Press freedom in Myanmar in dire state after 2021 coup, council warns

By Jacinth Banite

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2025, the Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM) has revealed alarming data on deliberate suppression and violence against journalists in the country, following the military’s seizure of power in 2021. 

Speaking with Democratic Voice of Burma, IPCM Secretary Toe Zaw Latt has accused the junta of “deliberately” targeting media workers by arresting them and imposing harsh jail terms of up to 20 years. 

“This is unacceptable. Journalists must not be treated as criminals,” he was quoted as saying. 

Alarming statistics

IPCM data shows that Myanmar’s military government has arrested at least 200 journalists since the coup four years ago, with around 40 of them, including seven women, remaining in detention nationwide. 

The arrests were often attributed to “incitement against the military” and under the weaponised counter-terrorism provisions.

During interrogation, media workers are reportedly subjected to beatings and torture. 

Some were even murdered. 

According to IPCM, at least seven journalists have been killed in Myanmar since the military takeover. 

The council also laid out the regime’s relentless crackdown on independent media outlets, noting it had revoked the publication licences of 15 news entities, including DVB’s, since taking over the central government. 

Due to such restrictions, “64 newsrooms have had to cover the country from exile over the last four years,” according to IPCM.

On top of the challenges brought by the internal conflict, the Donald Trump administration’s recent dismantling of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), on which the Myanmar media heavily relied for funds, has made the state of press freedom worse in the country. 

The funding cuts from the US has negatively impacted the operations of major independent news outlets, including DVB, The Irrawaddy, Mizzima and Narinjara News, as well as the Burmese versions of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), informs IPCM, noting that 44% of funding to Myanmar media typically comes from foreign benefactors, including the US. 

According to the 2025 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the situation of press freedom in Myanmar remains “very serious,” as it ranks 169th out of 180 countries assessed, with a global score of 25.32.

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Norway and Eritrea remain on opposite ends 

In the 2025 Index, Norway retains its top spot from 2024, having a global score of 92.31, indicating “good” press freedom. 

Estonia follows with an 89.46 global score, having climbed four spots from 2024, while the Netherlands lands third with a global score of 88.64 and a one-spot improvement compared to last year. 

In addition, Sweden (88.13) and Finland (87.18) respectively comprise the first five countries with “good” press freedom, based on the Index. 

On the flipside, Eritrea of Africa ranks last in the Index, similar to last year, with a global score of 11.32, indicating a “very serious” state of press freedom. 

It falls behind North Korea (12.64) and China (14.8) which placed 179th and 178th respectively. 

Pyongyang fell two spots from last year, while China fell six spots. 

Syria, with a 15.82 global score and Iran, with 16.22, are also on the bottom of the Index, respectively at 177th and 176th places, with the latter climbing two spots compared to 2024. 

Global state of press freedom hits historic low

Press freedom faces harsh challenges across the globe, with RSF classifying its state under “difficult situation” for the first time in history, as the average score of all assessed countries fell below 55 points, with more than six out of ten countries, 112 in total, seeing their overall scores decline in the 2025 Index. 

The Paris-based NGO sees the growing economic pressure as one of the major factors for the backward trend.

“Of the five main indicators that determine the World Press Freedom Index, the indicator measuring the financial conditions of journalism and economic pressure on the industry dragged down the world’s overall score in 2025,” RSF explained.

“The economic indicator in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index is at its lowest point in history, and the global situation is now considered ‘difficult’,” it added.

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