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  • another Internet blackout.

  • MAWR armored vehicles on the streets andan extension to the detention off its former leader.

  • The latest developments in Myanmar point toe a further tightening of security measures in the country in the face of continuing protest.

  • The military takeover has sparked the biggest demonstrations seen in Myanmar in Mawr than a decade.

  • The lawyer for Young Sans Souci says she was being held for a further two days.

  • She had been due to be released today or more troops have been deployed.

  • In response to the mass demonstrations.

  • Many drivers expressed their anger by beeping their horns.

  • Western embassies in Myanmar have called on the country's military to refrain from violence against demonstrators on civilians.

  • Thistle comes after reports security forces opened fire to disperse a protest, while the BBC Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head has the latest on the week ahead for the civil disobedience movement.

  • Well, I think we'll see this This week will be different from the previous week for the first two weeks after the coup.

  • Uh we saw very rapid growth of what became a sort of nationwide civil disobedience movement with protests in every shape and form all across the country that were essentially blocked at certain places by police, occasionally opening fires.

  • We know, but mostly just letting them run the presence off these armored vehicles and a lot of soldiers.

  • And these are soldiers from combat units, units with frankly well deserved reputations for riel brutality, I think, will change the tone a lot.

  • The Internet blackout last night was interesting.

  • That was eight hours on it really frightened people.

  • We saw the scenes that you mentioned that the troops opening fire that was emission up in Kitchen State.

  • They used a lot of gunfire that might all have been into the air, but it was absolutely terrifying for the people.

  • Their automatic weapons fire in the dark of night to disperse people who are out there banging their pots and pans.

  • Then the Internet blackout.

  • Everyone feared this would either herald a mass mass arrests or some other kinds of operations.

  • People are picking up from this morning.

  • There doesn't appear to have been a lot that's happened, although there are rumors just rumors that perhaps the Burmese authorities are trying to install some kind of great Chinese style Internet firewall.

  • But I think it's hard to put the flesh on those on Now the presence of these troops people are out protesting today.

  • There they're trying to put up barricades there, standing in front of government buildings, trying to persuade civil servants to join this civil disobedience movement.

  • But the troops are out there also dismantling some barricades blocking them In some areas, you know, people know what's coming.

  • Eventually, if people mobilize as they did last week and you've got that many soldiers from these units on the streets, everyone knows the risk off.

  • Bloodshed is much, much higher.

  • Well, I'm joined now by ALC Toker from the London based Internet monitoring firm Net Blocks Thank you so much for joining us here on BBC World.

  • Let me ask you first of all, what more do we know about these Internet blackouts?

  • The Internet blackouts become, uh, planning characteristic off protests in Myanmar since the 2 15 days ago.

  • Andi, we're seeing that they are escalating in intensity on frequency.

  • There was the blackout that we tracked, uh, this morning between 1 a.m. on nine AM local time.

  • So that's eight hours during which the public weren't able to communicate with each other or with the outside world.

  • Often this really has been turning into a form of information warfare.

  • Uh, people are terrified.

  • They were terrified before about being a happening.

  • People know what's going on, and they fear the worst.

  • And it has the effect of keeping people indoors are not pushing back against the coup.

  • Perhaps they should be all they want to be.

  • On a practical level, how does a country itself cope with an Internet blackout?

  • Because, you know, Internet is used for so many things for business transactions, for payments, even for government.

  • How does a country cope in that way?

  • Everything comes to a standstill, especially when there's already a transition or there's a political crisis.

  • Uh, it's gridlock, uh, fear it business from from writing it stops political.

  • Of course, it's really, uh, puts a spanner in the works on uh, this is meant that also the we got to track what's going on So that support network, their civil society, is heavily impacted.

  • Uh, systems aren't functioning, and these are their thes institutions that should be present to support society during these times.

  • Okay, Al Toker, it's been good to talk to you.

another Internet blackout.

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