The Myanmar Military is showing its force

Senior foreign executives of major telecommunication organisations in Myanmar have been told by the junta that they must not leave the country without permission

According to a report by Reuters, a person with direct knowledge of the matter has contacted the media.

A confidential order from Myanmar’s Posts and Telecommunications Department in mid-June stated that senior executives, both foreigners and Myanmar nationals, must seek permission from the military in order to leave the country.

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.