With Laur Kiik, Burma studies researcher and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oslo. This week on episode 52 of What's Happening in Myanmar, the military detains civilians for supposedly criticising its so-called elections, the fallout from demolitions at KK Park scam compound increases, and we discuss livelihoods at the Myitsone confluence in Kachin State—including the likelihood of the Myitsone dam hydropower project being resumed.

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Timecodes—

(00:00) Opening

(01:02) KK park demolition fallout

(02:36) Military advances and Mogok in suspension

(04:20) Detention of election "critics"

(05:58) With Laur Kiik, Myitsone suspension

(13:26) Myitsone villages

(28:53) Gold mining at Myitsone

(38:28) Close

Our guests—

Laur Kiik, Burma Studies researcher and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oslo.

Rural resistance under a golden dictatorship, part 1:

the Myitsone villages

Rural resistance under a golden dictatorship, part 2: the

suspended villages

New original content on the Frontier website:

'Living in fear of the sky': Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh battle environmental crisis

Further referenced this episode:

Hkyet Hting Nan: 'One day we will have a Kachin president'

With Aung Khant, coordinator of the Myanmar Freedom of Religion or Belief Network. This week on episode 51 of What's Happening in Myanmar, ASEAN dithers once again, the military's UEC announces more election updates, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army signs a ceasefire ceding Mogok and Mongmit to the military, and we discuss religious freedom in Myanmar since the 2021 coup.

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Timecodes—

(00:00) Opening

(01:45) ASEAN summit leads nowhere

(02:24) Election updates

(06:11) Ta'ang National Liberation Army ceasefire

(08:28) With Aung Khant, religious freedom in Myanmar

(18:20) FoRB Network Myanmar's report

(28:17) Religion in Myanmar, and ethnicity

(33:18) Muslim suffering after Sagaing earthquake

Our guests—

Aung Khant, Coordinator of the Myanmar Freedom of Religion or Belief Network

New original content on the Frontier website:

Early to wed: Myanmar girls marry to avoid military service

Searching for solutions for the Rohingya

Further referenced this episode:

After 29 years, RFA is on pause

Freedom House Myanmar 2025

Myanmar's Generals Step into Politics as Newly Minted Civilians

With Hunter Marston, adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This week on episode 50 of What's Happening in Myanmar, the UEC announces election campaigning restrictions, SpaceX cuts off Starlink for scammers, and we discuss the upcoming ASEAN summit scheduled for this weekend, U.S. and Chinese policy on Myanmar, and more.

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Timecodes—

01m08s :: News round up, union members freed01m52s :: UEC restricts in-person election campaigning03m29s :: Scam raids, Starlink cut08m18s :: With Hunter Marson, China policy on Myanmar20m05s :: 47th ASEAN summit41m10s :: Close

Our guests—

Hunter Marston, adjunct fellow (non-resident), Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and adjunct fellow with La Trobe Asia.

New original content on the Frontier website:

'The ending is already known': USDP gets head start on election campaign

Further referenced this episode:

Supporting Myanmar Beyond the 'ASEAN Way'

With Jacob Sims, visiting fellow at Harvard University's Asia Centre. This week on episode 49 of What's Happening in Myanmar, election campaign updates and voter list concerns, the military retakes Hsipaw and loses Nat Yay Kan, and we discuss human trafficking and the fallout of the scam crackdown from earlier this year.

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Timecodes—

01m10s :: Election updates 04m07s :: Nat Yay Kan lost to AA 05m02s :: PDF prison breakout in Hakha 05m46s :: Hsipaw lost to the military 07m20s :: With Jacob Sims, TIP human trafficking report 18m55s :: Scams since the crackdown 23m48s :: Indictment of Chen Zhi 33m03s :: Income generation and substitution after the scams 40m05s :: Close

Our guests—

Jacob Sims, visiting fellow at Harvard University's Asia Centre and expert on organised crime in Southeast Asia

Two paths to the bottom: When states become sponsors of human trafficking

New original content on the Frontier website:

'I don't know what comes next': US visa ban quashes Myanmar students' dreams Women in central Myanmar struggle with low wages

Further referenced this episode:

Myanmar scam cities booming despite crackdown – using Musk's Starlink

With Amaël Vier, election consultant and analyst, and Tharindu Abeyrathna, senior program officer for campaign and advocacy at the Asian Network for Free Elections. This week on episode 48 of What's Happening in Myanmar, the military massacres civilians at a Buddhist holiday commemoration, the Union Election Commission posts problematic voter lists, and we discuss the new ANFREL assessment report on the military's planned elections.

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Timecodes—

01m00s :: Announcement of new CEO01m48s :: Thadingyut massacre03m31s :: Sagaing & KIA conflict updates04m27s :: Election news06m15s :: With Tharindu & Amaël, new ANFREL election report27m13s :: India as an election observer31m08s :: ASEAN's response to elections38m16s :: Close

Our guests—

Amaël Vier, election consultant and analyst

Tharindu Abeyrathna, senior program officer for campaign and advocacy at the Asian Network for Free Elections

New original content on the Frontier website:

Working for peanuts: The precarious lives of women in central Myanmar'Nothing you can do': Spectre of starvation haunts Rakhine Frontier appoints new CEO, as founder bows out

Further referenced this episode:

ANFREL: Myanmar Junta's Planned Elections: Falling Short of Democratic Legitimacy

With Carlos Sardiña Galache, author and Frontier Myanmar digital editor. This week on episode 47 of What's Happening in Myanmar, the military retakes Kyaukme, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing returns from Central Asia as his air force kills dozens of civilians across the country, and we discuss this week's United Nations conference on the Rohingya along with Arakan Army leadership.

