Confronting the junta with words and the realities of a war they started.

Joe Freeman is an American writer and researcher who has worked across Southeast Asia for more than a decade, reporting from Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines and in Myanmar during the mid-2010s when the country was experiencing a rare era of democracy.

It was then that he covered the defamation trial of poet Maung Saungkha, who would eventually fight on the frontlines of Myanmar’s civil war, after it erupted in 2021 when an elected government was ousted by the military.

Freeman was determined to find Saungkha and the result was the book "Frontline Poets: The Literary Rebels Taking on Myanmar's Military," which includes a collection of gritty poems by five poets from all walks of life.

Intermixed with the poems are illustrations and photographs chronicling their lives from early writings to the dramatic upheavals that followed the – and how they responded to the events that are tearing Myanmar apart.

"Frontline Poets" was co-authored with Aung Naing Soe, a prominent Burmese filmmaker and journalist who has reported on Myanmar for several international news outlets, and features poetry published in original English translations for the first time.

Freeman also says "Frontline Poets" continues a grand tradition in Burmese poetry, inspired by the country's long history of uprisings and revolutions dating back more than a century, when poems were used as an expression of opposition to the British colonialists.

In this podcast, he talks with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about his latest work, published by River Books, and how "Frontline Poets" seeks to shine a light on that rich historical legacy.

Anti-regime forces are focused on seizing control of military bases.

A conversation about exploitation and quick profits with Dave Welsh from the Solidarity Center.

A conversation about the crisis of integrity with journalist Huw Watkin.

A conversation with Cornell University's Magnus Fiskesjo.

[caption id="attachment_286625" align="alignright" width="301"] (Photo Supplied)[/caption]

A conversation with author Will Chickering.

[caption id="attachment_286232" align="alignright" width="300"] William Chickering, the author of "A War of Their Own." (Photo Supplied)[/caption]

In 1967, during the Vietnam War, William Chickering commanded a Mike Force battalion of Montagnards, highland tribesmen who were also members of a secret army, FULRO, the

Known in English as the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races, these hilltribe insurgents waged their own war of independence against North and South Vietnam, one that continued long after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

Montagnards, or Dega, a collective of term for the ethnic minorities of the Central Highlands, formed a fierce alliance with Chams to rid the highlands of Vietnamese of all political persuasions, who they viewed as colonialists. At one point it was believed that the Montagnards could determine the outcome of the war.

As the 50th anniversary of the fall of Indochina to communism approaches, Chickering spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt, about his new book: "."

He also speaks about his time in the military, his quest to understand FULRO in the decades since and the rise of ethno-nationalism among the culturally and linguistically distinct Dega, which include the Jarai, Rade, Bahnar, Koho, Mong, and Stieng, who wanted a country of their own.

In their struggle, an important role was played by the Civilian Irregular Defense Group, a program that began in late 1961 under the direction of the CIA and U.S. Special Forces.

A conversation with director Don Millar.

A conversation with academic and researcher Bradley Murg.

[caption id="attachment_284703" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo by Luke Hunt.[/caption]

A conversation with James Gomez from the Asia Centre.

Cracking down on the human traffickers; will Rakhine fall to the AA?