The European Parliament President Antonio Tajani on Thursday called on Myanmar to protect media freedoms and urged its government to release two Reuters journalists arrested this week.
“I hope the authorities in Myanmar will free them as soon as possible,” Tajani told reporters during an EU summit in Brussels. “Light should be shed on this case and human rights and press freedom should be respected.”
A former journalist, the Italian conservative politician said that the arrests of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who had been working on stories about a military crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority, increased the EU’s concerns about the Rohingya crisis.
The EU has sanctions in place against Myanmar barring the sale of arms and equipment that can be used for repression. In October it also suspended invitations to Burmese military officers in response to the Rohingya crisis.
The EU legislature has a limited role in foreign policy. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive, is also looking into the arrests of the journalists.
“We call on the Myanmar authorities to ensure the full protection of their rights. Media freedom is the foundation of any democracy,” the Delegation of the EU to Myanmar said in a statement.
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