‘Brave’ Sky News report on Myanmar exhibits ‘poignant’ scenario, says UN human rights chief

A UN human rights chief has mentioned Stuart Ramsay’s unique Sky News report on Myanmar’s hidden battle is “courageous” and “shows the power of journalism”.

James Rodehaver, head of the Myanmar crew on the UN Human Rights Group, mentioned the report comes when there are ongoing “difficulties in getting information inside the country” and highlights the dearth of worldwide consideration given to the scenario.

The Sky News crew’s report – inside the secret jungle hospital for the country’s rebel fighters – was “remarkable”, he added, however confirmed “how poignant” and harmful life is for the inhabitants in Myanmar.

After watching the report, Mr Rodehaver mentioned: “I think it’s a courageous effort. I think it shows the power of journalism.

“The energy of accessing info and the actual heroism that it takes to do actual, stable, verifiable, investigative journalism on this setting.

“Stuart and his team and the imagery that we’ve just seen here in this remarkable story – I think it shows just how poignant and how tangible it makes the situation in the country.”

Mr Rodehaver mentioned the “crisis in the country has been dramatically under-reported”.

He mentioned: “I think that there are really two sides to this coin. One is that the Myanmar military has been employing a strategy of denying information not only to the people inside the country, but also outside.

“They have completed that by focusing on journalists and civil society teams.

“They have restricted journey and so they have gone overboard by way of chopping off the entry of the overwhelming majority of individuals to cell information and web companies which might be safe.

“So, as a result, it’s very hard to get information from the areas where fighting is taking place and, of course, that is increasingly a very large area because of the scale of the military operations being launched against the people of Myanmar.

“The second aspect to this coin is, after all, the dearth of political consideration being performed to Myanmar regardless of a number of organisations, akin to my very own, which might be reporting continuously on the scenario within the nation and documenting the human rights violations occurring inside this disaster.”

Despite ongoing efforts to provide the Myanmar battle extra publicity, Mr Rodehaver mentioned there had been little change in worldwide efforts to deal with the scenario.

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He mentioned: “No, it has not changed. We still face massive difficulties in getting information inside the country. It’s a deliberate strategy on the part of the military. They know the power of information and of images.

“The army doesn’t need individuals to know simply how intense the preventing is and simply how harmful it’s within the nation for the overwhelming majority of civilians and the inhabitants of the nation.

“That would bring concerns at a political level about the stability of the country and its potential to spill out over the region.”