News analysis

Media landscape in Myanmar remains tense

Pardon for Reuters reporters is good news but won't result in press freedom, critics say

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Myanmar media veteran Sonny Swe, who served eight years in jail for bypassing censorship regulations before being freed in 2013, describes the presidential pardon for Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo last week as good news that local journalists have not had "in a long time".

But he is realistic about its larger impact. "It doesn't mean that it gets better," the chief executive of Frontier Myanmar magazine told The Straits Times. "This was such a high-profile case, and everybody was aware of it... It's still quite dangerous for journalists to operate here."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 17, 2019, with the headline Media landscape in Myanmar remains tense. Subscribe