Civil society group demands internet service be restored in Rakhine

20 March 2020
Civil society group demands internet service be restored in Rakhine
Two Rakhine women ride a motorcycle past a telecommunications advertisement poster in Sittwe, Rakhine state, Myanmar, 22 June 2019. Photo: Nyunt Win/EPA

Myanmar’s government must lift its ban on internet service in Rakhine state to permit tens of thousands of displaced civilians to access information about the coronavirus, a civil society group demanded this week, warning of mass deaths if crowded refugee camps become infected, RFA reported.

The Rakhine Ethnic Congress (REC), a Sittwe-based relief group that assists internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region, issued a statement calling on officials to reinstate internet access and provide information on COVID-19 to residents of the nine townships.

The group said that the restoration of the service is vital for IDPs who do not have access to radio, television, or electricity to get news and information.