Cyclone Nargis

In "Burma's undercover heroes," CPJ's Shawn Crispin describes the vital work being done by reporters for the Democratic Voice of Burma. Working undercover in a highly restricted nation, these journalists are the eyes and ears for the rest of world. They work at great risk of imprisonment and harassment. (2:30)

Read our accompanying special report, "In Burma, transition neglects press freedom."

CPJ names the worst online oppressors. Booming online cultures in many Asian and Middle Eastern nations have led to aggressive government repression. Burma leads the dishonor roll.

Burma’s already beleaguered journalists came under heavy attack after massive Cyclone Nargis pounded the country’s southern coastal region in May, killing an estimated 84,500 people and severely affecting another 2.4 million, according to U.N. estimates. As local and international criticism grew over a slow and inadequate response to the natural disaster, the military junta intensified censorship, working to suppress news that graphically portrayed the extraordinary scale of the storm’s devastation. The silence was lethal.

New York, November 21, 2008--A Burmese court sentenced entertainer, blogger, and activist Maung Thura--known by his stage name, "Zarganar"--to 45 years in prison today for violations of the Electronics Act, according to Burmese rights groups and international news reports. Sports journalist Zaw Thet Htwe, and two other defendants were also sentenced to at least 15 years each in the same trial.

New York, November 17, 2008--Amid a growing crackdown on political dissent and freedom of expression, a Burmese court on Friday handed down a two-year prison sentence to Eine Khine Oo, a journalist with the local weekly Ecovision Journal. 

July 22, 2008

Surin Pitsuwan
Secretary-General
Office of the Secretary-General
ASEAN Secretariat
Jakarta, Indonesia 12110

Via facsimile: + 62 21 739 8234

Dear Secretary-General Pitsuwan:

We are writing to express our concern that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has neglected to include recommendations for more press freedom and media access as one of the guiding principles for relief and recovery efforts following natural disasters.

New York, July 1, 2008--Burma's military government should immediately release all journalists arrested in connection with the Cyclone Nargis disaster, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

At least four journalists are being detained by Burmese authorities, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners Burma (AAPP), a Thailand-based assistance and rights monitoring group, and the Burma Media Association (BMA), a exile-run press freedom advocacy group.

New York, May 14, 2008--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the actions of Burma's military government in restricting press access to disaster areas and censoring local news coverage of the massive devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis.

Burma's military junta imposed tighter internet restrictions after the Saffron Revolution. But news continues to flow thanks to the exile-run media and their resilient undercover reporters.