Guest contributor
James Shwe
Since the military coup on February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military junta has consistently weaponized internet shutdowns, deliberately plunging the country into digital darkness to conceal atrocities and isolate communities resisting oppression.
In this suffocating vacuum, Starlink satellite internet devices emerged as a beacon of hope for the revolution, allowing medics, educators, and journalists to maintain critical communications across junta-imposed blackout zones.
However, this lifeline has been exploited by transnational criminal syndicates running massive cyber “pig-butchering” scams.
These operations are not independent; they thrive under the protection of the military junta’s own Border Guard Force (BGF), including units of the Karen National Army (KNA) that are formally affiliated with and operate under the junta’s command structure.
This criminal enterprise has defrauded global victims of billions of dollars.
Recognizing this complicity, the international community has begun to act. The U.S. Treasury Department has commendably imposed sanctions on individuals and entities within these junta-affiliated BGF and KNA units for their direct role in cyber scam operations.
In a parallel effort, China has taken a severe stance against the Myanmar-based crime syndicates that have plagued its citizens, sentencing 16 members of the junta-linked Ming crime family to death.
Further broadening the fight, the U.S. and U.K. governments launched their largest-ever joint sanctions targeting these transnational scam networks, designating the Cambodia-based Prince Group and severing complicit financial institutions from the international banking system.
In Congress, Senator Maggie Hassan was the first to call on SpaceX to address the misuse of Starlink. Senator Rick Scott’s STOP Scammers Act and Representative Jefferson Shreve’s Dismantling Foreign Scam Syndicates Act further highlight the junta’s role in these criminal enterprises.
Amid these positive developments, a serious threat has emerged. We are receiving alarming reports from inside Myanmar and along the Thai-Myanmar border that Starlink service is already being disrupted, cutting off resistance groups and civilians alike.
A blunt, reactive shutdown is the worst possible outcome, as it would hand the junta a strategic victory.
In light of this, our coalition respectfully urges a nuanced and strategic U.S. policy. The immediate priority must be a selective disruption of Starlink services.
We strongly encourage the State Department to authorize a framework that allows Starlink to “whitelist” vetted humanitarian and pro-democracy users while “blacklisting” the junta and its criminal partners.
This targeted approach is essential to preserve the resistance’s vital communications.
This policy must be paired with consistent diplomatic clarity. We deeply appreciate the U.S. spokesperson’s explicit declaration at the recent UN High-Level Conference on Rohingya and other Ethnic Minorities rejecting the junta’s fraudulent elections.
It is vital for the world to recognize that any nation, whether it be China or an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member, that legitimizes these sham elections is aligning itself with a criminal junta.
The U.S. has already sanctioned the junta’s partners in crime. Now, it must ensure its technology policy does not inadvertently empower them.
For those who wish to support this strategic approach, our detailed petition with policy recommendations is available for review and endorsement. Your support can help shape a U.S. policy that is both just and effective.
Read the Petition Here and Endorse Here
Thank you for standing in solidarity with the people of Myanmar.
James Shwe is a Myanmar democracy activist in the U.S. and is a member of the advocacy groups Free Myanmar and the Los Angeles Myanmar Movement. He has been trying to organize and motivate the Myanmar diaspora to advocate for democracy in Myanmar.
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