POST
PRODUCTION
SCRIPT
Foreign
Correspondent
2021
What's
Happening in Myanmar?
30
mins 15 secs
©2021
ABC
Ultimo Centre
700
Harris Street Ultimo
NSW
2007 Australia
GPO
Box 9994
Sydney
NSW
2001 Australia
Phone:
61 419 231 533
Precis
|
Thinzar Shunlei Yi is in hiding. Like many who've campaigned
openly against the Myanmar military, the 29-year-old TV presenter is on the
run, a warrant out for her arrest. Since the military seized power in a coup six months ago,
hundreds of people have been killed and many more arrested. But Shunlei Yi is determined to tell the world what's happening
in Myanmar now. "What happened in the bright daylight, in the big city, I
felt they are showing their true colours, they can't hide it anymore." Thinzar Shunlei Yi is one of many young people resisting
military rule. Some are protesting peacefully, joining nationwide boycotts and strikes
which have shut down schools and hospitals and brought businesses to a
standstill. Others are taking up arms, training with long-established ethnic
armed forces on the country's borders. They're returning to the towns and cities to ambush and assassinate
the military and its informers. "Definitely, we're moving into a phase where civil war is
very, very possible," say Manny Maung from Human Rights Watch. In a powerful and timely program, Matt Davis reports on a
country in full-blown crisis. He spent months tracking down and filming with the military's
opponents in Myanmar. He found them in hiding in the jungle, training for war
on the borders or living undercover in the cities. With the internet routinely shut down, getting the interviews
out of the country has been difficult. Foreign Correspondent managed to
smuggle them out, using trusted sources on the ground. Despite the risks of speaking out, these people are desperate to
be heard, afraid the world's attention is drifting away from Myanmar. Foreign Correspondent speaks with: The Foreign Minister of the National Unity Government, Zin Mar
Aung who spent nine years in solitary confinement under a previous military
government. Now on the wanted list again, Zin Mar Aung is a key member of the
newly formed government-in-exile. "It's the last battle for us and for
our country, whether we let the military win or democracy win." A 29-year-old former captain in the military, who defected when
the military began killing civilians, and is now in hiding, in fear for his
life. "Our soldiers cannot distinguish between the truth and brainwashed
information. That's how they perpetuate so much hate and violence towards
civilians." A Gen-Z protestor who's taking up arms against the military,
joining the People's Defence Force. They're starting a campaign of
assassinations. "We are not just targeting anybody...Are they in the
military? Or involved with the military? If we confirm they are, we send them
a written warning. If they don't heed our warning, only then do we destroy
them." |
|
Episode
teaser |
|
00:00 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: A fragile democracy shattered, a military general determined to hold on
to power. |
00:04 |
|
SWE WIN: He turned the country’s armed forces into a
terrorist organisation. No principle at all, no regard for human life, no
regard for justice. |
00:10 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Six months after the coup that
shocked the world, Myanmar is in turmoil. |
00:18 |
|
MANNY MAUNG:
Definitely we’re moving into a phase where civil war is very, very
possible. |
00:24 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Hundreds have been killed and
thousands arrested, but the people of Myanmar are not giving up. |
00:29 |
|
Music |
00:36 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: A new political force is emerging,
fighting for a true democracy. |
00:39 |
|
THINZAR SHUNLEI YI:
We had a failed political system, When the coup happened, it gave us a
space to reshape our narrative, to reshape our future. |
00:44 |
|
Music |
00:55 |
|
MAN: "You
shoot one of us and we all feel the bullet." |
00:58 |
|
Music |
01:02 |
|
ZIN MAR AUNG: This battle is the last battle for us and
for the country. |
01:05 |
|
Music |
01:10 |
Melbourne
GVs. Title: |
|
01:18 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Our story starts thousands of
kilometres away, in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. |
01:33 |
Matt
on tram to meet Swe Win |
I'm on my way to meet one of Myanmar's most prominent
journalists, a man determined to make sure the world knows what's happening
in Myanmar. |
01:38 |
Matt
walks with Swe Win, at cafe |
SWE WIN: My soul is left in my home country even though
my body is here. |
01:49 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: A former political prisoner, Swe
Win spent three years in solitary confinement for protesting
against the military. Today he is the editor in chief of Myanmar Now;
his team of 40 journalists across Myanmar are in hiding, but they continue
reporting. |
01:57 |
|
SWE WIN: At least 10 to 20 million people are reading our
website in the aftermath of the coup. Normally, our traffic is about
one to two million visitors. |
02:16 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Myanmar Now's coverage is also catching
the eye of those behind the coup. |
02:27 |
|
SWE WIN: The military generals have some sort of personal
grudge against me, so they cannot touch me now. As long as
I'm outside the country, I'm in a better position to manage the team. |
02:32 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: So you're
the generals' favourite journalist? SWE WIN: Maybe. But I don't have any sort of ill will
towards them. |
02:47 |
|
We just want to see the country going in the right
direction. |
02:54 |
Swe
Win at computer |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Since the coup more than 80 journalists
have been arrested, some of them tortured.
