Why is Myanmar Fighting a Civil War?

Discover the harrowing 70-year history of Myanmar's struggle for democracy, marred by military coups, brutal crackdowns, and ethnic tensions. Dive into the forgotten war shaping the nation's future.
→ Subscribe for new videos at least twice a week!
kzbin.info...
Love content? Check out Simon's other KZbin Channels:
MegaProjects: / @megaprojects9649
SideProjects: / @sideprojects
Casual Criminalist: / @thecasualcriminalist
Today I Found Out: / todayifoundout
Highlight History: / @highlighthistory
XPLRD: / @xplrd
Brain Blaze: / @brainblaze6526
Places: / @places302
Astrographics: / @astrographics-ve4yq
Simon's Social Media:
Twitter: / simonwhistler
Instagram: / simonwhistler

[@williamtell5365]

I'm living in Thailand right now in a place close enough where I could ride my bicycle to Myanmar in an hour. The civil war is definitely spilling over here, not the violence but there are plenty of Burmese seeking some refuge here. It's eminently clear that the current junta has to go, and I believe that will happen. When it does hopefully Myanmar can be in a better place.

[@mozi3051]

No. Myanmar is a lot like my country. The common denominator is that our civil wars are chronic, not acute. I see this going on for decades. The military is directly in control of everyday revenue, and banks. If they go everything will go for a while

[@manaki666]

​@@mozi3051where is it?

[@mozi3051]

@@manaki666 somalia

[@BijayBaruwal-ck1tx]

It's responsibility of neighbors to help....I hope other ASEAN countries step up to help Myanmar refugees....

[@Amfortas]

Name who is causing the conflict coward

[@waiganjokelvin2283]

Am a Kenyan my grandfather was a truck driver in the 2nd world war. Fighting for the imperial British east Africa kenya. He came back and I learnt a lot about Burma and he also brought mementos. Am saddened about Myanmar and am always curious to understand the people and a country. Thank you for this piece of information. Keep up the good work. God bless you and goodluck from kenya 🇰🇪 with love ❤❤

[@abasudoh7459]

​@@John-.-Smith111Lots of British colonial troops served in India and Burma

[@rubiconnn]

The root of almost every modern war is religion, the last thing we need is more "blessings"

[@usertttt7483]

Dude you need to make a video about his experience of make him

[@John-.-Smith111]

@@abasudoh7459 Sure, but his grandfather was in Kenya, not India nor Burma.

[@MERCYONEARTH2405]

Greetings from a Myanmar to a Kenyan brother. Your comment is genuinely touching since our two countries have same root of being colonized by the same bully. As a seafarer, I have been to Mombassa numerous times. Other seamen advised me not to visit when in port because of high crime rates. I didn't give a f**k to their advice and toured Mombassa every time I got a chance. I even visited to a Kenyan soldier's home who took security on our ship. As from my experiences there, I find something very similar in our Burmese people and Kenyan people. It's sincerity and indiscriminated love for everyone not based on skin colors or religions. Love from Myanmar 🇲🇲 my Kenyan brother.

[@Bricriu-gj9dd]

I literally just this morning did a check up on Myanmar. With all the wild shit happening in the world, Ukraine and Palestine and all that, it was so easy to forget their struggles too.

[@berniegores2083]

it not palistine its Israel. Israel is not a saudi muslim homeland. stop calling by a made up namd. you dont see every southerner calling the southeast united states dixie.

[@saifag6685]

@@berniegores2083 It's Palestine deal with it.

[@justforrow]

Palestine should not exist. Isreal owns of all the land.

[@sovietroll7880]

@@berniegores2083 What is Israel? Its Palestine. Cry me a river

[@benjichaser72]

@@saifag6685no, its not. if u care that much then where’s your support for the kurdish people? ive seen none of you ever raise your voices for the kurds and their cause…

[@jtimms3985]

Thank you. I was born in Myanmar. I have family still there. It’s horrific to see what they are going through. The people of Myanmar have been crying out for help and silence. Thanks again to you and your team. Another informative piece.

[@Robert_Douglass]

Would you prefer to call it Myanmar or Burma?

[@jtimms3985]

@Robert_Douglass sorry for the late response. It's not really something I have thought about. I left when was a baby. My family in Myanmar are happy with the name.

[@bawihanma8776]

@@Robert_Douglassit’s Myanmar now

[@Darksnowman13]

Great video, but as an aside, your sound guy has been laying on the background noise a little thick lately

[@brynnthomas6969]

Yep wakes me up when I’m trying to sleep

[@weirdshibainu]

It sucks

[@lee-yz6ze]

It’s so loud I can’t concentrate on the story 😂

[@Mazigaro]

It’s too much

[@jgribhamnz]

Its annoying af. Hope they see this

[@lucasrobison3634]

Great video but the constant alarm ringing in the back is killing me

[@taanieltuisk4892]

Same, lately the background music has been too loud!!!

[@paulceglinski7172]

Constant alarm? Are you sure it's just in your head? Whatever. Make sure your vid doesn't have any sound then.

[@skeire1]

The iPhone alarm😭

[@xrafter]

Those sound like drums with a military theme.

[@Dragon-gk3bg]

Agree the bells are horrible.

[@usertttt7483]

This conflict is kinda one of the most insane ones yet I can't ever find coverage on it

[@rcv9988]

Well TBH most people won't care. It's over there AND most importantly the people doing evil are not white, christian or Jewish. Just the way it is if we get involved we are condemned if we don't get involved we are condemned.

[@lucamckenn5932]

​@@rcv9988the whites built society today as we know it, so naturally to deviate away from this is bad. Everybody knows yellow kills yellow etc etc but the white man is -supposed- to be above that apparently.

[@viridianacortes9642]

It’s because now a days the news is so corporate. They only cover what impacts their profits.

