On Friday, chief executive officer of Eleven Media Group Dr Than Htut Aung and Chief Editor Wai Phyo reported to a district police station and were then taken to court. Later they were sent to Insein Prison, with the next court hearing due on November 25.
Editors of the Asia News Network, of which Eleven Media is a member, have expressed shock and dismay at the detentions.
Both Eleven Media journalists were charged under the Section 66 (d) of the Telecommunications Act following a case filed by the Yangon Region government, whose Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein is himself a former political prisoner and a key member of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) Party.
The case is based on a Facebook post of an article “Myanmar: A year after the Nov 8 polls” on the first anniversary of the national election that saw the NLD sweep to power, about democracy and development in Myanmar facing hurdles of cronyism and corruption.
The article was also translated into English and carried by several members of the Asia News Network, an alliance of 20 media outlets in 18 Asian countries. Eleven Media is a member of the network.
Asia News Network said in a statement that it is the duty of the government to ensure the law was not used to stifle comment or to curb freedom of the press.
It was important, the editors said, for a young democracy to not be perceived as draconian, or as reacting disproportionately to criticism.
While the ANN editors appealed to the authorities in Myanmar and particularly Yangon region officials, stressing that the law must take its course, the editors felt no useful purpose would be served by detaining the two journalists without bail. On the contrary, such detentions would only intimidate the media and impede the democratic process that party leader and de facto head of government Aung San Suu Kyi and her party had fought long and hard for.
The call was echoed by Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Southeast Asia and Pacific. “Arresting and detaining these two men raises serious concerns about the NLD-led government’s commitment to freedom of expression,” Djamin said. “Using repressive laws to stifle peaceful criticism of government officials could cause other media workers in Myanmar to engage in self-censorship. State officials are not above scrutiny, and journalists have an important role in holding them accountable,” Djamin said.
Legal Aid Network released a statement that said the case would drag Myanmar media back to the “dark ages” with no one daring to criticise the authorities. It said the government led by NLD and the Yangon chief minister should value Eleven Media in maintaining public interest with anti-corruption reports.
In contrast, the Myanmar Press Council said it could not intervene in a case involving the Eleven article despite a request to do so by the Yangon Region government, as the later needed to first withdraw its lawsuit, as stated in the Media Law.
On Friday, chief editor of Eleven Media Group Wai Phyo said: “We are here today. The CEO and me went for interrogation as we are charged with violating the Telecommunications Law 66 (d) by the Yangon Region government. It is an unfair law. Every citizen should get equal rights under the law. If action is taken under 66(d), then let there be fairness and justice. We’ll be back pursuing the truth. We’ll be back for Eleven to bring out the truth. Please stand by justice.”
Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein had told a press conference last week that “The post was intended to defame my personal dignity, was a misrepresentation and it has disturbed my activities.”
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Myanmar, in a statement, expressed deep concern about the arrest and legal action against Eleven Media Group journalists.
Asia News Network is made up of Dawn, Pakistan; The Statesman, India; China Daily; Korea Herald; China Post, Taiwan; Kathmandu Post; The Nation, Thailand; Kuensel, Bhutan; The Island, Sri Lanka; The Daily Star, Bangladesh; Jakarta Post, Straits Times, Singapore; The Star, Malaysia; Vietnam News, Vientiane Times; Rasmei Kampuchea, Cambodia, Yomiuri Shimbun and The Japan News; Sin Chew Daily, Malaysia; and Eleven Media Group, Myanmar

The body was found inside a bag and covered with concrete at a house in Nonthaburi’s Bang Bua Thong district.
Yesterday morning, police inspected the house and found the body. Police suspect that the deceased is Eliyahu Cohen, 63, an Israeli who disappeared on Wednesday.
Pol Colonel Ekachai Boonvisut, deputy superintendent of Metropolitan Police Division 7, stated that police were unable to confirm the identity of the deceased because forensic police and officers from the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok would have to identify the body.
Cohen’s family member told officers at Bavorn Mongkol Police Station in Bangkok that Cohen, a former Israeli policeman, disappeared from his apartment in Bang Yi Khan district on Wednesday while on a trip to the Kingdom.
The police inspected CCTV footage from the apartment and found that Cohen left the apartment alone on Wednesday and drove away in his car.
Police also found that after his disappearance the two Israeli suspects withdrew money from Cohen’s account.
Officers believe that the two suspects, who are in custody, may be linked to the crime as they used to meet Cohen and borrow money from him.
The suspects have denied any involvement in Cohen’s disappearance.

