Internet ban lifted in Maungdaw township

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.

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.