Radio Free Asia2020-05-04
Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay speaks during a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Naypyidaw, Jan. 7, 2019. Credit: AFP
The government of Myanmar has ordered all civil servants to stop using hate speech on social media, a persistent problem in the majority Buddhist country, nearly three years after soldiers and local militias drove more than 740,000 Muslim Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh.
The order, announced by President’s Office Spokesperson Zaw Htay, requires that civil servants monitor and report online behavior to the central government. Critics say the move might be an attempt to clean up Myanmar’s image ahead of future international hearings on the alleged genocide of Rohingya in the country’s western Rakhine state.
