Original subtitles

-[traffic ambiance] -[unsettling music]

-[zipper] -[rustling]

[camera beeps]

[narrator] When I pick up the camera

maybe my hands are shaking.

I may have a heavy heartbeat.

But after shooting for a little while, it is okay.

I have nothing in my mind. I have only my subject

in my mind, you know. I just shoot.

[unsettling music continues]

[music fades]

[man on megaphone]

[motorbike engines roaring]

[narrator] This is my country.

And this is the way it has been for more than 40 years.

[man on megaphone]

[camera beeps]

[electronic humming]

I only remember a few weeks when things were any different.

-[reflective music] -[birds cawing]

[mouse clicking]

[crowd chanting]

[narrator] In 1988 I was just a little boy.

But that's when everybody in Burma got into the streets.

They'd had enough of military rulers.

They wanted change.

It was the students who led the demonstrations.

They became more and more outspoken

and they demanded that the generals give up power.

-[chanting continues] -[music continues]

There was so much hope.

We even had Aung San Suu Kyi

who came back from Europe to lead the people.

[engine rumbling]

But the generals wanted it differently.

[announcement on megaphone]

[gunshots]

At the end of the day

3,000 people were killed in the streets, and

it was all over.

[music continues]

I feel I want to fight for democracy.

But I think we had better make a longer plan.

We cannot go out to the streets again, and get shot

because we have no more people to die.

These people were so brave

but sometimes I feel they died for nothing.

-[music fades] -[rain pattering]

There is nothing left from '88.

It's like everything has been forgotten.

[unsettling music]

Aung San Suu Kyi is sitting in house arrest

in the middle of Rangoon.

She is in the house

but you cannot go and talk to her.

There is just... you know

darkness.

[rustling]

I feel the world is forgetting about us.

That's why I decided to become a video reporter.

At least I can try to show that Burma is still here.

[rustle]

[dog barks]

[man on megaphone]

-[zipper] -[rustle]

We have to hide our camera in a bag.

We can only shoot for a little while.

And after that

we have to smuggle our footage out of the country.

It is a very difficult job.

But we try.

[reflective theme music]

[train rumbling]

[narrator] If they catch me with a camera

I know I will go to prison.

And, if people talk to us and tell us what they think

they will go away, too.

So they keep silent.

Our stories are silent.

[music continues]

In the night times, I always think about

what I did during the day.

A little worried

"Oh, who could have been watching?"

Or something like that.

[electronic humming]

What if someone knows me and noticed I am shooting pictures?

[music continues]

Yeah, I think about this.

[street ambiance]

Fear is so deep in everybody. Also in me.

Sometimes when I feel like this, I go and see Ko Maung.

[whistling]

[narrator] There is a whole group of us in Rangoon.

We are all facing the same problems

but Ko Maung looks at it differently

even though he's already spent 12 years in prison.

He is a special guy. He doesn't seem to mind.

[soft clattering]

Oh, shit!

[unsettling music]

[lighter flicks]

[narrator] Ko Maung is a persistent person.

He is rarely upset or depressed.

He is strong.

[reflective music]

[rain pattering]

[music continues]

[crowd chanting]

[man on megaphone]

[crowd chanting]

The information, pictures and photos

from Internet reporters was crucial

because it's telling the world what is going on.

They are the world's eyes and ears in this situation

because we, as journalists, can't fulfill our role properly

because we are banned by the authorities

from going in.

-[dramatic music] -[footsteps]

[bus engine rumbling]

[narrator] I remember August 15 quite well.

I was on a bus going to Rangoon.

I decided to make a story

because the mood was quite strange on the bus.

Not like usual.

[rustling]

[narrator] On that day, the government raised

fuel prices to double rate.

Everything got much more expensive.

To normal people, that was a huge problem.

[narrator] They are still scared.

Who is an informer? Who is military intelligence?

You cannot know who is who on the bus.

But, although they are not talking

I know, something'll happen soon.

[reflective music]

I can feel it.

[city ambiance]

When I arrived in Rangoon,

I heard the news that a prominent demonstrator will

make a solo strike at the crowded market

in downtown.

The security is very tight in Rangoon.

So many government people are there without uniforms.

He may not last more than two or three minutes.