[@arthas640]

@@rcv9988 The issue is more about media and politics then race or religion. The leaders of the country have been really successful in suppressing the truth of whats going on in the country. The country has been heavily isolated from countries except their neighbors and the communist world since independence, they've had total control over media for most of the countries history, and the people who live there have largely been too poor to afford anything aside from the most basic of recording equipment and even then are largely blocked from communicating with the outside world so little information gets out for outside journalists to report on. The fact the countries many regional conflicts have largely been ongoing since before independence doesnt help since for most people dictatorships, civil war, and genocide are less the exception in Myanmar but more the norm so it's not really "news" unlike Ukraine or Israel. Since little information gets out, little footage or photos get out, and since it's not a recent conflict but rather one that's been simmering in places since the 1800s people arent really taking note. To make matters worse Myanmar has been essentially a Chinese tributary state since the cold war and the Chinese government are always eager to cover up stuff like this since it means the west wont get involved and they can keep the country isolated and poor and thus keep importing cheap resources from the country.

[@GokuBoxingTV]

@@rcv9988how stupidly backwards you got it. It’s specifically because there are no whites involved which is why white nations don’t care. What a moron.

[@BimRen246]

Thank you for covering this and reminding people of the situation in Myanmar. The ongoing military hold over the people and the ethnic cleansing atrocities happening there seem to have no end in sight.

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

Here's a reminder: the ethnic cleansing atrocities are happening because the people in Myanmar support them.

[@eftheusempire]

What about the genocide on gaza or the fact that an entire generation of ukrainian men is entirely wiped out? What about the bombing of civilians in the donbass for 6 years? What about syria? Lybia? Yemen? What about haiti? Barbecue is not a cannibal nor a gang leader. Research this stuff. Its all connected youll see who keeps undermining countries on the rise

[@panacea26947]

I support Myanmar’s pursuit of freedom and democracy 💯 Love and respect to 🇲🇲 from 🇰🇷

[@3tou6bi88]

The Rohingya are not the majority in Rakhine state, the buddhist Rakhine people are, Rohingyas are the biggest minority group. They are muslim, as are the Kaman, which both together make up about 35% of the population of the state, but the Kaman are considered part of Burma/Myanmar and have citizenship.

[@YeMinOo-qe4wn]

Right

[@Drejco515]

Pointing out an error. The Rakhine State and the Arakanese majority have always been majority Buddhist. The Muslim Rohingya minority only constitutes a majority in the Maungdaw District of Rakhine State, along the border with Bangladesh.

[@DanielCrist]

As a longtime resident, activist, and lover of this country, I appreciate any attempts to draw more attention to the military coup and current civil war here in Myanmar, and don't I expect any such efforts to be without their own flaws. That said, there are a few things in the video that are inaccurate, and some others that perhaps unintentionally misrepresent or distort certain facts. I also think there's a few key pieces of information that were not included which would have provided more valuable context and a better understanding of the chain of events which has unfolded, as well as the more recent developments like the massive impact and territory gains of allied offensives such as Operation 10/27 and Operation 11/11, and even more recently, the implementation of the military conscription law and the effects which that is having. Having said all of that, I still think this is an excellent overview of the current situation in Myanmar and how history has led to it. I can't imagine how difficult it is to acquire all of this information and fact check everything from outside of the country, when such limited information has ever been publicly made available, and since there is much information that is conflicting or inconsistent in nature. I also realize that a lengthy, professionally produced video like this is all planned and started months before it is ever uploaded, so it cannot always include information on the most recent developments. However for the Buddha's damn sake, at least learn to properly pronounce the most important key words and names such as "Aung San Suu Kyi" and "MYANMAR". So Myanmar is not pronounced "My - an-mar", it's pronounced "Me-an - mar", (with a partially-silent R) though note, "Myan" is all pronounced as a single syllable, similar to how "meow" is basically one syllable despite it seeming like it should be two, and that's because in both cases the words are making use of a sound not really heard in the English language, which combines an M, E, and Y, into a single, unified sound (represented by a single character in Burmese - မြ). As for the letter R which is only slightly voiced, you still at this at the end of many romanized Myanmar words, and they is simply for the fact that no character with an R-sound appears at the end of these words; the final sound indicated by the Burmese spelling is "ma". However, there are 3 tones in the Burmese language, and thus 3 distinct ways to pronounce "ma" and to express it in Burmese writing. However, given that there are no ways to precisely express these tones with the English alphabet, the second tone is usually denoted in English by adding an R to the end of the syllable, as the second tone in Burmese results in a sound which is very similar to one which ends with an barely voiced R-sound. As for Aung San Suu Kyi's name, this one admittedly is less obvious about the potential discrepancy between how it is pronounced and the possibility of variation from how you imagine it should be pronounced. That is to say, when you look at her name, the possibility of it being pronounced any other way but one, - the combination of letters just appear less flexible in their potential use than the first half of "Myanmar", especially the latter 3 segments of her name, so one could be more easily forgiven for not bothering to verify the correct pronunciation. That is entirely due to the fact that in Burmese, the combination of one of their K characters with their Y character makes an English "ch" sound (as in "check") so when these letters are converted from Burmese characters to Roman ones, they convert each of the two letters individually, rather than taking a more holistic approach and taking the two letter combination in Burmese and converting it to it's phonetically equivalent two letter combination in English. So her name is pronounced "Aung San Suu Chee", not "kyee" nor "key". The same problem is often observed when heading people refer to the currency, called the "Kyat" and properly pronounced "chat", but more often pronounced like "key-at," "kai-at," or strangely even just "cat". One final thing: It is just plain insulting for the media to refer to the civil war of the last three years as "The Forgotten War". It was not forgotten; it was never given enough attention or exposure by the media for people to even have registered that there's a civil war going on here for it to be and to then later be "forgotten". This hasn't been over of those wars that stays on for so long and which the media ends up covering day in and day out until the public grows weary is hearing about it and loses interest until the media stops covering it and the public gradually starts to forget about it. No, it's just s simply fact that neither the coup or the civil war got even 1% of the media coverage that any of the events in the Ukraine or Israel have gotten in the last couple of years. If Myanmar had gotten 1/10th of the media coverage and even one half of one percent of the military aid received by the Ukraine or Israel, thousands of lives would have been saved, millions would never have become refugees, and it may very well have become a "forgotten war" stinky because the military junta would have been defeated so quickly that the war would have been over by the time many people were first hearing about it. Thank you for coming to my lecture. In tomorrow's class we will discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic facilitated the discreet preparation, staging, and execution of the military coup, and discuss the various possibilities for why this method and the various modalities of this strategy has not been investigated or even identified as two intentionally linked events by any major journalists, activists, or organizations, despite the obvious brilliance of the strategy and the hindsight advantages of now being able to clearly chart the progression of different chains of events and to now clearly see the links between events and decisions that would have appeared seemingly unrelated at the time to all but the most highly observant and clinically paranoid individuals.

