Inside Myanmar: After the Crackdown
In 2007, Al Jazeera went undercover in Myanmar to report on monks’ protests and the resulting crackdown by the military.
Ten years ago, in November 2006, Al Jazeera English was launched. To mark that anniversary, we have created REWIND, which updates some of the channel’s most memorable and award-winning documentaries of the past decade. We find out what happened to some of the characters in those films and ask how the stories have developed in the years since our cameras left.
Back in 2007, the people of Myanmar were still living under harsh military rule. Among the first major international news stories Al Jazeera covered was the Myanmar government’s brutal crackdown on peacefully protesting monks.
News reaching the outside world at that time was scarce. But Al Jazeera correspondent Tony Birtley was one of the few international journalists who had managed to get into the country, and was able to film the unfolding events while working undercover at the very heart of the protests.
Ten years later, Yangon-based journalist Fiona MacGregor tells REWIND how the story has moved on.
“We have to remember that the military still plays a huge role here,” she says.