Myanmar

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is located in Southeast Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, between Bangladesh, China, India,rift gold, Laos, and Thailand. The population, estimated at just over 50 million, is composed of seven major ethnic minorities and several smaller ones. The majority ethnic group, Burmese, who make up approximately 68 percent of the total population, are mostly Buddhist, while Christians and Muslims combined make up less than 10 percent of the total population. Over 106 languages and dialects are spoken.

In 1948, while working to gain independence from Britain, several important leaders, including the hero of the independence movement, General Aung San, were assassinated. The killings weakened the union of ethnic groups who had placed their trust in these original leaders. Several ethnic groups subsequently began to struggle for increased autonomy from the majority Burmese. This has led to continued strife in Myanmar to this day.

The independence leaders had created a parliamentary democracy which continued to function, despite a context of continuing ethnic strife, until 1962. On the eve of peace negotiations between the Burmese and minority ethnic groups, an army coup led by General Ne Win resulted in a dictatorship that has lasted ever since.

Throughout Ne Win’s reign, which lasted ostensibly through 1988, Burma closed itself to the world, forsaking foreign trade and international economics in favor of the “Burmese Way to Socialism.” While black markets flourished, Burma’s economy was decimated. In 1987, the United Nations declared Burma a “least developed country.” In addition to poor economic management, Ne Win’s rule was known particularly for its brutality and paranoia. He devised and oversaw the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), which maintained a pervasive network of informers and spies throughout the country.

By 1988, frustration with Ne Win reached a boiling point when several Burmese students launched a pro-democracy movement that quickly encompassed the entire nation. The army squelched the national demonstrations that ensued by shooting non-violent protestors. Casualty estimates range from 6,000 to 10,000, and most were shot at close range.

In response to the unrest and Ne Win’s failing health, the military reorganized itself into the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)—later renamed the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in 1997—and abolished all remnants of civilian administration. The SPDC junta is led formally by General Than Shwe, the top general of the army. The junta is comprised of eighty cabinet members, including forty SPDC ministers.

To pacify the people, the military called for a general parliamentary election in 1990. Opposition parties were briefly allowed to form, and the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San’s daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, quickly became the leading democratic opposition party. In 1989, just months before the election, the SPDC placed Suu Kyi and several of her NLD colleagues under house arrest, fearing her popularity in the upcoming election. The NLD triumph, however,rift gold was still overwhelming. The party won 392 of the 485 seats in Parliament, while ethnic minority groups opposing the regime won an additional 65. The military-backed National Unity Party (NUP) won only ten seats. Instead of recognizing the results of the election, the regime backpedaled, stating that the delegates were elected to draft a constitution rather than form a Parliament.

Still under house arrest, Suu Kyi was awarded the Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament in 1990 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She remained under house arrest until 1995, when she was formally released. Despite her release, Suu Kyi remains under virtual house arrest—she is forbidden from traveling out of Yangon (Rangoon) and from giving speeches in the city. Moreover, most visitors are blocked from entering her house, and those that do meet her risk detention or even imprisonment. In early 1999, Suu Kyi’s husband became terminally ill in England, but the junta refused to grant him a travel visa so he could visit her at home. In March 1999 he passed away before the two were able to reunite.

In August 2000, Suu Kyi was again imprisoned, this time in her own car. On her way to a meeting with supporters, she was stopped by army roadblocks and kept in her car for nine days. She was then forced to return to her house, where, as of September 2000, she remains under house arrest. This new attack on Suu Kyi has attracted international outrage and condemnation.

The NLD, the party Suu Kyi leads, consistently challenges the junta’s rule. In June 1998 Suu Kyi and the NLD issued an ultimatum stating that if the junta continued to refuse to open the duly elected Parliament, the NLD would convene it independently. Instead of allowing the NLD to move forward, the junta arrested several hundred members of the party, including over 150 elected military police. In response, the NLD formed the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP) to speak for the Parliament it was unable to convene. Parliamentarians in several nations have recognized the CRPP as a legitimate and legal body.