[@chobanniyogurt]

People are being murdered and you focus on pronunciation? WTF...guess what the people dead in this war can no longer do...pronunciate. you complain about the civil war not being covered, yet 60% of your post is about pronunciation 20% about whatever class you are teaching. What the actual hell😮😅 😮😮😮😅

[@juuhelikkas8848]

Mate great video and the music adds up to the atmosphere but that clanging sound every 10 seconds reminds me too much of the default iPhone alarm and I get ptsd every 10 seconds

[@wanderingartifact6087]

YES! that’s exactly what I thought 😅

[@abugonapugonamugonarug1653]

Awesome. Im glad you guys are covering this.

[@donaldgoris]

Simon really is talking about the issues that aren’t even being looked at!

[@TomuCow]

*reading

[@resileaf9501]

@@TomuCow Wot?

[@comecorrect8365]

Too scared to talk about China’s involvement in all this though.

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

​@@comecorrect8365 I am surprised they aren't doing anything much...

[@moonshot3159]

except he's one of those white men who couldn't be bothered to pronounce properly the names they're doing a story on.

[@whoareyou5278]

You guys do so much! And I appreciate yall, you keep me informed and in a mostly unbiased way, the general bias is towards justice so it never really fazes me rather it makes me admire yall more for taking up so many struggles and being wise minded about humanity first.

[@Kim_YoJong]

Lol if you only knew

[@Disappointed739]

I agree. There are many layers, and many pragmatic issues that were not discussed in the least. Bribery issues, ethnic issues that are central but not discussed, lack of trustworthiness of certain parties (not who you might think), local issues, and issues regarding the future security of Myanmar existing at all (instead of becoming a district of China). Layers on layers. And by the way, justice is hardly the central issue, although it may make you feel better thinking about it that way. Ethnic hatred will of course continue, and will drive the mess forward, and of course, blood will be spilled.

[@trishapellis]

While Simon does mostly present facts, there are clear biases in most of his videos. After all, the idea of "people should not be persecuted for their religion or who their ancestors were" is a bias in and of itself, and while Simon (or the writer of this episode) presents all those burned villages as purely to be blamed on the state... the sad fact is, when there's armed conflict going on, all sides commit atrocities. We're just outsiders looking in, wanting a clear good guy and bad guy, and it's easy to paint the person with more power/ money/ a bigger arsenal as the bad guy... but if you look at modern-day discourse surrounding muslims in many Western countries, you don't have to look hard to find rhetoric along the lines of "They're going to out-breed us because their religion tells them to have 15 children each and then they're going to vote us out of our own country's government (or even just 'take over') and make all the women wear burqas". This is the kind of sentiment that turns into what is happening in Myanmar. It's the kind of sentiment that turns into what is happening in Palestine. It's the kind of sentiment that caused the Rwandan genocide. There are political parties in my native Belgium that want to kick all muslims out of the country. If this ever turns into an armed conflict, my own father will believe that it's the muslims' fault for being too numerous - he's been giving me the "they want to put you in a burqa" since I was 12, before they even started (in his words) "exploding people". The Burmese government believes it is protecting its people. No matter how many outsiders tell them that they are the bad guys for putting thousands of innocent people in refugee camps, they believe the muslims would probably do the same thing to them if they had the numbers and the firepower. More importantly perhaps, the muslims are crying out for help, and *the international community is doing NOTHING* - so if the muslims locked *us* up in refugee camps, nobody would come to our aid either. Better be on top, if the other option is to be where the other guy is. That's how stuff like this works. So yeah... unbiased is not a word that applies here. Nor in the majority of human discourse about conflicts anywhere. (Did you know China also has a province dedicated to sticking muslims in concentration camps? Muslims are the Jews of the 21st century. Everyone is doing horrible shit to them, and the 'international community' does no more than send stern letters).

[@droger1448]

I like the background music but it was slightly loud in this video compared to your voice. Thanks for all the work you do !

[@aarongouine-yb6yc]

I appreciate you making these videos on the world ❤

[@BijayBaruwal-ck1tx]

Massive respect for Myanmar people's fighting for democracy and Rights of people....❤️❤️❤️

[@BijayBaruwal-ck1tx]

Plz use FPV drone and customized drones....it will be game changer

[@mirzaahmed6589]

Except all the people who actively persecute the Rohingya.

