Myanmar journalists are being offered resources including equipment and training as part of a new initiative.
Set up by Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, and the Exile Hub, which supports human rights defenders who fled their home countries, the Myanmar Press Freedom Project will work to support journalists from Myanmar who are in exile or still reporting under harsh conditions inside the country.
“Through the Myanmar Press Freedom Project, RSF will aim to provide equipment such as laptops, phones, camera, solar batteries, digital security tools as well as provide access to technical editing equipment for video-based Myanmar journalists,” said Shataakshi Verma, a project manager at RSF.
“The project will also aim to provide capacity training for Myanmar journalists in order for them to continue reporting safely.”
The need for resources and support has increased since February of 2021 when a military coup in Myanmar led to a media crackdown, with dozens of journalists detained.
Reporters also are at risk while covering the conflict between the junta and the various armed resistance fighters battling military rule.
Hein Thar, a freelance journalist formerly at Frontier Myanmar, told VOA the project will benefit citizen journalists.
“I think it’s good. It’s better than giving nothing, especially for citizen journalists who don’t have their own laptops or phones. I understand this is the first step. I think it’s for the basic needs, and they’re giving the basic support,” he said.
Perilous work
Reporting on the conflict has become a dangerous profession.
The military has detained at least 150 media workers, said RSF, with at least 64 currently imprisoned, including a contributor for VOA. Journalists are often accused of violating section 505(a) of Myanmar’s criminal code, which outlaws publishing or circulating content deemed to cause fear, spread false news or agitate crimes against a government employee. The law carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.
RSF said the military is responsible for the deaths of seven journalists and press freedom defenders since 2021.
But the risks for journalists are high on either side, as two reporters are believed to be held by the Kachin Independence Army — one of the ethnic groups fighting against the junta — after being taken captive separately in late September, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Hein Thar has said journalists working on the frontlines of Myanmar’s conflict need training.
“The majority of journalists don’t have the proper training,” he said. “We didn’t prepare anything for conflict, war reporting and so on. We hope for the professional training from the experienced journalists who report in Afghanistan or Syria.”
Gains come with risks
Forces opposing junta rule have made significant territorial gains in the past 12 months. As the resistance fights back, these major developments are crucial for news outlets covering the chaos — but that brings risk.
For journalists, that includes crossing military checkpoints. Some reporters now carry more than one phone and less equipment, to reduce the risk if apprehended.
Toe Zaw Latt, who works for Mizzima, said journalists rely more on smartphones now.
“We are using a phone and editing it,” Toe Zaw Latt told VOA.
Zaw Latt, who is also the general secretary at the Independent Press Council Myanmar, said journalists need help with internet communication and safety gear, such as flak jackets and protective helmets.
The issues that are top of mind for him are how to get the content out in a safe manner. “If you have footage, how are you going to send it back?” he said. “I’m more interested in safety protection, and maybe emergency relocation.”
His outlet, Mizzima, is one of several that had a license revoked by the military and now works in exile.
Media outlets in Myanmar must be registered with the military government in order to operate.
But when journalists register for press accreditation, they must provide their personal details, which discourages many to register for fear of arrest. Unaccredited or citizen reporters in Myanmar are then further at risk, spurring an increase in journalists working under the radar or even outside of the country’s borders.
Several media outlets had to downsize and move overseas, mostly to stay safe and still cover the conflict.
RSF’s representative Verma told VOA the watchdog has assessed the need for training and intends to provide it.
“The project will also aim to provide capacity training for Myanmar journalists in order for them to continue reporting safely,” Verma wrote via WhatsApp.
The coup wiped out nearly a decade of media freedom gains in Myanmar, which ranks at 171 out of 180 — where 1 shows the best environment — on the World Press Freedom Index. In 2020, a year before the coup, it ranked 139.
