Hackers attacked government websites run by the military junta in Burma on Thursday, in response to a nightly internet blackout set by military authorities and increased arrests.
A group, posing as the “Burmese Hackers”, attacked various government websites, such as the Central Bank, the propaganda website of the Burmese army, the public television station MRTV, the port authority and the security agency. food and health.
This hacking occurs the day after the demonstrations that gathered tens of thousands of people in the country to protest against the coup that deposed the civil government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.
“We are fighting for justice in Burma,” the hacker group declared on its Facebook account. “It is like a large demonstration in front of the government websites,” they compared.
In Rangoon, motorists blocked traffic on Thursday for the second day in a row in an attempt to prevent the deployment of security forces.
Thus, buses and cars were stopped around a bridge in the Dagon North district, according to images broadcast live, while protesters shouted: “Do not go to the office, join the civil disobedience movement!”
– Hundreds of arrests –
In the second Burmese city, Mandalay (center), the police and the army dispersed protesters blocking rail traffic, according to witnesses. A member of the emergency services explained that the security forces opened fire, but could not specify whether it was rubber bullets or live ammunition.
Four train drivers were detained at gunpoint in the city, according to the Yangon-based Association for Aid to Political Prisoners (AAPP). This association reported more than 500 arrests since the military coup on February 1.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, eleven foreign ministry employees were arrested for participating in the protest movement, a ministry source told AFP.
A police officer who did not want to identify himself explained that at least 50 officers had been detained in the last four days.
The state television channel MRTV also announced arrest warrants for several actors, filmmakers and a singer, accused of using their popularity in the service of the protest movement.
The military has stepped up threats since February 1, when it ended 10 years of fragile democratic transition.
– Reduced internet traffic –
On Wednesday night, a kind of internet curfew was imposed in the country that reduced traffic to 21% of its usual level, according to the NetBlocks observatory, a group that registers restrictions on the network and is based in the United Kingdom.
The fear of reprisals is present in the minds of the inhabitants of this country, which has lived close to 50 years under the military force since its independence since 1948.
Security forces have repeatedly fired rubber bullets and used tear gas at protesters.
A 20-year-old woman who was shot in the head this week – probably with live ammunition – is in a state of brain death. A police officer died Tuesday from injuries sustained during a demonstration in Mandalay.
Despite this, the calls for civil disobedience continue: doctors, teachers, air traffic controllers, railway workers are on strike against the coup.
In Naipyidó, the administrative capital, 75-year-old former civilian head of government Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest.
Suu Kyi, 75, already prosecuted for violating an obscure business rule by “illegally” importing walkie-talkies, faces a new indictment for violating “the law on natural disaster management,” according to her lawyer, who has not yet has been able to contact her. The hearing is scheduled for March 1.
The generals turn a deaf ear to the international condemnations and sanctions announced by Washington. They have two major supporters at the UN: China and Russia, for whom the current crisis constitutes “an internal issue” in Burmese.