He said this would be an effective way of farming and also provide higher output.
He also urged them to stop depending on state subsidies. If farmers cannot work together, they’ll keep making demands for government assistance, the prime minister said.
“Do you think the country has enough money for that? The government also needs to take care of other groups of people.”
He added that he had sympathy for all groups. “Don’t pit me against farmers,” he said. Prayut said farmers needed to curb their production to make sure they could profit from their grain. He said current costs were too high. Speaking to reporters during a visit to the Finance Ministry, the prime minister also praised different groups that have helped farmers sell their rice at a time when prices are declining. However, he said direct rice sales to consumers were only 5 per cent of total.
Meanwhile, authorities in different provinces yesterday allowed local farmers and those from elsewhere to sell their rice at city halls and other marketplaces. They included Samut Prakan, Lop Buri, Pathum Thani, and Nakhon Ratchasima. Local businesses such as petrol stations and farm-produce outlets also sold rice sourced from farmers directly to consumers.
Samut Prakan Governor Chartchai Uthaiphan said yesterday that local farmers and those from other provinces, such as Buri Ram, Surin, Roi Et, Si Sa Ket and Ubon Ratchathani were selling their rice at their respective provincial hall.
“We encourage farmers to sell their rice directly to consumers. This way the farmers do not need to rely on middlemen,” he said.
Lop Buri Governor Panu Yaemsri yesterday said farmers were allowed to sell their rice at the provincial hall as part of the authorities’ measures to help them.
At Rangsit Market in Pathum Thani, 10 tonnes of the local farmers’ rice was sold within three hours yesterday. Deputy provincial governor Nirat Phongsittithaworn said a total of 210 tonnes of rice had been sold directly to consumers over the past four days. As well, soldiers continued to help farmers to harvest their rice and buy rice from them for consumption within the local military camps.
Dozens of soldiers from the 23rd Military Circle in Khon Kaen yesterday helped local farmers harvest their crop in a flooded area.
In Uttaradit, five military units yesterday agreed to buy 300 tonnes of rice a year from local farmers for Bt7.5 million.

VILLAGERS from Yaha district in Yala have asked the Thai government for help in contacting 21 elderly women who were allegedly duped into working in Malaysia without proper documents and are now feared to be under arrest.
Mamakadi Sulong said his 57-year-old mother Hamida Salae and 20 neighbours were invited by a local labour broker to work in Johor. He said he has not heard from them since they travelled in cars to cross the border in Sadao in Songhkla on September 24.
He said relatives feared that Hamida and the others may have been arrested by Malaysian police as they did not have proper work permits. They urged Thai state agencies to help them locate the group.
“The broker claimed that they wanted elderly women to sell things in Malaysia and they should also prepare old clothes so people could buy items out of pity. But once they travelled there, we couldn’t reach them,” he said.
“I heard that my mother went to sell things but after only two days she was arrested in Johor. So we tried to help her and the broker promised to coordinate but, after losing tens of thousands of baht, we still haven’t had any progress.”
Mamakadi said his father became ill after they lost contact and he had just passed away in Yaha Crown Prince Hospital.
He said relatives also wanted to get in touch with Korya Kajemusor, 50, another woman who went with the group, but they couldn’t afford the broker’s demand that they pay Bt20,000.
Another relative of Hamida, Tuan-Hasan Doloh, said the family paid Bt50,000 plus Bt20,000 in travel costs to a person who claimed to be able to coordinate with Malaysian officials but nothing panned out. He said relatives of four other women also faced a similar demand of Bt50,000 – which would be returned to them if the negotiations collapsed – but they had been waiting without a result for three weeks.
Yaha senior clerk Amorn Chumchuay and officials from the Yala Social Development and Human Security Office and Yala Labour Office visited Hamida’s daughter yesterday to discuss the incident.
He said the 21 elderly woman and two labour brokers went to Johor to sell fish-flavoured crispy snacks but were arrested by Malaysian police for working without permission.

