Eain Soe Phyu

Narinjara News, 26 May 2024

The Arakan analysts stated that the situation in theRakhine region has deteriorated due to news with incorrect photographs carriedby Myanmar media outlets.

On 17 May, some media outlets based outside the regionaccused the Arakha Army (AA) of committing arson attacks in Buthidaung. Theyreported news with incorrect photos leading to worsen the situation in ArakanState.

"They are seemingly determined to attack,disgrace and exert pressure on the ULA/AA. Meanwhile, 195 organizations issuedstatements with one sided facts. Some organizations are not known to us,"said veteran Arakanese politician U Pe Than.

He also added  that the journalists should reportthe news only after thoroughly understanding the ground situation.

"The spread of false news and photos is unfairlyimplicating the ULA/AA and painting them as directly responsible for thesituation. It’s particularly rampant in foreign news outlets. Given thedifficulty in verifying information on the ground, it's crucial for journaliststo prioritize accuracy in their reporting. Without verification, the reportingbecomes akin to lobbying, moulding narratives to fit for vested interestedelements,” he added.

On 18 May, RFA Burmese reported that ‘approximately 30Rohingyas were killed in an attack in Buthidaung town’, while the item includedan image of a fire incident at Vawmm'Tu hospital in Mindat town of Chin State.Two more reports on Buthidaung fire included images of Sane town as featured byDVB English website.

On the same day, the BBC Myanmar also reported that‘almost the entire town was burned down in Buthidaung’, but mistakenly used thesame image of the fire at Vawmm'Tu hospital. The BBC later removed the photobut took six hours to do so.

Rohingya activist Ro Nay San Lwin shared the news onsocial media leading to more deterioration of the Rakhine situation.

On 23 May, Nicholas Koumjian (United Nations), thehead of independent investigative mechanism for Myanmar, stated that he wasexamining numerous reports of intense clashes between the Myanmar militarypersonnel and AA fighters, including reports related to the displacement ofthousands of Muslim civilians due to the violence and property destruction inButhidaung township.

Nan Paw Gay, chairperson of Independent Press CouncilMyanmar (IPCM) admitted the difficulty in obtaining on-the-ground photographsby the journalists.

"During the period, it was exceedingly difficultto obtain on-the-ground photos. Therefore, it's crucial that we ensure there'sno discrepancy between the location and the date of incident when sourcingpictures for our news coverage," she said.