1 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Hey everyone, I'm Robert Evans and this is Me and 2 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:12,479 Speaker 1: Mar printing the Revolutions It could happen here special mini series, 3 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: an in depth documentary investigation with me and journalist James Stout. 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,440 Speaker 1: Over the next four days, you're going to learn about 5 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: the gin Z militias of the Me and Mar Civil War, 6 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: three D printed weapons, and a bunch of other really 7 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: fascinating stuff. Besides, So, without any further ado, here's James. 8 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 2: Ever since the first person built the first fence, took 9 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 2: land from everybody and annex it to themselves, property rights 10 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 2: and violence have gone hand in hand. With property grew 11 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 2: the state, and with a state came the police. Today, 12 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 2: most of us grew up under the control of states, 13 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 2: and they're so ubiquitous that their violence is often overlooked 14 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 2: until a particularly egregious incident occurs. But all states, even 15 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 2: the most benign, rest on a monopoly on violence. Stay 16 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 2: it to the entity that imposed laws on a given area, 17 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,320 Speaker 2: and if you break those laws, the state can beat 18 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:08,320 Speaker 2: you up, lock you up, or shoot you up. When 19 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 2: the state loses the monopoly on violence, it ceases to 20 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 2: be able to enforce its laws, charge its taxes, and 21 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 2: enforce its will on the people it rules. We've seen 22 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 2: this all over the world, from the Democratic Republic of 23 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 2: Congo took briefly downtown Seattle. Our state in the USA 24 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 2: speaks a language of rights and liberties. When we want 25 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 2: to appeal to the state, we tend to use that language. 26 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 2: Even though our state, as we saw in twenty twenty's 27 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 2: backed by plenty of violence as much as any other, 28 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 2: it goes a long way to camouflage that violence. Some states, 29 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 2: for a bit more mask off. They speak to their 30 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 2: citizens more or less exclusively through violence, and when citizens 31 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 2: need to respond to that state, they respond to the 32 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 2: language it uses to speak to them. That's how a 33 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 2: teenager from Yangon miel Maar ended up on Reddit in 34 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 2: summer of twenty twenty one asking strangers how to use 35 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 2: a three D printer and computer to make a rifle. 36 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 2: Me and Ma isn't a country that is on the 37 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 2: radar for most of the US. If it is at all, 38 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 2: it's probably because the State councilor and Foreign Minister ensign Succi. 39 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 2: She managed perhaps the history's fastest pivot from Nobel Peace 40 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 2: Prize winner to head of a government accused of genocide. 41 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 2: But Tsuki is in jail now and the Rohingia, the 42 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 2: Muslim ethnic group that the military attempted to eliminate from 43 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 2: the east of the country under her rule, are just 44 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 2: one of many ethnic and political groups. They're in open 45 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 2: armed conflict with the military, who now hold control of 46 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 2: the government of me and mar known locally as a 47 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 2: tatmodor the military sees power. In early twenty twenty one, 48 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 2: you might have seen a video of a woman doing 49 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 2: an aerobics workout as the vehicles rolled in behind her 50 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 2: to seize power. Ever since that day they've been committing 51 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 2: crimes against humanity all over the country. Me and Marh 52 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 2: has a longer history of dictatorship than democracy. The British 53 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 2: East India Company occupied the area that now represents the 54 00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 2: country in the nineteenth century. As always, they talked about 55 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,639 Speaker 2: civiling missions and freedoms, but in practice the occupation was 56 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 2: extractive and only benefited the Anglo Burmese and a few 57 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 2: Indian civil servants they brought with them often. But this 58 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 2: month led to resistance that manifested itself in hunger strikes 59 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 2: and everyday acts of disobedience, small ways of saying no. 60 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 2: In a few instances, it became open and unbrest build 61 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 2: into the streets. The country became a major battleground during 62 