Revolution Song: Myanmar’s unending war
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.5 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 20 April 2023
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Deep in the mountains along the Thai border, a bloody civil war rages. Our correspondent gives us rare insight into one of the world’s oldest insurgencies. New, stringent election rules will soon be tested in Britain. We ask if voters are ready. And, the bubble tea franchise taking South-East Asia by storm.
For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Intelligence from the Economist. I'm your host, Auré Ogambi. |
| 0:10.2 | Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:17.8 | In two weeks, people in parts of Britain are going to the polls, but there are some new |
| 0:23.4 | rules and officials say that this is the biggest change to electoral laws in a generation. |
| 0:29.5 | Our voters really prepared. |
| 0:33.7 | And thanks to a rapidly growing franchise, there's been a real boom in the sales of Asia's |
| 0:39.5 | favourite drink and I hate to break it to you, but it's not coffee. |
| 0:55.9 | So, let's start there. |
| 1:00.9 | This man, Emya Mar, sings about the revolution. |
| 1:21.9 | We're not naming our correspondent for his safety. |
| 1:25.9 | Many of them are students from universities all around the country and mainly from the cities. |
| 1:33.9 | Emya Mar had not a single conflict three years since independence in 1948 and it's the home of the world's oldest insurgencies and some of the newest. |
| 1:47.9 | Like this group, the PDF, the People's Defense Force and currently in the midst of a civil war with many fractions and a lot of bloodshed. |
| 2:03.9 | They are in the very inhospitable mountains, the border with Thailand. |
| 2:10.9 | And I travelled very deep into the area. It's never been fully controlled by Emya Mar's government and it allows these men to fight against what they see as an illegitimate military coup, which happened in 2021. |
| 2:28.9 | It's very difficult to get into Emya Mar as a journalist at the moment. |
| 2:33.9 | The government won't let you in so you have to go in another way. |
| 2:41.9 | I was lucky that I had a guide and protector to Zul, the captain of the Albino Tigers. |
| 2:54.9 | One of the several People's Defense Forces which are armed fighters very active in that area. |
| 3:03.9 | I really want to see what was happening there with my own eyes. The very least journalists they do a real good job. |
| 3:15.9 | But the problem is that they are not seen as impartial by some of the international publications. |
| 3:23.9 | And I thought if I can go myself and just report on what I see, I could actually see how people live. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Economist, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Economist and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.