Authorities in Myanmar released a BBC Burmese-language service journalist, the broadcaster announced Monday without giving further details, as protesters in the Southeast Asian nation continued their civil disobedience against last month’s military coup.
The journalist, Aung Thura, was detained on March 19 while working in front of a court in the capital, Naipyido, by men who looked like plainclothes security agents.
The arrests of media workers have been part of the ruling junta’s increasing efforts to stifle reporting on resistance to its February 1 coup. According to the local group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, some 40 journalists have been detained since the coup, half of whom are still being held. Among them is Thein Zaw of The Associated Press.
Lawmakers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Monday urged regional leaders to come together and offer a firm and decisive response to increased violence against protesters by the Myanmar Army. The parliamentarians urged the 10-nation bloc to send a delegation along with the United Nations special envoy to Myanmar to help negotiate a democratic and rights-based solution.
ASEAN has a policy of non-interference in internal affairs, but some regional leaders have rejected the violence and called for restraint in Myanmar.