|
03:00 |
|
SWE WIN: I am very concerned about the safety of our
journalists. Very, very much concerned. |
03:10 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Journalism in Myanmar has always
been a high risk occupation – two years ago it almost cost Swe Win his life. |
03:16 |
|
SWE WIN: I was on
a holiday to a beach. When I was coming out from a guesthouse, somebody shot
at me, shot at the car. |
03:25 |
Swe
Win/Photos of bullet wound |
The bullet came actually to my
neck, but fortunately it went into the keyhole area of the car door, and then
the bullet got redirected and hit my leg. |
03:34 |
Myanmar
Now articles on computer |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Swe Win and his team had published
a series of articles exposing the vast financial interests of the military
commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing and his family. He believes the order to
kill came from the top. |
03:53 |
Swe
Win at computer |
"Was that attack ever investigated? " SWE WIN: Never ever.
How can I file a police complaint when I suspect that the police were
trying to kill me? The soldiers were trying to kill me. |
04:08 |
Daughter
enters room |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: His wife and daughter were in the
car with him. |
04:21 |
|
SWE WIN: Yeah well, sometimes when a car brakes,
you know, or when she hear a very loud noise |
04:25 |
Swe
Win at computer watching military fire with daughter |
she mistook it for a gunshot, actually.
I don't want to introduce her to the brutalities, but I want her to be aware
of all these events, even though she's young. She will grow up with some big
memory of what was going on when she was five or six. I think it's important. |
04:34 |
Myanmar.
Elections |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: From his new home in Melbourne, Swe
Win watched last November’s elections with growing concern. The military
backed party was facing a landslide loss against the popular National League
for Democracy. |
05:08 |
Myanmar
Now online article |
Swe Win and his team published an article stating a coup
was imminent. |
05:23 |
Myanmar.
Woman exercising video. Military in background |
MANNY MAUNG: On
Feb the 1st when
everyone was expected to be |
05:30 |
Manny
Maung. Super: |
in parliament and didn’t turn up, this is how we knew
that the military were taking over. |
05:35 |
Myanmar.
Woman exercising video. Military in background |
It was all caught on camera by, allegedly, |
05:41 |
Manny
Maung |
just your everyday exercise teacher doing her routine, |
05:50 |
Myanmar.
Woman exercising video. Military in background |
and it was aired and spread out all over the internet as
well as on television, making a very clear statement about the fact that the
military were taking back control |
05:54 |
Manny
Maung |
and they were doing it in a way that would instigate fear
among the populous. |
06:10 |
Myanmar.
