U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), co-chairs of the Senate Human Rights Caucus, released the following statement about the Reuters journalists who were arrested in Burma on Tuesday.
 
“As co-chairs of the Senate Human Rights Caucus, we are gravely concerned about the arrests of two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, in Burma who were writing stories about the crisis in Rakhine State following the military’s brutal crackdown on the Rohingya. We join the U.S. Embassy in Burma in calling for the Burmese government to explain the arrests and allow access to the journalists. Freedom of the press is a fundamental democratic value and critical to ensuring accountability for violence against the Rohingya. We urge the Burmese government to respect press freedom and protect all journalists instead of preventing them from accurately reporting facts on the ground and bringing atrocities to light.”
 

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