5 September 2018: The Indian Journalists Union (UU) strongly condemned the imprisonment of two Myanmar journalists for exposing the massacre of Rohingya Muslims in the country. The journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe 00, who worked for Reuters news agency, were sentenced to seven years in jail on Mondayunder the archaic Officials Secrets Act for their investigative reports on the massacre of Rohingya Muslims by the military.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, IJU President S N Sinha, Secretary-General Amar Devulapalli and Vice-President Sabina Inderjit demanded that the journalists should be released immediately and unconditionally as it was frame up by the officials. They said that the two reporters were doing their job with integrity by exposing the systematic military operations against the Rohingya Muslim dominated villages in Rakhine state of Myanmar which amounted to 'ethnic cleansing'.

The IJU statement said, "It is most unfortunate and tragic that the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who fought against the military junta in the country to restore democracy is now resorting to most undemocratic acts by stifling the free media and independent journalists. She should understand that her victory against the military junta was possible only because of the support she received from the free media and independent journalists world over."

The Union demanded that the Government India should condemn the undemocratic acts of the government in the neighbouring country and impose sanctions against it if refuses to release the imprisoned journalists. It called on the international journalists’ professional and trade union movement to mount a powerful a movement to secure the release of incarcerated Myanmar journalists.