Facebook boots 4 Myanmar armed groups from platform

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

Facebook took the rare action of banning four Myanmar armed groups Tuesday amid ongoing violence in the country.

The social media titan said it banned the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Kachin Independence Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army because "we don’t want our services to be used to spread hate, incite violence or fuel tension on the ground."

In addition, the company said any praise, support or representation of the groups on the platform will be removed "as soon as we become aware of it.

"Our approach to this problem, like the problem itself, is multifaceted, but our purpose is clear: to reduce the likelihood that Facebook will be used to facilitate offline harm," the social media company said in a blog post.

"There is clear evidence that these organizations have been responsible for attacks against civilians and have engaged in violence in Myanmar, and we want to prevent them from using our services to further inflame tensions on the ground," it added.

Facebook has previously been accused of failing to stop its platform from being used in a shadowy campaign by the Myanmar military to exacerbate anti-Muslim violence in the southeast Asian country.

The company in August acknowledged it was slow to take action and has since taken down three networks that were being used in the campaign, and has banned several Myanmar military officials from using the platform.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).

More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the OIDA report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience."

Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added.

The UN has also documented mass gang rapes, killings – including of infants and young children – brutal beatings and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces.

In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.