Legal proceedings were initiated against the online media The Irrawaddy on 14 March under article 505 (a) of the penal code. The latter’s licence was not rescinded but two of its executives, Nathan Maung and Han Thar Nyein, have been arrested, preventing it from continuing to operate. The military authorities have meanwhile been carrying our raids and equipment seizures – on 8 March at the offices of the Myanmar Now news agency and then, the next day, at the offices of the Mizzima News multimedia news group and the Kamayut Media video news website. The Eleven group nonetheless continues to post news on its website.

It was only after the military authorities rescinded their licences on 8 March that they resigned themselves to stop publishing. The military had to use stronger pressure to get two other newspapers, 7 Day News and Eleven, to stop publishing. The website of the newspaper The Voice has not been updated since 1 March. Ten days after the information ministry told media to stop using the terms “junta” and “coup d’état” or face sanctions, the Myanmar Times suddenly suspended operations on 21 February “for three months,” according to the welcome message on its website. The only print media have been official newspapers controlled by the military since 17 March, after the last independent daily in circulation, The Standard Time ( San Taw Chain in Burmese), took the same decision as its four rivals and suspended its print edition, citing distribution problems since the coup. There is no longer a free press in Myanmar.

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