Myanmar protesters defy junta’s internet curbs with underground newsletters, as death toll crosses 700
- The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) group has verified 701 civilian deaths since the coup, with at least 80 killed on Friday alone
- Myanmar has a long history of underground publications to circumvent junta suppression, with Gen Z activists secretly distributing a newsletter titled Molotov
For 56 days straight there have been internet outages in coup-hit Myanmar, according to monitoring group NetBlocks.
The country has been in turmoil since democratically-elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted in a February 1 coup, triggering a mass uprising that has resulted in a brutal security crackdown.
Lynn Thant, not his real name, said he started the underground newsletter and gave it the edgy name Molotov to appeal to young people.
“This is our response to those who slow down the flow of information – and that’s a threat to us,” said the 30-year-old said, adding that he was aware of the risks involved.
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Myanmar protesters fight military’s internet shutdown with underground newsletter
Thousands of readers across the country are downloading the PDF version of the publication and printing out and distributing physical copies across neighbourhoods in Yangon and Mandalay and other areas.