A Welsh Reporter on Myanmar’s Frontlines

Lorcan Lovett is a Welsh journalist based in Southeast Asia who has reported across the region with a focus on Myanmar since 2017. He has just returned from a trip to the war-torn country and to Bangladesh, where he toured the refugee camps housing the Rohingya.

He says life remains tough in the camps but those with access to the internet are following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague where judges are deliberating on allegations that senior generals in the Myanmar junta committed a genocide against the Rohingya.

A verdict is expected in about three months.

Lovett spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about their plight and the military’s recent counter offensive aimed at taking back territory lost to the rebel ethnic armed organizations since Myanmar erupted into a civil war in early 2021.

And there are allegations of atrocities committed by the Arakan Army, which has proven itself the most affective fighting force against the junta.

Lovett’s work has appeared in The Guardian, The Observer, Nieman Reports, The Sunday Times, and Al Jazeera, among other international outlets, and he has also reported on Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia as well as from the U.K. and Ukraine.

He has featured on NPR, BBC Radio and other radio programs and podcasts. He writes and presents video reports regularly on his Substack, On Myanmar.