The Myanmar Military specifically targets journalists covering the Burma Spring revolution on the front line. Many have been injured while reporting on the protests, and nearly 80 have been arrested or imprisoned. Panelists will discuss the ongoing threats to Myanmar’s news organizations, the emergence of online journalists, the media outlets in the ethnic communities, and how international media organizations can help defend press freedom in Myanmar.

Panelists:

Toe Zaw Latt

Democratic Voice of Burma

Toe Zaw Latt is Yangon bureau chief of the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). Born and raised in Myanmar, he was one of the student activists in the 1988 nationwide uprising in Burma. He has decades of media management and journalism experience. Toe Zaw Latt earned a BA in Business Administration from Bradford University, UK, and a Masters in Asian Studies from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

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Thin Lei Win

Journalist, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Born and raised in Myanmar, Thin currently covers food security issues globally for the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF), the non-profit arm of the Reuters news agency, for whom Thin has worked since 2008. After many years abroad, Thin returned to Myanmar in 2015 to establish and manage Myanmar Now, an award-winning bilingual news agency, producing in-depth reports on the country’s historic elections and transition to a popularly-elected government. Thin also co-founded The Kite Tales, a unique preservation project that chronicles the lives and histories of ordinary people across Myanmar. Until 2015, Thin worked as the Bangkok-based Southeast and East Asia Correspondent for Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF), producing award-winning humanitarian news coverage in the region. Thin Lei Win currently covers food security issues globally for TRF, the non-profit arm of the Reuters news agency, for whom Thin has worked since 2008.

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Phil Thornton

Journalist and Author

Phil Thornton is a journalist and media trainer who has been based along the Thai-Burma border town for decades. He is the author of Restless Souls: Rebels, Refugees, Medics and Misfits on the Thai-Burma Border and is a senior adviser to the International Federation of Journalists in Southeast Asia. Phil is also a founder of Karen News.org.

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Mratt Kyaw Thu

twitter.com/mrattkthu

Mratt is a freelance journalist, blogger and podcaster. He started his career in 2010 and won AFP’s Kate Webb Prize in 2017 for frontline reporting on war and conflicts. He fled Myanmar after the military regime issued an arrest warrant for him on 5 April. Mratt is one of the few journalists in Myanmar who is openly critical of the regime. Among other things, he exposed instances of targeted disinformation by the military when it seized control of the country on 1 February.

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Moderated by Jeanne Hallacy.