In Myanmar, Facebook takes down page of coup-happy military; cites repeated violations

Facebook on Sunday deleted the main page of the Myanmar military known as 'Tatmadaw' under its standards prohibiting the incitement of violence, the company said, a day after 2 protesters were killed when police opened fire at a demonstration against the February 1 coup. This latest development was recorded when Myanmar military's 'ItsTrue News' was no longer available on Facebook on Sunday. 

A Facebook representative said in a statement, "In line with our global policies, we've removed the Tatmadaw True News Team Page from Facebook for repeated violations of our Community Standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm."

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Myanmar anti-coup protesters honour woman shot dead by police

Anti-coup protesters in Myanmar's two largest cities paid tribute Saturday to a young woman who died a day earlier after being shot by police during a rally against the military takeover. An impromptu memorial created under an elevated roadway in Yangon attracted around 1,000 protesters. A wreath of bright yellow flowers was hung beneath a photograph of Mya Thwet Thwet Khine, who was shot in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Feb. 9, two days before her 20th birthday.

Her death on Friday, announced by her family, was the first confirmed fatality among thousands of protesters who have faced off against security forces since the military took power in a Feb 1 coup. Protesters at the memorial chanted and held up signs that read “End the dictatorship in Myanmar" and “You will be remembered Mya Thwet Thwet Khine.” The supporters also laid roses and rose petals on images of the woman.

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Video from the day Khine was shot shows her sheltering from water cannons and suddenly dropping to the ground after a bullet penetrated the motorcycle helmet she was wearing. She had been on life support in a hospital for more than a week with what doctors said was no chance of recovery.

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Myanmar Coup

The Myanmar military overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, a day before the newly-elected members of parliament were scheduled to take the oath. The military accused Suu Kyi's government of rigging November elections, in which her party National League for Democracy (NLD) had emerged the victor by a landslide. Suu Kyi's party managed to win 396 of the 476 parliamentary seats of the ones that are not reserved for the military. Experts suggest that the military feared Suu Kyi, with a larger majority than in 2015, would try and reduce the number of parliamentary seats reserved for the Army.

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