Myanmar’s New Military Rulers Block Facebook

Myanmar's new military governors have blocked Facebook after taking down the democratic government,  which has seen civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her party placed under arrest. In events reminiscent of widespread unrest in Iran in 2019, government officials claimed  Facebook was being blocked for 'stability'.

For many of the population In Myanmar, social media is their only access to the Internet and Facebook has become a rallying point against the military coup. In the streets of the Myanmar capital, protesters resorted to banging pots and pans and honking car horns. 

The Ministry of Communications and Information said access to Facebook would be temporarily suspended, however, it was still reported to be accessible sporadically on some internet platforms. Telecoms company Telenor Myanmar, which is part of the Norwegian Telenor Group, said it would comply with the order to block Facebook, but suggested in a statement that this breached human rights law. 

The coup leader Min Aung Hlaing has  installed an 11-member junta and have said that the election in November had been fraudulent, even though the country's election commission has said there was no evidence of such fraud. Myanmar’s military government have already arrested at least three protesters after it blocked Facebook and other social media platforms in a bid to quell dissent after detaining the country’s elected leaders and seizing power in a coup that the United Nations chief said must fail.Government leader Aung San Suu Kyi, along with President Win Myint, have been jailed and police filed charges against them for possession of unlawful communication devices such as walkie-talkies. 

Half of Myanmar's 54 million people use Facebook and activists have already set up an opposition page on Facebook.    
Facebook has posted about the coup, saying "we urge authorities to restore connectivity so that people in Myanmar can communicate with their families and friends and access important information".

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has called for constitutional order to be re-established in Myanmar and he said he hoped there would be unity in the Un Security Council on the matter. "It's absolutely unacceptable to reverse the result of the elections and the will of the people." he said in a statement. Efforts at the Security Council to reach a common position failed as China dissented. China is one of five permanent members with a right of veto in the council.  Beijing has long played a role of protecting the country from international scrutiny, and has warned since the coup that sanctions or international pressure will only make things worse.  

Facebook, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, confirmed the disruption and a spokesman urged authorities to restore connectivity “so that people in Myanmar can communicate with their families and friends and be able to get access to  important information”. Facebook has a mixed history in Myanmar, being widely blamed for allowing disinformation to be propagated about the Rohinga Muslim minority, leading to large scale massacres and a refugee crisis in 2018.

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