A directive from the Ministry of Transport and
Communications on Thursday instructed that "all wireless broadband data
services be temporarily suspended until further notice," according to a
statement posted online by local provider Ooredoo.
After weeks of overnight cutoffs of internet access, the
military on Friday shut all links apart from those using fiberoptic cable,
which was working at drastically reduced speeds. Access to mobile networks and
all wireless — the less costly options used by most people in the developing
country — was blocked.
The Norwegian telecoms company Telenor, one of the biggest
carriers in Myanmar, confirmed it could no longer offer wireless services. It
was offering fiberoptic service of up to 40 megabits per second in its packages
as of Friday, well below high-speed access, which is a minimum of 100 Mbps.
The government has shut down all but a handful of fully
military-controlled media outlets. Some of those banned or whose operations
have been suspended have continued to publish via social media or whatever
methods they can find.
Facebook announced it was providing a safety feature to
enable users in Myanmar to beef up security settings locking their profiles to
prevent access by non-friends. That includes preventing non-friends from
enlarging, sharing or downloading full-size profile and cover photos and seeing
any posts on a person's timeline.
Facebook and other major social media platforms have banned
members of the Myanmar military, also known as the Tatmadaw, and are blocking
ads from most military-linked commercial entities.
Also Friday, a South Korean bank said it temporarily closed
its branch in Yangon and was considering bringing its South Korean employees
back home after security forces fatally shot one of its Myanmar employees.
Noh Ji-young, a spokesperson for Shinhan Bank, said the
woman was shot in the head while commuting home from work on Wednesday and was
pronounced dead on Friday.
The bank did not disclose further personal details about
her. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said the woman was shot while Myanmar
security forces inspected the company car she was using.
The ministry said it has issued a warning to South Korean
nationals in Myanmar to act with caution when they are inspected by security
forces.
Meanwhile, German-based Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), which
supplies raw materials, supplies and system components for making Myanmar's
kyat banknotes, said it was suspending all deliveries to the state-owned
security printer, Security Print Works.
"This is a reaction to the ongoing violent clashes
between the military and the civilian population," the company said in a
statement. It said it had previously restricted business.
With its economy contracting under pressure from mass
disruptions in reaction to the coup and from the pandemic, Myanmar's military
leaders are expected to order an increase in the money supply by the central
bank. It was unclear how much of an impact the German company's move would
have.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch issued a report Friday
saying that Myanmar's military has forcibly disappeared hundreds of people,
including politicians, election officials, journalists, activists and
protesters, and refused to confirm their location or allow access to lawyers or
family members in violation of international law.
"The military junta's widespread use of arbitrary
arrests and enforced disappearances appears designed to strike fear in the
hearts of anti-coup protesters," said Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch's
Asia director. "Concerned governments should demand the release of
everyone disappeared and impose targeted economic sanctions against junta
leaders to finally hold this abusive military to account."
The crisis in the Southeast Asian nation has escalated in
the past week, both in the number of protesters killed and with military
airstrikes against the guerrilla forces of the Karen ethnic minority in their
homeland along the border with Thailand.
In areas controlled by the Karen, more than a dozen
civilians have been killed since Saturday and more than 20,000 have been
displaced, according to the Free Burma Rangers, a relief agency operating in
the area.
About 3,000 Karen fled to Thailand, but many returned under
unclear circumstances. Thai authorities said they went back voluntarily, but
aid groups say they are not safe and many are hiding in the jungle and in caves
on the Myanmar side of the border.
The UN Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia called on
countries in the region "to protect all people fleeing violence and
persecution in the country" and "ensure that refugees and
undocumented migrants are not forcibly returned," UN spokesman Stephane
Dujarric told reporters in New York.
The UN Security Council late Thursday strongly condemned the
use of violence against peaceful protesters. The press statement was unanimous
but weaker than a draft that would have expressed its "readiness to
consider further steps," which could include sanctions. China and Russia,
both permanent Council members and both arms suppliers to Myanmar's military
have generally opposed sanctions.
The statement came after the UN special envoy for Myanmar
warned the country faces the possibility of civil war and urged significant
action be taken or risk it spiraling into a failed state.
Earlier this week, an opposition group consisting of elected
lawmakers who were not allowed to be sworn into office February 1 put forth an
interim charter to replace Myanmar's 2008 constitution. By proposing greater
autonomy for ethnic minorities, it aims to ally the armed ethnic militias
active in border areas with the mass protest movement based in cities and
towns.
More than a dozen ethnic minority groups have sought greater
autonomy from the central government for decades, sometimes through armed
struggle. Even in times of peace, relations have been strained and cease-fires
fragile. Several of the major groups — including the Kachin, the Karen and the
Rakhine Arakan Army — have denounced the coup and said they will defend protesters
in their territories.
The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in
Myanmar, which for five decades languished under strict military rule that led
to international isolation and sanctions. As the generals loosened their grip,
culminating in Aung San Suu Kyi's rise to leadership in 2015 elections, the
international community responded by lifting most sanctions and pouring
investment into the country.
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