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 2: the Second World War, with Japan evading and seizing the 63 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 2: country before Allied forces took it back in a fierce 64 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 2: campaign in nineteen forty four. As many as one hundred 65 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 2: and fifty thousand Japanese troops died. Burmese people fought on 66 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 2: both sides. Ag San Agsang Suchi's father demanded that Britain 67 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 2: grant him and his fellow Burmese people independence if they 68 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 2: fought for the Allies. The British refused. Nstan then went 69 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 2: first to China and eventually Japan for support, and eventually 70 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 2: he fought against the British with his Burmer Independence Army. 71 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 2: But after two years of occupation, Agstan and his comrade 72 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 2: to change sides broad alliance called the Anti Fascist Organization. 73 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 2: They turned on the Japanese and they once again took 74 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 2: up arms to liberate their country. On the fourth of 75 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:12,560 Speaker 2: January nineteen forty seven, Burma became an independent republic. The 76 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 2: new republic's territory combined three British territories and over one 77 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 2: hundred distinct ethnic groups. For the next fourteen years, these 78 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 2: groups struggled to find a democratic Burma and an identity 79 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 2: for themselves within it. Mostly they failed. The period was 80 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 2: characterized by the Chinese Civil War, spilling it to Burma, 81 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 2: ethnic armed insurgencies and repeated demands for a federal republic 82 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 2: with a weak central government. In nineteen sixty two, the 83 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 2: military a rate at new demands for a federal republic 84 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 2: stage to coup. Burmer spent the next twenty two years 85 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 2: under the military rule of a council, pursuing what they 86 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 2: called the Burmese Way to socialism. Burmer's planned economy left 87 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,280 Speaker 2: it largely isolated from the rest of the world. At home, 88 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 2: the press was censored, and a type of nationalism that 89 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 2: combined nominal socialism and Burman ethnic identity became the official 90 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 2: state ideology. During this period, Burma became one of the 91 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 2: world's poorest countries. Sporadic protests were met with overwhelming force, 92 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 2: and the eighth of August nineteen eighty eight, an uprising began. 93 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:21,840 Speaker 2: It started among his students in Yangon, but it took 94 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 2: realt quickly around the country. The so called eight eight 95 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 2: eight eight Uprising because of the date, began with a 96 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:32,160 Speaker 2: general strike and huge non violent protests. These were met 97 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:36,600 Speaker 2: with gunfire. Protesters fought back with molotov cocktails and rocks. 98 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 2: The military fired into hospitals, and by September eighteenth, they'd 99 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 2: launched a coup to take the country from a one 100 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 2: party state back to a military dictatorship. It was thuring 101 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 2: these protests Angsan Suki, the daughter of Independence. Here at 102 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,599 Speaker 2: Angsan emerged as a national figurehead, especially in the west. 103 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 2: Amitov Ghusch, the Indian writer, wrote the following about eight 104 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 2: eight eight eight across Burma, people poured out in thousands 105 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 2: to join the protests, not just students, but also teachers, monks, children, 106 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 2: professionals and trade unionists of every shade. It was on 107 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 2: this day too, that the Hunter made its first determined 108 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:19,039 Speaker 2: attempt at repression. Soldiers opened fire on the demonstrators and 109 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 2: hundreds of unarmed marchers were killed. The killings continued for 110 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:25,839 Speaker 2: a week, but still the demonstrators continued to flood the streets. 111 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 2: After the uprising had been suppressed, multi party elections were 112 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 2: later held, while the new National League for Democracy party 113 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 2: of Ansong su Qi won the most votes. The Hunter 114 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,719 Speaker 2: refused to seed power. Protests continued off and on for 115 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 2: decades with the two thousand and seven Saffron Revolution, in 116 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 2: which the government violently cracked down on monks, resulting in 117 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 2: the most international condemnation. Following the Saffron Revolution, the government's 118 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 2: isolationism hindering aid After extensive cyclone damage in two thousand 119 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 2: and eight, the military government finally implemented the roadmap to 120 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 2: discipline flourishing democracy that had developed in nineteen ninety three. 