Internet ban lifted in Maungdaw township

Eight other townships in Chin and Rakhine states approach one year without access

A netizen scrolls through Facebook using mobile data. (Photo: Sai Zaw/ Myanmar Now)

The government this weekend lifted a nearly year-long internet shutdown in the northern Rakhine township of Maungdaw.

Still, eight other townships remained blocked from the internet throughout northern Rakhine state and southern Chin state, as armed conflict and a spreading pandemic put lives in jeopardy.

Armed clashes flared up between the military and the Arakan Army (AA) in November 2018. In June the following year, in an effort to block the AA’s planning and communications capabilities, the government ordered internet providers to block access in the Rakhine townships of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Yathaedaung, Mrauk Oo, Minbya, Myebon and Ponnagyun, and in Paletwa, in Chin state.

Those bans have largely remained in place as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread, both in Myanmar and in neighboring Bangladesh.

Many rights groups have called on the government to lift the bans outright, calling access to information during a public health crisis critical to saving lives and containing the disease.

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On Monday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it had lifted the ban in Maungdaw.

State MP Tun Hla Sein told Myanmar Now internet access had been restored on all four major telecom networks at about 10pm on May 2.

“Residents are of course very happy to have internet access again. It’s not just news about the clashes - they need to know what’s going on with the pandemic in other countries,” Tun Hla Sein said.

Maungdaw shares its western border with Bangladesh, where Covid-19 cases have been on the rise lately.

During a virtual press conference on May 1, just before the Maungdaw ban was lifted, president’s office spokesperson Zaw Htay said only one township which is “least connected” to the conflict would regain access, without mentioning Maungdaw by name.

Mytel spokesperson Zaw Min Oo confirmed the operator had restored access in the township at the government’s orders.

“It’s been one or two days since we received instructions to reopen internet access in Maungdaw. We’re not sure what will happen in other townships,” he told Myanmar Now on May 4.

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Junta arrests two more journalists in Naypyitaw

Those arrested include a BBC reporter and a former Mizzima correspondent.

Myanmar Now

Published on Mar 19, 2021

Photojournalists take cover near the entrance of a monastery where military supporters gathered to attack protesters and media in Yangon on February 18 (EPA-EFE/LYNN BO BO)

A BBC journalist and a former Mizzima News reporter were arrested by men believed to be plainclothes officers in Naypyitaw on Friday afternoon, a family member confirmed.

BBC Burmese journalist Aung Thura was in front of the Dekkhina District court to report on a hearing for National League for Democracy patron Win Htein when he was arrested. Former Mizzima correspondent Than Htike Aung was with him at the time of the arrest.

No further details of the arrest or the reporters’ detention were known at the time of reporting, according to Aung Thura’s relative.

“I saw some plainclothes officers dragging away a person in trousers into a car,” lawyer Min Min Soe, who was near the court at the time, told Myanmar Now. The man she saw is believed to be Than Htike Aung.

“Two other officers in plainclothes were hassling another individual in a paso [traditional sarong for men] and glasses,” she said, referring to Aung Thura. “It was quite a scene so I don’t know what happened next.”

BBC News issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying that they are "doing everything [they] can" to find Aung Thura, who they described as being taken away by unidentified men.

“We call on the authorities to help locate him and confirm that he is safe,” the statement said.

As of March 16, a total of 38 journalists had been arrested or targeted for arrest since the February 1 coup. The latest arrests of the BBC and former Mizzima journalists push this number up to 40.

Only 22 of these reporters have been released. Ten journalists have been charged with violating Section 505(a) of the penal code, which has been used against people who are seen as causing fear, spreading fake news, or agitating government employees. Under recent amendments to the law, the charges come with a three-year prison sentence if convicted.

Online news website The Irrawaddy has also been charged by the junta as violating the same statute for showing “disregard” for the armed forces in their reporting of the ongoing anti-regime protests.

Five publications, including Myanmar Now and Mizzima had their offices raided and their publishing licenses revoked earlier this month by the regime.

Editor's note: This story was updated to include the BBC's statement, which was not available at the original time of publishing.

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KIA attacks police bases in Hpakant

The offensives come in the wake of deadly crackdowns against anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina

Myanmar Now

Published on Mar 18, 2021

A KIA soldier watches from an outpost in Kachin state in this undated file photo (Kachinwave)

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) launched attacks against police bases in the jade mining region of Hpakant on Thursday morning, a local resident told Myanmar Now.

The attacks targeted police battalions where soldiers were stationed near Nam Maw village in the Seik Muu village tract.

“There are Myanmar police battalions around Nam Maw,” a resident said. At least three bases were attacked, he added.

A 41-year-old civilian in Seik Muu village injured his left hand during the clash, the Kachin-based Myitkyina News Journal reported.

The KIA has launched several offensives against the coup regime’s forces recently. Fighting has also been reported in Mogaung and Injangyang this month.

Some 200 people fled the Injangyang villages of Gway Htaung and Tan Baung Yan on Monday after the KIA launched an offensive against the military there.

The offenses began in the wake of deadly crackdowns against anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina. The KIA has warned the junta not to harm anti-coup protesters.

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.

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Four shot dead, five injured during junta attack on protesters in Kalay on Wednesday

The coup regime’s forces took the injured people away and locals do not know their whereabouts

Myanmar Now

Published on Mar 18, 2021

Kalay residents move the body of a man who was shot dead on Wednesday (Supplied)

Four young men were killed and five people were injured in the town of Kalay in Sagaing region on Wednesday as protesters continued their fight to topple the regime despite daily massacres across the country aimed at terrorizing them into submission.

The Tahan Protest Group gathered in the town at around 10am and police and soldiers began shooting. One young man was shot dead on the spot as he tried to help people who were trapped amid gunfire, residents told Myanmar Now.

The regime’s forces also shot at and chased fleeing protesters along roads and through narrow alleys, a resident said.

“The crowd of protesters dispersed but one person was shot dead while trying to rescue those trapped in the protest site,” the resident added.

As the crowd dispersed, a man riding a motorcycle was shot outside a branch of KBZ Bank. “He also died,” the resident said.

Despite the murders, protesters gathered again in the afternoon around 4pm. Police and soldiers started shooting again and killed two people.

“They were shot dead while trying to set up barricades at the protest site. They were shot while trying to obstruct the army’s way as the army troops chased and shot the trapped protestors,” the resident said.

The two who were killed in the morning were identified as Salai Kyong Lian Kye O, who was 25, and Kyin Khant Man, who was 27 and had three children. The identities of the other two have not yet been confirmed.

Five people were also injured and then taken away. Locals said they did not know where they had been taken.