[@rejvaik00]

Well secessionist movements are still alive and well in Burma as they have never been settled, Much like in Russia they are frozen conflicts, and in the event the iron grip of the authoritarian regime slips the conflict will flare up so even in the event the junta is gone the next conflict will likely come from those same dissatisfied groups If very possible we will see a Burmese balkanization or Yugoslavia-like event

[@swarmsheppard]

All the cooperation between different groups in Myanmar will crumble after the government is ousted and the Chinese will fill the void

[@bakaneko6639]

​@@swarmsheppardyou wish, asian people aside chinese dont want anything to do with china, china is nothing but bad news

[@Aria-cd6dq]

I'm glad Myanmar is getting media attention again.. I hope Myanmar manages to sort things out. Myanmar is an absolutely wonderful country. Myanmar people are awesome. My heart & prayer go out to people of Myanmar 🙏

[@misterlianghui]

Peace!

[@alaskanhermit8863]

My thoughts and prayers go out to people of Myanmar! 🙏

[@mitsunori222000]

Totally agree.

[@waywaywaywaywaytoolongtore7496]

well why do they vote for war criminals?

[@raquetdude]

Sadly a channel that mass produces videos with surface level coverage ain’t the best place for coverage but least it’s something

[@pengbawithang6845]

Amazing work as always !

[@ignitionfrn2223]

0:50 - Chapter 1 - Independence fiasco 4:05 - Chapter 2 - Fighting for democracy 8:25 - Chapter 3 - Into the 2000's 14:10 - Chapter 4 - The civil war begins PS: On the buddism extremism...damn they ain't joking !!!

[@user-iy9fr5td2f]

Seems less about Buddhism and more about the fact that foreigners were given Burmese land during colonization. The religious differences just seems to be an excuse.

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

​@@user-iy9fr5td2fIt wasn't Burmese land.

[@user-iy9fr5td2f]

@@BiggieTrismegistus So there was no Burmese people there? Even if true I can understand why there's a feeling like... "Go back to your country" but I am also aware of that likely the Indians had been there so long that there is no where to go back to... Many break off Indian groups are in this position around the world due to the British

[@navrhy3075]

@@user-iy9fr5td2fthat area should’ve been part of modern day Bangladesh, and it never belonged to Myanmar to begin with. Even if there were Burmese people there, they could’ve been part of Bangladesh and been a percentage of the ethnic and religious minorities already in Bangladesh.

[@ironheart5830]

Don't you realized that those so call Buddhist extremists are currently attacked by Buddhists of Myanmar themself.

[@josephshreeves8192]

I remember first hearing about the ethnic cleansing in Myanmar about a decade ago. I just couldn't understand why it got virtually no coverage. Now, the Junta has almost succeeded in that endeavor

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

As far as I remember it got plenty of coverage.

[@josephshreeves8192]

I saw a lot more coverage once the coup happened. I think initially though, people were reluctant to call out their President for fear it would trigger another coup.

[@yugk2429]

It got plenty of coverage actually, but the people and ASEAN just don't care enough

[@Edyime]

it's had plenty of coverage, maybe stop watching Fox news

[@STORYSEEKER1]

Thank for making this video i hope my fellow Myanmar people are fine

[@michelhache8532]

Great video! I was waiting for you to make one about Myanmar.

[@iancolpetzer5311]

Really glad you are putting these out! Please lower the volume on the background music/sound effects though

[@ZeyarWaiPhyo]

Thank you for the video, we need a lot of attention among the crisis around the world

[@enriqueencristo5624]

Finally, was waiting for you to cover this.

[@novaseveni4156]

Thank you for spotlight.

[@LoganBishopSudo]

Haven't heard about this topic in a while!

[@santharhtoo]

Thank you for covering Myanmar.

[@itoeats]

Thank you for this video! It is forgotten now but the intensity of the battle is at the highest and the future of Myanmar youth is at risk.

[@kevinu.k.7042]

Superb video - Thanks, yet again.

[@FixedGearFox]

The very well-loved Enron mug makes me smile.

[@Dbear39]

I’ve spent the last week reading up on the conflict and I still can figure out what’s going on. Legit battle royale going on over there

[@Ben_That_Boy_FR]

A man from Myanmar told me about this stuff back in 2022. Terrifying stuff, didn’t even know if his family was alive or not half the time.

[@alvinjonas1096]

Have you contact with him again ?

[@sarameyrick7182]

I don't bother with the news anymore, I just wait for Simon to tell. me what I need to know 😮❤❤❤

[@Kevski4]

Informative video but the background noise is a bit annoying

[@matthewhodgins6092]

It’s always too loud

[@PhilippeLenain]

Thank you Simon for reporting on the situation here. I'm a French expat entrepreneur living in Myanmar for the past 10 years and can confirm your report, although would like to add a precision: Rakkhine is not a majority Muslim state, it's always been a Buddhist Kingdom, whose population was fighting the Burmese. Rakkhine State 4 MN people population is majority buddhist. It's true that since Colonial times and until the ethnic cleansing campaigns that you described cheap labour from neighboring Bangladesh settled and the descendants formed a growing minority in Rakhine State, and all you reported about the army chasing them brutally is correct. It's also true that Aug San Suu Kyi refused to defend them: maybe you could point out how much pressure she was under by the army: they had assassinated her (Muslim) lawyer, and she feared the reaction of her people if she defended Muslims... That's her main error, since the militaries took power away from her anyway! Overall a great initiative to spread news about this forgotten conflict in an absolutely fabulous country and in support of courageous people.

[@ErfanElahi]

Thanks for the quick nutshell 👍

[@n67088]

Thank you so much for covering Myanmar!

[@vipcypr8368]

Warographics: ...and that earned her a Nobel Piece prize" Me: Oh no...

[@ThienNguyen-ef2kg]

I notice that there are around a dozen of coworkers from Myanmar at my job starting from last year. This helps me know what they and their families are going through.

