Oslo’s Lost Accord
Insight Myanmar27 Jul 2025

Oslo’s Lost Accord

Episode #369: “I promised Aung San Suu Kyi and committed myself to work for democracy and human rights in the country as long as necessary. And still it is necessary!” So says Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Prime Minister of Norway and a longtime supporter of Myanmar’s democratic struggle. In this conversation, he reflects on his decades of advocacy for Myanmar, from a surreptitious 1997 visit to Yangon where he first met Suu Kyi, to his post-retirement work at the Oslo Center, which he co-founded to support democratic institutions globally.

Bondevik describes Norway’s strategy toward Myanmar as one of principled engagement: opposing the junta while supporting civil society and political parties. Though optimistic during Myanmar’s tentative liberalization in the 2010s, he now concedes that Norway and others may have placed too much faith in the reform of Myanmar’s transition period. The military’s lurking presence was underestimated, ultimately culminating in the 2021 coup.

Acknowledging the diplomatic dilemma around formally recognizing the National Unity Government, Bondevik calls for coordinated global action, combining pressure on the military with support for the democracy movement. He critiques ASEAN’s passivity and highlights China’s dual role—economically empowering the junta and holding sway over ethnic armed groups—as a major obstacle to international leverage. Yet he remains hopeful, urging Norway and others to sustain diplomatic efforts and keep Myanmar on the global agenda.

“It’s very easy to be pessimistic and to give up… but we know from history that it’s possible to change the situation.”

Episoder(519)

Choosing the Red Pill

Choosing the Red Pill

Episode #489: Neo grew up in Yangon, living a simple life—running a small convenience store, taking remote jobs, and spending his nights with friends, music, and beer. “I work and I play and I drink. ...

20 Feb 2h 16min

Enemy of the State

Enemy of the State

Episode #488: Veteran journalist and human rights advocate Chris Gunness describes Myanmar as “an extraordinarily fascinating country,” one that shaped both his early reporting career and his later wo...

19 Feb 1h 57min

The Right To Belong

The Right To Belong

Episode #487: Noor Azizah, a Rohingya genocide survivor and the founder and leader of the Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network, argues that violence against the Rohingya is still an ongoing real...

17 Feb 1h 21min

The Erasure of Mindfulness

The Erasure of Mindfulness

Episode #486: Daniel M. Stuart, a Buddhist studies scholar and vipassana practitioner, rejoins the podcast to describe his growing interest in Dr. Leon Edward Wright, a Black Christian theologian whos...

16 Feb 1h 41min

The Center Holds

The Center Holds

Episode #485: “I am not talking as a representative of Anya. I am just a normal person from Anya,” says Saw Bosco, a Myanmar peace process practitioner, grassroots educator on federalism, and politica...

13 Feb 2h 12min

The Hidden War

The Hidden War

Episode #484: In Myanmar, landmine contamination has often been attributed to relics of World War 2 or past conflicts. “But in Myanmar today, landmines are not a historical problem,” Nyein Nyein Thant...

12 Feb 1h 28min

Nothing To Lose But Exploitation

Nothing To Lose But Exploitation

Episode #483: “I particularly look from Marxist feminist perspectives,” says Ma Cheria, a Myanmar-born researcher now living in exile in Chiang Mai. Her work examines how capitalism and patriarchy com...

10 Feb 1h 17min

Untangling Myth from Memory

Untangling Myth from Memory

Episode #482: “My main mission, so to speak, is to clarify the differences between the many rumors about Myanmar... the myths going on both inside and outside the country, which are all very much rela...

9 Feb 1h 53min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
forklart
popradet
aftenpodden-usa
stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-gukild-johaug
det-store-bildet
fotballpodden-2
i-retten
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-ness
nokon-ma-ga
aftenbla-bla
hanna-de-heldige
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
bt-dokumentar-2
rss-dannet-uten-piano