Exclusive: After pressuring telecom firms, Myanmar's junta bans
executives from leaving
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[July 05, 2021]
By Fanny Potkin
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Senior foreign
executives of major telecommunications firms in Myanmar have been told
by the junta that they must not leave the country without permission, a
person with direct knowledge of the matter said.
A confidential order from Myanmar’s Posts and Telecommunications
Department (PTD) in mid-June said senior executives, both foreigners and
Myanmar nationals, must seek special authorisation to leave the country,
the person said.
A week later, telecom companies were sent a second letter telling them
they had until Monday July 5 to fully implement intercept technology
they had previously been asked to install to let authorities spy on
calls, messages and web traffic and to track users by themselves, the
source said. Reuters has not seen the orders.
The directives follow pressure on the companies from the junta, which is
facing daily protests from its opponents and a growing number of
insurgencies to activate the spyware technology.
A spokesman for the military did not answer multiple requests for
comment. The junta has never commented on the electronic surveillance
effort, but announced soon after seizing power its aim to pass a
cybersecurity bill that would require telecoms providers to provide data
when requested and remove or block any content deemed to be disrupting
"unity, stabilisation, and peace". It also amended privacy laws to free
security forces to intercept communications.
The travel ban comes after intensified pressure from military officials
to finish the implementation of the surveillance equipment. The source,
who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the ban
was meant to pressure telecoms firms to finish activating the spyware
technology, although the order itself does not specify a reason.
Three other telecoms sources, also speaking on condition of anonymity,
said the authorities had stepped up pressure on the companies to
implement the intercept, but declined to elaborate further. Two sources
said companies had been warned repeatedly by junta officials not to
speak publicly or to the media on the intercept.
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Soldiers stand next to military vehicles as people gather to protest
against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, February 15, 2021.
REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Telenor declined to comment. There was no immediate
response to requests for comment from Ooredoo, state-owned MPT and
Mytel, a joint venture between Vietnam's Viettel and a Myanmar
military-owned conglomerate.
Months before the Feb. 1 coup, telecom and internet service
providers were ordered to install intercept spyware to allow the
army to eavesdrop on the communications of citizens, Reuters
reported in May.
Reuters was not able to establish how broadly the surveillance
technology has been installed and deployed, but four sources said
Norway's Telenor ASA and Qatar's Ooredoo QPSC had yet to comply in
full.
Among the military's first actions on Feb. 1 was to cut internet
access and it has still not been fully re-established, with telecoms
given regular lists of websites and activist phone numbers to block.
The moves have left the future unclear for Myanmar's telecom sector,
which had been one of the fastest-growing globally. Telenor said on
Friday it is evaluating the future of its operations in the country,
with a source telling Reuters it is eying a sale of its Myanmar
unit.
(Reporting by Fanny Potkin in Singapore; Additional reporting by
Poppy McPherson in Bangkok; Editing by Matthew Tostevin, William
Mallard and Daniel Wallis)
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