Senior Gen. Than Shwe, leader of Myanmar's military junta, says he is willing to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's opposition leader who has been under house arrest for 12 years. Before he does, however, Suu Kyi must agree to several conditions.
Even still, Michael Sullivan tells Alex Chadwick that there is no guarantee the reclusive leader will stop the military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
Sullivan, who is on the Myanmar-Thai border, says there have been few refugees fleeing the troubled country. This is likely due, in part, to efforts by the Myanmar military to stop pictures and information about the crackdown from getting out. The Myanmar government has instituted a media blackout and cut off access to the Internet.
Monique Skidmore, author of several books on Burma, says the blackout has turned some in Myanmar into citizen journalists, who are trying to show the world what is happening in their country.
Skidmore talks to Alex Cohen about the situation in Myanmar and the history of its military junta.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDM3NjYwMjA5MDE1MjA1MzQ1NDk1N2ZmZQ004))