Woman exercising video. Military in background |
MIN AUNG HLAING: "Currently, Myanmar is striving for
political stability. |
06:15 |
Min
Aung Hlaing briefing |
Due to the dishonesty of the NLD (National League for
Democracy) government, our current government has taken steps to restore
integrity to democracy." |
06:29 |
Swe
Win watches briefing on computer |
SWE WIN: The coup leader Min Aung Hlaing said |
06:41 |
Swe
Win |
he launched a coup to promote democracy. We did a coup to
promote democracy! |
06:45 |
Min
Aung Hlaing cavalcade, military parade |
We saved the country! MANNY MAUNG: As a
Burmese person who spent many years living there, I was shocked, but also I was scared. |
06:52 |
Manny
Maung |
So many of us remember in our lifetimes what it was like
to live under military dictatorship and no one wants
to go back to that. |
07:03 |
Military
presence on street, Aung San Suu Kyi |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Democratically elected leader Aung
San Suu Kyi and her inner circle were detained. |
07:13 |
Newspapers
at kiosk |
SWE WIN: Even though we foresaw the size of the coup, I
was so shocked. |
07:21 |
Swe
Win |
I was struck with a strange sorrow. Not anger, actually. Sorrow. For the plight of this country. |
07:27 |
Aerial.
Protests |
|
07:38 |
Protestor
flash mobs dance |
Music |
07:46 |
Protests |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The coup unleashed mass protests
across the country. Millions standing united against a common enemy – the
military – and its commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing. Led by Generation Z,
the protesters demanded the civilian government be reinstated. |
08:11 |
|
MANNY MAUNG: The previous ten years have been really
reformist. |
08:31 |
Manny
Maung |
People have been able to have so many more freedoms and
access to information and thoughts; they can think how they want, they can
feet how they want. No one is telling them how to act or how to be. |
08:35 |
Young
women at protests |
HTWE HTWE THEIN: When you look at these protestors, they
are young. A lot of the are also females, and the grew up from my generation
hearing these bad stories from my generation. |
08:46 |
Htwe
Htwe Thein. Super: |
They have had a taste of democracy and they don’t want to
lose it. We are fighting for these young Burmese, their future. |
09:00 |
Young
people at protests |
SWE WIN: They are the kind of generation who grew up with
iPads on their laps. This kind of generation, I think |
09-10 |
Swe
Win |
the military might view as troublesome to their control. |
09:18 |
Young
people at protests |
Music |
09:23 |
Video:
Thinzar Shunlei Yi TV show |
THINZAR SHUNLEI YI: "I feel like it's very important
for everybody to freely think and freely criticise and freely express
themselves in different means." |
09:36 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Before the coup, Thinzar Shunlei Yi
presented a popular youth TV show. She spoke at international summits
alongside superstars. |
09:47 |
Geldof
introduction at conference |
BOB GELDOF: "She will succeed because she is just
one of those people who doesn’t know what it is to fail. Ladies and
gentlemen, Thinzar Shunlei Yi." MATT DAVIS, Reporter: A prominent political activist, |
09:59 |
Thinzar
Shunlei Yi at protests |
she soon joined the large crowds calling for the military
to stand down. |
10:11 |
Thinzar
Shunlei Yi addresses protest |
THINZAR SHUNLEI YI: "We want our Government
back and you are responsible to do so." |
10:16 |
Crowds
of protestors |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: As the days went on, bolder demands
for unity and true democracy – one without military influence – became the
goal. |
10:21 |
Thinzar
Shunlei Yi video interview |
Thinzar Shunlei Yi was forced into hiding. THINZAR SHUNLEI YI:
Many young people were basically dreaming, more than just to restore
the civilian government or just to release the civilian leaders. |
10:31 |
Protests |
They were demanding for a bigger future. Like to abolish
the 2008 constitution. |
10:43 |
News
reports. Aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. Super: 2008 |
|
10:51 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Thirteen years ago
I was
living in Myanmar,
reporting in the aftermath of cyclone Nargis. It was in this chaos that a
much-anticipated constitutional referendum was held. The generals promised it
