The Costs of Membership in Arakan State's Fourth Estate

By Admin 30 Jul 2024

Written by May Gyi Shin

It was the evening of October 29, 2023. Ma Yi Yi Lwin, a pseudonym used to protect her identity in troubled times, was studying for her university exam on the veranda of her home when her phone rang.

She recounted what her friend told her over the phone: "A reporter from the DMG [Development Media Group] news agency was arrested. DMG's office was also raided. The regime is also hunting for other journalists in Arakan State. You'd better go into hiding."

Ma Yi Yi Lwin was left speechless.

For seven years, she had been working as a freelance reporter for local media outlets in Arakan State while earning a degree through distance learning. It was just one week until she sat her final-year exam when she got word of the junta's raid on the DMG newsroom. She immediately told her family members about the situation. She then packed her bags and fled to a village in Arakan State's Pauktaw Township.

It was not the first time she had to go into hiding.

"I also had to go into hiding during the rule of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government. I had to do it again under military rule. I can be arrested if I am careless. The risk is greater for women in their hands, and I had to flee," said Ma Yi Yi Lwin.

Successive governments have persecuted journalists in Arakan State for their coverage of the conflicts and human rights violations that have too often characterised the story of the state. Journalists say the crackdown on independent media after the February 2021 coup is the worst of all time.

"Journalists have to keep a low-profile and they dare not reveal their occupation in Myanmar. This reflects how bad the safety of journalists in this country is," said a female media trainer.

Ma Yi Yi Lwin said she hopes to one day proudly reveal her occupation as a member of the Fourth Estate. But that day is not this day, nor does it appear to be a day arriving any time soon.

As she was taking shelter at the village in Pauktaw Township, renewed hostilities erupted between the military regime and the AA on November 13, 2023. The regime blockaded roads and waterways in Arakan State the same day. It cut off phone and internet services some two months after the fighting broke out.

Journalists who provide the public with information from the ground have since lost much of their ability to report in a timely manner, if at all. Indeed, access to information has been another casualty of the junta's war on its own people.

"I could not work for a while as communications were down. I had a really hard time. I was cash-strapped and had to skip a meal some days. I had to earn an income by going to the forest and collecting firewood outside the village," Ma Yi Yi Lwin said.

Since the 2021 coup, many journalists have been forced to flee to territories controlled by ethnic armed organisations, or to the country's border areas where "control" is ill-defined, or to go into exile. They rightly fear arrest, prosecution and even death at the hands of a vindictive military regime.

Despite these substantial risks, many journalists have continued to do the work. They do so at great personal risk, and at low pay: Reporters for Arakan State-based media outlets are typically paid a monthly salary of between 250,000 kyats to 700,000 kyats (US$77 to US$216), the latter figure representing compensation that only a "privileged" few receive.

Some journalists have received pay increases of 50,000 kyats to 100,000 kyats over the past year, but even they are still struggling to make ends meet due to hyperinflation.

Threats From Above and Below

Lack of access to safety equipment is another life-threatening challenge to journalists covering conflict in Arakan State, and there are some threats that can scarcely be countered by gear.

"There is the risk of landmines and unexploded ordnance when we go to the ground. We also have to consider the risk of airstrikes. You can't be careless as it could cost your life," said reporter Myo Thiri Kyaw from DMG.

Since renewed hostilities began on November 13, the AA has thus far seized nine townships in Arakan State and Paletwa Township in neighbouring Chin State. Ma Yi Yi Lwin is among some Arakan journalists who have taken refuge in areas held by the AA, where mobile phone and internet access is available but sporadic.

"I am currently taking refuge in an area controlled by the AA. We have limited access to news and we are not allowed to take pictures in public places," she said.

Journalists are under surveillance by suspicious local administration officials as the regime has conducted frequent airstrikes on AA-controlled areas.

The regime, which is being defeated militarily in Arakan State, has been targeting civilians, carrying out airstrikes on crowded areas, schools and hospitals. One lesser known consequence, say journalists, is that the public increasingly misconstrues them as military informants.

News outlets such as Development Media Group (DMG), Narinjara, Western News, Arakan Bay News (ABN) and Border News Agency (BNA) are reporting on what is happening in Arakan State every day.

Myanmar's military regime has reportedly issued arrest warrants for the chief editors of DMG, Narinjara, Western News and BNA, and dozens of reporters. The junta on June 28 sentenced DMG reporter Ko Htet Aung and night watchman Ko Soe Win Aung to five years in prison with hard labour.

The regime has also announced that it will arrest and prosecute those who copy or redistribute news stories written by Arakan State-based news outlets.

"When I went to Sittwe's Myoma police station to gather the news, I saw [printouts of] news from the news outlets in Arakan State. The police printed out who wrote the news and made large sheets of paper," said Khin Tharaphi Oo, a freelance journalist in Arakan State, describing something akin to "Wanted" posters - but for journalists simply doing their jobs.

Adding to the climate of fear surrounding journalists and their work, the regime is targeting and arresting local residents who post comments or reshare reporting by local news outlets on social media, with journalists gradually losing their sources of information as a result.

"The regime has issued arrest warrants for women activists. That's why some women don't give interviews to reporters anymore," said Ma Thinzar Nwe, a female reporter from Narinjara.

Unbowed

Ma Yi Yi Lwin said reporters in Arakan State are sometimes disappointed with the life they have chosen as journalists in junta-ruled Myanmar, where the utter lack of press freedom and security guarantees, along with low salaries and a host of other concerns that weigh on this professional heavier than most, can be deeply demoralising.

But Ma Yi Yi Lwin remains determined to deliver information that is essential to people's daily lives and contributes to understanding of a war-torn region beyond its borders. Despite the difficult circumstances, she is resolute:

"You can count the number of journalists in Arakan State. Among them, there are very few female journalists," she said.

"As the number of reporters on the ground decreases, people will be less able to get the right information. Whenever I've thought about giving up my life as a journalist, I couldn't give it up."