Nay Pyi Taw, May 16 (IANS) Facebook has reportedly upheld a ban on many organisations in Myanmar that have joined forces to resist the military coup that took place on February 1.
The bans were put in place back in 2019, when groups like the Arakan Army, and many of its allies, were classified as terrorist organisations by the then democratically-elected government, The Verge citing Rest of World, reported.
After the military coup and government takeover by the military or Tatmadaw, carried out after the November 2020 general elections in it claimed were fraudulent, the political situation has become extremely complex.
There is however, one thing that is seemingly clear, the Arakan Army is no longer classified as a terrorist organisation, either by the current military-led government or by the elected government currently in exile.
Yet, according to Rest of World, the Arakan Army is still not allowed on Facebook.
The Arakan Army isn’t the only group that’s found itself unable to communicate through Facebook, the report said.
There are many ethnic armed organisations active in the country, some of which have banded together as a resistance to the coup government, which has been violently cracking down on pro-democracy protesters, it added.
Many of their Facebook pages were also restricted back in 2019, under orders of the democratically elected government, which has since been overthrown.