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MYANMAR-POLITICS
Facebook disrupted in Myanmar as UN chief warns coup must fail
YANGON, Feb 4, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Facebook services in Myanmar were
disrupted on Thursday, days after the army seized power, as UN chief Antonio
Guterres warned the world must rally to ensure the military putsch fails.
Myanmar plunged back into direct military rule on Monday when soldiers
detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders in a
series of dawn raids, ending the country’s brief experiment with democracy.
The coup has sparked international condemnation and fears the military
will drag 54 million people back to the decades of junta rule that turned
Myanmar into one of Asia’s most impoverished and repressive nations.
With soldiers and armoured cars back on the streets of major cities, the
takeover has not been met by any large street protests.
But people have flocked to social media to voice opposition and share
plans for civil disobedience, especially on Facebook — which for many in
Myanmar is the gateway to the internet.
On Thursday, Facebook and internet monitors confirmed service providers
were restricting access to some services, including Facebook itself, its
messaging app, WhatsApp and Instagram.
“We are aware that access to Facebook is currently disrupted for some
people,” a company spokesperson told AFP.
“We urge authorities to restore connectivity so that people in Myanmar can
communicate with their families and friends and access important
information.”
NetBlocks, which monitors internet outages around the world, said multiple
internet providers in Myanmar were restricting access “as operators comply
with an apparent blocking order”.
– ‘Coup must fail’ –
Army chief Min Aung Hlaing’s coup has left the international community
scrambling to respond.
On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Guterres said he would pressure
Myanmar’s generals to reverse course, in his most forceful comments yet.
“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,” Guterres told The Washington Post.
“After elections that I believe took place normally and after a large
period of transition, it’s absolutely unacceptable to reverse the results of
the elections and the will of the people,” he added.
Min Aung Hlaing justified his coup by alleging widespread voter fraud
during November’s election, which international observers and Myanmar’s own
election monitor declared broadly fair and free.
Suu Kyi, who has not been seen in public since she was detained, won a
huge landslide with her National League for Democracy (NLD) while the
military’s favoured parties received a drubbing.
Myanmar’s junta-era constitution ensures the military retains considerable
influence, including a quarter of parliamentary seats and control of key
ministries.
But analysts say top generals feared their influence was waning and were
dismayed by the enduring appeal of Suu Kyi with voters.
On Wednesday authorities brought an obscure charge against the 75-year-old
to justify her ongoing detention.
According to her party, she was charged with an offence under Myanmar’s
import and export law after authorities found unregistered walkie-talkies at
her home.
A similarly unorthodox charge under the country’s disaster management law
against President Win Myint revolved around him allegedly breaching anti-
coronavirus measures last year by meeting voters on the campaign trail.
The United States said it was “disturbed” by the charges.
– Limited options –
Myanmar’s military has declared a one-year state of emergency and said it
would hold new elections once its allegations of voter irregularities were
addressed.
That has caused huge anger inside the nation. But opposing the military is
fraught with risk.
During junta rule, dissent was quashed with thousands of activists —
including Suu Kyi — detained for years on end.
Censorship was pervasive and the military frequently deployed lethal
force, most notably during huge protests in 1988 and 2007.
The new government has already issued a warning telling people not to say
or post anything that might “encourage riots or an unstable situation”.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Tuesday but failed to
agree on a statement condemning the coup.
To be adopted, it required the support of China and Russia, which both
wield veto power as permanent Security Council members and are Myanmar’s main
supporters at the UN.
Diplomats said Russia and China asked for more time to finesse the
Security Council’s response.
International options may be limited.
Senior generals like Min Aung Hlaing are already international pariahs and
under US sanctions for the army’s brutal crackdown against Myanmar’s Rohingya
Muslims, a campaign UN investigators have described as a genocide.
The military also has decades of experience brushing off and
circumnavigating sanctions from the junta years.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0800 hrs