logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2022
22m 3s

Defecting online: How soldiers are deser...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Myanmar has been engulfed by a civil war which is getting deadlier and more violent as time goes on. Last year the Tatmadaw – the Burmese armed forces – overthrew the civilian-led government, led by Aung Sun Suu Kyi. Now they’re acting with impunity, allegedly committing heinous crimes against those who oppose them. In the past year many Tatmadaw soldiers – thousands, according to the opposition – have had second thoughts about their military service and are defecting to the other side. Trending has spoken to several of the defectors. They told us how they changed their minds, how they used social media to connect with the rebels and how they’re now using online tools to work against the military leaders they once served.

Presenter: Reha Kansara

Photo: Burmese soldiers line up with guns hoisted Photo Credit: Getty Images

Up next
Jun 2024
Trending is moving to the Documentary Podcast
BBC Trending's podcast feed is closing, but we'll be publishing new episodes in the BBC World Service's Documentary Podcast from now on. Search for The Documentary wherever you get your BBC podcasts, and subscribe to get new episodes of BBC Trending along with a range of exciting ... Show More
43s
Jun 2024
Colombia’s guerrilla recruitment video problem
Fighters from dissident armed groups in Colombia are using TikTok to glorify their lives as guerrillas and recruit youngsters.These armed groups didn't like the terms of a peace treaty negotiated between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government in 2016 ... Show More
18m 6s
Jun 2024
The Kenyan influencer championing climate denial
Jusper Machogu is a farmer from southwestern Kenya who describes himself as a “climate sceptic”: he wrongly claims that climate change is a “scam” or a “hoax” designed to hold Africa back. On social media, he has also become known as a staunch defender of fossil fuel exploration ... Show More
18m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
What’s behind the civil war in Myanmar?
It’s been three years since Myanmar’s military coup when the army took control of the country, a decade after agreeing to hand power to a civilian government. A civil war broke out after the after the military used lethal force to put down mass protests in the weeks after the cou ... Show More
15m 48s
Apr 2021
A Military That Murders Its Own People
<p>Two months ago, Myanmar’s military carried out a coup, deposing the country’s elected civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and closing the curtains on a five-year experiment with democracy. </p><p>Since then, the Burmese people have expressed their discontent through protest and ... Show More
25m 45s
Jun 2024
The Army of Poets and Students Fighting a Forgotten War
<p><i>Warning: this episode contains descriptions of injuries.</i></p><p>Myanmar is home to one of the deadliest, most intractable civil wars on the planet. But something new is happening. Unusual numbers of young people from the cities, including students, poets and baristas, ha ... Show More
26m 10s
Apr 2021
Is Myanmar heading for civil war?
Zack, Alex, and returning guest Jen Kirby talk about the potential for a “bloodbath” in Myanmar. Since the military deposed the democratic government in a February 1 coup, pro-democracy protesters and armed ethnic groups have risen up against the junta. They’ve been met with extr ... Show More
41m 52s
May 2021
Caught in the crossfire along the Thailand/Myanmar border
: Laura Bicker reports from a remote corner of Thailand’s border with Myanmar, where villagers’ lives are being disrupted as the Burmese military pursues insurgent groups. Since the generals' takeover in February, hundreds of people have died in Myanmar's cities after mass protes ... Show More
28m 49s