He will be arrested, we're sure.

For our team, it is the time to use all our energies, and

we decide that everyone will go there.

[tense music]

So... we went there and spread around

and these things happened just in front of me.

[rustling]

[narrator] It was Kyaw Kyaw who got this footage.

My tape is lost.

I got too greedy at the time.

Because I followed them.

[distorted shouting]

That's me in the white shirt with the black bag.

I followed very close and I saw them

throwing the demonstrator on a truck.

[shouting]

I ran towards the truck.

I had to get a picture of this.

Then I hear somebody shouting

[narrator] It was me. They caught me.

[tense music]

[narrator] They took me to an office of the secret police

to question me.

How did I get the camera? Why was I shooting this?

So many questions.

I explained that I borrowed the camera from a friend

and that I was just there by accident.

They said, "We don't believe you."

"But we keep the camera and the tape, and you can go."

[bus ambiance]

I was relieved.

But also I knew that I should not be fooled.

Why did they release me?

I think, just to follow me and see what I'm doing next.

[tense music continues]

Do I work with somebody else?

How do we operate?

All those kinds of things.

When I informed all this to my organization's headquarters

they told me, "You are not secure enough in Burma."

"We want you to come to Thailand."

But...

I didn't reply to their e-mail.

I ignored their order.

[rain pattering]

I know something will happen.

If I miss the chance to shoot now

I'll have to wait another 20 years.

It is once in a blue moon, you know?

So I decided

"Whatever happens to me, I'll do it!"

[tense music]

[rustling]

[cell phone rings]

[rustling]

[rustle]

[narrator] After a few days, I got the news that Su Su Nway

who is very famous for her courage

would make a demonstration.

[applause]

It can lead to a bigger demonstration

if she can do something very well.

So we need to promote.

As usual, we spread around.

[shouting]

[engine rumbling loudly]

[shouting]

[narrator] They're trying really hard to get her

but the people cover and protect her.

It was a big movement for us and a big mistake for them.

Because they did so many brutal things in front of people

and we could document that.

[shouting]

[shouting continues]

[narrator] We are shooting this, and the police are shooting us.

They record me, and I record them.

So we can also define who was who at the time.

[shouting continues]

[narrator] We shoot everything. Get it in the camera, you know!

[engine roaring]

[narrator] The taxi driver is saying that

"Yeah, they are very brave! I'm glad to see this!

I am very excited! I am saving money for my family

and if something happens, I will join the demonstration!"

This is not normal.

Saying political things to a stranger

has never happened before.

But, at the time, we knew what would happen next.

[anticipatory music]

Yeah, the movement is bigger and bigger.

And now we edit the pieces and we send it to Oslo.

A few hours later, my friend called me, that

the pictures were shown on CNN and the BBC.

They were shown repeatedly again and again.

[reporter] Such public displays of dissent

are exceedingly rare in Burma these days

and a clear challenge

to the country's hard-line military rulers.

Some say, the most serious challenge in more than a decade.

[reporter] The Democratic Voice of Burma, or DVB

uses satellite TV and shortwave radio

to send news of the protests around the world

and, for the first time, back into Burma.

About 30 reporters are on the ground working undercover.

They film material, then smuggle it out of the country

doing so at great personal risk.

-[engines rumbling] -[music continues]

[narrator] It was so amazing

to see our footage going around the world.

For the first time I feel we can really do something.

But I also know for sure

I cannot stay in Burma a day longer.

So finally, I agreed to go to Thailand for a while.

[music fades]

[birdsong]

[narrator] We all think there will be more demonstrations, and

people are heading for the movement.

So...

I will be the center

for spreading the news around the world.

I was very unhappy at the time

to be in the office, to answer the phones

and to call and send e-mails into Burma and manage people.

[telephone rings]

I just wanted to be in the field.

-[mouse clicks] -[reflective music]

But I needed to be there

and I began preparation for our cameramen in Burma.

[typing on keyboard]

[tense music]

-[music continues] -[electronic humming]

[narrator] Suddenly the monks were beginning to move

so I tried to get information

and I called to a leader of the monks I had met before.

[bell gongs]

[street ambiance]

[vehicle ambiance]

[street ambiance]

[distant footsteps]

[narrator] Ko Maung and Tun Tun are trying to talk to the monks.

