Telco ordered to block FB
Related apps also disrupted as UN chief says coup must fail
GENERALS ordered Internet providers to restrict access to Facebook, as United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said the world must rally to ensure the military coup fails.
The South-East Asian nation was plunged back into direct military rule on Monday as de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders were detained in a series of dawn raids, ending the country’s brief experiment with democracy.
The coup sparked international condemnation and fears that the military will drag 54 million people back to the decades of junta rule that turned Myanmar into one of Asia’s most impoverished and repressive nations.
With soldiers back on the streets of major cities, the takeover has so far not generated any mass prodemocracy street protests.
However hundreds of supporters of the “Tatmadaw”, as the military is called, rallied in the capital Naypyidaw yesterday in support of the coup, waving the red flag of the armed forces.
Some carried signs which read: “National betrayers who depend on foreign countries are not wanted” and “Tatmadaw that loves people... may you be successful.”
But others have flocked to social media to voice opposition and share plans for civil disobedience – especially on Facebook.
“We have digital power... so
we’ve been using this since day one to oppose the military junta,” said activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi, who’s behind a so-called “Civil Disobedience Movement” fanning out across social media platforms.
Telenor, one of the country’s main telecoms providers, confirmed yesterday that authorities had ordered it to “temporarily block” Facebook access.
The Norwegian-owned company said it had to comply but “does not believe that the request is based on necessity and proportionality, in accordance with international human rights law”.
Facebook confirmed access “is disrupted for some” and urged authorities to restore connectivity.
NetBlocks, which monitors internet outages around the world, said
the disruptions were also affecting Facebook-owned apps such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
For many in Myanmar, Facebook is the gateway to the Internet and a vital way to gather information.
“The first thing we look at each morning is our phone, the last thing we look at in the night is our phone,” said Aye, a 32-year-old entrepreneur opposed to the coup. — AFP