121 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:06,280 Speaker 2: If you're wondering about the name of the country, this 122 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:08,840 Speaker 2: officially changed in nineteen eighty nine as well. I Like 123 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 2: much of the nation's history, a grand proclamation from the 124 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 2: government didn't mean much on the ground. Both words derived 125 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 2: from Buranma, a name that the majority ethnic group who 126 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 2: we're calling Berman here used for themselves. Many opposition groups 127 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 2: still use Burma instead of Meemma. It's another small way 128 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 2: of saying no to the military's attempt to control every 129 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 2: aspect of their lives. 130 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 3: Finally, on the eighteenth of September, the army took to 131 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 3: the streets and the coup, led by their Chief of Staff, 132 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 3: General Saumon the next day, the killings began again. The 133 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 3: army later described these people as looters. 134 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: It was not until twenty eleven that the military junta 135 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: finally stepped down and passed on power to the Union's 136 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: Solidarity and Development Party in an election that was widely 137 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: seen as fraudulent. A year later, Ong San sou Chi 138 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: was released, and by twenty fifteen her National League for 139 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: Democracy won an absolute majority. While she was barred from 140 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 1: holding the presidential office, she took on the role of 141 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: State councilor, and Mianmar entered a period of liberalization, which, 142 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 1: although never the federal democracy promised when the country gained 143 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: its independence in nineteen forty seven, allowed for significant freedoms 144 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: of communication and speech, especially for the Burman majority ethnic group. 145 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,439 Speaker 1: Not everyone was reconciled to the change. Many of Myanmars 146 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty five ethnic groups feel marginalized by 147 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:53,479 Speaker 1: the state, which tends to be dominated by the Burman ethnicity. 148 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: Some of these groups have armed insurgeent wings, often more 149 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: than one per ethnic group, as they disagree on politics 150 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: or religion. These groups have fought various Burmese governments since 151 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:05,959 Speaker 1: the nineteen forties, but many of them reached a ceasefire 152 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: with the government as the country passed from military to 153 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:12,560 Speaker 1: civilian rule. One group however, saw a huge uptick in violence. 154 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:16,440 Speaker 1: The Rohinga ethnic group have been persecuted by Buddhist nationals 155 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,679 Speaker 1: since the nineteen seventies, but the campaign against them increased 156 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:22,960 Speaker 1: in violence and scale in twenty sixteen, when the Tatmdaw 157 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,560 Speaker 1: began a huge crackdown against Rohinga people in Rakin's State. 158 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:29,960 Speaker 1: The persecution began in response to attacks by the Arkan 159 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: Rohinga Salvation Army on Burmese border outposts, but the campaign 160 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: that followed had nothing to do with the small insurgent 161 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:38,720 Speaker 1: group and a lot to do with the desire of 162 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: the Toatmadaw to destroy or drive out all Rohinga people, 163 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: who they claim are undocumented migrants from Bangladesh and not 164 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: citizens of Myanmar. While the world praised Suki, her government 165 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: looked the other way as the military carried out a 166 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: genocide that displaced over a million people and killed tens 167 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 1: of thousands. It was in the context of growing international 168 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: condemnation of the j Aside that Mianmar went to the 169 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: polls in November of twenty twenty. The November twenty twenty 170 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 1: election was only the nation's second since the official end 171 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: of military rule on Sansu Chi's National League for Democracy 172 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:16,079 Speaker 1: won a resounding victory. The military backed Union Solidarity and 173 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: Development Party holds twenty five percent of seats under a 174 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 1: constitution that SUCHI wanted to change. It didn't take defeat well. 175 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: The election was neither perfectly free nor fair. The Rohinga 176 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: have been almost wholly disenfranchised. The government claims they are 177 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and thus unable to vote. Areas 178 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:37,199 Speaker 1: with ethnic armed organizations which opposed the government often had 179 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:40,559 Speaker 1: poles canceled and internet cut off. According to Human Rights Watch. 