A year after the Myanmar military illegally grabbed control of the country and arrested key members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, it is clear that the formidable if rather makeshift resistance movement is growing.

There are a multitude of different groups with often colourful names under the banner of the People’s Defence Forces, generally considered to be operating under the umbrella of the National Unity Government (NUG), the body that has stepped in to fill the vacuum left by the arrest and persecution of the elected National League for Democracy-led government.

And if there is one underlying message to come out of this movement to oust the Tatmadaw or military from power - it’s “make or break”.

There is a sense of desperation and a drive to fight to the death to free Myanmar from the evil clutches of the military, a body now recognized all too clearly as having used and abused the Myanmar people, whether in the ethnic hinterlands or the Bamar heartland, for decades since General Ne Win grabbed power back in 1962.

The push is both heartening and worrying at the same time. The willingness of resistance fighters to put their lives on the line to free Myanmar from the military dictatorship is likely respected by the majority.

But the grim reality is the chance for a massive increase in bloodshed, given the brutality of the notorious Tatmadaw.

There is a growing division between those who are “with us” and “those against us” – a split between those seeking freedom and those who are part of the junta-controlled infrastructure, junta-related businesses, and related parties, including those who call themselves “nationalists” and those in the military-connected Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the latter losing badly in the November 2020 polls to the NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

This grim reality may mean increased clashes between the Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAO) and the Tatmadaw as they are forced to choose to align themselves with the ad hoc resistance groups rallying under the banner of the NUG.

A year after the junta grabbed power, any prospects for peace are draining away, replaced by the harsh reality that a bitter battle for the soul of Myanmar lies ahead.