were seeking a long-term three- or six-month visa, they still needed the MOI to issue a recommendation letter, which also needed to be approved by both the Immigration Ministry and the MOFA.

He said that the 28-day visas were only for media representatives who did not have an office in Myanmar. "Let's say they came from Bangkok. The government used to give them a three-month visa and it was multiple entry. They could travel in and out of the country on this visa.

"But, the government is no longer giving them three-month multiple entry visas. They now get only 28 days and it is single entry. Reporters have to apply for a new visa if they want to get back in the country," he said.

"Many foreign journalists have complained a lot about it," U Thit Sar Hla Htwe said, adding that a German reporter had called him just on Tuesday and recounted the problems he was having getting a new visa. The MOI even told the reporter that a green registration card from the Myanmar Foreign Correspondents Club was needed before a visa would be issued.

While the MOI claimed that new regulations were issued in December last year, U Thit Sar Hla Htwe said that the new rules only started to be applied in October this year when two journalists from Turkish outlet TRT World were detained in Naypyitaw for trying to fly a drone over Parliament.

Myanmar had previously tightened up on journalist visas in 2014 when violence broke out in Thu Chee Yar Tan, in Maungdaw. But, the former government later relaxed the procedures.

The post Foreign Correspondents Forced to Jump More Hoops to Get Visas appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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