[@string_fellow_hawk]

Another great episode

[@ElGuerreroMaya]

You forget that Suki didn't have control of the military, while she managed to gain some power, the Junta still had the final say in defense and security affairs, including the Rohinga extermination, ad she knew they would oust her from power if she did anything to stop it. She basically was trying to stop the coup that ultimately occurred from happening

[@somekindofhmm]

With that in mind, in hindsight it was still a mistake. Given that the coup happened anyway she might as well have spoken up for what was right. The fact that she denied or dodged the issue gave the world doubts about whether Myanmar's leadership could truly gain a conscience.

[@alicemoore2036]

For Myanmar Moslem immigration is just a new fresh h***.

[@user-vc2cm9sv5g]

The HUGE MISSING POINT, of Junta sabotage during SUKyi regime, can totally mislead the viewer.

[@YuukinoTakkashi]

​@@somekindofhmmwe might not know but there was probably something stopping her from doing so. You know that the junta can do literlly anything right, i am from myanmar and i know that if they wanted to kill aung san suu kyi, they could do it in a blink of an eye and with her gone so as the country and all the people with their religions.

[@YuukinoTakkashi]

Exactly, people hating on san sui kyi for the misunderstanding is quite sad.

[@Ea-pb2tu]

As a Swede I feel the need to mention that Nobel gave the responsibility to award Nobel peace prices to the Norwegians. Just so we don’t get confused here…

[@Rikolus8383]

That reminds me of an interesting story I used to see each week in the early 1990s. At the time I was Assistant Cruise Director aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. The Captain's Welcome Aboard party was very popular and well-attended event held the 2nd evening of the cruise. Our Captain would introduce senior officers one at a time, who would come onstage. Some would stand off to the left of him, others would stand next to him and to his right. When done, the Captain would look Left and say, "Zay are the Swedes", then look back and say "Vee are the Norwegians". It always got a good laugh from the crowd. But was a reminder that amongst those men, there was absolutely an awareness of the difference!

[@borrago]

The oy confusion is what your point is.

[@CharlesFVincent]

The “don’t get your hopes up,” point in the video is when I got my hopes up in real time while following this story. I first heard of this when I used to listen to news on shortwave before I had internet and have continued keep track of it since. The huge disappointments from someone I thought of as a hero and all of the twists and challenges have been sad to learn of, but I still hold out hope that the people of Myanmar can live in peace and freedom one day.

[@B4CKEND-MYK]

As a Myanmar citizen, Thanks for covering about Myanmar.

[@lutcaah]

I was backpacking around Burma in 2012. People were so hopeful things were taking a turn for the better back then. Too bad it turned out like it did. Hopefully the Burmese people will manage to oust the junta. Burma could be a prosperous country with all their resources. I think the reason why UN does not intervene is because China and Russia have a veto right, and they' re both doing trading with the junta.

[@ironheart5830]

@@John-.-Smith111 After colonized by British everything go bad till these days.

[@linusmayden8465]

The only group China supports directly is Wa state which declared neutrality. If China was truly assisting the Junta, they would've deported all the refugees residing in their borders.

[@01NATHAN10]

those drums playing make me have bad thoughts

[@thethat848]

Thank you so much for news 🙏

[@nameismetatoo4591]

Another note: Junta forces have made extensive use of the FGC-9, a 3D printed gun which is arguably the first to be used in a major conflict. This is a big deal, as it means that rebel factions around the world may no longer be limited by their access to weapons. They can just make their own, and, as the FGC-9 has proven, these weapons are quite effective.

[@buddy.2154]

Thank you very much for covering the story of my home country. It saddens me that the wider world has quite literally forgotten about our struggle. However we do not complain, this is truly the People’s revolution, funded and fought by the people in the country and citizens who are living abroad. We do not receive billions in military or humanitarian aid like in Ukraine or in Gaza. Our people do not complain that the world has turned a blind eye on us, we fight on and we WILL win this revolution by ourselves!

[@buddy.2154]

@BurnerAckman We are not asking for anything from you, we unlike some others don’t have victim mentalities and are not looking for a hand out. Please be more educated about the world and be less self centered. The problems you have in America are a walk in the park compared to other parts of the world.

[@buddy.2154]

@BurnerAckmanWe’re not asking anything from you or looking for a handout. Please get more educated about the wider world and be less self-centered. The problems you have in America are a walk in the park compared to most places in the world. You should realize how easy you have it compared to most countries in the world. You’ve never seen brains getting shot out in the middle of concrete streets while peacefully protesting, you’ve never had to run from airstrikes and flee wars, you’ve never had to worry about not having food to feed your family, you’ve never had to worry about losing a limb due to landmines,you’ve never had to worry about when the military is gonna raid your town next and burn it to the ground.You’ve never seen the bodies of men,woman and children whose hands were tied in the back and was burned alive.I feel your struggle too but it is very ignorant to attack on someone else’s struggle.

[@buddy.2154]

@BurnerAckman We are not asking anything from you or looking for a handout. As usual the self-centered American, thinking their problem is the biggest, you don’t know how easy you have it.

[@buddy.2154]

@BurnerAckman We are not asking for anything from you or looking for a handout. As usual a typical self-centered American entitled and thinking they are the center of the world. Please get more educated about the issues in the world and maybe start traveling abit, maybe then you’ll know how easy you have it in America. You guys sound like little crybabies to us.

[@buddy.2154]

@BurnerAckman We’re not asking anything from you or looking for a handout. We don’t have victim mentalities

[@starrynightearth932]

The Karen National Liberation Army Motto: "We are going straight to the manager"

[@knyaw7436]

yeah nice joke.. but you wouldn't be joking when you realise that they have been fighting the Burmese Military for 80 plus year and is one of the biggest Ethnic arms group in the country. The junta consider them as the biggest threats. The name Karen was given it to them by the British when they rule Burma and ofc those dumb America has to use it a jokes.