would be a key step |
10:57 |
2008
constitution document |
in a ‘roadmap to democracy’. The constitution, or the
green book, as it became known, enshrined into law widespread power and
control for the military. It was democracy on their terms. |
11:14 |
Thinzar
Shunlei Yi video interview |
THINZAR SHUNLEI YI:
The 2008 constitution was always the main root cause of the problems
in the country. Because whenever we try to advocate to advance our freedom, freedom
of expression, or rights to information, then 2008 constitution - they
control what should be there. It gave us a sense of false hope that we were
going towards a democratic transition. |
11:3 |
Elections |
When the coup happened it gave
us a space to reshape our narrative, to reshape our future. |
11:55 |
Military
parade |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: With protests escalating, the
military began turning its weapons on its own. |
12:05 |
Military
fire on civilians |
|
12:12 |
Photo
of Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing on posters |
On February 19, the first protestor died. MANNY MAUNG: Mya Thwate
Thwate Khaing was shot in the
head. She had her
back |
12:17 |
Police
spray protestors with water cannon |
turned to
the police forces that were
spraying water cannons |
12:25 |
Manny
Maung. Super: |
and tear
gas and firing, initially, what
everyone thought were rubber
bullets. |
12:31 |
Police
fire at protestors and medics |
But then
it very quickly became clear that
they were also mixing that
with live rounds. The medical people cannot provide services
because doctors and nurses who are trying to provide emergency medical care
are also being shot at and beaten. THINZAR SHUNLEI YI:
This is the most brutal |
12:37 |
Thinzar
Shunlei Yi video interview |
military ever we could imagine. |
12:59 |
Candlelight
vigil for those killed |
Even they were not in front of us, we just got killed |
13:03 |
Thinzar
Shunlei Yi video interview |
by head shots because they use snipers in the tall
buildings, |
13:09 |
Phone
footage. Injured man |
to create fear, especially to shrink our civil space. |
13:13 |
Protestors
sing |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The songs, artwork and memes of the
Gen Z protestors fell on deaf ears. |
13:25 |
|
And sporadic internet blackouts hampered communications. |
13:33 |
Animation
music clip |
Music |
13:36 |
CCTV
footage |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: More than 900 people, including
children, have been killed, both on the streets and in their homes. Thousands
have been arrested and many more are on the run. Despite a warrant out for
her arrest Thinzar Shunlei Yi continues to speak out. THINZAR SHUNLEI YI: We try our best to avoid detection
from the military, online and offline. |
14:05 |
Thinzar
Shunlei Yi video interview |
They see people like us, like freedom finders, talking
about democracy and human rights, speaking truth to power. They find us
threatening because we are with principles. |
14:32 |
Protestor
vox pops |
PROTESTOR 1: "I wasn’t really interested in politics
before." |
14:49 |
|
PROTESTOR 2: "But I know right from wrong." |
14:52 |
|
PROTESTOR 3: "As we were just about to see better
days ahead they took it away from us." |
14:54 |
|
PROTESTOR 4: "It’s completely unacceptable." |
14:58 |
|
PROTESTOR 5: "That’s why I'm risking my life out
here protesting." |
15:00 |
|
PROTESTOR 6: "We need democracy for future
generations." |
15:04 |
|
PROTESTOR 7: "We’re all brothers and sisters. You
shoot one of us, we all feel the bullet." |
15:07 |
|
PROTESTOR 8: "Living under this rule is the same as
being dead inside. So it doesn’t matter. We’re in
the end game now. Might as well keep on fighting until the end." |
15:12 |
Military
presence on streets |
Music |
15:22 |
Animation
music clip |
|
15:31 |
Military
beat man |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Among the soldiers themselves,
there are those who disapprove of the military’s brutality. |
15:48 |
Photos.
Lin Htet Aung |
29-year-old former captain Lin Htet Aung left the
military shortly after the killing began. He says around 800 soldiers have
defected since the coup. |
16:01 |
Video
interview Lin Htet Aung |
LIN HTET AUNG: If
I were caught right now, it would be the death penalty. No way around it. I
have sacrificed my whole life, given up my lifestyle. My life is broken. |
16:15 |
Photos.