180 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,440 Speaker 1: The Carter Center estimates that one point four million citizens 181 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,959 Speaker 1: couldn't vote. The one opposition party that was certainly not 182 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: shortchanged was the military's. However, it was the Union Solidarity 183 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: and Development Party USDP, which had been calling for election 184 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: delays due to COVID before poles opened. Once the elections 185 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 1: concl luted, they immediately began questioning the results. They continued 186 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:05,600 Speaker 1: to attempt to undermine the vote for months before they 187 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 1: resorted to force on the first to February twenty twenty one, 188 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,760 Speaker 1: the day before the newly elected legislators were due to 189 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:15,480 Speaker 1: be sworn in, the world largely ignored the situation. Apart 190 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,439 Speaker 1: from the one viral video where a masked fitness instructor 191 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,960 Speaker 1: dances in the foreground as APCs roll through a roadblock 192 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: and into the parliament complex behind her. Ensangsuchi was arrested, 193 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 1: charged with breaching COVID nineteen restrictions and illegally importing a 194 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: walkie talkie, and General min Ang Hlang was installed at 195 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: the head of a military junta. If this sounds a 196 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: little like a stop to Steel fantasy, that's because it 197 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:42,960 Speaker 1: is eerily similar to one. Myanmar's democracy is not what 198 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: academics call a consolidated one, which is to say that 199 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:49,080 Speaker 1: democracy has never been the only game in town there, 200 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 1: but the United States seems to be rapidly deconsolidating its 201 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: own democracy. The allegations of election fraud and mianmarb were 202 00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:59,439 Speaker 1: no more credible than those in Arizona. However, the military's 203 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: tradition of political engagement there removed many of the barriers 204 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: in between electoral defeat and the death of a short 205 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 1: lived democracy. Within twenty four hours of the coup, the 206 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:11,679 Speaker 1: people of Myanmar had fought back. Healthcare workers and civil 207 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: servants were on strike by February third, and a boycott 208 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 1: of junta owned businesses had begun. Protests began with a 209 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: handful of people. The memories of massacres of pro democracy 210 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 1: protesters in the nineteen eighties kept many away, but a 211 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 1: younger generation who had grown up with relative liberty, internet 212 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:30,400 Speaker 1: access and basic freedoms had not seen blood in the 213 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:33,839 Speaker 1: streets like their parents. They had seen activists in Hong Kong, 214 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:37,440 Speaker 1: the USA, and Ukraine take on violent state apparatuses, and 215 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:39,079 Speaker 1: they'd often seen them win. 216 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,319 Speaker 2: By the sixth of February, twenty thousand people in the 217 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:56,400 Speaker 2: streets of Yangon, the largest city, and the Internet was 218 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 2: shut down. Nationwide. Protests began peacefully with memorable signs like 219 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 2: my ex is bad, but the military is worse, and 220 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 2: we are protesting peacefully, but with the WAP capitalized, so 221 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,320 Speaker 2: it said whap. These signs were designed by a generation 222 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:13,679 Speaker 2: of kids who grew up with access to the Internet 223 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 2: to attract international attention. Despite the ban. They used VPNs 224 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 2: to show imaguy to their struggle. One sign read if 225 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 2: messed with the wrong generation now will never be allowed 226 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,880 Speaker 2: to ruin our own lives. The Tatmador showed its cards 227 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 2: pretty quickly. Police began the suppression with sling shots and clubs, 228 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,960 Speaker 2: then tear gas and flash brang and quickly they moved 229 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,120 Speaker 2: to rifles and rocket the pel grenades. By the ninth 230 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:44,320 Speaker 2: of February, Maathway thway Heine, a twenty year old woman, 231 00:13:44,480 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 2: have been shot in the street. Soon those young protesters 232 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 2: have switched science for shields by mid March and armed 233 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 2: fort this day. One hundred and fortyen civilians were killed 234 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,720 Speaker 2: in a single day, including sixty five in Yangon who 235 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:33,280 Speaker 2: were kettled by police, surrounded and then shot Quickly, shield 236 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:36,560 Speaker 2: walls were set up, medics identified themselves in the protest movement, 237 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 2: and hard hats and goggles were distributed, but this didn't 238 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 2: tip the balance of power in their favor. So Orlin, 239 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,680 Speaker 2: a former student union leader, was there from the start. 