In a joint statement released yesterday evening, 10 media and human rights organizations have voiced their support for Myanmar Now editor-in-chief Swe Win, who is currently being charged under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law.
“By gathering evidence and writing about those who are disseminating hate speech, Ko Swe Win is keeping the interest of the public in mind and fulfilling his duty as a journalist,” the statement reads.
The case against Swe Win was brought to the No. 7 Police Station in Mandalay’s Maha Aung Myay Township by Kyaw Myo Shwe, a Ma Ba Tha supporter and follower of 969 movement leader Wirathu. It was in response to a post that Swe Win, under the name Ba Kaung, had put on Facebook a week ago accusing Wirathu of having broken the rules of Parazika for publicly lauding the murder of NLD legal advisor Ko Ni, who was also a prominent member of the Myanmar Muslim community.
Speaking to reporters at the Myanmar Now office yesterday afternoon, Swe Win revealed that he would not yield to Ma Ba Tha’s demands for an apology to Wirathu.
In support of Swe Win’s stance, the public statement also asserts, “Punishing an individual who is exposing the truth rather than identifying and stopping those who are spreading hate speech poses a threat to freedom of speech within a society, and obstructs a peaceful transition into democracy.”
Echoing the calls of several different activists and rights organizations over the past couple of years, the statement also called for the alteration or complete removal of Section 66(d). Although technically meant to prevent the spreading of hate speech online, the law has been mainly used by government figures to punish journalists and activists who criticize them or the Tatmadaw.
“Additionally, because Section 66(d) is a law that inhibits an individual’s right to freedom of speech, we urge the government to change or eradicate it as quickly as possible,” the statement reads.
Organizations that signed the statement include PEN Myanmar, the Myanmar Journalists Union, the Southern Shan State Media Network, the Human Rights Defenders Forum, and the Committee for Amending the Telecommunications Law.
When news of the case broke Tuesday evening, several citizens and journalists expressed support for Swe Win and outrage over this latest abuse of Section 66(d), reiterating that it needed to go. In a lot of ways, this particular case is the living embodiment of an anti-66(d) cartoon that was posted last December in which a criminal threatens to sue ‘Facebook’ for exposing him mid-felony.
The full original statement is below.
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