Burma has one of the largest militaries in South East Asian, yet no enemies other than its own people. Since 1962 Burma has been ruled by a vicious military junta. They silence all opposition and use violence and intimidation to exert control over the country’s 50 million strong populace.

The country’s supreme leader, General Than Shwe has outlawed all opposition: all protests are bloodily shut down, opposition groups are outlawed and dissenters face years of abuse in jail or worse.
A megalomaniac, General Shwe moved the capital from Rangoon to the remote Pyinmana on 6 November 2005. This decision, he claims, is based on advice from his astrologer who said it would ensure everlasting military power.

In State of Fear Australian reporter Evan Williams treks through the jungle with the Free Burma Rangers, a guerrilla group that dispenses aid to villages attacked by the Burmese army showing first-hand the destruction caused by the Burmese military. After being banned for writing stories critical of the government Williams enters Burma as a tourist to interview former prisoners, journalists and pro-democracy activists.

The 1996 documentary Burma: State of Fear explores the student rebellion based out of Rangoon. Interviewing former student prisoners, current operatives and Buddhist monks, filmmaker Mark Stucke uncovers how the students organise and evade the ever-searching secret police.

Stucke also interviews Ang San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize recipient who led the National League for Democracy to a landslide election win. General Than Shwe refused to accept the poll and has Suu Kyi under house arrest for the last 17 years.

A compelling and in-depth report into a country at war with itself.