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BBC reporter Christopher Gunness was in Burma during the nationwide 8.8.88 democracy uprising. He conducted clandestine radio interviews with several Burmese students and activists that were broadcast to millions of Burmese. The military government accused the reports of triggering the August 1988 uprising. Fifteen years later, Gunness remains blacklisted from entering Burma and is still considered a top enemy of the junta. The Irrawaddy reminisced with him via email about his reporting experiences from 1988. Question: When you worked in Burma as a reporter in 1988, did you get the sense that the sporadic student protests early in the year would flare up into a nationwide uprising? Answer: I was in no doubt at all that Burma was a bomb waiting to explode; the only questions in my mind were, "when and what would be the trigger?" In 1987 there had been sporadic trouble because of the demonetization and the students were clearly aggrieved during the early months of ‘88. I firmly believe Ne Win also felt that huge problems were going to flare up, unless he acted. I’m not suggesting that he was acting without self-interest, but in a pragmatic way, to protect his own interests. I believe he knew there would be major challenges to his rule unless he did something bold—which is exactly what he did, in announcing multi-party democracy and a pluralist economy. He recognized the problem, but like the administrations he spawned, had neither the will, ability, decency or imagination to find a solution. Q: You interviewed female students who said they were raped in prison but the government later exposed the charges as a total fabrication, and many activists back those claims. Do you still believe the stories of your interviewees? How did it affect your work as a professional reporter? A: I have no doubt at all that the women I met had been raped. Their body language was unmistakable and having met rape victims, subsequently in the Balkans, there are no doubts in my mind at all. The treatment of these women has also been confirmed subsequently by several unimpeachable sources. As far as government accusations are concerned, nothing the generals say will ever affect my work, except to make me more determined to keep them accountable to world opinion, if not to the people of Burma itself. I have been the subject of frequent vitriolic attacks and I take this as the highest possible compliment. It is a continued sign that my reporting is accurate and that the truth continues irk the Burmese generals and those in East Asian governments who continue to support them. Q: What frustrations and regrets did you experience working as a journalist covering Burma from Rangoon? A: The greatest frustration and regret is for my friends in Burma who have suffered so much. And I regret the fact that the international community has done so little to promote change. There has always been a cause of greater interest to the men who really run the world, in Washington, European capitals and in places like Tokyo and Beijing. Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, or wherever has always forced Burma off the international agenda. But I think things are changing and since Iraq, toleration for rogue states is diminishing. And while I find the methodology of the hawks in Washington problematic, if their agenda of promoting American liberal values all over the world is followed to its logical conclusion, this can only be of benefit, ultimately to Burma. Q: Are you still blacklisted from visiting Burma? Have you tried to return? Do you want to? If you could, what would you do? A: Yes, I am banned. I have had it made clear to me by ambassadors in London that a visa application would not be successful. However, I have been across the border through Thailand on one occasion, but it is very frustrating not being able to go to Rangoon. If I could visit, I would be extremely careful about who I spoke to, as I have little doubt that the military intelligence would arrest anyone talking to me. If I could go, I’d try to report on aspects of Burma that touch peoples’ lives rather than bang on about democracy and human rights. Although human rights are important, I would like to tell some human stories about how people have survived through fifteen years of oppression. The story of modern Burma is a story about the enduring nature of the human spirit. The struggle for democracy is only one aspect of that. Q: Both dissidents and the regime acknowledge that your reports during the build-up to the uprising played a key role in triggering the public’s outrage. How do you feel now that the name Christopher Gunness has become part of the 8.8.88 legend? What was your role as a reporter? A: The truth is that I feel very embarrassed for several reasons. Firstly, I think it is wrong. People were already outraged, not by my reporting, but by what the government was doing.