Thailand: RSF launches support project for Myanmar journalists
As an increasing number of journalists have been forced into exile due to the brutal crackdown on press freedom by the military junta in Myanmar, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is launching a project in Thailand aimed at supporting these media professionals in exile, as well as those who continue to work inside the country.
On Saturday 19 October 2024, an RSF delegation led by Director General, Thibaut Bruttin launched the Myanmar Press Freedom Project in Chiang Mai, the second-largest city in Thailand. Developed in partnership with Exile Hub, the project aims to provide Myanmar journalists — both in exile and within Myanmar — with equipment such as laptops, mobile phones, solar batteries, and digital security tools, as well as various training to strengthen their capacities.
These needs were identified during previous missions to northern Thailand along the Thai-Myanmar border by two representatives of RSF’s Asia-Pacific Bureau — Director Cédric Alviani and Project and Development Manager Shataakshi Verma — both of whom were present at the project’s launch.
“The media from Myanmar have showed great resilience over the past years and the reporters themselves have showed great bravery. This project is a testimony of RSF’s renewed commitment to supporting journalists at risk and being the closest possible to the frontlines of journalism. Based on a strong need assessment, it will provide crucial support to Myanmar journalists who continue to report on their country’s situation despite the relentless and ruthless repression of the military regime. Supporting these media professionals is more urgent than ever: without them, Myanmar risks becoming a black hole for information.
Since the coup on 1 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 64 still detained to this day. This repression has led to a mass exodus of Myanmar’s media outlets: at least 60 outlets now operate from abroad, mostly from Thailand.
Prior to the Myanmar Press Freedom Project, RSF provided emergency assistance to around 100 Myanmar journalists, some of whom were still working within the country. RSF has also been supporting training programmes on physical and digital security for these journalists.
In major press freedom crises, RSF has established Press Freedom Centres to provide journalists and media outlets with the equipment, assistance, and resources necessary to continue their work as safely as possible. RSF opened two in Ukraine — in the cities Lviv and Kyiv — to support Ukrainian media outlets following Russia’s full-scale invasion, and one in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, to assist journalists in the region affected by the war in Gaza.
Myanmar, ranked 171st out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index, is one of the world’s largest jailers of journalists, with 64 currently imprisoned, second only to China.
