Reuters-journalists sentenced to seven years imprisonment

After two Reuters-journalists were sentenced to seven years imprisonment in Burma, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has accused the country of betraying the principle of press freedom. “The scandalous verdict is a serious attack on fundamental democratic rights in the Southeast Asian country. It shows that democratization process is becoming a farce, as basic democratic rights are eroded and mocked,” stated Ulrich Delius, the STP’s director, in Göttingen on Monday. The only “crime” the journalists are guilty of is doing their job and questioning vague statements from the army. Today, a Burmese court found Burmese Reuters-journalists Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo guilty of violating the secrecy of military documents, on the basis of an old colonial law.

The security forces had lured the journalists into a trap while they were investigating a massacre by Burma’s army against the Rohingya. They were arrested immediately after handing over alleged secret documents. The court did not take into account that the documents were not actually classified, nor did it take into consideration that it was highly questionable how the security forces had deceived the journalists. “Instead of putting an end to the violence against the Rohingya, the police forces and the army were apparently trying to set a warning example to keep other journalists from investigating crimes against humanity and genocide crimes,” Delius criticized.

“With the verdict, Burma’s powerful generals have demonstrated their power, showing that they don’t have to abide by any laws,” the human rights activist emphasized. Burma’s government under Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi is leaving a bad impression too. It would be necessary to explain why – three years after the formation of a democratic government – courts can still use laws from the colonial period to undermine basic democratic rights. Also, older laws are still often used to prohibit demonstrations. 

“Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has to ask herself how long she intends to simply accept human rights violations by the army,” Delius stated. “By remaining silent, she is betraying her democratic ideals. The influential army generals will only be encouraged to commit even more human rights violations.”

Headerpicture: Burma/totaloutnow via Flickr