Amnesty calls on authorities to take immediate action over threats against Sittwe-based journalist

Members of the Arakan Army, an armed ethnic
insurgent group operating in Rakhine State. Photo: Facebook / Arakan Army
Members of the Arakan Army, an armed ethnic insurgent group operating in Rakhine State. Photo: Facebook / Arakan Army

Amnesty International has launched a campaign in support of journalist Nay Min Aung, who has been receiving death threats for his reporting on the Arakan Army (AA).

Nay Min Aung, also known as Min Min, is the editor-in-chief of the Root Investigative Agency (RiA), a Sittwe-based publication that primarily reports on current affairs in tension-ridden Rakhine State. He and his reporters have often been criticized and labelled as ‘traitors’ for their work.

In March of last year, a bomb exploded at Min Min’s home, which also serves as an RiA office. In a Myanmar Times report of the incident, Min Min confirmed that he and his reporters had received several threats over social media ever since RiA’s establishment in 2015, including a post that offered a cash reward for their murder.

Shawn Crispin, the Committee to Protect Journalist’s senior Southeast Asia representative, said in response to the bombing: “The attack on journalist Min Min’s home underscores the vulnerability of all journalists who report on sensitive issues in Myanmar, particularly in the country’s volatile Rakhine State…We call on national authorities to identify, apprehend, and prosecute the perpetrators of this crime and to ensure the safety of all journalists.”

Now, Monday’s Amnesty report states that Min Min has been receiving threatening messages via Facebook since early April when he published an article about the arrest of a group of activists who allegedly have ties with the AA. Min Min referred to the AA as a ‘rebel group’ despite the fact that the latter rejects such a description. In response, he has received death threats, including one message that reads, “Attention Min Min, we know where you are. We can terminate your life anytime. Take care.”

Although the editor has reported the threats to the Sittwe police, no official action has been taken to date. As such, Amnesty is calling on Myanmar authorities to “take immediate steps to ensure Min Min’s protection, investigate the threats against him and hold those responsible to account.”

Journalists are often targeted in Myanmar, where freedom of speech is still a work in progress. In the past few months, a prominent Muslim lawyer who was working to change the military-drafted constitution was assassinated at the Yangon International Airport, and a journalist was threatened after speaking out against nationalist Buddhists on social media. Last December, Eleven reporter Soe Moe Tun was found beaten to death; his work covered illegal logging and crime in Monywa. Speaking to the Irrawaddy earlier this month, a member of the Myanmar Journalist Network admitted, “I don’t have much hope that justice will be done in [Ko Soe Moe Tun’s] case…The same as other high-profile cases in which justice is yet to be done.”

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