A radio station supported by Myanmar's shadow government has aired its first broadcasts as part of an effort to keep the country informed nearly seven months into the coup.
Radio NUG airs for 30 minutes twice daily on a shortwave band that smaller transistor devices, including 10-band radios, can easily receive.
The station plans to cover the National Unity Government (NUG); human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by the junta; and the civil disobedience movement, a pro-democracy campaign that leads anti-coup protests around the country.
The NUG is a shadow government made up of members of the ousted National League for Democracy, activists and others from ethnic minorities. It was formed after the military claimed control in a February coup, ousted the democratically elected leadership and arrested senior politicians.
The NUG does not officially run the radio channel, but it is providing guidance to supporters who set up the station, according to Htin Linn Aung, the NUG minister of communications, information and technology.
"We [the NUG] have to let them know what we are doing — how we are trying to restore democracy in Burma," Aung, who is living in the United States, told VOA. Burma is another name for Myanmar.
Banned from the start
Myanmar's military leaders outlawed the station on the day it first broadcast. The junta's Ministry of Information issued a statement in state media saying that those working with or supporting Radio NUG "will have action taken against them in accordance with the law."
Myanmar's military has historically limited press freedom. But since the overthrow of the civilian-led government in February, the military has targeted journalists, rights groups say.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have protested the return of military rule, and the junta has responded with what some human rights groups say are crimes against humanity.
As of Friday, more than 1,000 people have been killed by the junta and more than 5,900 have been arrested or charged, according to the Thai-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma). Nearly 100 of those who have been detained are journalists.
Two more journalists were arrested August 15, including Sithu Aung Myint, a freelance contributor to VOA and a columnist for news website Frontier Myanmar.
VOA Burmese Service chief Than Lwin Htun said this week that arresting journalists for their work is "unjust."
VOA "provides accurate and fair coverage," Than Lwin Htun said. "We are not taking sides."
Myanmar is also still detaining American journalist Danny Fenster. The managing editor of Frontier Myanmar has been jailed in Yangon for over 90 days.
At a hearing on Monday, a court remanded Fenster to custody for another two weeks. Members of the journalist's family say they have had limited contact with Fenster, who believes he has contracted the coronavirus while in prison.
The lack of information and delays in Fenster's case weigh heavily on his family members in Detroit, Michigan. The last contact they had was a phone call at the beginning of August.
The U.S. State Department says it is monitoring Fenster's case. A spokesperson told VOA that the jailing of Fenster and other journalists and military attacks on the media constitute an "unacceptable attack on freedom of expression."
Representative Andy Levin, a Democrat representing Michigan state's 9th District, has also been advocating for Fenster's release.
His office directed VOA to a statement in July, when Levin said, "We are redoubling our efforts to obtain his earliest possible release for health reasons — as well as because he is completely innocent of any wrongdoing under Burmese law, and we believe the regime has concluded they should let him go."
Radios allegedly confiscated
The current media landscape in Myanmar makes Radio NUG even more important because Myanmar completely lacks press freedom, said Aung, the NUG communications minister.
Using radio also means the station can reach listeners even if authorities cut access to the internet.
"This could be the perfect medium for the Myanmar public to keep receiving free information," East Asia bureau head of Reporters Without Borders Cédric Alviani told VOA. "This is a very traditional resistance medium."
Some local news websites reported an increase in people buying radio receivers since the station launched. But at least one news website reported that the military had confiscated radios following the launch of the channel. VOA was not able to verify those reports.
The identities of those running the channel are not publicly available because of safety concerns, and Aung said he is worried that those working with Radio NUG could face retaliation. He declined to say where broadcasts originate.
Still, Alviani and Aung both said the response from the military shows it fears a free press.
"The fact the regime immediately tries to confiscate these radio receivers shows how much they fear the power of free information," Alviani told VOA.
VOA Burma contributed to this report.
