Myanmar’s devastating civil war grinds into its fourth year, following the 2021 military coup that ousted the country’s elected government. What followed was a nationwide civil disobedience movement, along with the rise of armed resistance groups. The revolutionary forces have been battling the junta for control of the country, not just to restore things as they were but to build something new altogether. According to reports, more than 5,000 people have been killed, over 3 million displaced, and the economy has been left in ruins.

Recently, as chair of ASEAN this year, Malaysia undertook a more active role, facilitating a series of stakeholder engagement meetings not only with the Junta but more importantly, with the National Unity Government and other key resistance forces and civil society groups. 

After the series of engagements, the various pro-democracy forces, in a strongly worded statement, rejected the Junta’s “sham elections,” which are to be held in December.

So, where do we go from here? What does this mean for the future of Myanmar?

In this episode, we unpack these questions and more with Lilianne Fan, who's the Head of Secretariat for the Malaysian Advisory Group on Myanmar.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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