Internet blackout in Myanmar by the Military Junta
Demonstrators have been protesting on the streets of Myanmar for weeks now. Pro-democracy protestors have been vigilant taking into the streets every day to demand for their rights. The protesting started when the military overthrew the government after the landside win by their president (Spark, 2021). Beginning the 1 st of February year 2021, the country has experienced internet blackout during the night hours’ local time. The move was meant to cut and control communication in the country. Arguably, the military intended to prevent the spread of false information and curb the distribution of information in the public and globally.
Since the demonstrations started, the military junta has responded by killing innocent citizens who go out to protest every day. The killings have left more than 550 people dead. Since the Military ordered for the internet blackout, they have been accused of the disappearance of more than 2700 people (Spark, 2021). The list of the abducted includes children, politicians, journalists, protestors, activists and many others. The people are mainly abducted at night.
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The Military Junta ordered all the telecoms companies to cut the wireless internet access and communicate the same to their subscribers. The providers were instructed to pass the information to their internet subscribers via text messages. This means that only those that have a physical internet connection such as fire-optic cables could access the internet. While the telecom companies are not controlled by the military legally, they have been under siege since the military took over. Social media platforms such as twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been disabled and the citizens cannot access or share information in the above mentioned platforms (Spark, 2021). Reports have it that citizens who have talked to the media outlets have been picked up by the military and nobody knows their whereabouts. Media efforts to get a statement from the junta military have been futile.
This issue is important to the global community because human right organizations need to be aware and create awareness. The red cross and other humanitarian organizations ought to know what is happening on the ground so they can tailor the needed help to the affected community (Spark, 2021). Additionally, the global community could use this information as a stepping stone to equip their own citizens and governments to prevent such from happening in their own countries. Moreover, the citizens of a democratic nation ought to have the right to demonstrate and not be killed, arrested or abducted. Therefore, the global community in general has to take action and protect those citizens
What outside influences might help change this issue?
Over the years, some communities such as Muslims in some countries have been targeted and killed by people who do not approve of their religion. During all such happenings, it has taken the effort of outside influence to help restore peace in the suffering communities. Myanmar is no different and the global community ought to move in and help the people to restore peace and security.
The United Nations (UN) Human rights wing should move in and support the peaceful local protesters. The citizens need the support and influence to be able to exercise their democratic rights and fight for the future of their country. A closed-door meeting held by the UN and the Myanmar’s security council is the first step to protecting peaceful demonstrators. During the meeting, the security council was advised to deny the military junta as the official and legitimate government of the country. The military junta has previously announced their intention to take over the country for at least a year. In their statement, the military junta said that their action is meant to bring stability in the country. However, the country has known no peace since the military takeover and therefore their statement makes little sense.
The European Union (EU) has publicly declared their support to the people of Myanmar as they fight for their country. This support will encourage the people to keep fighting for what they believe in. The EU said in their statement that even though it would be necessary to induce sanction to the Military junta, they have no guarantee that the military will not get support from China who are their rivals. This rivalry between china and the EU could leave this country in war for long and poverty for even longer.
Is the article neutral? Why or why not?
The article is not neutral at all because, first, the media personnel interviewing the local citizens are escorted by the military junta even to the villages. Therefore, the information they obtain is biased because they cannot exercise their media freedom. Second, reports have indicated that any citizen that talks to the media is picked up and detained by the military junta. This means the citizens are living in fear and cannot be trusted to give information that goes against the military junta. Additionally, since the military is controlling whatever information is going to the Media, the contents of this article might not represent the real occurrences on the ground in Myanmar. There are chances whatever information is in this article was filtered to fit only what the military junta wants the rest of the world to know concerning the ongoing coup.
References
Spark, L.S (April, 2021). Myanmar junta orders internet blackout as more pro-democracy protesters are detained retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/02/asia/myanmar-military-internet-blackout-detentions-intl/index.html
