(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh, RSF asked for the real reasons behind the arrest of Burmese journalist Soe Myint, managing editor of the Mizzima press agency. “We are justified in asking whether the arrest of this journalist, renowned for his reporting on human rights violations in Burma, […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh, RSF asked for the real reasons behind the arrest of Burmese journalist Soe Myint, managing editor of the Mizzima press agency. “We are justified in asking whether the arrest of this journalist, renowned for his reporting on human rights violations in Burma, is directly related to the diplomatic reconciliation between New Delhi and Rangoon,” said RSF’s Secretary-General Robert Ménard. “The fact that the arrest occurred 12 years after his crime, but just one week after your visit to Burma, compels us to ask for a detailed explanation of the arrest.” RSF asked the minister to guarantee the safety of Burmese journalists exiled in India as well as their right to inform. RSF also recalled that there is no press freedom in Burma, and that at least 17 journalists are imprisoned in Burma for peacefully defending democracy.
According to information collected by RSF, on 10 April 2002, journalist Soe Myint, who is also the vice-secretary of the Burma Media Association (BMA, an affiliate of the RSF Network), was arrested at his home in New Delhi. He was taken to Calcutta where he is still being held. According to the authorities, he must appear in court charged with hijacking a Thai Airways plane flying from Calcutta to Rangoon on 19 November 1990.
The 1990 unarmed hijacking had been carried out to attract the attention of international public opinion to the human rights violations perpetrated by the Burmese junta. After spending three months in a Calcutta jail (West Bengal), Soe Myint was released. In exchange, he was supposed to check in regularly with judicial authorities in Calcutta. In 1993, he obtained refugee status from the High Commission for Refugees. In 1995, the General Secretary of the province of West Bengal sent a letter to the Indian government asking that the charges be dropped because the hijacking had been committed without the use of violence. He never received a response.
In 1998, Soe Myint, at the age of 35, founded Mizzima, a press agency focusing on Burma and very critical of the military government. A number of international media use news provided by this agency, especially radio stations broadcasting in Burmese. According to Burmese and Indian sources, the Rangoon junta may have pressured the Indian government to arrest Soe Myint. His lawyer, Nandita Haksar, told RSF that her client had been questioned about his activities as a journalist, by two men in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) offices who refused to identify themselves.
Soe Myint, who is being held by the CID in Calcutta, is to appear before Judge Utpal Mishra on 17 April, following a request to be released on bail filed by his lawyer.
