>> The civil war in Myanmar
intensified this week as
resistance fighters attacked the
governing military forces.
The U.N. Estimates 18 million
people need humanitarian aid as
a result of the fighting, which
is entering its third year.
It follows a 2020 12 to return
the southeast Asian nation to
military rule.
That was followed by a brutal
crackdown on dissent, relentless
attacks on civilians, and an
exodus of people to neighboring
countries.
The turmoil has led to a rush to
exploit Myanmar's natural
resources.
Gold, jade, luxury, and other
commodities reaching the market
despite U.S. Sanctions.
Earlier, I spoke with a burmese
American journalist and
southeast Asia correspondent for
the bbc.
I asked what led to what was
going on now.
>> You can look at the painful
history Myanmar has had since
World War II.
Mostly under military rule.
There were protests all the way
through those periods.
Big ones in 1988 that were
crushed violently.
We saw the appearance of this
figure who was enormously
popular.
The daughter of a hero of the
Independence movement.
But the first free election in
decades was held in 2015.
Perhaps the military did not
expect this.
But when the second election
came around, she did even
better.
Her party winning arise hounding
majority.
It seems to have been too much
for the generals.
They felt they were losing too
much control.
Her relationship with the top
general was not good.
Just as she was about to summon
parliament to start her second
term of office, he launched the
coup.
When the military did it, you
saw massive protest.
They used the most incredible
levels of force to put them
down.
We ended up in a situation where
that move, because it was forced
underground, has evolved into a
full-scale civil war.
>> The resistance, the
insurgents who were opposing the
military regime, who is in it
and what do they want?
>> There are quite a number of
different groups talking about
opposition to the Myanmar
military.
You have the armed groups from
those ethnic minority
populations who have been
resisting against the federal
government.
Those groups have been resisting
and taking up with new armed
groups.
Some are in coalition with one
another.
Many are also operating
independently.
Many are in collaboration with
the civilian government.
They are largely coordinating
the armed resistance.
>> You were in Myanmar last
month.
What was it like?
What was life like for the
average citizen?
>> I have to qualify that by
saying >> Under quite strict
conditions.
Talking to people, they were
extremely concerned.
It turned out the fighting has
spread.
Local people, young people are
very frustrated by the coup and
the terrible economic
consequences.
The impression I got was misery.
People terrified the conflict
was going to spread to their
areas.
Terrified of the retribution
that would come to them if
they're young people took up
arms.
And they were devastated by the
economic impact.
>> Describe the repression for
people.
You told producers you left
because you felt unsafe.
Talk about the threat that you
felt.
>> I used to work at reuters.
My colleagues worked for over
500 days trying to cover a story
about the genocide.
The repression against
journalists really ramped up in
addition to what was happening.
My apartment was entered into by
my landlord and local
administrative department.
A number of my friends and
colleagues had been arrested by
that point.
I felt in order to continue
doing my job I needed to leave
the country.
>> On that point, where do you
think it is going?
Can you see how it might end?
>> I cannot see it because you
have to get inside the mindset
of these generals who launched
the coup.
Miscalculating catastrophically.
They never saw the popular
resistance.
They do see themselves and talk
about it as the core institution
of the countries.
That they have a right to do
what they have done.
They have committed dreadful
crimes against humanity.
I think the leaders must be
think we will be torn to pieces
by the population or end up
international war crimes court.
Like they have nowhere to go.
There is no dialogue.
There should be a diplomatic way
out because the human suffering
is immense.
It will get worse.
U.S. Influence is not that big
in this region.
Other countries are kind of
pursuing their own interests.
>> Do see a pathway to
dissenting?
>> There is not a place for the
military to go given the path it
is going on.
It cannot back down in the way
to spell any success for them.
And for the resistance, people
have lost so much in the last
two years.
All of the benefits
democratization in the last
decade has brought has been
rolled back.
It is harder to repress a
population that has tasted
freedom as opposed to one
fighting for something they had
never experienced.
>> Thank you both very much.