As of July 6, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that over 80,000 people were displaced from the fighting throughout Rakhine and Chin States, while local groups told Human Rights Watch that the number of people displaced since 2019 is closer to 200,000. “The conduct of the Myanmar military and AA continues to imperil civilians,” Weir said. Fighting between Myanmar government forces and the AA in Myanmar’s Rakhine and Chin States escalated in November 2018. Update: February 3, 2020 — As the military coup gains momentum, internet seems to be restored across much of Myanmar, and the long-lasting shutdowns in Rakhine and Chin states appear to be lifted — temporarily at least. The Myanmar military previously raised concerns about the AA’s use of “remote-detonated explosive devices,” but had not tied it expressly to the internet restrictions. “The Myanmar government’s latest excuses for its prolonged internet ban in Rakhine and Chin States are baseless and contrary to the reality on the ground,” said Richard Weir, crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Presenting these overly broad restrictions as necessary to stop landmine use callously deprives people of lifesaving internet access.”. The internet in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) has been available since 2000 when the first Internet connections were established. Access Now denounces the persecution of Maung Saungkha, a prominent Myanmar poet and activist, by authorities in Myanmar and demands an end to his continued harassment. Myanmar's military rulers have shut down the country's internet as thousands of people joined the largest rally yet against Monday's coup. The UN Human Rights Council has condemned measures by governments to prevent or disrupt online access and information, and called for free speech protections under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Myanmar was plunged into cyber darkness on Saturday at the military's orders. Access Now also condemns authorities for the large number of people in, “It was incredibly troubling to know there’s a full-scale military coup taking place behind an internet blackout,” said, . Young people have adjusted, but an elder generation that was glued to Facebook is now in limbo. “Internet service providers and all businesses operating in the telecom sector in Myanmar must actively push back against internet shutdown orders,” said Felicia Anthonio, Campaigner and #KeepItOn Lead at Access Now. Stability is yet to be confirmed. Myanmar's military rulers have ordered internet service providers to shut down wireless broadband services until further notice, several telecoms sources said on Thursday. — Myanmar Now (@Myanmar_Now_Eng) February 14, 2021 Northeast Now is a multi-app based hyper-regional bilingual news portal. At gunpoint, they ordered technicians at telecom operators to switch off the internet. The Myanmar soldiers descended before dawn on Feb. 1, bearing rifles and wire cutters. Update: February 3, 2020 — As the military coup gains momentum, internet seems to be restored across much of Myanmar, and the long-lasting shutdowns in Rakhine and Chin states appear to be lifted — temporarily at least. Given this, we are writing with regards to your adherence to the shutdown of social media platforms. Myanmar’s government should immediately lift internet restrictions in Rakhine and Chin States that have put civilians at added risk, Human Rights Watch said today. Join our movement today. Help us continue to fight human rights abuses. Access Now urges authorities to order the unblocking of all social media applications, and ensure open, reliable and secure internet access across the country. Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. According to the annual Landmine Monitor report, Myanmar is the only country whose government forces still use antipersonnel mines, while non-state armed groups in Myanmar and other countries also use them, usually improvised mines. Local media and the Myanmar government have attributed numerous incidents using such explosives to the AA, including while the mobile internet services ban was in effect. “The generals are now attempting to paralyse the citizen movement of resistance – and keep the outside world in the dark – by cutting virtually all internet access,” Andrews said on Sunday. This means that, for a year, Myanma and Burmese people are essentially living … How can roaming data help bypass the blocks? Update: February 4, 2020 — As protesters bang on pans and march in the streets of Myanmar in response to the sudden and violent military coup, authorities are countering with escalating censorship. in response to the sudden and violent military coup, authorities are countering with escalating censorship. The government of Myanmar has a long history of implementing targeted internet shutdowns, slowdowns, and throttling.With the country’s federal election scheduled for November 8, Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition are urgently appealing to Myanmar authorities — the executive branch and the Union Election Commission — to ensure stable and open internet and … Yangon, Myanmar – Hours after the Myanmar military seized power in a coup on February 1, it cut the internet. “Myanmar’s government should end its ham-fisted, punitive restrictions on civilians, including its unjustified ban on mobile internet services.”, Human Rights and Responsible Investment in Mobile and the Internet, Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in 90 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice. Yesterday, the