WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 80 U.S. lawmakers have urged the Trump administration to step up efforts to win the release of two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar for reporting about massacres against Rohingya Muslims.
Republican and Democratic House members say it’s the latest example of erosion of press freedom in Myanmar. In a letter publicized Monday, they called for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to raise the issue with the nation’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and to publicly call for the journalists’ immediate and unconditional release.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were sentenced to seven years imprisonment on Sept. 3 for possessing state secrets. They had reported on the army’s brutal counter-insurgency campaign that drove 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh.
Sorry, I just don’t see Trump coming down on the side of the reporters here. I think we are just as likely to see a “lock them up” tweet from him on this
He’ll never do it willingly. He likes and admires authoritarians.
And Trump replied, “What’s in it for me?”
Sorry for them, but imagine Trump being told he should try to help reporters jailed by an authoritarian leader for having exposed oppression of Muslims. It’s one of those deals where you realize all your usual selling points are actually huge black marks for this particular sales prospect.