Facebook removes page run by Myanmar armed forces

Berlin Feb 22 (dpa/GNA) – Hours after protesters were killed during rallies against the military coup in Myanmar, Facebook removed a page run by the country’s armed forces, the company said.

“This morning, in line with our global policies, we removed the Tatmadaw True News Information Team Page from Facebook for repeated violations of our Community Standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm,” a Facebook official wrote.

Myanmar’s armed forces are known as the Tatmadaw.

On Saturday, at least two people were killed in protests against the coup, according to media reports, and at least six other participants in a rally in the city of Mandalay were injured.

Security forces fired live ammunition at demonstrators in the South-East Asian nation’s second-largest city. Photos on social media showed bleeding people being carried away on stretchers.

There have been protests in Myanmar for weeks since the military overthrew the elected government and deposed state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in early February.

In mid-February, Facebook said it considered the situation in Myanmar “an emergency” and would “significantly reduce” the spread of false information by the military.

Facebook is widely used in Myanmar, which has a populace of more than 50 million.
GNA