[@holostro]

I was surprised too that they got an ethnic group called Karen that's crazy lmaooo

[@shanmoon537]

i have something to tell you both i am also a karen (the ethnic group i mean-)

[@jonpick5045]

@@shanmoon537 Would you like to speak to their manager?

[@glhfggwp6232]

Oo yo what a coincidence. I am also Karen

[@todorplavic5827]

Just set up the notificaiton and a new video instantly appeared, I though it was a bug but here I am

[@its_me_v13]

I am from Myanmar and thank you for this video with prompt explanation to our decades long conflict. Things are very dire here. Since military has passed conscription law, several young people between ages of 18-35 are running to other countries. Plus, last week the first batch of conscripted youngesters have started their 3-months long their military training before they are sent to frontlines. 5 days ago, a Muslim conscripted boy was beaten up to death for hours by drill sergeants because he refused to eat 'pork'. This is just an example of dire situations in the country. The war here is very severe and there has already been mountains of casualties but easily forgotten cuz there isn't much proxy of big nations going on, unlike Ukarine and Gaza war.

[@noahamankwaah9802]

What can Westerners do to help the people of Myanmar?

[@GimpCent]

This video was very powerful and informative. You showed the reality and complexity of Myanmar’s civil war very well. Kudos Warographic.

[@mrtesla5724]

thank you for covering this

[@heathers4449]

Thank you for covering the ongoing conflict. Ever since John Pilger covered the plight of the Burmese people, and the story of Aung San Suu Kyi in a '96 documentary (and trying but failing to visit Myanmar in '08 when it was first opening up), I've had a place in my heart for how the story of the country would go. It seems it took a violent turn for now, and that the story of Suu Kyi is more complicated than noble defender of democracy ... but power dynamics and trying to keep the majority of your population safe can't be easy. I am just sorry for the violence on civilians and the villages no one can return to now because of landmines.

[@eto8382]

awesome vid but the background music the last few videos has been too loud

[@callumgriss5422]

back in 2016, right when the country opened to the west, me and my family went to Myanmar for a holiday. beautiful country, amazing people, decent food and everybody seemed hopeful for the future. i remember spending a week somewhere near a major lake/ river, and eating lunch everyday with my parents at this little family-run place where the extremely giggly daughter, who was about my age (maybe 10 or 11?), who seemed amazed at our height (both parents are over 6 foot). I can't help but wonder how they're all getting along. hopefully they haven't been killed in the civil war.

[@DanielCrist]

That would have been a Inle Lake, anywhere else would have been too remote or off limits for the average tourist family at the time. The town where tourists stay (Nyaung Shwe) is pretty small desire some taker hotels, and I lived there for 3 years before moving to other parts of the country. If you have any photos of the restaurant or if it was very distinct from other restaurants in any way, it wouldn't be difficult for me to ask about them.

[@annbjorn]

Thank you, professor

[@chenrayen]

Talk about living in history I remember learning in school about Ang being a beacon for peace. As soon as the genocide news came about it was surreal.

[@naymyohtun6472]

We(Myanmar people) really need international attention .🎉

[@phhdvm]

As others have mentioned, what’s with the background track? News reporting doesn’t need it.

[@miguelcorona6958]

Playing through Uncharted 2, a game set in Burma. Came out in 09 and had rebels in a civil war. Crazy to think its still the same conflict

[@DownunderChooChoo]

Love the video and that you're covering it. My partner and her family are from Yangon. It's weird and stupid that nobody covers this anymore or talk about it. I must say that some of the pronunciations are painful though

[@CrimsonAlchemist]

To be fair, the media doesn't cover both side of the atrocities. It's understandable Westerners can only gather what's available online. But man as a Myanmar citizen, I hated the Junta, i hate em still. But PDF and EAOs have done the same atorocites.

[@Steve-ev6vx]

You still in Myanmar?

[@arnowisp6244]

PDF?

[@SantomPh]

so really, you are all just the same? maybe there should be a wall around your country.

[@CrimsonAlchemist]

@@arnowisp6244 People's Defense Forces so-called liberators

[@callumblake01]

The background sound bed keeps making me think my alarm is going off. Great video beyond that, but maybe not that sound, kinda pulls me out a bit

[@shahidac]

@Simon, a brilliant and balanced presentation. .....as usual. Thanks. More please.

[@IamMrSimQn]

small footnote, the music around 9min is so loud it's almost distracting. I thought i had a video playing in another tab

[@rascal0175]

I lived in Myanmar for two and a half years. I think I can simplify understanding Burma’s war with a teaspoon sized commentary based on long term impressions developed while a resident. Envision America in the 1700s. White European settlers established themselves in North America and ethnic cleansing of Native Americans got underway. The killing of Native Americans increased over time. The parallel, in part, is the ethnic Burmese (in a small way), and the military junta in a major way, follow the same path. Some present day Burmese view the many indigenous peoples in the same manner as 18th century European immigrants viewed Native American tribes. The Junta certainly does, hence the ethnic cleansing program. What drives this train? Myanmar has tremendous wealth, both legitimate and illegitimate. The Junta controls that wealth and they do not intend to give it up. That, and Burmese self-perceived racial superiority drive the war. I found the Burmese people to be kind, gentle and loving. The ethnic minorities are generally more remote, the people difficult to get to know. The land itself is exotic and is my favorite travel destination. Here is an introduction to everyday life in Yangon (Rangoon), Burma: I gave a Christmas party for my employees and their families. I asked what they liked best about the party. The uniform answer was the pain. Yes, the pain. You see, no one had ever eaten their fill before. A full stomach was a new experience. An employee was bitten by a dog so I had hm treated. Then he sat on a curb and wept. He was about 50 and this was his first medical treatment, and his first injection. Life expectancy is uncomfortably short. I was given a tour of a hospital. A stabdard room was small, clean and had a bare bed. Intensive care was different. The bed was covered with a sheet. Senior Junta members have been known to get medical care in Bangkok or Singapore. I can’t say I blame them.

