Press Freedom Under the Government of Aung San Suu Kyi: The First 5 Years

Abstract

Burma/Myanmar was under the dictatorial rule of the military for over 50 years, and the press was strictly under the control of the government; strict censorship and severe punishment during those decades were commonplace. But since ex-general Thein Sein became the President in 2011, the government censorship board was abolished and private newspapers were allowed to publish for the first time in 5 decades. So when the new Aung San Suu Kyi administration took power in 2016, hope and optimism for further enhancement of press freedom reached its peak. Yet in reality, the media is facing many challenges and the arrests and imprisonments of journalists still continue to this day. The incident that shocked the world was when two Reuters journalists were detained in 2017 for allegedly possessing state secrets while working on the stories on Rohingya Muslims, and Aung San Suu Kyi did not speak out against the arrest. Why is it still restricted despite Aung San Suu Kyi coming into power? This paper aims to understand and gauge the nature of constraints and ongoing challenges facing press freedom in the country.