Myanmar junta blocks Facebook to shut down dissent as West increases pressure

People clatter pans to make noise after calls for protest went out on social media in Yangon on Feb 3, 2021. - AFP

YANGON (Reuters): Myanmar's junta blocked Facebook and other messaging services in the name of ensuring stability on Thursday (Feb 4) as they consolidate power following a coup and the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The move to silence online activists came after Myanmar police filed charges against Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi for illegally importing communications equipment, and as international pressure grew on the junta to accept the results of November elections won by her party in a landslide.