Lin Htet Aung |
Our soldiers cannot distinguish the truth and brainwashed
information That’s
how they perpetuate so much hate and violence towards civilians. |
16:31 |
Video
interview Lin Htet Aung |
If the soldiers give up their weapons and stand with
civilians, the coup will fail. We are the pillars that support these
dictators. |
16:45 |
Military
camp |
CHRIS SIDOTI: Soldiers have to
live in military camps and their families have to live in the military camps.
So when the soldiers go outside their families stay
behind. |
16:56 |
Chris
Sidoti. Super: |
And so, they're basically hostages, held by the military
leadership to guarantee that the soldiers follow orders. |
17:09 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: As the military digs in a new
political force is emerging. |
17:18 |
NUG
graphic |
MANNY MAUNG: The NUG, or the National Unity Government,
have been dubbed the shadow government, but they would call themselves the
legitimate government of Myanmar. They're made up of a group of National
League for Democracy MPs, and self-appointed MPs who were previously key
leaders from civil society and the rights groups who were at the fore. |
17:24 |
Manny
Maung |
Their role now is to challenge the military. |
17:51 |
Matt
conducts video interview with Zin Mar Aung |
|
17:55 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Daw Zin Mar Aung, thank
you very much for talking to Foreign Correspondent. Can I ask, where are you
tonight, in our meeting? |
17:58 |
|
ZIN MAR AUNG: Somewhere
in Myanmar. MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Somewhere
in Myanmar. |
18:06 |
|
Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung is a former political
prisoner. She knows firsthand the brutality of the military. This is her
first television interview. |
18:11 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: How
long did you spend in solitary confinement? |
18:23 |
|
ZIN MAR AUNG: Nine years in
solitary. Totally, nine years in solitary confinement. MATT DAVIS, Reporter: For
protesting against the military? ZIN MAR AUNG: Yes.
So that's why I don't want the new generation to suffer like what we were. |
18:26 |
Military
meeting |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: She says it was the commander in
chief’s personal ambition that triggered the coup. |
18:44 |
Zin
Mar Aung interview |
ZIN MAR AUNG: Because
he wanted to be a president.
It's very clear, because of his personal and political interest,
his own interests. Now, the whole country is now being destroyed. |
18:51 |
Military
meeting |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The NUG has abolished the 2008
constitution and is drafting a new charter. |
19:04 |
Zin
Mar Aung interview |
I just want to show you here, I have a copy here. I can’t
read it …. ZIN MAR AUNG: You can see that a coup d'état itself is
not in line with the constitution, right? MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Sure. |
19:11 |
|
ZIN MAR AUNG: So to
abolish the 2008 constitution is our political goal. I think the military
coup is a challenge, but at the same time it's an opportunity to restart
political setting again. |
19:25 |
Map.
Myanmar |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The
National Unity
Government says
it’s the
answer to
healing this
divided country
of 54 million
people. They’re pledging
equal rights
for all
the country’s
minority groups,
including the
much-persecuted Rohingya. |
19:38 |
Zin
Mar Aung interview |
Why did the NUG choose recognise
the Rohingya? |
19:55 |
|
ZIN MAR AUNG: Because
it is
the right thing to do. |
19:59 |
Rohingya
people GVs |
It is
really vital role in order to bring different ethnic
background to the same page, because Myanmar never had that kind of diverse
cabinet in the previous government. |
20:02 |
|
It's not just only the political change, it's
the change of thinking and social revolution, not just a political
revolution. |
20:18 |
Zin
Mar Aung interview |
This battle is the
last battle for us and for the country, whether we let military win or the
democracy win. |
20:28 |
Military
in truck |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: But
can the
people of
Myanmar defeat
the most
powerful force
in the
country? It’s a
question that
lawyer Chris
Sidoti has
long wrestled
with. He’s
spent 25 years
trying to
improve human
rights in
Myanmar. CHRIS SIDOTI: This is a military
that has been |
20:37 |
Chris
Sidoti |
in a constant state of war against its own people for 70
years now, since Myanmar independence. It’s been
able to do this because of its economic wealth. And we need to use every
means possible to put pressure on the military to get back in the barracks,
and the economic side of it is
critical to that. |
20:54 |
Sidoti
on UN fact finding mission |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: In
2017, he was part of the UN fact finding team that documented human rights
abuses by the military against Myanmar’s ethnic groups – in
particular the Rohingya. |
21:12 |
|
CHRIS SIDOTI: "And
was there any more killing or burning during this time?" MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The
team also uncovered the source of the military’s power – |
21:25 |
UN
fact finding team press briefing |
a shadowy business empire owned and operated by the generals. CHRIS SIDOTI: The fact finding
mission has
concluded |
21:32 |
Sidoti
interview |
that they were not dependant on the parliament for their
funding, but
they had all these independent means of acquiring wealth for corruption,
but also wealth for their operations, and
we think we barely scratched the surface. But certainly the scratching that
we did revealed the extent of the tentacles of the
octopus. |
21:41 |
GFX.
