Internet blackout hampers handling of COVID-19 in Arakan State

By Kyaw Myo Aung 25 Jun 2020

Kyaw Myo Aung | DMG
25 June, Sittwe
 
The internet blackout affecting a large swath of Arakan State and part of neighbouring Chin State is causing delays in procedural aspects of the region’s COVID-19 response, according to Dr. Saw Min Thein, superintendent of Buthidaung Township Hospital.

“We cannot send required information in real time. We have to depend on the phone. So, we are facing difficulties getting required documents on time,” Dr. Saw Min Thein said.

Arakan State reported 12 confirmed coronavirus cases as of June 25, while the internet ban imposed by the government turned one year old on June 21.

The government says the internet ban covering seven Arakan State townships and Paletwa Township, Chin State, is for national security reasons. At a news conference on June 23, military spokesperson Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun said the shutdown was imposed to prevent the leaking of sensitive military information, and to combat the spread of misinformation and hate speech.

Pyithu Hluttaw lawmaker U Aung Thaung Shwe from Buthidaung Township said the internet ban violated the right to access information at a time when knowing as much as possible about COVID-19 was critical.

“The internet ban makes people suffer losses and affects their security. The government is breaching human rights deliberately,” he said.

Dr. Saw Min Thein said it was difficult to respond to false information about the virus on social media because of the lack of internet access.

“On Facebook, a post wrongly said a COVID-19 patient had died. But we could not respond to it in real time; this makes people lack trust in us,” he said.

Arakan State lawmaker U Tun Aung Thein from Buthidaung Township said the government should lift the internet ban on humanitarian grounds, so that people could access information about the pandemic.

“People can know what is happening at which place and at what time if they have internet access. ... That’s why I’d like to ask the government to lift the internet ban,” he said.

More than 1 million people in the affected parts of Arakan State and Paletwa Township lack internet access.

Through June 25, a total of 12 cases were confirmed in Arakan State: seven in Maungdaw Township, two in Buthidaung Township, and one each in Sittwe, Taungup, and Thandwe townships.