title: Factbox: International reaction to arrest of Reuters reporters in Myanmar
text: (Reuters) - Major governments, including the United States, the European Union and Canada, and top United Nations  officials, are among those demanding the release of Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo from detention in Myanmar.  The reporters were arrested on Dec. 12 after being invited to meet police officials on the outskirts of Yangon. They had worked on stories about a military crackdown in Rakhine state, scene of around 650,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh since August. Myanmar s Ministry of Information has said the reporters  illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media,  and released a photo of them in handcuffs. It said the reporters and two policemen faced charges under the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years, though officials said they have not been charged. Their exact whereabouts are not known.  We and their families continue to be denied access to them or to the most basic information about their well-being and whereabouts,  Reuters President and Editor-In-Chief Stephen J. Adler said last week in a statement calling for their immediate release.      Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are journalists who perform a crucial role in shedding light on news of global interest, and they are innocent of any wrongdoing,  he said. Here are comments on their detention from governments, politicians, human rights groups, journalists and press freedom advocates around the world:   - The New York Times said in an editorial on Saturday that releasing the two journalists immediately  would help restore at least some lost faith  in Aung San Suu Kyi s government. - Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said it was  disturbing  to hear of the detention of the two Reuters journalists.  Press freedom is very important,  she said in a tweet on Christmas Day. - Two U.N. human rights experts called on Myanmar last week to release the two reporters, saying it was putting Myanmar on a dangerous path by using the Official Secrets Act to criminalize journalism.  Journalism is not a crime. These detentions are another way for the Government to censor information about the military s role in Rakhine State and the humanitarian catastrophe taking place,  said Yanghee Lee and David Kaye, who are the U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar and on freedom of expression respectively. - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said the United States was  demanding their immediate release or information as to the circumstances around their disappearance.  Last week,  the State Department reiterated the U.S. demand for the reporters  immediate release. - Senator Ben Cardin, the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called the arrests  outrageous .  It just brings back the memory of the horrible practices with the repressive military rule,  he said. - Republican Thom Tillis and Democrat Chris Coons, leaders of the U.S. Senate Human Rights Caucus, said they were  gravely concerned  about the reporters  arrests and that press freedom was critical to ensuring accountability for violence against the Rohingya.  - Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kano said last week,  Freedom of the press is extremely important, including in order to protect fundamental human rights. The Japanese government would like to watch (this matter) closely.  Tokyo-based Human Rights Now has called on Japan to take a stronger stance.  - The European Union has urged Myanmar to release the reporters  as quickly as possible.  A spokeswoman for EU  foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said,  Freedom of the press and media is the foundation and a cornerstone of any democracy.  - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said countries should do everything possible to secure the journalists  release and press freedom in Myanmar.  It is clearly a concern in relation to the erosion of press freedom in the country,  he said.  - Britain, Holland, Canada, Norway and Sweden have demanded the release of the Reuters reporters. Australia has expressed concern and Bangladesh has denounced the arrests.  - Vijay Nambiar, former special adviser on Myanmar to the U.N. Secretary-General, said in a statement to Reuters that the detentions had caused  widespread disappointment within and outside the country that is likely to further damage the international reputation and image of Myanmar.  - President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani called on Myanmar to protect media freedoms and release the reporters. - Human Rights Watch said the detentions appeared to be  aimed at stopping independent reporting of the ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya.  Brad Adams, the group s Asia director, said,  Their secret, incommunicado detention lays bare government efforts to silence media reporting on critical issues.   - The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) called on Myanmar to immediately disclose the reporters  whereabouts.  All detainees must be allowed prompt access to a lawyer and to family members,  said Frederick Rawski, ICJ s Asia-Pacific Regional Director. - The Committee to Protect Journalists said the arrests were  having a grave impact on the ability of journalists to cover a story of vital global importance . - Reporters Without Borders said there was no justification for the arrests and the charges being considered against the journalists were  completely spurious . - Advocacy group Fortify Rights demanded Myanmar  immediately and unconditionally release the Reuters journalists.  - Myanmar s Irrawaddy online news site called on Dec. 14 for the journalists  release in an editorial headlined  The Crackdown on the Media Must Stop.  It said  it is an outrage to see the Ministry of Information release a police record photo of reporters handcuffed   as police normally do to criminals   on its website soon after the detention. It is chilling to see that MOI has suddenly brought us back to the olden days of a repressive regime.  - The Southeast Asian Press Alliance said the journalists were  only doing their jobs in trying to fill the void of information on the Rohingya conflict.   - The Protection Committee for Myanmar Journalists, local reporters who have demonstrated against prosecutions of journalists, decried the  unfair arrests that affect media freedom .  - The Foreign Correspondents  Club of Myanmar said it was  appalled  by the arrests and  gravely concerned  about press freedom in Myanmar.  - The Foreign Correspondents  Club in Thailand, Foreign Correspondents  Association of the Philippines, Jakarta Foreign Correspondents  Club and Foreign Correspondents  Club of Hong Kong have issued statements supporting the journalists. 