Mizzima-Aug 31
Myanmar Facebook users are comparing this week’s online climate to the surveillance-heavy teashops of military-ruled decades, after two Mon State residents were arrested this month for comments left on a resistance group’s Facebook page.
“It’s reached the point where we’re afraid to do anything now,” one user writes. Another draws a direct parallel to the past: people could no longer speak freely in teashops, they say, and “now we can’t say anything online either.” The comparison follows the 8 August arrests of Phyu Pwint Wai, 29, and Zin Min Khine, 50, both from Mon State, after authorities reviewed their comments on the Facebook page of Ye Bilu, an armed group in Ye Township. Phyu Pwint Wai had wished the group’s fighters safety and success; Zin Min Khine left similar words of encouragement. Both were charged under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, a provision used since the 2021 coup against online support for anti-junta groups, including the National Unity Government. The arrests sit inside a wider system. On 30 June, the military confirmed a new committee, led by Deputy Home Affairs Minister Min Thu, to monitor internet activity around the clock, and officials say more than 21,000 online users have faced action since 2024. A June study by Human Rights Myanmar found comments on media posts down 42 percent and shares down 63 percent since 2021, evidence, researchers say, of growing self-censorship. Read more at: https://eng.mizzima.com/2026/08/31/38068
