"Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi should immediately lift an internet blackout that the government has imposed for more than one month in western Myanmar, Fortify Rights said today. On June 21, the government ordered the shutdown of internet services in nine townships—eight in Rakhine State and one in Chin State—severely impeding humanitarian aid, business, media access, and human rights monitoring. “We can’t move anywhere and now we can’t communicate with anyone,” a Rohingya resident in Maungdaw Township told Fortify Rights. “We are in total darkness.” “The civilian government imposed this blackout, and it can lift it,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. “This shutdown is happening in a context of ongoing genocide against Rohingya and war crimes against Rakhine, and even if it were intended to target militants, it’s egregiously disproportionate, affecting an estimated one million civilians for nearly a month.” The Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications directed all mobile phone operators in Myanmar to disable internet services in Ponnangyun, Kyauktaw, Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Rathedaung, Mrauk-U, Minbya, and Myebon townships in Rakhine State, and Paletwa township in Chin State. The Myanmar military and Arakan Army are fighting in these areas, and many of the areas are sites of previous military-led attacks against Rohingya civilians. A local aid worker in northern Rakhine State who works for an international non-governmental organization told Fortify Rights: “We have no access to information…Providing aid without internet is very difficult. We cannot share information and communicate effectively with the headquarters or other offices to deliver aid.” The length of this shutdown is one of the world’s longest ever and is disproportionately affecting civilians and their protection, Fortify Rights said. A vague provision of the 2013 Telecommunications Law permits the suspension of internet services “when an emergency situation arises” and “for public interest.”..."