(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the first secretary of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, the ruling military junta), Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, RSF asked for an explanation for the imprisonment of nine contributors to the opposition magazine “MoJo” (Lightning), which is published in Thailand and banned in Burma. The organisation called for […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the first secretary of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, the ruling military junta), Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, RSF asked for an explanation for the imprisonment of nine contributors to the opposition magazine “MoJo” (Lightning), which is published in Thailand and banned in Burma. The organisation called for the immediate release of the nine persons, if their arrest was connected with their work for the newspaper. “At least twelve journalists are currently being held in Burmese jails,” Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general, recalled.
According to information collected by RSF, nine contributors to the opposition monthly “MoJo” are currently imprisoned in Burma. Three of them were arrested in May 2000. They are believed to be accused by the authorities of collecting dissident news and secretly distributing copies of “MoJo”, which is linked to the National League for Democracy (NLD, led by Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi). The nine individuals, who face jail sentences of up to ten years, are: Mg Hla Soe, arrested in August 1999 in MyaWaDee (Karen state), Ko Win Naing, arrested in September 1999 in Pegu (east of Rangoon), Mg Kyaw Wae Soe, arrested in September 1999 in Tha-Ka-Ta (near Rangoon), Joseph, arrested in September 1999 in Pha-an (Karen state), Aung Pwint (pen name: Awaylu), arrested in December 1999 in Basein (western Burma), Nyen Thit (pen name: Hmine Set Aung), arrested in December 1999 in Mandalay (central Burma), Tint Wae, arrested in May 2000 in KaMarYut (near Rangoon), Ko Myo and Ma Htay Htay, both arrested in May 2000 in Belinn (Mon state).
At a press conference in Rangoon on 17 May, Colonel Than Htun, an officer of the junta’s Military Intelligence Service (MIS), accused “MoJo” of trying to destabilise the country.
