Myanmar cuts Facebook access as military tightens grip following coup

Description: 

"Internet and news services continued to be disrupted across Myanmar on Thursday, as the country's military sought to secure their grip on power after deposing the democratically-elected government earlier this week. Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's de facto leader, along with President Win Myint and dozens of other senior figures in their National League for Democracy (NLD) were detained in pre-dawn raids Monday. Hours later, the military declared that power had been handed to commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing, in response to unfounded allegations of election fraud. A state of emergency was declared for one year. Late Wednesday, an arrest warrant was issued for Suu Kyi over unspecified "import and export" offenses, while Win Myint was remanded in custody under the country's Disaster Management Law, according to an NLD spokesman. While the dramatic overthrow of Suu Kyi's government attracted international attention, continued disruptions to internet access and communications mean that many in Myanmar may still be unclear about what is taking place. Facebook, by far the largest online platform in the country, confirmed to CNN that its services were "currently disrupted for some people" as of Thursday morning, as independent monitors recorded widespread filtering of Facebook, WhatsApp and other platforms, even as basic internet access was returning in some areas. Limited access to news and internet could affect the ability of people to get information or organize any response via social media. At one point on Monday, the only operational TV channel was the Myanmar military-owned television network Myawaddy TV. By Wednesday, some channels, such as DVB TV, were still off the air..."

Creator/author: 

James Griffiths, Helen Regan

Source/publisher: 

"CNN" (USA)

Date of Publication: 

2021-02-04

Date of entry: 

2021-02-05

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Countries: 

Myanmar

Language: 

English

Resource Type: 

text

Text quality: 

    • Good