military ordered telecom providers working in the country to, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. About half of Myanmar’s 54 million people use Facebook, which for many is synonymous with the internet. Without it we cannot stay connected with each other and the outside world, which heightens the risk for human rights violations against us. Activists and journalists say decision to limit internet access in some parts of Rakhine is a violation of basic rights. Dear mobile operators and internet service providers in Myanmar, Right now, more than ever, the internet is integral to our survival. On Sunday, more than 100 people died in … The Myanmar military has shutdown broadband internet services in the latest of numerous crackdowns on protestors since the Feb. 1 coup. Command-detonated landmines constructed in Myanmar can be detonated by various means, such as long electrical wires to create distance between the device and the trigger, or by radio frequencies used with unsophisticated electronics, like a two-way radio, pager, remote car door opener, or cell phone. Yesterday, the military ordered telecom providers working in the country to block Facebook — including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger — until midnight, February 7. Myanmar’s government should immediately lift internet restrictions in Rakhine and Chin States that have put civilians at added risk, Human Rights Watch said today. “Ooredoo WBB [Wireless Broadband] and fixed internet like Ananda and Myanmar Net, and DIAs [Direct Internet Access] services have not been banned yet.” The mobile Internet has been completely banned … In maintaining the blanket shutdown, Myanmar is contravening international human rights standards that require internet-based restrictions to be both necessary and proportionate. A near-total internet … Beginning in September 2011, the historically pervasive levels of Internet censorship in Burma were significantly reduced. Be entertain with Karaoke, Movies, TV programs by either TV, Monitor (or) Mobile and Access Unlimited Internet. The leader of Myanmar’s armed forces, Min Aung Hlaing, has declared himself as the seat of power in Myanmar. The global community cannot see what’s … “It is telling that controlling cyberspace is one of the top priorities of the Myanmar military, which seized power through an illegitimate coup d’etat only last week,” said Sam Zarifi, the International Commission of Jurists’ secretary general. You may encounter a block on data usage or SMS text messaging even if you are able to make and receive calls, and if this is the case you should go to a licensed Telenor, Ooredoo or MPT shop for … “It is unacceptable to shut down the internet and disrupt telecommunications in order to prevent a democratic transition,” said Raman Jit Singh Chima, Senior International Counsel and Asia Pacific Policy Director at Access Now. Mobile carrier Telenor Myanmar notified customers that “All mobile operators, international gateways and internet service providers in Myanmar received a directive on 5 February 2021 from the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) to, until further notice, block the social media platforms Twitter and Instagram.”. Access to the internet in Myanmar dropped sharply after the military detained leaders of ruling party National League for Democracy, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and declared a state of emergency. Myanmar: New internet blackout “heinous and reckless” 6 February 2021, 15:04 UTC Responding to credible r eports of a widespread mobile i nternet blackout underway in Myanmar, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, said: The scale and intensity of the conflict has continued to grow, with reports of nearly 1,000 civilian casualties since the conflict began and hundreds of structures burned during 2020 alone. Public concern has already been heightened for the past few nights by what many charge is the military’s … Neither technology relies on mobile internet to operate. Myanmar’s military rulers are seeking to limit access to the internet to an internal network of only “whitelisted” sites to quash opposition to their seizure of power, according to a report by the International Crisis Group. Justifications regarding hate speech belie the Myanmar government’s own promotion of nationalist and anti-Rohingya sentiment. Myanmar’s acting military leadership has shut down broadband internet service indefinitely in response to ongoing protests, according to a report from The Washington Post on Thursday. February 1, 2020 — Multiple reports of internet shutdowns across Myanmar are emerging today, February 1, as the nation’s military attempts to seize control from the incoming second civilian government. bang on pans and march in the streets of Myanmar, Rakhine and Chin states appear to be lifted, Myanmar fearing surveillance and harassment, View all posts by Raman Jit Singh Chima →, Myanmar must listen to those protesting internet shutdowns, not persecute them, Myanmar civil society appeals to ISPs for connectivity, protection of rights. Internet has been completely shutdown in #Myanmar, raising grave concern for millions of residents.. Approximately 22 million people in Myanmar rely on these platforms, and are now completely cut off. Access Now also condemns authorities for the large number of people in Myanmar fearing surveillance and harassment of their digital communications during this period, and has been made confidentially aware of civil society actors being forced offline in an effort to protect themselves. As the world watches Myanmar, the apparent military coup has been condemned by governments and, “Internet service providers and all businesses operating in the telecom sector in Myanmar must actively push back against internet shutdown orders,” said, . Myanmar's military appeared to have broadened its crackdown on internet access Saturday amid protests over the coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government, AP reports.. What's happening: Netblocks, a U.K.