“Even prominent NLD figures – like U Myo Yan
Naung Thein – have been arrested under Section 66d.
But, surprisingly, Suu Kyi and the NLD are not even
considering its amendment – something they could do.”
Still, no disappointment can rival the political failures
in terms of handling one of Myanmar’s most pressing
social issues. Democracy has been unable to defuse the
crisis of the persecuted Rohingya – a Muslim minority
whose population is estimated at around one million
people, mostly living in the western Rakhine State –
and the military confrontation with several armed
ethnic groups who control peripheral territory.And complaining about it is dangerous. As a
journalist at Frontier magazine says under the condition
of anonymity: “The enactment of Section 66d of the 2013
telecommunications law is a step backwards in freedom
of speech, and has been written by the executive power
to threaten those who speak against it.” Technically,
it punishes defamation using a communications
network with a prison term of up to three years, but
many denounce it as too ambiguous and vague.
“Journalists, bloggers and activists are censoring
themselves for fear of the law, which is a step backwards
that nobody expected,” the reporter shares.
culture