Myanmar shuts down internet amid anti-coup rallies

Myanmar’s military rulers have shut down the country’s internet as thousands of people joined the largest rally 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”.

Meanwhile, police with riot shields 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 has severely disrupted that.

Human rights group Amnesty International referred to the shutdown as “heinous and reckless”.

The military temporarily blocked access to the internet following the coup on February 1.

On Saturday, protesters including factory workers and 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 in the region.

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

Edited by Olajumoke Adeleke