The Myanmar government, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has shut down the Internet in other parts of the crisis region of Rakhine. The government justified this with security and public interest requirements, the measure is limited to three months, said the network operator Telenor.
The Myanmar military is accused of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine. In January, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered the Southeast Asian country to take immediate measures to protect the minority. Since the persecution of the Rohingya, Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi has been under international fire in the crossfire.
Worry about censorship
Some areas in the crisis region bordering Bangladesh have been cut off from the Internet for more than seven months. Human rights activists fear that the ban will serve at least in part for censorship. The United Nations found their aid to be hampered by this.
More than 700,000 people had fled to the neighboring country of Bangladesh, especially in 2017. In January, two Rohingya women died under fire, which was blamed on the Myanmar military. The military rejected this.
