Internet Access Amid Darkness and Lives Amid Threats You’re not connected Chapter 4 Current Situation of Internet Access In the aftermath of the coup, internet speed was strangulated across the country, and phone access and internet access were also severed in several places. According to a resident in Gangaw township, people only accessed 2G internet in many parts of Gangaw township where mobile phone and internet services from two main telecom operators -MPT and Telenor were blocked. WiFi internet, the last remaining internet service, was no longer accessible about one month ago either.24 A CDM student in Sagaing Region said that the military troops launched brutal military offensives targeting Khin-U, Ye-U, and Depayin townships where internet connection was blacked out by the military junta to halt the flow of information.25 While our research found that the military junta frequently cut off internet connections and mobile phone connections in areas where intense fighting occurred, a student living in the western part of Yinmabin township acknowledged that the residents needed to climb hills or hilly areas to search for an internet signal outside her village which has lacked internet access for more than eight months. However, a maximum of only three devices could access some patchy signal (only at some spots) at the same time even on the hills. 2G mobile phone access of Telenor and MPT was no longer been accessed in the area after the middle of March.26 (4.1) Reasons Behind Internet and Mobile Phone Access Blackout Our findings on the potential reasons behind the internet access and mobile phone access blackout indicated much evidence that the brutal military committed mass human rights violations including burning people's houses, using airstrikes to bomb villages, carrying out massacres, looting precious jewelry and properties of residents, and several other inhumane crimes in the areas where internet access was cut. Regarding the internet blackout, a woman living in Sagaing Region's Khin-U township answered, "The combats between two parties (the regime troops and the local defense forces) were intense. The military junta experienced heavy casualties so they cut the internet while they were sending reinforcements. … During the internet blackout, the military set up a base in Pyin Daung village on 2 April and was waging war. The entire village was ruined and the rice paddles were allegedly looted". She also said that the brutal junta troops shot dead an innocent child and burned some villages nearby while their march towards Ye-U township where she lives. Another man in Gangaw township also said, "I assume that the military junta committed blatant crimes because of the combats in Gangaw township". The brutal military has launched military offensives against the local PDFs and LDFs and committed human rights violations against the residents in some areas where internet connection had been cut off a long time ago. A resident in Yinmabin said, "I think they cut internet because they wanted to halt information flow and 24 25 26 Research Interview answers Research Interview answers Research Interview answers 14