Myanmar coup: Internet partially restored amid ongoing demonstrations

Internet access in Myanmar was partially restored on Sunday, February 7, as the outage failed to suppress the uprising against the military’s seizure of power and the unlawful detention of the country’s civilian leaders, including the ousted Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. "Partial restoration of Internet connectivity confirmed in Myanmar from 2 pm local time on multiple providers following information blackout," internet monitoring service Netblocks said on Twitter. Myanmar citizens using the MPT, Ooredoo, Telenor and Mytel were now able to use mobile Internet data and WiFi to check their social media accounts. Earlier on Sunday, the internet connection in Myanmar was snapped by the military Junta to terminate the movement flared by Facebook broadcasts calling on the citizens to assemble in the streets of Yangon to march against the armed forces coup, condemned internationally. 

With the return of internet services a fresh wave of demonstrators converged at Sule Pagoda, situated in the center of a roundabout in the city’s downtown area. Protesters shouted slogans, such as, “Long live Mother Suu” and “Down with military dictatorship” as they flashed pro-democratic messages emblazoned on placards as crowds of tens of thousands marched through Myanmar’s streets. Military Junta, the ruling party that took over the power in the Southeast Asian country by organising a coup, had imposed cyber restrictions, flaring fears of a complete information blackout. On Sunday afternoon, however, the access to the internet was restored on the mobile phones, after a clampdown on connectivity to 14 per cent of the usual levels. 

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[Police security fix road barricades blocking protesters in Yangon, Myanmar. Credit: AP]

[Crowd of protesters march in Yangon, Myanmar Saturday. Credit: AP]

“The generals are now attempting to paralyze the citizen movement of resistance – and keep the outside world in the dark – by cutting virtually all Internet access,” the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews had tweeted, condemning the cyber darkness in the nation.

Broadband connections disrupted

London-based service that tracks internet disruptions, Netblocks, reported a slow speed degradation of the country’s data services, late Saturday morning. The mobile service providers then informed about the total outage, with Broadband connections following next. However, NetBlocks had then reported that the landline telephone services and mobile voice connections were still operating. However, early Sunday morning, the firm stated on Twitter that “a near-total internet shutdown is now in effect in Myanmar.” In a response to the outage, Myanmar’s military alleged that the ruling party attempted to squash the spread of what it deemed ‘fake news’. 

[Myanmar riot police block the road to prevent protesters from marching forward Saturday. Credit: AP]

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