NEWS AND MORE's video: Myanmar junta blocks Facebook to shut down dissent as West increases pressure

Myanmar junta blocks Facebook to shut down dissent as West increases pressure Myanmar's junta blocked Facebook and other messaging services in the name of ensuring stability on Thursday (February 4) as they consolidate power following a coup and the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. "Blocking Facebook today means that the freedom of young people is restricted from now on," said university student and IT worker Min Htet. The move to silence online activists came after Myanmar police filed charges against Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi for illegally importing communications equipment, and as international pressure grew on the junta to accept the results of November elections won by her party in a landslide. Inside Myanmar, opposition to the junta had emerged very strongly on Facebook, which is the main internet platform for much of the country and underpins communications for business and government.