myanmar's military has cut the country
off from facebook just days after
seizing control
it comes after people flocked to the
social media platform to voice
opposition to the coup which
ousted elected leader aung suchi on
monday
among those opposing the power grab are
medical staff who
say they refuse to work for the military
government
the push has also sparked international
condemnation including from the united
nations
this video of anti-coup protesters in
mandalay on thursday
was shared on social media it could be
one of the last for a while
resistance to the coup had been surging
on facebook with calls for civil
disobedience
the platform was also often used by the
now ousted government to make
announcements
but the new military government's move
to block facebook-owned apps
including instagram and whatsapp has
left many in the dark
we have no access to any news no news
about mother ang san tsuchi
i feel so sad it gives me a pain in my
chest
blocking facebook means that the freedom
of young people is restricted
this military coup has started costing
us our jobs and our education is now in
trouble
with armed soldiers back on the streets
of major cities
most of the protests have been under the
cover of darkness
residents in yangon banged pots
overnight and honked
car horns
among those who have openly shown
opposition are medical personnel
who have declared they won't work for
the military government
this government was not elected and
voted for by us
we don't accept them or work under their
command so we have stopped providing
services at government hospitals instead
we will consider providing free medical
services
through external doctors and in other
ways
it comes after the detainment of aung
san tsuchi and other civilian leaders
on monday plunging the southeast asian
nation
under military rule su chi who has not
been seen in public since she was
detained
is being charged for illegally importing
walkie-talkies
the military has justified its coup by
alleging widespread voter fraud
during november's election which saw su
chi win
by a landslide and we are joined now by
dave grunabaum he is a journalist who
has been covering myanmar for many
years he joins us now from kuala lumpur
dave we understand that the junta has
now blocked facebook where many people
were expressing opposition to the coup
organizing civil disobedience
therefore what impact is this likely to
have on efforts to resist
it's certainly a blow because facebook
is king of social media in myanmar
a lot of people it's the only thing they
know when it comes to social media the
only thing they know when it comes to
the web in fact just last year
during the campaign season a lot of the
political campaigning because of copay
19
happened on facebook now a lot of people
would say well you know you can get
virtual private networks vpns to try to
get around this block but
a quality vpn the cost of that is beyond
the means
of a lot of people in myanmar okay
so um so then what happens next i mean
are there other steps that the country
is also taking
that the security forces excuse me are
taking uh to counter opposition
yeah well first of all obviously people
will find other means and my wills could
slow things down but look just 10 years
ago most of the people in this country
didn't even have
a phone and of course we know in the
past that there were massive
demonstrations
the security systems of the security
forces they have an
extensive network of informants or some
people would call rats
there are neighborhoods across the
cities there are in the villages across
the country
and they lean on these informants to
provide information on
what people are planning what people are
saying what they plan to do and when
they plan to do it
so it becomes extremely important for
the people in myanmar
to think really hard about who do they
know how well do they know them
and who can they really trust wow um
those are really a lot of factors to
consider um but but we know that some
people are deciding
to speak out to step out for example uh
today on the streets of mandalay we the
country's second biggest city at least
three people were arrested for taking
part in anti-coup demonstrations
are further demonstrations expected
well you'll certainly continue to see
the pots and pan banging at night the
honking of the car horns
the ribbon-wearing campaigns but are we
going to see
a real organized mass mobilization
massive numbers thousands of people
marching on the streets of yangon or
manila
or other cities in the country that
would be a
huge risk for these people to take it
would send a powerful message around the
world
a message that the coup the coup leaders
the military leaders would not want to
see
out there the risk though is that they
might respond
violently the military might respond
with deadly force
as has happened in years past dave
grunerbaum from kuala lumpur thank you
so much
sure thing
you