Facebook removes Myanmar military page over incitement of violence

Hundreds attend the funeral of Mya Thwate Khaing, a young woman who died after being shot in the head at a protest

Credit: Reuters

Facebook on Sunday took down the main page of the Myanmar military for violating its standards against inciting violence, as the first protester to die following the military coup was laid to rest. 

Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing lost her fight for life on Friday, 10 days after being hit by a live bullet at a protest in the capital, Naypyitaw.

On Sunday, a procession carried the body of the young woman who had turned 20 on a life support machine from the hospital to a cemetery. Hundreds of people in cars and on bikes followed the vehicle with her body and a large photo of Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing placed on the front. 

In Yangon, the country’s biggest city, around 1,000 demonstrators also came together to honour the young grocery worker, with some laying roses and petals on her image. 

“I want to say through the media to the dictator and his associates, we are peaceful demonstrators,” said protester Min Htet Naing. “Stop the genocide! Stop using lethal weapons!”

Many thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest the Feb. 1 seizing of power by the junta and detentions of Ms Suu Kyi and other members of her government. The junta claims that elections held in November – which Ms Suu Kyi’s party won by a landslide – were tainted by voting irregularities.

Saturday saw the bloodiest day so far in two weeks of demonstrations, when police and soldiers opened fire in the city of Mandalay, killing two people, including a teenage boy.

On Sunday, Facebook announced it had deleted the page of the Myanmar military, which is known as the Tatmadaw. 

“In line with our global policies, we’ve removed the Tatmadaw True News Information Team Page from Facebook for repeated violations of our Community Standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm,” a Facebook representative said in a statement.

The social media giant had already taken down other accounts linked to the military, including in 2018 that of army chief Min Aung Hlaing, who is now in charge of Myanmar.

Also Sunday, authorities arrested a well-known actor, Lu Min, at his home, according to his wife. He was one of six celebrities who authorities previously said were wanted for encouraging civil servants to join the protest movement.