[@mnd7381]

Nah you're wrong. It's much much different. The junta people are burmese, not foreigners. And the ones who fought Rohingyas are native as well.

[@nelsonbustamante8756]

This is very informative and except for the blaring alarm on the background. I thought that was unnecessary.

[@earthknight60]

Martin Smith's 1998 book *Burma: Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity* is an excellent look into the history of the ongoing troubles Myanmar has had over the last 80-100 years. Bertil Lintner's 2012 book *Great game east: India, China, and the struggle for Asia's most volatile frontier* is another excellent look into some of the external pressures the region faces that exacerbate the internal issues.

[@shanewall4470]

Sorry Simon & Team, but Burma is NOT a forgotten war. If you want to look at a forgotten war, look no further than the West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya) provinces in Indonesia. There has been a continuous, slow-burn separatist insurrection against ethnic Asian Indonesia's colonization of this part of Melanesian Papua island since 1963. Did you see the viral video of the bloke being tortured in the barrel? THAT is West Papua ... if you are ethnic Melanesian like him!!!

[@bayersbluebayoubioweapon8477]

I think about west Papua often. I can elaborate why if you like. The segregation within Indonesia upsets me

[@Kim_YoJong]

No. Didn't see it, don't care

[@fajaradi1223]

West Papua is not a forgotten war. It's just the natural process of assimilation. Just like how British settlers done in Australia. Pretty sure, they welcome the Brits with open arms and adopt Christianity on their own will back in the day.

[@shanewall4470]

@@fajaradi1223 😂😂😂 Your 'whataboutism' is farcical. You may wish to acquaint yourself with 'assimilation' as a classic colonialisation strategy! How, prey tell, do you expect a Christian Melanesian culture to assimilate into a racist Javanese-dominated muslim culture?

[@weirdguylol]

​@@fajaradi1223torturing isnt natural assimilation

[@Jameywells777]

I am coming to Prauge next year Simon so lets get together and drink Beers.

[@TomuCow]

From the amount of videos this guy does he must just do nothing but read scripts... that or he is what i suspect some sort of text to speech android!

[@acey457]

​@@TomuCowsome of the writing sounds ai produced

[@siamsamte8324]

Great video ... why don't you make a video about the KUKI Metei conflict in Manipur India ...

[@dariyababumalapati7144]

Man, the Congress party in India did one hell of a job after the independence to keep the country from falling apart . Even small countries with no more than 10 ethnic groups can easily dwell into a civil war while the National Congress party of India can hold the country with thousands of ethnic groups intact and maintain a stable socio-political order in the nation deserves a massive respect. Feeling fortunate to be born in a stable India.

[@Baka578]

Banning all journalists is pretty condemning.

[@bennygohome4576]

Pretty based*

[@WaterShowsProd]

They also made any posting of photos, video, or information about protests or fighting illegal, and have also outlawed VPNs. People were going out without their phones because soldiers were stopping people to check their phones in the street and if they found anything they deemed incriminating they were arrested. Being arrested could mean never being seen again. Rebel armies along the borders, or people who fled to live among them have been able to use signals from neighbouring countries to send information. Some of my friends had arrest warrants issued because they spoke at protests, or shared information. One of them, a very prominent celebrity in Myanmar, went underground when a warrant was sent out for him, and he's emerged in California where he's joined people who are raising awareness for what's going on.

[@chargingcommando67]

@@bennygohome4576nah

[@trk3707]

Pretty normal for military Junta to such thing so they can do whatever they want to innocent civilians.

[@anon2034]

@@trk3707 How about guilty civilians?

[@andrein3224]

What is the name of that background song? The predominant one.

[@Have_A_Nice_Day242]

"March of Redundancy"

[@pratikpanchal7276]

How do you undertake such detailed research?

[@popupheadlights]

What I find cool about the rebellion is they’re widely using 3d printed firearms. The FGC9 (F* gun control 9) to be specific a gun assembled being about 80% 3d printed and the rest obtained at hardware stores. This speaks out to me as it shows people from now on always have a way to fight back for rights, it’s borderline impossible to disarm everyone especially considering the FGC can be fired using black powder that’s possible to make at home, the firearm is being used in a similar way the liberator pistol in ww2 was intended use to commandeer a better gun then dispose of it being a semi auto 9mm though with magazine capacity upwards of 40 rounds had far more volume of fire also if made right its able to shoot over 2000 rounds before losing any accuracy. The designer of the FGC was German, he died of a “heart attack” while in German custody. RIP Jstark, your design will be used for liberty and freedom for long to come.

[@aliirfan764]

This man does not rest at all

[@triadwarfare]

8:06 I'm surprised the Myanmar military Junta didn't just made up the numbers for their candidate to win just like any other authoritarian country out there. Maybe they did, but probably the difference was staggering they couldn't just hide it and just declared it invalid. Maybe it was best if they didn't publish the numbers.

[@DanielCrist]

I think their pride got the best of them wave they didn't expect to lose even more seats than they had just a few years earlier. Also, something no journalists have covered is that they had been preparing for the coup through most of 2000, using the pandemic as an excuse for most of their actions, before the election even took place at the end of the year.

[@cristosl]

The question that perplexes me is since the army has so little support among the people, where are they getting the soldiers for their army?

[@DanielCrist]

They weren't. They were having major problems with desertions and soldiers switching sides. That's why they've mostly used air power to terrorize and try to control the country. That isn't enough anymore, so now they've enacted a draft, resulting in thousands fleeing to Thailand. Because of course they aren't going to arm these little that hate them and that they've forced into conscription, they will just be using them as human shields to protect the few remaining loyal soldiers.

