EU urges Myanmar to protect free speech amid crackdown on journalists

‘The European Union has urged Myanmar to protect journalists from “intimidation, arrest or prosecution” after a number of journalists were detained across the Southeast Asian country.
The EU said in a statement on Monday that the right to freedom of opinion and expression was a human right guaranteed to all.
“It constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society,” the statement read.
“We therefore call on the government of Myanmar to provide the necessary legal protection for journalists to work in a free and enabling environment without fear of intimidation, arrest or prosecution,” it added.
The EU says that the arrest and prosecution of journalists has reached “a worrying number” in recent months.
The developments come after several cases of reporters running into trouble with the law, including three detained by the army last week. The reporters were accused of breaching the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act.’
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