‘Stop Myanmar military from using FB for gains’
Burma Campaign UK, a Rohingya advocacy group, has called for Facebook to stop the Myanmar military from using the social media platform to recruit members and promote its businesses -- profits from which help fund genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The call comes after Facebook suspended US President Donald Trump's account, on the ground of inciting violence.
"Donald Trump has been suspended for inciting violence, but the Burmese military commit violence against civilians every day and are free to use Facebook to recruit soldiers to commit that violence," said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, in a statement released yesterday.
As a result of continuing violence, some 750,000 Rohingyas fled a brutal military crackdown against them and took shelter in Bangladesh in 2017, while nearly 24,000 Rohingyas have been killed, according to the Ontario International Development Agency. During the period, thousands of Rohingyas were tortured, women raped and their homes burned and vandalised.
Mark Farmaner said military-owned companies are allowed to use Facebook to promote products, the profits from which fund the military and help fund violations of international law, including genocide of the Rohingyas.
Facebook has faced severe criticism of its failure to tackle hate speech against Rohingyas and other minorities in Myanmar, and has taken down some military pages, including that of Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military. Numerous official military Facebook pages still exist, including some with the official Facebook blue tick, Burma Campaign UK said.
Comments