You're listening to a Special Release episode of Insight Myanmar Podcast. In the aftermath of Operation 1027, a pivotal military action initiated by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, and further supported by a coalition of ethnic fighters and PDF units, Myanmar is undergoing a transformative moment and so we are launching this series in response.

Our guest is Matthew Arnold, an academic and independent policy analyst specializing in politics, governance, and peace and conflict, with extensive experience in Myanmar and a background encompassing roles at The Asia Foundation, academic research, and with the UN World Food Program in various conflict zones and humanitarian crises.

Arnold notes that Myanmar now stands at a critical juncture, marked by 33 months of both armed and peaceful resistance against military dictatorship. He describes how Operation 1027, executed by competent and strategically inclined Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs), reflects a carefully considered move based on the evolving trajectory of the conflict. In his view, the junta, facing widespread and entrenched resistance, lacks the depth to recover, evidenced by its inability to launch significant counter-offensives.

To Arnold, the pro-democracy resistance, a bottom-up revolt evolving into a national uprising for federal democracy, remains steadfast despite criticisms and flaws. The junta's brutal tactics have ignited an unquenchable fire of revolution, and its continued atrocities are unlikely to shift the tide. Arnold boldly predicts that the democratic movement, now viable and ascendant, is poised for outright victory within the next 3 to 6 months, shaping a post-conflict peace that, while potentially messy, is distinguished by social goodwill and solidarity among the Myanmar people.

Amid calls for international support, Arnold urges an open-minded approach, emphasizing Myanmar's potential for positive collective change and dismissing notions of irreparable fracture. In his view, Operation 1027 serves as a catalyst, signaling a ray of hope in a dark world, inviting contemplation, preparation, and celebration of the impending collapse of the genocidal junta.