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World

Amnesty International accuses Myanmar government of putting pressure on media ahead of polls

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    In this July 12, 2014 photo, Myanmar journalists with their mouths sealed with tape, symbolizing the government's crackdown on media, protest outside Myanmar Peace Center in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar's government is using threats, harassment and imprisonment to intimidate the media ahead of national elections later this year, Amnesty International said Wednesday, July 17, 2015. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win) (The Associated Press)

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    In this Jan. 7, 2014 photo, Myanmar journalists shout slogans during a protest against a jail term given to a colleague working on a corruption story, in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar's government is using threats, harassment and imprisonment to intimidate the media ahead of national elections later this year, Amnesty International said Wednesday, July 17, 2015. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win) (The Associated Press)

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    In this photo taken July 12, 2014, Myanmar journalists with their mouths sealed with tape, symbolizing the government's crackdown on media, protest outside Myanmar Peace Center in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar's government is using threats, harassment and imprisonment to intimidate the media ahead of national elections later this year, Amnesty International said Wednesday, July 17, 2015. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win) (The Associated Press)

YANGON, Myanmar – Amnesty International says that Myanmar's government is using threats, harassment and imprisonment to intimidate the media ahead of national elections later this year.

The London-based human rights group said in a statement Wednesday that efforts to restrict freedom of expression have intensified over the past year, with at least 10 members of the media currently in prison. All were jailed in the last 12 months.

Significant changes have been made in moving the country toward a free-market economy, and Myanmar has a parliament for the first time in more than two decades

But Amnesty says such actions belie claims of liberalization since the country started a democratic transition in 2011 from a military regime to an elected civilian government that vowed democratic reforms.