240 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 2: In a text message, he told me I did not 241 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 2: miss a single day as a member of the Kaya 242 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 2: State National Strike Committee. I later became more involved in 243 00:14:56,080 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 2: anti authoritarian protests. In the early protests, to see him 244 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:02,160 Speaker 2: in photos walking at the front of the group carrying 245 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:04,720 Speaker 2: flags and banners with his student ID card on a 246 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,200 Speaker 2: lanyard around his neck. But by March he's wearing a 247 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 2: black shirt, goggles and a hard construction hat. Meanwhile, the 248 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 2: National League for Democracy politicians who had escaped attention joined 249 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,720 Speaker 2: other parties and set up a National Unity Government in April. 250 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 2: The National Unity Government contained members of the National League 251 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 2: for Democracy, but significantly, a Rahingio activist was appointed and 252 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 2: advised in the Ministry of Human Rights and the National 253 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:34,400 Speaker 2: Unity Government has announced it would for the first time 254 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 2: accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court with respect 255 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 2: to all international crimes committed in Meh and Mah since 256 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 2: two thousand and two. This would include the Rhinga genocide. 257 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 2: By May, both the National Unity Government and Swollen had 258 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 2: realized that no amount of nonviolent protests was going to 259 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 2: dislodge regime. There was happy to gun down kids in 260 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:57,360 Speaker 2: the street, so on the fifth of May he left 261 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 2: for the jungle. That same day, the National Unity Government 262 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 2: announced the formation of the People's Defense Force or PDF. 263 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:07,000 Speaker 2: Within a month, eight hundred soldiers had affected to these 264 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 2: pro democracy guerrilla units. Many bought their guns with them, 265 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:14,800 Speaker 2: but Twa didn't join the PDF. Instead, he joined one 266 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 2: of me and R's many ethnic armed organizations groups opposed 267 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 2: to a central state and its domination by the Burman ethnicity. 268 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 2: To understand these groups you need to understand that MEMR 269 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 2: is composed of dozens, not hundreds, of ethnic groups, but 270 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 2: that the Burman, who make up about two thirds of 271 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 2: the population, have always controlled the state and used it 272 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 2: as a tool in furthering their interest. Some of these groups, 273 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 2: like the Koran National Liberation Army and the Kachin Independence Army, 274 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 2: have been fighting for decades since the country emerged from 275 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 2: British colonial rule at the end of World War Two. 276 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 2: All of these groups draw on a combination of ethnic 277 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:53,000 Speaker 2: and political grievances. Many of them administer semi autonomous territories, 278 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:54,760 Speaker 2: like the Koren State. 279 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: In twenty thirteen, thirteen ethnic Armed Organizations or EAOs came 280 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: together to form the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordinating Team in CCT 281 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 1: and signed an eleven point Common Position of Ethnic Resistance 282 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 1: Organizations on National Ceasefire, or the LEISA Agreement. Most of 283 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:24,400 Speaker 1: them seemed to agree that they would accept a federal 284 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:28,400 Speaker 1: system rather than complete autonomy. In twenty fifteen, a ceasefire 285 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 1: was signed, but conflict between ethnic armed organizations and between 286 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 1: EAOs and the government continued. Since the coup began, EO 287 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:40,679 Speaker 1: membership has skyrocketed, and in October the National Unity government 288 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:44,399 Speaker 1: announced alliances with several groups under a central chain of command. 