‘Up to 3 months to process case’
Amorn said they had already asked the Thai embassy in Malaysia to help determine where the women were detained. He said the case would require one to three months for Malaysian authorities to process, as charges had been filed. They would then contact Thailand when the people would be deported.
An informed source said that Ban Joh Kladee village headman Harong Mayi had travelled to Johor for four days after receiving complaints, but had not been able to find them.
He was told the women had been arrested and sent to a nursing home, the source said.
Aside from Hamida, the women include Liyoh Sulong, from Pattani, who is in her 80s; Salama Balo, 51, from Yala’s Kabang district; Leemoh Jehto, 65, from Kabang; and Koriya Samae, 53, from Yala’s Raman district.

On Thursday at about 6am, tour bus driver Theerapong Silarit, 50, jumped off the commuter boat and fell into the canal at Nanachat Pier. His body was recovered hours later.
Makkasan Police Station deputy superintendent, Lt-Colonel Seubpong Karuna, said yesterday that the man who successfully leapt from the vessel had been summoned and promised to meet officers today.
Seubpong said police have not filed charges against anyone including the boat’s driver Wichien Thamsamer, 38, and the boat’s conductor Pornchai Saeyang, 35.
He said police would interview more witnesses and await the autopsy results on the deceased man.
Police will ask the man who jumped off the boat if he was warned by the boat driver or the conductor not to do so.
Several accidents have hit Saen Saeb canal boats, which were |operated by Family Transport (2002) Co.
On March 5, Theerapong sustained a slight injury when a commuter boat owned by the |same firm caught fire at the Wat Thep Leela Pier.
The boat driver and conductor could be charged under the Criminal Code’s Article 291 for |negligence causing death, punishable by up to 10 years in jail and/or a Bt20,000 fine. The driver could face the additional charge of |violating the Navigation in Thai Waters Act.

First Army Area’s deputy commander Maj General Pongsawat Pannajit said yesterday, in his capacity as the deputy head of the joint safety operation centre: “We have received complaints that some volunteers have lost their temper and acted inappropriately.”

He said his centre had heard that some volunteers had abused their authority and tried to force people out of the lines waiting to enter the Grand Palace, because of their clothing.
“We have already made clear that people must not be forced out of the lines,” he said. Thousands of mourners have queued up for hours every day for an opportunity to lay prostrate before the much-revered HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s body, which rests inside the Grand Palace’s Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall.
His Majesty passed away on October 13, plunging the entire nation into deep grief.
While there is a dress code for mourners who can go inside, Royal Household Bureau officials have been lenient where possible as not all Thais can afford new black clothes. In addition, many good Samaritans have made suitable black clothes that mourners can borrow and wear into the throne hall.
Pongsawat said that the volunteers who had been removed from the queue-management operation had already been assigned tasks that did not require direct contact with mourners.
“We have recruited 50 more volunteers from the Interior Ministry to help with queue management,” he said.
Pongsawat apologised to anyone who had been offended by some volunteers. He urged people to complain to his centre at Tel No 1899 if they found any volunteer acting inappropriately.

‘Trying to ensure all get in’
Pongsawat said some mourners reached the Grand Palace at around 3am to ensure they would get the opportunity to pay their respects to the much-beloved King’s body.
“We are trying to ensure that all mourners in the lines can get in, except when circumstances really don’t permit us to do that,” Pongsawat said.
This weekend, all 27 roads around Sanam Luang, which sits next to the Grand Palace, will be closed to traffic between 7am and 8pm.
Crowds in the area look set to be bigger than usual because the nearby Thammasat University’s Tha Prachan campus will also host graduation ceremonies.
Meanwhile, Public Health Ministry deputy permanent secretary Dr Kiattibhoom Vongrachit said medical units around Sanam Luang would be relocated to pave the way for the upcoming |construction of the royal crematorium.
“Only some units will be affected. Relevant officials are discussing the matter with the Fine Arts Department [which is responsible for the construction],” Bangkok’s deputy city clerk Wantanee Wattana said.