By Nava Thakuria

Geneva: Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights body,expresses serious concern over the imprisonment of fearless Burmese journalist- filmmaker Shin Daewe for live bythe ruling military junta ofMyanmar (also known as Burma and Brahmadesh) and demands her immediate release along with other over 50jailed scribes. The award-winningdocumentary producer was sentenced for lifeimprisonment on 10 January 2024 by a military court inside Insein prison in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) onterrorism charges. Shin (50) wasarrested by the Burmese soldiers  from a bus terminal in Yangon on 15 October as she was shooting videosby a drone.

Once worked as a video journalist for Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), Shin covered various socio-politicalissues  affecting the  southeastAsian nation. Later she developed herself as a brave  documentary filmmakerand many of her productions were honoured in international events. Her work titled Now I'm 13,which narrates the struggle of  an illiteratebut intelligent young girl in central rural Myanmar endeavouring for education, received appreciation from the art connoisseurs. Her husband alleged thatshe has been repeatedly torturedduring interrogation by the junta forces.

“It’s shocking that the military rulers have imprisoned a  lady journalist- filmmaker with theallegation of abetting terrorism in the troubledcountry, which is undergoing a almost civil war since the junta orchestrated  a coup  on 1  February 2021 dethroning ademocratically elected government under the leadership of Nobel laureate Aung Sah Suu Kyi. The junta(identified themselves as MilitaryCouncil) must unconditionally release Shin Daewe along with other  detained and imprisonedjournalists,” said Blaise Lempen, presidentof PEC (www.pressemblem.ch).

Days back, the Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM) also denounced the arbitrary arrest and imprisonmentof journalists by the junta inthe last three months. It confirmed that  52 journalists remain unjustly incarcerated by the militarycouncil till date. The IPCM assertedits commitment to expediting the release of detained journalists promptly and also safeguarding the rights of mediaoutlets to express their news& views freely. The council also decided to collaborate with other organizations dedicated to the safety ofmedia workers, exerting everypossible effort to secure the freedom of journalists,and prevent the recurrence of such arrests.

PEC’s south & southeast Asia representative Nava Thakuria informed that since the last military coup, thejunta forces  arrested over 170 journalistsand only  118 have been  released. The poverty stricken country of around 55 million population hasalready lost four journalists namelyPu Tuidim (founder of Khonumthung news agency), Sai Win Aung (editor of  Federal News Journal)along with  Soe Naing and Aye Kaw (bothwere freelance photojournalists) to junta atrocities since the coup day in different occasions.