Burning through Norwegian Wood

Insight Myanmar · Oct 29, 2026 · 1h 59m

Episode #632: “I was not political at all until 1988,” says Dr. Maung Maung Myint, the National Unity Government’s (NUG) representative to Norway. He describes how dictatorship, exile, and decades of activism have shaped his conviction that Myanmar’s military regime will eventually fall.

Born in 1958, he grew up under military rule. After General Ne Win’s 1962 coup, his family’s home and business were seized. He became a dentist in 1983, but the 1988 uprising changed everything. Angered by poverty, propaganda, and the killing of two students, he led a student union, organized protests, and…