New RSF documentary highlights the courage and resilience of Myanmar journalists four years after the military coup

Four years after the military coup in Myanmar, the junta’s brutal suppression of press freedom decimated the country’s media landscape. In “Myanmar: the merciless crackdown”, a new documentary by Reporters Without Borders (RSF)  three Myanmar journalists share their harrowing experiences and their fight to keep the public informed. Their stories are an urgent wake-up call to the international community to support media professionals in striving to uphold the right to information. 

In the documentary, freelance journalist Esther J., photojournalist Mar Naw, and video journalist Pyae bravely recount the upheaval caused by the 1 February 2021 coup and the military junta’s brutal repression that forced them into exile. They describe their persistent reporting despite being prime targets of violence.

"These journalists display extraordinary courage, continuing to defend the right to inform in the face of brutal and inhumane repression. The stories they share with RSF are a lesson in resilience and an urgent call for international solidarity. RSF calls for intensified international pressure on the military junta to release all detained journalists and to end its campaign of terror against the press.”

Cédric Alviani
RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau Director

Since February 2021, Myanmar’s military junta has mercilessly cracked down on the press. Seven journalists and press freedom defenders have been executed, and at least 150 have been arrested and imprisoned, with 61 still detained to this day. Military courts have issued increasingly draconian sentences, culminating in the January 2024 life imprisonment of documentary filmmaker Shin Daewe on charges of "supporting terrorism". 

This repression has forced many media outlets and reporters to flee abroad, particularly to Thailand, while others continue their work clandestinely within Myanmar. In response, RSF has provided emergency support to more than a hundred Myanmar journalists and launched the Myanmar Press Freedom Project in October 2024, operating from Thailand.  RSF has supported 77 freelance journalists since the launch of the project. 

Myanmar, ranked 171st out of 180 countries in the RSF 2024 World Press Freedom Index, is one of the world’s largest jailers of journalists, second only to China.

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Birmanie
171/ 180
Score : 24.41
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