[@yosefshechter6322]

Hi Simon, can you make a video about the internal wars between the different parts and movements within the Minimariam rebels?

[@Randomguy-wy4xi]

The Myanmar Civil War is one of several reasons why the Northeastern Indian state of Manipur has itself fallen into civil war.

[@user-iy9fr5td2f]

Can you explain? How does it connect?

[@Jat-yn5ch]

​@@user-iy9fr5td2f random guy overexaturated a bit. So coming back to topic it's much more than that but one of the key things that led up to burning up Manipur is basically the group or rebels or whatever you call them ( not a aarkhan army or group ) basically did a hit job against India bcoz Chinese paid them to do so.... what's leading to me say that is one of point is Govt of India basically destroyed the drug- opium thats cultivated in North East of India.... But drugs won't stop, destroy of one drug prompted another drug called xo pills or something that's basically the Chinese drug and Anti India activity to weaken the border because on the border china got a bloody nose not just from Indian Army but also from the Hayers or localities of that areas.

[@firedup692]

​@@Jat-yn5ch stop saying "basically"

[@Randomguy-wy4xi]

@@Jat-yn5ch I didn't say main reason. I said one of several reasons. Manipur has been and is a somewhat unstable part of India. Many clashed have occurred here. The latest clash is between the majority Meitei (largely concentrated in the Manipur valley) and the Kukis (largely concentrated in the hills of southern Manipur). The Manipur border with Myanmar has not been properly fenced. Thus smuggling is a serious issue here. Manipur borders the Sagaing Region and Chin state of Myanmar, both of which are active war zones. As a result, refugees from this area have entered Manipur. There is no documentation, nothing as the border is largely unfenced. Weapons and narcotics have also been smuggled across the border. Manipur has a good number of armed rebels who have contacts in Myanmar. This adds to the smuggling problem.

[@mottscottison6943]

​@@Jat-yn5chevery Indian failure is Chinese fault ain't it?

[@outofredbullagain5820]

This channel deserves an award.

[@localblackman427]

Can you link to just the voice audio upload of this?

[@AKAZA-kq8jd]

We're going to need a bigger video on this topic.

[@vin79]

Thank you for making a video about this really helps for the paper I am writing for my Ap Seminar class (for my argumentative essay). I have a few questions (if it's possible to answer them) Why exactly has humanitarian aid slowed down and why has this problem been overlooked? Also when was the period where Myanmar was a democratic country or was it just said to be a democratic country but it was controlled heavily by the military all the time?

[@alicemoore2036]

There are about 100+ ethnicities in Myanmar. Buddhism is the closest this country has of a unifying ideal.

[@dkgong]

Suu Kyi was mostly a figure-head who was trying to transition towards democracy. The military are the actual ones in power. Had she condemned the genocide, it would've upset the delicate progress toward democracy, and the military would've moved against her government. She was in a no-win situation.

[@seargesoren9391]

Maybe the music is a little too loud?

[@SIRJAMESARTHUR]

This was amazingly helpful and concise. Thank you.

[@strangeperson700]

I remember a time when I was on the hub and the Asian category actress at the time was from Burma and she had an ad on her video talking about awareness about the war in Burma, I watched it while I was sitting on the porcelain throne, this was way back in 2010 or so.

[@kyawzaw8493]

I am your Burmese follower. I can’t believe my country issue have the attention from your channel. Thank you.

[@ironheart5830]

Same here

[@chitthant8507]

I'm from Myanmar. The civil war is getting worse. People in war zone feeling many difficulties. Food problem is the main problem I think. Some cities were destroyed by Military Government. We have no food, no home, no help, no way to avoid that all the roads are shut down by military. To write this comment I had to climb up the mountain due to connection problems. Thousand of Rohingya are also forced to serve as soliders in Military. Innocent Civilions are killed by air attacks everyday.

[@user-lv1iu9vy7m]

Anyway, Anyhow I thank you to interest Myanmar and to give time for discussion about Myanmar current situation! I wish our Myanmar and all neighbours and now you ( this vlog) to be blessed by Buddhas and concerned Gods or Allahs as remained blessings.

[@multiyapples]

My heart and prayers go out to the victims. I wish Myanmar would find peace, freedom and democracy for everyone especially for the Rohingya.

[@firedup692]

Majority of them have safely returned home to Bangladesh, thankfully. 😊

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

​@@firedup692The Rohingya weren't from Bangladesh. That's just a lie the Burmese tell themselves because they think it excuses their hatred. It's really quite gross.

[@FlamingBasketballClub]

​@@firedup692 The Rohingya people are native to Myanmar. Get off the drugs. 🤡

[@SantomPh]

@@firedup692they're not from Bangladesh, who also doesn't want them. Now they are causing problems in Malaysia and Indonesia who are both considering just kicking them out. The Burmese have to admit them as one of their own ethnic groups for all this to end.

[@john41690]

One of the more complete coverage of Myanmar. Most channels magically forget about the Rohingya and even more intentionally leave out the Nobel Peace prize winner refusing to even acknowledge the genocide.

[@English_Thieves]

Genocide? Where are you from? Don't bother answering, and no matter where you are right now, you either are living with those peaceful rohingya type people already and getting suppressed by them, or that's what your future will be if you continue to remain this ignorant.

[@kgcardbord]

you should also read about what the "ROHINGYASS" were doing in Myanmar...bud

[@lucamckenn5932]

Obomba got a peace prize too. How noble of nobel to award accolades to a murderer.

[@multiyapples]

@@kgcardbordcare to explain. It also doesn’t justify the genocide against them.

[@berdigylychrejepbayev7503]

like what? mass killing, raping? burning alive innocents? cant you hear? the state dont see them as citizens@@kgcardbord

[@duhmonke]

A friend of mine fled from it. She really misses her home