Myanmar : Almost 80 townships have had their phone and internet lines cut off

Almost 80 townships have had their phone and internet lines cut off

In Sagaing Division, where the military council has cut off the internet, the strike of the villages of Yi Ma Pin and Sar Lingyi in 2022. When they protested on June 5th.

On March 13, Voice of Freedom, a movement for freedom of expression, issued a statement saying that after the military coup, phone lines and internet lines have been cut in nearly 80 townships in Myanmar until the end of February 2024.

These 80 townships include almost all the townships in Rakhine State, where the battle with the Rakhine Army (AA) is fierce, and 27 townships in Sagaing Division, where the People's Defense Forces are strong, have been cut off the most.

In Sittwe, Rakhine State, MyTel phone lines could be used until February 16, but both phone lines and internet lines were cut off on the 17th.

He also wrote that while the military council was attacking Kolin in Sagaing Province, which was captured by the allied joint forces, both the phone line and the internet line were cut off.

He said that the Internet is often cut off in places where there is a battle, and the military council continues to use the cut-and-dried strategy in Rakhine State to hide information flows and suppress revolutionary activities on purpose.

As these communication lines have been cut, it is difficult for locals in Rakhine State to get correct information, the voice group pointed out.

In addition, he said, banking operations, money transfer operations based on the Internet, and online service operations are almost at a standstill.

In a report released on October 4 last year by the American-based Freedom House group, it was stated that Myanmar is the second worst country in the world for suppressing internet freedom after China.