- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Facebook Removes 70+ Pages, Accounts Linked to Myanmar's Top Military Officials

© Sputnik / Natalia Seliverstova / Go to the mediabankA Facebook logo
A Facebook logo - Sputnik International
Subscribe
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Facebook announced on Monday that it was removing over 70 pages and accounts linked to Myanmar's military accused by the United Nations of grossly violating human rights in the country.

"Today, we are taking more action in Myanmar, removing a total of 18 Facebook accounts, one Instagram account and 52 Facebook Pages, followed by almost 12 million people," Facebook said in a statement published on its official website.

READ MORE: Facebook, Twitter Remove Hundreds of Pages Tied to Iran

Facebook added that the individuals and organizations, whose accounts were being removed, were responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar, which was demonstrated by the evidence provided by the UN independent mission.

"Specifically, we are banning 20 individuals and organizations from Facebook in Myanmar — including Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the military’s Myawady television network… We want to prevent them from using our service to further inflame ethnic and religious tensions," the statement said.

Facebook hand - Sputnik International
Facebook Use Connected With Anti-Refugee Violence in Germany - Study
Earlier in August, Facebook announced that it had been successfully identifying and removing hate speech content related to Myanmar from the platform, while also making it easier for users to report such content.

Myanmar's military is accused of committing atrocities against the Muslim Rohingya minority in the state of Rakhine, where the government forces have been having clashes with local insurgents since 2016. The government deployed police and military units in the region, accusing the insurgents of attacking security posts in Rakhine in 2017. The Rohingyas are forced to massively flee their homes for fear of persecution, with the International Organization for Migration saying that a total of 700,000 people have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017.

Earlier in the day, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar said that it had revealed human rights violations committed by Myanmar's military in the country's western state of Rakhine, calling for an investigation into the genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the country's senior military officials.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала