Myanmar military orders Facebook to be blocked for fear of calls for civil disobedience

The Myanmar military has ordered local telecom companies to block the social networking site "Facebook", amid mounting momentum for a civil disobedience campaign since Monday's coup.

According to "Russia Today", the Ministry of Transport and Communications informed telecommunications companies of blocking access to the social networking site until midnight on the seventh of February, because "the site contributes to destabilizing the country."

Postings on social media spread quickly, calling for civil disobedience, since the army arrested senior government officials, the country's president, and the leader of the ruling party in raids last Monday morning.

The United Nations said it had not yet received any direct update on the status of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the ruling party, and the other detainees.

Aung San Suu Kyi was detained in the capital, Naypyidaw, with ousted President Win Myint and other members of the government. The military justified the seizure of power by alleging widespread fraud in the vote of voters during the general elections held last November.

After taking power, the military declared a state of emergency and handed control of the country to Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, who announced his new cabinet members late Monday and promised to hold elections within a year.