But on that day

monks didn't allow people to film them.

They think they're intelligence agents

from the government.

-[shouting] -[scuffling]

But actually

there were some real intelligence people

in the street, and they tried to grab our reporters.

[shouting]

The monks protected the reporters

and took them into their lines.

From now on, our guys could walk freely with the monks.

We could really work together.

[uplifting reflective music]

One protester in the street cannot do much

but there are thousands.

Maybe there are 400,000 monks in Burma.

Really, it is the only force in Burma

who can scare the military.

And the government made a very big mistake.

In a town near Mandalay, they beat up some monks.

In Buddhist thinking, we are never, never allowed to do that.

So everybody was very upset

and the monks demanded an apology from the government.

-[monks chanting] -[rain pattering]

Monks are not supposed to do political things.

But when the people are suffering and starving

sometimes they rise to give their support.

This has happened before, even a thousand years back.

They turn their alms bowls upside down.

They will no longer take alms from the generals.

[music continues]

Only a few civilians were following them.

People are under fear of the guns.

-[water running] -[music continues]

[narrator] People are very eager to see our footage.

They just switch on Democratic Voice of Burma.

They are waiting to see what we are going to show them.

My people inside Burma was working very enthusiastically.

So I was full of energy.

[music continues]

And at the same time

the journalists from every prominent media organization

were waiting to see our footage coming out from Rangoon.

[fast-paced music]

[reporter] In Burma, hundreds of monks

have been protesting for a third day

after a significant rise in fuel prices

prompted a wave of public discontent

which is seldom seen in Burma.

The BBC has obtained exclusive images.

[reporter] To protest here is to risk jail and torture.

But today and for the past month, people across Burma

have dared to challenge

one of the world's most oppressive regimes.

The demonstrations are being led by Buddhist monks

a powerful force in a devout nation.

[chanting]

[narrator] One of our reporters was always

at the forefront of the demonstrations

working together with the leaders of the monks.

[narrator] So he makes suggestions

to the monks which way to go.

He tells them where they'll get the most support

and people will join the demonstrations.

[reporter] Today, up to 100,000 people

took to the streets of Rangoon

a protest that has grown in size and confidence

over the last six successive days.

[reporter] The monks have come to symbolize dissent

a quiet, patient, peaceful rebuke to military brutality

and the chance of an alternative Burma.

[narrator] Millions of people are watching our footage.

Our network is really small.

We don't have manpower.

We have to do alone with little handicams.

[narrator] But the things we did with these things

could shake the people in Burma

as well as the people around the world.

[cheering and clapping]

That really happened.

It is our dream, which is coming true.

[cheering and clapping]

[Bush] Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma

where a military junta has imposed a 19-year reign of fear.

The regime is holding more than 1,000 political prisoners

including Aung San Suu Kyi

yet the people's desire for freedom is unmistakable.

[reporter] ...vowing to bring down

a repressive military government.

The last time anyone defied the generals like this

the army killed 3,000 people. So what will they do this time?

-[music continues] -[rain pattering]

[reporter] The detained opposition leader in Burma

Aung San Suu Kyi

has been seen in public for the first time in several years.

Thousands of Buddhist monks

were allowed to walk past police barricades

to the home of the detained opposition leader.

[music continues]

[narrator] I was crying

when I hear that monks are going to Aung San Suu Kyi's home.

And she came out to the gate.

And she gave respect to the monks with tears.

Everybody who saw this was crying at the time.

And me, too.

In front of the computer.

[music continues]

It is not a good photo. You can see only a small lady

but we couldn't see her for a long time.

She is still under custody, you know, house arrest.

They have tried to make the people forget her.

But, she is still in our hearts.

At the same time

I realize that it is very dangerous for the monks

to go and see her.

In the 1990s, the generals made a big mistake.

They made an election, and almost everybody voted for her.

[applause and cheering]

[narrator] It was like she made

the whole people forget their fear.

-[music continues] -[indistinct chatter]

I'm sure that the generals were very scared

of this to happen again.

They will begin to do something after that.

My...

My thought was true.

[narrator] I think the decisive time

was when the government announced

not to gather more than five people in the streets.

