Myanmar journalist hit with terrorism charges

A Myanmar journalist faces up to life in prison for publishing an interview with a rebel group operating in the country's restive Rakhine state a week after the insurgents were classified as a terrorist organisation. The western region has long been a tinderbox of conflict between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA), a group demanding greater autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine people. A March 27 interview with a top-ranking AA representative published by the Mandalay-based Voice of Myanmar led to the detention of editor-in-chief Nay Myo Lin, who was brought to court on terrorism charges yesterday. The interview was published after the government declared on March 23 that the insurgents had been classified as a "terrorist group". Amnesty International's Nicholas Bequelin called for the charges to be dropped and for Nay Myo Lin's immediate release.