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http://blog.luciolepress.com/2008/05/09/narro
w-escapes-for-cnn-reporter-in-myanmar-evading
-authorities-while-filing-reports-on-the-cycl
one-aftermath.aspx
Narrow escapes for CNN reporter Dan Rivers in
Myanmar, evading authorities while filing
reports on the cyclone aftermath
Posted by kluciole at 5/10/2008 12:12 AM and
is filed under news,Politics,Human
Rights,Health,Science,International,Environme
nt,Cultures
Narrow escapes for CNN reporter in Myanmar
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer
Sat May 10, 12:20 AM ET
A CNN reporter who left Myanmar Friday was
chased by authorities as he reported on the
aftermath of Cyclone Nargis but escaped
primarily because of the incompetence of the
people after him.
Dan Rivers hid under a blanket at one police
checkpoint and casually covered up his name
on a passport to avoid detection another
time. He may ultimately have gotten out of
the country due to a stewardess' impatience.
"I was amazed at the lengths they apparently
went just to catch me," Rivers told The
Associated Press by telephone from Thailand
on Saturday.
Rivers' story illustrates the preoccupation
of Myanmar's military government with things
other than helping the country recover from a
storm that killed thousands and left many
survivors homeless. Aid groups have reported
difficulties in getting badly needed supplies
and relief workers into the secretive
country.
Rivers sneaked into the country on Monday —
he wouldn't say how — and for a day
reported the story without saying his name or
showing his face onscreen.
CNN, owned by Time Warner Inc., and Rivers
then quickly agreed to drop the mask.
"We decided it would have much more impact if
I could communicate more directly, if I could
look down the barrel of a camera and tell
people precisely how bad it was," he said. "I
think that type of personal reporting is much
more effective than a voiceover on a
picture."
But it made him a marked man. A local contact
told Rivers' crew the government was looking
for him by contacting all hotels where
foreigners stayed.
During reporting on Thursday, an immigration
official stopped Rivers' group. He took the
passports of two crew members and compared
them to a picture of Rivers taken from a CNN
screen. During the two hours before they were
waved on, Rivers said he went to a restaurant
and walked the streets, "trying not to look
like a white guy with long hair, which was
difficult."
The authorities didn't discover the men were
from CNN. Knowing his picture was being
circulated, Rivers hid under a blanket in the
van the next time police checked.
He later resumed reporting away from their
van until an official told them to return to
their van, where police would be waiting. It
was a tough walk.
"There were a lot of things going through our
minds then about what we would find at the
end of that journey," he said. "At one point
I was thinking, `what if they just shot us
and threw us into the river and said it was
an accident?'"
There were only two policemen waiting. They
asked to see Rivers' passport and he casually
covered up his first and last names with his
thumbs. They radioed Rivers' two middle names
back to their bosses.
They were passed on to another government
official, who let them go after being
convinced they were part of a relief group.
Strategic offerings of cigarettes, water and
a candy bar helped.
The crew rushed back to the capital city of
Yangon.
"I kind of felt that I'd used my nine lives
up and it was time to get out of the
country," Rivers said. He was afraid for the
safety of his Burmese contacts if he were
found out and, frankly, didn't want officials
spending time searching for him when they had
more important things to do.
While on a plane to get out of the country,
Rivers was called back to the gate to be
searched. He'd been found out. He was
thoroughly searched, but fortunately had no
pictures with him.
"I thought I was going to get hauled off to
some fetid prison for a week," he said.
Eventually, an impatient stewardess demanded
authorities make a decision on what to do
with Rivers and, thus challenged, put him
back on the plane.
Rivers said he hoped to get back in to
Myanmar at some point but given the
sensitivities it's not likely to be anytime
soon.
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