Editorial: Latest Arakan Fighting Tests Endurance of Regime and Arakanese People

By Admin 25 Dec 2023

Renewed hostilities between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) broke out in Arakan State on November 13, just shy of one year after the two sides observed an informal ceasefire on humanitarian grounds in late November 2022. The regime has been on the defensive in the weeks since, responding to AA attacks on its positions in the flat-footed manner that has also characterised its fortunes elsewhere in the country since the Three Brotherhood Alliance’s launch of “Operation 1027” in late October.

With the abandonment of military camps along the border and tactical command bases one by one, and the surrender of soldiers and desertion among the ranks, the regime began to target the civilian population as usual. Fighting in Arakan State remains oftentimes intense and civilian casualties have continued to rise due largely to the junta’s indiscriminate use of heavy weapons since renewed fighting between the military and Arakan Army began, and the number of people displaced by fighting is increasing by the day.

While the AA is waging battles to seize junta bases, the regime is committing war crimes by targeting people and places unrelated to the war, in addition to employing the “four cuts” strategy that successive regimes have used to suppress revolutionary forces. The regime is causing all kinds of trouble for the people; arresting civilians for no reason, extorting money, prosecuting them under various dubious charges, firing into towns and villages with heavy weapons, airstrikes and small arms, and burning homes and food supplies.

The main sufferers of the regime’s four-cuts strategy are the Arakanese people. The lack of fuel for the operation of telecommunications towers is also a cause for concern among the public. The people of Arakan State are suffering from severe food shortages, and the grassroots are facing starvation levels of deprivation due to the junta’s blockading of land and water routes.

In the face of such adversity, the Arakanese people should look to the spirit of the French peasantry and working class of the late 18th century, who rose up in unity to take down a French aristocracy that had long left them languishing in destitution. The Arakanese people need not bring to fruition the Burmese proverb, “When the world is on fire, some will step on their own children to insulate themselves from the heat.”

Many Arakanese people perceive the latest hostilities between the military and AA in terms of a “last battle,” which will determine whether they escape out from under the boot of oppression or remain there for the foreseeable future. The Arakanese people do not want a ceasefire like in previous periods of conflict. They want the AA to fight to the end — and to a victorious end, at that. 

While there are many similarities to previous periods of conflict between the two sides, a notable difference bodes well for the AA and its supporters: Not only the people of Arakan but oppressed peoples across Myanmar stand behind the AA this time.

The AA has provided military aid to the revolutionary forces that emerged after the 2021 coup, and in turn widespread public and militant support has accompanied the Brotherhood Alliance’s launch of “Operation 1027”, which expanded to Arakan State last month. The Arakan Army is one of three member of the Brotherhood Alliance, along with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army.

If the revolutionary forces can continue to carry out operations at the current pace, it is fair to say that the collapse of the regime may be a matter of months away, not years.

But no one can predict how long it will take. Indeed, there is no guarantee that victory for the anti-coup crowd is assured at all. 

The latest fighting will test the endurance of the regime and the Arakanese people. May the righteous cause emerge victorious.