Just before a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck central Myanmar, General Zaw Min Tun sat down with Talk to Al Jazeera. In a rare interview, the military government’s spokesperson defended military rule amid growing armed resistance, looming war crimes trials, and international condemnation. Hours later, entire villages were gone, and thousands were dead. As Myanmar faces war, disaster, and diplomatic isolation, this interview captures a country on the brink and a government attempting to hold on.