Myanmar has recently been in the news for it’s military coup that it staged against it’s government, as what many people have defined as a direct response to the countries transition to a democratic power. This action in itself was condemned internationally, even more so when the military shut down all ways out of the largest city in Myanmar, Yangon. As the former leader of Myanmar urged her citizens to resist this takeover, people began to protest. Danny Fenster, a United States reporter who was located in Myanmar covering the takeover managed to capture much of these revolts and protests against the military, that is, until he was arrested. Initially the US was hopeful for his quick release and return to the US, especially as he was arrested moments before he boarded a plane out of the country, however even as other citizens and journalists who participated in these protests have been released, he has not. Not only that, but he has been with additional (unclear) crimes, under the jurisdiction of possible terrorism. Currently he resides in Myanmar’s notorious prison, Insein.
As a journalist myself, I recognize that these situations are never clear cut. On one hand, it’s Fenster’s duty as a journalist to report on what is happening in the country, and it makes me wonder if he anticipated a coup and how quickly the situation would become dangerous. It’s not rare for journalists to be killed or imprisoned for life in countries where they either go undercover or even just report in the open, but I do fear that not a lot can be done for Fenster. In my opinion, there’s really no incentive for Myanmar to let Fenster go, because I imagine if they’ve released other media personnel that aren’t him, he must possess something they don’t. Because he possesses this hypothetical thing, I think the only things that could convince them to let him go is A) a threat of violence against Myanmar, but I don’t think the US is likely to do that because Myanmar is in diplomatic relations with North Korea, and North Korea and China are in relations, and the US needs China. B) The military is taken over or backs down from Myanmar and the democratic system resumes, so Fenster is let go.
The series of alliances that this situation entails is probably what makes this situation the most tricky. From a realist perspective, the life/safety of one journalist might not be worth the risk of losing an alliance with, say, China, whom the US relies on for the trade of many of our goods. Additionally, although Myanmar itself is not thought to be in possession of nuclear or chemical weapons, their alliance with North Korea makes them a threat by cooperation. There’s no surrounding state that could Myanmar in check, so it’s also unlikely that they’ll be helped under the reasoning of a humanitarian crisis. It remains unseen what will come of this situation.