Email the show at [email protected]

Timecodes—

01m06s :: News roundup04m05s :: With Carlos Sardiña Galache, the UN conference on the Rohingya09m53s :: The AA accuses the BGB of assisting Rohingya militants14m16s :: Twan Mrat Naing's interview30m30s :: The NUG and the Rohingya38m21s :: Close

Our guests—

Carlos Sardiña Galache, author and digital editor at Frontier Myanmar

His book: The Burmese Labyrinth

New original content on the Frontier website:

UN says Myanmar military razed Rohingya villages in 'a systematic pattern'The cost of trade or Myanmar's economic struggle amid shortages and soaring prices

Further referenced this episode:

AA Chief Defends Rakhine Rebels Against Charges of Genocide'They don't represent us': Rohingya armed groups wreak havoc in RakhineUpdated Timeline: Myanmar Junta's Nuclear Ambitions

With Dustin Barter and Stella Naw, two co-authors of a new ODI report on humanitarianism and revolutionary state-building in Myanmar. This week on episode 46 of What's Happening in Myanmar, the resistance takes Banmauk, a Kachin Independence Army camp is hit with a precision airstrike, rights organisations react to Sweden ceasing development aid, and we discuss why international donors and humanitarian actors should engage with the new "pluralistic state" of Myanmar.

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Timecodes—

01m19s :: News roundup 02m41s :: With Stella Naw & Dustin Barter, an aid rethink 16m21s :: The pluralistic state 25m54s :: Risk aversion and risk taking for aid 33m17s :: Recommendations for resistance 40m56s :: Close

Our guests—

Dustin Barter, Senior Research Fellow in the Humanitarian Policy Group at ODI Global

Stella Naw, academic activist working on Indigenous and decolonial peacebuilding and governance practices

And the reports under discussion:

Making Myanmar: humanitarianism amid revolutionary state-building Sweden ends development aid to Myanmar, abandoning media and civil society

Plus, new original content on the Frontier website:

Viral justice: Social media and the court of public opinion The perils of abortion for Myanmar women Seeking solidarity for Myanmar in a cruel world

With Naing Min Khant, emerging researcher at the Institute for Strategy and Policy, Myanmar. This week on episode 45 of What's Happening in Myanmar, the military regime makes gains in Bhamo, the air force bombs and kills dozens of students at a high school, the Union Election Commission declares 56 townships will not be part of December's so-called elections, and we discuss the likelihood of change within the Myanmar military's leadership, as the fourth generation of officers eye off the top job.

Email the show at [email protected]

Timecodes—

01m06s :: News roundup02m41s :: With Naing Min Khant, the military's leadership10m19s :: How does change happen15m22s :: Min Aung Hlaing's popularity in the military24m12s :: Anti-China sentiment 48m37s :: Close

Our guests—

Naing Min Khant, emerging researcher at ISP-Myanmar

And the ISP-Myanmar report under discussion:

ISP On Point No. 27: Prospective 4th Generation Tatmadaw: Payhways to Reform or Further Regression?

Plus, new original content on the Frontier website:

Q&A: 'Civilians should never be targeted' Doh Athan: Regime airstrike on school leaves trauma in its wake

Tweet:

This week on Frontier's podcast What's Happening in Myanmar, regime gains in Bhamo, air force bombs kill dozens of students sheltering in a high school in Kyauktaw Township, and ISP-Myanmar's Naing Min Khant talks about the prospects for the upcoming fourth generation of Myanmar military leadership.

With Michael Lidauer, an international elections expert with experience in Myanmar since 2010. This week on episode 44 of What's Happening in Myanmar, the Kayin State Border Guard Force declares its support for the military's elections, as its leaders and associates are sanctioned by the United States for facilitating the scam industry, and we discuss the technical aspects of the military running polls at the end of the year.

Email the show at [email protected]

Timecodes—

01m34s :: News roundup03m01s :: With Michael Lidauer, the 2020 elections10m37s :: Military's planned 2025 elections14m54s :: The Union Election Commission19m41s :: Electoral system change to PR28m20s :: Political parties 39m02s :: Observers46m21s :: Close

Our guests—

Michael Lidauer, international elections expert

New original content on the Frontier website:

Q&A: 'Civilians should never be targeted' Doh Athan: Regime airstrike on school leaves trauma in its wake

Further referenced this episode:

Aiding Oppression or Saving Lives? The Dry Zone's Humanitarian Reckoning

With Nandar, member of the Generations Solidarity Coalition of Nationalities, and participant in the anti-sham elections campaign. This week on episode 43 of What's Happening in Myanmar, coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is in China, while at home his military continues its offensives killing civilians, revolutionaries try to prevent the region from accepting the legitimacy of the military's planned elections, and we discuss the Anti-Sham Election Campaign's aims and strategies.

Email the show at [email protected]

Timecodes—

02m03s :: News roundup 05m16s :: With Nandar, the Anti-Sham Election Campaign 15m26s :: Legitimacy 28m11s :: Close

Our guests—

Nandar, from the Generations Solidarity Coalition Nationalities

The Sham Election Campaign Linktree

New original content on the Frontier website:

The junta positions itself in the new world order Fear and voting in Myanmar: Junta election heralds more violence

Further referenced this episode:

Will the China–Myanmar meandering railway project get started soon? David Mathieson on the ANU's Myanmar Research Centre podcast in 2018