289 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:47,679 Speaker 1: Some political organizations who played a part in the nineteen 290 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,080 Speaker 1: eighty eight uprising, like the Al Burma Students Democratic Front, 291 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: have been revived as armed groups. The ABSDF recently attacked 292 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 1: Tottmadaw ships using an RPG A tax on military bases 293 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 1: have also stepped up. PDF units have ambushed and killed 294 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:06,520 Speaker 1: policemen and raided police and military outposts. Each time they do, 295 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,920 Speaker 1: they steal valuable weapons and ammunition. The top Madaw has 296 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:14,520 Speaker 1: responded with shellings and airstrikes against residential areas, executions, mass 297 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:17,920 Speaker 1: physical retribution, and the murdering of civilians and aid workers 298 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 1: and burning of their bodies. As a result of all this, 299 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:25,399 Speaker 1: ethnic armed organizations have joined forces with anti authoritarian Burman 300 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,960 Speaker 1: people under the auspices of the People's Defense Forces, which 301 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 1: are under the command of the exiled National Unity Government. 302 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 4: We have never experienced such kind of brutalities from the 303 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,960 Speaker 4: military as well as as strong resistance from the people. 304 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:47,920 Speaker 4: They try to make sure the whole country submit to them, 305 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,800 Speaker 4: but we still refuse to allow them to be our rulers. 306 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:03,760 Speaker 5: This defiance has led to the formation of the People's 307 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:09,000 Speaker 5: Defense Forces or PDF, a coalition of thousands of resistance 308 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:13,600 Speaker 5: fighters were carrying out surprise attacks on hunter checkpoints, bombing 309 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:18,399 Speaker 5: army convoys, and supporting ethnic armies in their fight against 310 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 5: the regime. Twelve months ago, these men and women were 311 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:26,800 Speaker 5: students and office workers protesting the coup. Today they're training 312 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 5: to overthrow the military. 313 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 4: The Innesoja is the tough choints, but the young people 314 00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:37,199 Speaker 4: they are ready to defend the communities. They have to, 315 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:42,159 Speaker 4: of course, sacrifice their own daily life, ordinary life. 316 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:44,880 Speaker 1: Since March of twenty twenty, the influx of new recruits 317 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,800 Speaker 1: has changed these groups. Generation Z militias like the Carini 318 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,320 Speaker 1: gin Z Liberation Army have sprung up, founded by kids 319 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 1: who were holding memeable signs at protests just a few 320 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: months earlier. They care less about ethnic independence and more 321 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: about beating the junta. Many Burman kids join these groups. 322 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:06,280 Speaker 1: These organizations of young fighters received training from the experienced 323 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:08,959 Speaker 1: guerrillas hiding in the jungle, but they tended to adopt 324 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,200 Speaker 1: a less top down military structure and armed themselves by 325 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,560 Speaker 1: scavenging whatever weapons they could find, often twenty two caliber 326 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:19,159 Speaker 1: rifles better suited to shooting squirrels than soldiers. It was 327 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,400 Speaker 1: these kids who grew up online and knew that there 328 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,119 Speaker 1: was nothing you couldn't learn about on Reddit who tipped 329 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:27,240 Speaker 1: the balance of force away from the state. Unlike the 330 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:30,959 Speaker 1: ethnic armed organizations and other more experienced guerrillas than me Anmar, 331 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:34,840 Speaker 1: these kids have little military experience. Their organizations have few 332 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 1: rules and regulations. They're made up entirely of young people. 333 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 1: As a result, there are certain things that they're less 334 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: proficient at, but they're much better at things like grasping 335 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: the use of new technologies, which has led to me 336 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: Anmar being the first country in the world where three 337 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: D printed weapons have taken part in a revolution against 338 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: the government. We're going to hear more about that and 339 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: many other things as this series continues. It Could Happen 340 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:06,720 Speaker 1: Here as a production of cool Zone Media. 341 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,480 Speaker 4: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website 342 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,640 Speaker 4: coolzonemedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 343 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 4: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can 344 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 4: find sources for It Could Happen Here, updated monthly at 345 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 4: coolzonemedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening.