[ 2021-02-06 ]

Myanmar coup: Internet shutdown as crowds protest against military
Myanmar's military rulers have shut down the
country's internet as thousands of people joined
the largest rally yet against Monday's coup.

A near-total internet blackout is in effect with
connectivity falling to 16% of ordinary levels,
said the monitoring group NetBlocks Internet
Observatory.

In the main city, Yangon, crowds chanted "Military
dictator, fail, fail; Democracy, win, win".

Police with riot shields have blocked the main
roads into the city centre.

The internet shutdown happened hours after the
military had blocked access to Twitter and
Instagram to stop people mobilising for protests.
Facebook had been banned a day earlier.

Many users had evaded the restrictions on social
media by using virtual private networks (VPNs) but
the more general blackout severely disrupted
that.

What Myanmar's coup means for Aung San Suu
Kyi
How the military disrupted Myanmar's internet
Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?

Civil society organisations urged internet
providers and mobile networks to challenge the
blackout order, Reuters news agency reported.

Human rights group Amnesty International called
the shutdown "heinous and reckless" and warned it
could put the people of Myanmar at risk of human
rights violations.

The military has not commented. It temporarily
blocked access to the internet following the coup
on 1 February.
Protester: 'We have to end it now'

On Saturday morning, protesters - including
factory workers and young students - called for
the release of those detained by the army,
including elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

They marched through the streets of Yangon as city
buses sounded their horns in support.

Bystanders flashed the three-finger Hunger Games
salute, which has become a symbol of defiance
against authoritarianism, while residents clapped
or banged pots and pans on their doorsteps.

Many households have also been displaying red
stickers in their windows in support of Ms Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party,
the BBC's Burmese editor Soe Win Than reports.
Demonstrators protest against the military coup
and demand the release of elected leader Aung San
Suu Kyi, in Yangon, Myanmarimage copyrightReuters
image captionProtesters in Yangon received support
from thousands of residents, who clapped on
doorsteps

Police with riot shields used barbed wire to block
roads and water cannon were deployed, but the
demonstration reportedly remained peaceful, with
no attempt by protesters to pass police lines.

Demonstrators gave police roses and bottles of
drinking water, calling on them to support the
people not the new regime.

In pictures: Myanmar protests defy military
coup

"We're here to fight for our next generation, to
free them from a military dictatorship," one woman
at the rally told Agence France-Presse. "We have
to end it now."

Speaking from Yangon, Britain's ambassador to
Myanmar, Dan Chugg, told the BBC that an
increasing number of people were taking to the
streets during a nationwide civil disobedience
movement.

"The grief and the sadness of the last few days is
gradually turning to anger," he said, adding:
"Doctors are refusing to work and civil servants
have been refusing to work... there's quite a
sense around the country of unhappiness at what's
happened - and outrage."
Riot police block a road in Yangonimage
copyrightEPA
image captionPolice in riot gear have blocked
roads in Yangon

Another demonstration took place on Saturday in
Myanmar's second city, Mandalay.

Myanmar - also known as Burma - has remained
mostly calm in the aftermath of the coup, and
there were no immediate reports of violence after
Saturday's protests. More demonstrations were
expected to be held later.

The military authorities are hunkered down in the
capital, Nay Pyi Daw, and have so far avoided
direct engagement with the protesters.

The BBC's Nyein Chan in Yangon says the Burmese
know very well the violent crackdowns that the
military is capable of. The country was ruled by
an oppressive military government from 1962 to
2011.

But now that people have had time to digest what
is happening, they are finding different ways to
get their voices heard, our correspondent says.

Source - BBC

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