MEHC/MEC |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Two giant
conglomerates are
key to
the military’s
wealth: Myanmar Economic
Holdings Limited
and Myanmar
Economic Corporation.
Together, they
have more
than 130 business
entities, from mining,
to tourism,
telecommunications, to
banks, transportation,
and even
beer, funnelling at
least 400 million
dollars into
military coffers
each year.
|
21:59 |
|
Both conglomerates
are controlled
by the
military’s top
brass –
the same
people now
in charge
following the
coup.
But ultimate
authority rests
with the
Commander in
Chief, Min
Aung Hlaing. HTWE HTWE THEIN: In my disciplined speculation, |
22:29 |
Htwe
Htwe Thein. Super: |
the coup has been triggered by the threat
to economic interests of the military and their families.
So that's a real core of it,
that they don't want to be touched, and they don't want to be diluted. |
22:46 |
Photo.
Commander in
Chief, Min
Aung Hlaing |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Since
the coup, |
23:04 |
GFX:
MOGE |
the military have now also taken over Myanmar’s lucrative oil
and gas enterprise known as MOGE. CHRIS SIDOTI: The coup has very significant
economic implications not just political implications and
MOGE is the key to that. |
23:06 |
Chris
Sidoti |
MOGE is the principal generator
of state revenue in Myanmar. |
23:22 |
GFX.
Map showing sanctions |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The US,
Canada, UK
and the
EU have
begun adopting
targeted sanctions
against the
military.
Myanmar's regional
neighbours, including
Australia, are
yet to
act. |
23:26 |
|
CHRIS SIDOTI: The country is in crisis. It
needs international support. It's entitled to international support.
Cut off the arms supply, cut off the cash flow, cut off
the impunity of the military. |
23:41 |
Yangon.
Street GVs |
Music |
23:51 |
|
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: As
the
international
community
deliberates,
a nation-wide civil disobedience movement continues, |
24:01 |
Protestors
spray painting |
led
by
doctors,
teachers
and
other
civil
servants. It’s shut down most public schools and hospitals. MANNY MAUNG: The
Myanmar people don't want these criminals to profit anymore from the money
that should helping |
24:07 |
Manny
Maung |
run the schools and the hospitals that they are supposed
to be working at. |
24:21 |
Women
wearing spray painted tops |
They do want to bring the economy down to its knees and they know
what the consequences are. |
24:25 |
Photos.
Nilar Win at protest/with children |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: A teacher for more than 30 years, Nilar Win
has joined the general strike. |
24:34 |
Nilar
Win phone interview/Military beating man |
NILAR WIN:
These rabid dogs going after them, one kid killed, one kid injured, one kid
tortured. Every
time I hear about it, or see these rabid dogs rounding them up, attacking
them, it feels like they’re my own kids. I am so shaken by it.
It’s so awful. |
24:42 |
Photos.
