Since its inception, Radio Free Asia has been a crucial source of independent news in Myanmar where the dominant military has brooked no criticism, even during the years when democracy was taking root.
First by shortwave radio and then primarily via social media, RFA Burmese has, throughout it all, given a first take on every twist and turn in the nation’s turbulent modern history. It has reported on the struggle for freedom, military crackdowns and the current civil war.
The coverage has derived its impact from its audience who have been among the most enthusiastic consumers of RFA in Asia. The Burmese service has always put the testimony and personal stories of regular citizens, its core audience, at the center of its reporting.
Saffron Revolution 2007
RFA Burmese provided round-the-clock coverage of the biggest democracy protests in two decades that were led by Buddhist monks, in a show of defiance against Myanmar’s military rulers.
RFA reporting on the Saffron Revolution, broadcast by shortwave radio, demonstrated the network’s ability to tap sources inside the country and document violence inflicted on protesters. That included revealing accounts from detainees of torture and other abuses, and a military truck plowing into civilians. RFA’s coverage won a New York Festivals gold award for radio broadcasting.
Aung San Suu Kyi after her 2010 release
A day after democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from 15 years of on-and-off house arrest, she was interviewed by RFA Burmese and called for dialogue with the ruling junta. She also confided that during her house arrest she’d tuned into RFA. “For RFA, as well as other news agencies, I listen to political news as a duty,” she said.
Her release ushered in a decade of reform that culminated in Suu Kyi becoming the nation’s civilian leader; but by February 2021 she was back under arrest when the military grabbed power in a coup.
Myanmar’s Gen Z opposing the coup
The 2021 coup set off a wave of conflict, as the junta cracked down on peaceful protesters with deadly force.
Young Burmese fled from urban centers and fought alongside ethnic armies – risking their lives for democratic change. RFA Burmese reported from inside Myanmar to tell the personal stories of Gen Z who were picking up arms to oppose the junta.
‘I had to cut off the head, bro.’
Just over a year after the coup, RFA Burmese revealed extraordinary evidence of atrocities by the Myanmar military in their own words. Data from a soldier’s cell phone shared with RFA revealed clues to a slaughter.
Further reporting, based on testimony and the visual evidence, established there had been a massacre of nearly 30 men at Mon Taing Pin village in Sagaing region on May 11, 2022.
In a video recorded on the cell phone, three soldiers traded grisly stories of how they had killed people, in which one of them slurred: ‘I had to cut off the head, bro.’
Medal-winning gymnast, living in a shack
As civil war has plunged Myanmar into poverty and despair, RFA Burmese has shed light on stories of hardship and perseverance.
The story of 21-year-old gymnast Thae Su, who had fallen on hard times after the 2021 coup, drew more than 6 million viewers – and then surveillance by the military. She showed off a clutch of medals, stored in the tiny shack-like home in Yangon.
RFA also featured a 1,000-kyat restaurant that was offering cheap meals for the down-at-heel. The story attracted 4.6 million viewers, spurring demand so that the restaurant had to expand.
Imprisoned filmmaker Shin Daewe
Myanmar’s junta has ruthlessly persecuted journalists since the 2021 coup. They include award-winning RFA contributor and documentary filmmaker Shin Daewe, who had produced environmental features and videos about the struggles of villagers caught up in the fighting.
She was sentenced to life in prison on a terrorism charge after picking up a drone that her husband said was for filmmaking. Her sentence was subsequently reduced to 15 years in prison. In March 2024 she won a prestigious Gracie’s award for her environmental reporting for RFA.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Myanmar was the world’s third-worst jailer of journalists in 2024, with 35 behind bars as of the end of the year.
Edited by RFA Staff.