-based site that tracks internet disruptions worldwide, tweeted Saturday that “a near-total internet shutdown is now in effect” in Myanmar. Maung Saungkha is being accused of organizing “unlawful” protests to demand an end to the internet shutdown in Rakhine and Chin states in place since June 2019. The restrictions are in place in seven townships in Rakhine State and one in Chin State, where the government allows access to 2G networks, which only permit text messages, commonly referred to as SMS, and voice calls. In 2019, approximately 30.68 percent of the population in Myanmar had access to the internet. This time around, the internet blackout in Rakhine was again attributed to social media excesses, said Brig. “There is chaos and confusion, and the people of Myanmar — and the world — have a right to document events, access information, and communicate with each other.”, “People in Myanmar must be allowed to live without fear of surveillance, targeted harassment, or being cut off from communications altogether,”, “Open, secure internet access is crucial to ensuring that Myanmar continues to progress in the 21st Century, and does not backslide into the fear and repression of earlier decades.”. The mobile internet restrictions in Myanmar, imposed under article 77 of Myanmar’s Telecommunications Law, authorizes the Ministry of Transport and Communications to order the suspension of a telecommunications service or to restrict certain forms of communication during “an emergency” situation. Today, Myanmar experience the tenth night of internet blackouts since February 15, according to internet monitoring service NetBlocks. Independent media is under attack in Myanmar... help us hold the powerful to account. Myanmar blocked mobile internet services on Monday, a day after 70 people have been killed in the bloodiest crackdown since the military coup on February 1, reported Radio Free Asia.. Governments around the world are increasingly using internet restrictions during political crises as a tool to limit free expression and hide human rights abuses, according to data from the digital rights organization Access Now… On June 24, the government announced new “clearance operations” in Rakhine State in Kyauk Tan and Rathedaung townships and ordered civilians to leave the area. Myanmar also saw the internet shut down during the Saffron Revolution in 2007, according to Lee Morgenbesser, an expert in authoritarian politics at Griffith University, to … Stability is yet to be confirmed. Myanmar blocks Internet amid first large street protests since coup As protests on the streets of Yangon, Myanmar, swelled on Feb. 6, authorities moved to cut off the country’s Internet. Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed in a statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council on June 30, 2020 and elsewhere on July 8 that the blackout was required, in part to “prevent the AA from exploiting mobile internet technologies to detonate IEDs [improvised explosive devices] and landmines.” Yet command-detonated landmines, such as those attributed to the AA, can be detonated remotely by various simple means, none of which require the internet, Human Rights Watch said. All Myanmar authorities, including the military, must immediately act to restore uninterrupted connectivity in the country and to all people, no matter their political beliefs.”. While this lift on internet shutdowns provides some respite for millions of disconnected people in Myanmar, Access Now holds grave concern over the stability and accessibility of the internet, and the disturbing nature of shutting off communication during serious political unrest. The mobile internet restrictions were subsequently removed in Maungdaw Township on May 2, 2020, leaving eight townships subject to the restrictions. Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English. (Reuters) The Arakan Army has previously admitted to using “landmines” and “mines,” as well as “technology” to “carefully control” their use, but has denied using mobile internet technologies to detonate them remotely. No 253/285, Room (A), 12th Floor, Great Cairo Condo Konzaydan Street, Pabedan Township, Yangon, Myanmar… “It is unacceptable to shut down the internet and disrupt telecommunications in order to prevent a democratic transition,” said, “Cutting connectivity at a moment like this is far too often used to obscure abuse and repression, and facilitate impunity. “News from Myanmar is going to disappear,” another added. shutting down entire parts of communications systems) can never be justified under human rights law.” UN freedom of expression experts have said that during crises, governments should refrain from blocking the internet and, as a matter of priority, ensure immediate access to the fastest and broadest possible internet service. In late 2019, Zee News, an Indian media outlet, said that Indian intelligence agencies believed the AA may be using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to detonate landmines. 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