Nilar with children/with Civil Disobedience sign |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter:
Nilar is also wanted by the military and is in hiding. She says she won’t go back to the classroom until the military is out of power. |
25:11 |
Protestors
holding banner/ Nilar Win phone interview |
NILAR WIN: If we keep protesting with
firm belief and disobey their commands, they may fold and
give in to
our demands. But
only if we keep trying. |
25:1 |
Rural
GV/Guns in rack |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Six months on, a more deadly
resistance to the military is now forming – |
25:41 |
Defence
force training in jungle |
a people’s defence force. Young people from around the
country are gathering in border regions to take up arms to return to attack
the military in the towns and cities of Myanmar. |
25:48 |
Aung
Khant phone interview |
This former protestor spoke to me from his tent in the
jungle. AUNG
KHANT: Before the coup, I was just an ordinary
youth with
opportunities to choose my own future. I dreamt of getting a
scholarship and studying abroad. |
26:01 |
Defence
force training in jungle |
It’s the military who decided the fate of our souls. It’s very clear to me
who my enemies are, and I am ready for them. |
26:24 |
Defence
force with guns and knives |
MATT DAVIS, Reporter: In a dramatic escalation, they’re
assassinating police, military and their informers. AUNG
KHANT: We are not just targeting anybody. |
26:39 |
Aung
Khant phone interview |
We do
our research, investigate their background. Are they in the
military, or involved with the military? If we confirm they
are, we send them a written warning. |
26:52 |
Military
trucks on road |
If
they don’t heed our warning, only then do we destroy them. |
27:08 |
Bomb
explodes on city street. Super: |
|
27:11 |
Swe
Win sits before altar meditating |
Music |
27:23 |
|
SWE WIN: Day to day, we are traumatised by all this
bloody news. News of arrest, news of torture, news of killings. Without
meditation, we can lose sanity,
we can break down, we can get stressed, very, very
easily. Lose
our energy in our day-to-day work. I had a phone call from a colleague that |
27:35 |
Swe
Win interview |
the junta's chief, Min Aung Hlaing house
in Yangon was
raided. We
are still trying to substantiate this. I'm not sure. There are a lot of
rumours in a chaotic country like ours. |
28:07 |
|
But sometimes these rumours turn out to be true. I wish
this rumour became
true news. |
28:29 |
Swe
Win walks by sea |
Most of my colleagues are in their 20s and 30s. They don’t understand
about fear, because they have never experienced what a prison is
like, what torture is like,
so they don’t know actually
what to fear.
I remind them, this is very dangerous actually. Our work is very
dangerous. We are trying to do as much as we can, to play our roles in
fighting against the military rule and giving a more honourable, a more dignified
life to
the future generation. |
28:45 |
Animated
music clip |
Music |
29:23 |
CARD:
|
|
29:44 |
Credits
[see below] |
|
29:48 |
Out
point |
|
30:15 |
CREDITS:
Reporter
MATT DAVIS
Producer
ANNE WORTHINGTON
Editor
PETER O'DONOGHUE
Graphics
ANDREW GOMEZ ISAZA
Camera
LIAM COCHRANE
MATT DAVIS
TOM HANCOCK
PHIL HEMINGWAY
NIALL LENIHAN
GREG NELSON ACS
PATRICK STONE
Additional
footage
ASIA REPORTS
CJZ
UN FACT FINDING MISSION ON MYANMAR
Thanks
to
JUSTICE FOR MYANMAR
Assistant
Editor
TOM CARR
Archival
Research
MICHELLE BOUKHERIS
Music
LITT ENT
Doh Ayay
SUN
SLEEPS – CARE LESS
Fatal Petal
Nothing Nurtures
Foreign Feelings
SYRPHE
– CDM COMPILATION
DEF – V.arious P.ulses N.ailed
Prairie – Go here
Owrang – Solidarity
A
MAN OF FREQUENCIES
The Coup
882021
Lee Coup/Lee 199
Digital
Producer
MATT HENRY
Senior
Production Manager
MICHELLE ROBERTS
Production
Co-ordinator
VICTORIA ALLEN
Supervising
Producer
LISA MCGREGOR
Executive
Producer
MATTHEW CARNEY
abc.net.au/foreign
©
2021 Australian Broadcasting Corporation