Bangkok-based Union of Asian Catholic News, known as UCAN, has two compelling reports on the state of journalism in two of the toughest beats in Asia: Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
Writing from Mandalay, Myanmar, John Zaw says that expectations were high that freedom of expression would improve when Aung San Suu Kyi’s government took office in 2016 following a landslide victory during the 2015 general election, which formally ended decades of military rule.
Unfortunately, expectations have not been met. See: Journalists are fearful in new Myanmar.
Zaw quotes journalists who say they fear reprisals from not only Myanmar’s military but also of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) government, pro-NLD supporters and nationalist groups.
Zaw also points to a Human Rights Watch report that says in 2018 “journalists’ ability to cover conflict areas steadily declined, while the rise in prosecutions had a chilling effect on the country’s media.” Read more.
UCAN also carries a report by Quintus Colombage about a Jan. 29 silent vigil, part of the Black January protests, media activists staged in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to honor of journalists who have been killed or disappeared over the last decade and half. See: Justice for journalists: Media urge UN to pressure Colombo.
Sri Lankan journalists are petitioning the United Nations to pressure the government to account of some 140 attacks on media personal, including 16 deaths.
Dennis Coday 