Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Social media has had a very complicated role in Myanmar, where basically, the Internet is Facebook. That is pretty much the only Internet that most people know and use, and it has played a very complicated role. It is actively used by activists on the ground to promote democracy,

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I would like to start with the last question, which is about what Canada can do. I think one thing Canada can do is speak up very strongly about the importance of a free press around the world and press the countries where the press is not free to better protect freedom of the pr

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  [Inaudible—Editor] that are willing to debate with us on these issues. In countries where we're working we also try to engage with governments on these issues. One of the risks we have is that in many countries in which governments have tried to draw lines or make laws we've fou

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  All right. Thank you. Journalists and activists also face threats by ultra-nationalists and militant supporters of the government and the military when they touch on these sensitive topics. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Esther Htusan left Myanmar for her own safety in Decemb

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think that embassies can reach out to local journalists and recognize them and support them. It does in some places give a bit more protection for them if governments know that embassies are looking out for the journalists and know who they are, because local journalists, parti

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you. The hopes that Myanmar's first democratically elected civilian government in decades would better protect freedom of the press and freedom of speech in the country have not materialized. Instead, we found that over the past almost three years, there's been a serious d