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Thin
@thinink
Many people more eloquent than me have responded to this tweet, but since I’m a journalist myself + Burmese, female & NOT white, I feel I should point out to Clarissa why some of us have an issue with her trip & respond to this tone-deaf tweet. (THREAD) #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar
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Clarissa Ward
@clarissaward
Very striking that I am being absolutely inundated with positive, heartfelt messages from people in Myanmar, while a handful of white male academics/ commentators (none of them in the country) write endless screeds about how offensive my trip is to the people of Myanmar 🤔
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Thin
@thinink
I wasn’t part of crowd that thought you/CNN would side with junta, even if trip was arranged by a lobbyist who launders the reputation some of world’s worst human rights abusers (Mugabe, Sudan’s army). Both you & CNN have reputation to protect & I expected you to be balanced. (2)
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Thin
@thinink
I’m also sure no money exchanged hands between CNN & junta/lobbyist. Why? Because as a journalist who extensively covered the Rohingya's plight, that’s the false accusation I & fellow journalists faced too, that we were paid by folks who wanted to tarnish Myanmar’s reputation (3)
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Thin
@thinink
Having said all that, I & many other non-white, non-male members of Myanmar Twitterati wonder why you cut a deal with the junta? What did they offer that CNN couldn’t get from local journos & citizens on the ground who risk their lives to tell world #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar (4)
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Thin
@thinink
Also, why visit only Yangon where there is enough media presence? Ditto NPT if you made it there. Oh & yes foreign media has not been allowed into Myanmar post-coup but there're many good foreign journalists who have been working in Myanmar for years & can speak the language. (5)
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Thin
@thinink
Like others have suggested, why not go to Thailand/ China/ Bangladesh, along borders they share w. Myanmar & speak to minority ethnic groups fleeing junta’s abuses post-Feb 1? And get real on-the-ground coverage instead of interviewing stiff junta officials in stale rooms? (6)
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Thin
@thinink
You should've known also you wouldn’t get access to ordinary people & that any civilians who spoke to you face arrest, torture or worse & so it proved to be the case. Glad you pushed the junta & they released 8 ppl out of 11 but they shouldn't have been arrested in 1st place (7)
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Thin
@thinink
Do you know what happened to other 3? Did junta promise the released won’t be arrested again? What would you do if that happens, if junta says they’ll kill these people if you put out critical report? I get it - access is important to journalists, but was this trip worth it? (8)
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Thin
@thinink
"Do No Harm" isn’t just a policy for aid agencies you know? It also applies to us journalists particularly when you are reporting on a country with vicious junta & you can leave any time but anyone associated w. you & their families are stuck there twitter.com/NimrodAndrew/s (9)
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Nimrod from Burma
@NimrodAndrew
We aren’t lucky to have you there. Intl community used to tell us about “do no harm policy”, an approach to integrate conflict-sensitivity wherever it is relevant. Your visit to the country causes more harm than good to the civilians. Stop spreading fake news of the military. twitter.com/maytoekhine/st…
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Thin
@thinink
I have friends & former colleagues who've been arrested, who are wanted & are in hiding since coup. Many still covering #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar despite risks to their lives. So it's pretty galling to hear you talk as if no other independent journalists have reported on this (10)
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Thin
@thinink
I also have issue with your 1st report where you talked abt how there's real danger of civil strife as protesters become more violent, without making clear violence has been totally 1-sided so far. Besides, Myanmar's been in civil war for 70+ years 'cuz of the same military. (11)
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Thin
@thinink
Not gonna touch on presenters’ comments that world is lucky to have you in Myanmar. I’m assuming that’s just network's style. But the 2 pieces you’ve done so far haven't brought anything new to the table. We already know how terrible junta is & how little support they have. (12)
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Thin
@thinink
So I’m hoping you have some amazing footage up your sleeve that you'll use in next few days that would give a totally new insight into what’s happening in my home country. Just in case you don’t believe other Burmese people could have issues with your trip & reporting so far (13)
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Thin
@thinink
Here’s a sample. This is from
@the_ayeminthant
, a Pulitzer-winning Burmese journalist - twitter.com/the_ayeminthan (14)
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Aye Min Thant
@the_ayeminthant
This military-controlled "reporting" trip managed to tell us nothing new, while still getting 11 people arrested. She also justified it by saying no "international media" has been allowed in, dismissing the work of all of us who have been risking our safety since day one. twitter.com/CNNThisMorning…
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Thin
@thinink
From
@MissWHPT
a Burmese activist whose father is a well-known activist currently in jail - twitter.com/MissWHPT/statu (15)
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Wai Hnin Pwint Thon
@MissWHPT
Problems with @clarissaward reports on Burma: - 11 people arrested post-interview & @CNN seems to use this as a badge of honour - Reporting as if she's the first int'l media but others do it with more risk incl. many local journalists - Protonising tone as if we have no voice. twitter.com/CNNThisMorning…
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Thin
@thinink
More here - twitter.com/randallbreanna. Last note to those who say, “The army is winning by creating this division between CNN + their supporters & their detractors”. No. We can disagree respectfully. It’s something the Burmese need to learn pronto. (ENDS) #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar
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Breanna Randall
@randallbreanna
Replying to @randallbreanna and @clarissaward
twitter.com/harriet_may21/
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