In a hugely disappointing move a Myanmar court has given 7 years jail term to two Reuters correspondent for reporting about massacre of Rohingya Muslim in the country. Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, who have been held in Yangon’s Insein prison since their arrest in December last year, were charged with violating the Official Secrets Act, a draconian British colonial-era law which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years. The case, which sparked an international outcry, is seen as an attempt to muzzle reporting on last year’s crackdown by Myanmar’s security forces on the Muslim Rohingya minority in Rakhine state.
Army-led “clearance operations” drove 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, carrying with them widespread accounts of atrocities – rape, murder and arson – by Myanmar police and troops. The reporters denied the charges, insisting they were set up while exposing the extrajudicial killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine village of Inn Din in September last year. The court ruling raises question mark over the freedom of press in Myanmar. International community lifted sanctions against Myanmar with the hope that it has moved away from dictatorial era by embracing electoral democracy. Also this ruling comes a week after the release of an explosive United Nations-led study into abuses in Rakhine, accusing Myanmar’s army chief of heading a campaign of “genocide” and “crimes against humanity” against the Rohingya. The complete silence on this issue by de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is matter of deep concern. She also failed to use her moral authority to stand up for the stateless minority. Ms Suu Kyi has failed international community who always stood for her in the past.