Myanmar blocks Internet access in northern Rakhine

By Kyaw Ye Lynn

YANGON, Myanmar (AA) - Myanmar has cut off Internet services in Rakhine state, said an official on Friday, as the fighting between the government troops and an ethnic Buddhist rebel group intensified over the past months.

The Ministry of Transport and Communication directed all mobile service providers to temporarily block Internet access in eight townships in northern Rakhine state and one in adjacent Chin state, with the ban went into effect late Thursday, according to permanent secretary Soe Thein.

He said the main reason of the Internet shutdown was to prevent the service from “misuse” by rebel group Arakan Army (AA) -- a predominantly Buddhist ethnic group fighting for greater autonomy of the region.

The Myanmar government accused the rebel group of promoting propaganda and misinformation online.

“The ban was to maintain the stability and law and order in these areas,” Soe Thein told Anadolu Agency by phone.

According to him, the ban is in accordance with the article 77 of the Myanmar Telecommunication Law that gives the ministry, with the approval of central government, to “temporarily suspend services when the situations warrant for the benefit of people”.

“However, it doesn’t include the voice and SMS services,” he said, while refusing to comment on when the ban would be lifted.

Khin Saw Wei, a regional lawmaker, voiced concern over the ban, saying it reminds her of former military regime’s tactics of cracking down on ethnic minorities in the past.

“We had seen how brutal was the military crackdown on other ethnic rebels and minorities in the past. So it is alarming situation,” she said by phone on Friday.

She called on the government to immediately lift the ban so that people have right to information about the clashes in these areas.

“It would affect all sectors including businesses and social life,” she told Anadolu Agency.

Telenor Myanmar, one of mobile service providers in Myanmar, said it has been asking for further clarification on the rationale for the shutdown and emphasized that freedom of expression through access to telecom services should be maintained for humanitarian purposes, especially during times of conflict.

The northern parts of Rakhine state has seen armed fighting between military and Arakan Army on a daily basis since the group launched synchronized attacks on police outposts in January, killing 13 officers.

The Arakan Army previously fought government troops in northern Kachin state and northeastern Shan state.

Amnesty International recently published a report detailing the war crimes committed by the military during the armed conflict over the past six months. It also documents rights violation by the Arakan Army, but said they were on a lesser scale.