Myanmar junta shuts down 97 media licences as press freedom crackdown continues

Myanmar’s quasi-civilian junta revoked the operating licences of three more media outlets, Myaelatt Athan, Red News Agency, and Asia Citizens in May 2026, bringing the total number of suspended media agency licences to 97, according to the Athan human rights organisation’s monthly report on freedom of expression.

Athan’s research found that by the end of May 2026, 23 independent media outlets and 12 publishing houses or printing presses had had their licences revoked. The latest suspensions came less than 50 days into the junta’s new term of office, which followed elections widely regarded as fraudulent, the report said.

The Independent Press Council Myanmar said the country remains among the worst nations in the world for press freedom restrictions, according to the report.

In May, a woman journalist based in Rakhine State was subjected to online sexual harassment and threats and is seeking action against the perpetrator from the Unted League of Arakan / Arakan Army (ULA/AA), Athan reported.

Beyond the restrictions on media freedom, the report documented the violent arrest of Students’ Revolutionary Force (SRF) chairman Ko San Tin Htun and several of his colleagues by the Sagaing Federal Unit defence minister and the PDF/PaOF military officer-in-charge for Minkin Township, which sparked public protests. On 2 May, around 200 political prisoners at Kalay Prison in Sagaing Region staged a hunger strike demanding equal rights, according to the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM).

The “Proof of Life” campaign demanding proof that detained public leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is being held unlawfully, is alive continued to gain strength in May, the report said.

Resistance forces in those areas use walkie-talkies to alert local residents to air strikes and military column movements and to share critical information, the report said.

In areas controlled by resistance forces, restrictions on the use of Starlink internet continued, citing military tensions and security grounds. In May, Starlink use was restricted in Sagaing Region’s Indaw, Depayin, Ye-U, and Tantse townships. In Mon Township, Tanintharyi Region, resistance forces cut domestic phone lines, leaving local residents struggling to access information, according to the report.