Echoes of Absence
Coming Soon…
“This story, Aung San Suu Kyi in prison is one of the most recognizable stories [about Myanmar], but she's disappeared since the coup.”
Lorcan Lovett, an experienced journalist based in Southeast Asia, speaks about his reporting on Myanmar’s post-coup crisis, focusing on Suu Kyi’s detention, the fractured resistance, and the junta’s plans for a 2025 election. A recent Guardian article, co-authored by Lovett and Tin Htet Paing, brought to light rare, authenticated daily logs detailing Suu Kyi’s prison life, revealing her deteriorating health as well as the murky conditions of her present incarceration. This is Lovett’s second appearance on the podcast; in his prior episode, he recounted his move from Yangon’s bustling media scene to on-the-ground reporting in resistance-held zones, documenting Myanmar’s descent into violent unrest and the fragile coalitions driving its fractured revolution.
Lovett explains how the documents were obtained by a source affiliated with People's Embrace, a group of military and police defectors who work with “watermelons”—that is, current members of the police and military who secretly oppose the regime. The logs are rich with credible details, including the names of staff members, Suu Kyi’s food and medication intake, and her daily routines, all of which aligned with her known, past habits. Lovett then cross-verified the materials with an independent, well-connected Myanmar-based source unaffiliated with the resistance, and also received confirmation from Suu Kyi’s son, Kim Aris, who said the logs were consistent with what he had learned through private channels.
The logs, dated January and February 2024, presented Suu Kyi as frail but lucid. They show her waking up daily at 4:30am, meditating, reading military-run newspapers and consuming sparse meals, at times subsisting on just “a little bit of chicken, a little bit of rice, and two pieces of chocolate.” Lovett consulted with physician Dr. Aung Kyaw, who warned that her ailments—particularly her gum and dental pain—were not being treated, that she was just getting medication for the pain. “For an 80 year old spending so much time in prison... it's a really worrying situation,” Lovett said. The Guardian piece was timed for her 80th birthday and intended to “raise international awareness of the situation, not only of Suu Kyi, but of Myanmar as well.”
Lovett speculates that although Suu Kyi is confined, she likely remains more aware of the country’s collapse than one might expect. Despite receiving only junta-controlled newspapers, he believes she can read between the lines. Drawing on his own review of those same publications, Lovett notes that military denials of resistance attacks often repeat so many details that they effectively confirm the events. He also cites Australian economist Sean Turnell, who was imprisoned under similar conditions and said that newspapers weren’t censored and that information “seeps through in other ways”— including via staff at the prison, whose motivations are not exactly entirely aligned with those of the regime.
This raises an essential question: if Suu Kyi is aware of the present situation, where does she stand on the resistance, particular its armed component? Lovett thinks her silence implies defiance. “She will not tell people to put their guns down,” he speculates, pointing to the junta’s failed attempts to coax or pressure her into endorsing their political process. He believes the junta may well release Suu Kyi after its upcoming sham elections to try to buy some international legitimacy and/or extract some political concessions.
However, the stakes are high. Should Suu Kyi die in custody, Lovett believes, “it’s going to pretty much erupt around Myanmar again.” Her death would likely reignite mass protests, like what happened with her father, who became a national martyr after his assassination in 1947. That prospect, Lovett thinks, might cause the junta to subtly signal somehow that she is still alive.
The discussion then turns to the controversial legacy of Aung San Suu Kyi. Lovett concedes that Suu Kyi remains a complex figure; in particular, he addresses how she remained silent in the face of—and perhaps even complicit in—the military’s 2017 anti-Rohingya campaign, and then vigorously defended them against genocide charges at the Hague, even after sitting through all of the eyewitness accounts. Many international observers felt betrayed by a figure long regarded as a moral beacon. “It was such a shock to the world... to see the same human rights icon... abet the persecution of one of the world's most vulnerable peoples.”
Some argue she acted out of political pragmatism, attempting to maintain leverage within a military-drafted Constitution so that the slow democratization of the country could continue. Others believe that she personally harbors nationalist and anti-Rohingya sentiments; in support of this perspective, Lovett notes that when the nationalist fervor swept through the Bamar heartland in 2017, it was trumpeted at her political rallies. Yet, it’s not that no one stood up for the Rohingya during those yars; a few courageous voices did, ironically evoking “the Suu Kyi of 2012... who spoke in her Nobel speech about... ‘the seeds of conflict born from ignored suffering.’”
So given Suu Kyi's checkered standing and her uncertain role in the upcoming elections, the broader resistance movement has yet to find a unifying leader, according to Lovett. The National Unity Government (NUG) has so far failed to fill that vacuum, and remains disorganized despite promises of internal reform. “Everybody wants to be the boss,” Lovett remarks, criticizing the NUG’s inability to unify military or political strategies, rein in rogue PDFs, or build consensus through the National Unity Consultative Council.
Lovett’s on-the-ground reporting from liberated zones like Chin State and Karenni has revealed widespread fatigue among civilians and fighters. Economic hardship, landmine injuries, and trauma are widespread. While resistance victories like the capture of Falam by the Chin National Defense Force (CNDF) have been symbolic, they are also fragile. In the aftermath of that success, inter-factional fighting broke out between the CNDF and the Chinland Council’s CNF—a reminder of the deep fractures even among those united against the junta. “It’s about control and power,” he says. “Everyone thinks, ‘Oh, maybe this is my moment!’”
On the subject of reporting, Lovett engages in a moment of reflection, questioning the possibility of “journalistic objectivity.” He says the reality is that the things that catch one’s attention are subjective by definition. But he emphasizes that one can acknowledge the subjectivity while remaining detached. He asks the audience to believe him when he says that this is the way he approaches reporting.
Regarding the junta’s proposed elections, Lovett says grimly, “I think this election has the potential to be one of the bloodiest, so-called ‘votes’ in modern history!” He explains that the military is attempting to retake territory before the vote, but that resistance fighters are unlikely to allow junta-controlled polling stations to function unchallenged. “People are going to be afraid to vote... it's absolutely crazy that they’re pushing ahead with it!” He doubts the election will yield legitimacy for the junta, but, citing reports of internal dissatisfaction, suggests it may serve another purpose: to remove Min Aung Hlaing from military command. Elevating him to President would open the way for new leadership that could escalate violence even further.
Territorial control remains hard to quantify. But while many zones remain contested, Lovett suggests that the figure of 25% under military control that he has read may actually be an underestimate, using the ability to operate to at least some degree as the measure of “territorial control.” This leads him to question the future of federalism in Myanmar. While most resistance rhetoric talks about “democratic federalism,” Lovett believes that what’s emerging looks more like “confederalism... with a very weak central government.” He points to growing ethnic autonomy, particularly in Rakhine, where the Arakan Army may be moving toward de facto independence.
As the conversation winds down, Lovett speaks about his hopeful respect for those he meets in liberated areas despite all the challenges that best the country. “They’ve just suffered so much... they really need positive change!” He is especially inspired by young fighters, such as Gen Z and millennial-led groups, whose resilience fuels the revolution despite uncertainty. And he closes by recalling his emotional departure from Yangon on April 8, 2021, on one of the last flights out during the early days of the coup. “Everything was a blur,” he says, but adds with conviction, “I love Myanmar so much... I know I’ll go back there one day!”