16 | DECEMBER 2 • 2021
OUR COMMUNITY
journalists are still being held in prison in
Myanmar by the military government and
are awaiting trials and call for their immedi-
ate release,
” read the statement. “The JCRC/
AJC and the Jewish community stands
firmly behind the right of free speech and
… human beings to speak the truth. May
the light and courageous stories from the
upcoming holiday of Chanukah inspire all
those who are awaiting freedom and justice
and fill us all with hope.
”
Journalists and organizations that sup-
port domestic and global efforts for a free
press and freedom of speech agreed that
Fenster’s release was encouraging but cau-
tioned there are still journalists imprisoned
and imperiled all over the world by totali-
tarian governments.
“We lend our voice to the broader issue
of freedom of the press and the free flow
of information around the world,” Roy
Gutterman, Syracuse University professor
and director for the Tully Center for Free
Speech, told the JN.
“Journalists take risks to tell the rest of
the world what’s going on. We rely on for-
eign reporters the same way we rely on the
local reporter who goes to that city council
or board of education meeting to keep the
rest of us informed. The press serves an
important function and, unfortunately, that
can mean taking risks and going to places
where they are not welcome.”
The Society of Professional Journalists
in a press release said the organization
remains concerned that Fenster’s convic-
tion has not been expunged.
“It is clear that Fenster’s only crime was
being a journalist,” said SPJ International
Community Co-Chair Dan Kubiske. “He
should not be forced to bear the burden
of being convicted of any crime simply
because of his good work.”
Former CBS White House
Correspondent Peter Maer, who traveled
to Myanmar to cover former President
Barack Obama’s 2014 visit with 1991 Nobel
Peace Prize Laureate Nobel Peace Prize
Aung San Suu Kyi, who was the coun-
try’s leader before she was ousted by the
military takeover and is also in prison on
similar charges faced by Fenster, described
a country where citizens were under con-
stant surveillance and “everyone is always
looking over their shoulders.”
“
As we celebrate Fenster’s freedom, we
cannot forget the oppression of the other
reporters who are still there in prison just
for doing the job of reporting the news,”
Maer said in an interview with the JN.
“We have to also consider the fact that
those who have the means and connec-
tions should fight for freedom for journal-
ists who are being held by authoritarian
regimes for doing nothing more than
doing their work. We also have to be on
guard in this country on attacks on jour-
nalism and the First Amendment.”
Burmese native Kyat Thien worked as
a citizen journalist in Myanmar, notably
smuggling out reports to foreign news
agencies in 2008 when the Burmese mil-
itary blocked international humanitarian
aid in the wake of a devastating cyclone
that killed thousands. He was jailed for
six months, being repeatedly beaten and
tortured while blindfolded in the middle
of the night by his captors who tried to get
him to reveal the names and whereabouts
of his colleagues.
He said he was released by lying to his
captors that he would spy on other jour-
nalists but instead, through a clandestine
and complicated network of contacts, he
paid his way out of Myanmar, made it to
Thailand and eventually to the United
States in 2010.
“In my opinion, the general released
Danny Fenster to Bill Richardson because
the Burmese military is afraid of the United
States military; it’s that simple,
” Thein, who
now lives in California, told the JN. “I do
not have hope that other Burmese journal-
ists who are imprisoned will be released. I
have concern for all those who are detained
in the notorious prisons of Burma and
every day (the military) arrests more. The
military is especially afraid of Generation Z
and many are being arrested because they
are resisting the military and want to have a
free open society.
”
Editor’s Note: Look for an interview with Danny
Fenster in an upcoming issue after he has had time
to recover from his ordeal and enjoy his family during
the holidays.
ABOVE: The new message is clear on this
sign supporting Fenster’s release.
RIGHT: Danny Fenster in Yangon, Myanmar.
continued from page 15