Win Htein, the loose-tongued spokesman for the National League for Democracy, Myanmar’s ruling party, told reporters in Naypyidaw on Monday that Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were “inept” for having fallen into a trap set for them by Yangon police.
The two reporters were arrested on the evening of Dec. 12 after meeting two police officers in a northern Yangon restaurant.
“The arrest was not right. But in my opinion, they were baited. They were caught with the documents in hand that the policemen willingly handed over to them. They left their meeting place and were caught somewhere else later,” Win Htein said. “What I want to ask them is how can they be so inept about these things? You have to be sharp.”
The journalists were charged under Myanmar’s colonial-era Official Secrets Act for possession of “important security documents” and are facing a potential 14-year prison sentence. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
“I feel sorry for them. Look at the charges piled against them and it’s obvious that it was planned from the start. It’s become a huge issue because the charges concern national security, so only international pressure and the skill of their lawyers can save them,” Win Htein added.
On Monday, President Htin Kyaw, an NLD member, authorized the reporters’ prosecution under the colonial-era law.
The UN and several foreign leaders have condemned their arrest as an example of Myanmar’s sharply declining press freedom.
Human Rights Watch has accused Myanmar of violating international laws against enforced disappearance by hiding the reporters’ location and blocking their access to legal representation.
Myanmar nationalists and military supporters have called on Win Htein to retract his comments.
In a similar case in June, the NLD spokesman blamed reporters Lawi Weng, Aye Nai, and Pyae Phone Aung for their arrest by military officials following their attendance at an ethnic armed group’s drug-burning ceremony in northern Shan State, saying they should have informed Myanmar’s Peace Commission, home affairs ministry, and defense ministry beforehand.
“One cannot just go there every time someone sends an invitation,” Win Htein said at the time. “One can’t just do whatever he thinks is right.”
A report released earlier this month by the rights group Free Expression Myanmar revealed that prosecutions under the country’s controversial anti-defamation law – one of several laws used to silence political dissent – have sharply increased since the NLD came to power, and cases are primarily brought by NLD members.
