Myanmar coup: army blocks Facebook access as civil disobedience grows

Myanmar’s army has begun disrupting access to Facebook as it attempts to stamp out signs of dissent, days after it ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Facebook, one of the most popular means of communication in Myanmar, has been used to coordinate a civil disobedience campaign that saw health workers at dozens of hospitals walk out of their jobs on Wednesday to protest against the army’s actions. It has also been used to share plans for evening protests, where residents have taken to their balconies to bang pots and pans, a symbolic act to drive away evil.

The nights of pots and pans are back, on Myanmar’s fearful streets

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The ministry of communications and information said Facebook, used by half of Myanmar’s 53 million people, would be blocked until Sunday, adding that people were “troubling the country’s stability” by using the network to spread “fake news and misinformation”.

Facebook confirmed that it was aware of the disruption, while NetBlocks, which monitors internet outages around the world, said service providers in Myanmar were also blocking or restricting access to Instagram and WhatsApp, which are also owned by the Facebook.

Reuters reported that attempts to block social media were patchy, however, and that some were still able to access the sites. Others turned downloaded virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent the restrictions.

Despite the army’s attempt to clampdown on activism, protests have continued to emerge. On Thursday, the first street protest against the military coup took place in the city of Mandalay, where a small group chanted: “Our arrested leaders: release now, release now”. The group was quickly chased away by riot police, the news site Myanmar Now reported.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained during a raid on Monday morning, was charged on Wednesday with possession of illegally imported walkie-talkies, which could carry a two-year prison sentence. She has not been seen publicly since her arrest.

Messages shared on Facebook prior to the evening protests this week told people to take to their balconies and shout: “We pray that Aung San Suu Kyi is healthy”; “We pray that Myanmar will receive freedom”; and, “We pray that the military control will end”.

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Myanmar rings with pots and pans against military coup – video

The military has justified its takeover by accusing Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) of fraud in November’s election, a claim that has been dismissed by observers. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party secured an overwhelming 396 out of 476 seats in the recent vote – an even stronger majority than in 2015, when she was swept to power on a wave of optimism as the country held its first open elections in decades.

The United Nations has vowed to increase international pressure to ensure the outcome of the vote is respected. “We will do everything we can to mobilise all the key actors and international community to put enough pressure on Myanmar to make sure that this coup fails,” Antonio Guterres, UN secretary general told The Washington Post on Wednesday. “It is absolutely unacceptable after elections – elections that I believe took place normally – and after a large period of transition.”

The US has also described the situation as a priority, and said it was reviewing possible sanctions in response.

The coup has happened just a decade after the military – which ruled Myanmar for some 50 years – agreed to share power with civilian leaders.

When asked about the indictment of Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, Guterres said: “If we can accuse her of something, [it] is that she was too close to the military, is that she protected too much the military.”

Though Aung San Suu Kyi is revered at home, her international reputation has been severely undermined by her decision to defend Myanmar against allegations of genocide.

“I hope that democracy will be able to make progress again in Myanmar but for that all the prisoners must be released, the constitutional order must be reestablished,” Guterres said.

The UN chief also lamented that the security council has been unable to agree on a common statement about Myanmar’s coup, after an emergency meeting initiated by Britain.

According to a draft text proposed at the beginning of the week for negotiation and obtained by AFP, the security council would express its deep concern over and condemn the coup, and would demand the military “immediately release those unlawfully detained.”

The council would also demand that the one-year state of emergency be repealed.

As of Wednesday evening, according to diplomats, negotiations were continuing between the 15 council members, particularly with China and Russia, which on Tuesday blocked the statement’s adoption.

Myanmar’s army has claimed the coup is in line with the country’s constitution. The army chief, Min Aung Hlaing, now head of a new cabinet, on Tuesday defended the military’s action as “inevitable”. Civilian leaders, he said, had not listened to the army’s complaints of voter fraud.