[unsettling music]

So I was confused and...

that day I couldn't sleep.

You know, "Is it over?"

[music continues]

[rustling]

[rustling continues]

[car ambiance]

[rustle]

[narrator] When I see monks and people

come out that day

I just feel that it's the time for our victory.

They just came out, without fear.

[cheering and clapping continue]

But, we are still waiting for the army

to join the people.

There are so many soldiers who are suffering.

The lower ranks and privates.

But for an army man

disobeying an order is the most difficult decision for them.

They know their generals are really cruel, really brutal.

They know more than us.

[engines roaring]

[reporter] Good afternoon. Troops have fired

tear gas and warning shots

at demonstrators in Burma today.

According to reports

at least one Buddhist monk has been killed

and several others injured.

[reporter] Some of those monks were really very badly beaten

and yet the crowds were about as large

as they've been in previous days.

It took time for them to build up.

-[cheering and clapping] -[music continues]

And the anger is palpable on the streets.

This is a very dangerous moment

because, if the security forces can't control these protests

with what they used today

there is of course a very real risk

that they will use lethal force in the days ahead.

[reporter] We've seen amazing scenes of defiance

on the streets of Rangoon today.

-[tense music continues] -[night ambiance]

[bells clanging]

[clatter]

[narrator] I sent Kyaw Kyaw to the place.

He went and filmed the occasion there.

And when he got out of the monastery

he saw soldiers and thugs were coming to raid again.

The government troops are coming back

to take all the rest of the monks.

[unsettling music]

[narrator] Later we found out that

all the rest of the monks were taken away.

And we don't really know where they are now.

[narrator] In the late days of September

I began to think

"This is something we have all seen before."

The monks were gone.

Only the students were left in the street

just like 1988.

And military trucks are going around the city

to chase them down.

[narrator] The uprising was dying.

There are only a few demonstrators left

in the streets of Rangoon.

During these days of guerrilla demonstrations

Ko Maung worked very well.

He is one of the old fighters from 1988.

So he knew the way the demonstrators moved.

[reporter] That is how you stop the truth

coming out about a massacre.

A Japanese journalist shot dead yesterday.

Today, the internet switched off

and troops beating those with cameras

yelling, "Is it you who is sending pictures out?"

But the pictures have come out.

[narrator] In the later days of September

Rangoon is like a war zone.

Nobody is on the streets after eight p.m.

It is the city. But it's like, you know, a desert.

But our people are still working.

[reporter] The situation's gotten worse

since the crackdown began last week

as the country's internet servers have been cut.

Despite that information blackout

some images are still managing

to get out of the country.

[reporter] We received images from Democratic Voice of Burma

which is the last media to be able to leak information

from Burma to the outside world.

They're using satellite connections

to send this information out of Burma

which is very important, because otherwise we don't know

what's happening in Rangoon at the moment.

[reporter] We know that this video was taken yesterday

and we know it's in Rangoon.

We don't know more about that

but it shows that the repression

is still going on.

And that the Burmese authorities are trying to calm things down

saying that the protests are over.

This is not true.

We see here that it is still very violent in Rangoon.

[announcer] RFA, VOA and BBC airing skyful of lies.

The public be warned of

killers in the air waves

RFA, VOA and BBC.

RFA, VOA and BBC saboteurs, watch your step!

[tense music continues]

[narrator] In the late days of September

generals were back in control.

Military people are hunting any person with a camera.

We have to be very careful.

The Burmese military government realize that DVB is the one

filming and smuggling

all this footage to international agencies.

So they systematically target DVB reporters on the ground.

[music continues]

[narrator] Everybody in our network has spread out.

They are feeling that they can be arrested at any time.

But we arranged some hiding places.

[narrator] It is just too much.

I feel "hna myaw tal."

It's like something has been broken

and cannot be repaired.

But I'll just go on with my job.

Because we need to do it.

[reflective music]

[soft splashing]

-[boat engine rumbles] -[reflective music]

I'll go back to Burma.

I'll go through the mountains

and see what I can do.

[dramatic music]

-[wind howling] -[music continues]

[reporter] A massive cyclone has hit

the military-ruled country of Burma.

We're getting reports of 50 percent of the buildings

are damaged or collapsed

in the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta towns.