YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A blackout in the Myanmar military junta worsened on Thursday as fiber broadband service, the latest legal way for ordinary people to access the Internet, become intermittently inaccessible to various networks.
Authorities in some areas have also begun confiscating satellite dishes that are used to access international news.
Protests against the February 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi continued on Thursday despite the death of 11 people by security forces the day before.
It was unclear whether Internet outages from at least two service providers, MBT and Infinite Networks, were temporary. MBT said its service was halted by a line break between Yangon and Mandalay, the country’s two largest cities. But Internet users had complained over the past week of major service slowdowns.
The board has been reducing Internet service since the coup. He initially imposed a largely ineffective social media blog like Facebook and then downgraded mobile data service, the most common way to connect to the Internet, but only at night. As the board increased its use of deadly force against protesters, it also imposed a total ban on the use of mobile data.
At least 598 protesters and passers-by have been killed by security forces since taking office, according to the Political Prisoners Assistance Association, which monitors victims and arrests.
The use of satellite TV as a source of information also seemed to be under threat. In Laputta and other cities in the Irrawaddy Delta in southwest Yangon, local government vehicles announced through loudspeakers that the use of satellite dishes was no longer legal and should be handed over to police stations. Police also raided shops selling the dishes and confiscated them.
Online news services Khit Thit Media and Mizzima said similar measures were taken in the state of Mon in the southeast of the country. Satellite TV offers access to international news sources about Myanmar.
Since the coup, all non-state newspapers have stopped publishing and online news sites have come under heavy pressure. Five popular independent news services were revoked their operating licenses in early March and asked to stop publishing and broadcasting on all platforms, but they defied orders. Other agencies have been sued for their coverage.
About 30 journalists arrested since the coup continue to be detained. About half of them have been charged with violating a law covering the flow of information that could harm national security or disrupt law and order. The crime is punishable by a maximum of three years in prison.
In an open letter to the board this week, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists called for “the immediate and unconditional release of all journalists detained after the suspension of democracy and the imposition of the emergency government on February 1. “
The group said that since the army took office, “conditions of freedom of the press have deteriorated rapidly and drastically in your country. News reports indicate that journalists have been beaten, shot and wounded by live bullets and arrested and arbitrarily charged by security forces while only doing their job of covering demonstrations and reducing retaliation from your regime. “
Thursday’s protests included demonstrations in the southern municipality of Launglone, where villagers sang songs and lit candles before dawn and then marched on rural roads, and in the town of Dawei, also in the south, where engineers, teachers, students and others joined his latest demonstration.
Despite eight murders in Dawei by security forces, opponents of the junta have continued to protest in the streets, avoiding clashes by varying the departure times of the demonstrations and splitting into smaller groups.
On Wednesday, security forces stormed the city of Kalay in northwestern Myanmar, where some residents had used homemade hunting rifles to form a self-defense force.
Security forces killed at least 11 civilians and injured many others, local news reported. Myanmar’s state-owned Global New Light newspaper reported on Thursday that 18 people described as riot police with homemade weapons had been arrested but said nothing about the civilian casualties.
UN workers on the ground have seen an alarming humanitarian impact due to the escalation of violence in northeastern and southeastern Myanmar in recent weeks, UN spokesman Stephane said on Thursday Dujarric.
In the southeastern state of Kayin and the Bago region, thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes due to military and airstrikes, as well as army clashes with ethnic guerrillas representing the minority Karen. In the northeast, clashes have displaced 3,000 people, while in northern Shan state, fighting has forced more than 8,000 people to leave their homes, Dujarric said from New York.
On the diplomatic front, Christine Schraner Burgener, the UN special envoy to Myanmar who has called for the restoration of democracy, is heading to Thailand this week and hopes to visit other members of the Association of Southern Nations. East Asia as well as China, Dujarric said.
Schraner Burgener has called for a strong international response to the crisis and a united effort by regional countries to use their influence towards Myanmar’s stability, he said.
Schraner Burgener also continues efforts to visit Myanmar and hopes the army will provide him with access to detained leaders, including President U Wint Myint and State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi, Dujarric said.
Schraner Burgener is also ready “to resume dialogue with the army to contribute to the return to the democratic path, peace and stability of Myanmar,” he said.