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Myanmar court remands Reuters journalists for 2 more weeks
YANGON, Dec 27, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – The detention of two Reuters journalists
in Myanmar was extended for two more weeks, a court said Wednesday, in the
pair’s first public appearance since their December 12 arrest under a
draconian colonial-era secrecy law.
Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27 — Myanmar nationals who had been
reporting on a military-led crackdown on Rohingya Muslims — were arrested
after being invited to meet police for dinner on the outskirts of Yangon.
They face up to 14 years in jail under the Official Secrets Act for
allegedly possessing documents related to the army crackdown in Rakhine state
— a highly sensitive issue in Myanmar.
The UN says the army is likely guilty of ethnic cleansing and may have
committed genocide against the Muslim minority, some 655,000 of whom have
fled the country since the military launched a crackdown on Rohingya rebels
in late August.
Myanmar denies the allegations and has tightly controlled media and UN
access to the conflict area.
Myanmar officials have refused to comment on where the Reuters journalists
were being detained or when they would be released.
On Wednesday, the pair appeared in public for the first time in a court on
the outskirts of Yangon, where they were embraced by tearful relatives who
have been denied any contact with the two men.
“They have not mistreated me,” Wa Lone told AFP inside the courthouse.
The other reporter, Kyaw Soe Oo, urged other journalists to be cautious in
brief comments to AFP.
“Please tell journalist friends to be careful. It’s really scary. We didn’t
do anything wrong,” he said. Judge Ohn Myint extended their remand period
until January 10, telling the court “the interrogation is still ongoing.”
The arrests have been widely condemned as the latest sign of eroding press
freedoms in Myanmar, which is still shedding a 50-year legacy of brutal junta
rule.
The emerging democracy is now led by former democracy activist Aung San Suu
Kyi, who was swept into office in the 2015 elections.
But her civilian administration must share power with an army that retains
firm control of security policy and other key levers of government.
At least 11 journalists have been arrested in Myanmar in 2017.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1114hrs